A million for kids
The city council is about to hand over $1 million to a group of Everett High School students from the city’s $47 million ARPA Fund bonanza account.
Theta’s the money given to the city to compensate for what was spent and what was lost during the COVID-19 crisis.
This is a big step for the city but it is an even bigger step for high school students here who have learned how to be empowered by speaking out, doing their homework, and working with public officials to step up to the plate with their ideas of how to make Everett a better place.
This is an amazing moment…and the kids understand this and are motivated by it.
Modular classroom spaces
In a perfect world, the former Pope John High School might already have been about half renovated and enough new classroom space made available to take the rough edge off the city’s public school overcrowding crisis.
But this isn’t a perfect world.
The powers at be wants modular classrooms and that’s what are coming.
Something like $14 million has been set aside and plans are underway and that is what is going to happen. This writer recently visited and spent some time in a modular classroom at Lynn English High School.
The result?
The modular there are pretty nice, spacious, well lit and constructed and altogether conducive for learning. Not much natural light from several smaller windows, but overall comfortable and sturdy spaces.
The modular at Lynn English are not connected to the main school. They stand alone.
Again, in a perfect world we’d have chosen Pope John – but the modulars will do – for a while.
Everett-Chelsea Developments
There are great number of apartment units now being built on the Everett-Chelsea line.
So what, you say?
Well, there are going to be any number of new residents living in Everett whose front door is in Everett and whose bedrooms are in Chelsea!
There will also be instances of some apartment dwellers watching their flatscreen in their Everett living room and then excusing them- selves to go to the bathroom in their Chelsea bathroom.
These residents will have the best of both worlds, apartments in Chelsea and Everett at the same time.
Or as the late great President JFK said on June 11,1962 upon receiving an honorary degree from Yale: “Now I’ve got the best of two worlds,” said the Harvard educated president. “A Harvard education and a Yale degree.”
For Everett apartment dwellers who use toilets in Chelsea it might go something like this: “Now I’ve got the best of two world, an Everett living room and a Chelsea toilet all in one place!”
More on kids
The real challenge in public school education these days is getting over the disaster in classroom education. The COVID set back public education as never before and dramatically so.
It is harder for kids to concentrate. Many kids don’t feel motivate to do anything. Teachers still struggle to do their thing like the good soldiers that they are, but many teachers say it feels hopeless in the post COVID world.
Public school kids en masse are more unruly and less attentive to their studies. Running classrooms has become a full time disciplinary effort for many teachers. Just ask teachers what they face m- and then you will understand why
so many teachers are leaving the profession. The kids that missed out during COVID will likely never get over what was taken away from them.
A very sad situation.
Grants are good
Nita Young and Lori Laviolette of Portal to Hope accepted a $10,000 grant from the Everett Citizens Foundation. Many cash grants were handed out. The Everett Kiwanis received $10,000. Bread of Life Backpack received $10,000. Parks and Recreation received $10,000. The Webster School Extension PTO received $10,000.Housing Families Inc who cares for the homeless received $10,000. A number of $5,000+ awards were given to The Association of Women in Ministry and to the Community League Ball Association, and to Phunk Phenomenon – a fantastic dancing group operating out of Everett and really legendary at what they do. Babo property also received a grant.
Ahead of the pack
Wayne Matewsky, Katy Rogers and Holly Garcia were the first political candidates to have their signatures certified by the city’s election department and city clerk.
Signatures aren’t due until sometime in July.
Getting them in early is all about good political instincts.
The mayor presented a citation to 10 year old Angela Landaverde for making a key call on 911 when the Everett young girl saw smoke pouring from a home. For a young girl to have her wits about her that way saved the day for the folks in the home.
What a nice thing she did!
It happened on May 13 – and Everett firefighters responded saving the day.