Jermoh Kamara Returns For 2021 Worcester School Committee Run

Worcester MA

27 October, 2021

2:33 PM

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WORCESTER, MA — Jermoh Kamara is back in 2021 for a second run for a Worcester School Committee seat after coming up 416 votes shy of a win in 2019. Kamara, 28, is confident she'll have an even stronger showing in 2021, but there are new reasons she's running again. The upheaval of 2020 following high-profile killings of Black people is one factor — and one that's especially poignant for Worcester. Earlier this year, a coalition of Worcester groups representing Black and brown residents sued the city in federal court to change the way School Committee seats are elected. The entire committee is elected at large, which has led to a School Committee with little diversity over the years and is currently all-white. Meanwhile, about 60 percent of Worcester students are not white. If Kamara wins in 2021, she would be the first Black woman elected to the School Committee since Elizabeth Price's last term in 1983. If candidate Jermaine Johnson wins a seat this year, he would become the first Black man ever elected to the Worcester School Committee. (The City Council voted 8-3 on Oct. 14 to settle the lawsuit over school committee elections and may pick a new voting system as soon as the end of November.) Here's what Kamara had to say about her second run in 2021, and what brought her back: Why did you choose to run for School Committee in 2021? I ran for the Worcester School Committee for the first time in 2019 and finished strong at 7th place. I ran because my story and background underscore the importance of both hard work and opportunity. When underrepresented students have access to opportunities like I had, they too can succeed in ventures that they put their minds to! But the work we started in 2019 is still relevant today and still serves as why I chose to run again. Coupled with the pandemic, as well as economic and educational equity questions after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Last year's racial reckoning was powerful enough to influence a wave of change in our nation and I believe that Worcester is still in that renaissance of change that requires a positive and new candidate such as myself to step up. Being elected on the School Committee this year is personal, I believe that every child deserves the right to quality education and opportunities to help them reach their full potential. I am a positive choice and voice that will do whatever it takes to ensure all kids have better opportunities in our Worcester Public Schools. Can you tell voters a little about your personal background? Where did you go to school? Born in Liberia, I migrated to Worcester at age 11 in 2004, attended Canterbury Street School, Dr. Arthur F. Sullivan Middle School and graduated from South High Community School. At Providence College, I was awarded both my BS and BA in health policy and management and community health. Then came my master's in public health from New York Medical College. I am also a certified health education specialist (CHES). As a student in the Worcester Public Schools, I benefited from scholarships, internships, andcollege readiness programs, such as Worcester Future Teachers, Collegiate Success Institute(CSI), UMass Health Science Program and National Honors Society, Advancement ViaIndividual Determination (AVID), Community Service Learning (CSI), and Bottom Line. Iunderstand the importance of programs that ensure future success for all students. As a young professional, I work as the Director of Wellness and Health Equity at the YWCA of Central Massachusetts. I am also an adjunct faculty member at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where I teach undergrads and have taught graduate students at Clark University how to conduct social science research for project-based learning. Previously to these experiences, I have worked in the Dominican Republic, India, Ghana and Liberia. In Liberia, I founded HVK Children's Foundation an international non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Worcester and Liberia. The Foundation launched an asynchronous, offline e-learning portal which is impacting over a thousand students at six rural partner schools. My work also helped to train teachers to improve learning and built school latrines to improve the health of all the students and teachers. Before joining the YWCA, I was a Partnership Specialist for the US Census Bureau, covering Worcester. The school committee approved a new sex-ed curriculum last spring, but a small movement has come out against it. Can you tell voters your view of this curriculum and what it does for students? The 3R sexual health curriculum. While still very new to the U.S. when I attend public schools, I vividly remember there being a daycare center for pregnant teen mothers, a wonderful model for teen mothers to earn their diplomas. There were several young girls my age who became pregnant in their sophomore, junior or senior year. We did not have a sexual health curriculum such as the 3Rs, but we had a health class but not all the students took it seriously. I also remember learning about how one's environment could have an impact on their short-and-long-term future. Teachers talked about the statistics of teen mothers' inability of completing high school, which made it even difficult for them to complete college or to lead a life that was out of generational poverty. I remember praying to lead a life where if I was going to become a statistic, it would be exemplary, a life out of generational poverty. Then, I was a resident assistant in college where I got to attend events and help students. One event I attended, "Take Back the Night," expanded my reality to the stories of students who were victims of rape or sexual assault. Most of the stories were narrated from their days in high school, and others from incidences from their adult life. Too many stories had the bystanders' effect or about friends who did not step in to protect their friend who was being sexually assaulted. From a public health practitioner standpoint, I understand the magnitude and impact of how impactful teaching sexual health education can be. For the 3Rs, I understand that the lessons are short, with only two lessons from kindergarten through first grade, five lessons from grades 2 to 5, and 13 lessons for high school students. The lessons cover bullying, consent, teaching kids about reporting abuse, and safe health behaviors to protect themselves. I support the parental opt-out option every year, and WPS should make it seamless for parents with a college or less than high school education to understand the process of how to opt-out their children. The evaluation of this curriculum is as important as the implementation. It would be important to assess indicators such as: deceases in risky sexual behaviors or practices, knowledge, attitude, and efficacy of leading healthy lifestyles and consent, decreases in teen birth rates, STDs/STIs, and other indicators that impact one's health. Like many districts, Worcester had to put a remote learning system in place during the pandemic. How do you think the district succeeded and failed at that, and what improvements still need to be made? Recent reports by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau and Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce underscore that the complicated nature of Worcester's digital infrastructure, the volume of providers, various technologies, and different funding streams present major challenges that require focused and sustained leadership by the city's municipal and school leadership, as well as a local business, higher education, healthcare and institutional leaders. The Worcester Regional Research Bureau report "Broadening Broadband" well articulates the need for a long-term solution and the possibility of the city implementing its internet service provider (ISP). Such a plan would expand access and speed, for a reasonable cost for consumers while providing the same service as private operators. However, the acquisition to purchase the existing infrastructure by the city would be a huge cost to implement ISP. Some forward-thinking cities, not having their own ISP, are making use of their CARES Act funding. This is something that the broadband committee for the city should be looking into. Another concerning and encouraging matter that was exposed during the pandemic is remote learning. Most of the nonprofits providing early education and childcare assumed the bulk of the care for children during the COVID pandemic by offering remote learning at their facilities. Private and other non-profit organizations stepped up to fund remote learning but little or no funding came from WPS to support nonprofits. Secondly, as there was a high demand for the remote learning services especially as more and more people worked from home or, for those who did not have the option, but still must go to work. With the high demand, there were not enough teachers to meet the demand since nonprofits cannot afford to pay their teachers in comparison to the wages being paid by teachers of the same profession in Worcester Public Schools. After-school program services provided by nonprofits in partnership with WPS can also be better improved with better coordination between WPS, Site Administrators, and non-profit service providers. Due to the time lost because of the pandemic and even post-pandemic, these services would be crucial to continue to ensure no child is left behind in their learning curve. The school committee will begin searching for a new superintendent in the next term. What are you looking for in a candidate? Worcester needs a superintendent who has expertise in principal leadership. He/she must be skilled in selecting principals that can meet the challenges of working in our diverse schools. Worcester needs a superintendent who is an agile and community leader. For an agile leader, communication is key, and decision-making is not just from top to bottom but bottoms up. Everyone is a team player and adds value to and for the success of the Team. Communication in this context is about working with School Committee members and key community stakeholders to fix how the district handles communication issues with parents, the community, and students. It also pertains to the different strategies that the next superintendent will put in place to use 21st Century technology or innovative ways to accommodate how children learn and their experience in WPS. This also includes someone that will execute training for teachers and staff around culturally responsive communication, cultural competency, and diversity training. Someone who can create a culture of inclusion in schools, increase transparency and build a culture where accountability is esteemed. The next superintendent should work to use the current ARPA dollars effectively to impact student learning outcomes that was lost due to COVID and increase funding coming into our district from state and federal sources so that Worcester Public School teachers can have the resources they need to successfully conduct their classes.