New Baltimore City school board member takes seat

Baltimore City’s newest school commissioner, Khalilah Slater Harrington, took her seat on the board of education Tuesday.

Slater Harrington was sworn into office Monday by Mayor Brandon Scott, who appointed her in February to fill a vacancy on the 12-person school board. Scott said in a news release that he chose the chief program officer for the Family League of Baltimore for her 20 years of experience working in business, education and nonprofit sectors.

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Slater Harrington was previously an administrator for the Cincinnati Public Schools Community Learning Centers. She served as senior director of youth initiatives for the Family League of Baltimore, a social services nonprofit, from 2017 to 2018 and administered nearly $10 million in city and state investments tied to community school initiatives, according to the release.

Slater Harrington told her colleagues on the board that she was “energized” heading into her new duties as school commissioner.

“I’m ready to get to work,” she said, adding that she takes her role seriously. “I come from a family that grounded me in social justice and social activism. This is a next step in that journey.”

Slater Harrington is also a parent of two Baltimore City students, she said.

The Baltimore City school board is composed of both appointed and elected members, who collectively oversee the education of more than 75,000 students. The mayor appoints commissioners from a pool of candidates recommended by a community panel, a process overseen by the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success.

Slater Harrington joins two other newcomers to the board this year, Ashley Esposito and Kwamé Kenyatta-Bey, both of whom were elected rather than appointed and sworn into office at the end of January.