Hello, beautiful people! On August 25, Mayor Michelle Wu appointed Former Head of School Rachel Skerritt (‘95) to the Boston School Committee.
The Boston School Committee is the governing body of Boston Public Schools. As a committee member, Skerritt will attend and present at School Committee meetings, which occur once or twice a month. Beyond these obligations, Skerritt will also connect with BPS families and vote on key policies, including the annual BPS budget.
Though many responsibilities come with being a committee member, one aspect is especially thrilling: “I’m definitely the most excited about visiting schools and meeting BPS students and families. Not having as many touchpoints with students has been the part of being Head of School at [Boston Latin School] that I miss the most.”
Boston School Committee members were selected through an application process. While this process usually occurs after a member’s term has concluded, Skerritt was able to apply because a member relocated before completing her term. A nominating panel of educators and community leaders reviewed written applications completed by each candidate. They then chose a set of candidates to interview and sent a final list of applicants to Mayor Wu, who made the final decision.
Skerritt explains her motivation to serve on the committee: “Now that I’ve stepped away from my capacity as a full- time educator in BPS and primarily wear the hat of BPS parent, the honor of serving on the Boston School Committee is an ideal way to play a role in the critical work of ensuring success in career and life for young people in every school in the district.”
Skerritt first began her education and leadership journey as a middle and high school English teacher. She then worked as the Chief of Staff for BPS and the Deputy Chief of Leadership Development for Washington, D.C. Public Schools before leading BLS as Head of School for five years. Now, she serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Attuned Education Partners, an organization that improves educational equity in PK-12 schools.
This is not Skerritt’s first experience with the Boston School Committee, as she has worked with the organization in the past. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked on a task force appointed by the Boston School Committee to restructure the BPS exam schools’ admission policy based on racial, geographic and socioeconomic equity.
Assistant to the Head of School Ms. Martha Pierce notes, “[Skerritt] joins the Boston School Committee as a former student, teacher, Head of School and district administrator, as well as a current parent. I believe that all her past and current roles give her a unique and valuable perspective.”
The BLS community expresses its excitement for Skerritt as she embarks on this new step in her educational leadership journey.
Lucy Zhang (I) concludes, “I believe that she will be capable of creating strategies for the entire school system and [BPS] to help […] bring the quality of the education [that BLS has] to every single school in our system.”
