Janey to pick from list of six
Panel submits contenders for school board
Acting Mayor Kim Janey will soon be filling the two vacant seats on the school committee from a list of six candidates selected by a nominating panel of parents, teachers and community stakeholders.
The candidates include Ruby Reyes, Rafaela Polanco, Jose Lopez, Lorena Lopera, Rashmi Tiwari and Michael Williams. The list was made official during a Wednesday meeting of the 13-member nominating panel.
Janey will interview candidates on Friday and have 15 days to make her selection.
Ruby Reyes is a Dorchester resident and the executive director of the Boston Education Justice Alliance. The organization works with Boston Public Schools teachers and families to push for a more equitable district.
Rafaela Polanco is a South Boston resident and manager of parent engagement at St. Stephen’s Youth Programs. Polanco is from the Dominican Republic and holds degrees in legal studies, business law and economic development, according to her bio on the St. Stephen’s website.
Laurie Ciardi, chair of the nominating panel, mentioned she had received at least 30 emails from community members in support of Jose Lopez.
Lopez is a former teacher and Roxbury resident. He serves as treasurer of the Talented and Gifted Latino Program at UMass Boston, which serves kids in BPS.
Lorena Lopera is a BPS parent and executive director of Massachusetts at Latinos for Education. Lopera immigrated from Colombia and grew up as an English language learner in school, as she shared in her interview. She is a Boston College graduate.
Rashmi Tiwari, a Roxbury resident and BPS parent, is a consultant and science writer. Tiwari previously served as an investigator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Roxbury resident Michael Williams is a program officer with Nellie Mae Education Foundation that works to advance education opportunities for youth.
Williams is a Harvard graduate, according to his bio on the Nellie Mae website, and a trustee for the Grove Hall Trust, a foundation aimed at improving the quality of life in Boston’s Grove Hall neighborhood.
The Boston School Committee has been operating with just five members instead of seven since last month when two members resigned over inflammatory text messages.
Acting mayors in Boston cannot make permanent appointments, so whoever Janey chooses to fill the seats will only serve as long as she is serving. If Janey is not elected mayor, it will be up to the new administration to decide whether her selections stay on the committee.
Nominating panel members asked each candidate if they are willing to serve beyond Janey’s remaining time as acting mayor, to which they said yes.