School Committee vice chairman Marc McGovern listens during a committee meeting last year. (Photo: Liv Rachelle Gold)

In the run-up to this week’s double dose of School Committee candidates forums — that’s one Wednesday at East End House and another Thursday at the YMCA — the committee’s vice chairman, Marc McGovern, has his second and third endorsements to report.

The state chapter of the National Association of Social Workers released a statement last month backing McGovern, saying that as a committee member and social worker he’d “worked to create inclusive and supportive school communities in Cambridge.”

“We know that Marc will continue to bring a strong social work perspective to the committee by advocating tirelessly for schools that enable students and their families to thrive,” said Kate Audette, chairwoman of the local association’s political arm.

McGovern also got the endorsement of the Carpenters Local 40 on Sept. 31, which he credited to his support of vocational education.

“As much as we need to keep preparing our students for a computerized world, we must never forget the more ‘traditional’ trades like carpentry and auto mechanics,” he said. “These are important, well-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced, so we must continue to ensure that our students have these opportunities in our district.”

He said he was pleased to have both endorsements, as well as his previously announced endorsement from the city’s Ward 3 Democratic Committee.

The committee field looks slightly tougher than two years ago — two candidates’ worth tougher, as a race among nine candidates for six seats in 2009 has become a race among 11 candidates for six seats, including McGovern and his fellow five incumbents.

All are invited to the forums, of course, which begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at East End House, 105 Spring St., East Cambridge, and at 7 p.m. Thursday at the YMCA, 820 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square.

This post used significant amounts of material from press releases.