WORCESTER—Farewell remarks from Laura Clancey, Jermoh “Gemma” Kamara and Tracy O’Connell Novick as they approach the end of their terms highlighted the Worcester School Committee Thursday.
Mayor Joseph Petty led the praise for the three members, all of whom also received commendation for the work they have done from colleagues Molly McCullough, Susan Mailman and Jermaine Johnson.
Official business dotted the committee’s session, too, including Superintendent Rachel Monárrez’s mid-cycle review for 2023. In it, she presented slides describing what the actualization of “the vision of a learner” as part of the district’s new, officially approved five-year strategic plan will look like. Several other presenters offered supporting testimony.
The initiative begins “in our preschool settings” and features an emphasis on such key components as Grade 3 reading levels and student engagement, the superintendent said.
The goal, she said, was to create “a culture of continuous learning” with the implementation of several steps toward fulfillment of that objective by the 2027-28 school year.
In their farewell remarks, Clancey, Kamara and O’Connell Novick expressed gratitude for being able to serve on the Worcester School Committee.
“I came into this with absolutely no political connections at all,” Clancey said. “This experience has made me a better parent and educator.”
Clancey, a single mother who is president of the Nelson Place PTO, was lauded for the focus she has placed on students’ mental health.
Kamara said “I love this work,” especially the opportunity she has been given to “dive deeper” into the data. This is not only her passion, but a forte. “Sometimes I wish I could have served on all four subcommittees,” she said.
A native of Liberia, Kamara said she was proud to be the first African-born member of the Worcester School Committee or the Worcester City Council.
“I will be back in some capacity, God willing,” she said.
In fact, in the case of all three departing members, it was said that their tenures on the Worcester School Committee were not an end but a beginning of likely future involvement.
Committee members saluted O’Connell Novick for being a catalyst in the search for a new superintendent and the hiring of Dr. Monárrez, and for playing a crucial role in the change to an in-house transportation system. Later in the meeting, O’Connell Novick noted that the district’s own busing arrangement is working well and that transportation “is a happy place. We are hiring bus drivers and monitors,” she said, and encouraged interested persons to seek employment on that front.
O’Connell Novick was praised by Jermaine Johnson for her “moral compass and love of process and policy.”
“This committee showed it could be done,” O’Connell Novick said, reflecting over the past two years’ accomplishments, reiterating the selection of the superintendent, establishing in-house transportation, policy reform, and successfully “working with our union.”
Few negative notes were struck during the meeting. One exception occurred when Carlene Miller, representing the interests of Newton Hill, lamented that “the courts did not rule on our claims” that a new Doherty High School was being built on “public parkland.” In response, Mayor Petty read a statement from the schools’ law department determining the allegation to be “meritless” and that the appeal “was denied.” A motion to file the petition was approved.
Also, while the installation of vaping detectors was deferred in lieu of relying on following public health guidelines, Jermaine Johnson said the issue of vaping raises concerns in his mind about “what students are doing in these bathrooms.” He looks forward to a pilot program to address this matter.
O’Connell Novick pointed out that the district is “one hundred nutrition staff short; we are only at two-thirds capacity.”
A revamped Worcester School Committee will be seated in January.
Rod Lee is a career journalist, a veteran of the media scene in Central Massachusetts and the author of seven books including the recently published “Gil Cristopher,” a novel about the difficulties associated with aging. He can be contacted at rodlee1963@gmail.com
