Deborah Wheaton Hemdal

I have been involved in education since 1988. I taught political science classes at theState University College at Brockport from 1988 to 1991.

In 1995, I was elected to the Bethel Board of Education. The members of the Board of Education were responsible for overseeing the school budget and personnel issues. I was the chairperson of the curriculum subcommittee. In this position, I helped review changes in textbooks and curriculum for the district.

In 2000 I joined the Floral Street School Council which provides site-based management for an elementary school serving grades 1-5 The Council reviews and provides parent oversight of school improvement plans. It consults with the principal on the handling of the school budget and on the impact of a major school redistricting plan. While on the Council, I also served on the Coordinating Council for the Shrewsbury School District. This is an advisory council to provide parent input on district-wide concerns. The year I served we worked on restructuring the middle schools.

I have also been a classroom volunteer tutoring elementary students and supervising their class assignments. I assisted classroom teachers with activity centers and special events and worked directly with students on completing assignments.

For one year the Superintendent ran a Superintendent's Commission on High Achieving Students. My duties on this commission were to attend meetings and provide insights, experiences, and comments on differentiated instruction to school administrators.

While attending law school, I interned as a law clerk in Juvenile Court. My duties there included researching and preparing findings in parental termination hearings. I also interned in the Worcester County District Attorney's Office in the Juvenile Unit. I conducted bail hearings and assisted in trials for juvenile defendants