Margaret Credle Thomas stands on the shoulders of her bilingual parents, especially her mother, who migrated from Honduras with only an elementary education but a strong desire for her children to accomplish more than she could achieve. She shares her mother’s trait of perseverance and takes advantage of the opportunities set before her. Somewhere between her small red desk writing imaginative short stories as a child, she obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts/Boston and a Master of Science in Social Work from Simmons University. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Education at Boston College.

Margaret has worked for the Arlington Public Schools previously as the K-12 METCO (Metropolitan Council For Educational Opportunity) Director and is now the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her previous positions included METCO specialist for Wayland Public Schools, Assistant METCO Director for Lexington Public Schools, and Interim METCO Director for Brookline Public Schools. Additionally, she has been an adjunct professor for the former Wheelock College and Urban College of Boston. Margaret has a strong background in anti-racist education, having served as an IDEAS facilitator/trainer for over 19 years to increase cultural sensitivity and effective teaching. 

Katie believes that teaching does not exist as one verb: teaching is leading; teaching is listening; teaching is learning. Driven by core values of creativity, collaboration and care, Katie uses her skills as an Equity-Informed Mediator to empower those around her with tools for honest dialogue, conflict resolution, and differentiation. With a background in K-12 Education, Sociology, Women’s & Gender Studies, African American Studies and Criminal Justice, Katie began her teaching career in Chelsea Public Schools with a focus on how our intersectional identities impact our work in this world. Before serving as the middle school MLL Instructional Coach in Chelsea, Katie taught ELA & ELD to 7th grade foundational and transitional ML students (ELPs 1-5), and co-taught history, science and math. Katie loves supporting and cheering on her students as they navigate personal and academic growth - all while shining brilliantly in multiple languages.

Katie has also enjoyed the path of supporting colleagues, teachers and administrators in multiple districts in advocating for, empowering and celebrating their students through reflection on their own identities and positionality. Katie briefly returned to her high school, The Commonwealth School, to partner with the Dean of Diversity and Headmaster in creating a sustainable program to increase student diversity, and infuse culturally-responsive pedagogies into faculty work. As a Teach For America alum, Katie served as an SEI course instructor, guiding new teachers throughout Boston in designing engaging, culturally sustaining curricula that are accessible to all students across grade bands from elementary to high school. In addition to her teaching and coaching in Chelsea, Katie co-created and co-facilitated monthly DEI faculty meetings that unearthed restorative action steps in curricula, instructional strategies, relationships, systems and policies. The deep connections built through Katie's partnership in these spaces have proven transformational to school cultures. Katie is honored to collaborate with, extend, and improve upon the brave equity work that individuals and their unique school communities in Arlington Public Schools have already set in motion. Please reach out to connect anytime. 

Carissa Englert is the newest member of the DEIBJ team, joining in her role as the Administrative Assistant to the DEIBJ, Communications & Family Engagement departments. She comes from a communications background, graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2022 with a major in Communications Studies and minors in Political Science and French Modern Language. Throughout her studies, she valued having dialogue with her classmates, professors and other students from a range of backgrounds on topics regarding the most prevalent social issues. With this experience, she was able to lead multiple campus-wide dialogues regarding issues relevant to the university. 

Carissa also enjoyed being part of her university's International Relations Organization, as it gave her the opportunity to meet and support students from around the world. Before and after graduation, Carissa gained professional experience in community organizing, working with student and community-led environmental organizations to create positive changes on campuses and in communities. One of her proudest moments was organizing and hosting an informational event on the history of environmental justice. She looks forward to working alongside the DEIBJ team and supporting them in all of their critical efforts throughout Arlington Public Schools. 

To align in our work, our DEIBJ team often partners with Jillian Harvey, the DEI Director for the Town of Arlington. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding DEI work in the town of Arlington, please reach out to Ms. Harvey directly. You can connect with her at jharvey@town.arlington.ma.us.