Education

I’m a proud product of four Boston Public Schools and graduated from Boston Latin Academy. My teachers gave me everything I needed to succeed and I had an excellent education Grade 1 through 12. Quality, free, and local education is a necessity for any child’s chance in the world to achieve their fullest potential. The public schools in District One are working hard to provide quality education but students, parents, and teachers need targeted investments and support from our city government. I intend to be a champion for public education across the district and for all Bostonians.

Currently, in the Boston Public School system, there is a lot of uncertainty around enrollment, leadership, and if our children will receive an excellent education. We need to have targeted investments in our classrooms that provide stability and assurance to retain families in Boston. As City Councilor, I will utilize my new budgetary authority to fight for targeted investments in the following areas:

Facilities Master Planning

Boston Public School facilities are a relic of mid-20th century growth in the City of Boston. They are rapidly deteriorating and provide less-than-desirable learning environments for our children. As a BPS student, I walked the hallways of four different schools that provided broken drinking fountains or fountains with lead water, bathrooms that were unusable, and classrooms that were physically crumbling.

BPS should be creating the conditions that allow young people to shine their brightest light. We need to expedite new construction as part of the $1 billion investment under BuildBPS. As we recover from the pandemic, it's our moral obligation to modernize BPS buildings to foster healthy learning environments and provide 21st-century classrooms. 

A district-wide, comprehensive BPS facilities master plan is critical in ensuring that buildings and classrooms remain hubs of innovation for students and teachers well into the future. A facilities master plan must focus on meeting the needs of English learners and students with disabilities, account for future enrollment numbers, and provide a clear roadmap with limited transitions for students and their families. It’s clear we are past time for the city to present the Boston School Committee, the new Superintendent, and the Boston City Council with a budget for a facilities overhaul. 

I’m pleased to see Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding being utilized for new HVAC systems in every school but I’d like to go a step further and require all classrooms to be retrofitted with Austin Air HEPA filters. Researchers should have full access to install these filters that remove 75-82% of ultrafine pollution particles and can also remove the COVID-19 virus from the air. I’d also like to ensure our own BPS buildings are contributing to our climate goals.  Any new school building school should meet “Passive House” standards and provide an opportunity for our kids to learn about the environment and climate change with green rooftop classrooms. 

As City Councilor, I will also support updated play structures for schoolyards, playfields, science labs, and library space which are all allowable expenses under ESSER guidelines. BPS has this funding for two more years and it’s an opportunity to invest in one-time capital improvements that contribute holistically to our children’s success.

In the Classroom

Retaining and Recruiting Talented Teachers

Recently, BPS released its historic FY23 $1.3 billion budget for review and it's an opportunity to reflect our values by investing directly in our students and staff members. There is currently a $2.3 million increase in the operating budget to pay for additional positions in the central office. We are struggling to retain and recruit teachers, paraprofessionals, bus monitors, and nurses that are necessary for a well-functioning school. There are significant vacancies that have yet to be filled and we need to spend every extra dollar on our classrooms. Students deserve to have stable classrooms, with as close to 1:1 instruction as possible, before BPS headquarters obtains that resource allocation. 

As City Councilor, I will push for prioritization for more money to spend on direct instruction and classroom support for children who need special accommodations and English language learners. It is still unclear how BPS will utilize new investments of $5 million in ESL and $6.7 million for special education and how these programs will ultimately provide the support system students require to be successful.

Developing a pipeline of educators and future leaders is a clear need now and will continue to be a priority in the future as the demand for educators of all positions has been predicted to far outnumber the candidates available in years to come. As City Councilor  I’d also like to see more money spent beyond the $800,000 allocated for recruitment with a mentorship program for student teachers to go from one to three years to help with the existing shortage. I will engage with the local universities and teacher preparation programs to develop pathways to employment with BPS to meet the diverse linguistic, cultural, and social-emotional needs of our students. Including measurable programming and partnerships with our local higher learning institutions will serve as a gateway to addressing the inequities in funding shortages (due to PILOT), and can begin to fortify the future BPS educator corps.

Early Literacy and Universal Pre-K

Early literacy is essential to setting our children up for success with the goal of fostering a love of reading and readiness to learn.  For our youngest children, I will push for the prioritization of early literacy in K0 through K2 to develop the foundational literacy skills, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary they need to become engaged readers with self-expression. Early learning should be accessible for all families and I’d like to see an expansion of true universal pre-K for all three-year-olds past the existing pilot program for just a limited number of children.

Expanding early childhood education is essential to ensure every child an excellent education at an early age that provides access to high-quality early learning opportunities. I’m pleased to see Mayor Wu expand universal, affordable, high-quality early education with the creation of the Office of Early Childhood. Early investments in children and families will help to close achievement and opportunities gaps that we’ve seen start at an early age. Expanding UPK is a matter of economic justice for both families and childcare providers alike. It presents an option for working families without forcing them to leave the workforce and allows an economic pathway toward entrepreneurship for individuals starting a small business in childcare. 

And even before our youngest students arrive in our preschool and pre-Kindergarten classrooms, we know there is more that we can do to connect services for families in preparation to enter our classrooms. As City Councilor I will partner with organizations in East Boston, the North End, and Charlestown to ensure smooth transitions for our youngest community members from birth to enrollment in Kindergarten. Deliberately connecting families to resources available from MGH, the Kennedy Center, YMCA, EBNHC, and EBSC will only strengthen the educational experience of our students.

College and Career Readiness 

For college and career readiness, we need to expand pathways and programs at both Charlestown High School and East Boston High Schools. As City Councilor, I will push for strong partnerships with a focus on providing career pathways to incoming 7th and 9th graders through real-world and on-the-job training. We should be offering dual enrollment courses that provide college credit and/or project-based learning which ultimately provides an easier transition past BPS. Additional summer learning and work experiences can be added to our high school programming to expand exposure to career options. I will push for greater investments into expanding access to vocational partnerships, innovation pathways, and advanced placement courses to build readiness for 21st-century careers. We will focus on the future of learning in ways that meet the needs of our students and prepares them for the future of work in our ever-evolving society.

Closing Opportunity Gaps

As City Councilor, I will fight for targeted investments to the Office of Opportunity Gaps to build staff capacity to best advocate for children who are systematically marginalized to thrive both academically and in their personal lives. It is incredibly important to reverse structural and cultural inequities in BPS and I’d like to build on their work to expand programming and provide greater autonomy in implementing innovative system-wide policies.  East Boston in particular has the highest Latinx and English Learner populations in the City, and investments must match the needs of these traditionally marginalized student populations.

Emphasizing the Arts

I deeply believe in the power of art to build value in a community, bring people together, and provide a platform for dialogue. Art and creativity inspire us to make changes for the critical social and environmental issues we and our planet are facing. Let’s prioritize arts education in our schools to spur creativity and provide emotional outlets for expression. As City Councilor, I will prioritize investments in music, arts and new media,  dance, and musical theater. We should be partnering with community organizations like Zumix, HarborArts, NEMPAC, Charlestown Working Theatre, and many others to foster environments for children who are seeking careers in the Arts to have direct access to artists here in Boston.

Charlestown High School

A prospectus was recently submitted to the Boston School Committee to designate Charlestown High School as an innovation school that would provide administrators full autonomy of its budget, policies, and curriculum. There were many strengths in the proposal that expanded career and college readiness through dual enrollment and AP classes, individualized learning plans, and created pathways for D1 students to address declining enrollment in our school system.

While the school committee ultimately rejected the proposal and created a task force, all stakeholders agreed that we must activate all voices in this process, build trust in the Charlestown community, accelerate learning, and center equity. We can identify a path forward that builds on the strengths of this proposal while planning for the inclusion of all families in the discussion to ultimately improve the quality of education at Charlestown High.

Outside the Classroom

The COVID-19 pandemic has isolated our children from their peers and a supportive ecosystem of teachers and counselors. The physical and mental health, as well as the socio-emotional wellness of our children, need to be a priority as we deal with this ongoing public health crisis.

Socio-emotional and Mental Health Supports

The Office of Health and Wellness is doing its best to promote the social, emotional, and physical health and wellness of our kids but it needs substantial investments.  I’d like to strengthen partnerships with community-based organizations to increase student and family access to services for socio-emotional health and well-being. We should also be creating transitional programs for students with mental health-related absences returning to school. Additionally, let’s engage our community partners to create transitional programs, partnering with CBO’s, for students with mental health or behavioral-related absences returning to school. 

Let’s also explore parent-teacher home visiting programs to build positive relationships between home and school.

Wraparound Services

Many students and their families are affected by housing instability which not only causes disruptions to their education but trauma. Children who are experiencing homelessness are more likely to have poorer academic performance, developmental delay, sickness, and behavioral health problems. I’d like to ensure there are greater investments in arranging for wraparound services to be provided at schools and research to take place regarding student outcomes and achievements. School administrators should be provided the necessary resources like additional clothing/toiletries and be empowered to collaborate to assist a family in-need of immediate assistance.

Mentorship and After School Programming

Our children are incredibly resilient and have provided support for one another despite being apart due to the pandemic. There is significant value in providing opportunities for older students to become youth mentors, especially in a 7th to 12th-grade school. Youth mentorship participants report higher self-esteem and self-confidence which are essential life skills to be successful over the long term. Additionally, students in youth mentorship are likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities and embarking on a positive career trajectory. There should be an emphasis on empowering students to uplift one another with support from school leaders in providing resources and spaces to create a sense of community in every school.

An extension of the school day with programs at the Boys and Girls Club or BCYF sites like Paris Street Gym or the Nazzaro Center provides space for kids to advance their learning and spend time with their cohorts. It also provides flexibility to working families and peace of mind that their child is supervised and receiving help with their academics. As City Councilor, I will work with community-based organizations and partners already doing incredible work to expand their programs and provide a safe space for students to thrive after-school. I’d also like to look into dual programming for parents and families during this time, including expanding citizenship and ESL classes in the evening. 

Future of our Public Schools

The Boston Public Schools community has an opportunity to chart a new course with the upcoming departure of Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. The hiring of another superintendent must align a broader vision for BPS that is inclusive of all families, teachers, administrators, and students.  BPS should be able to articulate if they will still be implementing the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan or if we intend to reset to account for the effects due to the pandemic. Whatever the plan is, it needs to inform the search for a new superintendent and we must align qualifications for who we believe will be the most successful in carrying out that specific vision. We need to understand and embrace the input from the end-users and stakeholders (students, families, and educators) of Boston Public Schools to help identify the qualities of an ideal candidate and establish SMART goals for the first year, three years, and five years of the new administration.

At this moment, there are many uncertainties surrounding BPS: a new superintendent, state intervention, elected school committee, and high resignation of school officials. The challenges BPS faces are structural and require proven leadership with the ability to focus on big picture strategy while also executing the day-to-day operations that serve families every day. A new superintendent must look towards the future in a post-pandemic world where our schools are fully recovering by utilizing ESSER funds for targeted programs, prioritizing investments in facilities, addressing declining enrollment patterns, and eliminating achievement gaps. And most importantly, the new leader of BPS should be wholeheartedly focused on teaching and learning, as well as the experience of our students in each school and in every classroom.

I look forward to working with families, students, teachers, and the entire BPS community to ensure we are investing in the future of our children and providing them every opportunity to succeed with an excellent, world-class education.