José Luis Rojas Villarreal
2021 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

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CTE José Luis Rojas Villarreal
19 Cornelius Way, Cambridge, MA 02141
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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 personal and professional commitments, my accomplishments during my 1st term, and what I plan to focus on if given the opportunity to serve a 2nd term. I hope that you will read more and give me your #1 vote.

Background
My family and I have lived in Cambridge for nearly 20 years, and our sons attend 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 boys, a family that loves us and friends from various backgrounds. COVID-19 showed 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!

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.

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 lends to cooperatives in the US, manages a healthy food financing initiative for Massachusetts and works with small businesses in communities of color in the greater Boston Area. Before that, I worked for banks (Boston Private), state agencies (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.

Top Priorities

• Implement the district’s recovery & thrive plan developed in response to COVID-19
• Start and complete a new strategic district plan
• Start the search process for a permanent superintendent

Top Challenges Facing CPSD Today
I want to start by saying that it has been an honor and privilege to serve, especially given the awesome challenges of the COVID-19 crisis. Below find ideas of how to tackle some of our top challenges.

Navigating COVID-19, remote and in-person learning & COVID-related learning loss and plans to get children back on track

• Support the interim superintendent to implement the district’s recovery & thrive plan developed in response to COVID-19. I will work with other School Committee members to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the strategic plan, encourage and support its success, and make any necessary strategic changes.
• Ensure long-term considerations are fully incorporated in the School Committee’s decision making. For example, in March 2020 the onset of the pandemic coincided with the discussion of the 2020-2021 budget. I urged that we needed to integrate the likely effects of the pandemic into our discussion for the budget. This meant that the budget discussion took longer than normal, but also pushed us to have conversations with the City Manager and City Council that resulted in the City’s commitment to cover the additional costs of responding to the pandemic during the 2021 school year.

Achievement gaps - meeting the needs of all students & Academic challenge - meeting the needs of advanced learners

• Early education is key. Pre-school and JK matter. I will support equitable access to Jr. Kindergarten through participation of the School Committee and City Council in a joint task force.
• Concentrate our efforts on ensuring that we start and complete a new strategic district plan over the course of the school calendar. Our current strategic plan finished at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. A strategic plan provides visibility and clarity of the district’s medium turn goals and outcomes, around which we can have discussions on which policies and programs can help us get there and the related budget implications.
• I noticed that most of the discussions centered on new initiatives to be funded as an increase to the base budget. I have requested that for future budget discussions that we also focus on areas that should be changed or discontinued if they are not showing the intended results. It is key that the School District and School Committee continue to adapt and course-correct based on monitoring and evaluation of our programs, and to clearly and openly communicate these changes to the Community.
• Summer and tutoring programs work. I will improve access to summer and tutoring programs for those who need them the most.

School safety, student behavior, attendance

• We need to continue to focus on the health & safety of our students and staff. During my first term, I have shown that I can bring people together with various points of view and data considerations, and come up with consensus or other ways to move forward. For example, as chair of the building & grounds subcommittee, I have listened to our community members with expertise in health care, science and education who have volunteered to provide us with invaluable advice. I helped bring together all this information in the form of 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. The manual and its successful implementation have served as a model for other school committees in and outside the state.

School Department Administration

Interim Superintendent and Next Steps

• Advocate to start the search process for a permanent superintendent, expecting that our interim superintendent would be one of the candidates. This is an important step to identify and hire the best and strongest individual available to lead our District.

Relationship between School Committee and CPSD Administration

• Apart from supervising the superintendent and approving budgets that help us achieve our strategic plan’s goals and outcomes, the School Committee should serve as a link between the community and the administration, and set policies that reflect the challenges faced by the district. The School Committee however, should not try to tell the administration how to implement or operationalize those policies.

School Department Budget and Capital Needs

School Building Construction & Rehabilitation Opportunities and challenges

• Starting this autumn, but knowing it will take more than a year, I will work on having the district develop a multi-year construction & maintenance plan through the building & grounds subcommittee and in coordination with the City Council.

Controlled Choice, Student Assignment Policies

• As part of the development of the new district plan, I will look to incorporate the evaluation of our different educational programs with the goal of expanding those that work and therefore are oversubscribed by our families.

Curriculum and Programs

Math & Science Education, Vocational Programs & Arts & Music

• A diverse curriculum and offer of programs in key in providing a good education. They provide students with academic, creative and practical tools. They also provide visibility and inspiration into careers and providing our students the opportunity to be well-rounded individuals.

MCAS testing

• Testing has led to improved standards, but there are challenges - for example, student anxiety, teaching to the test, etc. Student achievement should be assessed using a combination of measures, of which test results are only one. As has been pointed out by other School Committee members, additional measures could include graduation rates, student attendance and participation in extracurricular activities.
• I will support engaging learning environments and culturally responsive teaching practices, rather than focusing only on testing students.
• I will support the compilation of multi-layered data to show how student achievement is being measured and assessed.
• I will challenge the District to improve the schools that are truly missing the mark on overall student achievement.

Parent Involvement and School Councils

• Some parents feel their voices are not listened to, based on their socio-economic background, their race, their immigration status, etc.
• I will attend a School Council meeting in each school (17 schools) over my 2-year term, to meet parents in person and hear their opinions.
• ​More student voices need to be included in the decision making at the high school
• I will meet with high school student leaders and help bring their voices to the School Committee.

Making the School Committee More Effective

• School Committee members should respectfully agree to disagree when needed, while at the same time working to support higher expectations for each student and joyful / vigorous learning for all.
• I will work to immerse the School Committee in the district’s anti-racist work, and incorporate it into our governance and day-to-day operations
• I will develop code of conduct with School Committee members to encourage more respectful, productive and impactful discussions.

I hope that this information is helpful and that you will give me your #1 vote on November 2!

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.

CCTV candidate video (2021)

2019 Candidate Page     CCTV candidate video (2019)