Schools on the Council agenda this week

There are several items on tomorrow night's City Council agenda regarding schools:

• Item 9.31A and 17h is the $6 million loan order for rehabilitation for schools; this is two years of $3 million each.
• Item 10A is the Committee on Education reporting out and includes the PowerPoint presentation that we received in our joint meeting. 
• Item 11i is from Councilor Palmieri, asking for cleaning and mulch at the LakeView playground (which isn't at the school but in the park across the street).
• Item 11j is from Councilor Economou, asking for an update on Nelson Place. We haven't had an official announcement of a building committee (as appointed by the City Manager) as yet; I have heard that the parent/neighborhood search process is on. Much of the committee is set by the requirements of MSBA (it has to have the Superintendent, the City Manager, the finance officer, the principal, etc). The questions regarding rehab/rebuild and location are ones that will be answered during the feasibility stage; one could even say that we CANNOT know this yet, as we have to look at all options during feasibility. 

Strategic Master Planning (school buildings) NSBA

publishing as I go...
Three district examples: Tiverton, RI; Groton, CT; Waterbury, CT.
Tiverton and Groton on declining enrollment; Waterbury increasing

School buildings meeting: TONIGHT 7pm

Please join the Worcester City Council Subcommittee on Education and the Worcester School Committee's Standing Committee on Finance and Operations tonight for a meeting on school buildings. We're meeting at 7pm at Doherty Memorial High School. You can find our agenda here; click on the highlighted item number to get to the presentation.
I will try to liveblog the meeting; I'm not sure what the setup at Doherty will be, though!

North High photos

part of the continuing "thought you might like to see this" series of photos from WPS!
Having missed all the previously scheduled tours of the new North High for School Committee members, yesterday I went by and got a tour (from a very patient and thorough Jim Bedard, who is in charge of facilities for the district).

Here's the main entrance.

 The main entrance faces the direction of the old North and the Ecotarium, and, unlike a lot of large modern buildings, it has what is clearly a main door.

Spring on Chandler Street

As I'm driving around the city, I can't help noticing how many of the schools have flowers coming out. Knowing, as I do, the physical plant budget, I can attest: anywhere you see flowers, it's a labor of love by someone.
Here's what's out right now at Chandler Magnet:

There's also a lovely flowerbed in the interior courtyard that I intend to get better photos of. I have it on good authority that the flowers at Chandler Magnet (formerly Chandler Junior High) are the work of retired art teacher John Butke.
If you've got photos of your school that you'd like to post, send them in!

Union Hill has a flower bed

Pretty proud of this, I must admit...
With high praise for the school plant guys who put it in, filled it with gravel (for drainage) and loam, for Frank in Millbury (Union Hill alum!) who donated many of the plants (and much advice), for Dee in Quinsig Village for the irises and more, for the Oak Hill CDC gang for watering, and for Marie Morse, who thinks that more green on Chapin Street is a good thing.
Oh, and my kids, who were enthusiastic planters.

Should anyone wonder, it's mostly prairie grasses and flowers of various kinds, as I have it on good authority that those are what stand the best chance of surviving the oven it's going to be.

Lowe's charitable foundation

Parents at Midland Street presented a proposal for grounds
Lincoln Street also needed some work done
put in one grant for both which came in for $101,082

According to the woman from Lowe's this one of 25 such grants around the country awarded
volunteers from the local Lowe's stores will also be helping out with work on the project