December 16, 2024 By Carol Britton Meyer
Welcome to “Five Minutes With” — Anchor’s new feature to help us get to know our neighbors. Everyone has a unique story to tell, so let’s get to know each other a bit more! Have someone you’d love to spend five minutes getting to know? Email us at info@hinghamanchor.com.
Carol Britton Meyer recently connected with Hingham School Committee Chair Nes Correnti.
You can learn more about Nes below — her school committee experiences as well as her favorite local spots and what she enjoys doing in her spare time!
Name: My real name is Nancy Correnti; however, most know me as Nes.
Role in community: I am a member of the school committee and also treasurer for two not-for-profit organizations.
What your work involves: A school committees’ primary goal is to establish and operate an educational system and educational programs which conform to the Massachusetts General Laws and the regulations of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the state education agency that oversees public education.
Student achievement is our most important responsibility. We have duties that are granted to us as a legislative body, including formulating and adopting policy, selecting an executive officer to implement policy, and to evaluate the results. In order to do that, we have the following specific responsibilities:
- setting educational goals and policies
- hiring and evaluating the superintendent of schools
- budget oversight
- curriculum approval
- collective bargaining
- policy and regulation development
- advocacy and representation
- community engagement
- facility oversight
Your favorite part of serving on the school committee: The people! From school administrators, teachers, personnel, and other school committee members to parents, community members, town officials, and state legislators.
Through my work I have met the most incredible human beings, many of whom have become my closest friends. There is a shared goal to work for the benefit of kids, which I consider a great honor.
What you hope to/have accomplished so far: My school committee ride has been an interesting one. Eight short months after joining the school committee, we were hit with a global pandemic. It made for interesting times. I am really proud of the work that we did to fully implement the multi-tiered system of support. We did this by allocating funds received from the state and federal government through the pandemic to hire the required staff to fully implement.
I was also on the school committee when the town held a special town meeting to approve the building of a new elementary school to replace the current Foster Elementary. It had been years in the making, since before I was on the committee. I am grateful to everyone who made this a reality, from previous town volunteers to current members and to the community for their continued support for our public schools. The new school is incredible! I will be smiling ear to ear when the students take their first steps into the new school in 2025.
My passion projects for the future would be to find a way to build in a vocational educational program. Not only would it give our students more opportunity to enter into these types of programs, but also could be a revenue-generating opportunity if the program was large enough to accept students from other communities.
My second passion project, which admittedly is harder to attain, would be to fix how education is funded at the state and federal levels.
What makes the Hingham Public Schools unique: We check all the boxes with a well-rounded curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, STEM, arts, humanities, social emotional learning, and extracurricular activities.
Despite budget challenges brought on by increased costs to special education tuition, utilities, transportation, facilities, supplies, materials, and salaries, HPS prioritizes retaining highly qualified and experienced faculty and leadership. We have a strong and involved community that values the reputation of our schools and provides an incredible level of support for our district.
Do you have children or pet(s)? I have three children — two daughters who are currently in their senior and junior years in high school and a son in eighth grade.
My fur babies include Luna and Bruno. Luna was so named as she was born under a full moon on Halloween. Little did we know she would live up to the characteristics of Luna Lovegood. . . . she is loyal and has a unique style. Classmates of Luna called her “Loony.” I couldn’t run enough miles with our Loony to calm her down, so Bruno came to save our furniture and remote controls.
What makes the Hingham community special? First and foremost, the people! There is a real sense of community here in Hingham that I love. I also love our form of government. I didn’t fully appreciate it until I was on the school committee. I grew up in a city, with a mayor. Here in Hingham, our government is predominantly run by volunteers, with final decisions made by residents attending the annual town meeting. Town Meeting is the purest form of democratic government, giving a voice to any registered voter who attends.
What do you enjoy most doing in your spare time? Exercising! I was an avid runner until I broke a toe. These days I am enjoying different Taylor Swift and Wicked Peloton rides.
Favorite Hingham restaurant and meal: Oh my, that is a loaded question. We are so fortunate to have so many amazing restaurants here in town. I guess it depends on who I am eating with. For Friday pizza night with the family, Crow Point. For breakfast/brunch with the family, Stars. I would opt for a Cobb salad there — best ever. For dinner with my husband, Joe, the Scarlet Oak Tavern. We typically like to order several appetizers to share. For lunch/dinner for a girls’ night out, Square Café. And finally, for meeting people for coffee, Redeye Roasters. My splurge there is salted caramel latte.
Favorite Hingham local spot: I love the natural beauty we get to enjoy here in Hingham. I recognize that many enjoy living in a seaside community. I love Hingham for its tree-lined streets, farm lands, and state parks with acres of trails to walk and hike. My dogs and I enjoy our daily walks through these trails.
Favorite vacation destination: Paris, France
Do you have a hidden talent? Most know me as an accountant with an auditing background, but I love to dance. I started dancing at the age of three. While I enjoy many forms of dance, tap dancing is my favorite. I dusted off my tap shoes for a few years recently and am looking forward to taking more classes to enjoy it again soon.
Interesting fact about yourself that others may not know about: Growing up my first language was French as my parents are Canadian. By the time I got to school, I didn’t speak much French. My mom would speak to me in French, and I would answer in English. My mom has Alzheimer’s. I noticed that she started speaking to me in French more. Worried that she will revert to French only, I started taking French lessons. I always took French when I was in school, through my college days. I have enjoyed getting back to it and being able to read simple novels in French again.