Medford Candidate Profile: Erika Reinfeld For School Committee

MEDFORD, MA — With the Medford Municipal Election scheduled for Nov. 7, Patch is profiling the candidates.

Here, we learn more about Erika Reinfeld, who running for School Committee. Reinfeld is among seven candidates running for six seats. The field features incumbents Paul Ruseau, Jenny Graham and Melanie McLaughlin, and fellow challengers John Intoppa, Nicole Branley and Aaron Olapade.

Reinfeld has been a STEM educator for more than two decades and currently teaches science communication and leads a communication lab at MIT.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Erika Reinfeld

How old will you be as of Election Day?

44

Campaign website

https://erika02155.com

What city or town do you live in?

Medford

What office are you seeking?

School Committee

Education

I attended public schools from first through 12 grade. I hold a bachelor's degree in astronomy and theater from Wellesley College and a master's degree in museum education & evaluation from the University of Leicester.

Occupation

I have been a STEM educator for more than two decades. I currently teach science communication and lead a communication lab at MIT. Before this, I spent nearly 10 years managing the public outreach program at MIT's cancer research center. Prior to this, I served for three years as the education coordinator at the MIT Museum, overseeing educational and public programs.

The first decade of my career was spent in the Science Education Department at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, working on various education programs including museum exhibitions, youth education and mentorship, curriculum and assessment development, and teacher professional development. During this time, I also taught at Harvard Extension School and with Girls LEAP (Lifetime Empowerment and Awareness Program), which trains girls and gender-expansive youth ages 8-18 in physical self-defense and social-emotional skills.

Family

My wife Sarah and I have two children, one at Roberts Elementary and one at McGlynn Middle School.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No one in my family has been involved in Medford politics. My father spent 50 years working for the Department of Interior before retiring last year.

Have you ever held a public office, whether appointive or elective?

No, although I was selected as a member of the district's HECAT health curriculum review committee last school year.

Why are you seeking this office?

It is time to bring new voices to the literal and figurative tables. Having been tuned in to school committee meetings, working with Medford teachers, and speaking with fellow parents for many years, I have seen the progress that is being made, as well as the places where people are slipping through the cracks or feeling unheard. I see a need for the perspective of an educator and education researcher on this committee and am committed to amplifying the good work and pressing concerns of both students and teachers in our district, as well as building connections across the Medford community.

Please complete this statement: The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The most pressing issue facing Medford schools is underfunding. There are many exciting initiatives happening in Medford schools, but access to these opportunities has often been uneven across the district and limited in comparison to surrounding communities. Although the School Committee does not dictate the budget (that responsibility lies with the mayor's office), there are important steps we can take to bring more funding into the schools and ensure that these funds are being distributed wisely and strategically. My approach will be to find collaborative solutions to existing challenges.

I will advocate for increased structural and project-based funding and clear communication about what is happening and needed in our schools, particularly among marginalized and underserved student populations. I will map those needs and opportunities to existing and potential revenue sources (including a Proposition 2.5 override) and encourage greater transparency in the budgeting process itself. I will push for increased grant-writing capacity within the district and City Hall, and link the educational activities of our schools to broader community development. In doing so, we will open up new avenues for personalized learning so that every student can succeed in and beyond the classroom.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I have worked in education my whole career, regularly collaborating with classroom teachers and other educators to create learning opportunities (field trips, after-school programs, youth apprenticeship/mentorship opportunities, community outreach events) for students. I have taught, mentored, developed curricula and educational resources, led professional development, and produced museum exhibitions, all while conducting educational research into different learning models and strategies. My thoughtful, interdisciplinary approach to education —combined with my strong work ethic and genuine interest in what is happening in our community— will be an asset to the committee.

Collaboration is at the heart of my approach to education and I am skilled at working with people who have diverse perspectives and lived experiences. In this vein, my own identity as a member of a two-mom family and a woman of Jewish heritage, although not at the heart of my campaign, helps me to better understand some of the challenges faced by community members who have been historically marginalized by local government. That said, my own family has had very good experiences with Medford schools (due in large part to the teachers at Roberts Elementary and McGlynn Middle) and I want to make that true for everyone in our district.

If you are challenging an incumbent, in what way has the current officeholder failed the community?

N/A - School Committee is a committee for a reason. Voters have the opportunity to choose six members (and a mayor) who will bring complementary skills to the challenges and opportunities facing our schools. If anything, we can all do a better job making room for diverse voices in the room and building trust by providing the members of our community (both in and beyond the school system) with better communication about what is happening in committee meetings, classrooms, and the district as a whole — by both sharing and listening.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?

My campaign is built around curriculum, culture, and community. My overarching goals as a school committee member are to foster safe, inclusive learning environments and to increase access to resources that help students and their support networks grow, learn, and positively contribute to the world around them.

Issues I would like to proactively address include: planning for a new high school and climate resiliency of our buildings; reviewing the data and experiences around recently introduced curricula and assessment tools to ensure they are meeting student and teacher needs and reflective of lived experience within our community; improving avenues of communication between teachers and school committee, students and district administration, families and school administrators; advocating for integrated on-site mental and physical health services; eliminating socioeconomic barriers to participation in the arts, sports, and other extracurricular activities; Increasing collaboration between the district and the broader Medford community; and making school finance and budgeting more transparent

I expect that the district and public will bring many other urgent and important issues to the committee and I am committed to addressing them thoughtfully as they arise.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Besides the tolerance for bureaucracy that comes with working for Smithsonian, Harvard, MIT, etc. I have a long history of developing collaborative, interdisciplinary programs for diverse audiences. While I recognize that the School Committee is not directly involved with the day-to-day operations and in-school activities happening in the district, I have a good sense of how decision-making affects the people carrying them out and an appreciation for balancing short-term results with long-term progress. More specifically, I have worked with teams of people at MIT to affect organizational change in educational settings (including as a member of DEI councils and accountability groups), collaborated with teachers and parents to expand our established elementary school Art and STEM nights to include community involvement and external displays, founded a ten-minute play festival, served on the district's HECAT health curriculum review committee, and generally kept my ear to the ground in regard to educational research, policy, and community experience. I regularly talk with families and teachers about their and their students' experiences and I consistently look at situations from multiple perspectives.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

When someone comes to you with a problem, make sure you listen to them before you start looking for solutions.

I won't pretend to have all the answers, but I can offer new perspectives, measured action, and thoughtful reflection to make sure that the steps we take together are the ones that will most benefit our community —both short-term and long-term.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Before deciding to run, I sat down with multiple members of the current committee to better understand what the position entails and what issues lie ahead for our district. Whatever the decision being made, you can count on me to continue doing my homework.