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I was surprised by the ferocious controversy surrounding President Obama’s speech to students today. (Here’s the text and video of the address.) In my idealistic world, I actually thought a “work hard and do your best” message from the president was a good way to start the school year. I liked how President Obama could speak from his own experience and act as a role model, especially for many of our minority students who lag behind in test scores, graduation rates, and income levels. Regardless of the adult static around the issue, what did Lowell kids hear the president say? I happen to live with Lowell students, both of whom saw the address today in social studies and history classes respectively. My younger child, a 13-year-old who has always been a conscientious student, found Obama’s speech “interesting and inspiring.” The point that most stuck with her: “even if you come from a bad neighborhood, you should try your hardest and you can succeed.” My son, a junior at LHS who finished Obama’s Audacity of Hope for a summer reading assignment, had a more pragmatic reaction: “He must be a really strict parent, and I felt kind of sorry for his daughters,” he said, adding that it was “cool” how Obama challenged us to think what a president 50 years from now would say about our contribution.

Of course, the perspectives of my white, middle-class children do not represent the majority of Lowell’s students, many of whom are below the federal poverty level and learn English as their second language. That’s why Obama’s message on education is so important. Here’s one part, in particular, I hope resonates with our young people: “…But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying… Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.” Now that’s worth repeating; let’s hope they heard it.

Happy Labor Day! Hope you’re able to enjoy today with family and friends, doing something fun outside, or simply relaxing wherever you find yourself. I admit, I don’t have the details of how the unions initiated this holiday or when it started, but I am grateful for another day to enjoy the fleeting warmth of summer. Labor Day always carries a tinge of sadness for me, as I inevitably feel the summer went by too quickly—this year, in particular, summer flew by because so many days in an already-too-short season were lost to rain. Now that I’ve reached a certain age, I understand it is better NOT to spend Labor Day in traffic, and so, if we go away for the weekend, we always return home Sunday night. This year was no exception. We spent the weekend in Bar Harbor, swimming in Echo Lake (gloriously refreshing), sailing in Frenchmen’s Bay, and biking/hiking Acadia National Park. We will spend today relaxing near home and preparing for another busy fall season. Cheers!

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, at noon, President Obama will address students across the country with a welcome-back-to-school message. Lowell Public Schools will broadcast the address live for all schools to access on Lowell Educational TV (L.E.T.) Channel 22. In addition, educators may access suggested classroom activities via Obama’s website for further opportunities to engage students in discussion about education. I’m not sure if past presidents have made such a concerted effort to connect with our youth, but I applaud Obama’s recognition of how important it is to make that effort and the significance of his leadership in this area. Any attempt to make young people aware of the relevancy of their education and its role in our collective success makes sense and is good for the entire nation.

Junior drivers (under 18 years old) must travel the speed limit. If they don’t, the consequences they face are excessive and expensive, such as losing their license and being required to retake tests, courses, and fines costing more than a thousand dollars. Yet, drive on any of our highways and you will find most adults travel much faster than the posted speed—typically at least 10 miles faster. This presents junior drivers with a difficult choice: Travel with the flow of speeding traffic and risk losing your license, or travel at the posted speed and deal with cars (and trucks!) tailgating so close it’s terrifying as they pass you on both sides, all of which are very dangerous.

My son will take the road test for his driver’s license in two weeks. This test culminates a substantial financial investment as well as months of work to become a proficient driver, knowledgeable of state driving laws. The process entailed passing a written exam to get his driving permit ($30), completing a driver’s education course ($699) that included 30 hours of classroom instruction, 12 hours driving with an instructor and six hours observing another student, as well as 40 hours driving with an adult. My husband also had to attend a two-hour parent education class. The road test, which will be held at the Lowell RMV, will cost an additional $70. All told, the process of becoming an under-18 driver in the Commonwealth requires a significant investment of time and money (about $800, not counting gas). I’m not complaining about this. I’m also not upset about the state’s excessive crackdown of youthful violators (see this post). Whether it’s speeding or unlawfully carrying passengers before the required six months, junior drivers must know we are serious about these safety rules and that violators will be punished. Yet, it is difficult for them to follow the posted speed even by staying in the right lane, where cars are entering and exiting our highways at fast speeds. When general highway traffic is travelling at 70 mph, and people are speeding by on both sides and tailgating, how are young drivers supposed to follow the rules? Unfortunately, in another example of “Do as I say, not as I do,” these driving rules (similar to attitudes about alcohol) do very little to change harmful aspects of our culture. As adults, we all share some guilt and loss in that.

In her article today, reporter Jen Myers leads with the Lowell school department’s decision to centralize food preparation at the Rogers School, the new home for central administration. This decision along with reductions in temporary staff will enable about $300,000 in savings for the food service program—a first step toward solvency. What Myers doesn’t mention, however, is that the Rogers School will also house a community precinct for the Lowell Police Department. In a collaborative move, the school committee voted last night to provide space for the police at the former middle school. The space is near the gymnasium and has its own access to the building. This partnership will benefit the city in many ways as the district looks to expand use of the Rogers School to community partners and youth groups, and the police build a positive presence in the neighborhood. (According to this Sun report, the Lowell Police had to close three of its nine precincts due to June budget cuts.) In other news, the committee voted to defer a decision on the early-release program recommended by the superintendent until more information is forthcoming about childcare options and the professional development planned.

Several issues are on the agenda for tonight’s Lowell School Committee meeting, but one with an immediate impact on students, families and staff is a proposal by the administration to conduct a pilot allowing four early-release days for K-8 schools through the upcoming academic year. (The proposal will be addressed as part of the Curriculum Subcommittee report.) According to school administrators, the days will occur on the same schedule as the high school, which has had an early-release program for several years, and will provide much-needed time for professional development and collaboration between grade-level teams at the elementary and middle schools. Early release for professional development is a practice used by many neighboring school districts, but due to childcare concerns for working parents and other issues, it has not been an easy option in Lowell. The proposed pilot, which is designed to improve teacher communication and quality of instruction, would reduce students’ time on learning by 7.5 hours, increase parent-teacher conference time by 2.5 hours, and result in a savings of about $40K in substitutes for the year. The proposal calls for students to be released after lunch on four Wednesdays, with exact times varying by school. The first release day is planned for Oct. 28; the second one, on Dec. 16, is slated for parent-teacher conferences across the district.

During reports from the Finance and Safety Subcommittees, the board will also receive updates on savings in the food service program as well as plans for flu shots in the schools this fall. The meeting, which is held in Council Chambers and begins at 7 p.m., will be televised live on cable channel 10.

Early risers tune into 980 WCAP Radio tomorrow morning as I am scheduled for a brief interview at 6:50 to discuss my work on the board as well as my candidacy for re-election to the Lowell School Committee.

Yesterday’s Sun has an article about Alison Laraba, the only challenger for a seat on the Lowell School Committee in the upcoming election. I met Alison Laraba through the Friends of Lowell High School (we’re both members) and especially noticed her during school budget hearings last spring. She is an outspoken parent with good ideas and I welcome her to the race for school committee. If you suffered through our budget hearings, you may recall Laraba as the speaker at the June 17 meeting who took issue with four members of the committee leaving council chambers while Sullivan School Principal Edith LeBran spoke about the importance of library media specialists. Laraba impressed me then as someone willing to take a stand for her convictions, and I look forward to an interesting campaign with her involved. Note:This LINK just in from LTC streaming video. (You can fast forward past Principal LeBran’s speech to see Laraba’s brief comments on the absent school committee members, but they are not shown leaving chambers due to the camera’s tight focus on the speakers.)

The number of candidates for school committee has steadily declined over the past six years, and quotes from my colleagues hypothesize why in yesterday’s article. As my earlier post on the issue reveals, “WANTED: Lunatics to run for school committee,” I have a few ideas of my own why more folks aren’t pulling papers for school committee. I also posted here why appointed school boards are not the solution. How do we get candidates interested in running and how do we overcome voter apathy? Given my slanted perspective, education seems key: not only education of our youth, but also consistent education of our community about the importance the board and our public schools play in the success of our city.

I first met Senator Ted Kennedy at a National Schools Board Association (NSBA) meeting in Washington years ago where he was the featured speaker. Before the meeting, those of us from the Bay State got a private audience with the Senator. We numbered about 20 folks from the Commonwealth, and I’ll never forget the sheepish grin on his face when he walked into the room and softly asked, “Massachusetts?” We nodded enthusiastically and clustered around him to shake his hand, make eye contact, and share a few words. Later, we were escorted into a huge auditorium where the front rows had been reserved for us. We had the best seats in the house as Senator Edward M. Kennedy entered behind us to thunderous applause and a standing ovation. I was proud to be from Massachusetts, to sit at the front of that huge auditorium with my colleagues and know that our Senator was a national champion for public schoolchildren. The cheers and adoration from thousands of school committee members from across the country felt like a personal accomplishment: he’s our Senator, he belongs to us!

A few years later, I got it in my head that I wanted Senator Kennedy to visit Lowell and see firsthand the good work being done in our schools. Federal resources for education had steadily declined under the Bush administration, No Child Left Behind was under-funded and over-mandated, and we needed help. I was a Lowell delegate at the upcoming Massachusetts more »

I know. I haven’t been blogging. There is a difference between my living life and my writing life, and although I probably create posts/stories in my mind daily, I have not taken the time this summer to put fingers to keypad and share those thoughts with the universe. We needed some quality family time this summer and we took it—with out-of-state destination weddings, family reunions, and weeks and weeks at the beach. We celebrated our health, the blessings of each other, and sunshine wherever we found it. But that’s over now. School starts next week, the campaign trail is heating up, and I’m back! So, dear readers, if you are still there (or not), I am writing again.