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A community forum “Get to Know You” will be held at the Stoklosa School, 560 Broadway Street, 6:30-8 p.m. with Judge Jay Blitzman of Middlesex County Juvenile Court and staff of the Lowell Public Schools. The event is free and open to the community, and refreshments will be served. Also tonight, Lowell High School will host its Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony at the Irish Auditorium, 6-8 p.m. The annual event celebrates exemplary graduates who “have distinguished themselves by reaching the highest level of personal and professional accomplishment.” As the oldest, public co-educational high school in the country, LHS takes great pride in the accomplishments of its alumni as well as its scholarship endowment for future graduates. On that note, the cost of attending the reception is $50 and includes wonderful refreshments prepared by students in the school’s culinary arts academy.

People who know me, know I’ve spent about 11 years working to improve our schools, first as an outspoken parent on the School Site Council at my son’s elementary school (he’s now a junior at LHS), then as a leader on the Citywide Parent Council, and finally, for the last six years, as a member of the Lowell School Committee. But yesterday was a first for me. Yesterday, I spent four hours in a crowded, hot room at the State House, listening to citizens express their concerns regarding 12 special education bills before the Joint Committee on Education. I was there to testify in support of House Bill 481, the sixth bill on the agenda, and although it was not the first time I had travelled to Boston to talk to lawmakers, it was the first time I spoke on a bill that I helped initiate. Today’s Sun has an article on the hearing, so I won’t go into details here except to add my perspective as someone with a vested interest in changing the law. There were lots of interested parties who spoke at the hearing—many special education advocates, parents, lawyers, and representatives from associations such as special education administrators, school committees, and superintendents. Each speaker was given three minutes, and it took four hours just to get halfway through the agenda. (We didn’t stay to hear the remaining six bills.) While waiting for my turn to speak, it struck me that as tiresome as it was to live through, the public hearing process was a significant part of a democratic society. Our right as citizens to address our government is a key component of representative government. It is not as important as voting, obviously, but definitely instrumental in shaping the type of government that results. Over dinner, I was happy to share my firsthand civics lesson with my children, who I know will become engaged and informed citizens themselves one day. Whether they will spend a day at the State House fighting for education reform, however, remains to be seen…