After A Gesture Of Goodwill, Norton Appointed To Fill Final School Committee Seat

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Photo: Jill Norton of the Belmont School Committee.

It was a political gesture that’s hardly seen in an age of insulting opponents and demeaning the process.

A vote to fill the vacant seat on the Belmont School Committee by a joint meeting of the Belmont Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, on Friday, May 11, resulted in a four-to-four deadlock between Jill Norton and Michael Crowley, two of the four candidates seeking the position.

As the selectmen and committee were prepared for the second round of voting between the two, Crowley told the board he wished to “make things easy.”

“I appreciate that Jill got out and ran and I’ve talked to her a number of times … and she would do a fabulous job on the school committee,” as he graciously step aside, withdrawing his nomination to allow Norton, who unsuccessfully ran for a term on the committee, to serve the remaining two years of Thomas Caputo’s term after he was elected to the Board of Selectmen in April. 

The act caught the boards and residents by surprise as the Clark Street resident was unanimously approved by the board.

Crowley said his decision was not due to any sense of doing “the honorable thing.”

“I like [Norton] and it felt right,” said the Warrant Committee member. “I didn’t want to see any quibbling or arguing which I did see any benefit in that.” 

For Norton, Crowley’s reaction thwarted her own thoughts of ceding her votes to her opponent.

“It’s funny because I potentially was thinking of doing the same thing Michael did but he got there first,” she said, noting a financial background is important as the schools make up nearly half of the town’s annual budget.

The closeness of the vote showed the group were of two minds on the skills the School Committee would need in the coming years. The first four votes were for Crowley, emphasizing his budgetary and financial background as well as his membership on the town’s financial watchdog agency.

“There’s sort of a void in that hardcore, number crunching [skill set],” said Adam Dash, selectmen chair.

Norton, who received the final four votes, was seen bringing a policy approach while each of members who selected her said she deserved credit for stepping up and running a good campaign and were vetted by the voters.

“I do give a lot of credit who put themselves out there for the election,” said Susan Burgess-Cox, chair of the School Committee.

But the differences were made mute when Crowley abandoned the race.

As for the newest member, Norton has experience on the policy side of the education field. For the past two years, Norton has worked as Director of Education Policy at Cambridge-based Abt Associates, to help develop and execute a strategy for the firm’s Education Practice. Previously, she was a Senior Policy Adviser for the state’s Executive Office of Education and Executive Director of the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, a Cambridge-based think tank, having started her career as a classroom teacher.

Norton matriculated at Michigan State University where she earned a BA in Elementary Education and received her Master’s in Education from Harvard. A 16 year Belmont resident, her oldest child attends Belmont’s public school.

Norton told the Belmontonian that her priority is to listen to the constituencies – teachers, students, parents, and administrators – within the districts before she brings proposals before the committee, “and is there any possible connection between our needs and funding and grant opportunities that the governor’s office is considering.” 

Norton said her family’s involvement with the cadre of educators teaching her son as well as her background in the classroom “intensifies my inclination to connect with teachers and support all the good work that they are doing and do whatever I can because that’s where the rubber meets the road.”

Excellence In High School Senior Writing Honored At Blacker Prizes May 16

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Photo: The annual Blacker Prizes will be bestowed on Wednesday, May 16.

The Belmont High School English Department will present the annual Lillian F. Blacker Prizes for Excellence in Writing on Wednesday evening, May 16, at 6:30 p.m. in the Peter Holland Library at Belmont High School. This year, we will honor seniors James Kitch, Mirilla Zhu, and Nanako Tokuo for their outstanding writing.  Belmont residents are cordially invited to attend.

Family and friends established the Blacker Prizes more than 20 years ago in memory of Lillian F. Blacker, a longtime Belmont resident who was very active in community affairs and was director of the Harvard Medical News Office. She is remembered by the school and the community as a true lover of literature and language.

The Blacker Prizes are presented each year to three seniors for outstanding writing ability on their senior theses.  Each senior reads, researches, and writes a lengthy thesis paper investigating a literary topic. English faculty members determine the winners after an extensive reading process.

At the awards ceremony, the three Blacker Prize winners will read from their papers and discuss the evolution of their ideas. A panel of seniors will discuss their topics and the senior thesis process. Teachers, parents, administrators, and friends are invited. Underclassmen are encouraged to attend the ceremony to learn more about the senior thesis process. Refreshments will be served.

Skanska Named New High School Construction Manager; Completes Project ‘Team’

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Photo: Skanska USA named construction manager of the new high school.

A familiar face will construct the new Belmont High School as Skanska USA was selected as the project’s Construction Manager by a subcommittee of the Belmont High School Building Committee on Tuesday, May 8.

Subcommittee Chair Patricia Brusch told the Belmontonian the multinational construction and development company headquartered in Sweden with an office in Boston will be officially on board the project “very quickly. Just a matter of days.” 

Skanska is no stranger to Belmont having managed the construction of the 84,000 square-foot Wellington Elementary School on Orchard Street between 2010 to 2011. 

Besides upfront payments, Skanska will receive a two percent of the total cost of the project as its fee, said Brusch.

Brusch said the three candidate firms – Skanska, Suffolk Construction, and Gilbane Building Co. – interviewed on Monday, May 7, were close in the subcommittee’s evaluation and in the bids submitted. But the subcommittee members ranked Skanska first in each category, said Brusch, who indicated the firm’s positive experience building the Wellington was likely the edge that won it the job.

“Each [firm] said they would do what was asked of them, but we knew that Skanska actually did it,” said Brusch, who recalled one example where the firm shut down operations at the Wellington whenever a funeral or memorial service took place at nearly by St. Joseph’s Church without being asked. 

With Skanska’s selection, the major players to build the estimated $290 million project has now been assembled with Skanska joining Daedalus Projects of Boston as Project Manager and Boston’s Perkins+Will as architect/designer.

Asst. Belmont High Principal, Former Melrose Educator Named High School Interim Principal

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Photo: Thomas L. Brow.

The Belmont School District has appointed Thomas L. Brow as the interim Principal of Belmont High School for the coming 2018-2019 school year. Brow currently serves as a part-time assistant principal at Belmont High. 

“We are delighted that Tom has agreed to serve as Interim Principal of Belmont High School for the 2018-2019 school year,” read the press release issued by Mary Pederson, director of Human Resources for the district.

“The depth of his professional experience and his familiarity with the district, specifically with Belmont High School will serve the students and staff well in the coming year. We look forward to welcoming Tom to this new role on July 1, 2018.”

Brow has been working in the Belmont schools since retiring from the Melrose school system in 2015, first as interim assistant principal of Chenery Middle School, then as an interim assistant principal of Belmont High School, and as an instructional leadership coach in the district.

“[Brow] has had a long and distinguished career in education, serving in multiple roles within the Melrose Public Schools over [32] years, including the principal of the middle school for [17] years,” said Pederson.

During his tenure in Melrose, Brow served as interim principal of Melrose High School for one year. Including his times as a principal, Brow served as middle school assistant principal, chair of the social studies department, and social studies teacher. 

Peterson said Brow “has received numerous awards and distinctions and has made a significant contribution to the field of education. During his tenure in Melrose, Tom led multiple school building projects and expansion initiatives.”

Four In Running To Fill Vacant School Committee Seat

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Photo:

Four residents have submitted letters of interest in filling the vacant slot on the Belmont School Committee when Tom Caputo became a member of the Belmont Board of Selectmen in April.

A joint meeting of the Board of Selectmen and School Committee will interview the candidates and select one of the four to join the committee. The meeting takes place on Friday, May 11 at 8:30 a.m. in Town Hall.

The residents on the short list to complete the two years remaining in Caputo’s term are:

  • Mary Boomhower
  • Sarabinh Levy-Brightman
  • Michael Crowley
  • Jill Norton

Below are very brief profiles of the four:

Boomhower has lived on Cutter Street (which is off Beech Street in the PQ neighborhood) for the past three years. Boomhower is not a member of any town committee or board. 

Levy-Brightman resides on Bow Street near the Burbank School. She taught American and world history at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School before heading to the Harvard Divinity School to become the Coordinator for the Religious Literacy and the Professions Initiative.

Crowley is a member and current secretary of the Warrant Committee, the Town Meeting’s financial watchdog. He’s currently a Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. He spent 10 years at the Office of Management and Budget in DC. He lives on Farnham Street.

Norton, the director of education policy at Cambridge-based Abt Associates, and previously a senior policy adviser for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education, finished third for the two available seats on the School Committee in April’s election. She lives on Clark Street.

Take A Virtual Tour Of New High School Tuesday; Project’s Construction Firm Will Be Picked

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Photo: There will be a virtuality reality tour of the new school.

Residents don’t have to wait five years before taking a tour around a new Belmont High School as they are invited to view a virtual reality presentation of the interior of the proposed building housing 7th through 12th grades as the Belmont High School Building Committee holds a joint meeting with the School Committee at the large community room of the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St., on Tuesday, May 8 at 7 p.m.

Also on the agenda will be the selection of the firm to be the project’s Construction Manager. Gilbane Building Co., Skanska, and Suffolk Construction are in the running for the nearly $300 million project.

The night will also include a site design update, discussion of traffic and community comments.

The next community meeting is Wednesday, May 16, at 7 p.m. when traffic solutions will be discussed. The meeting takes place at the Wellington Elementary School cafeteria.

Foundation Honors 2018 Outstanding Teachers May 1 At The Chenery

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Photo: Brian Dunn, the 2018 S. Warren Farrell Award Honoree.

A ceremony to honor the Foundation for Belmont Education’s recipients of the 2018 Outstanding Teacher and the S. Warren Farrell Awards will be held on this afternoon, Tuesday, May 1, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School. The award celebration, sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank Foundation, is open to the public.

The teachers, who were selected among nominations submitted by students, parents, colleagues, and community members, were recognized for their excellence in the classroom and for consistently making a difference in the lives of Belmont’s students. The S. Warren Farrell Award for Educational Excellence recognizes a teacher for longstanding dedication and leadership in Belmont’s public schools.

The teachers were informed of their awards with surprise visits in their classrooms on Friday April  from Superintendent John Phelan and FBE President Christa Bauge.

The honorees include:

  • Colleen Cox, Burbank Elementary School, Kindergarten “Learning, discovery and experimentation are sources of joy in her classroom – much more valued than showing what you know or meeting arbitrary standards.”
  • Erin Gillies-Thibeault, Winn Brook Elementary School, Grade 1 “Ms. Gillies-Thibeault instills in her students the importance of trying hard, putting forth full effort, and not being afraid to make mistakes.”
  • Denise LaPolla, Chenery Middle School, Special Education “Denise LaPolla is the epitome of what excellent teaching must be in our world today. It is because of her support, her warmth, and her care for each individual that she is able to promote an atmosphere where a student is driven to learn and to achieve.”
  • Catherine Larkin, Belmont High School, Fine Arts, Ceramics “Ms. Larkin makes every student feel like they have worth and that their individual creativity is remarkable.”
  • Ted Trodden, Butler Elementary School, Physical Education “Mr. Trodden is anything but typical, he’s exceptional. Not many teachers have an impact on every child at a school, but Mr. Trodden has a positive influence on every Butler kid.”
  • Christina Westfall, Wellington Elementary School, Grade 4 “In a large classroom she is able to treat each child as an individual learner and recognize the talents and aptitudes of each.”

The 2018 S. Warren Farrell Award Honoree is Brian Dunn, Belmont High School, Foreign Language, Latin and longtime Girls’ Cross Country and Track coach. “My child would come home and tell me about thoughtful conversations that would begin with Latin, but would grow in magnitude to something bigger – how to treat people, how to be ambitious, how you must try something you’re afraid of or you won’t have the joys that only challenges can bring.”

For more information about this event or the Foundation for Belmont Education, please visit www.fbe-belmont.org or contact ota@fbe-belmont.org.

Belmont Youth Hockey Scores On Proposed New Rink Along Concord Avenue

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Photo: An overview of the proposed new Belmont Youth Hockey rink along Concord Avenue.

They patiently sat on the bench for the past two-and-a-half years since it last was action, but on Tuesday, April 24, Belmont Youth Hockey jumped over the boards to reintroduce itself to the community and the Belmont School Committee with its vision of a new skating rink for Belmont.

The structure will be a sleek single-story rink/recreation center located on Concord Avenue across from the Underwood Pools, creating with a new high school and public library a new community hub for Belmont, according to Belmont Youth Hockey representative Robert Mulroy who, along with Ara Krafian, CEO of Cambridge-based SMMA |Architects who created preliminary drawings of a new rink, who presented the plans to the School Committee.

If all goes to plan, the new rink/center could be up and running by 2020 before major construction begins on the new Belmont High School.

To make the whole thing work, the youth hockey organization is proposing a public/private partnership with the school committee and town which will allow the non-profit to take school property in a 30-year lease at zero cost with the stipulation Belmont High sports teams will have a set number of hours reserved for games and practices. That partnership agreement will need to pass muster from the school committee and Town Meeting.

A new rink that will not need significant public funding will be a small but significant capital expense removed from the town’s significant “wish list” of large projects that Belmont faces paying for which includes as new Police Headquarters, Department of Public Works facility and public library.

While reluctant to say how much the new center will cost as construction expenses have markedly increased, Mulroy quoted a price tag of $6.5 million in 2015. The construction of the new rink – which will require the demolition of both the White Field House and the Viglirolo rink, known as “The Skip”, which was built in the 1970s.

School committee members did raise questions on the impact of traffic along Concord Avenue with a brand new facility and high school just a few hundred feet from other., But Mulroy believes the nearly 180 new parking spaces and traffic pattern changes associated with a new High School project will alleviate the current demand of on-street parking on main and side streets created by the existing rink and vehicle congestion created by those seeking parking. 

Belmont Superintendent John Phelan said youth hockey was asked by the district and school committee to wait to present its proposal until the “footprint” of the new High School was determined, so not to create any interference with the design and location of the 7th to 12th-grade building.

The need for a new rink is evident once anyone enters “The Skip” which is the current home of Belmont Youth Hockey and the Belmont High teams. Built more than 40 years ago, the once open rink has one wall of corrugated steel open to the elements. (Once, a visitor from Calgary, Canada who attended a nephew’s game at “The Skip” on one bitter January night, said he had been in warmer outdoor arenas in his hometown than indoors in Belmont). The mechanical infrastructure is on “death’s door,” said Mulroy. 

“It’s not how long until there is a catastrophic failure. It’s that it will happen,” said Mulroy, whose league currently purchases three-quarters of all rental time at the rink. “But we have the capacity for a lot more,” he said.

A new rink comes as the youth hockey program has seen increased growth in participation and teams – eight developmental programs and 22 competitive traveling teams for boys and girls from 4 to 18 – in the program which started 47 years ago.

The rink/rec center would be located on school property facing Concord Avenue on the parking outcrop between the White Field House and the Mobil service station across from the Underwood Pool. It will be a short walk from Harris Field and will allow for a softball field and soccer/lacrosse pitch to be located in the rear.

The key points of a new Concord Avenue facility include:

  • A 6,500 square foot multi-use athletic/recreation center.
  • A year-round NHL-size rink with above the ice seating and a “half” rink, both can be used for ice hockey, public skating, figure skating, sled hockey and curling.
  • A field house for half the year (where the half-rink is located) for indoor tennis, concerts and a practice facility for baseball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and rock climbing.
  • A running/walking track above the field house.
  • 180 parking spaces that can be used by pool patrons and a drop-off area at the rink’s entrance.
  • Eight new locker rooms that can be utilized by teams playing on nearby Harris Field.
  • A team or community meeting room for public meetings or continued learning classes.
  • Exercise/health room for yoga and exercise.
  • Food concession stand.
  • A skate shop

The facility will be funded with a private 30-year loan which requires the school committee to lease the land at no cost to the non-profit, with an agreement that Belmont High’s Boys and Girls ice hockey teams will have a specific number of hours dedicated to practice and games. Phelan pointed out with a rink, the school department would need to allocate more than $100,000 a year on rental fees at other rinks and bus transportation.

Public-private arrangements are fairly common, said Mulroy, including for recreational facilities pointing to a pair of nearby examples: the Beede Pool and Gym in Concord and the Wellesley Sports Complex which will open later this year. 

The rink will be run by a professional management company. At the end of the 30 years, the town will have the opportunity to take possession of the facility or allow the existing management contract to continue under a new agreement. 

The Youth Hockey Association has been discussing an alternative location for the rink at the former incinerator on Concord Avenue at the Lexington/Belmont line. It would be an 80,000 sq.-ft. complex with two full ice surfaces and parking. While the association has been in discussions with officials and town counsel exploring the feasibility of the town-owned location, Mulroy said the clear first option for youth hockey is the high school site.

Mulroy said the next steps will be gathering feedback from the School committee and residents before seeking support from both the committee and Town Meeting to move forward. Once it gets the initial OK, Youth Hockey will release a Request for Proposal to build the facility and finalize the lease agreement. Afterward, the final designs will be done and the financing will be secured. The final step is to go back to the School Committee and Town Meeting for final approval of the lease deal. 

Sophomore Shows The Way To Become A Belmont Idol [VIDEO]

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Photo: Mia Hallet, winner of Belmont Idol 2018.

For Mia Hallet, being up on stage performing is “where I’m supposed to be.” 

The Belmont High School sophomore proved that statement was on point as she wowed the audience and judges at Belmont Idol 2018 to walk away with the title on Friday, April 6. 

The dance ensemble Dance the Music made up of Yolei Chen, Dinara Mardanova, Kamila Mardanova and Nitya Sharma placed second with three-time contestant Krasma (Stefan Ingesias, Eamon O’Connor, Andrea Russi) coming in third. 

Performing solo accompanied by her gorgeous orange-stained Gretsch Electromatic Hollowbody guitar, the long-time singer let loose a rendition of BØRNS’ “Electric Love” to the receptive audience in the High School’s auditorium and three judges made up of local professional musicians.

With a father was in a band in his younger days and she has been singing since elementary school, Hallet first picked up the guitar two years ago with the idea of playing first before her classmates and then a wider audience. 

“My goal is to perform on stage, to make a living as an artist,” she said. “And this is a step towards that.”

New Belmont School Committee Meets … And Needs One More Member

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Photo: The new School Committee: (from left) Lisa Fiore, Andrea Prestwich, Susan Burgess-Cox, Tara Donner and Catherine Bowen. 

The first meeting of the newly-constituted Belmont School Committee after the town’s election on April 3, was quick – just a little bit more than a half-hour long – as the committee’s big vote was to select its new leader.

For the next year, Susan Burgess-Cox, who won re-election for another three-year term in last week’s election, was unanimously selected committee chair by the five members. She succeeds Lisa Fiore who takes on a one-year term on the board. The committee also welcomed newcomer Tara Donner, who was elected to the other three-year seat. They join Andrea Prestwich and Catherine Bowen on the committee.

Yet there is unfinished business on the committee; namely, it’s missing one member. With Tom Caputo’s election to the Board of Selectmen, the committee has an unfilled slot for the remainder of Caputo’s term, ending April 2019. To rectify the empty seat, the committee will fill the position by an appointee chosen jointly by the School Committee and the Board of Selectmen.

Anyone interested in filling this vacancy can submit a letter of interest to Cathy Grant in the Superintendent’s office by Thursday, May 3 at 4 p.m. via email to cgrant@belmont.k12.ma.us or U.S. mail to Cathy Grant c/o Belmont Public Schools, 644 Pleasant St.

The two boards will meet jointly on Friday, May 11 at 8:30 a.m. in the Board of Selectmen’s meeting room in Town Hall to interview applicants and to vote to appoint the new member of the School Committee.