AMY LEVERE: New to the Mamaroneck School Board but an Experienced "Board Watcher"

Amy Levere may be the newest member of the Mamaroneck School Board, but she is hardly a newcomer to the district or school governance. "It's just the logical next step," she says.

Since retiring from corporate life as a senior attorney with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison over ten years ago, Levere has been volunteering for increasingly greater leadership roles within PTA and other school organizations. She has served on the Hommocks Planning Council, as President of the Murray PTA and, had she not moved to the Board, she was slated to be the next President of PT Council.

Levere's roots in the community go way back. She grew up in White Plains and remembers playing a tennis match against Mamaroneck High School. Her sister, Alice Tenney, is the current PTA President at Mamaroneck Avenue School and her niece attends the Hommocks, which, she says, will give her special knowledge of those schools.

"The fact that I've been so involved may make it easier for parents to come to me with their concerns," Levere says. As a long-term "board watcher," she expects the transition to be relatively seamless, but to bolster her preparation she has participated in two training sessions provided by the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association and will attend another in September. April Farber, the Board's senior member, will provide additional mentoring.

"I think, by in large the schools are quite good, " states Levere. "No school is perfect, including ours. There's been enormous progress in reaching goals." She cites in particular progress in curriculum consistency and the increased stress in literacy.

Her three children, "Have been very happy, and that's important," states Levere. Michael is in 11th grade, Jeffrey is in 7th and Caroline is in 6th. Levere notes that Caroline and Michael are five years apart and their elementary experiences have been very different. Caroline benefited from a curriculum that was more consistent within and across the grades. "Teachers in the higher grades know what the teachers in the lower grades have been doing," Levere points out. Yet, she says, "This hasn't had any negative effect on the nurturing in the elementary schools."

Though "it's too new" to tell what it will be like serving on the Board, Levere has been attending most of the Board sessions including one of the community conversations conducted by the Board in the Spring. "I was interested to see the numbers of people - and not just parents with kids currently in school. The conversations were productive and could have gone on much longer." She credits the "fabulous facilitator" with contributing to the success of the conversations and hopes she will have a chance to work with him.

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