This is a portion of the Superintendent’s Update by Superintendent Cliff Chuang mailed to Bedford Public School community on Friday, January 12. Please find this week’s full issue of Superintendent’s Update and back issues at bedfordps.org.
Shawn Ayala – Class of 2006
Note: This will be the first in an ongoing series of pieces highlighting the stories of BPS alums, taking us into and out of Black History Month in February, highlighted on this BPS Black Excellence Site put together by Lisa Morrison, JGMS STEM teacher.
Shawn is currently the Associate Dean of Students at the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, a college in the South End of Boston that provides transformative technical and trade education that prepares young adults to be placed in high-demand jobs. He has been working at the college for seven years.
Prior to his work at Franklin Cummings Tech, Shawn served as a Personalized Pathways Counselor for KIPP Massachusetts in Lynn, an Educational Assistant/Academic Advisor at the John Glenn Middle School in Bedford, and a teacher through the Teach for America program in Houston, TX.
Shawn earned his Master of Education in School Counseling from Cambridge College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Bryant University. Shawn also holds a Texas Educator Certificate.
Shawn was born and raised in Dorchester, but attended Bedford Public Schools as a METCO student from 1st thru 12th grade. He owes a lot of his success to his participation in this program which allowed him to learn and build relationships with others from different walks of life. He was afforded many opportunities his peers in Boston were not fortunate to access including a positive, challenging learning environment that encouraged Shawn to dream big and get accepted into Bryant University. Through hard work and persistence, Shawn followed in his brother’s footsteps to become a first generation college graduate.
Growing up, Shawn always had a passion for helping others. As a teen, he received a lot of support from community mentors and youth workers who took the time to recognize his potential and support him along his journey to become the Associate Dean of Students he is today. In his current role, he continues to live out his passion for helping young adults achieve post-secondary success.
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