Freeport Native Rev. Dr. Gregory G. Groover Elected Boston School Committee Chair

(Freeport, N.Y.) At its recent Annual Organizational Meeting, Reverend Dr. Gregory G. Groover, Sr. was elected Chair of the Boston School Committee.  He has served as a member of the committee since January 2007.

Reverend Groover was born and grew up in Freeport, NY.  He attended Freeport Public Schools and is a 1979 graduate of Freeport High School where he served as student government president.  As a teen, he was very involved with the Freeport E.O.C., and Bethel A.M.E. Church.

Reverend Groover graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Morehouse College.  He received his Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University School of Social Work, respectively.  He completed his doctoral work (D. Min) at the New York Theological Seminary.

From 1987-94, Reverend Groover served as Pastor of Bright Temple A.M.E. Church in the South Bronx.  His pastoral work was prominently noted in Jonathan Kozol’s book, Amazing Grace.  At Bright Temple, Reverend Groover initiated a number of ministries for inner-city children, such as Building Great Minds, which was later adopted as a citywide program administered by the Council of Churches of New York.

Reverend Groover was appointed Pastor of the Historic Charles Street A.M.E. Church in the Roxbury section of Boston, MA in 1994.  Under his pastoral ministries, 27 individuals have entered ministry.  Presently, he is leading the congregation in the $5.2 million development of the Charles Street A.M.E. Roxbury Renaissance Center.  This center, projected to be completed this year, will offer a myriad of educational and arts programs for children and families.

As chairman of the Education Committee of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston (BMA), Reverend Groover was very instrumental in bringing together public school officials, community leaders, parents and the clergy in the planning and the development of the BMA Victory Generation After-School Program, a $2 million initiative.  He serves on the Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations in the Boston area.

Reverend Groover is married to the Reverend Barbara A. Groover and they have two teenage children.
The Boston School Committee is a seven-member board that governs and sets policy for the Boston Public Schools.  Its members are appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who selects from a list of finalists recommended by a 13-member citizens nominating panel.

Boston Public Schools, the nation’s “birthplace of public education,” serves more than 56,000 pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in 143 schools, and recently won the Broad Prize for Urban Education as the top city district in the country.