Fort Lee parent and biology professor Margarita Vigodner is on a mission: to take a stand in the Fort Lee school district. As the Board of Education elections approach quickly, Vigodner shared what led her to the decision to run — including the exact moment when she realized things needed to change — and her vision for a well-educated and well-supported student body.

Margarita Vigodner boasts a robust resume as an educator: she has been a professor of biology at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women since 2006, with a secondary appointment at Albert Einstein Medical College. In addition to teaching several courses, Vigodner also runs a research laboratory focused on reproductive biology funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Vigodner also comes equipped as an active Fort Lee parent, with a 24-year-old daughter who has since moved through the district and a son who is a current student at Fort Lee High School. The scientist and mother of two has always been vocal about issues in the district, namely the lackluster STEM curriculum and the widespread teacher shortage. But as things intensified in the district, especially with a growing presence of politics in the classroom, Vigodner has ultimately decided to take things one step further by bidding for a seat on Board Education.

She recalled her turning point as the recent turmoil surrounding a history presentation given at Fort Lee High School, which portrayed the events of October 7 as an “armed resistance movement” led by Hamas. The presentation called October 7 a “clash,” and described Hamas as a “political party,” failing to mention its designation as a terrorist organization. As an active parent of a Fort Lee High School student, Vigodner made it a point to attend the Board of Education meeting on June 3 and voice her concern about the blatant antisemitism and the board’s failure to respond to the incident appropriately, namely the condemnation of Hamas propaganda in school.

“I felt like we were always a town of common sense,” Vigodner shared with The Jewish Link. “But lately, it’s felt like we’ve moved in the wrong direction; I had heard of incidents of antisemitism before, but [this presentation] was the culmination of it all.”

Vigodner emigrated to the United States over twenty years ago, after escaping Soviet Russia in 1990 and living for several years in Israel. She explained that her background makes the incident with the pro-Hamas presentation all the more disturbing, noting that she left Russia to “get away from communism and antisemitism” only to find it right here, in Fort Lee. “Of course it affects me.”

She shared that in addition to her familiarity with discrimination, she is also familiar with terrorism; during her residence in Israel, Vigodner was present on the day of the 2005 suicide bombing of HaSharon Mall in Netanya, narrowly escaping certain death by a matter of seconds. “I don’t need to be told what Hamas is…they’re terrorists. But of course, [October 7] is ‘just resistance.’ I made it a point to speak at the Board of Education meeting to educate others about why Hamas is not an organization to support.”

To rectify the misinformation spread at Fort Lee High School, Vigodner reached out to the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey and several other organizations, requesting more information about their antisemitism and diversity training for schools. Despite Vigodner’s advocacy, the Board of Education has yet to follow up or implement this training within the district – though they claim to still be “in talks” about it. “I want to prioritize bringing diversity training into our schools,” Vigodner shared. “[Everyone] needs to understand that there is a difference between criticizing the government of Israel and supporting Hamas. There’s really no place for that type of hate and antisemitism.”

As both a parent and a science professor, Vigodner also has some concerns about the curriculum, specifically in Fort Lee’s STEM education. “I have many issues with the students’ academic performance, especially in science and mathematics. We need to focus on improving the curriculum, as well as getting students up to their grade level.” Vigodner believes that in addition to improving the curriculum, STEM competency could also be vastly improved with hands-on research partnerships with local colleges and universities, giving students the opportunity to get more experience as they prepare for higher education.

According to Vigodner, many of these shortcomings in the district are due to a teacher shortage, which Vigodner has committed to addressing if elected. “We have no teachers in certain classrooms,” she shared. “Some teachers report not being treated well by the district, and we need to address that…we need to support our teachers however we can.”

Vigodner is also concerned with some of the other Board of Education candidates’ proposals to eliminate Zoom participation in meetings. “There are some good things we’ve learned from the pandemic, including Zoom,” she said. “Whether it’s parents who have a long commute from the city, single parents who cannot leave the house or those who just have other things going on, Zoom offers the opportunity for them to call in and voice their opinions. It’s critical that we maintain accessibility for parents and keep conversations open.”

Vigodner is running alongside Goksun Deniz, a Turkish resident of Fort Lee who shares similar passions for academic excellence, parent participation and multicultural respect. “[Deniz] is also frustrated with how the Board of Education has handled criticism. She doesn’t want politics in the classroom; we put this agenda together as a team because we both believe in it.”

With a running mate who supports her vision, Vigodner is confident she will be able to see her vision through and make the changes necessary to improve Fort Lee schools. Her campaign, however, has faced immense challenges; many parents are afraid to voice their support for Vigodner and her running mate because of visceral hate from the opposition. “There’s so much harassment and bullying out there. It’s a crazy world,” she stated. “People really should not be afraid to speak up…and hate should not be tolerated. That’s very important.”

Vote for Margarita Vigodner for Fort Lee Board of Education in Column 3 and Goksun Deniz in Column 1.

Channa Fischer is digital editor of The Jewish Link and the resident 20-something in the office. She resides in Washington Heights.