Jonathan Greene grew up in the Newton Public Schools (NPS) system. Now, the first-time candidate is running for the Ward 6 school committee seat in an effort to improve the institution that has made such a formative impact on his life. 

Greene is running against Mali Brodt for the Ward 6 seat in the municipal election on Nov. 4, with a platform built on his familiarity with the system and its needed investments. 

Greene emphasized the importance of investing in students, especially those with special needs. As someone with dyslexia, Greene understands the significance of active, goal-based support. 

“When my spelling scores were not very good, the question [my parents] asked was, ‘How do we provide Jonathan with the support that he needs so that he gets great grades,’ not ‘How do we lower the standard for what we think achievement is for Jonathan, so that we can declare success?’” Greene said. 

Greene aims to achieve this by establishing specific, measurable benchmarks for NPS students.

“We need to know whether we’re winning and doing right by our kids so that we can make adjustments and we can continue to improve,” Greene said. “That’s hard to do if you don’t have any data.”

That data, Greene believes, will standardize the curriculum between NPS’ 24 schools and enrich the learning of 11,000 NPS students. 

“Kids should not show up from multiple elementary schools and get to middle school and have the math teacher look around and say, ‘It doesn’t feel like all these kids came from the same school system,’” Greene said. 

Part of creating a meaningful support network is fostering a strong NPS community, Greene said. For this reason, keeping kids with special learning needs in the standard classroom as much as possible is one of his critical goals.

“I also see a lot of value—and I remember from my own experience—in keeping kids [with special learning needs] in class to the degree that you can,” Greene said. “Learning with your peers is way better than learning in someplace more isolated in the context.”

Greene feels especially passionate about how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education of young kids and students with learning challenges. 

 Online learning during COVID-19 necessitates heightened in-classroom support, Greene explained. The online learning environment was critical, given that the country was facing a public health crisis, but Greene sees a need to emphasize in-classroom learning now more than ever.

In addition to voicing his support for student learning, Greene firmly believes in supporting the rights of NPS teachers, especially after the 2024 teacher strike. 

“The idea that this should be a great place to come build a career, and the teachers should be paid appropriately,” Greene said. 

Greene also discussed his support for broad investments in NPS teachers. He emphasized his focus on not only teachers’ salaries and benefits, but also in-classroom support, curriculum support, and professional development opportunities. 

“What it feels like to be a teacher in the school system isn’t just one thing,” Greene said. “It’s a holistic, balanced approach to how we think about driving excellence in the school system.”

Greene emphasized developing a positive relationship between teachers and administration in order to foster an environment of success. 

“Everyone needs to feel like they’re being respected at the very core of it,” Greene said. 

Not only does Greene’s personal experience within NPS drive his passion for the institution, but his background in management has prepared him to fulfill the needs of thousands of people, from students to teachers to administrators. 

“The Newton School District is a big organization, and the school committee is effectively the board of directors for the Newton schools,” said Greene. “This is not a small organization that we’re talking about needing to lead and partner with the superintendent to set direction on, and that feels familiar to me.” 

Greene has worked for multiple different investors, but has most recently made his career in the technology sector. Greene previously worked for Wayfair before starting his role as chief digital and technology officer at US LBM. 

“Much of my career has been about setting strategy and driving change within an organization,” Greene said. 

Greene believes that his experiences, skills, and voice have the power to do just that at NPS, which is especially important in a modern era where education has become increasingly complicated, social support has dwindled, and learning has been inhibited.

“The schools are not the same as they were even just 10 years ago, with the advent of social media, with the challenges of social interaction post COVID, with the breadth of the types of students that we take, that we provide services for in schools,” Greene said. 

According to Greene, these changes necessitate a school committee member who is committed to permanent support, has the personal experiences to empathize with NPS students, and can put ideas into action. 

“I don’t think it’s lost on anybody in this race that six new school committee members and a new mayor gives us all a chance to start over again,” Greene said.