LtE: Candidacy for Northeast Metro Tech School Committee

My name is Sean M. Salazar, and I currently represent Malden on the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School Committee. Earlier this year, I was appointed to fill Malden's vacant seat and am now running for that position in the November 3rd election.

I'm a Career and Vocational Technical Education teacher at Everett High School, where I teach Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts. Before becoming an educator, I spent 20 years working in the hospitality industry. I am also an active member of the Everett Teachers Association and Massachusetts Teachers Association.

My professional background has given me the opportunity to experience Career and Technical Education from two perspectives: as someone who spent years working in industry and as a teacher preparing students to enter it.

I believe Career and Technical Education is about much more than teaching a trade. It's about helping students discover their interests, develop technical and academic skills, learn to communicate and solve problems and gain the confidence to make informed decisions about their futures. Whether students pursue employment, apprenticeships, college or military service, our responsibility is to make sure they have meaningful opportunities and are prepared for whatever comes next.

Since joining the School Committee, I've been particularly involved in reviewing our policies and considering how they affect the people who learn and work at Northeast. I've pushed for the strongest protections possible under our Protect Act policy and believe that work must continue beyond adopting a policy. We need to understand how it affects students, families and staff and ensure that everyone responsible for implementing it, including our School Resource Officers, understands and follows its requirements.

I'm also interested in bringing student clubs and activities into our conversations to better understand what support they need. That includes making sure LGBTQIA+ students, students of color and other underrepresented members of our school community have opportunities to be heard.

I support Northeast's continued development toward a polytechnic model and the opportunities it can create for students pursuing different educational and career pathways. I also believe that building relationships with fellow School Committee members is essential to identifying shared priorities across all 12 communities.

Underlying all of this is my commitment to transparency and accountability. Families and communities deserve to understand the decisions being made, the reasons behind them and how those decisions affect their students.

One aspect of this election that may be unfamiliar to voters is how Northeast's regional School Committee is elected.

Northeast serves 12 communities: Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester, Winthrop and Woburn.

Although each School Committee seat is designated for a particular community, voters throughout the regional district participate in electing those representatives. This means the election for Malden's seat also appears on ballots in the other member communities.

While I represent Malden, the work of the School Committee affects students and families throughout Northeast's district. Decisions involving educational programs, budgets, district policies and student opportunities carry responsibilities that extend beyond any one community.

The opening of Northeast's new school building marks an important moment in the district's history. Its classrooms, technical shops and shared spaces provide new opportunities for students to learn and prepare for their futures.

I'm proud of my work as a CTE educator and grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Northeast School Committee. I look forward to continuing conversations with residents throughout the district about the school's future and the opportunities available to its students.

Sean M. Salazar
Malden Representative, Northeast Metro Tech School Committee
Candidate for the Malden-designated seat