LYNN — Maria Carrasco, who was Lynn’s first Latina School Committee member from 2007-2017, is calling for more “transparency” and “open-mindedness” within the school committee in light of Superintendent Dr. Evonne Alzarez’s resignation.
Carrasco said she is “disappointed” to see Dr. Alvarez leave Lynn Public Schools (LPS), describing her as a “role model that represented the student population.” She also compared Dr. Alvarez’s tenure to Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, who was the LPS superintendent from 2018-2022.
“I am sad that we had two superintendents of color who were working for (a) high quality of education for all, who have left. This is the second time this has happened, meaning there is something wrong with the system,” she said.
She continued, “It’s not about having a likable personality. It’s about getting things done. And Dr. Alvarez proved that she was improving the system and making a good impact on our community.”
According to Dr. Alvarez’s September 2025 evaluation documents, access to advanced coursework for economically disadvantaged students increased by 5% in LPS during the 2024-2025 school year. Carrasco said these efforts helped to address systemic barriers within the school system.
“(Dr. Avalvarez) was looking to have advanced placement classes for everybody, not just for a group of students who are believed to deserve it just because they have good grades. If a student is never exposed to advanced classes, you don’t know their potential,” Carrasco said.
She added, “That is one of the issues that we have in the school department. You can’t expect kids who go home to one parent, kids who have an accent, or kids from low income backgrounds to have the same opportunities as the rest of the students. (Dr. Alvarez) tried to implement advanced placement access for all students to make sure that they’re being exposed to better opportunities to apply for different colleges. You cannot say that you care about our students if you don’t promote advanced education for everybody.”
Carrasco gave her thoughts about how the school committee should move forward after Dr. Alvarez’s resignation was announced.
“Parents should be involved in the decision making,” she said. “They’re the people who vote. If the school committee is going to be making a decision that impacts student education, they should be informing the parents so the parents can at least have an opinion. They should be more accessible and open to hearing ideas from parents. Teachers have facilities and a union, but the parents need to be heard. If they’re expecting parents to vote for them, they have to be reachable.”
She added, “I know the committee is working hard, and I don’t believe they would do something intentionally to damage our students. But they need to be more open to hearing other ideas. What they’re doing right now isn’t working, and they need to go in a different direction.”
Carrasco has written a letter describing Dr. Alvarez’s resignation (published on page A4) as a “critical failure in leadership retention within our school district.” It has been signed by 14 Lynn community members, including parents of LPS students and members of Familias Latinas por la Educación.
