Old Rochester Regional School Committee candidate profile: Nina Datshkovsky-Ennis

MATTAPOISETT — Ever since she moved to Mattapoisett in 2010, Nina Datshkovsky-Ennis has looked for ways to get involved in the community. Now, she is running for the open Old Rochester Regional School Committee seat in the May 20 election to address the community’s concerns.

“I have always been interested in things that matter to the community in general,” she said. 

Her concerns include the school budget and how the money is being used.

“Financial transparency is important — we need to understand where the funds go and how that will benefit our children,” she said, noting she thinks it would be beneficial for funds to go toward improving curriculums and children’s health.

To improve the curriculum, Datshkovsky-Ennis proposed immersive language classes and establishing programs that would strengthen students’ critical thinking and civic skills.

“If we have well-educated kids, they will be more competitive toward the state, the country and the world,” she said.

She explained that this would not only strengthen the students’ futures but future generations, the town and the community in general.

Datshkovsky-Ennis said she believes that when children have healthier minds and bodies, they perform better academically.

“When you have physical activity, your brain works better,” she said. “You have more oxygen in your brain, and you can focus better.”

She added that encouraging children to be more physically active could help them disconnect from electronics and providing them with more access to healthy meals could help physical fitness.

“The meals are very, very important,” she said.

Another issue important to Datshkovsky-Ennis is students’ mental health, noting that she thinks a percentage of the budget should go toward mental health resources.

Datshkovsky-Ennis said she would like to see more parents at School Committee meetings, noting that when she attends she is often one of the few people there.

“I think it’s important to make parents get involved and question everything,” she said.

She suggested creating a group to communicate with parents about upcoming School Committee meetings and the agendas, or providing links to information on the Old Rochester Regional district website.

“I will improve and empower more [residents] and make friends get more involved and attend the meetings,” she said. “Because in the end, it’s our children’s future.”

Datshkovsky-Ennis, who grew up in Mexico City, attended Universidad del Nuevo Mundo where she majored in journalism and communications.

She has worked as a Spanish translator and is currently the chief executive officer at the Aletheia TV Network, which records in Wareham.

Datshkovsky-Ennis has been involved in various groups throughout the Mattapoisett community, volunteering on her children’s sports teams when they were younger, teaching Spanish immersion at the library and teaching about Catholicism at her church.

“I want to keep giving to the community and benefit the community and help the school system communicate with the teachers [and] see what are the needs of the school,” she said.

Datshkovsky-Ennis said she thinks people need to be asking the School Committee about where money is going and how they can foster a healthy environment for students.

“I am here to be a voice in the School Committee, and a voice that will make them understand that they are heard and that everything matters,” she said.