Cyrus Vaghar, a 2015 Newton North grad has announced plans for his second run for a seat on the Newton School Committee. Vaghar will once again be challenging Ward 2 incumbent Margaret Albright, who is expected to seek re-election.
Some may recall that Vaghar declined to debate Albright in 2015 on NewTV. But here’s a video from a different 2015 debate.
As everyone knows the Newton Public Schools have, again, kicked the can down the highway on moving high school start times. Maybe they will get around to something in 3 years. Maybe they won’t. In the meantime, they are subjecting our children to lower academic performance, worse mental health, and worse physical health.
Right now, Cyrus is the only person running for school committee who has publicly articulated the importance of moving quickly and decisively on high school start times. His opponent, Margaret Albright, who I have fully supported in every way imaginable in the past, recently congratulated the School Committee’s for its lethargy by noting that it took Fairfax Public Schools 10 years to implement a late start. In School Committee meetings, Albright constantly advocates for a slow consideration of potential change.
I am very happy that Cyrus is running. We all need to give this young man serious consideration. We need more candidates to step up like Cyrus and clearly say that our children’s education and well-being is priority one.
I’m very proud to come from a community that raises young people like Cyrus Vaghar. I think it’s wonderful that he’s chosen to run again.
Several years ago when she was first a candidate for School Committee, Magaret Albright repeatedly misled me [here on V-14] as to the extent of her commitment to changing high school start times. She may have had good intentions, but Albright has since proven herself to be completely ineffective on that issue of critical importance, leaving thousands of high school students exposed to an untenable situation. It is not right for elected officials to take years implementing change on a critical issue affecting the daily health and well being of thousands of teens. Albright does not deserve the support she has found in the past. The only thing she truly deserves is to lose.
Welcome Cyrus.
High school start time is just one of the many issues the school committee has worked on in the last two years. There is now a plan going forward and it is my intention to ensure that we get to a schedule that starts as close to 8:30 as possible and ends by 3:00 PM.
Is this taking longer than anyone would have wanted including me – yes. However, I’ve learned in my many years of working in the public sector that these kinds of changes are difficult to make and if those who must implement the change – our teachers and administrators – are not part of the change process then the likelihood of failure is quite high.
I realize that is not what the passionate advocates for changing school start time want to hear. One thing you learn quite quickly in public service is that everything is more complex and takes longer than you ever imagined. So you have to do what you believe will work best and will ultimately be successful and then push it along to make sure the plan is executed.
Other issues of importance are full day kindergarten – a discussion and planning that will begin with setting our system-wide goals this June and July. We continue to have capacity issues at our elementary schools, particularly those on the north side. We need to solve these problems with our long range facilities planning. Our elementary enrollment bubble is rapidly heading toward middle school and middle school space constraints will need to be dealt with. We also need to look at the spaces in which our special programs are housed and upgrade those spaces or move those programs to better space as we are able.
There are things happening beyond Newton that will effect our schools in the coming years. A new way of calculating low income status that was introduced by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education undercounts the number of low income children by using a very narrow definition (EBT, TANF or MassHealth recipient) effectively leaving out children on reduced price lunch and those whose families are ineligible for these benefits. This number is important in the calculation of Chapter 70 aid and Title I money. Title I in particular supports important summer learning programs. And the recently proposed Federal Dept. of Ed budget reduces money for Title II (teacher training) and Perkins (vocational/technical education) – Newton currently receives both.
I’m looking forward to having the chance to hear what voters have to say. I’m always available to talk and welcome calls, emails or meeting face to face.
Welcome Cyrus!!!
This post is for both Margaret and Cyrus:
One of my concerns (besides full day kindergarten and later start times) is the anti-antisemitism/racism in the school system. I am sure both of you are opposed to it (who wouldn’t be) what do you plan to do to try to rid the NPS of these horrific incidents??
Margaret has been an outstanding School Committee member. I am proud to have supported her in the past and am excited to do so again. Anyone who has ever worked in a huge organization knows that a big change such as HS start times must have the support of the people in charge of implementing it, otherwise they can and will find ways to doom it every step of the way. Even though I am disappointed that my own rising 9th grader will not benefit immediately from the start time change, I am confident that the way the School Committee and administration are going about this will greatly increase its chance of success.
And I am hardly an apologist for the School Committee or school department, as regular readers of my former blog will recall 🙂
I think competition is good and I hope that all School Committee seats are contested. I do believe this School Committee has been a disappointment as articulated by the previous posts. Yes, the School Committee has had ample time to act on start times but also most disappointing was the failure of the Committee to take a firm stand and prompt action regarding the Day Jr. High Principal. Why didn’t the Committee allow the Independent Investigator’s Report to be released in a timely manner? Why did the Newton TAB have to make repeated Freedom of Information Requests and why did the Committee spend or authorize some $5,000 to be spent hiring a lawyer to fight the release of the Report? Change will be welcome.
@Margaret Albright– In the past you have acknowledged the negative health consequences associated with early morning high school start times. How many years do you think it should take public officials to correct a problem [sleep deprivation] that’s been definitely linked to student stress, depression and suicide?
I think the school committee could use some new blood. I went to a meeting last year and many of the committee members looked disinterested in the public comment period, some came in late, they slouched, and shared snacks with each other. At least feign interest during the public comments and act respectful of the community.
I do like the idea of someone who has been through NPS in recent years. This is interesting.
Please keep in mind that many of our elected officials hold day jobs, so when meetings start at 6PM or 7PM, they may be getting there straight from work and not have had dinner. I’d say cut them slack on the snacks.
If you are an accomplishment-oriented person whose first priority is the health and well-being of our children, consider running for School Committee. If you are thinking of running or want to join a support network, please email me at [email protected]
A network will help navigate campaign finance, website setup, and outreach to the voters.
I respect the fact that many of the committee members come straight from work, but when people are giving impassioned pleas for lead-free drinking water, reliable custodians, or a plan with overcrowding at Franklin, it’s hard to feel taken seriously or respected when the committee members are passing around a bag of chips.
To Tom’s question: Since we all became aware of the Day issues, NPS has engaged even more aggressively than before to raise awareness of and teach responses to incidents of racism, bias and anti-semitism. Trainings and deep discussions for administrators, faculty and students have been ongoing. Our programs are strong and appropriate, and we believe they are effective.
To Peter’s comment: The School Committee didn’t hide the Day report — it was commissioned by the Superintendent as part of an internal personnel review. The School Committee doesn’t own it, we don’t control it, and based upon the Education Reform Act of 1993 we don’t even have a right to see it.
In spite of the fact that some members of the School Committee including the Mayor expressed an interest in the unredacted report being made available, the Secretary of State’s office, the Superintendent, the head of HR at NPS, and our independent legal counsel confirm that this document is a private personnel record.
It is true that the least-redacted report revealed a chronology of the engagement of the Day community in response to what happened there, and there is public interest in seeing this. At the same time it is also clear that neither the Superintendent nor the School Committee was hiding a smoking gun — rather our responsibility and focus all along was to protect and respect the sanctity of private personnel records.
Addressing Jeff and Mike’s dismay over NPS not delaying high school start times yet, Margaret and I both would like to see this happen sooner than it will. But there is now consensus within the School Committee and NPS that we should engage in the hard work associated with delaying high school start time, and this is happening. We are not going to change start time by edict as the myriad complexities require careful planning. What are examples of acting without sufficient planning? On the local level it was changing the Parker/Center St. signals. On the national level it was the travel ban. I want to see this change happening mindfully and with care so we don’t create more disruption, chaos and stress than delayed start time seeks to mitigate.
To Mary’s comments, I cannot change anyone’s interpretations of the body language of School Committee at our Monday meetings but we are an extremely committed and engaged group. Call, email or collar any of us with questions, comments, or concerns and find out for yourself. And the snacks are all too rare during our late night meetings but they do help keep us awake and functional when we have them.
Finally back to the original substance of this thread — welcome to the race again Cyrus! I enjoyed speaking with you during your last run, and I believe that multiple contestants for a seat elevates dialogue and increases accountability of the eventual seatholder. I say this as someone who in four elections has lost, won, run unchallenged, and then defended my own seat. It’s too bad that your path to the Ward 2 School Committee seat is through Margaret, as she is among the most hardworking, informed, clear thinking, considerate, grounded, and valuable School Committee members I have known. We are a more effective body because of Margaret, and she has my unqualified support.
Mary,
Please send me a note at [email protected] and I’d be happy to speak with you.
Thanks, Steve
Re: Later Start times
While I understand the need for careful consideration and deliberateness, it doesn’t change the fact that this deliberateness and year-long process could have been begun YEARS ago. The various versions of the School Committee knew about these studies for years most especially when members of this community like Mr. Striar kept bringing it to their attention. As someone with family members who suffered (not a word I use lightly) through the unnecessary early start times, the inaction is unforgivable. This deals with children’s health. There are not congratulations to be be passed around for finally addressing a problem that could have been dealt with years ago. It is a failure of neglect and perhaps new blood will address a systematic inability to initiate and react in a timely manner.
This is absurd. I hate to think of all the coffee and snacks I have consumed at the monthly meetings of the Newton Highlands Neighborhood Area Council. I’m not going to quit the practice and if anyone doesn’t like it, they can run against me this coming November.
Like Margaret Albright, Steve Siegel also misled me on a number of occasions about his level of commitment to changing high school start times. The fact is, Albright and Siegel, like the rest of the current SC, don’t view teen sleep deprivation with the urgency it deserves. This is extremely troubling to me, because the affect of sleep deprivation is clearly evident in Newton’s own surveys of high school students, which indicate epidemic levels of stress [a precursor to depression, suicide, and a host of other physical and mental illnesses]. It is incomprehensible to me that an entire group of elected officials is willing to continue jeopardizing the health and well being of thousands of students every day. In my opinion, to continue exposing children to the consequences of sleep deprivation is as clear a dereliction of duty as I have ever seen from any public official. There is not a single person on this SC that I would ever consider voting for.
Mike- I agree with almost all the issues you raise. You would be a welcome addition to the School Committee and I would enthusiastically support you if you decide to run. We need new people running and engaging the community as to why change is good.
I think Margaret and Steve are wonderful and understand the issues. . . . what I think is that there is a very small majority running the show. . . . and has been for a while. The majority seem to find candidates to run after them that support the majority’s view.
Steve and Margaret were very sympathetic about the days off Angier and Zervas kids had during the transition. After speaking at a school committee meeting about how disruptive days off are for working parents especially during the holiday season when multiple employees are traveling, I was told by a school committee member (belonging to the majority) to plan a trip with my family and immerse myself in a different culture and that would be amazing.
Sure would be amazing, but I am not your typical Newton parent with a large income. We make living in Newton work, but not by lavish trips. I left that school committee meeting feeling that this school committee person was out of touch with many working families, and she has lost any future vote that I may have given her.
After that meeting, Steve and Margaret personally reached out to me to discuss the topic of after school care. It was important to Steve that we find quality childcare for the students that needed it and not just arrange for play dates. Just because I work doesn’t mean I allow any human to watch my child, and Steve and Margaret understood that I needed a program and not just a human.
I find that the school committee is like a group of kids in the sandbox, and the majority overrule the minority and make it difficult to play in the sandbox. I don’t see them working together. . . . I see a small majority working together and there are a few outsiders that want change, but never get the votes.
NewtonMom, thank you for bringing up one of my major concerns – after school programs. There are waiting lists at way too many of our programs and the situation for parents of kindergartners is particularly difficult. Even with waiting lists, almost 60% of our elementary students are in after school programs every week – either at their school or at programs at the West Suburban Y, Boys & Girls Club, Oak Square Y, etc.
We need to start looking at some strategies to deal with the waiting lists and make sure there is a quality, safe and affordable place for every child that needs it. Stay tuned for more from the School Committee on this. Where our children are between the hours of 3 and 6 is just as important as what happens during the school day.
It’s great that Cyrus is running,
however a serious candidate for office must subject him or herself to the entire process, including debates,
otherwise one run’s the risk of not having his or her candidacy taken seriously.
I believe the regular appearances of
Margaret Albright, Steve Siegel & Emily Norton on Village 14 is in stark contrast to most other school committe members and city councilors that prefer to hide in the shadows. There are exceptions, Amy Sangiolo Ted HM Susan Albright and Brian Yates are among this group.
The pattern of school members has been to announce their candidacies,
on Village 14, take a few questions for a
couple of days, then evaporate after
they are elected. If I am wrong,
please educate me. Steve, Margaret and
Geoff Epstein regularly engage or engaged Newton’s citizenry on this blog and have admirably taken their lumps. I would like to hear from
other school committee members who rarely if ever post; Margie Ross Decter,
Ellen Gibson, Diana Fisher Gomberg
seem to be ghosts.
Go Cyrus.
This NewTV debate was the clearest reason why Cyrus Vaghar should be on the School Committee, and why residents of Newton, particularly those who have children in the public schools, should vote for him.
Just listen to the relative answers of the two candidates. Question #2 was about the “slippage” of the standings of Newton schools, compared to other schools, from #3 to #12. Ms. Albright’s answer was nice and intellectual, all about the difficulty of comparing one region to another, but Cyrus’ was right on the ball. He said, “Truthfully, we’re not that interested in how we compare to others. We want the best educations for ourselves” and moved right into the crux of the problem: that “drugs in our schools are a serious problem that aren’t being discussed.” He did not dilute the problem. He didn’t say what we want to hear but what we need to hear.
Mr. Vaghar may not know the data, that Newton, population 88,000, had 7 opioid fatalities in 2015 and 17 opioid fatalities in 2016, more than Waltham (population 63,000 ) 10 and 15 fatalities respectively, and Watertown (population 71,000) 12 and 16 respectively – representing a larger increase in one year than either Waltham or Watertown… But he certainly knows, from experience, that our most vulnerable population is our kids in middle and high school, and that this problem is taking a toll on their academic performance and social activities. He is right to put that up front and center of the debate.
In the discussion about school start times, Cyrus asks the question, “Why haven’t we…” made this change. If you cannot understand the problem, you cannot “make it happen.”
I agree with NewtonMom.
We need somebody who is gutsy and outspoken, and in the game, is in touch with our students, and gives them a strong voice.