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Yesenia Rivera, newest school board nominee.
Mayor Toni Harp has picked Yesenia Rivera, the director of a school-based childcare program, to fill an empty spot on the Board of Education.
If the Board of Alders approves her nomination, Rivera, the program director at the Edgewood PTO Child Care Program and the housing assessment director at The Connection, Inc., will be the newest appointee on the seven-member school board.
The board currently has two vacancies.
She’ll be taking over for Frank Redente, who resigned midway through his term after saying he felt fed up with the board’s behind-the-scenes politics. The term expires just under two years from now in December 2020.
Rivera said that, if approved, she wants to make sure that no student is overlooked.
“My focus would be on raising the standards in the school system and just ensuring that we are not leaving kids behind, that we are making sure the instruction goes to everyone,” Rivera said.
“There are no bad kids. We need to make sure that they’re all getting the attention and instruction that’s needed to succeed.”
“At the end of the day, it’s all about the kids and making sure we provide the resources that we can. I know that there have been budget issues, and that’s something we have to work within,” she added. “I’m excited to try to do something to make a difference in any little way I can.”
Rivera’s three daughters all went through Edgewood School; the youngest is just finishing up her college degree. Ever since they started, going on nearly two decades, Rivera has run the school-based childcare program.
Edgewood parents who have to head to work or classes of their can can drop their kids off early or pick them up late. The program, which serves nearly 65 kids, opens an hour before school at 7:30 a.m., and it lasts for three hours after school until 6:00 p.m.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, Mayor Harp said that she named Rivera to the school board because of her advocacy within the city, especially for its youngest members.
“Ms. Rivera will bring to the Board of Education the perspective of a parent whose children went through New Haven Public Schools, 20 years’ experience as a childcare program director and as an advocate for local families on housing issues, and a demonstrated commitment to help New Haven meet the needs of young people and their families,” she said.
Harp added that, as director of the Edgewood PTA Child Care Program, which has a roughly $100,000 budget, Rivera has overseen “budgeting, staffing, state licensing, grant administration and reporting.” That experience has “equipped her to be an effective and productive member of the New Haven Board of Education,” Harp added.
Mayor Harp has yet to name a replacement for Jamell Cotto, whose reappointment alders rejected in an 18 – 8 vote last month.
This would be a good appointment if Rivera had retired. If she is still running the school-based child care system, their is an obvious conflict of interest (just as with those who work for BoE contractors, such as Farnam House).