Page 2 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2026 ~ REVERE SCHOOL COMMITTEE ROUNDUP ~ By Th e Advocate Congratulations, Ms. Quirk T he School Committee opened their meeting this week with an introduction of someone who needs no introduction. Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly introduced Bianca Quirk, the new principal of the Paul Revere School. “As I am contemplating my retirement one year from now, it brings me great joy to see a former student here taking a new leadership role as principal of the Paul Revere School,” said Kelly, adding that Quirk has long been an asset to the district as a student, a teacher and an administrator. Quirk, a graduate of Revere High’s class of 1994, mentioned that she began teaching at the McKinley School in 1998. “For a building that didn’t have a lot of amenities, it had a lot of heart,” said Quirk, adding that her experience at McKinley shaped who she became as an educator. Quirk said her sisters graduat“WE’RE STILL HERE!” Since 1947 MALDEN AUTO BODY Book online: Maldenauto.com 49 Robin St., Everett, MA 617-389-3030 * Maldenab@yahoo.com Over 79 years of exceptional service! Massone Family Owned & Operated ed from Revere High and their parents before them. She said serving the community was a privilege. Quirk has served as assistant principal at Paul Revere for the past 12 years. “It’s my home away from home, I love that school,” she told the committee. New Patriot Mascot ning up and down the sidelines in that hat,” said School Committee Chairman Mayor Patrick Keefe. Voting at schools S chool offi cials and members of the election commission met to work out a plan for voting at the high school in the upcoming primary election. Kelly said that for primary A thletics Director Frank Shea presented the new mascot developed by a committee of teachers, coaches and students over the past year. Shea said it took five meetings and much of the heavy lifting was done by art student Solvenita Va. The new mascot was a result of physical education teacher Keith Correa, who felt the district needed one unifying mascot or logo rather than the three or four mascots being used now. In the fi nal version of the mascot, the map of Massachusetts includes a star where Revere is located. “I’m looking forward to seeing the physical mascot runelections typically 7,000 voters turn out and most vote before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. Kelly said closing school for the primary would tack on an extra day at the end of the year and disrupt the school closing schedule. “Schools have been open for the 32 years I’ve been here,” said Kelly, suggesting that elections and school days work together. There have been some modifications about where in the building voters cast ballots and buses have been moved to open up parking for voters. School will be closed for the general election in November, which will be a professional development day for teachers. Policies and Procedures T he committee voted to accept the recommendations C of the Policies and Procedures subcommittee for a list of policies. There were no signifi cant changes and most of the recommendations from the subcommittee follow recommendations from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. The one exception was the electronic device (or cell phone) policy, which is the policy that’s in place. The subcommittee recommended that it be included in the district’s policy manual. Committee member Vanessa Biasella disagreed with the policy’s enforcement that has teachers confi scating cell phones from students. Biasella urged that it be changed to administrators confiscating phones. She felt that putting that responsibility on teachers would cause irreparable damage to classroom relationships and could potentially lead to violent interactions between teachers and students. Aisha Milbury-Ellis, chair of the Policies and Procedures Subcommittee, asked her to come to the next subcommittee meeting to discuss that point. Superintendent evaluation ommittee Vice Chair Jacqueline Monterroso asked for an update on the superintendent’s evaluation. “I know she’s leaving but we still need to evaluate her,” Monterroso told fellow committee members. Committee member Stacey Brondson-Rizzo suggested that the committee use Kelly’s fi nal evaluation as a learning experience for new members. She proposed having someone from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees meet with the committee to guide them through the process. Garfield elevators A bid is going out to replace the elevators at Garfi eld Elementary School, which have reached a critical point. The work is in the design phase and won’t be done for the school opening. However, the hope is that at least one of the school’s three elevators will be operational while the work is being done.
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