Our Public Schools

As an expectant father, Bryan knows that our public schools are a big factor in attracting families to Newton. It is wonderful to live in a community that values education and has public schools that are frequently rated among the best in our state. However, Bryan understands that right now our teachers, students, and parents are under immense strain as a result of the pandemic. As your City Councilor, Bryan will stand ready to approve funds to guarantee safety and education for our students, teachers, and parents. We must ensure our students can return to in person learning as soon as possible as safely as possible—and we must have full in person learning in the fall. 

He is heartbroken that the pandemic has made learning far more challenging and led to a sense of isolation among so many of our students. Bryan understands that until our children are back in school, to learn and to socialize, families and students will continue to struggle. 

We must rely on the advice of medical experts to ensure the return of our students and teachers is as safe as possible. Bryan has been working with local physicians for months to advocate for weekly surveillance testing to ensure the return of our students, teachers and school staff is as safe as possible. Our city’s Health and Human Services department must take these precautions and as your City Councilor, Bryan will fight to make sure it gets done.

Bryan believes the federal and state government let our communities down by failing to provide guidance and support to local leaders. The state has kept open businesses with far larger risks of community spread while schools remain in limbo. Our community testing and contact tracing is woefully inadequate in Massachusetts, and we are only just now instating a mask mandate which should have been in place throughout the pandemic. . 

Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we must address the pandemic of racism and discrimination in our schools. We must also consider our students’ mental health and substance abuse issues, continue to update our school buildings, and so much more. To meet some of these goals, Bryan also supports full day kindergarten and later high school start times. Bryan will use his voice as our City Councilor to support our educators and public school staff and community in their efforts to provide a safe and welcoming learning environment, and to expose students to new perspectives and allow their critical thinking skills to blossom. 

We must continue to invest in maintaining and, where they’re inadequate, in rebuilding our school buildings, while investing in our teachers and school staff. Our schools are the beating heart of our community, and we all know that Newton only succeeds when we maintain strong schools.