2026 School Committee Inauguration Speech

Speech by School Committee Chair Emily Ackman  (January 3, 2026)

Welcome, and thank you. What a night. What a crowd! Tonight, I am sharing the stage with someone I served on student school committee with in high school, and with someone I roomed with in college. If you want to know who they are, there are bingo cards on the back of your programs… I am, of course, kidding.

I want to thank my family: Jonah, TJ, and Ruby. Your sacrifice of time is what enables me to serve our community, and I am forever grateful. If everyone here will humor me, can we please give a round of applause to the family members of all our elected officials here tonight? We could not do this work without you!

Thanks also to my parents, who are here tonight. You impressed upon me the value of civic engagement early on and encouraged me on all my adventures— as I moved around the country and the world figuring out who I was... only to eventually land two and a half miles from my childhood home.

Thank you to the voters of Ward 1 for entrusting me to represent you on the School Committee, and to my City Council counterpart, Matt McLaughlin. Matt, your hard work on behalf of East Somerville inspires me every day and has a profound and positive impact on our neighborhood and this city.

To my colleagues—Laura, Andre, Leiran, Liz, Michele, Emma, Lance, and Jake: thank you for entrusting me as school committee chair. I look forward to collaborating with you over the next two years. And finally, to my predecessor, Ilana Krepchin: you secured the teacher’s contract, renewed the Superintendent for another 4 years, and navigated countless storms. You leave big shoes to fill.

This past Thanksgiving, I was reading the obituary of late reggae pioneer, Jimmy Cliff (may he rest in peace), where he is quoted as saying “I looked up the meaning of politics. Poli means ‘people’... and tics are a bloodsucking parasite." Which spoke to me because it is kind of how our politics has felt of late, like a blood sucking parasite trying to drain us of our goodwill. There is an overriding attitude of purity testing and “if you’re not 100% with me, then you’re against me”. And while this divisiveness is definitely loudest from the current federal administration, we have also seen it in our community. Political pundits call this “tribalism”, a division into groups that think similarly and dislike and distrust those they see as having different views. 

I have been reading and thinking a lot about politics, identity, and this word ‘tribalism’ lately. As a Jewish American, there is a shorthand that we sometimes use when we find out someone new we meet is Jewish. “Oh, you’re 'M.O.T.'—a Member of the Tribe. It’s a way of saying: 'We have this one thing in common, and that is enough for me to see you as my people.'

Tonight, I want to extend that definition to everyone who serves this city and everyone who showed up to support them. Whether or not we agree on every issue the city faces, what unites us is so much stronger than what divides us.

So tonight, I want you to know: I see you as part of my tribe.

If you are on this stage, in the audience, or watching at home, you obviously care about our community. I appreciate you and I see you as part of our tribe in Somerville. If you have run for office, volunteered for a campaign, worked on a commission, volunteered at a school, helped a neighbor, walked someone’s kid to school, put food in a community fridge, or a book in a little free library, if you have gone toe-to-toe with an ICE agent, or showed up in my neighborhood just willing to try in order to protect our immigrant neighbors and their families, then I see you as my people.

There are so many ways that we can find common ground and work together. I might not agree with you on everything, heck I might not even like you… or you might not like me. That’s okay! I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I am still committed to working with you in an open and collaborative spirit because if you care about children, families, food security, immigrants' rights, or inclusive classrooms, then you are my people and we can find common ground and work together to improve outcomes in our community. I believe in public education and I am so proud of the work we are doing in Somerville Public Schools. As a school committee member, I am here for every single student in every single school. I look forward to working with all of you to ensure that every child in Somerville is given exactly what they need to thrive.

Thank you, and let's get to work!