The School Committee rubber stamped the vote, I guess they didn't care about Oiste's letter!

December 15, 2009

Nancy Lo
City of Boston School Committee
1 City Hall Plaza
Boston, MA 02111

Dear Ms. Lo:

On behalf of ¿Oíste? I am pleased to submit a letter of support of Mr. Kevin McCrea’s application to the Boston School Committee.

As you know, ¿Oíste? is the first and only statewide Latino political organization in Massachusetts. The mission of the organization is to advance the political, social and economic standing of Latinos in the state. We bring these goals to fruition through civic education, leadership development and advocacy. For the past three years, we have worked on building an advocacy campaign to address the drop-out rates, particularly within students of color. We also have been extremely active on the issue of English Language Learners (ELL) on local and statewide levels and are particularly concerned about the status of ELL in the Boston Public School system.

I am sure you are aware of the study done by the Mauricio Gaston Institute at UMass, Boston which describes the disproportionate amount of Latino students not graduating from Boston Public Schools. In early 2010, another study will be coming out on the state of English Language Learners in cities, including Boston. The statistics are severe.

Given the dire situation of Latino students in the Boston Public School system, we need a person on the School Committee that has a track record of ensuring accountability who is not afraid to ask the hard questions; a professional who has a solid foundation in finance and administration and can bring creative financial strategies to tackle our failing school system; and an individual who has evidenced passion about education and will fight tenaciously on behalf of all of Boston’s public school students. This person is Kevin McCrea.

We are certain that Mr. McCrea will be an asset to the Boston School Committee by challenging the status quo and proposing new, innovative ways to move forward on critical issues facing Boston Public Schools. At the end of the day, the School Committee and the City needs a fresh perspective – better that it come from one of its strongest critics who is willing and able to help forge a better path to excellence in education.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,


Giovanna Negretti
Executive Director