Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:36 pm on February 19, 2013
Well over 100 Massachusetts professors and researchers have signed a statement against high-stakes standardized testing. The four initiators of the petition include two from Somerville: Lesley University early childhood education expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige and Harvard Graduate School of Education instructor Chris Buttimer. Here’s their press release: …
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 3:41 pm on December 18, 2012
Reposted from the Somerville-4-Schools email list, a message from School Committee Chair Paul Bockelman about the process that the School Committee agreed to use to fill the Ward 1 School Committee seat. The seat is…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 11:26 pm on November 25, 2012
This Tuesday, Nov. 27, there will be a screening of the documentary AUGUST TO JUNE, a documentary about a school that shows a better path to improving education than constant testing.
Supporters and opponents of the Somerville Progressive Charter School both loved this film.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:07 pm on September 13, 2012
Jonathan Kozol has spent many years in schools that serve children of poverty, writing a series of powerful books that began with Death At An Early Age about his experiences as a Boston teacher…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 11:49 am on May 21, 2012
More than 50 Somerville parents and other community members crowded into a church room Sunday to make a start toward answering an important question: What will their organization, Progress Together, work on next?…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 4:58 pm on April 25, 2012
Texas leads the way!
Mass. Citizens for Public Schools, FairTest, and other groups are circulating a “National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing” modeled on a resolution passed by over 300 school boards in Texas…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:08 pm on March 29, 2012
Somerville residents opposed to Walmart coming to our town have scheduled a campaign day this Saturday, March 31. They will knock on doors, hand out flyers, and ask small
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 2:21 pm on December 6, 2011
Somerville-4-Schools and other Somerville email lists are buzzing with debate over a new charter school proposal that could, if successful, force big cuts in the school budget including closing a school.
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:01 pm on May 26, 2011
Somerville Voices will hold an open meeting this Sunday, May 29, 6 to 8 pm at the Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, 259 Lowell Street. Come with your ideas for making our blog better…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 11:04 pm on April 28, 2011
The deadline for our “This happened in Somerville” true story contest for high school students has been postponed one week, to May 8, because we hear some students want to enter but need a little…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:48 am on March 25, 2011
Somerville Voices will hold an open meeting Sunday, March 27, 6 to 8 pm, at the Visiting Nurses Assisted Living community, 259 Lowell Street. Come with your ideas for our blog…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:16 pm on January 24, 2011
I read in SomervillePatch that parents spoke out against classroom “data walls” at a recent school committee meeting, including one who said her daughter concluded from the chart in her classroom that she was stupid.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:49 pm on January 20, 2011
Come share your ideas for our community blog. We’ll meet this Sunday, Jan. 23, 6 to 8 pm at the Visiting Nurses assisted living community, 259 Lowell Street…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 1:13 pm on January 15, 2011
Kevin was 11 when he arrived in the United States. Dimas was 13. Both are candidates for the DREAM Act, and told their stories at an event organized by Centro Presente and the Welcome Project. …
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:02 pm on December 15, 2010
A friend of mine is organizing a winter solstice flashmob. Her message: “The Winter Solstice is Tuesday, 12/21 (same date, forwards and back!) at 6:38 pm. Come to the Prospect Hill Tower at 6:30 and bring light & music makers—flashlights, cell phones, sparklers, drums, kazoos, trumpets, fiddles …. …
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:40 am on December 9, 2010
[Posted for Paul Bockelman] Local celebrity Tom Champion, known as “the Voice of Somerville,” will make a special guest appearance Saturday, Dec. 11, at 4 p.m. when the Somerville Community Chorus closes its 25th anniversary…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:45 pm on October 29, 2010
News from The Welcome Project: After weeks of testimony, advocacy and hard work, the youth of the Welcome Project and Centro Presente took a breath to celebrate Thursday night after the Board of Aldermen voted…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:16 pm on October 7, 2010
Come share your ideas for improving our community blog. Sunday, Oct. 10, 6 to 8, at the Visiting Nurses assisted living community at 259 Lowell Street…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 11:34 am on September 23, 2010
Got an idea that would make Somerville Voices better? Come to our open meeting on Sunday, Sept. 26, 6 to 8 pm, at the Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, 259 Lowell St…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:59 pm on September 8, 2010
Got an idea that would make Somerville Voices better? Come to our open meeting on Sunday, Sept. 12, 6 to 8 pm, at the Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, 259 Lowell St…
The Somerville School Committee decided in a 5 to 3 vote on Monday, June 21, 2010 to unify the Healey School and charge the School Improvement Council with creating a school redesign plan. This plan will use the Choice program educational practices and governing document as a starting point for discussion. In a second action, the members of the School Committee voted 6 to 2 to define a set of guiding principles to help the School Improvement Council with their Fall 2010 planning work.
A new dance performance choreographed by a wonderful Somerville choreographer (who just happens to be my daughter) will premiere Friday, June 18, at 8 pm, and Saturday, June 19, at 3 and 8 pm, at…
This SCAT program grew out of a sister city link between Somerville and Tiznit, Morocco. Three people from Somerville tell about their trip to Morocco, and a Moroccan school teacher…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:41 pm on May 28, 2010
Somerville Voices will hold an open meeting Sunday, May 28, at the Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, 259 Lowell St., from 6 to 8 pm. Come and bring your ideas!…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:25 am on March 26, 2010
I just finished The Things They Carried, the book by Tim O’Brien that “Somerville Reads” is trying to get as many people as possible in Somerville to read and discuss. It’s one of the best…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:04 pm on November 12, 2009
Somerville Voices will sponsor a public forum on Sunday, Nov 15th, 7-9:30 pm about our city’s changing parking regulations and how they will affect residents, visitors, businesses, and the city budget. …
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:00 am on November 4, 2009
From Bill Barrell at SCAT: In an effort to cut through all the media hype the “Somerville Producers Group” created a show about the facts of H1N1 and the seasonal flu.
What’s the biggest problem facing our city?
Compare your answer with what the five candidates for alderman-at-large said they’re hearing door-to-door. They all took part…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 1:53 pm on October 11, 2009
Here’s an issue to unite all the factions of our diverse city–double-pole utility poles! The Globe says we have 192 of them in Somerville. And there may be something we can do about it. In fact, two things.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:45 pm on October 7, 2009
Chicago didn’t get the Olympics but Somerville got HONK! with 30 bands from around the world, Friday afternoon through Sunday–here’s an article that describes the schedule. HONK! provided us with this great video!…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:58 pm on August 17, 2009
The Prospect Hill Academy Charter School enrolls much smaller percentages of special education and limited English proficient students than the two districts where it is based.
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:48 am on July 10, 2009
The Globe has a story today about the evolution of Davis Square and my son Nick’s project of finding out what happened to the kids who made the beautiful T station tiles when they…
This week, Craig Leach’s media class at Somerville High broke into four groups to discuss their use of social media. In this class, Facebook reigns supreme. MySpace is losing out. YouTube is very big. Twitter hasn’t caught on except for a few. …
Help us come up with ideas for great Somerville stories for our community-funded journalism experiment. We will post the ideas and ask for donations to get them researched and written. We’ll explain more at the…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 4:27 pm on April 13, 2009
April 16th is the date of the Somerville High School Spring Concert, hosted beginning at 7:00 PM at Somerville High School (81 Highland Avenue). Student musicians will be showing off their accomplishments in ensemble performances…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 12:00 am on March 15, 2009
Craig Leach’s Somerville High School media and TV production students this week explained what they’re learning and why the class deserves taxpayer support. And they posted “digital books” they created. Take a look!
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 5:59 pm on February 10, 2009
At the Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, small dining room, 259 Lowell St. Come talk about the blog–what’s good, what’s not so good, how we can improve it…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 11:50 am on January 14, 2009
Got ideas for improving and expanding Somerville Voices? Come talk about them. 6 to 8 pm at the Somerville Visiting Nurses assisted living facility, 259 Lowell Street, in the small dining room…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 11:37 am on December 4, 2008
[Posted for Union Square Neighbors] Union Square Neighbors (USN) is a group of area residents who are concerned with the future of Union Square. We believe that careful planning and a cohesive community vision are critical to the future of the square.
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 7:15 pm on December 1, 2008
At the Visiting Nurse Association assisted living community at 259 Lowell Street, in the private dining room. We’ll review what’s been happening on the blog and make new plans. You’re invited!…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:34 am on November 2, 2008
Rev. Molly Baskette, Senior Minister of First Church Somerville UCC, asked us to post this for her:
On November 4, you will be making one of the most important political decisions of your life. It’s not McCain vs. Obama. It’s the decision about whether or not to repeal the state income tax in Massachusetts.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 8:18 pm on October 7, 2008
Workshops on Friday.
Free music by 25 bands on Saturday.
And the Honk! parade on Sunday.
It’s a big event this weekend posted a month ago by Columbine. I thought it should get more than just a calendar listing. Also–they’re looking for volunteers.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:10 pm on August 4, 2008
There’s an interesting story in the Sunday Globe’s City Edition about Somerville residents (several of whom are part of the Somerville Voices group), who have taken down fences and built stronger ties with their neighbors.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 6:25 pm on August 2, 2008
At the Dept. of Public Works yard, 1 Franey Road. You must be able to show you’re a Somerville resident. No businesses or property owners who don’t live in Somerville. Here’s a list of…
The OPENAIR Circus is an amazing phenomenon with an improbable history. If you’ve got kids, take them this weekend and think about joining. After this weekend, the next major performance will be in Boston’s First Night parade.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 2:39 pm on July 24, 2008
This Friday, July 25, at 7 pm, the Extraterrestrial Circus Experiment, a traveling troupe from Ohio, presents their show Quantanime at the VFW Dilboy Post, 371 Summer Street in Davis Sq. All proceeds support Somerville’s OPENAIR Circus.
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:05 pm on July 21, 2008
Note: We’re planning to run a range of views on the rezoning of Union Square.
This one is from Matt McLaughlin, president of Save Our Somerville.
The Green Line is coming through, which is a great step forward for Somerville. I look forward to jumping on the Green Line and going into Boston. But where am I going to live? ……
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 5:51 pm on July 10, 2008
The Welcome Project is helping gardeners at the Mystic Community Garden get their gardens set up. The garden, recently rebuilt by the Somerville Housing Authority, has 21 plots and includes Vietnamese, Chinese, Latino and Haitian gardeners who live at the Mystic Housing Development.
They are also creating garden plots for a Kids Garden and a demonstration…
I’m passing on a message from Welcome Project at the Mystic Housing Development. They’re asking for volunteers to help rebuild the community garden over there. They’ve already put in two days of work, and the next is this Saturday, July 12, 9 to 3. After that, Wednesday, July 23, 5 to 8.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:29 pm on May 28, 2008
Take a look at the strong article by Somerville veteran Matt McLaughlin in the Somerville News. It’s about the controversy over Sen. James Webb’s bill to restore the GI Bill to what it was when FDR signed it during World War II: a ticket to college for American veterans.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 10:56 am on April 21, 2008
It’s great that people have been responding to Linda Conte’s post proposing a parent-made directory of summer camps and other summer educational activities.…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:00 pm on April 3, 2008
This speech about Somerville young people killed by drugs, made the front page of the Globe’s City section. But publicity’s not enough. What should Somerville do about it?…
Posted by Alain Jehlen at 9:55 pm on March 20, 2008
Gentrification—when wealthy people push less wealthy people out of a neighborhood. It’s about to get worse when the Green Line arrives. Here’s a provocative film about it.…
Is high-stakes testing “the civil rights issue of our time” or a strategy for avoid the hard steps we need to take to improve education? See what you think.…
Somerville Teachers Association President Linda Vitiello (an elementary school teacher) tells a story about a child, a mural, and what paper-and-pencil tests don’t measure.…
