Board of Ed Prez Rivera: "I have served with integrity." After half a decade of serving on the school district’s Board of Education, President Yesenia Rivera has announced that after her current term expires at the end of the month she will not return to the school board. Rivera shared that update Monday evening at the start of the board’s regular meeting at John Martinez School. Rivera told school board members and the public that her four-year term expires at the end of December. She plans to remain on the board until a new president is sworn in. Rivera is a state Department of Housing project manager and the program director of a childcare program based at Edgewood School. She has served on the Board of Ed since former Mayor Toni Harp tapped her to fill an empty volunteer-based seat in early 2019. She was appointed board president in January 2020. “I am proud that throughout that time, I have brought my honest self to this work,” Rivera said on Monday. ​“I have served with integrity and I have done everything in my power to support the effective functioning of this board.”She noted that she is proud to have led the board during significant transitions — such as selecting the district’s first Latina superintendent, navigating Covid-era disruptions of learning and district operations, and working through the school district’s financial limitations to help support its building upkeep and students’ needs.“My goal has always been to serve all members of the school district, while at the same time, lending my voice for the growing Latino population within this city,” she continued. ​“I am honored and proud of all that we have achieved under my tenure as president.”She is herself a New Haven Public Schools graduate: she attended Troup Middle School, then briefly returned home to Vega Alta in Puerto Rico, before finally coming back to New Haven as a sophomore at Career High School, from which she graduated.Rivera’s fellow board members thanked her for bringing to the board her selflessness, hard work, dedication, and patience over the past five years — four of which she served as president. They praised her years of leading the board with a steady hand, noting that she would even run meetings remotely while sick and postpone vacations and family matters in order to address district needs. Board members Abie Benitez, OrLando Yarborough, and Andrea Downer thanked Rivera for welcoming them onto the board and helping them grow professionally while demonstrating patient and graceful guidance.“Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your examples as a human being and also as a leader,” Yarborough said. Mayor Justin Elicker congratulated Rivera on an ​“incredible” five years, much of which involved behind-the-scenes work while under pressure and making hard decisions.Supt. Madeline Negrón thanked Rivera for being a strong president, who taught her the importance of the board’s partnership with the superintendent. She attributed the successes of her first year to Rivera, who consistently reminded the group that ​“the better we work together, children win.”Elicker must now appoint Rivera’s successor to serve on the Board of Education. After the mayor submits a nomination, the Board of Alders must review and vote on his pick before that person is confirmed.Rivera welcomes new administrative hire at Monday's Board of Ed meeting. Watch Monday's full meeting.