Dr. Eileen de los Reyes
Dr. Eileen de los Reyes was appointed this spring as assistant superintendent for English language learning for the Boston Public Schools (BPS) by Superintendent Dr. Carol R. Johnson.
She brings to the position nearly two decades of experience in the education of students of color, primarily those whose first language is not English. She has served on the faculty of Goddard College and as a research associate at the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
“Eileen de los Reyes has precisely the vision and expertise needed to help lead the Boston Public Schools in a new direction for accelerating the performance of English language learners,” Johnson said in a statement. “Her wealth of knowledge and commitment to students whose first language is not English are a critical part of our plan to ensure that all students acquire English and achieve proficiency across subject areas.”
After beginning work in the school district on a part-time basis in April, de los Reyes moved to a full-time position reporting directly to the superintendent in May.
From 2002-2005, de los Reyes served as a program director in the BPS system, leading a team responsible for program and professional development for English language learners. She has also worked on the faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Salem State College.
English is not the home language for more than 24,000 of the 56,000 BPS students. Among these, about 11,000 are considered “Limited English Proficient” (LEP) or English Language Learners (ELL). BPS students come from more than 40 different countries. The predominant home language of Boston’s ELL population is Spanish, with more than 6,000 native speakers, but dozens of other languages are represented in the schools as well.
