Meet Mehrdad Safizadeh

Mehrdad is a Newmarket dad running to focus the school board on academic achievement, real supports for students, a school board that treats parents as partners and responsible financial management.

He has been school council chair since 2016 and brings extensive experience as Vice-Chair of the Parent Involvement Committee and as Chair of the Equity Advisory Committee.

Priorities

  • Students reading, writing and doing math at grade level

  • Move dollars out of board overhead and into classrooms

  • Safe and supportive schools where students can learn

  • Answers for parents when they ask

  • Special education and mental health supports that arrive on time

Mehrdad’s Experience

  • PhD in socio-linguistics

  • Chair of the Armitage Village PS School Council

  • College & university instructor

  • School principal for over 15 years

  • Management of over 200+ language schools

Platform

Academic Achievement

Students should finish each grade able to read, write and do math:

  • Protect classroom time for reading, writing, math and critical thinking

  • Focus on reading and math gaps in the primary grades

  • Back teachers with training and materials tied to what raises achievement

Student Well-being

Students learn when they feel safe and know the adults around them will act:

  • Apply one clear code of conduct consistently across every school

  • Respond to bullying reports quickly and close the loop with families

Parent Engagement

Parents raise the children the board educates. Mehrdad has chaired school councils for a decade and will bring that perspective to the school board:

  • Give school councils real input before decisions are made

  • Meaningfully respond and follow up to parent inquiries

Strong Governance

Public money deserves public scrutiny:

  • Review the budget line by line and report what central office spending buys

  • Measure every program against student outcomes