Lopera to step down from Boston school board
Boston School Committee member Lorena Lopera will step down at the end of June after two years on the board, she announced at Wednesday night’s meeting.
Lopera is joining EdVestors, a local education nonprofit that helps fund Boston schools, as vice president for advancement and external relations, she said.
“Being a School Committee member requires endless energy, mental and physical fortitude, and time,” Lopera said. “I only have so many hours in my day, and only so many evenings in my week, and I need to spend them with my kids fully engaged in family activity.”
Her term on the School Committee was set to expire in six months. Wednesday’s meeting was Lopera’s last on the committee.
Lopera, who moved to the United States from Colombia when she was 4, is a Boston Public Schools parent who prior to joining the committee served as the executive director of Latinos for Education, which works to create leadership pathways for Latinos working in education. She also worked with advocacy groups including Sociedad Latina, La Vida Inc., Building Excellent Schools, City Year, and the Posse Foundation, and cochaired the Hurley K-8 School Site Council.
Lopera was first appointed to the committee by acting Mayor Kim Janey in July 2021, alongside Rafaela Polanco Garcia. Lopera and Polanco Garcia were appointed to replace two members who stepped down after disparaging text messages sent between them during a committee meeting were made public.
When she took office, Mayor Michelle Wu reappointed both to serve the remainder of their terms, which end Jan. 1.
On the committee, Lopera has pressed the district for more transparency and for more action on improving schooling for multilingual learners in particular, but also largely has supported the administration’s proposals. She cochaired the search that ultimately brought Superintendent Mary Skipper to the district.
Skipper and the other members of the board praised Lopera and wished her the best in her new role at EdVestors.
“Since joining us in 2021, Ms. Lopera has been an invaluable member of the committee providing a critical parent voice,” chair Jeri Robinson said. “She always puts students and families at the center, and our district is stronger because of her work.”
The superintendent thanked Lopera for trusting her children to the district as students and noted they will continue to work together with Lopera in her new role with EdVestors, which spearheads programs such as its School on the Move prize and the BPS Arts Expansion Initiative.
“I have found that you think from a mom and a parent [lens], but also a professional lens,” Skipper said. “So you have pushed particularly around issues for multilingual learners, always being a champion, and certainly on our facilities work because you know its direct impact on families.”