Eva Liss
STAFF WRITER

Two new Andover School Committee members, Emily DiCesaro and Sandis Wright, were elected on March 22. Both members aim to aid communication between the Andover community and the district, with a hopeful outlook on their impact. 

Emily DiCesaro

DiCesaro has experience listening to, advocating for, and asking questions of the community she serves as a user experience designer at IBM, which may be helpful in meeting her goal of improving interpersonal connections in Andover. She said she decided to run for School Committee after she participated in the search for the new Andover superintendent through a town subcommittee; she was attracted by the optimistic and mutually beneficial relationship between the School Committee and the superintendent. She expressed a strong desire to support Superintendent Magda Parvey and the Andover community to her best ability. 

“[The School Committee members] have a common goal. We all want what’s best for the kids of Andover and the teachers,” said DiCesaro. “Starting to remember that and bringing us back to respectful disagreements is important.”

While DiCesaro has only been in office for a few months, she has already set her sights on helping the Andover community in a few specific ways: mending the damage done on mental health by the COVID-19 pandemic, finding new strategies for helping Andover get back on its feet, and creating a better dynamic between the school committee and the citizens of Andover.

“I think there’s relationships that need to be repaired,” said DiCesaro. “We have to figure out ways to show people we’re listening to them.”

She put forward ideas as to how she can bring about this change, such as reaching out to PTO groups or school events and using the district’s budget in creative ways to enhance community spaces like the Cormier Youth Center. Another idea is to research what other towns have done in the past to improve communication and cope with damage. DiCesaro said she knows there will be challenges to her goals, sometimes even from inside the community itself, but she still has hope. 

DiCesaro also said she loves Andover itself, and often goes for walks on the AVIS trails with her dog and family. She enjoys gardening and traveling and has even been in a crowd used for sound effects in movies. She said she is excited to help Andover and its community in any way possible. 

Sandis Wright

Wright said he knows how to communicate effectively and understand people’s needs, as that is a large part of the various Andover subcommittees he has participated in and the School Committee itself. He’s been involved in many public service groups in Andover, such as the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEI), Andover Parent to Parent, and the board of the A Better Chance (ABC) program. Wright went on to say that he believes in public education and looks forward to continuing his “ability to impact and shape our community” through his term as a School Committee member. 

“Sometimes people want to shy away from having difficult discussions if there’s something that’s not understood or perceived to be controversial or a taboo topic to discuss,” said Wright. “I hope I can help fill an opportunity with the community where maybe folks don’t feel like they’ve been heard.”

Hearing people’s thoughts and their values is one of Wright’s main goals, along with “minimizing abrasion and frustration” between the School Committee and the community of Andover, whether they be parents, teachers, or students. He said he was motivated to find a greater positive impact in the school committee position through his participation in DEI and ABC, and will look forward to continuing to help Andover.

Wright works as Managing Director of Information Management at Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a healthcare provider. He said he thinks this will help him to be a better school committee member because he already has experience searching for innovative opportunities. He also said he knows that both his day job and the responsibilities of the School Committee are aimed to achieve the best possible outcomes for personal and widespread groups of people, and that he is confident in his ability to handle whatever challenges may come. 

Upon seeing Superintendent Magda Parvey’s results from the feedback survey she sent out to the district’s community, Wright said he was impressed by the importance, thoughtfulness, and prominence of Andover students’ thoughts and needs. “I’m excited to amplify the student voice,” said Wright. “[and] I am reenergized when I hear from our young generation.”

 In his free time, Wright enjoys gardening, traveling, and cooking or trying new foods.