City Council candidate aims to reform education

As a long-time supporter and educator of the Boston Public Schools, Suzanne Lee hopes to bring her experience in education reform to the City Council if elected in the Nov. 8 municipal election.

Lee is running for a seat representing District 2, which includes South Boston, Chinatown, Dorchester and parts of the South End.

Devoted to improving the city’s educational system, Lee has worked in Boston schools for more than 35 years, including 15 years as a principal at national and state-recognized schools. She wants to bring the knowledge she gained during those years to the council by listening to the people and utilizing their talents.

“Some people think City Council is there to deal with potholes, transportation and streetlights, and people take it for granted,” Lee said. “City council is the closest government to the people, and we can really help bring back that notion of all of us working together for a common good.”

Lee herself attended Boston Public Schools while living in Grove Hall after arriving in the U.S. from China. She studied at Brandeis University and later attended Harvard University for a Master’s degree in education.

After years of teaching, she eventually became principal of the Harriet A. Baldwin Elementary School in Brighton and the Josiah Quincy School in Chinatown.

While working at the Baldwin School, she set up a program where Boston College students tutored the students. Lee said that after four years, the school became a national model of reform.

While principal of the Josiah Quincy School, Lee created the “City Connect Program,” which was similar to the program she developed at Baldwin. Hundreds of volunteers, she said, helped in the classrooms as well as with after-school programs.

In 2005, Josiah Quincy School was named one of the top schools in the state.

“There are many schools with 80 to 85 percent lower-income students, yet they can rise to the top, contrary to people’s misconceptions of what public schools are and what children can do,” Lee said. “Children in public schools are our future, and we have both obligations to do our best for them.”

Although primarily an educator, Lee was also a community organizer and said she knows children cannot do well academically unless their families have access to jobs and affordable housing. During her career, she developed workers training programs in state to help them get back on their feet and provide for their families.

“To ensure the quality of life for everyone who lives here, we recognize the need for enrichment opportunities to survive, focusing on the whole child because all children have to go to school,” she said. “I’ve done that in schools before and if we can, we need to make that kind of work a reality in City Council.”

Despite challenging the incumbent, Lee topped the preliminary election in in September  with about 39 percent of the vote. Councilor Bill Linehan, who has been serving on the Council since May 2007, trailed behind by four percent, which was the second time he came in second during a primary.

With the election approaching, Lee said her team plans on continuing outreach such as going from neighbor to neighbor, knocking on doors and attending community meetings and events.

“I have a lot more work to do because I’m challenging the incumbent,” Lee said. “But I’m confident that when people have the chance, they do resonate with my message and want government to be proactive and city council to hear them.”