Lynn School Committee candidates set for test

LYNN – A veteran Lynn educator and an active Cobbet parent have pulled school committee nomination papers and said they can make a difference in setting direction for the public schools.Both women also have political aspirations: Beacon Hill Avenue resident Natasha Megie-Maddrey said running for elected office is one of her long-held goals and retired Lynn teacher Lorraine Gately ran for school committee in 2013.Candidates for city council and school committee must return papers to City Hall by June 29 in advance of the Sept. 1 preliminary election.Both women acknowledged they have made education decisions that could draw campaign criticism. All four of Megie-Maddrey?s children attended Cobbet, but Tatiana, 10, and Elijah, 12, currently attend the Knowledge Is Power Program.The Highlands charter school came under fire earlier this year from Lynn public school administrators for its plans to expand its elementary school-age program. School Superintendent Catherine Latham said the plan will increase competition for already-scarce space in the city to build schools.Megie-Maddrey thinks “traditional” public schools and KIPP can coexist and work together.?I really feel KIPP is doing a wonderful job for my kids,” she said.Gately taught for 33 years in Lynn schools as a science teacher until her 2013 retirement. She substitute taught for a month after retiring and returned to teaching in March 2014 at St. Mary?s High School. She acknowledged the decision to teach chemistry and introduction to engineering in the parochial school could attract campaign critics, but she said the chance to teach science again prompted her to take a training course at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.Megie-Maddrey has been involved in Cobbet?s Parent Teacher Organization and school improvement council and said public school spending and parental involvement are her top campaign themes.?I really feel parents need more of a voice. We need to get more involved. I think parents want to be involved but feel it is hard,” she said.Gately said she will campaign on replacing the public schools? older buildings, especially Aborn School, and expanding after-school programs. She said student teachers can tutor and provide other help to students.?I want to see programs for the kids of people who can?t get home by 6 p.m.,” she said.Gately lived in different Lynn neighborhoods during her childhood and taught in a half dozen schools, retiring from Pickering Middle School. Her son, Michael Patrick, is a Lesley University sophomore.?I?m running because I love working with kids. Lynn is my home,” she said.Megie-Maddrey?s oldest daughter, Sasha, 16, attends Dana Hall School in Wellesley and Isaiah, 8, is in Cobbet. Megie-Maddrey, her husband, Tarik, and their children live on Beacon Hill Avenue. She has lived in Lynn for 17 years and practices law in Boston.