Who better to solve problems in a Delaware Valley school district than a student?
That’s the premise of Jacob Rudolph’s candidacy for the Lower Merion School Board.
Rudolph, 17, will graduate from Harriton High School this spring. He told DVJournal he has the “energy, optimism, and enthusiasm” needed to be a good board member. And, “as a soon-to-be former student, I know what needs to be done to improve it,” he said.
Rudolph will turn 18 before taking office, if elected.
“I really want to crack down on antisemitism in the school district, make special education easier to access for those who need it, and to generally refocus the board on the families and students it is to be serving,” Rudolph said.
His experience with the special education department was his main impetus for running. Rudolph was identified as gifted and had always been an A student. He began struggling with school about three years ago. It turned out he also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the district delayed recognizing that. Only after his parents hired a lawyer did “the district finally agreed to give me my services. By that point, I had lost over a year of education.”
Talking with his lawyer, Rudolph learned the same thing happens frequently with other students in the district.
“I realized so many other students are being denied a free and public education, which is outlined in the law, by Lower Merion School District. I knew that something needed to be done to stop this.
“And like the antisemitism, it really seemed that the only way this could be stopped is if there is a policy and mission change from the top, the school board itself,” he said.
“School boards should be putting families and students first. Right now, they’re not. There’s a lot of politics (among) the school board, and I think the focus should be on the kids and the education they’re getting,” he said. The board is involved in “general infighting.”
Asked what the board could do to stop antisemitism, Rudolph said last fall there was an incident with a board member who made an antisemitic remark, and the rest of the board did not “call it out.”
“There shouldn’t be any antisemitism in the school district, especially from the top because the tone is set from the top,” said Rudolph.
As a high school student, a classmate “spewed some very antisemitic vitriol toward me,” he said. “It was based on centuries-old stereotypes about Jews. And when I reported it to the district, their response was lackluster, at best.”
They talked to the other student but never “debriefed” Rudolph. “There needs to be a cultural shift within the district.”
The district is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education after a complaint about antisemitic incidents was filed in January.
Rudolph has cross-filed as both a Democrat and Republican on the primary ballot.
The Gladwyne resident has lived in Lower Merion his entire life. He enjoys reading, rowing, swimming, and going to the beach.
“I’ve been swimming for as long as I can remember,” he said.
If elected, he plans to take a gap year before starting college and then attend a local school to continue his duties on the school board for the entire four-year term. Asked about his possible career, Rudolph said he’s interested in cybersecurity. He has competed for the last three years in a cybersecurity competition at Lockheed Martin.
His younger brother, Charles, is in 8th grade. His parents are behind his run for office. His dad, Michael, is his campaign manager, and his mom, Sarah, thinks it’s “awesome and cool.”
Rudolph said his goals as a school board member would be to “crack down on antisemitism, reform the special education department, and make the curriculum more well-rounded and make a cultural change to put each student first.”
On a lighter note, Rudolph would also like to bring back the school Halloween parades, which were “some of the happiest memories of my childhood.”
