Who is Annette Brooks?

Who is Annette Brooks? I think (hope) I am ever evolving – always learning and changing as I age. But here is what I can say about how I started out. Later I’ll go into who I am today and why I think I would be successful on the Roxbury Board of Ed.

Born in Hoboken, NJ, I am the youngest of 5 children born to Joan and Dominick Angione. I grew up in North Bergen, NJ – lived there for all but 21 months of my life when my father tried to take us out of the city and into the country to live. Turns out we liked the city and quickly moved back!

My dad was an Italian immigrant who is an incredible man. My grandfather came to the US when my father was only 13, so my father quit school after the 8th grade to help earn money to support his family while my grandfather tried to prepare for the whole family to come to the US. I guess this is why he always took education so seriously. There was no question growing up if we would go to some type of school after High School - whether it be college or a trade school. My oldest brother was an accountant, my 2 sisters – a teacher and a nurse. My other brother and I were only two years apart so he was still trying to “find himself” when I was graduating HS. In my dad’s mind there was no choice of careers for me – there were only three careers for women – a teacher, a nurse, or a secretary. He had the teacher and the nurse – I should be the secretary. When I said I wanted to go to college for computers he wasn’t too pleased – but my mom had always pushed him to remember we weren’t in Italy – and being a girl didn’t mean I couldn’t have a different type of career. So – off to Montclair State I went for a BS in Computer Science.

My parents had a very different relationship. My father, although very old country Italian, was forced to Americanize himself for the sake of his family. My mother refused to let anything hold us back from our dreams. I was a lucky child – my father worked long, hard hours at the Maxwell House factory in Hoboken so my mother could stay home with us. Family was everything to them. 55 years later they are still happily married.

What did my parents teach me? They taught me to never take anything at face value – to always challenge the system. My father’s old country beliefs could have held me back – but my mother taught me to challenge him for what I really believed in. If I felt strongly about something, I should make my case for it. There were two sides to every story – and if I truly believed in something, then I should be able to convince others of why. They also taught me that no decision should be made without understanding the consequences of your actions. Making a decision means you are making a choice. Without completely understanding all sides of the decisions, you cannot completely understand the consequences. So – RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!

They taught me that everyone needs to succeed at the highest level they can achieve. My father quit school in 8th grade, he was a blue collar worker, but it did not stop him from providing us with a beautiful home, and an incredible family life. We were all taught that it was ok to not get an A in every class – as long as we were trying our best. It was ok to drop out of a higher level class if it was too hard, but it was also ok to stay in that class and push ourselves to maintain a decent grade. Regardless of what class we took or what grade we received, they just needed to be sure it was our best effort. Each of us was different – some excelled, some struggled.

Last, they taught me to always live by your reputation. You can’t change who you are – so always live in a way that you are proud of what people think when they hear your name. They expected that of us as children – I truly hope I have lived up to their expectations and made them proud of me.

All in all, I have challenged myself to be as good of a parent as I feel my parents were. Family, education, and your reputation – the three things that were most important to them, and now are the basis of everything I believe in.