Candidate profile: Tiffini Reedy for Mattapoisett School Committee

May 12, 2021

MATTAPOISETT — Tiffini Reedy is a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and she thinks a voice advocating for mental health is needed on the School Committee.

A newcomer to public service, she said that’s why she decided to run this year.

“That would be my chance to advocate for, and at least speak about, mental health services,” Reedy said.

Reedy said she moved to Mattapoisett, in large part, for the school system. And she thinks she could be an asset to the board with her knowledge around mental and general health as a nurse practitioner.

She suggested the schools could conduct regular mental health screenings for kids. And while she recognized that school isn’t the “ideal place for screening,” it’s “where kids are.”

“Kids feel comfortable going to their teacher,” Reedy said, about their problems and feelings. She added that “astute observation” from educators can help save a child in danger.

Reedy said she’s also seen “just a boom” in the need for mental health services since the beginning of the pandemic.

“They’ll be better off to learn with mental help,” she said.

Reedy said there are “a number of issues” facing the school committee. But she thinks one of the biggest is finding ways to ensure students, faculty and staff at the schools feel comfortable indoors at school.

She said she was one of the parents who signed a petition to bring younger students back to full in-person learning, created last fall by parent group Mattapoisett Concerned.

“And I will continue to advocate strongly to keep schools open,” she said.

But the difficulties of the pandemic aren’t lost on Reedy.

“Really nobody alive has experienced a pandemic at this level,” she said.

Aside from the risk of illness inherent in the pandemic, Reedy said that she expects the pandemic to cause an increase in mental health issues among kids “in the years to come.”