Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, August 22, 2025 Mayor announces new downtown Public Art Strategy M ayor Gary Christenson announced a new Public Art Strategy focused on Malden’s downtown and Gaming District, following the completion of an arts planning process this past spring. The resulting plan addresses the “where, what and how” involved in implementing new public art installments downtown. “Malden now has a roadmap we can follow to implement new public art projects,” said Mayor Christenson. “We want our downtown to reflect the vibrancy of our diverse community and our storied history.” Malden is already home to some fantastic public art, from painted transformer boxes to the new mural on the Northern Strand Community Trail celebrating Malden-born author and immigrant rights advocate Erle Stanley Gardner. For Maldonians looking to find this art themselves, the new Public Art Strategy includes a comprehensive inventory and map of existing public art in the downtown. To determine new prospective locations for downtown public art, the City of Malden sponsored a community workshop in April. Attendees were able to interact with a board game using a map and cards with different types of public art. Participants placed cards describing various SCHOOL | FROM PAGE 1 August 25, before reporting to their individual schools. After another day of professional development on Tuesday, August 26, the day-to-day operations for the #1 most diverse school Notable change: later school dismissal for Grades 1-12 A notable change that bears repeating for this particular school year is the addition of approximately 10 minutes to the end of each school day districtwide. For REPORT CARD SCHEDULE: SY 2025-2026 Quarters Term 1 Term Dates Progress Reports Grading Window Distribute Progress Reports Report Card Grading Window Distribute Report Cards PreK - K categories of art — such as murals, monuments or painted utility boxes — at downtown locations they felt were suitable or desirable. A short questionnaire on the back of these cards asked the player why they chose the type of art and the location. Community members were also able to interact virtually via a web-based “Story Map” by dragging icons onto a collaborative online map and filling out a short survey. Through this community engagement, the City of Malden heard residents express interest in interactive art, lighting and sound installations, rotating gallery spaces, hedge sculptures and more. Innes Associates also hosted focus groups with both “Gaming District” leaders and restaurateurs, where ideas like artbased scavenger hunts and popup events were discussed. Using this valuable feedback, Innes Associates researched relevant public art projects done in communities like Lynn, Dorchester and Roxbury. Importantly, their research included order of magnitude costs per project, as well as potential funding sources that the City could pursue for its own public art procurement. The project was funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative and led by Innes Consulting. Project management and oversight was provided by the City’s Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD). OSPCD is now pursuing funding to begin implementation and hopes to roll out at least one new art installment in the coming year. For more information and to read the Public Art Strategy for yourself, visit OSPCD’s “Public Art” section on the City of Malden’s website. Aug. 27 - Oct. 31, 2025 (45 days) September 29 - October 3, 2025 October 7, 2025 November 3 - 7, 2025 November 12, 2025 Grades PK–8 Term 2 Nov. 3, 2025 – Jan. 23, 2026 (45 days) December 8 - 12, 2025 December 16, 2025 January 26–January 30, 2026 February 3, 2026 Report cards sent home: Feb. 3, 2026 Parent Conference: Feb. 9-13, 2026 Notes: *Dates might change due to snow days. Quarters Grades 9–12 Term 1 Term Dates Progress Reports Grading Window Distribute Progress Reports Report Card Grading Window Distribute Report Cards Aug. 27 - Oct 31, 2025 (45 days) September 29 - October 3, 2025 October 7, 2025 November 3 - 7, 2025 November 12, 2025 Term 2 Nov. 3, 2025– Jan. 23, 2026 (45 days) December 8 - 12, 2025 December 16, 2025 January 26 – January 30, 2026 February 3, 2026 Notes: *Dates might change due to snow days. district in Massachusetts begin. The Superintendent said that the district website, located at www.maldenps.org, is up to date and contains all of the first day of school information and school opening and closing hours for all of the seven schools: Early Learning Center, Beebe K-8 School, Ferryway K-8 School, Forestdale K-8 School, Linden K-8 School, Salemwood K-8 School and Malden High School. example, at Malden High School for many years the dismissal time has been at 2:15 p.m. Beginning this year, however, Malden High students will be in class until 2:25 p.m. each school day. Further, for the K-8 schools, all five of these learning centers will have a uniform arrival and dismissal time districtwide: Kindergarten — Grade 6: 8:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Grades 7-8 — 8:00 a.m.-2:35 p.m. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/ Advocate.news.ma Term 3 Jan. 26 - April 3, 2026 ( 45 days) Term 4 Grade 9-11 April 6 - June 15, 2026 (45 days) Term 4 Grade 12 April 3 - May 22, 2026 (31 days) March 2 - 6, 2026 May 11 – 15, 2026 May 4 - 8, 2026 March 10, 2026 April 6 - 10, 2026 April 14, 2026 May 19, 2026 June 4 - 10, 2026 June 12, 2026* May 12, 2026 May 20 - 22, 2026* May 26, 2026 Term 3 Jan. 26 - April 3, 2026 (45 days) March 2 - 6, 2026 March 10, 2026 April 6 - 10, 2026 April 14, 2026 Term 4 April 6 - June 15, 2026 (45 days) May 11 – May 15, 2026 May 19, 2026 June 4 - 10, 2026 June 12, 2026* Report Card sent home: June 9-12, 2026
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