Opinion: A baton-pass on the School Committee and a call to action

“Who wants to run for School Committee”: a question I’ve been asking — maybe even of you, reader — since my second term on the board began in January 2021. A strong proponent of term limits (aren’t almost all of us?), I believe eight years is enough when it comes to School Committee service. Yet as the only New Bedford Public Schools parent and one of just two women on the committee of seven, I’ve been seeking a successor who shares those perspectives — and more importantly, a commitment to putting our students first in decision-making — ever since. I’m thrilled that at least two engaged civic leaders, including a mother of NBPS students, have raised their hands to run this year. Accordingly, I’m eager to step aside and make way for new voices at the table.

It’s an understatement to say our district is in good hands with Superintendent Andrew O’Leary. Our committee wisely resisted calls for a national search by elevating someone who spent years building up the district from the inside, including as a NBPS parent himself. Mr. O’Leary shows our students what leadership looks like, whether he’s standing up for students from immigrant families or raising a Pride flag to show our LGBTQ+ students and staff know they belong here.

I’m far more hopeful in the direction of NBPS than when my first term began in 2017. But like in that year, public education is under attack while the opportunity gap for New Bedford kids remains vast. With children in our schools until 2037, I have high expectations for continued progress and know our district can deliver. I hope our next School Committee will activate our forthcoming strategic plan intentionally; deepen its understanding of why student and family voice matters — and then invest in elevating it; and take responsibility for ensuring our schools are a place students, staff, and families want to be.

While the school district continues the complex job ahead, the rest of us have parts to play. First, for parents and staff: let’s advocate more! I’m surprised at how little outreach School Committee members get, and often it comes too late. If you find yourself thinking, “It shouldn’t be this way,” whether about resources you need in the classroom or the experience your child is having, we need to hear about it.

To complement this, more robust media coverage can help the community better understand gaps and opportunities in public education. Parents and caregivers are less interested in articles seeking smoking guns; we simply need a clearer picture of what’s working and what’s missing. Recent coverage of our arts program expansion is a welcome example of what’s needed; misleadingly suggesting 8,000 enriching books — actually outdated textbooks from the 1990s — were removed from a library is not.

Next, let’s ease some burdens of School Committee service. Rather than onerous citywide elections, we could consider a district-based system — perhaps one that aligns with our middle schools — that strengthens neighborhood representation. The power of incumbency means people tend to run only when a seat is vacated, making term limits an easy answer (though one the City Council is unlikely to implement voluntarily). Certainly pay should be on the table. The responsibilities are significant, and peer cities recognize that with annual stipends of $7,200 in Fall River and $12,000 in Taunton.

Finally, NBPS can’t advance student outcomes alone, particularly when kids spend less than 20 percent of their time in school. Let’s ask a bigger question: what would it take for New Bedford to be a great place to be — and raise — a kid?

No single entity has taken responsibility for answering that question, leaving parents and caregivers to navigate a patchwork of programs with limited spots, varied hours, and unaffordable fees on their own. Rather than wring our hands about the consequences of this, from social media addiction to the kids blasting down our streets on illegal scooters, what if we reframe that 80 percent as our biggest, unrealized opportunity to support young people? 

Cities like Somerville have done just that with a Children’s Cabinet that aligns city government, the school district, and community partners around shared priorities, while Cambridge’s Agenda for Children creates pathways to ensure all kids have safe, engaging places to learn beyond the classroom walls. Imagine how much we all gain when we intentionally unlock opportunity for our young neighbors, rather than leaving them to their own, often literal, devices. 

Colleen Dawicki is a member of the New Bedford School Committee.