Page 2 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – WEDnEsDAy, JuLy 3, 2024 School Committee focuses on Mid-grade Regular $3.87 3.29 73 64 Over 45 Years of Excellence! Full Service $2.99 Order online at angelosoil.com T cell phones and attendance By Barbara Taormina he school committee tackled two issues this week that raised the question of whether Revere was returning to the old days of education. Committee member Anthony Caggiano opened a discussion on cell phones. “Cell phones have to leave the Need a hall for your special event? The Schiavo Club, located at 71 Tileston Street, Everett is available for your Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sweet 16 parties and more? For more info, call (857) 249-7882 Dan - 1972 Happy July 4th! We are Open! MAJOR BRANDS AT DISCOUNT PRICES! Singles * Tins Green Label Sale Buy 2 Cigars, Get One FREE! 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Repeated offenses would mean a confiscated phone could only be returned to parents. “Too many teachers won’t take phones away,” said Caggiano who added a ban on cell phones in schools is being considered at Celebrating Our 52nd Year Chris 2024 ing months to figure out which way to go with a cell phones. Attendance, which is down since before Covid, was also up for discussion at this week’s meeting. Committee member John Kingston shared a story about a conversation with a retired teacher who told him about a student who missed 15 days of school while travelling with his family. Kingston questioned the attenANTHONY CAGGIANO School Committee Member the state level. He suggested Revere be ahead of the curve and ban them now. “Do the teachers a favor and throw them out of the classroom,” he said. Superintendent Diane Kelly, who has expressed concerns about teachers taking a phone and students physically responding, said there has been talk about a contract program with families, most of whom carry their kids on their phone plans. Kelly said parents can go into their plans and limit their student’s phone use to emergency calls during school hours. Kelly suggested some parents would embrace the idea of a contract. Committee members agreed to continue hammering out a policy as they have three upcomdance policy and if there were any consequences for students who missed so much class time. Supt. Kelly intervened and said if a student can miss 15 days and still master class content, there’s something wrong with the class. It’s not rigorous or challenging enough. Kelly asked the committee if they wanted to go back to the old days when if you missed five days, you failed. And that’s not where committee members wanted to go. They suggested better tracking methods and alerts to parents when students are absent. Engaging parents for an intervention about problems with attendance was seen as a next step. The committee also felt there was room to accommodate family vacations and trips. “I get offended when you say we are going back to the old days,” committee member Aisha Milbury-Ellis said to Kelly. “We don’t want to go back, but we want to have standards.” A Day at the Beach: All-Abilities Beach Day August 17 By Barbara Taormina T he Commission on Disabilities is putting the final touches on an All-Abilities Beach Day, a free event scheduled for August 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Revere Beach. There will be music and beach accessible mats and wheelchairs provided by the MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation. "We want to get people with disabilities on the sand and in the water with accessible wheelchairs," said Ralph DeCicco, Chairman of the Commission who will be spreading the word about this event throughout the city. Commission members also look forward to hearing from a special guest from a program in Everett for Alzheimer patients. According to one Commission member, the program has a strong emphasis on community and social interaction and will be a good resource for Revere families and residents struggling with Alzheimers. Commissioners also took some time to discuss accessibility and a new state law that would allow homeowners to add a 900 square foot handicapped-accessible residential unit to their property by right. Commissioners feel this would be a huge benefit to disabled people wanting to live at home. Members also discussed the problems with creating accessibility in historical buildings and older structures. They are unable to get to the top floor of the library. Commission has a transitions plan that maps out all the places and items in Revere that need upgrades to comply with requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act. DeCicco reminded fellow Commissioners that they take the month of July off and the next Commission meeting will not be until August.
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