Page 12 Faith and Tenacity Continue to Drive Boston — Sylvia Anthony fi rmly believes that life is a gift from God, and she’s been using her gift to impact more than a thousand homeless women and children through her nonprofi t, Sylvia’s Haven, which she launched in 1987. At 91 years young, Sylvia remains steadfastly involved with Sylvia’s Haven, and hopes to inspire others to overcome life’s challenges and pursue their passions. “When we do the right thing with the right motives, there is no limit to how far we can go with the help of God,” she writes in her poignant memoir, Till the End of Time. “My advice to you is never give up, whatever comes your way; it is all worth it.” Sylvia had endured a diffi cult childhood that included an abusive father and a disinterested mother. Sylvia married young and remained in an abusive marriage until a divorce that left her alone to support her three children. Through her ambition and strength of character, Sylvia persevered, building a life for herself and her kids. After raising her children, Sylvia remarried — still, there was a void. She felt a calling to help young women, and her husband, Rick, encouraged her to follow her heart. Initially designed for homeless pregnant women, her shelter opened on January 25, 1987. SCHOOL | FROM Page 1 families the option to have their children continue with the remote model, or transition to the hybrid learning model. “We’ve been working for months to give our students the opportunity to get back in their classrooms, and it feels great to be able to deliver this news to all the families who have been waiting a long time for some relief from the challenges that have come with this extended period of remote learning,” Mayor Brian Arrigo said. “On behalf of the Revere School Committee, I want to thank [Superintendent] Dr. [Diane] Kelly and her team, and the many members of our school community who have contributed to our eff orts that have brought us to this point.” During the special meeting, Kelly laid out some of the specifi cs of the plan, but she notTHE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2021 POLLS | FROM Page 1 91-Year-Old Founder of Boston Area Homeless Shelter Sadly, her husband lost his battle with cancer on March 30 of the same year, telling Sylvia before he died to “go get the girls.” And she’s been giving new hope to young, homeless women ever since. Hers has been a lifetime woven with tragedy and triumph, but at Sylvia’s core burns a powerful source of courage and tenacity. She shares her remarkable story in Till the End of Time, which chronicles her early days as an unwanted child, born at the onset of the Great Depression; through her turbulent fi rst marriage, which blessed her with three children; to fi nding love and discovering her divine purpose later in life. The book includes a chapter with testimonials from women who have been helped by Sylvia’s Haven, underscoring the impact of her unwavering dedication to others. Till the End of Time is the ultimate love story, woven with heartwarming memories, inspirational anecdotes and life lessons that will inspire readers to share their own God-given gifts with others. Author Sylvia Anthony was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame on June 15, 2020. Invited to their museum in Seneca Falls, New York, she SHELTER | SEE Page 13 ed that the finalization is dependent on further bargaining with the teachers union that was expected to conclude on Thursday. Life skills and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) students will begin in-person learning on March 8, followed by small learning groups on March 15. “We would continue to transition back to in-person learning with a hybrid model, with half of all grade levels from early childhood to grade 12 returning on March 22 and the remaining grade levels on March 29,” said Kelly. The superintendent said the grade levels will be split so that about half of each elementary, middle and grade school levels will be returning in successive weeks. In addition, those grade levels will be split so that 50 percent of students who want to return are in class during their inperson learning weeks. As a result, the second half of the students of the grades returning on right now. She added that the pandemic has exacerbated many of the issues already facing the region. “We need to utilize an equitable public health approach on our most pressing issues: climate change, healthcare, education, resilient infrastructure, and economy,” said DelVento. “These issues are personal to me. I grew up here, I was educated in JEFFREY TURCO JUAN JARAMILLO ALICIA DELVENTO our public schools, and I hope to raise my family here – I can’t do that if the Marsh and Beaches disappear, or if we don’t shore up support for working families.” Jaramillo, who is the only current Revere resident on the ballot, has talked on the campaign trail about how Revere welcomed his family to Revere when they fi rst came to America. He also has noted that he is the only candidate who has worked in the past as a frontline worker, working as a janitor alongside his father in the ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital. After graduating from college, Jaramillo served as State Senator Joe Boncore’s Budget and Policy Director. Jaramillo said coastal communities, such as Revere March 29 won’t see a classroom until the week of April 5. The hybrid learning model calls for students who wish to return to be in class for one week followed by a week of remote learning. “Our priority in having a week A and week B model is to have class sizes that are small enough for social distancing,” said Kelly, though she added that there could be some instances – especially in the elementary classes that have smaller class sizes to begin with and have several students remaining in a remote model – where students could return to full inperson learning. In all cases, Kelly said, school principals will soon be contacting families with specifi c details about the return plan. While the plan could result in some students needing to change their teachers, the superintendent said every eff ort will be made to avoid that. Kelly said there are also plans VALENTINO CAPOBIANCO centers as they battle COVID-19, building infrastructure that protects us from fl ooding, holding large institutions, like Amazon and MassPort, accountable for noise, air, and water pollution, and investing in Revere and Winthrop by creating good-paying in place to limit the number of students on buses, and that more buses will be added if needed. As with in the classrooms, all students will need to be masked and will have assigned seats on the buses. Additionally, Kelly said plans are in place to start abbreviated sports schedules for all three seasons, with conditioning for winter sports, including basketball, hockey and swimming, beginning on March 1 and games about two weeks after that. Conditioning for fall sports, including football, soccer, girls volleyball, fi eld hockey, golf, cross country and non-competitive cheering is slated to begin on April 5, and the spring sports conditioning is scheduled to begin on May 10, with that season being extended to the end of June or early July, according to Kelly. “We know that people have many questions and our team is working on them collaborativejobs that allow all working people to aff ord basic life necessities like housing, food, and saving for their retirement,” Jaramillo stated. Turco lived in Revere for his first 33 years before moving with his wife to Winthrop to raise their six children. He has said he is the only candidate in the race with strong ties to both Winthrop and Revere. Turco has served as president of the Revere Beach Partnership and on the Winthrop School Committee. He said some of the biggest issues facing the district and state are education and improving substance use disorder treatment and mental health programming. “It is our responsibility to provide all students with the opportunity to succeed,” Turco said. “Regardless of your background, your socio-economic group or your place of birth, education creates hope for the future. For this reason, I will work to ensure greater equal educational opportunities for all of our children and will work to achieve greater accountability in our education system.” The general election for the 19th Suff olk District seat is on Tuesday, March 30. ly with our teachers during impact bargaining,” said Kelly. “Despite our desire to share more information, we can’t just yet, and we will be sharing new details as soon as we’re able. I’m thrilled that we have made this progress and parents will now have the opportunity to do what is best for their children – whether that is hybrid in-person learning or full remote. We are confi - dent that the safety measures we have in place will support as smooth a transition as possible, but we also realize that change brings challenges, and we will fi ne-tune procedures as we move forward. This is why we are focused on a gradual return.” School Committee Member Carol Tye complimented the administrative team and the Revere Teachers Association for working together. “It’s an excellent start and I hope we will be able to fi nish negotiations so that we can conclude it,” said Tye. and Winthrop, are facing unprecedented challenges from the COVID pandemic and from climate change. “As our state representative, I would focus on pushing for relief that saves small businesses, additional funding for our public schools and community health
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