Dear Reading Community,
My name is Lara and I am seeking election to a 3-year seat on the School Committee. I am the mom of two children in the Reading Public Schools system, one at Joshua Eaton and one at Parker, and have worked in higher education since receiving my PhD from Boston University in 2013. I am eager to apply my experiences as a parent, an academic, and a Reading resident to support the mission of the School Committee and enhance the educational and social experiences of our entire student population.
My husband Matt and I moved here with our daughter Zoe (13) and son Evan (9) in 2015, when Evan was just one month old. We had outgrown our condo and were drawn to Reading for its convenient location, welcoming atmosphere, and, most importantly, reputation for having a strong school system. Our decision to purchase a home here remains one of the best we have made as a family, and I am running for School Committee to help ensure that Reading schools continue to nurture students who are well-rounded, independent thinkers with abundant opportunities for intellectual and personal growth.
The unique perspective afforded by my long-term involvement in the educational system, together with my collaborative skills and passion for scholastic innovation, will make me a valuable and productive member of the School Committee.
- Involvement in Educational System: I was fortunate to attend strong public schools growing up, and graduated with honors in a high school class of over 600. I then attended Tufts University, where I earned a BA with honors in Anthropology, and continued on to earn a PhD in Biological Anthropology from Boston University. I have since worked as an award-winning Fellow and Lecturer at Harvard University, Tufts, and BU, teaching undergraduate students in both large lecture and small seminar courses. These experiences have given me significant insight into the variables that affect student motivation and performance, and I will work to ensure that the RPS learning environment encourages and enables students to build the skills they need to succeed in college and beyond.
- Collaborative Skills: My work in anthropological research and with academic committees has provided me with extensive experience in both leadership and teamwork. In 2021 I also served on the selection committee to choose a new principal at Joshua Eaton Elementary. The Reading School Committee has a track record of successfully working together to achieve important goals (tuition-free full-day kindergarten, for example), and I look forward to working with other committee members to address both the administrative needs of RPS and the concerns of students, teachers, and parents.
- Passion for Connecting Creativity and Critical Thinking: I am a strong believer in the notion that the goal of education is not to teach students what to think, but how to think. I have, over the past 10+ years of teaching, read about and experimented with ways to increase student engagement and
learning, and have independently pursued opportunities to employ non- traditional educational platforms. In 2019 I gave a TED talk about evolutionary medicine that has since been viewed by over 2 million people, and since 2018 I have volunteered as part of the organizing and narration team of March Mammal Madness, a collaborative outreach and education project run by scientists that distributes materials and lesson plans to educators worldwide and now reaches over 750,000 students yearly. The tournament’s motto is “If you’re learning, you’re winning,” and as a member of School Committee I will advocate for curricula and policies that allow learners in RPS to build intellectual bridges across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences, and to connect with topics in novel and meaningful ways.
In choosing to run for School Committee, I have already begun to forge new relationships with parents, teachers, current School Committee members, and other local residents, and to listen to the praise and concerns they have regarding Reading Public Schools. As a School Committee member I will focus on the issues prioritized by the community, and will be committed to supporting the investment and diversity that help academic and extracurricular programs thrive in RPS. I hope you will consider supporting me with your vote on or before April 8.
Sincerely,
Lara Durgavich
https://www.durgavichforsc.com
