Kristen Elworthy is a parent to three students in the town’s public schools system, a long-time Lynnfield resident, and recently has been an advocate for the betterment of the schools in the town.
In a widely acclaimed School Committee meeting in November, Elworthy was one of the stand-out speakers, criticizing the School Committee and Superintendent of Schools Kristen Vogel’s response to the condition of schools and asking for accountability.
A few weeks ago, Elworthy decided to be the front-runner in this movement by pulling papers for a position on the School Committee after two members resigned.
“There are challenges that Lynnfield is facing that are unique to our district and others that are shared by educators nationwide,” Elworthy said in her Facebook post. “We can take those and make them into excuses, or we can decide that they are opportunities to problem solve, innovate, and collaborate in a way that will allow our district to thrive long-term and set an example for other districts.”
In December, members of the Lynnfield Teachers Association presented a resolution expressing their concerns and complaints with the leadership at Lynnfield Public Schools to the School Committee, stating that the town’s school district is in “crisis,” and they have “no confidence in the current leadership to address it.” According to the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the resolution was signed by more than 210 of the 230 LTA members.
According to Elworthy, teachers and their issues need to be given precedence, and she hopes to work towards that.
“I am most concerned about is wanting to make sure that this district remains a positive place for teachers and somewhere they want to be,” Elworthy told The Daily Item. “I want to help make Lynnfield a desirable workplace for the teachers.”
If selected by the Select Board and School Committee, Elworthy plans to approach her position with transparency and thorough planning.
“We are a community, and everybody is going to need to sort of rally around what the next steps are,” Elworthy said. “And so even if they’re not the exact things that everybody wants, every moment, I hope that everybody would walk away and understand where things are at and feel that they have a voice in the process, and so they’re respected in the process.”
