jackiedoherty.org

I have seen firsthand the difference a group of people united around a cause can make—in my neighborhood with the Friends of Tyler Park and in my life as an involved member of the Citywide Parent Council (which ultimately led me to run for school committee). The Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) is a group with some clout among state leaders and legislators, and as an advocate for better public schools, I got involved with the organization as soon as I was elected. First, I completed the MASC orientation training required by law for incoming members.  Then I became a member of the advocacy subcommittee. I have also served for two years as the Lowell delegate voting on MASC resolutions (more on resolutions in a later post). At its November conference, I was elected Chair of the MASC Urban Division, leading one of nine divisions of the organization. The division includes sister cities such as Worcester, Haverhill, Framingham, Somerville etc—many of whom share similar challenges around educating urban populations. Lowell will host our first division meeting in March, which will focus on the needs of English Language Learners (ELL). As a gateway city, the district is well suited to lead this discussion since Lowell has the highest population of non-English-speaking students, and they perform better than the state average. That said, there is much work to be done because this population is also the most at-risk to fail or drop out of school.  As chair, the new role affords me the opportunity to lead efforts with other, like-minded MASC members to improve educational opportunities for urban youth. It will also bring some much-deserved recognition to the expertise Lowell schools have, particularly in meeting the needs of our newcomer students. I welcome the opportunity and the challenge to continue to unite people around causes that impact positive change in our schools.