Four seek appointment to vacant School Committee seat

Four candidates for a vacant seat on the School Committee will be interviewed Tuesday night before a joint meeting of the School Committee and Select Board.

The boards’ choice will fill the vacancy recently left by Rahul Rathi, who resigned last month. The appointment will run until the May 17 Town Election, when the remainder of the 2-year term will appear on the ballot along with the two 3-year seats now held by Amy Marr and Jennifer Connelly.

The candidates include:

Liora Bram, a communications and marketing professional who serves as co-chair of the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee. She has two children in the Grafton schools, including a child with Down Syndrome.

“I also feel I bring some diversity to town government. I’m a first generation American, with parents from South America and Israel, and have experienced first-hand being a student that comes from a different culture, practices a different religion, and speaks a different language at home than most of my peers. These experiences, along with my experience parenting a child with a disability, will help me bring a different perspective to School Committee business as Grafton continues to evolve and extend our school community.”

Liora Bram

Stacie Norton Bennett, a former teacher, now director of programming and youth services for the Salvation Army in Worcester. She has two children in the Grafton schools.

“While I understand that it is not a requirement that school committee members have a background in Education, I do believe my experience would position me well to be a highly informed, credible, and contributing member of the School Committee,.My role as both a parent and an educator has motivated me to apply for this position. Sitting on the Grafton School Committee would allow me to continue my long-standing work in education and serving students in the local education system. It would also allow me to further my work in influencing educational outcomes for all students which I see as the primary role of any school committee.”

Stacie Norton Bennett

Rebecca Soco, a veterinarian and former science teacher. She has three children, one now in the Grafton schools.

“I have diverse experience both within and outside of education. I have excellent communication skills and have honed them working with a large variety of audiences, children to the elderly, ESL populations, ethnically and culturally diverse populations. I am an advocate for equity for all students. I would like to see mental health support for students, especially during the pandemic, brought to the forefront. I would love to be able to merge my experience as both a veterinarian and an educator and support an education system and ideology that I believe in.”

Rebecca Soco

Mariagraciela Vargas-Baker, a school psychologist in both Worcester and Westborough who has also taught in public schools. 

“My experiences as an immigrant place me in a unique position. Due to these experiences, I am not only able to communicate with parents whose native language is not English, but it also grants me the perspective of what it is like to be in their shoes. I have first-hand experience in what it is like to learn a new language, navigate a new culture, and become accustomed to a new school environment. Seeing my parents’ challenges as they brought up two children in a foreign country and having the experience of working in an urban school district has helped me gain compassion and understanding. It has taught me to be a better and more efficient communicator while also providing me with the opportunity to see both sides.”

Mariagraciela Vargas-Baker

The boards will interview candidates and vote to confirm at 6 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84259544822?pwd=ZkNOd2dVM2FKOHkvL283YUtGc0RRUT09

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