Huddon sees youth as asset in bid for School Committee

By Kelcy Dolan
Posted 7/19/16

Young adults are looking to set the course of Warwick schools. Alongside 18-year-old Nathan Cornell, Chadd Huddon, 20, has also declared his candidacy for one of two at-large School Committee seats. Huddon, currently a biology student at

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Huddon sees youth as asset in bid for School Committee

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Young adults are looking to set the course of Warwick schools. Alongside 18-year-old Nathan Cornell, Chadd Huddon, 20, has also declared his candidacy for one of two at-large School Committee seats.

Huddon, currently a biology student at the University of Rhode Island, grew up in Warwick, attending Oakland Beach Elementary and Gorton Junior High.

He first became interested in school politics in 8th grade, when he participated in a protest outside City Hall. He said during contract negotiations there were threats to after school and art programs, field trips, and other student initiatives. It was then he made the “difficult decision” to leave his friends and go to a new school, Hendricken, where he would graduate in 2013.

“I made that decision because they were cutting programs I thought were instrumental to my growth as a man,” Huddon said. “I see the same difficulties for today’s students on the horizon and I don’t want the students of today to have to make a decision like that because the school committee can’t do their job.”

Huddon has remained active since that protest, following the school committee over the years. For the past year, when attending the meetings, Huddon said he was disappointed in the “poor conduct and disrespect” from the school committee. He doesn’t believe they are representing the taxpayers or the best interests for students and that as elected representatives their job is to provide the best education possible for Warwick’s students.

Huddon said, “I don’t feel like they are doing their job, and that if elected I can do better. The fire inside me grew to the point that I had to do something myself.”

Although younger than many candidates, Huddon believes his age would actually be an asset to the position. He said that his youth allows him to be “closer” to the system, rather than removed from it as he claims the school committee is. Since the committee’s goal should be improving the student experience, it’s important to have an understanding of it.

“I can connect with students. I know what they deal with in school, the problems they face, and what they think is working or not. I can bring fresh, new ideas,” Huddon said.

Having made the transition from high school to university, Huddon also believes he understands what it means in this day and age to be “college ready”; college readiness is something Huddon stresses needs to be improved within the district. According to U.S. News, 2016 report, Warwick’s three high schools were given college readiness scores between 10 and 13 percent.

Huddon doesn’t believe there is any reason Warwick can’t be “up there with the best of them.” Having attended Hendricken, with a younger brother now at Pilgrim, Huddon said that the private school teachers weren’t any more intelligent or qualified than public school teachers; the difference is that “private schools ensure their teachers have the resources necessary to do their job. They have smaller class sizes so students get the attention they need.”

Huddon said the district has been too slow to follow up and coming educational trends, “backlogged and inefficient in implementing.”

“I am not filled with old ideas and bad habits,” Huddon said. “I am better equipped to adapt to the changing world. I am not separated from it like the school committee that is so removed from the technology, from the students.”

Having grown up in Warwick, Huddon feels a duty and dedication to the city and believes it is “high time” he did his part to give back.

Already Huddon has begun going door-to-door to meet and speak with constituents and has, up to this point, only received positive reactions.

If elected, Huddon wants to focus on improving the district’s special education programs, to increase capacity to serve the demographic and keep teachers safe by increasing staffing. Similarly, Huddon wants to bring back more after school programs, but uniquely he wants to put teachers in charge of choosing and developing those initiatives.

“Teachers are on the frontlines, in the field day in and day out. They know what is important to students and what they need,” Huddon said. “Especially after consolidation I think it is so important to help these students bond with their new classmates and connect with the school as a whole.”

Overall, Huddon wants to improve the school committee’s relationship with teachers. He said the committee constantly enters contract negotiations “in bad faith; they lie and cheat.” He said the recent Labor Relations Board’s decision that the last contract was in effect until another is agreed upon is “proof of that.”

If elected, Huddon promised he would reach out to all interested parties “in good faith” to find the best and most “cost efficient” solutions.

“To make sure our students have the best education, we all have to work in concert. I have the discipline, work ethic, and drive to that,” Huddon said.

For more information on Huddon and his campaign, visit his website at www.chaddhuddon.com.

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  • richardcorrente

    I have met this young man on the campaign trail on several occasions. He has no lack of energy. None! Maybe his (or Nathan Cornell's) youth and fresh ideas are just what the School Committee needs. There is an old saying. " When you're green you grow. When you're ripe you rot". The refusal of the School Committee to negotiate with the teachers even after the Labor Board findings is certainly the very definition of "rot". I wouldn't go so far as to say that the School Committee members "lie and cheat", but I haven't met anyone who supports their view. Not one.

    We should listen carefully to Chad and Nathan. They are the voices of our future. Good luck gentlemen.

    And if you would like to read my plan for Warwick my website is www.correntemayorwarwick.com

    Enjoy your Summer.

    Richard Corrente

    Endorsed Democrat for Mayor

    Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Report this