Maldden alld a Vol. 32, No. 38 den -FREEYour Local News in 6 Languages! Scan Here! AADD By Steve Freker M igrant families have been coming to Malden and many other communities around the nation in greater numbers for much of the past two years. On Wednesday, Malden Mayor Gary Christenson formally announced that the City of Malden has opened its doors to several migrant families with children, most of them coming directly from Haiti. At present, there are six migrant families being housed at EconoLodge at 321 Broadway in Malden. There are 10 rooms now apportioned to accommodate the migrant families, and there are six children who now enrolled, or in the process of being enrolled, in the Malden Public Schools. CTE OCAT AT www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday Migrant families now being housed in east side Malden motel Six families, mostly from Haiti, are at EconoLodge on Broadway; National Guard on site to assist 617-387-2200 Mayor Gary Christenson announced on Wednesday that six migrant families from Haiti are now being housed at EconoLodge (321 Broadway, Malden) at the direction of Gov. Maura Healey. Additionally, the Mayor announced there are National Guard personnel on site at the EconoLodge in Malden from noon to 6:00 p.m. each day to assist in the migrant families’ living conditions. In his statement, Mayor Christenson confi rmed, “The National Guard will have offi cers on hand who speak Haitian Creole and who will assist with coordinating food vendors, MIGRANT | SEE PAGE 5 Mass. Board of Education approves new guidelines for physical, sexual health education First time since 1999 that new frameworks have been approved Advocate Staff Report or the fi rst time in decades, the over 900,000 public school students in Massachusetts will have a new set of physical and sexual health education guidelines in the classroom. Many districts, including Everett, Malden, Revere and Saugus Public Schools, include sexual health education in their curriculums. While the new frameworks have been approved, Massachusetts does not require schools to teach sexual education. It is entirely an individual choice of the 316 districts in Massachusetts. Also, individual Districts can craft their own curriculum and can choose whether they adopt the new standards. The new education frameF The new frameworks adopted for sexual health education in Massachusetts are more inclusive of LGBTQ+ identities and include topics like bodily autonomy, mental health, dating safety and sexually transmitted infections. work will include topics of consent, LGBTQ+ inclusivity and the impact of changing technology on health. The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously voted to approve the new guidelines in a meeting TuesBy Steve Freker A t the end, it is unquestionably a labor of love, but it is day. The board voted in favor of the new standards on Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeff rey Riley’s recommendation. There is also legislation moving its way through the state House of Representatives, led by state Rep. Jim O’Day (D-Worcester), the Healthy Youth Act, a comprehensive sex education bill that he has been pushing for years, which requires schools that off er sexual health education to “provide a medically accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sexual health education.” It still would not require sexual health education to be taught in schools and would leave that choice to individuEDUCATION | SEE PAGE 4 still work – hours and hours of it. But when the result is a creation that compels those who gaze on it to stand back in awe, it is well worth it. We are talking about the amazing mural-style creation which now adorns the wall behind the stairwell between the fi rst and second fl oors of Malden High School’s primary building. It is titled “THRIVE” and it encapsulates one of the primary themes that has been promoted as part of the MHS post-pandemic culture for the past two years. Longtime Malden High School art educator Joseph Luongo’s fi rst intention was to lead a class of young art enthusiasts this past summer, as part of the Mayor’s Youth Summer Employment Program (MYSEP). Then he had another idea. This one involved planning and creating an E Friday, September 22, 2023 New mural art brings joy to start of school at Malden High Student and mentor combine to create an inspirational treasure Malden High Art Educator Joseph Luongo (right) and MHS graduate Jade Mora are proud of their work. (Advocate Photo) artwork that would be lasting. Luongo said he hoped that the fi nished result would be something that would be meaningful to others as well. “It has been received very well and that is very pleasing to us,” Luongo said, speaking for himself and his co-collaborator on the “THRIVE” project, former MHS art student Jade Mora. Luongo, the Malden Public Schools veteran of nearly two decades and Mora, the award-winning 2023 MHS graduate, spent over six weeks – several hours per weekday – working on the remarkable mural piece, from basic outline to fi - nal perfection. Mora placed fi rst in a statewide Boston Globe–sponsored art contest in 2022, and her creation also took third place nationally in her art category when it advanced to that level. The mural includes a variety of diff erent colors and symbols MURAL | SEE PAGE 7
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