WORCESTER, Mass. – Four candidates for Worcester School Committee are looking to be elected for the first time on Tuesday. 

If elected Jermaine Johnson would be the first Black man ​on the Worcester School Committee, in a school district made up of a diverse population of students.

What You Need To Know

  • Depending on what happens on Tuesday, it could be the first time the Worcester school committee is made up of all women

  • It could also be the first time a Black man is elected for a seat

  • There are eight candidates competing for six seats

  • For four of those candidates it would their first time serving on the school committee

“It will good to be have someone on school committee that represents them and looks like them," Johnson said.

Johnson, who has a background in social work, says he's running after noticing families in the Worcester Public Schools were struggling during the pandemic. He says he wants to create a better learning environment and get kids get back on track after remote learning.

“Right now we are in a good place the kids are in school,” Johnson said. “That’s the most important thing. What I do want to see is more social, emotional support for the kids, because they missed a long time in school.”

Sue Coghlin Mailman says she’s chaired different boards in the city and is a business owner

“The families that I have talked to want to believe that they are sending their kids to the best public school system in the state,” she said. “I think we have a ways to go, to get to that belief and I want to help be a part of it.”

She says state and federal funding along with the search for a new superintendent are a focus for her.

“Its an important time, its an important process, I know that the school committee is looking for a diverse group of folks to kind of involved in this early part of how we want to define what we want in the next superintendent, so I m excited about that process," Coghlin Mailman said. 

Jermoh Kamara says she took advantage of her education in the Worcester Public Schools after coming to the city from Liberia.

“I see the impact of education on my personal life because I'm here running for this position, so that all kids in our public schools can have equal opportunities, fair opportunities,” Kamara said. 

Kamara says having vocational-technical education programs are important to her, along with college partnerships.

"To be able to nurture their education and then on the pathway to I’m going to college or being employable, when it comes to the job field," Kamara said. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to candidate Shanel Soucy, but did not hear back as of Sunday.

Depending on what happens on Tuesday, it could be the first time the Worcester School Committee is made up of all women.

It could also be the first time a Black man is elected for a seat. 

There are eight candidates competing for six seats. For four of those candidates it would their first time serving on the school committee.