The President's address to school children

The decision to defer showing Longmeadow school children the President's back to school address, pending a review of the speech by "Longmeadow school principals and teachers" who will "decide the educational appropriateness of the message for different schools, subjects, and classrooms" is not a good one. It sets a dangerous precedent. By giving in to overtly partisan complaints, the school department has inadvertently done exactly what it was trying to avoid; it has allowed political partisanship to impact their decision making about the education of our kids.

Despite the release of the text of the speech, which puts to rest any fear that it would be inappropriate, the school department has chosen to try to avoid controversy by appeasing those who have complained. This dangerous precedent will provide cover and encouragement for partisan attacks on educational decisions in the future. Today, they object to the exposure of the President of the United States to their kids. Tomorrow, who knows.

There is a bright side here, however. By making the speech an issue, critics have given it increased importance and created some additional interest in the speech, in it's contents, and more importantly, in it's context. School children, especially middle and high school students will learn more by taking an interest in the context of the speech than they ever would have by simply listening to the feel good message of the president.

As a civics educator, the controversy over the airing of the speech provides a much richer and more substantive opportunity to teach kids about politics and government and citizenship. As for the poor kids whose parents are afraid to expose them to the President, I'm afraid they will have much more serious problems getting a decent education.

Jerold Duquette

Presidential Message

The president of my school's Parent Teacher Organization forwarded this note about a speech that the President of the United States of America planned to offer to our Nation’s schoolchildren to promote their success in school and of the unfortunate decision not to permit Longmeadow’s schoolchildren to hear the President’s words when spoken (if at all).

Surely success in school rests both with the communities that provide quality education to individual children and with the children themselves. Nonetheless, any message of encouragement to children as they start their school year is appropriate. When the message comes from the President of the United States of America, that message is all the more inspiring.

Although President Obama has a political-party designation (as have all Presidents in this Nation’s history), any President offering a message of support to students at the start of the school year should be considered the message of the Office, not of a party.

How sad that, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we find a school committee shielding schoolchildren from a historic moment – one that is intended for schoolchildren. I did not elect school-committee members to be the guardians of my children from OUR President. I find it outrageous that this is a controversy, and pathetic that the Longmeadow School Committee would pander to the pharisaical fringes of society and enable them to wield a heckler’s veto.

Although I lay this decision at the feet of the Longmeadow School Committee as of today, September 5, 2009, I cannot be sure that it is a product of their deliberation, for there are no posted minutes detailing the Committee’s consideration this matter. I must assume that a district-wide policy comes from our School Committee, and therefore I direct my outrage at them and encourage others to do the same.

Sincerely,

Rebecca M. Townsend

Longmeadow, MA

http://www.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/pages/schoolcommittee/School%20Committee.html

-----Original Message-----
From: Donna Hutton <dhutton@Longmeadow.k12.ma.us>
To:
Sent: Fri, Sep 4, 2009 2:36 pm
Subject: RE: Obama's message

President Obama’s Address to School Children

At 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET), September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama will deliver a national address to the students of America. During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

The U.S. Department of Education invites students of all ages, teachers, and administrators to participate in this historic moment by watching the president deliver the address, which will be broadcast live on the White House Web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/) and on C-SPAN at 12:00 p.m., ET. After the original broadcast, downloadable video of the speech will be made available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/ as well as on www.ed.gov and C-SPAN.org will provide archived and "on-demand" viewing options.

Unfortunately, this speech has generated considerable negative reaction from a variety of political groups and media outlets who have speculated about the content=2 0and/or intentions of the message. Parents are being encouraged to ask school principals not to air the speech or to "Make September 8th Parentally Approved Skip Day.” Since our focus is to keep “eyes on the child – learning” and we pride ourselves on making informed decisions, our district will be taping the President’s message for possible future viewing. As noted earlier, the summary released by the US Department of Education states that the special address will be about persisting and succeeding in school. Longmeadow school principals and teachers will view the video and decide the educational appropriateness of the message for different schools, subjects, and classrooms. Those decisions will be communicated to parents prior to any planned use of the video.

We invite you to view the President’s message and make your own informed decisions about its merit.

Regards,

Donna L. Hutton
Acting Principal
Center Elementary School
Longmeadow, MA
Tel: 565-4290
dhutton@longmeadow.k12.ma.us

Longmeadow Food Pantry

With all of the press about the “affluence” of Longmeadow residents we sometimes forget that there are people that live in our town on a fixed income that cannot afford continuing increases in their property taxes and other living expenses without giving up something or doing with less.

It was recently announced that the Longmeadow Adult Center has started a Food Pantry for needy town residents- what a great addition to the services already provided by an underfunded and sometimes under appreciated resource in our town. The new Food Pantry will be affliliated with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and will obtain additional items from this organization for distribution in our town.

The Longmeadow Food Pantry is now accepting donations of non-perishable food, personal care items and paper goods between 9 am – 3 pm every weekday at the Longmeadow Adult Center at 231 Maple Road (Greenwood Center).

As part of the National Day of Service & Remembrance on Friday, September 11 donations will be accepted from 9 am – 3:30 pm (extended hours) at Longmeadow Adult Center. Please consider stopping by on this day with your contribution to kick off this new service.

Further details about Longmeadow Food Pantry and its operation will be announced in the coming weeks. Call 565-4150 with questions. Thank you for your support!

Longmeadow to Sell Property at Auction

The Town of Longmeadow will auction off property at 386 Bliss Road on Wednesday, August 12 at 7 PM. The auction will take place at the Longmeadow Community House. The last public auction of property in Longmeadow took place in November 2003.

For additional information visit the Real Estate Buzz at LongmeadowBiz blog.

Storrs House- A Hidden Gem in Longmeadow

Hopefully, most town residents have taken the opportunity to visit the Storrs House in Longmeadow for some insight into the lifestyle of early American colonists that settled here.

My wife and I have visited Storrs House (located at 697 Longmeadow Street, next door to the Storrs Library) a number of times, most recently during this year's Long Meddow Days celebration in May. We found Linda Abrams, current curator to be a wealth of information about the early days of Longmeadow.

This past week there was an article in the Springfield Republican (Favorite Places- The Storrs House, Longmeadow) - including a video tour. Click the video below to view:

On Sunday July 19 from 1 - 3 PM and Sunday, August 16 from 1- 3 PM the Storrs House will be open for visitors. If you have not visited Storrs House, please take the time to stop by... you will find it to be very worthwhile.

Visit the Longmeadow Historical Society's webpage for additional information.

BayPath Summer Concert Series

Tomorrow night (July 7) is the first of a series of BayPath Summer Sunset Concerts.

Tuesdays at 6:30 pm Rain or Shine

Come enjoy the outdoors and gather with friends and family on the “Longmeadow Green” In case of rain, concerts will be held in the Community House. Bring some lawn chairs, your blanket and a picnic lunch and enjoy a wonderful array of soft, family oriented music. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Come and relax and enjoy the sounds of music during the summer.

Concerts are FREE!

Here is the schedule....

Premiere Brass Quintet Classical and Big Band - July 7
Sponsored by Berkshire Bank. Enjoy classical and light popular music as the history of brass musical instruments come alive through performance, lecture and show and tell. The concert reviews the history of brass instruments such as the trumpet, trombone, french horn and tuba with performance demonstrations on the following historic instruments: Keyed Bugle 1820, Ophicleide - 1835, rotary valve Eb cornets - 1860, Eb rotary valve tuba 1870, Two Valve Cornopean - 1850 , two valve french horn - 1830.

Chicago Push Polka - July 21
Sponsored by Hampden Bank. Under the direction of Lenny Gomulka, Chicago Push, since their inception, have continually received awards from various radio stations across the country, booster clubs, promoters within the field, and organizations such as the International Polka Association, United States Polka Association and the United Polka Association. Performances throughout the years have generated the granting of keys to many city's. Lenny Gomulka & Chicago Push, noted for their unique arrangements and innovative musical techniques, have mentored many aspiring bands and musicians.

“A Ray of Elvis” A tribute to the King of Rock and Roll - August 4

Sponsored by PeoplesBank. Ray Guillemette Jr. is one of today's leading, premier, Elvis Tribute Artists. Let this 9-time, International 1st place Elvis Presley Impersonator rock your world with his striking look, outstanding vocal range and unabashed excitement. Ray delivers with the style and energy that was Elvis. Put on your blue suede shoes for a night of dancing to the songs Elvis made infamous of the 50’s-70’s.

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Congratulations to Tracie and Dan

Baby born in Mercy hospital parking lot...

This was the headline on WWLP's website when my wife said that this story was about Tracie MacKenzie who works at Dr. Howard Hausman's dental office at Williams Place.

We watched the video and sure enough it was.... view the video below for details and click the link above to read the full story.

>

I guess that Tracie will not be picking blueberries next week as she had planned!!

Smoke Detector Safety Tips

Lt. Jay Macsata with the Longmeadow Fire Department shares smoke detector safety tips on WWLP video.

Longmeadow Police Log

One of the many things that my wife and I value in Longmeadow is the relative tranquity of its neighborhoods and the lack of serious crime that plagues larger cities like Holyoke and Springfield.

After reading the Police Log which is published in the Longmeadow News each week, I had to chuckle at some of the items that appeared during the past three weeks. According to the Longmeadow News there were a total of 600 calls for service and here are some of the highlights...

Monday, June 1- 12 pm, A dead turtle was reported on Longmeadow St
Tuesday, June 2
1:07 am, A minivan with males looking through the trash was investigated on Plesantview Ave and Longmeadow St
9:43 pm, A dead possum was reported on Frank Smith Rd
Wednesday, June 3-
6:34 am, A Lawnwood resident reported rabbits running loose in the neighborhood.
Thursday, June 4- 10:54 am, Campaign signs reported on public property on Williams St and Dwight Rd
Saturday, June 6
9:35 pm, A Wildwood Glen caller reports males in the bushes. An officer reports a man in the yard with his dog.
10:24 pm, An officer investigating suspicious persons in the meadows found a couple fishing.
Sunday, June 7
1:02 pm, A Kenmore Drive resident reports a neighbor walking around in the nude in the backyard.
8:07 pm, A suspicious man was reported on Longmeadow St. The man was riding his bike home.
Tuesday, June 9- 6:20 am, A deer was struck by a vehicle on Converse St but was gone on police arrival.
Thursday, June 11- 4:35 pm, A caller reports and out of control 12 year old son on Field Road.
Friday, June 12
12:26 pm, A Mayfair Drive resident reports receiving a fake check in the mail.
11:50 pm, A Williams Street caller reports a daughter not home or answering her cell phone. She left her boy friend's house and was found on Crestview.
Satuday, June 13- 9:26 am, A Meadow Road caller reports a German shepherd in the garage,
Sunday, June 14- 11:42 am, A coyote was reported on Tabor Crossing
Wednesday, June 17- 6:43 pm, A dead rodent was reported on Frank Smith Road
Sunday, June 21- 6:10 pm, Police reported to call about a hawk on Laurel Street that was possibly shot. The hawk was not shot and does not have a band.

From the details of some of these calls it would appear that we need to hire a Wildlife Officer and let our Police Department concentrate on more serious matters. :-)