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Pierce Press children's book creates waves with oceanographer's endorsement

Details: By Bob Sprague, Charlotte Pierce; Category: Arts; 16 July 2022; Hits: 0

Sheryl Davis

Ocean's Alive! cover

A new children's book from the Arlington-based Pierce Press – Ocean's Alive! by Sheryl Davis – has caught the eye of Dr. Sylvia Earle, a renowned oceanographer.

"I'm thrilled,” wrote Charlotte Pierce, the publisher.

Known as “Her Deepness” in the ocean conservation community, Earle writes in the introduction: “This book can show you, your family and friends ways to learn about and help protect our seas. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something to safeguard the ocean, Earth’s blue heart.”

Davis's first book, The Mystical Magical Abracadabracal Daniel McDougal McDouglas McFly, won two awards in 2019 from Story Monsters' Purple Dragonfly Awards.Ocean's Alive! continues the McFly series.

Renovation of Hurd Field underway today

Details: By YourArlington staff; Category: Recreation; 22 August 2022; Hits: 35

Town seal

UPDATED Aug. 22: The renovation of Hurd Field began Monday, Aug. 22.

According to the town of Arlington, the project will require the restriction of access through the field and closing part of the parking lot.

Pedestrian and bicycle access will be through the Arlington Reservoir path/Drake Village connection. Signs will be in place to help direct proper use. Read more here >>

What's behind the historical marker at revamped plaza?

Details: By Bob Sprague; Category: Local history; 10 August 2022; Hits: 10

Cooper Tavern marker at Broadway Plaza. / Town of Arlington photo

UPDATED Aug. 10: In 1775, no Starbucks stood at what is today Mass. Ave. and Medford Street. At that site was Cooper's Tavern.

A historic marker at the renovated Broadway Plaza outlines the tale:

Here stood Cooper’s Tavern,
in which
Jabez Wyman
and
Jason Winship
were killed by the British
April 19, 1775.

Richard A. Duffy, town historian, provides some backstories.

“There are images of a building constructed in 1826 that replaced Cooper’s Tavern, known variously over time as the West Cambridge Hotel and the Arlington House hotel.

Homan rated proficient; assistant super leaving; new position in works

Details: By Judith Pfeffer; Category: School Committee summaries; 20 November 2022; Hits: 7

Elizabeth Homan, 2022 Elizabeth Homan receives first evaluation.

Rod MacNeal Jr. heading to private school.

UPDATED Nov. 20: Personnel was the theme of the Nov. 17 School Committee meeting: The superintendent was rated proficient in her first review, a longtime assistant superintendent is set to depart for a job outside Boston and Arlington Public Schools is still short two school nurses, three special-education teachers, 19 paraprofessionals and more.

At the meeting and in the review, Elizabeth Homan, who became superintendent July 1, 2021, was described as having made “a strong start” in her role and was called “approachable,” “collaborative,” “thoughtful” and “a strong communicator.” The committee voted unanimously to receive the evaluation.

Homan’s overall rating was “proficient,” the second-highest category; the highest possible is “exemplary.” In four major categories among the many addressed in the 15-page document, her ratings were as follows: instructional leadership, 5 proficient, 2 exemplary; management/operations, 5 proficient, 2 exemplary; family/community engagement, 4 proficient, 3 exemplary; and professional culture, 6 proficient, 1 exemplary.

Public schools' hiring tops 200 new employees as more sought

Details: By Judith Pfeffer; Category: School Committee summaries; 29 October 2022; Hits: 8

'Students overall are more diverse than our staff.'
-- Robert Spiegel, human-resources director

The Arlington Public Schools have hired more than 200 new employees in the past 13 months, Human Resources Director Robert Spiegel told the School Committee at its regular meeting Thursday, Oct. 27.

These include 82 educators, 54 paraprofessionals, 23 after-school employees, 14 food-service staff, eight administrators, four custodians, two crossing guards, two registration coordinators -- and even more.

APS is still in hiring mode, seeking special-education teachers, a nurse, an Italian teacher, substitutes, paraprofessionals, crossing guards and food-service workers.

The district especially hopes to find employees of color so staff will better resemble the children they work with. “Students overall are more diverse than our staff,” he said.

Currently, he said, 78 percent of APS employees are considered white , as are 71 percent of the new hires -- although it is not always certain, as some decline to identify their ethnicity, Spiegel said. Diverse employees “have a lens” that others may not and provide “windows and mirrors” for children of color, he said.

Higher-cost option for next year's AHS start approved

Details: By Judith Pfeffer; Category: School Committee summaries; 28 September 2022; Hits: 4

'... a big chunk of money ... the right choice.'

-- Kirsi Allison-Ampe

Taking funds from nearly $8m contingency

UPDATED Sept. 28: Agreeing with the superintendent, the School Committee voted unanimously Thursday, Sept. 22, for the second of two choices presented to cope with the ongoing reconstruction of Arlington High School. “Option 2” was the more expensive choice but the one that would keep all AHS students on campus for full school days from the first scheduled instructional date of the 2023-24 school year.

“Option 2” will require the postponement of certain aspects of the construction, at an estimated cost of $1.2 million, all to be paid from the already established contingency fund of nearly $8 million. See both options here >>

“This is specifically the kind of thing that contingencies are built for,” said committee member Jeff Thielman, head of the building subcommittee. “The needs of the students are paramount.” Later, making the motion favoring option 2, he said that this choice is “not increasing the total cost of the project” and that “this is in the best interest of the students,” particularly freshmen.

Looking ahead to fall: Science camp, before-school care, firearm safety urged

Details: By Judith Pfeffer; Category: School Committee summaries; 24 June 2022; Hits: 12

'It's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride.'

-- Superintendent Homan

In its final scheduled meeting until Sept. 8, the School Committee on Thursday, June 23, celebrated the school year’s end and responded to community demand to revive science camp, start before-school care and educate families about keeping firearms away from minors.

Friday, June 24 -- the final day of classes until fall -- found the Arlington Public Schools with only 17 Covid-19 cases across its 10 campuses, celebrating a year-plus of on-campus operation (since late spring 2021) and recognizing students honored at the national level.

“It’s been an amazing first year,” said Superintendent Elizabeth Homan, whose anniversary in that position will be July 1.

“It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride, as omicron [the variant of the novel coronavirus that was the likely cause of a high rate of infections earlier in spring, topping out at 362 in mid-May] threw us for a bit of a loop, but we’ve had a successful year,” she said.

A notable triumph of the just-concluded school year was that of Ottoson Middle School students who created a website and a documentary recognized at the national level in the National History Day competition. Half-a-dozen of them made a brief report about their work at the meeting. Committee member Bill Hayner was impressed. “People often worry about the future [of youth] – I don’t,” he said.

Public schools restore indoor-mask rule; DEI job on hold

Details: By Judith Pfeffer; Category: School Committee summaries; 14 May 2022; Hits: 6

'Our No. 1 priority is to make sure we stay open for in-person learning.'

-- Superintendent Homan

Teens and those who work with them now must wear masks indoors at public schools as the Town of Arlington rides the wave of Covid-19 cases, the School Committee learned at its regular meeting Thursday, May 12.

This is the situation even though some 90 percent of students in grades seven through 12 are vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, according to the Arlington Public Schools’ “dashboard,” or specialized website that displays current and historical data related to the ongoing pandemic.

“The rates are high enough” that returning to required masking at several campuses is needed to ensure that in-person classes continue, Superintendent Elizabeth Homan told the six members present. Jeff Thielman was absent.

“Our No. 1 priority is to make sure we stay open for in-person learning,” Homan said.

Ottoson Middle School and Arlington High School, comprising grades seven through 12, now have mandatory masking. Those on campus at Dallin, grades K-5, continue to have to wear masks indoors, as does Menotomy Preschool, which has never yet lifted the mandate due to the age of the pupils, who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Bishop School, grades K-5, is now under mandate. On the other hand, Gibbs School, serving grade 6, no longer must wear masks -- but they are strongly recommended there and at the other five elementary schools.

'Words matter,' Helmuth tells board, addressing Colorado LGBTQ violence

Details: By Susan Gilbert; Category: Selectboard summaries; 06 April 2023; Hits: 39

Select Board member Eric Helmuth at Nov. 20 vigil. / Helen Newberg photo

Select Board member Eric Helmuth made it personal.

At the board's Nov. 21 meeting, he shared that he and his husband “were honored” to attend the Arlington vigil observing the Transgender Day of Remembrance held the previous evening.

That event took place on the lawn of the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church and was sponsored by the town’s Rainbow Commission, Human Rights Commission and Disability Commission.

Transgender Day of Remembrance takes place annually on Nov. 20. The day is marked by events around the globe honoring transgender and gender-diverse people who have lost their lives to violence motivated by bias.

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YOUR VIEW: Opinions: Roe, Alewife, racism, film, Ukraine, letters, poetry

No. 127: Red Letter Poems 3.0: Performer, audience

Poetry

UPDATED Sept. 9: Steven Ratiner, Arlington’s poet laureate, sought submissions in February 2020 from Arlington residents to contribute to "a rather unconventional, utterly delightful way to inject poetry into the everyday." It was to remain secret until its debut during April’s National Poetry Month. Then the coronavirus hit. In June 2021, he offers Red Letters 3.0.

PUBLISHED: I was asked to write an essay for Askold Melnyczuk’s Arrowsmith Journal about what I learned from the first year of the Red Letter Project. It also became a meditation about the relationship between poet and reader. If you’d like to take a look, here is a link – arrowsmithpress.com/community-of-voices -- and you’ll also be able to check out the variety of marvelous literary projects that appear under Askold’s Arrowsmith imprint. Enjoy!

Steven Ratiner / David Andrews photo

The Red Letter Poem Project

The Red Letters 3.0: A New Beginning (Perhaps)

At the outset of the Covid pandemic, when fear was at its highest, the Red Letter Project was intended to remind us of community: that, even isolated in our separate homes, we could still face this challenge together. As Arlington’s Poet Laureate, I began sending out a poem of comfort each Friday, featuring the fine talents from our town and its neighbors. Because I enlisted the partnership of seven local arts and community organizations, distribution of the poems spread quickly – and, with subscribers sharing and re-posting the installments, soon we had readers, not only throughout the Commonwealth, but across the country. And I delighted in the weekly e-mails I’d receive with praise for the poets; as one reader recently commented: “You give me the gift of a quiet, contemplative break—with something to take away and reflect on.”

Then our circumstance changed dramatically again: following the murder of George Floyd, the massive social and political unrest, and the national economic catastrophe, the distress of the pandemic was magnified. Red Letter 2.0 announced that I would seek out as diverse a set of voices as I could find – from Massachusetts and beyond – so that their poems might inspire, challenge, deepen the conversation we were, by necessity, engaged in.

Now, with widespread vaccination, an economic rebound, and a shift in the political landscape, I intend to help this forum continue to evolve – Red Letter 3.0. For the last 15 months, I’ve heard one question again and again: when will we get back our old lives? It may pain us to admit it, but that is little more than a fantasy. Our lives have been altered irrevocably – not only our understanding of how thoroughly interdependent we are, both locally and globally, but how fragile and utterly precious is all that we love. Weren’t you bowled over recently by how good it felt just to hug a friend or family member? Or to walk unmasked through a grocery, noticing all the faces?

Letters: Emailing Advocate & Star? Copy it here; it'll be published first

Letters to the editor

YourArlington's policy about letters to the editor

UPDATED Aug. 13: YourArlington welcomes opinions of all kinds from local residents, including national issues so long as you can draw a local connection. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in June on Roe v Wade must have echoes here, too. Letters are reviewed for fairness, factualness and taste.

letters

This site welcomes letters about any issue that stirs the public mind. Longer opinion pieces are also welcome.

NOTE: When emailing a letter to The Advocate & Star, consider copying YourArlington at the same time. Your opinions will be published sooner.

Please support your view with facts and arguments that attempt to adhere to reason.

You may write on any subject, so long as you try to make a connection to Arlington. If you can't do that, then your residence in town will be a sufficient connection.

Alewife Brook sewage campaign: Dredgery, Globe notices

Environment

Caption: Worst Offender: Somerville’s SOM01A Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Worst Offender: Somerville’s SOM01A combined sewer overflow.

UPDATED Aug. 11: Precinct 13 Town Meeting member Kristin Anderson, who is monitoring the combined sewer overflows into the Alewife Brook, provided this update via her blog, Save the Alewife Brook.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s mention of dredging the Alewife Brook in its response to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s April 2022 draft scope for the new CSO control plan has revived the discussion about the role removing sediment from the Alewife Brook can play in restoration and flood prevention efforts.