Page 6 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020 GBL votes unanimously to accept Lynn English and Lynn Classical as new members Schools requested to leave Northeastern Conference and join GBL in time for next fall season By Steve Freker T he Greater Boston League (GBL) could go from “out of business” to expanding and thriving in the span of just 18 months. Yesterday the GBL board voted unanimously, 6-0, to accept Lynn English High School and Lynn Classical High School as members for the 2021-2022 season next fall, pending their release from the Northeastern Conference (NEC). “It was an easy decision and we are thrilled as a league that Lynn English and Lynn Classical wanted to become part of the Greater Boston League,” said Malden High School Principal and GBL President Chris Mastrangelo. “We will become a stronger, eight-team league with these two great additions,” Mastrangelo added. “Moving forward, we believe the GBL will be the premier, urban-based league in Massachusetts.” At a meeting of NEC athletic directors last Thursday, Lynn Classical and Lynn English informed the NEC they wish to leave the league in time to join the GBL for September 2021. The GBL was reformed at the end of the 2019-2020 school year when the NEC essentially voted out the four local schools, Everett, Malden, Medford and Somerville, after a brief, twoyear trial run as members of the NEC. Those four schools were quickly joined by Revere, an NEC school that had a long history in the GBL in the past, which opted to leave the NEC and got a swift bon voyage from that league. The GBL will soon increase to six members when Chelsea High joins the fold for the 2021-22 season next September. Representatives of Lynn English and Lynn Classical, according to reports, told the NEC athletic directors that there have been discussions with the GBL reps for the past two months and they were told they’d be welcomed “with open arms.” If the two Lynn schools became fi rst-time “GBLers,” it would create an eight-team league, which would quickly be recognized as perhaps the premier urbanbased league in the state. the so-called GBL team remaining in the NEC and was one of the votes in favor. “For the short time they were in the league, we had tremendous games and competition with the GBL,” Devin said in a published report. “I looked at all the sports and I thought they belonged in the league. I’ve been thinking about this ever since they left the league. The GBL is more of where we should be now.” One reason is that officials “We’ve been talking to the Greater Boston League for two months,” Lynn English Athletic Director Dick Newton said in a published report. “Many of the schools in that league are dealing with the same issues that we are dealing with here. I just feel like the Greater Boston League is a league where we belong now and in the future.” The GBL was one of the top leagues in Massachusetts, in all sports, for many years since its inception in 1959, before schools began leaving for other leagues. A number of schools, including charter members Arlington and Revere, as well as Peabody, Waltham and Cambridge, all left, leaving the GBL with just Everett, Malden, Medford and Somerville. Those four schools joined the NEC on a trial basis in 2017, but were voted out in 2019, with schools including Beverly and Marblehead leading the way. The GBL was reestablished in 2019 as of the winter season. Lynn Classical Athletic Director Bill Devin strongly supported and coaches from Classical and English were reportedly not happy when other schools in the NEC changed course and decided to go forward with their fall sports seasons after the NEC principals had voted to move the entire season to “Fall 2” due to the Coronavirus. The two Lynn teams could not compete since that community was designated in the “Red,” high-risk category and not allowed to compete according to state and Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association protocols – all GBL schools stood as one and canceled their fall seasons. Baker awards $3.4M for targeted substance use intervention in schools T he Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the state Department of Public Health recently announced $3.4 million in grants awarded to programs in Central and Western Massachusetts that promote ongoing efforts by the Commonwealth to provide community behavioral health services to middle school students at risk for substance abuse, emotional challenges and conduct problems. The grants will ensure that the selected agencies are prepared to off er remote community behavioral health services to high-risk youngsters enrolled in grades fi ve through eight who are at risk for substance abuse, emotional challenges and conduct problems. The grantees join a roster of 10 other agencies that received grants last year and have been implementing this program model in 18 schools across the Commonwealth for over a year. “We are focused on ensuring that we continue the progress we’ve already made in the fi ght against addiction in Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These targeted substance use interventions in schools are especially important now during this challenging and unprecedented pandemic, where we see many folks struggling.” “It is so important that we continue to off er services and treatment to at-risk students in communities across the Commonwealth,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “These early interventions are crucial to help reduce their risk of developing an opioid or substance use disorder.” “With disruptions to inschool learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, these grant awards will provide critical, timely assistance for students,” said EOHHS Secretary Marylou Sudders, who directs the state’s COVID-19 Command Center. “With these grants, programs will be better able to respond to students’ and their families’ needs, increase collaboration with schools, and provide support to students in crisis.” The grants will be distributed over the course of four-and-ahalf years, with each program receiving $122,816 this year and $184,224 each additional year. The awards will be funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s state Opioid Response grant. Last year, when the School/Community Based Targeted Intervention Services grant program launched, the state awarded $17.1 million to 10 organizations over six years. “Massachusetts is taking action to reinforce protections for children in these unprecedented times,” said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel. “The expansion of this grant program will ensure that at-risk youth receive the services they need to prevent substance use, help combat For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 781-286-8500 or Info@advocatenews.net the opioid epidemic, and support families during the COVID-19 state of emergency.” Now more than ever, Massachusetts schools need support to eff ectively respond to student substance abuse, as access to high-potency marijuana products increases, rates of on-campus vaping surge and the overall perception of harm associated with adolescent substance abuse decreases. The grant award will serve to support the Commonwealthwide adolescent addiction workforce that is specifi cally trained and certifi ed to provide targeted substance abuse interventions and treatment to at-risk students, reducing their risk of developing a substance abuse disorder.
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