Government Schools

Mayor’s Office Promises Plan for Eliot School Expansion by May 1, 2012

Posted on Author Matt ContiComments Off on Mayor’s Office Promises Plan for Eliot School Expansion by May 1, 2012

The Mayor’s Office has issued a letter to the Eliot School community, breaking its long-silent stance regarding expanding North End K-8 public school. The February 24, 2012 letter is pasted below and available here as a pdf. The letter is a glowing report on the turnaround story of the neighborhood school, specifically noting the improvements in test scores and its success in developing partnerships. While it does not mention the other organizations by name, the noted “partners” appear to refer to North End non-profits including NEMPAC (North End Music and Performing Arts Center) and the North Bennet Street School.

Most importantly, the Mayor’s letter addresses the dire need to secure more space for current and future student enrollment at the Eliot School. It promises a plan for a short-term and long-term solution, including capital needs, by May 1, 2012.

The timing is coincident with the bid process having been completed for the North and Richmond Street buildings. With the only submissions coming from the North Bennet Street School and a symbolic proposal from the Eliot School Family Council, the gears would appear to be in motion for the NBSS to phase-in a move to the old city printing plant and police station, followed by Boston Public Schools expanding the Eliot K-8 School into the NBSS properties. It is still early in the process and there are many undeveloped details to be worked out in that conceptual plan.

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Government Health & Environment

City Report: Boston Is Healthier

Posted on Author Matt Conti

    Mayor Menino Releases 2010 Health of Boston Report
  Mortality rates continue to decline, fewer drug and alcohol deaths

Fewer Boston residents are dying of cancer, heart disease, injuries, and stroke, four of the five leading causes of death in the city, and Asian residents in Boston have the highest average life expectancy of any racial or ethnic group, according to the new Health of Boston report released today by Mayor Menino.
 
The 399-page report prepared by the Boston Public Health Commission contained plenty of good news about the health of Boston residents: Fewer substance abuse deaths, high rates of cancer screening, fewer teen pregnancies, fewer adults smokers and salmonella cases, and the near- disappearance of children in Boston with elevated lead levels.
 
But serious challenges remain. The report found that Boston’s black and Latino residents continue to experience higher levels of chronic disease, mortality, and poorer health outcomes compared to white residents. In 2008, the asthma hospitalization rate for black and Latino children was more than three times the rate for Asian children and four times the rate for white children.  That same year, the diabetes hospitalization rate for black and Latino residents was about four times the rate for Asians and whites.  For Boston’s black residents the health inequities begin early in life and persist throughout the individual’s lifespan: In 2008, the black infant mortality rate was more than four times the white infant mortality rate, and black residents had the shortest average life expectancy.
Schools

Eliot School Students Excel at Robotics Olympics

Posted on Author Eliot K-8 School

Students from the Eliot School in Boston’s North End attended the Boston Public Schools Robotics Olympics, a citywide competition for LEGO Robotics students, earlier this month. The students persevered through challenges such as tweaking robots and adjusting catapults based on competition rules and regulations. Eliot Principal Traci Griffith said she is so proud of the Read More…
Community Event Notices Government

Mayor’s North End Coffee Hour Set for June 22, 2012 at the Gassy, DeFilippo Playground

Posted on Author Matt Conti

Mayor Menino will hold his annual neighborhood coffee hour in the North End on June 22, 2012 at 9:30 am. The event will be in conjunction with the opening of the newly renovated play area at “The Gassy” formally known as DeFilippo Playground at 135 Prince Street.