Hi, I’m Candace Jusino. I am a wife & working mom of two daughters. I’m running to become an Appoquinimink School Board Member to amplify the voices of students, parents & educators. To advocate for the education of all children of the district while remaining fiscally responsible as I learned as a young mom how to take a little and make it a lot.  From my own difficult experiences and those of my family, friends, and other connections in our school district, I know how tough it can be to raise children struggling with issues like anxiety, depression, and learning differences.  I want to help all children create and achieve their educational goals by advocating to create and maintain programs that can reach all of our children.

My journey into motherhood began when I became pregnant six weeks before my high school graduation at Brooklyn Technical H.S.  This moment really defined my adult life, when we decided to make the hard choices and delay college to work full time and support our daughter. Although I don’t promote this path, I don’t regret a moment when my husband and I worked hard, and made tough decisions to be self-sufficient at 19 years old, as we always gave 100% to our girls, while also growing to be the best version of ourselves for them every day. 

I am a bilingual Afro-Latina daughter of educators.  My mother was a 7th grade Bilingual-Ed Brooklyn teacher, my father taught Phys Ed and advocated for the inclusion of African American history in his school’s curriculum.  Growing up, dinner topics included discussions on strategies to provide children with learning disabilities and low-income backgrounds with comprehensive educational opportunities and provide the skills needed to understand how to take advantage of them.

My husband and I have lived in Middletown for almost 8 years.  Our 24-year-old daughter graduated last year from the University of Delaware and has just started an exciting new job in healthcare in her field of Neuroscience, a testament to the importance of a strong STEM education and the opportunities it offers.  We also have a 14-year-old 8th grader at Alfred G. Waters Middle School.  

My career started in the financial and legal industries, but for the past ten years  I’ve been involved with the non-profit Public Allies of Delaware (a program of the Biden School at the University of Delaware), first joining their program as an Ally where I learned how to mobilize community assets to develop solutions to local challenges, then joining their staff as a Program Coordinator and now also as a Recruiter.  In my role I recruit and train talented emerging leaders who have a passion for social impact so we can work together to create meaningful change in our community.