Ep 32: Academic Inequities and Systemic Racism in our Public Schools with Mariel Novas
On today’s episode of Catalysts for Change, Jill talks to Mariel Novas, the Assistant Director of Partnerships and Engagement for The Education Trust. A resident of Boston, first generation college student and immigrant from the Dominican Republic, Mariel works toward equitable education experiences for all students, particularly black and brown students. In her work Mariel supports the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership, a collective effort of civil rights, social justice and education advocates from across the commonwealth, working together to promote educational equity for historically underserved students in our state’s schools.
Moving to Boston from the Domincan Republic at five years old, Mariel spent the beginning of her educational journey in Boston Public Schools before moving to a suburban private high school with the support of her teachers and the Steppingstone Foundation. Witnessing the education inequities her fellow students of color and siblings faced as well as being a person of color in a predominantly white private high school, Mariel strives to advocate and support those students today in her work with EdTrust and MEEP while addressing and tackling systemic racism in order to create a more equitable future for all students.
If you’d like to read more about Mariel’s work, please check out the links below.
Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership:
Here is the MEEP op-ed that was published in the Boston Globe this morning titled “State must fulfill its promise to underserved students”.
Here is MEEP’s “founding” document of sorts: “#1 for Some: Opportunity & Achievement in Massachusetts”.
Link to MEEP’s website (more advocacy resources can be found there)
Education Trust Links:
Here is a link to EdTrust’s website