Representative Simon Cataldo Contact information

Simon Joseph Cataldo, born on July 19, 1986, is an American politician who represents the 14th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He represents the town of Carlisle, and parts of the towns of Acton, Chelmsford, and Concord.

Cataldo grew up in West Concord, Massachusetts, with his parents and two sisters. His mother was a Concord Family Services social worker, and his father is an economist who has taught accounting at Suffolk University and the University of Rhode Island. Cataldo attended Thoreau Elementary, Peabody Middle School, and graduated from Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.

He attended Colorado College and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Environmental Science. At Colorado College, Cataldo contributed to research on the kinetics of biodiesel production. After teaching special education for three years and developing the program that became Harlem Lacrosse, Cataldo enrolled at the University of Virginia (UVA) Law School. While at UVA, Cataldo was selected to be the managing editor of the Virginia Law Review. Cataldo was recognized with the Ritter Award, given to four students who exemplify the honor, character, and integrity envisioned by Thomas Jefferson when he founded the University. Upon graduation, Cataldo also received the James C. Slaughter Honor Award, which is presented to an outstanding member of the graduating class.

Following his graduation from Colorado College, Cataldo joined Teach for America and was placed as a special education math teacher at Frederick Douglass Academy (FDA), a 6–12th grade school in Harlem, New York City. In order to motivate his most academically challenged students, Cataldo started Harlem’s first public middle school lacrosse team on the handball court beside the school with 10 used lacrosse sticks (one less than the initial number of players on the team). Cataldo immediately saw academic improvement among his students, and his team tripled in size. Cataldo later founded Harlem Lacrosse, a national school-based nonprofit operating in public schools in Baltimore, Boston, Harlem, the Bronx, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. The students in the program have experienced notable improvements in academic performance, including 23% average GPA growth for those with previously failing grades, 16 more days of annual school attendance for those previously chronically absent, and a 93% high school graduation rate. The students have earned over $75 million in academic scholarships since Cataldo founded Harlem Lacrosse, and the organization was featured in The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, The Baltimore Sun, the Dorchester Reporter, and The New York Times.