Vote 'yes' on Question 2

[Anthony D'Isidoro]

Hello Everyone,

I have enjoyed the discussion over the past year with people I respect regarding the charter school issue and now specifically Question 2.

Below is a copy of two emails I sent out back in November, 2015.

I have also included a link to the Globe endorsement of Question 2 in Sunday’s Boston Globe and recent articles by Adrian Walker and Scott Lehigh.  I hope you will have an opportunity to read them

Tony D’Isidoro

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/10/29/vote-yes-question/4GhhmBk6IpCDWGg8NehwFJ/story.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/10/27/adding-charter-schools-about-opportunity-not-just-funding/wE0UzLFie7lEkZCSqNmztK/story.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/10/25/what-your-kids-were-stuck-poorly-performing-school/YW5503G0lEqgfjXS2ac8HO/story.html

---

From: Anthony D'Isidoro <anthony...@msn.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2015 10:48 PM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [Cleveland-Circle] Continuing the conversation on charter schools‏

 

Let's approach it this way.
 
This is not about whether public schools are better than charter schools or charter schools are better than public schools.
 
How do you tell a parent especially of a disadvantaged kid who attends a crappy school to hang in there for awhile longer because "things are going to get better".
 
That because we are unwilling to take on the educational establishment, we can't provide that parent and child hope and choices for a better life?
 
Every child is entitled to a quality education.  Today we have an education system that picks winners and losers.
 
People are tired of the excuses.  As I mentioned previously when the focus is on students and innovation, the kids respond.
 
Let's embrace quality schools, equal access and allow each child to develop their God given abilities.
 
Tony D'Isidoro
 

---

From: anthony...@msn.com
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [Cleveland-Circle] Continuing the conversation on charter schools‏
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:09:26 -0500

They say education lifts all boats.

 

You need good leadership in the schools, a strong principal focused on the basics can make an enormous difference. Restoring safety and discipline and backing up teachers who are determined to maintain discipline in their classrooms and in the school corridors is very important. High expectations work. A solid academic curriculum for all students works. And determined efforts to recruit and retain high quality teachers can make a big difference. 

 

There are public and charter schools across the country that are having tremendous success educating urban kids following the guidelines above.

 

The spending per pupil gap between suburban and urban continues to shrink because the Commonwealth and the Federal Government provide additional support to urban districts.  It's not about how much money you have, it's how you spend it. When you have education systems driven by bureaucracy instead of innovation and not focused on students, all the money in the world is not going to produce the results you're looking for.

 

So much for the argument that these kids come from tough homes, are unreachable and the bar has to be lowered.

What a great mix. Competition is good for the soul as well as educating our kids going forward.

Let’s continue to give the parents educational choices their kids deserve.

 

Tony D'Isidoro

[Dave]

We need more money for all eduction and we need more Charter Schools. Yes on 2. 

Dave S. 

Sent from my iPhone

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[Eva Webster]

See Mayor Walsh’s op-ed in the Globe in opposition to Question 2 (link below)

(it is notable because the Mayor is not against charter schools per se, but he is still against lifting the cap because of the unfunded mandate this would create) 

Vote ‘no’ on Question 2 - The Boston Globe

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/10/18/vote-question/G9mDK1u7xe8TG4PNlN1QbK/story.html?p1=Article_Related_Box_Article

Also:

Charter school vote may hurt credit ratings, Moody’s warns Boston, 3 other cities - The Boston Globe

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/11/01/charter-school-vote-may-hurt-credit-ratings-moody-warns-boston-other-cities/bvEw1j0femPzR28M7mgTFN/story.html?p1=Article_Trending_Most_Viewed

On 11/1/16, 8:45 AM, "Anna Davis" <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com on behalf of anna.da...@gmail.com> wrote:

"Slice it any way you want. Argue, as we must, that every family ought to have the right to make whatever choice they like in the interests of their child, no matter what damage it may do to other people’s children. As an individual decision, it’s absolutely human; but setting up this kind of competition, in which parents with the greatest social capital are encouraged to abandon their most vulnerable neighbors, is rotten social policy. What this represents is a state-supported shriveling of civic virtue, a narrowing of moral obligation to the smallest possible parameters. It isn’t good for Massachusetts, and it’s not good for democracy."

- Jonathan Kozol, author of Savage Inequalities, on Question 2

Anna

On Oct 31, 2016, at 23:00, Susan Rutkiewicz <susanru...@icloud.com> wrote:

What about providing more money for the schools and bring  kids to the schools in their neighborhoods 

I don't have children 

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[Jean Powers]

Hello, friends,

As a parent and a Parent Council member at a so-called "failing" school (level 3), I would love to invite you to check out the Winship and determine for yourself if it deserves that label. Levels are determined by PARCC and MCAS scores, and our school -- along with most BPS schools -- educates a high number of English language learners and kids with special needs. In addition, many of our high-testing students leave the Winship in fourth grade for the Advanced Work program offered at other BPS schools.

But test scores don't make a school great. And a test can't show whether or not a student is being served by a school. The Winship is amazing. My daughter is performing well above grade level and comes home every day saying how much she loves school. Her teacher instructs in English and American sign language (when we drop my son off at the Jackson Mann preschool in the mornings, my daughter talks in ASL with the Horace Mann teachers and kids). Our school supports kids with all levels of ability, English language learners, and kids who need extra help with behavior. Our academic culture is based on growth mindset -- we encourage kids to take academic risks and to learn from their failures. Our community leaders series brings notable local figures in to share their experiences and answer questions. Our writers and poets series brings local authors, professors, and poets in to do workshops with the kids. We have art, science, music, and gardening programs during the school day. We have a library and a librarian, a makerspace, and an outdoor classroom. We're a level 3 school, which means we're underperforming. The students who test well leave at 4th grade for the advanced work program at another school. The students who stay are in an intensive program with exceptional support and inspiration. I would hold our school up against any school.

The only problem we have is funding. This is what we have done with a bare bones budget that doesn't cover classroom supplies or field trips. Our kindergarten furniture was pulled from another school's dumpster. Our technology becomes obsolete faster than we can fundraise to replace it. And if question 2 passes, we will have far less money, and will be able to provide far less. No school has ever improved because it received less money. If Question 2 passes, small schools like mine that provide individualized attention to young students will close, and be replaced by large catch-all schools where the highest-needs kids are grouped together in large classes without a balanced peer group. Our schools will become further segregated, and kids who need help the most will be left behind. This has happened in every state where charters have been allowed to proliferate unchecked.

I'm not anti-charter. I am pro-common sense. The bill as it is written makes no provision for the economic consequences of 12 new charters each year. I hope you will join me in voting no on 2 for the sake of the schools in your community -- the schools many of you attended as kids, and loved. We love those schools too. Let's keep them for the next generation, and the one after that.

[Anthony D'Isidoro]

Hello Everyone,

Some sobering statistics for the National Democratic Party going forward:

Democrats Under Barak Obama

Worst Losses Since 1922

11 Seats in the Senate

60 Seats in the House

14 Governorships

900 State Legislative Seats

I understand the Democrats now have total state government control in only 5 states where the Governor and the legislative-chamber majorities are Democrats.

As we all know, elections have consequences.  We need to fix this.

Tony

[David Strati]

I am with you.  What can we do?

Dave Strati 

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[brent whelan]

I agree with Tony--the degree of Republican control--even when, as in this election, they don't really have a majority--speaks to a very serious institutional failure of the Democratic Party. One quick suggestion: Tony says "under Barack Obama," but really it's "since 2008". That is, I don't think the problem is Obama so much as the changed conditions since the Great Recession. Collapsing housing markets and massive unemployment made clear what had been happening for 30 years: a massive transfer of wealth to the 1% or .1%. Bill Clinton's Democratic Party was completely on board with this--his Treasury Secretary, Rbt Rubin was one of its architects. Hillary was in no position to champion traditional Democratic blue-collar supporters, but she could pull the strings that kept Bernie Sanders from doing so as nominee. He, along with our own Elizabeth Warren, are, in my opinion, the Democrats best prepared to win back some of that worker support. Dave asks 'What can we do?' and I don't really know (since Massachusetts isn't really the problem). I think moving the national Democratic Party to align with the victims of the globalized economy, not the profiteers, would be a good place to start.

I hope others will continue this conversation--thanks, Tony, for starting it.

Brent Whelan 

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[Karen Smith]

It could be there as well, but I would miss it if that was the only spot.  I am one of those Democrats who never go to the Ward Committee site but have followed quite a few conversations on this and other community forums. 

Thanks to those  who are providing data and history  and ideas- I appreciate the effort.

Karen 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 14, 2016, at 11:20 AM, <jmull...@earthlink.net> <jmull...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Should this message be posted on a Democrat Ward Committee site instead of this forum?
JM

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony D'Isidoro
Sent: Nov 14, 2016 10:42 AM
To: "cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com" , "allstonbr...@googlegroups.com"
Subject: [Cleveland-Circle] The Path Forward

Hello Everyone,

Some sobering statistics for the National Democratic Party going forward:

Democrats Under Barak Obama

Worst Losses Since 1922

11 Seats in the Senate

60 Seats in the House

14 Governorships

900 State Legislative Seats

I understand the Democrats now have total state government control in only 5 states where the Governor and the legislative-chamber majorities are Democrats.

As we all know, elections have consequences.  We need to fix this.

Tony

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Joe Mulligan

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[Dave]

How do we help to do that? Keep in mind  Hillary did win the popular vote and I don't think Mr Trump is going to actually do much to help the white males that helped put him there. But Democrats did not do anything for them either. What can be done to create decent jobs for everyone?

Dave   

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[Eva Webster]

It depends what you mean by “we have to fix it”, Tony.

I think the reason Hillary got as many votes as she did was because Donald Trump, the alternative, was unpalatable to many folks — not because they loved Hillary and had a strong belief in the Democratic Party establishment that she represented.  If the Republicans had a more respectable, less flawed nominee, the election would be a total landslide for them (not just in electoral votes, but in the popular vote as well) . 

Lots of people are disenchanted with the Democratic Party, especially its support of globalization and excessive immigration (refusing to admit that we cannot afford to be absorbing every 3rd world country’s surplus population without undermining our own citizens, culture, and economy). America is very divided — and it will become even more divided, dangerously so, the more ethnically and racially diverse it becomes.

An honest discussion about what causes all of this is not possible at this time.  People support free speech in principle, but as soon as they hear something they disagree with, they put bad labels on those they disagree with, which shuts down the discussion.

On 11/14/16, 10:42 AM, "Anthony D'Isidoro" <allstonbr...@googlegroups.com on behalf of Anthony...@msn.com> wrote:

Hello Everyone,

Some sobering statistics for the National Democratic Party going forward:

Democrats Under Barak Obama

Worst Losses Since 1922

11 Seats in the Senate

60 Seats in the House

14 Governorships

900 State Legislative Seats

I understand the Democrats now have total state government control in only 5 states where the Governor and the legislative-chamber majorities are Democrats.

As we all know, elections have consequences.  We need to fix this.

Tony

--

[Eva Webster]

“What can be done to create decent jobs for everyone?”

You can’t create decent jobs for everyone, ever — period.  Decent jobs often depend on other less-decent, or non-decent jobs.

However, if you want competition for jobs on all levels to be less cut-throat — which would also allow low-income and middle-class wages to rise — you need to reduce importation of foreign labor.  But this of course runs counter to the big American myth that immigration is always good, just because the country was founded on it.

Present day Democrats have been the principal champions of this myth, which is why they are seeing the huge electoral losses across the country, except in large coastal cities that have heavy immigrant populations. (It’s the lack of understanding of how the labor market works that makes many immigrants vote for democrats, but against their own economic interests.)

The only good news in all of this is that by and large American voters are not as clueless as one might think. 

[Nancy Grilk]

'Wrong forum' suggests censorship; no one is compelled to join this important discussion.  Join in, I didn't see any requirement that one be a Democrat to be part of this; or, hit the 'delete' key.  Bob Pessek

On Nov 14, 2016, at 1:58 PM, Benjamin Marshall wrote:

Wrong forum.   We're not all democrats.

On Nov 14, 2016 1:56 PM, "'Karen Smith' via Cleveland Circle Community" <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

It could be there as well, but I would miss it if that was the only spot.  I am one of those Democrats who never go to the Ward Committee site but have followed quite a few conversations on this and other community forums. 

Thanks to those  who are providing data and history  and ideas- I appreciate the effort.

Karen 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 14, 2016, at 11:20 AM, <jmull...@earthlink.net> <jmull...@earthlink.net> wrote:

Should this message be posted on a Democrat Ward Committee site instead of this forum?
JM

-----Original Message-----
From: Anthony D'Isidoro
Sent: Nov 14, 2016 10:42 AM
To: "cleveland-circle-community@googlegroups.com" , "allstonbrighton2006@googlegroups.com"
Subject: [Cleveland-Circle] The Path Forward

Hello Everyone,

Some sobering statistics for the National Democratic Party going forward:

Democrats Under Barak Obama

Worst Losses Since 1922

11 Seats in the Senate

60 Seats in the House

14 Governorships

900 State Legislative Seats

I understand the Democrats now have total state government control in only 5 states where the Governor and the legislative-chamber majorities are Democrats.

As we all know, elections have consequences.  We need to fix this.

Tony

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Joe Mulligan

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[Anthony D'Isidoro]

Hello Everyone,

As I noted in this week’s Community Notes, we had a pretty substantial real estate transaction in North Allston, that maybe a prelude of yet another development project.  Western Avenue is certainly earning its reputation for developers as one of the most desirable corridors in the City of Boston.

Western Avenue Joint Venture LLC purchased 242, 246, 250, 280, 248, 260, 292, 293-305 Western Ave and a parcel of land on Westford St for $13,000,000.

The business address of the LLC is c/o Mugar Enterprises, Inc., 222 Berkeley St, Boston, MA 02116.  The resident agent, manager and authority to execute documents for the LLC is David T Ting.

Mr. David T. Ting serves as President of Mugar Enterprises Inc. He serves as Executive Director at Mugar 4 Hartwell LLC. Mr. Ting is a Trustee at the WGBH Education Foundation, a member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He is a Governing Trustee at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He served as a member of the Board of Directors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and served as the chairman of the Finance Committee. He was a trustee of ... the Harvard Medical Collaborative and a trustee of the Museum of Science. He is a trustee of South Cove Nursing Facilities Foundation and chairs its Investment Committee. Additionally, he serves as the Treasurer of Boston’s Fourth of July Foundation. Mr. Ting is also actively involved in a number of private companies, including Woodside Capital Partners, Boston Opera House, House of Blues Boston, St. Croix Renaissance Group and Woods Hole Group. Mr. Ting began his career at Arthur Young in New York City. He also held positions with Ford Motor Company, Washington Post Company and New England Television Corporation. Mr. Ting holds an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

Tony

[Dave]

Well Eva you might have to build a wall to keep people in if the racist NY
Con man keeps going in the direction he seems to be heading. Trickle down  has always worked so well in the past!! Give the big Corporations big tax cuts. The Rich get richer. Same old same old. Both parties need big changes. 
Sent from my iPhone

[Dave]

Talking is essential and listening is even more important. 

Sent from my iPhone

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[Anthony D'Isidoro]

GSD students to participate in North Allston design-build competition

November 30, 2016

By Travis Dagenais

Harvard University is engaging the Graduate School of Design as a creative program partner for the planning, design, and execution of a new public open space in Allston, and has launched a design-and-build competition inviting GSD students to enhance the site.

The competition site is an area adjacent to a passive green space owned and managed by Harvard known as “the Grove,” sitting at the critical neighborhood intersection of Western Avenue and North Harvard Street. This intersection, known locally as “Barry’s Corner,” is already a key gateway into North Allston and a critical node of development and activity along Western Avenue. The green space at the Grove is a highly valued place within the community, serving as an important connection to the neighborhood’s rich history.

Announced earlier in November, this competition has roots in extensive conversations and meetings between Harvard, the Allston-Brighton community, and the City of Boston during the University’s Institutional Master Plan process. During that process, community members articulated a vision for a more connected and vibrant commercial corridor along Western Avenue in North Allston.

In February 2015, Harvard University’s Office of the Executive Vice President and its consultants Graffito SP began work to develop creative strategies for activating Harvard-owned properties and spaces along Western Avenue. This work led to what has been named the Zone 3 Initiative. It also has fueled short-term place-making strategies as well as longer-term thinking about how best to utilize certain Harvard properties in ways that strengthen ties to the existing culture, character, and context of the Allston-Brighton community, while also building connections between the neighborhood and the University.

Facilitating new community gathering spaces, enhancing the public realm with art and activation, and connecting the neighborhood and the University community are core design values behind the competition. Project priorities include creating an open space to be used and activated, not just looked at; drawing people in and inspiring them to linger and return; remaining sensitive to the neighborhood context; and providing a platform that supports and encourages learning, experimentation, and exploration.

Each participating student team will be required to participate in a collective community engagement exercise, asking community members what brings them to the Grove and what they might want out of an expanded Grove, among other topics.

Student submissions will be offered to the competition jury by January 13, 2017, and the jury will name five finalists later in January. An open public exhibition of finalist work will take place at 267 Western Avenue from February 17 through 21. The jury will name a winner in late February, with design and construction beginning in March.

Supporting partners include the Harvard University Office of the Executive Vice President, Harvard Campus Services, Harvard Planning & Project Management, Charlesview, Inc., and Graffito SP.