Li Zhang, Sali Rakower and Brian and Jeannie Rosenthal Support Erica German for BOE

(Below find letters from Li Zhang, Sali Rakower and Brian and Jeannie Rosenthal)

Dear Scarsdale 10583,

I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for Erica German’s candidacy for the Scarsdale Board of Education.

Having known Erica since my family first moved to Quaker Ridge in 2019, I have seen firsthand the incredible heart and professional expertise she brings to our community. Our introduction to Scarsdale was through Erica; she was our "New Family Welcome" parent buddy. I remember how patient and kind she was as she helped us navigate the school system. From that very first moment, it was clear to me that she was a dedicated volunteer who truly cared about this community.

This year, as I served as Co-Chair for the C.H.I.L.D Committee at Quaker Ridge, Erica was once again an invaluable mentor. She spent hours helping me and my partner with logistics and offering guidance, driven purely by her desire to see our school community thrive.

However, beyond her impeccable volunteer record, there is a specific reason I believe Erica is essential for the Board right now: her professional vision as a psychiatrist.

As a former public and private school teacher who taught grades 7–12, I have seen how the landscape of education has changed. I deeply believe that mental health challenges are currently the biggest hurdle to a student's ability to learn and succeed. In today’s complex digital world, our children face pressures that can easily become "blocks" to their development. Erica doesn’t just see these issues from a parent’s perspective; she understands them through a clinical lens. She understands how mental health and academic achievement go hand-in-hand. Having her expertise on the Board will ensure that our district's policies are informed by a deep, scientific understanding of how to help our students thrive mentally while achieving their academic excellence.

Erica has the experience, the analytical mind, the professional foresight, and a genuine heart to lead our schools toward a healthier future. Please join me in voting for Erica German.

Best regards,

Li Zhang
177 Rock Creek Lane

Letter to the Editor:
I am writing in wholehearted support of Erica German for the Scarsdale Board of Education. As a resident of Scarsdale for 16 years, with five children who collectively attend elementary school (Fox Meadow), Middle School, and High School in Scarsdale, I know that Erica would be an excellent Board Member and a gift to our entire community in that role.
I have had the privilege of knowing Erica for about a decade through a weekly family program at Westchester Reform Temple. Erica is a deeply involved, committed and devoted member of our Scarsdale community. I have witnessed the kindness and respect she exhibits to every person she encounters. She cares deeply about people and is the first to volunteer to help a community member in need. I feel compelled to share the kind of person Erica is because my family and I experienced her exceptional generosity of spirit in a way we will never forget. Approximately four years ago, one of our daughters was diagnosed with a serious illness. It was a harrowing time in our family’s life. Erica, along with two other devoted members of our community, led a community-wide effort to help our family. Erica called me as soon as she found out what our child was going through. She spent hours on the phone with me and planned and organized an intricate, community-wide web of help for our family. For six weeks, while our daughter underwent treatment, dinners were delivered nightly and our other children were driven to their various sports and activities by wonderful people who came forward to help our family. We were deeply humbled and grateful for this unexpected yet critical help, and learned in a deep and personal way the kind of incredible community we are blessed to live in. Erica brought to life the saying “It takes a village” by spearheading this tremendous effort.

This is only one example of Erica’s regular acts of kindness and her extraordinary devotion of time and energy to her community. Other community members have expressed to me how Erica has helped them in their time of need. It is Erica’s nature to help others, and she does so selflessly.

Along with her reliably coming to the aid of others and caring deeply about our community, Erica possesses a calm demeanor and is open to listening to others with respect and patience, even when she does not share the same perspective. It is that ability to listen to others with civility and respect, even when they hold contrary opinions, that is critically needed in this divisive time.

Her exceptional accomplishments, including being a practicing psychiatrist with many years of community service, make her an outstanding candidate for the School Board. Erica has been a resident of Scarsdale for 18 years and currently serves as President of Scarsdale’s Parent Teacher Council. She has also served twice on the Quaker Ridge PTA Executive Committee, including as President. As a practicing psychiatrist with many years of experience in individual, couples and family therapy, she is uniquely positioned to understand our students’ well-being and to serve on the Board.

Erica is the loving and devoted mother of four children, all of whom have attended Scarsdale schools, including two who have graduated from the High School.
I hope you will join me in voting for Erica to serve on our School Board. We would be extremely fortunate to have her advocating for our children and planning for the needs and future of our schools.

Sali Rakower
School Lane

Dear Scarsdale 10583,

We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Erica German in the upcoming Scarsdale School Board elections.

Erica is a supportive leader and a pillar of every community we have seen her be part of. She takes responsibility for making things work, expresses deep care for the people in this community and is extremely proactive in finding ways to improve situations. We believe she will make an excellent member of the School Board.

Erica is a supportive leader who works well with others. She is detail-oriented, a great listener (perhaps that comes with being a psychiatrist), speaks tactfully when responding to ideas in a group discussion setting, approaches discussions with an open mind, and helps others gain clarity by asking clarifying questions. Brian had the chance to experience this while working closely with Erica while co-chairing the PTC Technology Committee. Erica was the PTC President-Elect during that time. She worked with our committee to develop a clear vision and supported us every step of the way, securing buy-in from other leaders for events and periodically challenging us to ensure our vision made sense. And when a friend of Jeannie's wanted to organize a district-wide food collection during the food pantry shortage, she was extremely welcoming of the idea, helped her anticipate challenges, strategize working with each individual school, and arrange logistics to realize the vision. It's no surprise that Erica has held significant leadership roles within Scarsdale Schools' PTA and PTC for many years.

Erica loves making new friends and meeting and supporting new people. She seems to have an endless supply of energy for connecting with people, listening to their needs, and rolling up her sleeves to find and create solutions. During COVID, she met the need, giving shots to the masses at the County Center (a great comfort to my family), and she signed on to the national hotline of psychiatrists providing support to physicians working on the frontlines of COVID. We saw this proactive care personally when Brian's parents moved to Scarsdale and started to have health issues. Erica sought out solutions, helping us find doctors and home aides checking in to make sure each provider worked out. When a doctor we know moved to the area, Erica gave them the advice and connections to settle in successfully. And when a member of our synagogue community needed help, Erica was the one to rally our community to provide meals and rides to the family and followed up assiduously to make sure everyone was where they needed to be when. Erica is always looking to see how she can bring her skills and energy to solving the challenges faced by people in her community.

Erica is exactly the kind of listening, caring, strategizing, and detail-oriented planning that is critical for this role. So, please join us in voting for Erica German in the May 19th Scarsdale Board of Education election!

Best,
Brian and Jeannie Rosenthal
10 Innes Road, Heathcote