THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 Page 21 Superintendent shares findings from listening tour H By Christopher Roberson aving conducted 172 meetings since January 2020, Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani recently shared some of the things she took away from those conversations. “My greatest objective was achieving honesty,” she said during the June 7 School Committee meeting, adding that she has met with a myriad of individuals, including staff, students, parents and elected officials. Overall, Tahiliani characterized these discussions as being “healthy.” “We’re not talking about an endless list of fixes and changes,” she said. Tahiliani said 50 individuals that she met with stated that they want improvements in the district’s culture; 27 said they wanted additional student opportunities, 24 said they wanted additional equitable services; and 20 said they wanted to see an enhanced curriculum. Therefore, as she begins crafting the district’s Strategic Plan later this month, Tahiliani said, she will incorporate ways to bolster access to services, to foster positivity throughout the district and to address learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. COUNCIL | FROM PAGE 18 tion to cut the landscaping line item by $100,000. Although closer, that motion was also defeated in a 4-4 vote. However, DiFlorio made a motion to reduce body shop repairs from $70,000 to $50,000. Her motion passed 5-3. DPW Director Jerry Navarra said that because of the COVID-19 pandemic his department was not able to hire any seasonal employees last year. However, $135,000 has been earmarked in this year’s budget to fund seasonal jobs. CELEBRATION | FROM PAGE 20 served at the conclusion of the event. According to Juneteenth. com, “Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. “From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.” Summer programs and COVID-19 update In other news, Tahiliani announced that the district’s Summer Academic Program will begin on July 6 and run through August 6 for students in grades K-8. The free program will be held at the Parlin, Lafayette, Keverian and Whittier Schools. All classes will be in-person and will be in session from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. “Our overall objective this year is for students to reengage, reconnect and to have fun,” said Tahiliani. “We have slots for more than 1,200 students.” In addition to classes in Math, Reading and Science, enrichment camps will be available featuring sports, art, chess and music. At Everett High School, the Enrichment Academy for Learning will be held from July 6 through August 7; the EL Credit Recovery Program will be held from June 29 through July 29; Project Read will be held from July 6 through August 27; and the Steam Enrichment Program will be held from June 28 through July 29. Regarding COVID-19 transmission, Tahiliani said Everett has finally made it to the lowrisk category. She said that last month there were 40 children, ages of 0-19, who tested positive for the virus. In contrast, there were 113 cases in April and 98 cases in March for the same age bracket. Regarding attendance, Tahiliani said 829 students still have perfect attendance while 4,649 students have attendance rates between 90 and 99 percent.
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