Why do I want to be superintendent of schools in Boston?
Seventy-six percent of our kids are black or Latino.
Thirty-two percent are English-language learners.
Twenty-one percent are students with disabilities.
Seventy-one percent are economically disadvantaged.
And I was one of them!
In the winter of 1977, after going back and forth from Boston to the Dominican Republic, my mother decided that it was time to settle permanently here. We arrived in Boston with empty hearts and no plan. Even though I was a 5-year-old boy, I will never forget not knowing a word of English and having to live in a housing development until my mother could find a job and a better home for my four siblings and me.
Our saving grace was education. Every day, my mother gathered us together around the table to make sure we did our homework. Her mantra: “Tienen que estudiar, es su unica salvacion” — You have to study, it’s your only salvation — and it still resonates with me every day.
Thanks to my mother’s determination and the support of amazing educators in the Boston Public Schools, my siblings and I have had a better life. While some kids in the 80s glorified Larry Bird and Jim Rice, our heroes became our loving elementary school teachers and principals: Ginny Dunn, Mirta Torres, Margarita Muniz, Sid Smith and Mike Contompasis. Those were our real heroes and we aspired to be just like them. Tireless champions for Boston!
When I graduated from college, there was no doubt in my mind what lay ahead for me. It was time to give back. After two years of National Service with AmeriCorps, I became a teacher at English High School for six years. I taught five different subjects and in the process learned to speak a little Somali, Arabic and Albanian. I even became a Boston Teacher of the Year.
After a yearlong principal fellowship, I became headmaster of a school that served kids just like me, who did not speak a word of English when they arrived in the U.S. Thanks to our dedicated and caring staff, we transformed Boston International from a program into the first fully accredited high school for English-language learners in Boston.
In 2010, I became superintendent of schools in Randolph. At the time, the Randolph schools were in danger of being taken over by the state. I understood the seriousness of the matter and knew that it was the right thing to take on this challenge. Thanks to the hard work of teachers, administrators, parents and town officials, we made many academic gains for our kids, especially for the elementary schools.
For the last six years, I have had the incredible opportunity to serve as head of school for a philanthropy-based school that serves kids that are 88 percent economically disadvantaged, 92 percent non-white and 50 percent from single-parent homes.
Despite these challenges, thanks to the wonderful staff, incredible board of trustees and our greater Boston partners, 100 percent of our kids have graduated for many years in a row and since 2014 over 70 percent have graduated from college.
We have found a way to close the achievement and opportunity gap with love and teamwork. I love the city of Boston and with your help, I aim to eliminate the achievement and opportunity gap with One Boston, One Focus and Great Schools For All.
