Effective January 2024, Dr. Gloria Caballero joins the School Committee as the Ward 4 representative. Ward 4 covers parts of the Churchill and downtown neighborhoods, as well as smaller sections of the Oakdale and Highland neighborhoods. Lawrence Elementary is in Ward 4.
Dr. Caballero said she is drawn to serve in a public office because she would like to see more “meaningful changes happening in our communities.” She wants to work with all stakeholders to develop a “community that thrives, that is safe, and where people can find spaces of learning.” She believes there is a tremendous opportunity to coordinate and collaborate—as well as increase investment in—departments and organizations across Holyoke and the western Massachusetts community to better support students and families. Some of the changes she would like to see include greater diversity and cultural connections in the curriculum, more meaningful and sustainable after-school programs, greater partnership with city organizations to host workshops in middle and high schools to teach students their rights and duties as citizens, and more mental health support for students.
Dr. Caballero is eager to learn alongside her fellow School Committee members and champion a “multidisciplinary approach to solving problems.” Her professional background is as an academic, educator, researcher, and activist. She has studied and taught interdisciplinary topics, including gender studies and Latino studies. She has also taught English as a Second Language and supported students to earn their high school diplomas. Her mission in education is to “form sophisticated critical thinkers who can recognize our interdependency and connectedness among ourselves and with the planet.” She currently teaches at Bard College, which is a part of the Care Center; Enlace de Familias; and Holyoke Community College. She is also a translator and interpreter at UMass and Neighbor to Neighbor.
She has been personally connected to Holyoke since 1999, when she moved here while pursuing her PhD in Comparative Literature at UMass Amherst. She and her husband were drawn to Holyoke for its diversity, affordability, and convenient location. Her two sons attended Holyoke Public Schools. One attended Lawrence, Lynch, and Holyoke High School. The other attended Holyoke Magnet Middle School for the Arts and Dean Technical.
Dr. Caballero was originally born in Santiago de Cuba and moved to Havana as a young child. She has two doctoral degrees and two master’s degrees.