Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, March 15, 2024 Senators announce steps to transform early education system, read to ABCD Head Start children By Tara Vocino L ABCD Head Start Center Director Gabby Florio said Head Start helps parents and caregivers to f ind employment, housing and food security. Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka thanked Senators Jason Lewis and Sal DiDomenico, Mayor Gary Christenson and City Council President Stephen Winslow (Ward 6) for their advocacy for early education. Spilka announced that the Senate would consider an early education and care bill on March 14. ast Thursday morning, Senate President Karen Spilka, Senator Jason Lewis, who is Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, and Senator Sal DiDomenico, who is Assistant Majority Leader and Vice Chair of the Education Committee, toured the ABCD Head Start childcare center in Malden and announced the Senate’s next steps to transform Massachusetts’ early education and care system. Senators then read “Hair Love” by Matthew Cherry to children. State Senators Sal DiDomenico and Robyn Kennedy read to sixth graders. Shown from left to right: Front row: Antonio Wang, Kayla Ho, Alice De Souza, Kyaneliz Gómez, Danica Chen, Senator Robyn Kennedy and Joao Soares Viana Pereira; back row: Stella Rocha, Paula Prata, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Theo Boudreau, Mandy Rong and Matheus Sposit Ambrosio. (Advocate photos by Tara Vocino) During last Thursday ’s press conference at ABCD Head Start in Malden, Joint Committee on Education C hairperson Sena t or Jason Lewis said the early educ ation act would mandate a sliding scale based on family income. Action for Boston Community De v el opme nt (ABCD ) President/CEO Sharon ScottChandler, Esq. said they service Malden and Everett. Strategies for Children Executive Director Amy O’Leary said making funding permanent is an important next step. Malden Reads presents 2024 book ‘Being Heumann’ to School Committee A t Monday night’s meeting last week, Malden Reads formally presented members of the Malden School Committee with copies of its 2024 Book Selection, “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist,” by Judy Heumann, who is disabled and uses a wheelchair. The book has been called a “memoir about resistance to exclusion [that] invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.” Senate President Karen Spilka read “Hair Love” to early childhood coach Melanie Sakta, preschoolers Abigail Raphael, Allison Raphael and Noah Destin and teacher Katie BergmeierEsterberg. Launching of Mayor’s 2024 State of City Address Mayor’s 2024 State of the City M Pictured from left to right: School Committee Clerk Shirley Dorai; School Committee Members Keith Bernard (Ward 7); Sharyn Rose-Zeiberg (Ward 8); Dawn Macklin (Ward 4); Jennifer Spadafora (Ward 3, Vice Chair) and Elizabeth Hortie (Ward 4); student rep Meklit Abel; School Committee Chair Mayor Gary Christenson; Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy; Malden Reads Co-Facilitator/Co-Founder Jodie Zalk and others; Ward 2 School Committee Member Rob McCarthy; a Malden Reads member and School Committee Members Michael Drummey (Ward 1) and Joseph Gray (Ward 6). (Advocate Photo) ayor Gary Christenson’s 2024 State of the City Address serves as an opportunity to communicate with constituents about past achievements and outline future plans. The address which was presented live on March 4 and runs approximately one hour may be viewed online on YouTube at https://youtu.be/armqZTWFFLc. Additionally, Urban Media Arts (UMA), which oversees Malden’s Public, Education and Government Access channels, will be presenting the address at the following times through the next month: • Sunday at 6 p.m. • Tuesday at 4 p.m. • Thursday at 5 p.m. • Friday at 1 p.m. • Saturday at 7 p.m. • and daily overnights For Comcast subscribers, your UMA channels are 3 and 22; for Verizon subscribers, channels 26 and 28. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma
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