José Luis Rojas Villarreal
2025 Candidate for Cambridge School Committee

Home address:
19 Cornelius Way
Cambridge, MA 02141

Contact information:
phone: 617-460-9277
email: votejoseluis@gmail.com
website: www.votejoseluis.org

Send contributions to:
CTE José Luis Rojas Villarreal
19 Cornelius Way, Cambridge, MA 02141
OR
Donate with PayPal on candidate website
www.votejoseluis.org/donate

José Luis Rojas Villarreal
Integrity, Compassion and Long-term Thinking

It is my honor to humbly introduce myself and outline my platform as a candidate for re-election to the School Committee. In the next paragraphs, I will share my accomplishments during my previous terms, my personal and professional background and what I plan to focus on if given the opportunity to serve another term. I hope that you will read more and give me your #1 vote.

Accomplishments on the School Committee I want to start by saying that I have had the responsibility and privilege to serve on the School Committee responding to everything from a once-in-a-lifetime crisis to the “regular” challenges and to the opportunity to develop policies to support and improve a district plan.

• I bring people together with various points of view and data considerations, and come up with ways to move forward.
  • For example, as chair of the Building & Grounds subcommittee, I listened to our community members to help put together the district’s COVID-19 health & safety manual, which enabled us to bring our youngest and most-at-risk students back to the classrooms safely earlier than many other districts.
  • In the face of community anxiety about the decision to close the Kennedy-Longfellow school, I managed conversations with the families and community members reassuring them that the plan is to open a new school after the building’s renovation.
• I endeavor to be an independent thinker by respectfully but forcefully voicing different views to the other members when necessary.
  • For example, I repeatedly stated my frustration about not doing a national superintendent search in 2021. This led to the School Committee agreeing about the importance of the national search currently underway.
  • While being dismissed by other School Committee members, I have continued to ask that we monitor the impact of the acceleration of mathematics in middle school, so as to address any unintended consequences.
• Lastly, I use my professional experience to ensure long-term considerations are fully incorporated in the School Committee’s decision making.
  • For example, as co-chair of the budget subcommittee during the last six years, I have helped move budget discussion from focusing only on new initiatives to how to adapt and course-correct based on the monitoring and evaluation of our programs, and shifting funding landscapes.
  • I have continued to highlight the importance of experiential learning as an important way to engage students and ensure they are ready to graduate from high school.

Life in Cambridge
My family and I have lived in Cambridge for nearly 25 years. Our sons have attended the CRLS and Amigos public schools. Born outside the US, my wife and I came to the area for work opportunities and have stayed because of the supportive community that surrounds us. We are lucky to have two joyous children, a family that loves us and friends from various backgrounds. The recent pandemic and political upheavals are showing us how in Cambridge we can come together as a community, to meet the challenges that we face to make Cambridge an even better place for all!

Why am I running for re-election?
I am running for re-election to the school committee because I care passionately about the value of a good education. My upbringing rooted my belief that everyone deserves the opportunities that come from education. In Mexico, my parents invested in my brother’s and my education. They saw it as the best “inheritance” they could give us. We first studied in English-Spanish bilingual schools in Mexico City. My parents then decided to risk their future and move us to the US-Mexico border to strengthen my brother’s and my English language skills. The education we enjoyed in Mexico and then in the US provided us with unimaginable opportunities. In my case, I obtained financial aid to study as a Mexican undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. Years later, I earned a master's degree in Economic & Political Development at Columbia University.

As an immigrant, I have endeavored to help other people that have also made the decision to look for opportunities outside their home countries. As a volunteer I have looked for ways to elevate the voices of other immigrants, from teaching English to immigrants in the US and the UK, to serving as an interpreter in legal aid workshops. Having lived in and traveled to different countries in the Americas, Europe and Africa, I have learned to appreciate different cultures and work with people from various backgrounds.

Why should you vote for me?
Complementing my personal commitment for education, is my professional passion for working on community development finance. I currently work four days a week for LEAF, a Community Development Finance Institution, that finances and advises cooperatives in the US, manages a healthy food financing initiative for Massachusetts and works with small businesses in communities of color in the Commonwealth. Before that, I worked for banks (svb; fka Boston Private), state agencies (Mass Development; fka Mass Growth Capital) and non-profits (Root Capital) leading community lending programs.

One final personal characteristic that I would like to share is my extensive experience working on public and private boards and committees. Before joining the School Committee, I was part of the School Council at my sons’ Cambridge public school for 7 years. I have also been a board member and finance committee chair for various cooperatives and non-profits (Equal Exchange, Creative Action Institute, ICA Group and LEAF). As part of these organizations, I have learned to work collaboratively with others, while also to challenge group think and come up with creative solutions, and to seek accountability from leadership / management.

Opportunities & Challenges of Next Election
If given the opportunity to return to the School Committee, my immediate and longer-term priorities, include the following:

• Work with other School Committee members to name a permanent superintendent and set that person up for success
  • After national search to identify the best person for the role
  • Develop a new district plan and dashboard of key metrics
  • Agree on schedule to receive timely reports on meeting or not the district plan’s goals
• Address opportunity gaps in the district by selecting a strong program at the Spring Street school building
  • Look at educational programs that are working for all students and replicate them in Spring Street
  • Review controlled choice, so that we are constantly addressing under chosen schools
  • Controlled choice works only if all schools provide high quality education
• Starting this autumn, but knowing it will take more than a year, I will:
  • Review multi-year construction & maintenance plan through the Building & Grounds subcommittee and in coordination with the City Council
  • Improve relationships with unions, caregivers and the community
  • Work on budgets that focus on better use of existing resources to narrow opportunity gaps, particularly in the face of a changing funding landscape
  • Advocate for more coordination with and expansion of out-of-school-time programs
• These priorities are in addition to my commitment to ensure the School Committee has data-driven discussions and that we have equally high expectations for all of our children.

Please go to my website for more details on these and other issues.

I hope that this information is helpful and that you will give me your #1 vote on November 4th! No candidate is safe in our rank choice voting system. Every vote counts!

Please contact me if you have questions about my platform or would like to support me.

Thank you for reading,
José Luis

Why José Luis?
His immigrant background brings a needed perspective. Has long track record working on school community issues. Experience working with people of diverse backgrounds. Quantitative and qualitative data-driven. Raising a bilingual and multicultural family.

2023 Candidate Page     CCTV candidate video (2023)

2021 Candidate Page     CCTV candidate video (2021)

2019 Candidate Page     CCTV candidate video (2019)