Allison Samuels for Croton Board Of Education

11/07/2025

Wishing everyone a good fall. In the spirit of transparency, I am removing myself from several Facebook groups that veer towards the political (Croton Point, Croton Uncensored, Croton Landing).

Before running for BOE, I was rarely on social media as I have concerns about my data privacy and the addictive nature of these tools. As much as remaining in these groups is helpful to keeping current on local issues, I’ve decided to revert to a more limited use of these tools given my current role.

Moving forward, if you want to make sure I am seeing something, please contact me directly. You can email me at [email protected], my official BOE email. (Please note, whatever you email me can be FOILED.) You can also reach out to me over messenger to set up a time to talk.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

05/21/2025

Thank you so much to the Croton community for coming out to this year’s BOE election and voting. I also want to thank my family, friends, neighbors, and supporters — your faith in me means more than I can express.

A special thank you to Leslie Waltzer Pollak. Over the years I've admired her advocacy and insights into our schools and it was an honor to be her running mate. Our shared vision for the district and work together will continue to drive this work forward.

I’m so proud to be a newly elected BOE trustee to represent the wonderful families here and ensure Croton’s kids are always put first in our district.

It is exciting to see so many people interested, invested, and activated in our schools’ future, and I hope many of you continue to attend BOE meetings, share your thoughts and concerns, and make this a long-lasting community partnership. Our kids look up to us all, and knowing that so many care about their schools feels really meaningful to them.

I’d like to congratulate Theo Oshiro on being re-elected. I would also like to recognize my fellow candidates, Leslie and Will Begeny, who volunteered their time and passion into a challenging process. It is not easy to step up and volunteer, and I am grateful to everyone who did that. The contested election demonstrates how deeply our community cares about our schools and ensuring our children receive an excellent education and experience.

I look forward to working with the entire BOE, our administrators, teachers, and the community as we continue to build on academic excellence, social-emotional learning, athletics, the arts, and educate the amazing students in each school.

05/20/2025

VOTE Today!

We have choices this election and don't let them be made for you.

Contested elections are important for our community, and whoever wins, we have had a lot of good discussions based on different viewpoints.

I hope we always have contested elections so our community continues to have choices and dialogue.

Polls are open until 9pm at the Croton Harmon High School.

Let's get out and vote!

05/18/2025

Mark your calendars! Vote this Tuesday 5/20 at CHHS! BOE, School Budget and Library Budget. Watch the Candidates forum from 5/14 here: https://www.youtube.com/live/SK5Pj-lvmAs

05/18/2025

Let's ask the hard questions! Last night I had a chance to speak with concerned parents of PVC and CHHS students who were uncomfortable with the large (40 students) and long (two class periods) first-year CHHS classes their kids were taking or scheduled to take. It has been challenging for many and it is unclear how the success of these new courses is being measured. Larger, less personal classes, is this the direction our kids need?

05/17/2025

My most recent article in the Gazette with a photo from the way back machine for inspo.

To the Editor:

As an educator and mother, I believe the most impactful way to empower any and every student, regardless of circumstance, is to give them the most fundamental tool of success - the best education possible.

To do this effectively at CHUFSD, we need experienced, decisive, and inclusive leadership who have successfully navigated the complexities of our educational systems as parents, volunteers, and professionals. This is why I am running for one of the open seats on the Croton Board of Education.

As a BOE member, my background would offer a new and important perspective to the leadership team: educator and parent of children who have recently experienced the college admissions process.

I have spent my career dedicated to public education as a professor at Baruch College, (CUNY), where I have educated thousands of students in one of the most economically, socially, and ethnically diverse student bodies in the country.
I know that the experience and qualifications of leadership at the top (BOE and Superintendent) impacts what happens every day throughout the school.

Thank you to everyone in the CHUFSD community who has shared their experiences, concerns and ideas. Your input has shaped our grassroots platform Croton Kids First. Our goals include:

Prioritize excellent education for all students and learning needs
Ensure safe, supportive schools were kids can flourish
Promote responsible budgets that put students and teachers first
Champion arts, athletics, and student interests
Deliver on transparency, collaboration, and results

You can learn more at crotonkidsfirst.com.
There are two seats open in a contested election. I endorse Leslie Pollak for the second open seat. Remember, the school board election is on Tuesday, May 20. I look forward to earning your votes and serving our very special community!
Sincerely,
Allison Samuels
Candidate for Trustee, Croton-Harmon Board of Education

05/17/2025

THANK YOU! The BOE election is on Tuesday, May 20, 6 am to 9 pm - just days away. I want to thank all of you who have come out to chat, watched the forum, texted, emailed, messaged or just sent some good vibes. Your support has meant so much as we navigate this strange and challenging process of running for office. I will contact each of you individually to express my gratitude but before we get to the final stretch, please know I appreciate you!

05/12/2025

I’m proud of my work at Baruch and am deeply honored to receive this Teaching Excellence award.

A strong education creates opportunities for all students. I want to make sure we are doing all we can to prepare students for their futures.

05/10/2025

AI + Education = What's the impact on CHUFSD?

Here's what I wrote in the Gazette this week....

Dear Letter to the Editor:

As an experienced educator and a candidate for Trustee of Croton’s Board of Education, I find myself considering all of the potential challenges the students of this district may encounter. Technology in the classroom is something that continues to be a matter of intense discussion and debate, and something I have grappled with in my day-to-day working with students.

Technology presents tremendous advances in research abilities and allows rote tasks to be completed with ease and speed. Yet, we find that too much time with a screen can leave our most vulnerable, young students at a deficit. Social skills, critical thinking skills, and fundamental language and computational skills can be left unsharpened. While “roughly 1 in 5 teens say social media sites hurt their mental health” (Pew Research 2025) our district is discussing social media policies that were requested in April 2022.

We now face the daunting technology of artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2022, I led Baruch college’s effort to introduce 1000+ teachers to the ChatGPT technology when it became available. Within weeks, I gained expertise and recommended how it could be used in our teaching, and proposed updated academic integrity policies to reflect this new reality.

Our district must focus on getting ahead of these technology challenges if we are to guide our students in ways to work with, rather than for, technology. Many colleges are reporting that application essays are being written by AI. Is it ok for our students to use AI in this way? Do we have any checks and balances on using AI tools? How does this impact data privacy? What is our approach to this next phase of tech integration in the classroom? What parameters are in place for our youngest learners at CET?

With the impact of AI at the forefront of many conversations around what it means to provide an education today, when will we hear about the actions taken in CHUFSD? Given that we are not current on our older policies, how will we be able to catch up on these “moving at light speed” issues?

As someone with experience using and dealing with student use of educational technologies I believe that people who have this perspective can effectively deal with the future of the BOE. We are already behind - Chappaqua passed a policy in August 2024. It’s time to catch up.

Please vote for Allison and Leslie Pollak for Croton Board of EducationLeslie Pollak, the candidates with the experience and expertise to prepare Croton’s students for the future.

Sincerely,

Allison Samuels
BOE Candidate

05/07/2025

¡Bienvenidos al vecindario! Es fundamental contar con un tercer oficial de Croton que hable español para que nuestra comunidad reciba un mejor servicio. Vea nuestra página de inicio en español. https://www.crotonkidsfirst.com/prioricemos-a-nuestros-ni%C3%B1os

Welcome to the neighborhood! It's so important to have a third Croton officer who speaks Spanish so our community can be better served! View our homepage in Spanish https://www.crotonkidsfirst.com/prioricemos-a-nuestros-ni%C3%B1os

The Village of Croton-on-Hudson Police Department recently welcomed two new officers to the force. Officer Osvaldo Tovar (left) and Officer Joseph Cunningham both join the department from the NYPD.

The hiring of Officer Tovar also brings the number of bilingual patrol officers in the department to three, which will provide the department the capability to have a Spanish-speaking officer on each tour. The department has a fourth bilingual officer assigned to the detective division to assist with investigations.

Together, these officers bring the total department force up to 22 officers, which is the highest staffing the department has had since 2009.

05/04/2025

Looking forward to meeting YOU!

05/01/2025

May also marks Jewish American Heritage Month which recognizes Jewish contributions to American culture, history, military, science, government, and more. Learning more about each other's histories helps us to better understand one another and improves our communities. As I run for Croton BOE, I am speaking to as many community members as possible to better understand their perspectives.

As we mark Jewish American Heritage Month this May, Let us take time to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of Jewish Americans to our country and our communities right here in Westchester.

This month is also a moment to recommit to the fight against antisemitism and to lift up the stories, resilience, and cultural traditions that continue to inspire generations.