NORTHAMPTON — City resident Emily Serafy-Cox has announced she will be running for the Ward 3 seat on the School Committee in the Nov. 5 municipal election.
She was inspired to run after seeing parents advocate for change last year at Bridge Street School amid a challenging school year in which a new special education model was implemented. Her daughter is a second grader at the school.
“I was really inspired by the way that the parents at Bridge Street School last year came together to lift up the concerns that were going on at the school and to organize in a mostly positive way to highlight what our schools need,” she said.
Currently, Serafy-Cox is a doula — a person who provides birth support — and works remotely for a nonprofit focused on affordable housing in California. She also volunteers at the Pioneer Valley Workers Center in Northampton and serves as treasurer of the Ward 3 Neighborhood Association.
Before moving to Northampton a few years ago with her wife, Serafy-Cox lived in San Diego and Minneapolis, where she worked as a community organizer.
If elected to the committee, she would advocate to increase school staff pay and pass the Promise Act, a bill that would reform how the state funds public schools.
Attracting students to the district is another goal, and she floated the possibility of a dual immersion Spanish program as one way to do that. “Spanish is such an important skill for everyone to have in this country,” she said.
For SerafyCox, equity is also a central issue. “I think that our schools have taken some major strides in terms of thinking about and grappling with issues of all different kinds of inequality, be it racial inequality, gender inequality or ability,” she said. “Those conversations need to continue in super thoughtful and intentional ways. I would continue to support those dialogues.”
She will be kicking off the campaign with a gathering on Saturday, June 1 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 150 North St.
After more than 20 years as principal of Jackson Street School, Gwen Agna will be retiring after the next school year. The Northampton Education Foundation is honoring her work by naming a new fund after her.
The group recently announced it is creating the “Principal Gwen Agna Fund for Northampton Public Education,” the fourth named fund under the umbrella of the Northampton Education endowment fund. Although the fund is named in Agna’s honor, it is not restricted to Jackson Street School and will be used all throughout the district.
“It gives the chance for the community — especially the Jackson Street community — to honor Gwen Agna’s legacy in public education in the city,” said Martin Wohl, chairman of the NEF endowment campaign.
Her long career and impact in Northampton schools is what prompted NEF members to name the fund in her honor.
“I think part of how this came about, there were people thinking, ‘Gee this is someone that’s been here for a long time, is there some way she will be recognized?’” he said, noting that Agna has been “instrumental” in the foundation’s mission.
Agna has seen the impact of the fund on the school. “I see every day what it accomplishes at Jackson Street School and in collaboration throughout the district,” she said in a statement. “Supporting NEF is the community’s way of saying to teachers and students: ‘We value you.’”
On Friday, the foundation will hold an event at 12:30 p.m. at Jackson Street School to officially name the fund.
On Friday, Northampton High School students protested inaction on climate change in front of City Hall as part of the “Fridays for Future” movement started by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, who started skipping class every Friday to protest her country’s lack of attention to climate change.
In March, students all over the world — including in Boston and Amherst — skipped school to protest as part of Fridays for Future. Young people in more than 100 countries participated in Friday’s strike, Time reported.
Young people are not stopping their strikes, said Saraphina Forman, a Northampton High School student and state leader for Youth Climate Strike US.
“We’re showing that we’re not losing momentum and we’re not going to give up until we have our demands met, which is a livable future of our generation and the generations to come,” Forman said.
“It is hard for students to miss class,” she added, “but we’re planning on having more strikes when school starts up again in August.”
Specifically, Forman said students advocate for the Green New Deal and upholding the Paris Agreement, a United Nations agreement to combat climate change.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.