Latinos for Education present Malden educator with award for excellence, leadership at State House event

Assistant Superintendent Emilys Peña receives dual honors, also Golden Hand Award

By Steve Freker

Malden Public Schools Assistant Superintendent Emilys Peña was the recipient of two major statewide awards recently for excellence and leadership in the field of education. The third-year MPS central office administrator was honored along with 25 other top educators at a State of Latino Education event held at the State House in Boston. Assistant Supt. Peña was honored with an Exceptional Latino Award along with others from nearby communities like Everett, Chelsea, Boston and Somerville.

This year’s event featured a roundtable discussion with leaders from the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College, MassINC and Lynn Public Schools on the state’s efforts to diversify its educator workforce, and innovative strategies to support more Latino students to access and enroll in college.

Latinos for Education initiated the State of Latino Education event in 2021 as a way to promote the progress Latino professionals are making in education. The group says it also wanted to point out roadblocks by which Latino students and educators are often challenged in Massachusetts when it comes to accessing high-quality educational programs and opportunities. According to Latinos for Education, the event has become the largest gathering of Latino education leaders in Massachusetts.

In addition to the Exceptional Latino Educator Award, Assistant Supt. Peña was also the recipient of the Golden Hand Award from the Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf (MSAD). Peña was the former Assistant Head of School at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which is part of the Boston Public Schools. In presenting the award, the MSAD committee called Peña “a remarkable individual whose commitment and leadership have significantly advanced the deaf and hard of hearing community.”

Peña, the first trilingual Assistant Head of School at Horace Mann, “worked tirelessly to gain recognition of American Sign Language (ASL) as an equal language to English” and led efforts “to the certification of Horace Mann School as a dual language English/ASL School, marking a significant milestone in the school’s history,” according to the MSAD award release.

Peña is completing her third year in the Malden Public Schools as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. Prior to Malden, she was Assistant Principal/Head of School at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Allston.

Malden Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega Murphy said the district is very appreciative of what Peña provides to the students and educators in Malden. “The Assistant Superintendent does amazing work for our students and educators and is very deserving of these major awards,” Dr. Noriega Murphy told the members of the Malden School Committee and those in the audience at the November Malden School Committee meeting.

Mayor and Chairperson of the School Committee Gary Christenson commended Assistant Supt. Peña for her honors on behalf of the members and called a recess to present her with an official City of Malden citation commemorating her dual honors.

All of the School Committee members and some from the audience then offered their congratulations to Assistant Supt. Peña for her honors.