Medford Candidate Profile: Melanie McLaughlin For School Committee

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

Here, we learn more about Melanie McLaughlin, who is running for School Committee.

McLaughlin, an incumbent, is among seven candidates running for six seats. The field features fellow incumbents Paul Ruseau and Jenny Graham and challengers Aaron Olapade, John Intoppa, Nicole Branley and Erika Reinfeld.

McLaughlin, who is in her second term on the School Committee, is a documentary filmmaker, social activist and disability and human rights advocate.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Name

Melanie McLaughlin

How old will you be as of Election Day?

56

Campaign website

https://melanie4medford.net

What city or town do you live in?

Medford

What office are you seeking?

School Committee

District

Medford Public Schools

Education

I attended public schools for the majority of my life in Lawrence, MA. I graduated from Ayer High School. I have a bachelor of science degree in both communications/media and human services. I have a master's degree in education policy and management from Harvard.

Occupation

I have been a documentary filmmaker and social activist working with broadcast networks including the BBC, HBO, ABC, PBS the History and Discovery Channels for 20+ years. I transformed a traumatic childhood experience into an HBO Emmy-award-winning documentary through a small consulting business I own where I continue to make short social justice films. I am also a disability and human rights advocate. I am currently employed with the Federation for Children with Special Needs as a project director where I work on advancing equity in health care for children and youth with complex health care needs. I was a Fellow with the Institute for Community Inclusion with UMass Boston and Boston Children's Hospital where I studied neuro-developmental disability and leadership. I was also a policy officer with the Arc of MA and an equity coach with Somerville public Schools. I'm the former co-chair of the Department of Education's Special Advisory Committee and Medford's Special Education Parent Advisory Council.

Family

My husband Terry and I have three young adult children, all of whom attend/ed Medford public schools. Our oldest daughter recently graduated from UMass Amherst, our son is currently attending Suffolk University and our youngest daughter is a freshman in high school in an out-of-district placement for students with complex health care needs.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

Our oldest daughter just got her first professional position with the Commonwealth of Mass as a Victim Witness Advocate. We are very proud of her commitment to social justice.

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

I have served two terms on the Medford School Committee. I was appointed the co-chair of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Special Advisory Council.

Why are you seeking this office?

More than anything I am a child advocate. I work hard at ensuring every child has access to a high-quality education in an inclusive community where they feel worthy. I believe in the inherent value of diversity. I believe equity is a human right and inclusivity is more important than exclusivity. I am an independent, progressive, critical thinker always willing to learn and evolve. I believe if we want to truly improve our schools we must include families as experts in their child’s education and foster trusting relationships between schools and community. I have invaluable lived experience both as the parent of a child with complex health care needs and as a former foster child in the Commonwealth. I am passionate about dismantling systemic and structural inequities to improve education for all children. We have made progress over the past few years, but there is much more work to be done.

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 for Medford Public Schools is the need for additional resources which boils down to the need for additional funding combined with mindful spending. Our children are our most valuable assets. As a community, we have to make a concerted effort to fully invest in their education and our future. It takes more than one person (or a school committee of 7) to address inequities in our schools.

The School Committee, mayor and City Council need to foster a collaborative relationship with a child-centered approach. I intend to do this by advocating for regular meetings between the City Council and School Committee. I believe we are underutilizing valuable community resources in what is referred to as 'wraparound supports' for our students. We have expertise within our buildings and within the community that we can tap into to help support smart spending.

While it is not up to the School Committee, I do support a tax override to build a new high school, improve our school buildings, provide regular building maintenance and create a solid infrastructure that will continue to exist beyond all of our tenure. I will advocate for a creative review of our strategic plan to address budget constraints, especially regarding our most vulnerable students. I believe our district needs a full-time grant-writing / development professional to identify available funds that may currently be overlooked. I would also like to get input from teachers, staff and directors on ways to save costs and practice smart spending. They are the individuals at the ground level who can share their expertise and experience on how to improve our schools. I also think we should consider consolidating our middle schools to address programmatic costs and improve inclusivity.

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

We often hear it takes a village to raise a child. It's true. And it takes teamwork to be an effective committee. Each member of the team needs individualized expertise. We can't all be pitchers, catchers or shortstops. I come to the table with lived experience as the parent of a child with complex health needs navigating across multiple systems including DESE, the Department of Developmental Services DDS, MassHealth, the Mass Commission for the Blind MCB, Mass Rehab Commission MRC and more than ten medical specialties.

I was also a former ward of the state who experienced homelessness, socio-economic disadvantage and food insecurity. I grew up in public housing and graduated from Harvard. I have spent my life advocating for marginalized communities and will continue to do so for as long as I am able. I am grateful to have the opportunity to empower children and families in our community.

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

As an incumbent, I believe in healthy challenges and intend to continue to build an inclusive, hopeful, safe, thriving school community where every child feels valued. I welcome the opportunity to continue to do the difficult work that comes with being a public servant.

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

Accessibility and Equity
-Ensuring school buildings, curriculum, recreation and community events are accessible for all children, families and staff.
-Advocating for equity, so that every child gets what they need and all students and families have access to high-quality curricula in our schools and enrichment opportunities in our community.

Community and Family
-Identifying what our families need and how we can best support them to build capacity for systemic change for our schools.
-Improve multilingual communication through interpretation, translation and the use of cultural brokers.

Collaboration and Safety
-Collaborating to create a safety plan to include diverse communities and a secure learning environment where all students and staff feel a sense of safety and belonging.
-Building school, community and family partnerships where we are all willing to invest in the future of our students and schools.

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

I have served two terms on the Medford School Committee. During the past four years I have:

-Acted as a member of the inclusive playground committee for the McGlynn complex
-Collaborated with colleagues to improve anti-bullying policies and identity restorative justice strategies;
-Created a Universal Safety Committee to include administrators, teachers and families
-Ensured family and caregiver access to student incident reports
-Established an anti-discrimination clause on school documents to include access to reasonable accommodations services and supports
-Helped create Medford Public School’s first systemic improvement plan
-Initiated setting school committee goals and ensuring public accountability
-Improved student participation in School Committee meetings
-Improved School Committee collaboration through the establishment of school committee goals and public monthly check-ins (such as “good of the order”):
-Participated with a community team in the principal hiring process
-Partnered with community-based organizations for emergency preparedness events
-Produced media segments for family and community education on school-related topics
-Provided disability awareness training to staff
-Served as chair of both the Behavioral Health/Special Education and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittees and as a member of the Policy and Family Engagement Subcommittees and Superintendent Evaluation Subcommittee
-Advocated for a substantial increase in paraprofessional compensation in alignment with our values for a living wage and high-quality education for every child
-Survived a global pandemic, school closure and reopening and learned more about HVAC systems than I ever thought possible.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

My maternal aunt who took me in and turned my life around when I was a 13-year-old traumatized kid told me that first I must believe in myself and my ability to change outcomes. She was right. My second best piece of advice? Gratitude is a gift.

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

It has taken a long time and a lot of lived experience to understand and accept that I'm not perfect and I shouldn't expect myself or anyone else to be. The older and wiser I get the more at peace I am with that truth and, honestly, it's a relief. I work really hard, make mistakes, continue listening, learning and evolving to and trying to do the next right thing. I also believe we all have a story that has made us who we are; the more we know and understand each other's story the better the likelihood we will work together to achieve shared values.