Kyra Wilson Cook Files for Acton-Boxborough School Committee

The following was submitted as a candidacy announcement by Kyra Wilson Cook for the upcoming Acton Annual Town Election. If you would like to submit a candidacy announcement, email samantha.mercado@patch.com.

Kyra Wilson Cook, an active member of the Acton community, today declared her candidacy and filed nomination papers to run for a seat on the Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee.

Cook, a former teacher and the mother of two sons who attend McCarthy-Towne Elementary School, went to Acton Town Hall to submit more than 100 signatures—more than twice the number needed to qualify—and received official confirmation that she will appear on the ballot.

“I am grateful to my many friends, neighbors, and fellow Acton residents who have enabled me to run for School Committee,” Cook said. “This campaign is an exciting opportunity for me to listen to, learn from, and work with everyone in Acton on the important issues facing our schools.”

Cook, a first-time candidate, served on the Acton-Boxborough Superintendent Search Screening Committee in 2018, and currently serves on the Superintendent’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group. She previously taught middle school history in Hyde Park and Roxbury. She has also taught short story and noveling classes through AB Community Education and Concord Academy Summer Camp since 2018.

Cook holds a B.A. in Political Science and Secondary Education from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an Ed.M. in Learning and Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her studies focused on the political, social, and legal history of segregation, integration, and re-segregation of public schools.

When she is not volunteering as a classroom mom at McCarthy-Towne, Kyra works as the Events Coordinator for the Silver Unicorn Bookstore and a search consultant for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. She is an active parishioner of St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields in Lincoln, where she serves as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, recently co-chaired the search for a new rector, worked on the successful multi-million dollar capital campaign, and served on the stewardship committee.

School Committee Members serve three-year terms. Seven of the School Committee’s Members are from Acton; the other four are from Boxborough. The School Committee develops policy to guide administrative action by the school system. The School Committee also employs the superintendent and adopts the school system’s budget, among other responsibilities.

The Annual Town Election is on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

Cook’s campaign Facebook page is available at Facebook.com/KyraForCommittee. Her campaign Twitter account is @KyraABSchools.