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Media ink swirled around last Saturday’s quad wrestling match as area newspapers pitched different views regarding whether Lowell High School’s wrestling team actually won the meet or simply tied against Timberlane. Prior to Saturday’s meet, both teams were undefeated, Division I champions for their states: Red Raiders in Massachusetts and Timberlane Owls in New Hampshire. After both soundly won against the other two participants in the four-way competition (Connecticut teams from Ledyard and Berlin), the two champions faced each other in a grueling competition that ended with a 27-27 score—and that’s where the controversy begins. According to MIAA rules used in Massachusetts’ wrestling competitions (but not followed in other states apparently), a tie score remains that for both teams. By Federation standards, the final outcome of a tie score is determined by gaining points for the number of additional pins a team gets. Since the Red Raiders had pins by James Downing and Victor DeJesus, and the Owls only had one by Dylan Lockard, the Lowell team picked up another point, winning the meet 28-27. What the Lowell Sun termed a “gutsy victory” was portrayed in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune as “Owls settle for apparent tie; Lowell claims win.” The Boston Globe also mentioned the meet, calling it a win for the Red Raiders with “strong performances” by Lowell students. Obviously, it would have been better if the coaches discussed the specific rules prior to the meet, but according to the Tribune: “Steve Tassini, a MIAA wrestling commissioner, claims that it should only remain a tie if both schools are MIAA schools,” which, of course, wasn’t the case since Timberlane is in New Hampshire. I’m happy to claim it a Lowell win, the first against Timberlane since 2003. For more discussion on the meet and all things wrestling, check out this blog.

While the Boston Celtics didn’t do well last night in an upsetting 88-83 loss to the Washington Wizards, Lowell High School’s basketball teams have been doing great! During Friday night’s game against Andover, the Lowell girls’ team ruled the court with a 51-42 victory, and Ashley Rivera scored her thousandth career point during the final seconds of the game. Now undefeated, the girls will participate in MVC play ranked as the number one high school girls’ basketball team in the state. During its newscast last Friday night, Fox 25 highlighted the LHS girls basketball team as part of its “High School Fridays” segment. The girls will play Cambridge Rindge and Latin in Lowell on Wednesday at 6 o’clock.

Lowell High School’s boys’ basketball team is also undefeated, following an exciting overtime victory against Andover and a decisive win against Lynn English. With its 9-0 record, the boys are gearing up for a showdown with Central Catholic, also on Wednesday night at 7:30, and the stakes are first place in the MVC and the number one ranking statewide. If you can, come on down and support our great basketball teams and feel the excitement of Lowell High School athletics at its best. (Note: Wednesday at 7 p.m. is also the next school committee meeting at City Hall.)   

This news just in from high school headmaster Bill Samaras: Tomorrow morning at 6:35 a.m., there will be a segment highlighting the Lowell High School Air Force Jr. ROTC program on Fox 25 News. Fox will also be at LHS tomorrow night to broadcast live from the gym during their 5-6 p.m. news hour as part of their Friday night school series. Fox will be interviewing students and coaches from the Lowell Girls Varsity Basketball team just before they face off against Andover at 7 p.m. This should be a great game: Except for an earlier loss against Andover, the Lowell team remains undefeated. Fans are encouraged to see players and coaches interviewed live on TV and come down to the gym for the 7 p.m. game to cheer them on!

Too often the issue of gangs comes up only when there’s been youth-involved violence. Most people don’t know the City Manager’s Gang Advisory Board has been meeting monthly for a year to develop solutions to the gang problems facing Lowell, and those efforts are showing results. This morning, the board decided to hold a Community Summit in January to share the board’s accomplishments and goals, look for suggestions going forward, and challenge citizens to be part of the solution for developing youth opportunities and preventing gang involvement. (Stay tuned for more specifics regarding the date, time, and summit location.)  

In the meantime, here’s an update on a board-related action: A concern identified at a recent board meeting regarding the relationship between the Lowell Police Gang Unit and the United Teen Equality Center’s (UTEC) Street Workers led to a meeting between the two groups. Both groups target gang-involved youngsters; the police gang unit focuses on crime prevention and enforcement while UTEC street workers look to build relationships with teens, connect them to community resources, and foster peacemaking. Although UTEC leaders have been meeting regularly with Police Superintendant Lavallee and his command staff, there was a disconnect between the rank and file members of both groups along with a sense of distrust—even cross purposes. According to UTEC Executive Director Gregg Croteau and Police Deputy Artie Ryan, getting these groups together has been a major first step in collaborating their efforts around gang prevention. Both Croteau and Ryan noted that at the meeting, the police officers and street workers realized their focus and perspectives may be different, but they share many common goals in working with the city’s troubled youth. The two groups will continue to meet and develop a partnership as advocates sharing resources in a community effort against gangs and youth violence.

I loved the UTEC city council candidates’ forum last night and was glad to experience it firsthand. For a complete take on the event, check Marie’s post. This is the second time I’ve watched council candidates face the exuberant, joyful UTEC teens. Last time was in 2003 and some of the candidates looked as uncomfortable then as they did last night—kind of like deer caught in the headlights.  But UTEC has gone high tech since that earlier debate; last night’s performance was a multi-media, high energy event that was truly fun. The “Price is Right” game show format for deciding who answers questions first, the fact that it was held at UTEC’s  new facility and taped by LTC for later broadcast, and the entertainment were all added features to this year’s event, which truly made it a rocking political experience. The teens were loudly supportive of each other and the candidates. They also had some great questions about jobs and stores for youngsters, teen homelessness, transportation, and the city manager’s contract. As expected with 30-second sound bites, the answers tended to be short on substance as well as time. By far, the best part for me was the incredible energy of the students and the singing, dancing, and poetry performances. For a broadcast schedule, check: more »

First of all, kudos to UTEC and other sponsors of the Youth-led School Committee Candidates’ Forum, broadcast live last night on LTC.  THey had a unique and interesting format which allowed two 10-minute open discussions on a given topic, lightning rounds that allowed only “yes” or “no” answers (most of the candidates had trouble with this one!) and a “free-for-all” which allowed the candidates to ask each other questions. They also had a performance by a young singer.  (More youth performances will be showcased at the Youth-led City Council Forum tomorrow night – see previous post.) 

Other opportunities to make up your mind on the School Committee race abound.  You can see the replay of last night’s forum on LTC Channels 8 and 95, from 7-8 pm, on Thursday, November 1, Saturday, November 3, and Monday, November 5.  The Citywide Parent Council School Commitee Candidates’ Forum which was broadcast on October 15, is being shown on LET Channel 22, Thursday, November 1, at 10:30 am, Saturday and Sunday at 7 pm, and Monday at 7 pm.  They are also showing it at extra, unscheduled times in the days leading up to the election, so if you tune in to Channel 22, you may just catch part of it. 

With one week left until Election Day, there are two more opportunities to hear from all the candidates in live and/or televised forums. 

1)  Youth-Led school committee candidates’ forum will be broadcast live tomorrow night from 7-8:00 pm on LTC Channel 95. (This will be an in-studio debate with no studio audeience.)

2)  Youth-Led city council candidates’ forum will be held at UTEC, 34 Hurd Street, on November 1, 6-8 pm.  Also to be aired on LTC, this forum is open to the entire community and will also include performances by local Lowell youth.  (This is also a great chance to see UTEC’s new home at the former St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and learn about their plan to renovate the space).

Sponsoring agencies include:  The Lowell Sun, UTEC, Lowell Community Health Center, Big Brother Big Sister of Greater Lowell, YWCA of Lowell, Citywide Parent Council, The GRIP Project and Lowell Telecommunications Corporation (LTC).   

Someone asked me “what is UTEC?” the other day.  Here is the short answer, from Director Gregg Crouteau:

UTEC’s mission is to be a youth-led safe haven for youth development and grassroots organizing.  Overall, our core values focus on peace, positivity and empowerment. Through extensive street outreach, UTEC serves over 1,500 youth annually and over 150 teens every day (ages 13-23), particularly those most often overlooked and labeled as “at-risk.” 

(UTEC stands for United Teen Equality Center.)

Now that the state has released the MCAS results from last spring, it’s great to see the progress being made in Lowell Public Schools demonstrated in our test scores—one measure of success taken quite seriously by the state and the federal No Child Left Behind law. The efforts of school administrators and teachers to provide strong curriculum with excellent teaching are paying off with substantive improvements in students success. To help put that success in perspective, compare what’s been accomplished in Lowell to state results: First off, the overall average rate of improvement in Lowell was 10% while the state achieved 5%. (State results obviously include progress made in wealthy communities, as well as suburban and urban schools.) Lowell’s ability to double the state’s progress is especially significant when you consider that our student demographics include the highest percentage of second language learners in the commonwealth, not to mention poverty levels at about 65%. Some middle-school scores, in particular, were astounding. For instance, 14% more Lowell sixth graders scored advanced/proficient in math while the state average jumped only 6%. On the other end, the number of sixth graders who scored in the warning category was reduced by 15% in Lowell while the state reduced only 5% on average. Lowell eighth grade math results showed a 13% reduction in students who received warning scores while the state warning category reduced only 4%. These advances are significant, but there is still much work to be done. It is encouraging, however, to see test scores that affirm the focus on high-quality curriculum and excellent instruction are paying off in substantive ways. Congratulations to the administrators, staff, teachers, and especially the students. Keep up the good work!

Research shows that during the summer, children who don’t read or have some academic exposure can lose 20% of what they’ve learned. Years ago, I remember feeling jealous when my friends’ children from private schools or wealthier communities would receive their summer reading lists. It bothered me that my children didn’t have summer reading assignments. Although the Pollard Library had reading lists for each grade, there was no coordinated district-wide school effort to promote summer reading. Well, those days are long gone from the Lowell Public Schools. Last week at the school committee meeting, 68 children from kindergarten to eighth grade visited City Hall to be congratulated for their summer reading efforts. The students, three from each school, represented youngsters from across the city who had read and written about more than 15,500 books this summer. The names of all students who submitted a log of their books were entered into a drawing to determine the prize winners from each school. When the superintendent announced that the winners would receive $25 certificates to Barnes & Noble, there was an audible gasp from the youngsters who were not expecting such a generous gift (funded by grant money). As their names were called and the children received a handshake and certificate from the mayor, I felt as if we were our own little United Nations: Some last names of the winners are: McBreen, Daigneault, Thach, Garcia, Sweeney, Lau, Rios, Archila, Donovan, Sanchez, Im, Gaudet, Primeau, Chanthavongsak, Fitzgerald, Eltobgi, and Gonzalez. In addition to a promotion effort that began in June with classroom teachers, many principals (using our new ConnectEd phone system) called homes throughout the summer, reminding parents and children about the importance of reading; the free, air-conditioned book opportunities at the library; and the program. In all, it was a great effort and a win for everyone involved.

I was talking to a friend this morning who reminded me that politics can be nasty. Just like driving in bad weather, you deal with the road conditions as best you can and try to stay focused on your destination. My destination regarding our schools has always been about doing what’s needed to improve the quality of education our children receive. Sometimes, in pursuit of that goal, I have spoken out on issues that have been unpopular, upsetting, or uncomfortable for some people. For that, I am truly sorry because I do not enjoy it when people are upset with me. But in terms of my attempts to present the facts and continue to move the district forward, I make no apologies. My agenda is not about whose friends don’t get promoted or don’t get jobs. It is also not about geography or personality. It is simply about doing the best we can to provide an excellent education for our children. Because I have seen substantive, continued progress in this area, my focus is to stay the course and continue to work at doing better. There are some who would like to frame this election campaign around insider-outsider issues and personalities, ignoring the signs of progress and the many indicators of success at all levels of the district. There is still much work to be done, and this storm of negativity should not be allowed to distract us from our destination. In the end, the really important issues are about what’s best for our children and how do we continue to move our school system forward. It is only by keeping our focus on excellent schools as our common goal that we may actually get there.