Julia Bowen

Julia Bowen is an ideal School Committee member. She is mature and thoughtful; she is empathetic and has strong, reliable boundaries; she is smart and deeply experienced; she is alert, sensitive, and sensible; she is open-minded, open-hearted, and authentically curious about and unthreatened by alternative perspectives; she is rational; she is unswervingly devoted to diversity, inclusion, and equity; she values problem-solving and persists in hammering out plans and policies that honor the complexity of the educational endeavor; she is unabashedly ethical. I can’t think of anyone who would better serve our district — our children, parents, teachers, and administrators — than Julia.

As a career educator in Berkshire County, there are very few people who have more prodigious skills regarding the inner workings of secondary schools in our community than Julia Bowen. She has sedulously served as a leader and a developer of educational leaders across our state. Her leadership is measured in delivery, yet steadfast in its resolve to impact students and the structures that serve them. My own two sons have thrived in an educational environment that she founded ...one that is as diverse-minded in its ideals as it is in its census. Julia Bowen is exactly who is needed on our School Committee.

Having seen Julia in action as the head of BART charter school, I am thrilled to endorse her for the school committee. Julia is one of the smartest, most driven, hard working and compassionate women I know. While I was on the Board of BART, I had the privilege to work alongside Julia for several years. Her ability to find creative solutions and adapt to ever changing circumstances was a huge reason the school was able to open and ultimately become so successful. For those of you not familiar with the history of the school, this was not an easy task. But for Julia, she makes everything look easy. She has a remarkable ability to listen and learn from a diverse group of perspectives and leverage those ideas to lead strategic and thoughtful discussions. Because of her incredible intellect, I also witnessed her retain and understand amazing amounts of information and key details about topics so she could make thoughtful, data driven decisions based on facts. I’m honored to support Julia for this role and look forward to the incredible impact she will have on our schools and our community. We are very lucky to have her!

As a former chair of the Mt. Greylock School Committee, I strongly endorse Julia Bowen’s candidacy.  I have known Julia as a Mt. Greylock teacher, the Executive Director of our county’s public charter school, BART, a committed volunteer in our community, and also as a friend. Throughout all of those roles, it is clear that Julia’s only agenda is to serve her community and do what’s best for children.  She is collegial in nature, willing to roll up her sleeves and work hard, and committed to supporting all members of our community, especially those who may be more disadvantaged.  There is no one more qualified or better suited to support our district at this time.

Julia Bowen has the precise skill set this community needs in order to build a more inclusive public school system.  Her talents are not only reflected in the success of BART Charter Public School - which boasts a racially integrated student body with a 100% college acceptance rate - but in her time serving on many local education committees and her work guiding educators through the state.  I have no doubt that Julia’s collaborative spirit as well as her clear, decades-long commitment to anti-racism and inclusion will make our school district stronger.

I was so happy to read that Julia Bowen is running for school committee, and I urge you to join me in voting for her. She has the experience we need and the disposition required to partner with school leaders and teachers as we face uncertain times and unprecedented challenges. I don’t simply mean that as the founding executive director of BART, she is well set up to understand the problems our school district faces. She is, and it’s worth mentioning. But I also want to point to her crucial role with the Mount Greylock School Council, in which she leads the working group on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; her work coaching charter school leaders, including facilitating white ally conversations; her experience as a math teacher at Mount Greylock, giving her necessary insight into how that school operates; and her extensive community engagement, which gives her a deep understanding of local laws, politics, and regulations. I trust her to partner with our dedicated staff to find ways to make our schools more equitable across and within populations, and to communicate openly with—and listen carefully to—parents, teachers, and students. I think we’re lucky such a dedicated and experienced woman is willing to join our school committee, and I look forward to the good work she’ll help get done. 

Julia's record of leadership is remarkable and speaks for itself.  But more than just her experience, it's her leadership style that we need right now: selfless, inclusive, and action-oriented. At Williamstown Community Preschool, for example, we benefited tremendously from having Julia volunteer to help lead our last director search. She asked all of the right questions, got all of the right people to the table, and focused our conversations on how we could best improve the lives of students and teachers. I enthusiastically endorse Julia's candidacy and can honestly think of few others in our community better prepared to lead us forward through these challenging times. 

Julia Bowen's name is synonymous with education in our community and the region. What's more, it's synonymous with educational leadership given her years serving as Executive Director of BART. I cannot think of a more qualified and dedicated candidate to serve on the Mount Greylock Regional School District School Committee. At this time of transition for our schools with a new superintendent, new principals, and other new administrators, her experience and professionalism will be invaluable to our district. She is well recognized for her collaborative work ethic and willingness to listen while demonstrating the ability to make tough decisions and get things done. Julia's election to our School Committee would be nothing short of transformative for the most effective conduct of our School Committee and administration, working together on behalf of our communities and our children first and foremost. Julia makes things happen and will do so for our district. Please join me in supporting Julia Bowen for School Committee when you vote on November 3. 

As a parent of children who went through the Mt. Greylock system and now with grandchildren in the district, I am aware that primary/secondary education faces a challenging future. The Mount Greylock School Committee will be of paramount importance in understanding and anticipating those challenges on behalf of the entire district. This will require strong knowledgeable, involved leadership from the Committee. The District is fortunate to have a highly qualified candidate for a seat on the Committee. Julia Bowen’s extensive, successful career in education is a matter of record. Her familiarity with local and statewide educational regulations and standards will not require a learning curve. In addition, and perhaps not as well known, is her commitment and involvement with the District as a member of the Mt. Greylock School Council, her chairmanship of the Council’s working group on diversity, equity and inclusion, and her role on the hiring committee of the new high school principal. A vote for Julia is a vote to add invaluable educational experience and expertise to the School Committee. I enthusiastically support Julia’s candidacy.