Worcester Beacon

24/06/2023

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04/05/2022

After last week’s announcement of Worcester Public Schools’ next Superintendent, Rachel Monárezz, one can’t help but acknowledge the high standard Worcester School Committee has set in terms of what an equitable search looks like. Or as my friend so eloquently put it: “they understood the assignment.” A move that quite frankly our City Council should take generous notes on considering that the task to appoint Worcester’s newest City Manager is upon them.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3kz8Vs2

Community Education Local Politics New Stories Pa'lante What Happens When Our Elected Government Does Their Jobs worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz May 4, 2022 No Comments If there’s anything Worcester continues to give, it is hope. After last week’s announcement of Worcester Public Schools’ next Superint...

04/05/2022

What Happens When Our Elected Government Does Their Jobs

After last week’s announcement of Worcester Public Schools’ next Superintendent, Rachel Monárezz, one can’t help but acknowledge the high standard Worcester School Committee has set in terms of what an equitable search looks like. Or as my friend so eloquently put it: “they understood the assignment.”

Read more:
https://bit.ly/3kz8Vs2

03/11/2021

Etel Haxhiaj, Thu Nguyen celebrate wins Tuesday night and also made history in a more diverse Worcester City Council.

03/11/2021

Half of the Worcester School Committee will be new members next year.

02/11/2021

A word from Worcester Youth Council 🗳

"Worcester’s city elections are today! Check out this video that the Youth Council put together to inform Worcester residents what voting is all about. Remem...

02/10/2021

We got a "Poetry Thing" going, highlighting Worcester things in poetry form.

Kicking of the poetry series, we're bring to you a poem written by Suriel, who writes about his search for identity, while embracing the cultures and identities he holds.

'Hispanic Men Don't Know How To Say I Love You Too' is organically familiar and captures how men communicate their love in a culture that has historically struggled with machismo.

Enjoy!!

If you wish to submit your poem for consideration, please email [email protected] with subject line "Poetry Submission"

Looking forward to reading your verses 😀

https://bit.ly/3uvEvuX

A Poetry Thing Hispanic Men Don’t Know How To Say I Love You Too worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz October 2, 2021 No Comments by Suriel Since a child,I spent various weekendsAt mi abuelo’s apartmentIn New York City. It’s the one place that hasBeen the same all my life.Where the decor has never changedAn...

15/09/2021

'The Things We Don't Say: A Short Story'

Managing my mental health can be incredibly difficult in and of itself. Still, it is even more challenging when you come from a cultural background that has conditioned you to perceive mental health issues as that beggar in front of the corner store – everyone sees him, but everyone pretends he doesn’t exist, thus leaving you with little to no resources to help you manage.

Em Quiles opens up about her mental health struggles in this touching write-up.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3lluI6s

11/02/2021

Women are undeniably the leaders and torch bearers of the times.

As we move on from the Presidential election with a sense of purpose, we shift our focus to the elections that arguably have a greater impact on our everyday lives: Worcester Municipal Elections

https://tinyurl.com/3kd2j58c

Local Politics Year of the Woman worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz February 10, 2021 By Em Quiles The inauguration of the 46th President of the United States was captivating. It was dressed with tones of healing and reconciliation. However, while Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. may have been sworn in as our new Pr...

28/10/2020

Do you want to get involved in grassroots community journalism?

Are you interested in getting involved in grassroots community journalism? We're looking to expand our volunteer team! Do you follow local board and commission meetings? Are you great at design or social media? Do you care about every member of our community having access to understanding to social....

22/09/2020

“every time the chief denies racism in his department, he is speaking for the city councilors, the mayor, the manager and the city’s state and federal representative delegation.

And understand that as long as these politicians refuse to refute the chief’s denials, they are being complicit in his mendacity.”

It is not a mystery why Worcester Police Chief Steve Sargent is embolden to repeatedly deny institutional racism in his department. He and his department are the foot soldiers…

16/09/2020

"according to Chief Sargent, the Worcester Police Department has NO Institutional Racism. That’s remarkable, especially considering that giving that as an answer to community members telling you that they’re experiencing Institutional Racism from YOUR Institution is literally Institutional Racism."

Letters to the Community Local Politics New Stories Your denial is proving the point worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz September 16, 2020 By Cara Berg Powers Worcester is in the news again, and again, not in a good way. As if the coverage of our schools’ bungled Spring emergency instruction or the follow up ...

01/09/2020

Leaked poll results show Worcester teachers don't actually like having cops in schools after all

29/08/2020

Our second installment of Weekly WPS. Don't worry, get caught up on all the news, in an easy, quick summary from our resident education expert!

http://www.worcesterbeacon.com/2020/08/29/weekly-wps/

Education Worcester Beacon Weekly WPS worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 29, 2020 By LE Another week in the wild west of WPS is in the books! Don’t worry about keeping it all straight in your head – that’s too much to ask. Plus, it’s my job now. Hope this helps! 1. Racism-free WPS’s demands wer...

27/08/2020

Etel Haxhiaj of Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance writes a powerful piece about how despite ongoing development, housing in our community remains out of reach for too many.

Community Letters to the Community New Stories Worcester Beacon Out of Reach Worcester worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 27, 2020 By Etel Haxhiaj, Director of Public Education & Advocacy at Central MA Housing Alliance “I don’t know if I can afford to live in this city anymore.” said Daisy, who, al...

26/08/2020

Some critical public records request work being done by community members. Check out this post for updates following recent Public Safety meetings!

Letters to the Community Local Politics Worcester Beacon An Update on Public Records worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 26, 2020 By Nathan Cummings A month ago, I submitted a petition to the Worcester City Council, with a modest goal to increase transparency at the WPD by publishing their performance met...

22/08/2020

http://www.worcesterbeacon.com/2020/08/22/weekly-wps-8-22-2020/

New column alert! As often as we can muster, our resident education expert will be keeping you in the know about all things Worcester Public Schools!

21/08/2020

Here's what Tracy O’Connell Novick had to share about last night's vote for a new English Language Arts curriculum. Helpful context!

"...if you hand me high school English curriculum, I'm going to approach it as a high school English teacher, as it's what I was trained as. My first question, likewise, was how high school English teachers were involved in the selection of this "modified pilot." They...weren't, is the upshot. "

Link to more info on the curriculum in the comments

because "why did you vote no" is a headline I've used before... Among the roles of the School Committee in Massachusetts is approving curr...

20/08/2020

Wherein we get caught up on the week that was, and especially WTF the T&G was thinking when they printed that racist tirade.

Arts & Entertainment Community DefundWPD Education New Stories Pop It Seltzer Time Whos of Who-cester WoostaChat Worcester Beacon Worcester Sucks and I Love It What did we miss? worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 20, 2020 Ok, it feels like we need to start with the biggest news story of the week in Worce...

11/08/2020

Buckle up. So much has been going on in Worcester, we literally couldn’t keep up! So we’re trying to catch up, and bring you along for the ride!

Arts & Entertainment Community DefundWPD Education Local Politics New Stories Nicole, Woo Pop It Seltzer Time Whos of Who-cester WoostaChat Worcester Beacon Worcester Sucks and I Love It Youth ICYMI – Important Reads and News from Last Week worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 11, 2020 Buckle up. So much...

07/08/2020

Drink (social) responsibly!

Honestly, Redemption Rock Brewing is always pushing to set an example of how to be a great community partner as a business- from blind hiring, to living wage, to tips for community orgs, we've always been impressed. Add this to the list! Read their whole post for all the info.

We've got brand-new crowler labels today, created by our friend and local artist/activist Joshua Croke, along with local photojournalist Matt Wright Photo.

This piece depicts Worcester's BLM demonstrations and the creation of the BLM mural. And in addition to being beautiful and striking, it sparked a lot of internal discussion and reflection - about our role in racial justice, where we need to improve, and what tangible actions we could take to better support BIPOC in our community.

We came up with new priorities, both short and long term. We invite you to read our blog post (link below) about these initiatives and our thought process behind them, but here are the top, immediate actions we're taking:

1. From now until the end of 2021, we’re only going to be hiring BIPOC as artists for the crowler label program.

2. We’re donating a portion of the proceeds from crowler sales for this label’s run of Aug/Sept to a fund of the artists’ choice that supports BIPOC in Worcester.

Check out the full blog post here https://www.redemptionrock.beer/blog/2020/8/7/art-beer-and-social-commentary

Additionally, check out Joshua's blog post on this art, in which they discuss their work as an activist fighting for inclusion and equity, and why they decided to focus on the BLM movement for this piece: https://www.redemptionrock.beer/blog/2020/8/7/art-beer-and-social-commentary-part-ii

05/08/2020

In case you have not yet seen this instagram page, please read.

The Instagram account "Racism-free WPS" has more than 230 posts as of Wednesday morning.

05/08/2020

"How could you present the best available scientific information in a way that wasn’t so ham-handed and instead allowed parents to make the best available decisions?"

Community Education Letters to the Community New Stories Worcester Beacon Youth How the Worcester Public Schools Medical Forum Should have gone… worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 5, 2020 By Jordan Berg Powers Doctors, School Committee members , and Superintendent Binienda on the Medical Forum zoom I h...

04/08/2020

This past Monday, the Southbridge Education Association held a rally to call for safe school re-openings.

Community Education Local Politics New Stories Youth Southbridge Educators Rally for Safe School Openings worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 4, 2020 This past Monday, the Southbridge Education Association held a rally to call for safe school re-openings. Their full press release below: For immediate rele...

03/08/2020

"A group of Worcester Public Schools (WPS) employees has sent a letter signed by 60 members to Educational Association of Worcester (EAW) leadership expressing “deep concerns, frustrations, and embarrassment over the recent public statements made by our EAW President, Roger Nugent.”

Community Education Letters to the Community Local Politics New Stories Worcester Beacon Ignored by Union Leadership, Worcester Educators’ Group Calls for Action worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 3, 2020 By Member Voice Editor’s note- we have printed the Press Release from Member Voice in its entire...

02/08/2020

Some Early Process Suggestions for the Formation of Worcester County Pride

By Rush Frazier

"I genuinely hope that the readers of this letter see this donation of my time and expertise in creating this letter to be a gift of unpaid labor, as I have offered up many of these suggestions online over a number of mediums, and still some of the easiest-to-solve problems persist. I don’t have all the answers, and I look forward to working with you all in the search."

Community Letters to the Community New Stories Some Early Process Suggestions for the Formation of Worcester County Pride worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz August 2, 2020 by Rush Frazier My name is Rush Frazier, a Black AFAB non-binary q***r person. I’m a Worcester native. I’m working class. I’ve been a ...

01/08/2020

ICYMI, Jordan Berg Powers shares a parent's perspective on opening this Fall

Community Education Worcester Beacon Youth Only Bad Options worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz July 30, 2020 No Comments By Jordan Berg Powers There are only bad options for opening schools. A lot of times we say good/bad or better/worse, but in this case there are only BAD options. That is because once again o...

01/08/2020

"Every major metropolis is situated as a cultural and financial hub because of the assorted people who call it home. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Boston, they all sustain the people who ARE that city. One way to throw our support and encouragement behind the varied people who make Worcester shine is to support the game that’s a cultural cornerstone for so many of them. "

Community New Stories The Other Football: The Beautiful Game and the Changing Face of Worcester worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz July 15, 2020 By Jonathan Hardy-Lavoie Editor’s note: an abridged version of this ran in Worcester Magazine August 7, 2019. As the final whistle was blown in the FIFA Women’s Wo...

30/07/2020

"It’s easy to make Worcester cushy and appealing for those who don’t live here, but isn’t it time we focused on helping the ones who do?"

An Open Letter to Worcester by By Andres Lorenzana

Letters to the Community Local Politics New Stories Worcester Beacon An Open Letter to Worcester worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz July 29, 2020 By Andres Lorenzana As it stands, Worcester is in a precarious place, with the outbreak of COVID-19, the City’s plans for an economic overturn of Worcester has been...

28/07/2020

ICYMI- our top viewed post of last week by Em Quiles!

"There should be no space at a decision-making table for elected officials who remain silent when it matters."

Community Local Politics New Stories Pa'lante Worcester Beacon Removing the Knife worcesterbeacon_6ph8gz July 23, 2020 By Em Quiles Our City leaders are nodding their heads but are they really hearing what we are saying? It is not about a statue. It is not about a mural. It is about who is being hea...