I am endorsing Jim Swaim for School Committee because he cares greatly about the future of Brookline’s schools and greatest resource, our children. I know this to be true because we have been married for 38 years.

When our oldest daughter was entering kindergarten Jim and I moved to Brookline only to discover Lincoln School was in tragic disrepair. The override campaign for a new Lincoln began Jim’s years of override campaigns, neighborhood involvement, coaching, and fundraising.

Jim spent 27 years teaching at Devotion School, was a teacher-researcher with Spencer Foundation and MacArthur grants, author and presenter, and eventually became vice principal at Pierce and principal at Lawrence School. Five years post-retirement, he continues to mentor Boston teachers today.

Jim knows that each school is a diverse and complex reflection of its community and must strive to be inclusive and free from institutional racism. He believes that testing will not close the achievement gap. Good teaching will. If we hire teachers for their expertise they should be given the trust and resources to do their best work when educating our children.

Jim knows overcrowding creates more than class size, personnel and space issues. It plays havoc with time, creating needless stress. The School Committee must move quickly to put a solution in place. Our schools must be expanded, renovated and maintained and a ninth school must become a reality. He supports the Yes for Brookline Override for Questions 1 and 2 .

The Alliance for Brookline Schools interviewed all candidates for School Committee and endorsed only Jim Swaim, David Pearlman, and Jennifer Monopoli. My husband is humbled by this endorsement. I know him to be a man of intellect, integrity, boundless energy and purpose. Jim, David and Jennifer represent a progressive voice for the Brookline School Committee. Please vote for them..

Shelli Morgenstern Brookline