Skip Navigation Meriden Public Schools

Ayra Garcia

Board of Education Member Board of Education Member headshot
email ↓

Ayra was elected to the Meriden Board of Education in November 2024 and is honored to serve the students, families, and educators of our community. Meriden has become home for her and her family, and raising her two children here is what pushed her to get involved and stay active in the schools and community.

She currently serves as President of the Nathan Hale PTO, and loves working closely with our teachers, staff, and parents to support school events and create meaningful experiences for our kids. She also stays involved with youth and family programs like Girls Inc. of Meriden and the Boys and Girls Club, because lifting up our young people and strengthening our community has always mattered to her.

Before joining the Board of Education, Ayra spent over fifteen years as a certified special education teacher with the New York City Department of Education. That experience, along with being a mom in this district, shapes everything she does. Her heart is in making sure families feel heard, our schools feel supported, and every child in Meriden has what they need to grow and succeed.

Ayra serves on the Finance Committee and Contracts Committee. 

A group of students poses on the playground of Thomas Hooker Elementary School. A boy plays saxophone while students play other instruments in the background at Edison Middle School. Meriden Public Schools superintendent Mark Benigni smiles with a student on the first day of school 2018. Elementary school students wearing matching red shirts stand in front of a banner that says Pulaski Pride. Meriden elementary school students smile while jump-roping in their gym class.