Oswego, NY – Julie Chetney, Sean Callen and Kristin Norfleet recently announced their candidacies for the May 16th elections to the Oswego City School District Board of Education.
Each of the three candidates have played active roles in the community and school district as volunteer leaders, parents, coaches, and advocates.
“We are very excited to announce our respective candidacies for the openings on the Board of Education,” said Chetney. “We greatly appreciate all of the support and feedback we have garnered in the community over the past several weeks, and hope to serve the students, faculty and families across the district.”
Julie Chetney
Julie Chetney was born and raised in Oswego, and was a former Kingsford Park Student, and Oswego High School Class of 1989 Graduate. She attended SUNY Oswego and has a degree in Psychology with a minor in Human Service. She has been married to her husband Brian for 25 years, and they have four children who have all attended Oswego schools: Claudia 22 (a current KPS 2nd Grade teacher), Jake 21 (finishing his junior year at RIT), Alex, a recent Oswego High School Class of 2022 graduate, and Nate, a current 6th grader at Kingsford Park.
Chetney has worked for St. Luke Health Services for 26 years and is currently the Director of Senior Services. Her children have led much of her involvement over the years as a community member and involved parent. She is the 2005 founding member of the Oswego County Autism Task Force and remains active today. She has been a member of the Kingsford Park Home and School Association for 18 years, where she is the current Co-President. Chetney is also a youth soccer coach; member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians; Buc Booster Board Member; and a New Visions Advisory Board Member.
“As a district board member, it will be my goal to represent all students and their needs. Having had four all very different children, I have been involved with our district in every level, and in every corner,” Chetney said. “I have had children who take advanced placement courses, have IEP’s, have 504 plans, special needs, medical needs, play instruments, sang in the chorus, played sports, some at the top of their class, and some that barely got through school. It is my goal to use my experience to stand and support all students and programs that allow for diverse opportunity. I believe as a district is it our responsibility to meet the variety of needs of our student population inside and outside the classroom.”
Chetney also added, “It is also a goal to ensure that we as a district support all evolving needs of the teachers in the classroom to allow them to teach in a safe environment and teach effectively. Lastly as a native of this community I simply want to be part of a team that helps our district improve and be better. I’ve seen our district be faced with many challenges in the past few years— it’s my goal to improve and make it extraordinary. Something we can be proud of. A district that people want to be part of.”
Sean Callen
Sean Callen is a native of Oswego, having attended Minetto Elementary, Oswego Middle School, and was a 1991 graduate of the Oswego High School. He is married to wife Aimee, and they have three children; Matthew (who just finished his second year at Coastal Carolina Univ.), Catherine Rose (who is a Senior at Oswego High School), and Daniel (currently a Freshman at Oswego High School).
Callen graduated with a B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from SUNY Alfred in 1995. He started earning his master’s degree in education at SUNY Oswego but had an opportunity to join a global technical sales company in Boston, that ended his path to become a teacher at a Vocational High School.
He has worked at CS Automation, a sales company in the industrial automation industry, since 2008, and is the part owner and VP of Sales & Marketing.
“I love my job, which challenges me every day to develop growth goals and strategies, while also providing solutions to customer needs,” Callen said. “I can’t do my job without listening, so I look forward to applying that to a position within the Board of Education.”
Callen has spent many years coaching in youth programs within the Oswego Community, for soccer and basketball. He has served on the Harborfest Board of Directors, Move Along (Adaptive Sports) Board of Directors, Buc Boosters President and Board Member, and he also currently sits on the Oswego High School Steering Committee.
“I am very proud of the Oswego Community that I reside in and have for so many years. My entire family is very much part of the fabric that makes up our community,” he said. “I care, I am invested here, and I am very interested in being part of positive change and growth – it’s very rewarding to me. I would rather choose to get involved and contribute to solutions, versus complaining and being negative about situations.”
“Our goal is to create a culture shift that demands a safe environment for teachers, students, staff, and faculty, so that they can reach their goals and get back to enjoying their profession – making it a “good day” for everyone in our schools,” said Callen. “We believe an improved culture and spirit within our district will be the catalyst in bringing the good out in all within our OCSD Community.
“When you feel good, you do good. Listening and learning from our teachers, staff, and students is vital to establishing an improved culture & sense of pride,” he added.
Kristin Norfleet
Kristin Norfleet is originally from the Rochester area and graduated from the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Political Science and then Case Western Reserve University with a M.A. in Biomedical Ethics and a Doctor of Law. She moved to Oswego in fall 1999 after marrying her husband Eben.
They have two children who have grown up in the Oswego City School District. Their son Preston graduated from Oswego High School in 2022 and just completed his freshman year at the University of Florida. During his time at OHS he played varsity soccer and baseball and was very active in the Oswego Band program.
Their daughter Addison is an 8th grader at Oswego Middle School and currently plays volleyball and soccer and is a competition dancer. She is also very involved in the Oswego Band program.
Norfleet has been active in the school community serving as both secretary and now president of the OMS Home and School Association. In addition to volunteering her time in the school district, she has also volunteered as a soccer and t-ball coach, serves as the House Corporation Board President for Gamma Phi Beta Sorority at Syracuse University (mentoring students and managing the residential facility) and was on the Board of Directors for Helping Hounds Dog Rescue.
Norfleet is a senior litigation partner at Smith, Sovik, Kendrick & Sugnet, P.C., in Syracuse, having worked there for 23 years. In addition to representing clients throughout the State of New York, she also serves on the executive management committee, hiring committee and trains law students and new attorneys.
“Julie, Sean, and I are aligned in supporting the needs of students, teachers, staff, and the community. We believe we all deserve better than what the district has been and want to bring positive change. With a new superintendent coming in, now is the time help foster change and allow the school district to catch up with the renaissance our city has been experiencing,” Norfleet said.
According to each of the candidates, they want to connect our Oswego Community to the Oswego City School District, learning what additional resources can be leveraged to improve the teaching environment, allowing teachers to feel more accomplishment/achievement in what they do every single day.
The candidates strongly believe there is Oswego Community brainpower and invested professionals that want to make every day better for our teachers, students, and staff, and that they can contribute to making that connection to build Oswego Community trust & support for teachers and staff.
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