Rey Martinez Jr. is 18, attends Holyoke Community College and is a security guard at the mall.
Rey Martinez Jr., School Committee candidateHOLYOKE – Newcomer Rey Martinez Jr. said he is 18 and ready to be on the School Committee.
“I can offer new ideas that will restore academic success in all schools throughout Holyoke,” Martinez, of 14 Sterling Road, wrote in an email May 9.
He works as a security guard at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside and attends Holyoke Community College, he said.
He is running for the Ward 5 School Committee seat currently held by first-term member Devin M. Sheehan.
“What Holyoke needs is a representative that will be interactive with schools, teachers, parents, and students alike to come up with innovative ideas that will improve the overall quality of every single student’s academic career providing them with the necessary tools to prosper in both college and the work force,” Martinez said.
He graduated from Holyoke High School in 2010. His age can be a benefit, he said, because he can bring a younger generation’s perspective to issues.
He would work to improve the high school drop-out rate and restore academic integrity to Dean Technical High School and Morgan School, he said. Both schools have been cited by the state as being chronically underperforming.
Regarding the drop-out rate, he said, “We need to instill the value of a good education starting at a young age ...”
The high school graduation rate is 52.5 percent, with Dean’s only 37 percent, compared to the statewide rate of 82.1 percent.
“I plan to be as dynamic as possible in promoting the welfare of our student’s academic achievement,” Martinez said.