EV Vol. 33, No.41 -FREEEVE ER TT www.advocatenews.net Your Local News & Sports Online. Scan Here! ADDOCCO TEAT Free Every Friday GRID IRON GREATS: Members of the Everett High School 2001, 2002, 2003 Superbowl championship teams, from left; Eric Mazzeo, Oscar Olivares and Edward Oteri, are shown displaying the team photos of the champion EHS football teams that were honored at halftime during the Crimson Tide’s Homecoming game against Taunton on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. See page _ for photo highlights. (Advocate photo by Emily Harney). 6th Annual Walk For Ersilia Honors an Angel’s Legacy 617-387-2200 Friday, October 11, 2024 Former Superbowl Champions Honored at Homecoming School Committee votes in support of eliminating MCAS testing By Neil Zolot T he School Committee expressed unanimous supThe 6th Annual Walk For Ersilia 5K refl ected on the late Ersilia Cataldo’s legacy of love and kindness on Saturday at Glendale Park. Orange Rose Foundation offi cials, created by her family to create awareness of domestic violence, are shown during the annual walk at Glendale Park on Saturday, from left to right: Board Member Adriana Carbo, President Erminia Amy Buscaino, Secretary Amata Cucuzza and Board Member Anthony Cucuzza. See page 9 for photo highlights. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) SINCE 1921 Messinger Insurance Agency 475 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Phone: 617-387-2700 Fax: 617-387-7753 NEW COMPETITIVE AUTO RATES AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS DISAPPEARING COLLISION DEDUCTIBLE 11% DISCOUNT WITH SUPPORTING POLICY 10% COMBINED PAY IN FULL DISCOUNT AND GREEN DISCOUNT 10% GOOD STUDENT DISCOUNT Celebrating 100 years of excellence! Monday thru Friday: 8am to 6pm Saturdays 9am to 1pm! Check out our NEW website! www.messingerinsurance.com port for November ballot Question 2 to eliminate the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test (MCAS) as a requirement to graduate from high school in a vote in their meeting Monday, October 7. “I hate to see a student not graduate because of MCAS,” Mayor Carlo DeMaria said. “One of the requirements for jobs we post requires a High School diploma and if MCAS is preventing people from getting a job, maybe we should replace it. If you’re preventing someone from getting a diploma, but they’re passing the regular curriculum, shouldn’t that be enough to graduate High School? I think it is.” “I graduated with the fi rst class that required MCAS,” Member At-Large Kristin Bairos said. “The pressure of a special test takes away from learning life skills.” Much of the discussion centered around MCAS’ cultural bias, partly because it was written in 1993. “The whole thing needs to be revamped,” Member At-Large and Vice Chairperson Samantha Hurley said. “It’s not for everyone. It was created years ago and is not for our students today.” “The test is geared to a subset of students that’s not our population,” Chairperson and Ward 3 Member Jeanne Cristiano agreed. (She was participating remotely, leaving Hurley to conduct the meeting in the High School library.) “It’s not a fair test,” Ward 1 Member Margaret Cornelio added. “It’s not designed for all demographics. If you’re foreign, you won’t know some things on the test.” She also said that as a paraprofessional in the school system she saw “the trauma it caused across all grades. Some people don’t test well and were uptight about it.” “I believe we should not have MCAS as a graduation requirement,” Ward 5 Member Marcony Almeida-Barros said. “It hasn’t been revised and doesn’t reflect Everett students. It’s not a test for English as a Learned Language students.” Councillor-at-Large Katy Rogers released a statement agreeing with the School Committee. “I’m voting yes on Question 2 because I believe it is time to end MCAS requirements entirely,” it reads. “MCAS puts immense pressure on students and teachers alike at the cost of creativity, critical thinking and a passion for learning. Massachusetts prides itself on having some of the best public schools in the country, but when it SUPPORT | SEE PAGE 8
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