Education

I will prioritize working toward gaining local control. To do this, I plan to work with the receiver to understand our benchmarks we need to achieve for local control. I also want to make sure we continue the district’s progress on equity and inclusion by making available the dual-immersion program in every school in the district. Every student is a language learner and this program creates equity and achieves unity between the cultures of our City. Additionally, I want to form strategic partnerships in our community that will advance the arts and sports in our schools. Lastly, I look forward to implementing a robust and feasible plan to provide a better middle school environment for our youth.  

My Experience

When I served on the school board, I was thrilled to support efforts to implement the dual language program in our City recognizing that 80% of the student body population are of Puerto Rican/Latin descent. A pilot model started at Metcalf with preschool kids and expanded to include additional grades every year thereafter. Today, the program is now at three of our district elementary schools providing an opportunity for Holyoke youth to be bi-literate and bilingual in English and Spanish. We need to continue to expand this program at every school so that all children in every corner of our city can take advantage of this opportunity. I have also been an advocate for the need for a middle school experience for our youth and I look forward to making this a top priority as I work toward strengthening the city’s financial position.