Born in Puerto Rico, Jon and his family left in search of opportunity and made their way to Boston. The move allowed his father to finish college at Northeastern University while they lived in subsidized housing and relied on government support. But while Boston offered the promise of expanded opportunity, Jon’s family also found a city facing a scourge of gun violence, struggling schools, and worsening inequity.
From attending under-resourced grade schools and community college to graduating from a prestigious medical school, Jon has lived and borne witness to the great disparity of our educational system. Massachusetts has some of the best schools in the country, but one of the most unequal education systems. He will not settle for a public education system that is underfunded, overworked, and not committed to serving our most vulnerable children. For too long, Beacon Hill has been shortchanging Boston Public Schools through an outdated funding formula and a failure to fulfill its current obligations. Jon believes in a robust public education system that spans from universal pre-K to a debt-free post-secondary degree, with strong reinvestment in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education.