Left to right: Julie Yang, Grace Rivera-Oven. Photos courtesy MCPS
On Thursday, school board members elected Julie Yang to be board president and Grace Rivera-Oven to be vice president.
Yang and Rivera-Oven, elected in 2022, were unanimously selected among the six present board members. Members Rivera-Oven and Natalie Zimmerman were not present during the votes.
Yang hopes the board “will be a model of civility, a beacon of respect” and a symbol of hope for students, families and educators. She said the board will remain steadfast in work to retain and attract high-quality, diverse staff. She added that the board “will examine our work to make sure we are effective at being stewards of this institution.”
“We will fix our attention on our north star: the student achievement,” she said. “That means our relentless focus on research-based curriculum, high-quality instruction, and also equitable distribution of our resources.”
Yang mentioned safety and security: “Our students should feel safe physically and supported psychologically in our buildings. And that means inclusive, welcoming, and culturally-responsive practices in our schools.”
Karla Silvestre served as board president for the last two years. Lynne Harris, who is no longer on the board, was previously vice president.
“I think we are all in this together, we all want the best for our children, for public education,” Silvestre said. “And if we continue to work with that in mind I think we will continue to do great things together.”
“I know how difficult being president of this board can be,” board member Brenda Wolff told Silvestre, “and I thought that I had had a rough time with COVID, but you had a rough time with our situation over the last so many months. And I want to say that you exhibited grace under that, and leadership, and we are proud to say that you were our president.”
Silvestre led the school board in the wake of an exposé of sexual harassment by a school principal who was promoted. She was president through parent protests, a lawsuit, a resistant separation from the previous superintendent, and the national search for a new superintendent. She testified before Congress about antisemitism in schools, and faced the county council to discuss issues with how MCPS handles employee misconduct complaints. Silvestre led the board through a contentious budget cycle that resulted in cutbacks.
“We’d like to echo our appreciation for your service and your tremendous grace under very strained and challenging times and circumstances,” MCPS Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor told Silvestre. “You were an excellent leader for the board and our community owes you a tremendous debt of gratitude.”
