John Kingston has announced his candidacy for School Committee. The following is his statement:
“My name is John Kingston and I am pleased to announce my candidacy for one of the six positions on the Revere School Committee. The Revere Public Schools have always been a big part of my life. I attended Revere Public Schools and graduated from Revere High School as did my daughter Jennifer and my son Jeffrey. My father, George Kingston, was a teacher and principal in the Revere Public Schools for over thirty years. My brother, Chris Kingston, is a twenty five year veteran of the Revere Public Schools, currently teaching at Revere High School. My daughter, Jennifer, is in her eighth year of teaching at the Whelan School. Dedication to education runs in my family.
While my children were attending Revere schools, I began to volunteer wherever I could to help. PTA, School Improvement Councils at multiple schools, school safety at the Lincoln School, working with Revere SEPAC, Revere High School Accreditation, and assisting on countless fundraising ventures for all of the schools. Many of these activities continued after my children graduated from Revere High School. I am always trying to help wherever and whenever I can, as that is who I am.
My professional career is also embedded in Revere. I have been employed at the Revere Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union for the last 21 years with the last 13 serving as the manager/treasurer. My employment has afforded me the opportunity to work with teachers, admins, custodians, cafe personnel and other school staff every day, helping them with their financial needs. This has granted me the unique opportunity to see what goes on in the schools. I believe this sets me apart from other candidates who don’t come to the position with this kind of background. This valuable time has afforded me the opportunity to see what we need to do to support the children and all those involved in the Revere Public Schools. I spearheaded the opening of a branch of the Credit Union at Revere High School. This has brought some degree of financial literacy to the over 2300 students and staff in the building. It is common for me to go to RHS advisories to talk to the students about financial literacy and how to be prepared for their financial futures. Financial literacy is now a requirement to graduate, so this information becomes even more critical to our students.
Dedication and hard work are important to me. I still work a part time union job. I am a proud and loyal member of UFCW Local 1445. My union affiliation has taught me the value of working together to achieve a common goal. The common goal I look forward to the most is working for the children of Revere. This work will include building a new Revere High School to prepare our children for 21st century careers.
Communication to the parents and the community is an area I would like to see improved.
I believe the flow of information is not as fluid as it needs to be. LED Message Boards located outside each school could be installed to help get the word out about events and other important information. Many other districts such as Everett and Saugus have these message boards, yet we currently do not have any. We need to continue and strengthen the Family Liason roles to reach out to families and the community. Families and community members need to feel welcome at the schools and have a clear understanding of all that is happening.
Some other ideas I would like to promote:
Revive the Alumni Association – We have a great many alumni who may wish to give back to the Revere Public School community in the form of scholarships, job opportunities and mentoring.
Grant Writer – Hire a dedicated grant writer as there are millions of dollars in grants available and a dedicated grant writer could assist us with additional funding for many programs.
Health Technicians –We are fortunate to have health techs assisting our nurses at the schools now. I would like to see these positions remain into the future as many of our students have health issues.
Happy to see -Human Resource Professional – Two years ago, I campaigned for a human resource professional to be added to the staff for Revere Public Schools. Thankfully, one was hired this year and I was very happy to see this position created.
Thank for your time and I hope you consider me for one of your six votes.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me.
