Following a contentious school budgeting cycle, Newton resident, Newton Public Schools (NPS) alumna, and mother Jenna Miara hopes to provide strong leadership in Ward 5 Newton School Committee seat run.
“I have 20 years of working with communities to solve problems together,” Miara said. “I have a lot of experience hearing from communities about what they would like to see improved, and then figuring out the best way to make those improvements together.”
Miara said her experience as a public interest lawyer and the leader of a nonprofit legal aid fund has lent her expertise in policy analysis and organizational management.
She also believes her experience working with labor unions as a member of a legal services workers union will support her in restoring trust and strengthening partnerships between the teachers and the district.
“I’ve been on both sides of the negotiating table,” Miara said. “I think that’s a perspective we’re really going to need in order to make good forward progress between the school district and the three unions that work within Newton Public Schools.”
While the 2024 teacher’s strike in Newton was resolved with a contractual agreement, those terms are up for renegotiation again in 2027. Miara highlighted the need for the school committee to recognize the community’s voices in the next round of negotiations.
“We certainly have to get to work right away to lay a foundation for a much more successful, productive, healthy bargaining situation so that we don’t end up anywhere close to a strike again,” Miara said.
Miara believes the productivity of negotiations relies on open communication.
“It’s going back to basics,” Maira said. “The school committee and union leadership need to be working all the time to build and maintain open dialogue, transparent sharing of information, respectful sharing of ideas, so that there is the necessary foundation of trust, respect, and shared interests.”
Miara’s campaign also focuses on ensuring each student feels holistically supported while in school. She references the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support that some schools have already implemented as a successful model.
“The idea is that you’re creating a continuum of support so that every student is getting the right support that they need,” Miara said. “For some students, that’s going to be academic support. For others, it’s going to be social and emotional. And for other students, it’s going to be that they need more challenges or more acceleration in certain subjects.”
As both a parent and policy maker, Miara believes implementing more control on cell phone and computer use is key to limiting distractions and improving educational outcomes as a whole.
“Devices can cause distraction, reduced focus, and decreased stamina for important academic tasks like close reading,” Miara said. “Beyond academics, they can lead to cyberbullying, reduced social skills, unhealthy comparison, and increased levels of anxiety and depression among students.”
Despite the benefits and continued development of technology, Miara preaches a more traditional approach to education where students can completely disconnect.
“I’ve heard from teachers and administrators and students that locking phones up during the day in middle schools has led to a lot of really positive results,” Miara said. “I think we need a similar kind of policy in our high schools.”
Miara believes in tailored solutions to issues impacting NPS, as each faces its unique challenges.
“It’s about looking at what’s already happening in our schools—as every school community is different—then finding solutions that really work for that community,” Miara said.
