Dear Oyster Adams Community,

Greetings from Boston! I am extremely proud to have been chosen to continue the extraordinary legacy of Oyster-Adams, and looking forward to all the learning we will do together to continue the legacy, and the future of the school.

A special thank you to the selection committee who gave their time and dedication in choosing their next leader. It is rare to walk away from an interview having laughed, cried together, and discussed deep equity issues. Your chosen team represented the school’s goals, identity, and values impressively.

I know you already read my credentials in Superintendent Bethel's letter, but I want you to know my story and my mission–because as philosopher Dr. Cornel West says, “our roots determine our routes.” When my Ecuadorian father, my Brazilian mother and I left Quito to live in this country, we struggled to find a linguistic and cultural connection in each city we lived in. I was only 6 years old, but every time we moved, my father reminded me and my sister, "Never be ashamed of who you are, and remember that you share a language with Márquez, Neruda, and Allende." Those words were a powerful inoculation against prejudice in so many schools where the use of Spanish was not allowed, my family's accents were mocked, or my Latino community was belittled. Being able to read in Spanish was my secret weapon, my incontrovertible proof that my people are, and will always be, brilliant.

Therefore, my mission as an educator is to create spaces where we achieve the impossible thanks to our roots, where we celebrate and normalize the genius and intellectualism of people of color. Our brilliance is the norm, not the exception. The hard work of many decades at Oyster-Adams has ensured that students achieve extraordinary results because they have a heritage and a community that gives strength and encouragement to their dreams – as my family did for me. We embrace several worlds, and several languages within one identity. And that identity and openness will allow us access to the world.

This year, I will be the first person to have ever led the two oldest and most established bilingual schools in the Northeast, the Rafael Hernández and Oyster-Adams. I will work every day to deserve the trust, the historical legacy, and the lessons that I will carry in my heart from both. What my phenomenal team here in Boston taught me is that progress only happens when the whole pueblo participates in the fight, from the warrior grannies to the most talented teachers (because sometimes the grannies are the most skillful educators).

With that in mind, this Friday, June 7, I will be present in both parts of the school to tour classes, meet families at arrival (K-2nd campus) and dismissal (3rd-8th campus), and meet with the current leadership team. Families, staff, and students will have many opportunities to meet me in the summer (I will post them in my next letter), but I wanted to announce my arrival now so I can personally thank and learn from Principal Meliotis, and meet the talented team that has successfully navigated a year full of unexpected transitions.

If you see me in the hallways, or on the street on the 7th, don't hesitate to introduce yourself!

In service,

Carolina Brito

Principal and Eternal Student of the Rafael Hernández K-8 School
Future Principal and Lead Learner at the Oyster-Adams K-8