Urban Coyotes
In my West Roxbury neighborhood, the wild turkeys were once a frequent summer visitor. The summer of 2007 seems to be the year of the coyote. Throughout the area, there have been coyote sightings. One recent afternoon, my neighbor watched and photographed a coyote make it’s way through our backyards and on to Lagrange Street. 
Last month, both the Boston Globe and the West Roxbury Bulletin reported that a family of coyotes were seen on Francesca St. in West Roxbury. For now, people seemed to be fascinated to see these animal up close. Experts remind us that attacks on humans are rare, though precautions should be taken with pets and young children. I wonder if the construction on the VFW Parkway may have driven the coyotes out of their leafy homes along the Parkway???
The Chicken and Egg of Boston Housing and Education
In in article by Tracey Jan in last Friday’s Boston Globe entitled ”S. Boston developer plans a private school,” a proposal was announced to develop 2,500 housing units within a 23 acre site in Boston’s Seaport District. A proposed site, which today contains nothing but parking lots, would be developed by John B. Hynes III into residential housing, a performing arts center, two (2) health clubs, a public garden and a private school.
The problem facing the Seaport district is not unique. Emerging neighborhoods have faced similar problems and addressed them in different ways. What is lacking in the Seaport District are the basic amenities that exist in most other neighborhoods and suburbs of Boston (e.g. schools, shops, restaurants, people, etc.). The concept of ‘build it and they will come’ has not worked well for the Seaport District. There are convention centers, museums, hotels, etc. but what is lacking are people, because there are little to no housing units in which people can live. The Seaport District will never be a neighborhood until people start living there–and people will not start living there unless there is sufficient quality education for their children. This in a classic example of the proverbial problem of which came first the chicken or the egg.
John B. Hynes III has proposed a simple solution to a complex problem: a school which will serve 1,500 children from kindergarten through high school. He hopes the school will help attract families to his development and to the area. City officials are not embracing his idea and are calling it “hair-brained,” and “catering to the upper end.”
By including a school with the development plans, Hynes is solving the age old question of which came first the chicken or the egg? He is proposing a solution by combining the Chicken and Egg.
Good education attracts families, and families attract everything else. Hynes has the right idea: offer good quality educational options and they will come.
Teacher Appreciation Month at WROR (105.7)
This Month It’s All About Teachers at WROR! 
Throughout June 105.7 WROR salutes hard working teachers. WROR is asking you to tell listeners about the best teacher you know… maybe it’s you!
Tell WROR about a teacher that deserves appreciation, especially if it’s YOU! WROR will be saluting teachers on the air during the month-long celebration.
Plus, WROR will invite each teacher to an after-work appreciation party, hosted by Loren and Wally, on Tuesday, June 26th from 5-7pm at the newly renovated Children’s 
Museum in Boston.
Nominate a worthy teacher today!
The Search is on for a New Boston Latin School Headmaster…
Shortly after the surprise announcement from Boston Latin School (BLS) Head Master Cornelia Kelley H’44 of her departure at the end of the 2006-07 school year, the process to find a replacement was started.
Boston Public Schools (BPS) Superintendent Michael Contompasis ‘57 said in the June Edition of the Boston Latin School Bulletin that the job has been posted nationally and a committee is being assembled to review potential candidates with the goal is to have a new headmaster by the end of June.
The committee will be chaired by a BPS Cluster leader and will include one BLS student, three parents, three teachers, three alumni, and a BLS administrator. The committee will select three finalist and submit them to Superintendent Contompasis, to make the final choice.
The process outlined above has been used to identify headmasters at other schools throughout the city.
People in the know at BLS think the front runner is Assistant Head Master Lynne Mooney-Teta.. A popular choice among present students would be head of the History Department Program Director Rashaun Martin ‘97.
Boston Latin School Bids Farewell to Headmaster Kelley…
Cornelia A. Kelley, Boston Latin School’s first female headmaster, will retire as of June 30, 2007. After serving as headmaster for just nine years, Ms. Kelley is stepping down in order to make room for the next generation. According to an interview published in the BLS Bulletin, Ms. Kelley says about her departure, ”When I leave, I’ve left the school in the best possible shape I could and then hand it over to someone whom I would hope make it better.”
A big part of Ms. Kelley’s legacy is the work she has done with the school alumni. She has attended numerous alumni events in Boston and beyond. BPS Superintendent, Michael Contompasis, BLS class of ‘57 and Ms. Kelley’s predecessor, is now heading the search to find her replacement.
On Thursday, June 21, the Boston Latin School community will host an evening of appreciation for Cornelia Kelley. The event will take place at the school’s dining hall. Tickets are available at the BLSA website.
K-8: A Preferred Model for Boston Public Schools
The kindergarten through 8th grade (K-8) model is a preferred model for most parents that have kids in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). The biggest reason for the preference is that the K-8 model avoids the dreaded move in 6th grade to a middle school where there are new students, teachers and. administrators for students to have get used to all over again. Parents also like the continuity of the K-8 model, which allows relationships that were made between students, teachers and administrators to continue through the middle school grades.
With a tremendous amount of parental support the Joyce Kilmer School in West Roxbury will become a K-8. In September, the school will use the BPS building on Russett Road, which was the former Lyndon School (the only other K-8 in West Roxbury) which is now at the Shaw building on Mount Vernon Street. The Kilmer School will use the Russett Road building for the upper school (6th,7th,8th ), keeping the Baker St. location for the lower school (K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th). In the 2006/07 school year, the Kilmer added a 6th grade and will add a 7th and 8th grade in the next two years.
The K-8 model benefits the students, their families as well as the teachers. Parents and students feel more a part of school community and everybody is already familiar with each other. For the parents and student, there is a sense of security in knowing the teachers, the rules, and what the expectations are.
Considering that many BPS students attend 3 different school in 3 years, how can you not agree that this is an improvement. Many students attend 5th grade at their elementary school, attend 6th grade at a city middle school and most hope to begin 7th grade at one of the cities exam schools.
Most important, it offers Boston parents more choice for their children’s education without having to move from the city.
-
Frequent Contributors
Tim White
Email Address
Website
Veronique Mendelson
Email Address
Website
Helen Coen
Email Address
Website
Deirdre White
Email Address
Website
Lisa Sullivan
Email Address
Website
Maureen O'Keefe
Email Address
Website
Maureen Hayes Rossi
Email Address
Website
Robert Holley
Email Address
Website
Rona Cronin
Email Address
Website
Don Rankin
Email Address
Website
Carole White
Email Address
Website
Shari Cloran
Email Address
Website
Justin White
Email Address
Website
-
Links