Two new members will join the Boston School Committee and member Stephen Alkins has been reappointed to serve a second term, Mayor Michelle Wu announced.

“I’m excited to reappoint Dr. Stephen Alkins and appoint Ms. Lydia Torres and Mr. Franklin Peralta to the Boston School Committee,” Wu said in a release over the weekend. “These three leaders embody the dedication, expertise, and passion for serving our young people that will help guide our work to make Boston Public Schools the first choice for all our families. Each brings a personal connection to our schools and the professional experience to complement Superintendent Skipper’s leadership.”

Lydia Torres, a Roslindale resident and longtime BPS educator, and Franklin Peralta, a BPS parent in Jamaica Plain and leader within education organizations, will begin their first terms on the 13-member School Committee, while Alkins will begin his second.

Alkins, who works within diversity, equity and inclusion at the Cambridge-based education nonprofit TERC, was originally appointed in 2022.

Candidates for Boston School Committee vacancies are selected by a nominating panel made up of educators, parents and more and appointed by the mayor. Each term is four years.

Boston mayors have appointed members to BPS’s governing body since 1992, though voters overwhelming passed a non-binding ballot question supporting an elected school committee in 2021 and the City Council passed a resolution to move to an elected system in 2023. The City Council proposal was vetoed by Mayor Wu.

Torres and Peralta will replace members Michael O’Neill, who departed the committee after 17 years to work for the Boston Private Industry Council, and Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, who served one term and was not reappointed by Wu.

“I must say, being on this committee has been the honor my career,” O’Neill said during his final meeting in December. “I always say we don’t do it for the pay or the praise, because we get very little of either. But Boston Public Schools set me up to succeed when I went on to college and and beyond and in my career, and I’ve always been driven to ensure more students in Boston get the same opportunity.”

Acknowledging it may be his last last meeting in December, Cardet-Hernandez called for continued accountability as more school closures roll out in following through on “understanding what is happening to the most vulnerable kids, where they’re placed, and where we’ve built system capacity.”

Torres spent nearly four decades working within BPS before retiring in 2018, the city said, including as an English as a Second Language teacher at the Hennigan School, a literacy specialist and literacy coach, BPS director of English Language Arts for grades 6-12, and the Eliot K-8 School assistant principal and middle school director.

Torres has since volunteered with the Boston Teacher Residency program run by Boston Plan for Excellence. The new member said her appointment is the “capstone of my career serving the district I love and I look forward to helping the district advance opportunities and outcomes for students.”

Peralta spent his career on “public education, particularly focusing on adult basic education, in Boston and in his native Dominican Republic,” the city said. He currently works as the director of business engagement at English for New Bostonians related to workplace English language learning programs. Prior, he worked as a student counselor at the Adult Learning Program of Jamaica Plain Community Centers and a researcher and social educator at a cultural center in the Dominican Republic.

Peralta has daughters at the Sarah Greenwood K-8 School and Boston Latin Academy, the city release stated, and is the elected representative for the Sarah Greenwood on the Citywide Parent Council.

“As I said several times through the application process, education has opened doors for me to enter places where I never dreamed I would be,” Peralta said. “I’m ready to join the talented and committed group of leaders in the School Committee to continue offering these same opportunities to all our students in the Boston Public Schools.”

Alkins is a Mattapan resident, BPS parent and the diversity, equity and inclusion (and belonging) officer at TERC, as well as the co-chair of the organization’s DEI council.

Alkins highlighted “generational work to be done” in BPS, citing the need to address opportunity and achievement gaps; reimagine partnerships with family and community organizations; invest in foundational literacy and inclusive education reform; and engage “in deep, critical discourse, transparency with families, data analysis, and accountability.”

“Ensuring the success of our students is a shared effort that takes strong governance, collaborative leadership, and strong partnership with educators, families, and communities,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said. “Alongside our school communities and City partners, we will remain focused on improving student outcomes, supporting our educators, and ensuring every school has the resources and supports needed for all students to reach and succeed beyond the classroom.”

The School Committee meets about twice a month during the school year and oversees the district’s budget, hiring and evaluating the superintendent, setting policies and more.