TOWN OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS
ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 7:30 pm, Room 103, Town Hall
The Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, October 1, at 7:30 pm, in Room 103 of Town Hall.
Please note: All times are approximate and subject to change. People with an interest in being present for the discussion and vote on a particular item should arrive 15 minutes before the nominally scheduled time for that item.
AGENDA
7:30 pm WA 11 – Authorization for the termination and relocation of certain sewer and drainage easements at Kerrigan Place. (DPW)
7:45 pm WA 30 – Adoption of a new General By-Law pertaining to the establishment of a Brookline Community Engagement Plan (Brown, TMM1, et al)
8:25 pm WA 26 – Rename the Coolidge Corner School the “Florida Ruffin Ridley School” (School Committee, et al)
8:45 pm WA 27 – Rename the Coolidge Corner School the “Ethel Weiss School” (Ruttman)
9:05 pm WA 28 – Rename the Coolidge Corner School the “Robert I. Sperber School” (Selwyn, TMM13)
9:20 pm Other business Announcements Discussion of recorded votes at Advisory Committee meetings
The public is invited to attend however this meeting is not a public hearing so public comments will not be taken at the meeting. The Advisory Committee welcomes written comments, which will be circulated to members of the Committee if they are sent to [email protected] no later than 12:00 noon on the day of the meeting. Subcommittees of the Advisory Committee hold public hearings on any matter on which the Advisory Committee makes a recommendation to Town Meeting. Members of the public are encouraged to attend subcommittee public hearings if they wish to comment on any item under deliberation by the subcommittee.
Michael Sandman, Chair 617-513-8908 [email protected] Carla Benka, Vice-Chair 617-277-6102 [email protected]
CAPITAL SUBCOMMITTE REPORT ON FALL 2019 WARRANT ARTICLE 11
The Capital Subcommittee met at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 18, 2019, in room 308 of Town Hall.
The following were present:
Subcommittee members Carla Benka (Chairman, pct. 13), John Doggett (pct. 13), Harry Friedman (pct. 12), Amy Hummel (pct. 12), and Pam Lodish (pct. 14).
Representing the Town on this matter was Peter Ditto, D.P.W. Director of Engineering and Transportation.
Other town staff, town meeting members, and members of the public were: Todd Kirrane, Kara Brewton, Zoe Lynn, Justin Casanova-Davis, Scott Englander, Christi Electris, Bob Miller, David Lescohier, Willy Osborn, John Bowman, David Trevvett, Jan Preheim
Summary:
Warrant article 11 seeks authorisation to terminate two old town sewer and drainage easements, no longer in use, on Kerrigan Place, a private way, no longer in existence. In addition, it authorises the Town to obtain an easement for a new sewage and drainage system installed at 111 Boylston Street, adjacent to Davis Path. No money, other than $1, is changing hands.
The subcommittee voted in favour of the warrant article by a vote of 5-0.
The Lay of the Land
On the north side of Boylston Street, between Cypress and Washington Streets, opposite the old Lincoln School, there is the Boylston Street Playground. The Playground runs from Boylston Street to the former Boston and Albany tracks, now the Riverside Line of the MBTA’s Green Line. The town acquired this property in 1854 (or 1867). It was originally the site of the new South Primary School, later called the Boylston School. The building was used as a school until 1922. From 1931, until it was torn down in 1971, it was used as the Stephen F. Rutledge Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Once demolished, the land was converted into playground space.
The northern end of the playground lot also held the Town’s first public bathhouse, which was used from 1883 or 1884, until a newer one was built on Tappan Street in 1897.
Just to the east of the Playground, is Davis Path, a public way. It was called Walnut Path until sometime between 1919 and 1927. It too starts at Boylston Street, but actually goes over the B&A tracks, via a bridge, and ends at White Place.
Just east of Davis Path, was Kerrigan Place, a private way. The street itself was only 12 feet wide. Like the Playground, it extended from Boylston Street to the B&A tracks. As late as 1927, there were two to three houses on the Davis Path or west side of Kerrigan Place, and three on the east side.
Note: at the end of Kerrigan Place, just to its east and adjacent to the B&A tracks, was a 502 square foot parcel of land owned by the Town, hereafter referred to as “Town Parcel.” The Town acquired the parcel via a taking in 1905, when a grade crossing over the tracks was eliminated. It allowed carriages at the end of Kerrigan Place to turn around, and was later used by Kerrigan Place residents as a parking/storage area.
Just east of Davis Path was the former Red Cab site, which is now the Homewood Suites hotel.
Old Easements History
The town built drainage and sewage pipes under Kerrigan Place. Because Kerrigan Place was private, easements had to be granted to the town to construct these pipes. The drainage easement was granted to the town on May 6, 1863, by Patrick Kerrigan, and the sewage easement was granted to the town on March 2, 1888, by Catherine Kelly.
Sale of the Town Parcel
Sometime between 1927 and the redevelopment of the Red Cab site at 111 Boylston Street, all but one of the homes on Kerrigan Place were demolished. As part of the redevelopment of the site into a hotel, the remaining home, on the west side of the street nearest to the B&A tracks, was to be acquired by the developer and demolished. (A deed registered on March 25, 2014, indicates the home was sold for $1,418,888.88. A deed registered April 25, 2014, indicates the Red Cab site was sold to the developer for $3,875,000.) The Town had no use for the Town Parcel, and at the 2007 November Town Meeting, warrant article 15 proposed to authorise the Board of Selectmen to sell the Town Parcel for not less than $85,000. The article passed Town Meeting by a two-thirds vote.
The Board of Selectmen did not actually authorise the sale until December 3, 2013. At that time, the Kerrigan Place Town Parcel was conveyed to Claremont Brookline Suites, the developer of the yet-to-be-built hotel. It appears the full $85,000 was paid to the Town.
New Drain and Sewer
The old Kerrigan Place sewer and drain, dating to the 19th century, was not very good, and required a lot of maintenance. As part of the sale of the Town Parcel, the Town requested the developer to relocate the sewer and drainage system, and grant an easement back to the Town. The construction of the new drain/sewer was completed when the hotel was built. The developer paid for the design and installation of the new drainage system in accordance with plans and specifications approved by the Town. The new drainage system is in a better location, and the upgraded design and plastic pipes are an improvement over the original.
What Does the Warrant Article Do?
Because the old sewer and drain under Kerrigan Place have been abandoned, the easements held by the Town are no longer necessary, and the article authorises the Select Board to terminate them.
Because the new sewer and drain are on private property, the article authorises the Select Board to acquire a new easement of approximately 1,010 square feet on the westerly portion of the property at 111 Boylston Street, adjacent to Davis Path.
Subcommittee Action
The Capital Subcommittee voted in favour of recommending favourable action of the motion offered under warrant article 11 by a vote of 5-0.
Brookline, Massachusetts - Google Maps https://www.google.com/maps/@42.331203,-71.1210198,3a,60y,338.81...
1 of 1 9/21/2019, 11:33 PM Google Maps https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3299114,-71.1208811,127a,35y,351...
1 of 1 9/21/2019, 11:17 PM Personnel Subcommittee Report on W.A. 30 Adoption of a new General By-Law pertaining to the establishment of a Brookline Community Engagement Plan
The Personnel Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee held a public hearing on September 26, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. to consider Warrant Article 30: Adoption of a new General By-Law pertaining to the establishment of a Brookline Community Engagement Plan. In attendance were subcommittee members Janet Gelbart, Chuck Swartz, and Christine Westphal; petitioners Deborah Brown (TMM 1), Mariah Nobrega (AC, TMM 4, CDICR), and Sam Botsford; Chief Diversity Officer Lloyd Gellineau; and Eddie Bates (Planning Department)
Background Petitioners seek to amend the General By-Laws by creating a new article to establish a Community Engagement Plan (CEP) as a complement to Article 3.21 (Readily Accessible Electronic Meeting Notices) and 3.22 (the Public’s right to be Heard on Warrant Articles). At minimum, a CEP, developed and monitored by ODICR, would increase public involvement in policy-making and more effectively respond to the needs and priorities of the wider community, especially groups that have not been engaged in the past. Such engagement, properly resourced, would increase public support and provide more government accountability and transparency.
Discussion Basically, a CEP would provide Town government with a template to solicit input, keep participants engaged, and publicize decisions and the rationale behind them. Many communities have instituted such plans, and the MAPC can provide a framework so the Town is not recreating the wheel. The proposed by-law includes provisions for measuring effective outreach and evaluating and updating the plan annually.
Petitioners are concerned about the growing lack of trust in government because of lack of timely and widespread publication of information. Many examples were cited by both the petitioners and members of the subcommittee, including the current backlash against the marijuana dispensary on Beacon Street and the e- scooter pilot. A CEP would provide guidance on best practice for effective community outreach. It needs to encompass not just Town staff, but also elected officials, boards, committees, and commissions.
There are many blockades to increased participation, and it is difficult to find out what is going on unless you are already involved. The Town pays a cost in lost efficiency and reduced compliance. There needs to be a way that the Town pushes information out to the community, instead of requiring the public to ferret it out for themselves.
Chief Diversity Officer Lloyd Gellineau indicated that he will be requesting an additional position in the FY 21 budget process. A CEP could easily be part of the
1 duties assigned to a new position. Without additional staffing, all of the work of the ODICR -- which currently consists of the Director, two staff, and two interns - - will proceed more slowly. He also stated that community engagement is essential to the work of his department and a formalized CEP would make their task easier. It would begin with an assessment of what people want to know and where they go to find things out.
A subcommittee member questioned why it was necessary to establish a CEP in the Town’s by-laws. Petitioners feel that community engagement is a core function of government and that the proposed article builds on the outreach already codified in Articles 3.21 and 3.22.
The subcommittee referred to the presentation by the Brookline Fiscal Advisory Committee to the Advisory Committee on September 17, specifically for the need to review new mandates in the context of the Town’s total obligations and to prioritize accordingly. A subcommittee member expressed concern that a CEP could become very expensive very quickly. If the warrant article is passed and not appropriately resourced, it will be meaningless, but the resources are just not there now.
While the petitioners expressed their opinion that the implementation of a Community Engagement Plan would not result in much additional expense, the article as presented would require each Town Department to report on their community engagement activities, and requires those reports to be considered in the Department Managers’ annual reviews. The subcommittee member thought that that reporting requirement could take up a significant amount of time in each department.
A planning department employee who attended the hearing indicated he had lived in New Bedford when that community implemented a CEP, and that it was well worth the effort in terms of development. A majority of the subcommittee agreed that the effort must be made.
Recommendation By a vote of 2-1-0, the subcommittee recommends favorable action on WA 30.
2 WA 30 - Create a new Article 3.XX in the 30 - Create WA Town’s General By-Laws pertaining to a Town’s Brookline Community Engagement Plan Brookline Community Engagement Mariah Nobrega – TMM P4, and Samuel Botsford Nobrega Mariah Co-Petitioners: Deborah Brown – TMM P1, Deborah Brown Co-Petitioners: involvement. involvement. about expectations of community Enable clarity and transparency and most vulnerable. underrepresented those who are participation in decision making, especially from community to support active/meaningful/diverse Allocate resources and community and maintain trust between the government Develop Help identify and prioritize issues do? can community engagement What engagement engagement process in a Community nutshell and rationale for that decision and rationale for Let people know the final outcome keep soliciting their input want to be kept updated, and they people updated in the way(s) Keep their input using Let people know how you are solicit input to Connect early on in the process of English as a second language.) immigrants, speakers people, people of color, recent (e.g., disabled, low-income of these conversations been historically left out Especially those who have EVERYONE. Who does this benefit?
Absolutely! This is important but engagement plans? engagement municipalities have community not innovative. Do other communities to adapt. MAPC Inclusion” Community Engagement & Newton etc development, climate change, planning and public health, engagement plans for Boston OR Portland, Seattle had a plan 10 years ago. had a plan 10 provides a framework for for a framework provides has customized community has a staff role “Director of “Director has a staff role dating back to the 70s
“At a minimum, the purpose of community engagement plan is to: “At Article Language Key Warrant 4. 2. 5. 3. 1. needs and priorities of its inhabitants.” to the responds effectively and more proactively that the Town Ensure actions. the legitimacy and accountability of government Increase programs. public policies and public understanding of and support for Increase groups. poor, people of color, disabled and other politically disenfranchised not been engaged in the past including, without limitation, who have of the community–especially inhabitants diversity Engage the broader solution. as part of the Engage community inhabitants and resources The Community Engagement Plan shall include, at minimum: Plan shall include, at The Community Engagement 2. 3. 1. A formal CEP evaluation process. process. CEP evaluation A formal time. over implementing community engagement practices improving is that can be used to determine if the Town information and/or quantitative qualitative Indicators that provide municipal community engagement. consistent with the best practices for Guidelines that are
Points CEP guidelines might address Points Is the community satisfied with outcome? the community? acknowledge issues raised by Do they financially sound? projects Are planned courses of action or tasks ethically sound? Are work together? How will the community and Town all affected community groups? by representation/participation Is there involved? should be Which segments of the community/partner organizations
Complete webpages on each committee developed engagement) manner (two work day minimum does not promote in a timely in plain language with no jargon materials provided Meeting feedback multiple options for provide ways of engaging are, Asking community what the preferred transportation assistance and engagement, like childcare of structural barriers that prevent Removal staff/officials public input without filtering by and allows for the public Democratic budgeting and planning that surfaces ideas from decision-making CEP guidelines might transform town How construction phase of a project and may save money through improved bond ratings. improved through money and may save construction phase of a project planning/ community engagement will likely shorten the project capital projects, For public adherence. adoption of policies, as well increased and development trust leads to improved sharing and increased Better information community engagement: economic savings from can be clear participation is a fundamental right. With that said, there Caveat: into savings Transforming community engagement
which indicators are chosen. which indicators are and tracking will vary depending on Impact of indicator development those that operate in a vacuum. necessary) for It may be significant (and fulfilling their responsibilities. correctly those committees and staff that were is minimal for Impact on process workload of his office. significant and increasing passes, due to the additional staff person whether or not this WA Gellineau will be seeking an ODICR Director annual evaluation. of the guidelines and the natural office to lead development (ODICR) is Inclusion and Community Relations Office of Diversity, Impact on resources
Lisa Portscher
From: JANET GELBART
Lisa,
I came across the comments below while catching up on a week's worth of TM Listserv postings this morning. I think they are germane to our discussion of WA 30 and would appreciate your forwarding this e-mail to the AC. Thanks.
Janet
I respect our current Select Board and a number of them are old friends of mine. I do not envy any of them in having to face the challenges ahead of us. But it also seems that we, as a town, have lost control over several issues that our affecting our community in negative ways that will only get worse. Oh, and did I mention our schools are over-crowded? Happy Friday.
One of the biggest problems we seem to have as a community is that of information distribution and "notice." The rules for public notice are helpful, but the reality is that many folks are simply not aware of important deliberations, and it's really not their fault. So we end up with an "informed and engaged class" and an "uninformed, not engaged" class who can often end up angry when they feel surprised by things for which legal notice requirements were met.
1 SCHOOLS SUBCOMMITTEE OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Report on Articles 26, 27 and 28. Special Town Meeting November 2019
Introduction
The Schools Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee held a public hearing on Articles 26, 27 and 28 of the Warrant for the November 2019 Special Town Meeting on September 24, 2019 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Each Article supports a specific candidate for whom the Coolidge Corner School should be renamed to honor. The hearing was attended by subcommittee members Cliff Brown, Dennis Doughty, David Lescohier, Mariah Nobrega and John VanScoyac. Also present were sponsors of each Article (listed below) along with approximately 40 members of the public (see the list of names attached hereto).
In excess of 30 emails and voicemails were offered in support of individual Articles. These emails and copies of material circulated or presented by each Article sponsor have been sent to the Advisory Committee in electronic format. There has been an Open Meeting Law complaint regarding the CCS renaming process filed by Article 28 sponsor Lee Selwyn against the Brookline School Committee. That filing has been previously submitted to the entire AC.
Sponsors for each Article were allotted 15 minutes to state their case for their preferred candidate. An extensive public comment period followed the presentations after which the subcommittee had its discussion, deliberations and votes.
Recommendation Summary: The subcommittee voted 4-1 to offer No Recommendation on each Article.
Article Summaries and Their Sponsors:
Warrant Article 26: Submitted by: School Committee; Deborah Brown, TMM 1; Anne Greenwald, TMM 8; Maya Norton. To see if the Town will rename the current Coolidge Corner School as the Florida Ruffin Ridley School.
Florida Ruffin Ridley was born in 1861 and died in 1943. She and her family lived in Brookline for more than 20 years and may have been the Town’s first African American homeowners. Her children went to the Lawrence School and BHS. She was a suffragist (helped organize the country’s first national women of color conference), civil rights activist (helped found a predecessor group to the National Association Of Colored Women’s Clubs), anti-lynching advocate, teacher (2nd African American teacher in Boston), writer, publisher and religious leader (founder of the Second Unitarian Church, which is now Temple Sinai).
Warrant Article 27: Submitted by: Larry Ruttman. To see if the Town will rename the current Coolidge Corner School as the Ethel Weiss School.
Ethel Weiss was born in 1914 and died in 2015. Along with her husband, she owned and operated Irving’s Toy and Card Shop from 1939 until her passing. Ms. Weiss was a neighborhood icon and an individual who served and mentored children who attend(ed) what is now the Coolidge Corner School. She is considered by many to have been an integral part of the former Devotion community for close to 70 years.
Warrant Article 28: Submitted by: Lee L. Selwyn, TMM 13. To see if the Town will rename the current Coolidge Corner School as the Robert I. Sperber School.
Dr. Robert Sperber was born in 1929 and died in 2016. He was Superintendent of Brookline Schools from 1964 to 1982 and served as a specialist in urban education at Boston University for 20 years thereafter. Dr. Sperber was instrumental in the founding of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity, or METCO. He also implemented innovative curriculum and support programs, including the Brookline Early Education Project; Facing History and Ourselves, a Holocaust education program; and the town’s Extended Day Advisory Council and its Education Foundation. Dr. Sperber instituted educational equity within the Brookline elementary schools eliminating distinctions between schools he described as “haves” and “have nots”.
Highlights of Comments by Sponsors or Co-Presenters of Each Article follow:
FOR ARTICLE 26:
FOUR STUDENTS FROM CCS "Bee-lievers of Change" – Emeri Shende-Ruiz, Heath Colbert Laurie, Liv Klawiter and Felix Situ, members of the adult-guided student group that engaged school and community in a process leading to nomination of 4 finalists (Ruth Batson, Roland Hayes, Sybil Holmes, Florida Ruffin Ridley) from which the School Committee, by vote of 7-0-1, chose Ridley to be forwarded to the town Naming Committee. The students described the hours they spent on the project ("it mattered to us") and the motivation behind the choice of Ridley -- she represented "the opposite" of Edward Devotion (slave owner), sending a message "human life is worth something... that a slave is a person just like you and me... Florida Ruffin Ridley shows us we can have courage." One student specified, "We were criticized that we were manipulated by some of the adults but we weren't, and all our effort that you see today was us kids doing this for our school."
DEBORAH BROWN, TMM-1, who worked with CCS students in their school voting process described being moved to tears by the students' presentations of their research. She added that Brookline is belated in coming to a recognition of Florida Ruffin Ridley's place in history as a feminist, abolitionist, writer and more. "Imagine future students being able to say, 'She lived down my street!'... 'My school's named after her.' ... This is a magical opportunity to transform."
FOR ARTICLE 27
LARRY RUTTMAN, the lead advocate for honoring the late Ethel Weiss ("I met her in 1939 when I was in 4th grade"), described Weiss, proprietor of Irving's Toy Store, as "one of a kind" ... a friend and mentor to generations of school children, "she didn't scold them, she taught them" with "rules for living" as well as funding of scholarships. Ruttman added that he stayed in touch with Ethel from when he was 8 years old until she died at age 101... "Do you realize how rare that story is?"
ELI DAVIS, Devotion K-8 and BHS graduate, age 23. "As kids, we spent the whole week searching for money so we could visit Irving's for candy. Ethel made you feel you were supposed to be there. The store was an extension of the Devotion community. When we paid, she helped us figure out the change, until we could do it ourselves. It was a rite of passage to visit Irving's and Ethel. I can't think of a person who had a longer lasting impact."
FOR ARTICLE 28
LEE SELWYN, TMM 13, advocated for Dr. Robert Sperber, stating that Dr. Sperber most closely meets the Town's naming criteria, (specifically the first, (reputation/character/set an example/contribution). Mr. Selwyn highlighted Dr. Sperber’s contributions outlined above (specifically mentioning BEEP, METCO, EDCO and the Economic Development Advisory Board to address fostering a broader tax base for Brookline). Mr Selwyn also emphasized Dr. Sperber’s core beliefs of a commitment to equality for all students, the importance of creating innovative ideas that last, and using education as an instrument of social justice. "Brookline has a tradition of naming public schools for people who were heavily involved in public education ... Runkle was one of the founders of MIT and its second president ... Lincoln was a leader at both MIT and Wellesley... Robert Sperber fits in that tradition."
Public Comment Period
Advisory Committee and Town Meeting Member Neil Gordon stated that the ultimate decision on the name belongs to Town Meeting. He stated the School Committee established a process, that the Naming Committee will make a recommendation but that nothing is binding on Town Meeting.
Several members of the public stood to speak on behalf of one candidate or to offer their thoughts on the process. Parts of those comments, grouped by preferred Article, are below:
For Article 26:
ERICA ANDERSON. mother of one of the CCS "Bee-lievers." "Renaming of the school is a teachable moment... Florida Ruffin Ridley may have been the first black property owner in the town... Renaming after Florida Ruffin Ridley in no way dishonors Ethel Weiss or Robert Sperber... They were advocates for children. They stood up for what the children want."
BARBARA BROWN, founder of "Hidden Brookline" (historical research on Brookline's ties to slavery) cited the example of opera legend Roland Hayes and John Wilson, sculptor of the MLK bust in Town Hall, as examples of Brookline African Americans whose contributions were not widely recognized in their own town. As for Florida Ruffin Ridley, "she was a parent in the Brookline Schools for 21 years... a founder of the Second Unitarian Church ... a founder of the Women's Suffrage Association."
Robert Hollister: Spoke in support of Ms. Ridley
SUSAN HOUSTON, reading on behalf of herself and Julian Houston, founder of the George Lewis Ruffin Society to advance African American education in the law. "To reverse course on the School Committee choice would be a violation of trust. The choice of Florida Ruffin Ridley gives Brookline a chance to engage in restorative justice."
JING HUENG. "The children might be the people who care the most. The role model of Florida Ruffin Ridley will make a lifelong impression on all those children. "
BETH JONES, CCS parent, cited the example of students who recently joined the climate change protest in Boston. "I don't understand why we can't give credence to the opinions of our youth. Quoting from a sign at the climate protest: "Why do children have to be the adults in the room?"
KEN LISS, President of Brookline Historical Society (testimony attached)
PAM ROBERTS, former Devotion School PTO president, mother of 3 graduates of Devotion, volunteer in CCS library. "I take my cue from my children. They are all happy with renaming the school for Florida Ruffin Ridley... It's transformative."
For Article 27:
SUSAN HALPERT: "proud alumna of Devotion School.... Years and years of alumni history cannot be erased. Florida Ruffin Ridley was a great woman, but she has no ties to the school... Ethel Weiss made such a loving impression on me and so many others. No one is more deserving of this honor. Anything else is political correctness run amok."
TRUDI GOODMAN: school teacher who "went to Devotion a long, long time ago... Ethel Weiss changed my life... She was part of the fabric of Devotion School. She loved the kids of Devotion. She did it out of the goodness of her heart."
JOYCE JOZWICKI, TM 9, former School Committee member, 50-year resident of town, children went to Devotion: "Ethel Weiss represents two underrepresented groups ... a Jewish woman .. but more than that she loved all of the kids. She went into the school and lectured to the 1st graders about saving their money. Devotion had kids from 40 countries/ 30 languages. The patience Ethel showed as kids learned English and learned about American money -- those are lessons those children, now in their fifties, remember. We should name the school after someone who so deeply affected our kids, our neighborhood, our town, not a symbol, but someone real."
Subcommittee Discussion and Vote
There was no substantive discussion about either the candidates or the selection process among the members of the subcommittee. Cliff Brown suggested "there's not a right or wrong decision" on the renaming question addressed in Articles 26, 27 and 28 and that all of the candidates were worthy of the honor. He also stated "These three articles are perfect examples of where the Advisory Committee adds no value to Town Meeting” (by expressing the personal preferences on individuals on a matter that will be decided by the preferences of a majority of TM).
Mariah Nobrega offered a motion to approve Article 26. Mr. Brown offered an Amendment of “No Recommendation” which was seconded and approved by a vote of 3-2. Subsequently, motions for “No Recommendation” were made on each of Articles 26, 27 and 28 and were approved by identical votes of 4-1.
FLORIDA RUFFIN RIDLEY FACT SHEET
1/29/1861-2/25/1943
Staunch anti-lynching activist who wrote articles and organized rallies against lynching
While living in Brookline, she & her husband raised two children at their home on 115 Kent St. (The house still stands) and were likely the first known African American homeowners
While living in Brookline with her family, she and her mother published and edited newspaper, Women’s Era, the first African American newspaper for African American women
Was part of the Harlem Renaissance, publishing short stories that continue to be published and read today. Contributed to the Journal of Negro History, The Boston Globe, and other periodicals
Suffragist and helped organize the first national women of color conference in the nation
Founded the Society of the Descendants of Early New England Negros
Helped found a group that later became the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs and played a role in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
In Brookline, helped found the Second Unitarian Church which is now Temple Sinai
Second African American teacher in Massachusetts (All I have is that she was the 2nd African American teacher in Boston
RENAMING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Town of Brookline and Brookline Schools have undertaken likely the most exhaustive community engagement process to ensure an inclusive renaming process.
The re-naming process will have six major steps:
1. Outreach and submission of nominations. It was extended to ensure receipt of more nominations 2. Student Nominations Committee considers all nominations and identifies up to 10 "semi-finalists" 3. School Committee Capital Subcommittee recommends up to three finalist names to the full School Committee 4. School Committee selects one name and recommends it to the Town Naming Committee to be the permanent name of the school 5. Town Naming Committee considers the recommended name. If it approves the name, the committee submits it to Town Meeting as a Warrant Article 6. Town Meeting considers Warrant Article and votes on recommended name.
Renaming Community Engagement Opportunities • Renaming Nights: April 3, April 11, and April 23 • School Committee meeting on Wednesday May 29, Nominations Committee announced the four finalist names for the school • Public Hearing on Thursday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m. • Evening Listening Session on Thursday, June 13 at 7:00 p.m. • Morning Listening Session on Monday, June 17 at 8:15 a.m. • On June 19, 2019, the School Committee recommended the Florida Ruffin Ridley School Other Community Engagement • Community members posted renaming notices around Town • School presentations and voting • Exhibits mounted at Coolidge Corner and main library for two weeks • Superintendent and principal routinely sent notices to CCS families • Town Facebook page posted notices
For a complete explanation of the School Committee’s CCS naming process go to: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/renameccs
FLORIDA RUFFIN RIDLEY
A New Name for Coolidge Corner School Bee-lievers
WHO IS FLORIDA RUFFIN RIDLEY?
Born: 1/29/1861 Died: 2/25/1943 • Suffragette • Anti-lynching Advocate • Civil Rights Activist • Teacher • Writer • Publisher • Religious Leader SUMMARY OF RIDLEY’S CONTRIBUTIONS • • Staunch anti-lynching activist who wrote Suffragist and helped organize the first articles and organized rallies against national women of color conference in lynching the nation • • While living in Brookline, she & her Founded the Society of the Descendants husband raised two children at their home of Early New England Negros on 115 Kent St. for over 20 years (The • Helped found a group that later became house still stands) and were likely the first the known African American homeowners National Association of Colored Women's • While living in Brookline with her family, Clubs and played a role in the creation of she and her mother published and edited the National Association for the newspaper, Women’s Era, the first African Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) American newspaper for African American • In Brookline, helped found the Second women Unitarian Church which is now Temple • Was part of the Harlem Renaissance, Sinai publishing short stories that continue to • Second African American teacher in be published and read today. Contributed Massachusetts (All I have is that she was to the Journal of Negro History, the 2nd African American teacher in The Boston Globe, and other periodicals Boston
WHY THE NAME CHANGE AND WHO WAS EDWARD DEVOTION? • Edward Devotion lived from 1668-1744 in Brookline and enslaved a man
• He bequeathed a remainder interest in his property “to the Town of Brookline toward building or maintaining a school” • No one knows how much the remainder was since his wife was still alive • A plaque was placed at the sight of the old high school in his honor for the donation • Devotion school naming occurred 150 years after his bequest THE TOWN DID NOT RECEIVE THE PRESENT SITE FROM DEVOTION • Solomon Hill acquired the Devotion estate from the second Edward Devotion • Other owners: – tavern-keeper William Marshall in Brookline Village, – financier Israel Thorndike, – farmer George Babcock, who are remembered in the names of nearby streets • The Devotion House was purchased by the Town of Brookline in 1891 • The School is adjacent to but not on land donated by Devotion.
• The Town learned about Devotion in 2006, when the Town started “Hidden Brookline” THE NAME CHANGE STORY • By 2012, Town Meeting passed a warrant article called “A Resolution Regarding Slavery in Brookline: that acknowledged the history of slavery in Brookline and pledged “vigilance against all practices and institutions that dehumanize and discriminate against people”
• in 2017, the Town entered into a compact with the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) that commits the Town to strive toward racial equity in all of its forms
• Residents learned of Devotion’s past and began a transparent process to seek a name change in February 2018 after articles appeared in the Brookline Tab and the Boston Globe THE RENAMING WARRANT ARTICLE, A Brief History Anne Greenwald and Deborah Brown submitted WA in March 2018 seeking to change the name of the Edward Devotion School
• May 2018, Brookline Town Meeting voted, 171 to 19, to change the name of the Edward Devotion School. By voting to change the name of the Devotion School, Town Meeting decided that it is no longer appropriate to name a school after a person who held another in bondage, and to continue to do so would undermine the core values school strives to impart on our students. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MANY LOVE THE NAME “DEVO”
Why Keep the Name Why Change the Name • School Pride • Slavery was always about • Family white supremacy • Strong Attachment • Strong relationships formed • Lie by omission • It was a safe place • Where do we • It gave people a strong acknowledge the footing to succeed contributions of people of • Multi-generational attachment color and women • Not to Erase History • Plenty of Emotions • Plenty of Emotions Associated With Name Associated With Name
THE BEE-LIEVERS OF CHANGE
THE PROCESS
• The re-naming process had six major steps: – Outreach and Submission of Nominations – Student Nominations Committee considers all nominations and identifies up to 10 "semi-finalists" – School Committee Capital Subcommittee recommends up to three finalist names to the full School Committee – School Committee selects one name and recommends it to the Town Naming Committee to be the permanent name of the school – Town Naming Committee considers the recommended name. If it approves the name, the committee submits it to Town Meeting as a Warrant Article – Town Meeting considers Warrant Article and votes on recommended name. NAMING CRITERIA
• Bee-lievers of Change vetted and reviewed every name using a rubric that included: – the Town’s naming criteria, – the School’s core values, and – whether or not the name meets any restorative justice criteria THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT • A Nominations Committee comprised of 18 students, including 14 current Coolidge Corner Students and 4 current Brookline High School students who are Devotion School alums
• They reviewed all 119 nominations and responsible for bringing forward 5 names to School Committee
• Principal Jennifer Buller and Vice Principal Saeed Ola, and Andrew Bott, supported the students’ research and vetting of each name
• The students used a rubric that includes the town naming criteria, the school’s core values, and whether or not the name meets any restorative justice criteria
• People had from December 10, 2018 and closed on January 23, 2019 to submit nominations for a new name THERE WERE MANY HEARINGS
THIS IS LIKELY THE MOST EXHAUSTIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGMENT EVER UNDERTAKEN BY THE TOWN • Renaming Nights: April 3, April 11, and April 23 • School Committee meeting on Wednesday May 29, Nominations Committee announced the four finalist names for the school • Public Hearing on Thursday, June 6 at 7:00PM. • Evening Listening Session on Thursday, June 13 at 7:00PM. • Morning Listening Session on Monday, June 17 at 8:15AM. • On June 19, 2019, the School Committee recommended the Florida Ruffin Ridley School
SLAVERY WAS ABOUT RACISM AND RACISM CONTINUES
diffuse racial discrimination genocide and Restorative geographical justice can displacement change this
non-citizen slavery labor
second-class citizenship RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
• WHAT CAN BE DONE . . . MAKE PEOPLE FEEL – THE PLACE IS WELCOMING – CREATE A SENSE OF: • Safety • Trustworthiness and transparency • Collaboration and mutuality • Empowerment • Voice and choice • Peer support and mutual self- help • Resilience and strengths- based • Inclusiveness and shared purpose • Cultural, historical and gender issues • Change process FLORIDA RUFFIN RIDLEY NAME IS ABOUT • Teaching our students strong values • Looking to the future • Respecting our student’s ability to choose • Restorative justice for past wrongs • Not forgetting history. We will use classrooms and the Devotion House to tell our history
Ethel Weiss
Aug 23, 1914 Born Ethel Arnowitz Weiss in Newport News Virginia.
1927 – 1931 Education “Mrs. Weiss attended high school in Portland, Maine. It was the tradition at that school to give an award at graduation to ten students (five boys and five girls) who had demon- strated qualities of kindness and good behavior for the preceding four years.” “As a freshman, Ethel set a goal to live those values and possibly be one of the recipients of that award. She was successful in both counts”… (see 1989) SOURCE: Jerry Kaplan, Devotion School Principal (1971 – 1996)
Jan 13, 1939 Toy and Card Shop Ethel and her husband Irving Kravetz open a shop which became Irving’s Toy and Card Shop. “We had $13 and there was very little stock.” SOURCE: Ethel’s old brown journal
1939 Devotion Graduations “Ethel was proud to say that she attended every Devotion graduation – presumably from 1939 until at least 2006 (age 91).” * SOURCE: Jerry Kaplan, Devotion School Principal (1971–1996) and Ethel’s old brown journal (see 1975)
1960 | 1962 Widowed | Remarried Abe Weiss
@1970 Yellow Book of Memories Ethel Reading aloud from Newspaper article in her Yellow Book of Memories: “Irving’s is fascinating because it was the community setting, the hub… We hung out there every day before and after school Ethel and Irving taught us good shopping manners and how to spend our money wisely. They were role models, although we didn’t know the term. We absorbed their integrity and decency as we grew up in their little shop.” SOURCE: ”Irving’s Toy Story: A Documentary Short about Ethel Weiss” (video 2012) Hannah Cole, Co-produced with Brookline Interactive Group (BIG) | Brookline Access TV (BATV)
July 3, 1975 Lectures on Money In a now old tan “Lectures on Money” notebook, Ethel starts taking notes for her “Money Talk” to 1st graders, “Practice Golden Rule”
Ethel Weiss | 1 1981 Widowed
1982 I Love My Customers Badge Ethel starts wearing famous homemade “I Love My Customers” badge. She continuously wore this badge this up until the day she died. (see 2015)
1984 Ethel turns 70
1988 Keeping Young Longer Ethel, at age 74, begins writing a simple 15-page document entitled Keep Young Longer. This would be the foundation of all the posters she had throughout her store. The topics were: God, Keep Your Mind Active, Attitude toward Others, Advice, Children, Sex and Relations with the Opposite Sex, Remarriage and his or her children, Health Rules Medical, Health Tips, Colds, Clothes and Make-up, Hair Color, and Food. It worked for Ethel. She wore her pin, “I Love My Customers,” and lived up to that right slogan up to the age of 101. SOURCE: Ethel’s old tan journal
1989 THE ETHEL WEISS BOOK AWARD Given by Ethel Weiss on the 50th anniversary of Irving’s Toy and Card Shop. “To an eighth grade boy and an eighth grade girl who have demonstrated kindness to others and good behavior. To people who show warmth, love, caring, and under- standing to all, who generate good will and good behavior.” (see 1996, 2007) SOURCE: Jerry Kaplan, Devotion School Principal (1971–1996)
May 1991 Small Store Manners One of Ethel’s many posters hung in her store was part of her lesson plan for 1st graders:
Know how much you can spend Choose your friends wisely Don’t do what you know is wrong Show respect for age and experience, not contempt. Consideration of others will allow them to think more kindly of you. Ethel on why she wrote posters: “ I want to spread good will and good behavior.” SOURCE: ”Irving’s Toy Story: A Documentary Short about Ethel Weiss” (video 2012) Hannah Cole, Co-produced with BIG | BATV
Ethel Weiss | 2 1992 Boston Globe article “She (Evelyn) shared a special bond…Ethel opened Irving’s with her husband Irving near the end of the Great Depression. Her first customers were mostly kids from the grade school next door. Today, she is serving their great grandchildren who continue to flock to Irving’s after the closing bell.” “I love the kids. They keep me going,” she told the Globe in 1992. In the age of big-box stores hers was a shoe box — only a few hundred square feet, even after a slight expansion decades ago.
SOURCE: Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe and republished in 2015
1994 Ethel turns 80
Ethel creates her famous Thoughts on a Happier Life:
Absorb the qualities you admire in people with whom you come in contact. Keep pleasantly about your work and do the best you can. Show appreciation. Try to be a good role model. Don’t try to be perfect. Just do the best you can. Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. SOURCE: Eric Levenson, bdcwire.com April 2015
1995 The Gum Shoe Mural Mural on the side of The Daily Catch restaurant on Harvard Street depicting History of JFK Crossing from the Revolutionary War prominently features both Ethel and her store in front of a crowd coming out of the Old Devotion School.
1996 THE ETHEL WEISS BOOK AWARD recipients increases Ethel increases the endowment in June 1996 to recognize the retirement of Principal Jerry Kaplan. That enabled us to expand the award to four students and, eventually, up to eight students… (see 2007) SOURCE: John Dempsey, Devotion School Vice Principal and Principal
June 2002 The Best of Devotion Award from the PTO. She proudly displayed the certificate “In Appreciation of your Generous Support” in her store. SOURCE: ”Irving’s Toy Store: A Document about Ethel Weiss” (video 2012) Hannah Cole, Co-produced with BIG | BATV
Ethel Weiss | 3 2003 The Beacon Street Girls Annie Bryant’s Beacon Street Girls is a series of 22 books for young girls ages 9 to 14 first published in 2003 and remains popular today. Ethel Weiss is portrayed as one of the few “real” characters. SOURCE: Wikipedia and .beaconstreetgirls.com
2004 Ethel turns 90
2005 Voices of Brookline “Ethel acts as a sort of guardian angel for these children, trying to inculcate values of community, caring and charity, not to mention honesty.” “Ethel Weiss Guardian Angel” “Ethel has the wisdom all of us might wish to emulate…it can be said that Ethel Weiss stands as a symbol for all those values, including hard work and persistence, that make Brookline a great place to live.” SOURCE: Larry Ruttman, from his book Voices of Brookline
2007 ETHEL WEISS BOOK AWARD expands its recipients “Beginning with the 2007 graduation the faculty decided to use the ETHEL WEISS BOOK AWARD money to buy a suitable book to be presented to each member of the graduating class as a recognition of their contributions to school life and a remembrance of their years at Devotion.” SOURCE: John Dempsey, Devotion School Vice Principal and Principal
Zaftig’s Mural 14 artists and over 80 residents create mural on Harvard Street that features Ethel and her store.
2012 Irving’s Toy Store: A Documentary about Ethel Weiss (video) Hannah Cole, 7th grade Devotion School student produces video with BIG/BATV: On meeting Ethel for the first time: “The first time I came in I was really excited about meeting her… Ethel was like almost legendary in my mind after reading about her in my books… You know that I first found out about your store when I was living in Baltimore and I was reading the Beacon Street Girls books….” (see 2003) “In the Beacon Street Girls, you know, Ethel Weiss, she was like a comforting sort of figure…most of the characters in the book are not real…they have some characters that are actually real people. She (Ethel) was one of them….” (see 2003) “There was one girl Maeve who would always go to her (Ethel) if she had a problem or she was lonely and she would always buy a bag of Swedish fish and she would talk to her and she’d leave the store feeling happy.“
Ethel Weiss | 4 “She’s just so sweet and her story is so sweeping. I can’t imagine how somebody could not go in there and then leave and not feel happy.” —Hannah Cole, above from her video ”Irving’s Toy Store: A Documentary about Ethel Weiss” (see youtube.com/watch?v=n-puZy09wqk&t=7s)
“…But as an adult I went back and the original owners wife was still there. I believe she is still there and she was just amazing…I don’t think she knows how famous she is or how much of a memory the whole store is.” —Gerri Rachins, neighbor, from ”Irving’s Toy Store: A Documentary about Ethel Weiss”
“The store was so special because of Ethel. It’s very Ethel. It’s like stepping back in time to a wonderful innocent time and Ethel respects everyone. It’s just you feel so comfort- able here. I felt comfortable being here as a 6-year-old and I feel comfortable coming here as a 70 year old.” —Margie Kahn, Ethel’s Friend, from ”Irving’s Toy Store: A Documentary about Ethel Weiss”
2013 “Her favorite customers are children from the Devotion school which is right next door to the shop.” SOURCE: Jackie Tempura, Emerson College student, from her video “Old time toy shop still a fixture in Coolidge Corner” (see youtube.com/watch?v=sOv2eXQtvwU)
WBUR report / article “Irving’s is a time capsule — no video games, no batteries needed. There are squirt guns, and puzzles, yo-yos and pirate patches — imagination in abundance on neatly stocked shelves…And if you need Groucho glasses, Silly Putty, or a Wooly Willy magnet hair toy, it seems Ethel’s cornered the world market… I think there is a secret: everyone loves Ethel, and Ethel loves her customers.” SOURCE: Arden Reamer, Beal Street neighbor / Bruce Gellerman, WBUR
Boston Globe “The Brookline Neighborhood Alliance honored Weiss for her efforts to improve the quality of life in the community earlier this year. Diana Spiegel, a Brookline Town Meeting member who lives near the shop and took her children there when they were younger, said, “Weiss runs the perfect kind of store for elementary students to go to on their way home from school. She is warm and friendly and gets to know the kids. They learn how to buy things with their allowance in a safe and friendly environment.” SOURCE: Brock Parker, Boston Globe
Ethel Weiss | 5 2014 Ethel Weiss Service Award Brookline Youth Awards creates a special award in Ethel’s honor:
2014 RECIPIENT: Ethel Weiss 2015 RECIPIENT: Chobee Hoy, Realtor 2016 RECIPIENT: Dana Brigham, Brookline Booksmith 2017 RECIPIENT: Rene Feuerman, Brookline Food Panty Director 2018 RECIPIENT: Elias Audy, Chamber of Commerce President 2019 RECIPIENT: Bo Winiker, Musician
“She accepted the first Ethel Weiss Service Award right on this spot right here (Coolidge Corner Theater) I’ll Never forget it… ” “We honored her because she listened, she listened to children, she listened to teens, she listened to parents. Not a lot of people know this, but she also listened to the downtrodden and people who were down on their luck, she listened to all of us. And she listened to all of us for 76 years.” SOURCE: Harvey Bravman, Brookline Youth Award founder on Ethel Weiss from “Harvey on Sponsors & Ethel Weiss Award“ (video 2017) (see youtube.com/watch?v=rLff7M-kwNI)
2014 Legendary Locals of Brookline “No book on the legendary leaders of Brookline would be complete without mentioning Ethel Weiss… Weiss has been called Brookline’s guardian angel, a legend, and an institution.”
SOURCE: Jennifer Campaniolo, Legendary Locals of Brookline
Ethel turns 100
Sept 2015 Ethel at 101 “She is a 101—and the kids are sensitive to that. For example, Ethel used to use transactions as a way to help the kids with their math. But now they help her.” SOURCE: Steve Hartman, CBS National News
Dec 10, 2015 At age 101, Ethel Weiss passes away “I think every child who went to Devotion had an impression there… Every neighbor- hood should have something like this.” —John Dempsey, Former Devotion Principal SOURCE: Eric Levenson, BDC Wire (boston.com)
“She was able to reinforce those things that parents tried to teach the kids,… not just for providing candy or toys, she was there, that was the important thing.” —Jerry Kaplan, Former Devotion Principal SOURCE: Eric Levenson, BDC Wire (boston.com)
Ethel Weiss | 6 “I haven’t known anybody that touched me the way has touched my heart.” —Mary Graves, Ethel’s caretaker of six months SOURCE: CBS News Boston
“She created a poster with her ‘rules for shopping’ – advice she rattled off from memory:” Do what you know your parents would want you to do with your money. Buy only what you need. Before you enter a store, have an idea of what you want and what you plan to spend. Be polite and say please and thank you.
SOURCE: Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe
“In college I had an apartment right next to Irving’s Toy and Cards Shop... Ethel Weiss was not just the heart of the store, she was the heart of the neighborhood.” SOURCE: Steve Avison, NECN Network 12/15
“How to describe someone so beloved across three generations” “joyful” “beloved” “a maternal icon” ”…her interactions of kindness made impressions that formed lives” (Customer) “She asked about my whole family, there are five kids in my family, she asked about mother and all the kids, she just never forgot, she just never forgot. It was just amazing and she was so wonderful. I mean she affected thousands of kids for three generations. It was just wonderful. There will never be anything like her, never!” SOURCE: Steve Avison, NECN Network “just like in those books [the Beacon Street Girls] a young teenager would come into the store looking for a treat, but they’d walk away with advise, the kind that kids often resist from their parents, but found very easy to accept from the candy lady of Brookline.”
SOURCE: Steve Avison, NECN Network
2016 In remembrance of Ethel Some of the masses of posted notes left on her store window: ”You brought so much joy to me and my friends. Thank you for your generosity.” “You are missed.” —Lara “Made elementary school much better for me! 1980-1988! “To Ethel, I loved your toys” —Marcus “We will really miss you! Thought you’d make it to 120!” —Dr. Jack Porter “I love your candy” —Andrea
Ethel Weiss | 7 “RIP Ethel the staff and the students at Devo will miss you “The joy of walking down Harvard Street was stopping to see Ethel!” “Thank You” —From the Yee family “Miss Ethel was a wonderful person” —M.F. “What a bright light in Brookline!” “Thank you so much for all the smiles and laughter, that I could not get from many many others.” SOURCE: Carey Goldberg, WBUR article & CBS News Boston Video
“Life is no longer just about us getting treats. The outpouring of love prompted by Ethel’s death shows that what matters is not raking in the good stuff but rather giving it to others, leaving a positive mark on the world.” SOURCE: Carey Goldberg, WBUR & Williams Street neighbor
If I Live To Be 100: The Wisdom of Centenarians Best selling author Paul Mobley (forward by Norman Lear) features Ethel Weiss as one of the 50 or more chosen centenarians to be honored in his book. In it, her daughter, Anita Jamieson says “She has always said that Brookline is the Best Place in the World to live.”
Today On Display A signed copy of Ethel’s famous How To Be Old and Still Be Happy hangs on the Brookline Senior Center’s Centenarians Wall. Brookline’s largest Senior Complex, Hebrew Senior Life, proudly hangs a large framed paper cut rendition Irving’s by Phyllis Baker across from the front desk in the lobby.
Comments on Yelp “Back in the 50s, I grew up around the corner from Irving’s... I remember when Irving was alive and when he died and how Ethel kept going. In the 50s and early 60s, every neighborhood had a store like Irving’s…Irving’s is a landmark on Harvard Street and Ethel an icon of that landmark.” —David C
“Today is the first anniversary of Ms. Ethel’s passing. Thank you for the wonderful memories and beautiful lessons that you taught me and others. This is a place that brought so much joy and fun that’s etched into my mind. I’ll never forget Irving’s.” —Hoyee L
Ethel Weiss | 8 “I went to Devotion School in the ‘40’s. Irving’s was THE place for me to hang out between school and Hebrew School… Years later, I went back and being away for 50+ years and Ethel not only recognized me but asked for my brother by name and how he was. Wonderful memories, wonderful store, wonderful people.” —Larry B
“When I was in kindergarten my Grandpa used to take me here to get me little toys or an ice cream from the freezer. Over 20 years later Ethel still runs one of Brookline’s most beloved little shops. She remembers all the neighborhood kids (even the old ones like me)! And knows everyone’s parents, sisters and brothers.” —James L
YouTube We encourage watching the following videos mentioned in this document: Irving’s Toy Story: A Documentary About Ethel Weiss (2015) youtube.com/watch?v=n-puZy09wqk Old time toy shop still a fixture in Coolidge Corner (2013) youtube.com/watch?v=sOv2eXQtvwU Brookline Neighborhood Remembers Beloved Candy Store Owner (CBS Boston 2015) youtube.com/watch?v=W77M1oIzxXY Harvey [Bravman] on Sponsors & Ethel Weiss Award youtube.com/watch?v=rLff7M-kwNI
as well as many more videos on listed here on YouTube: youtube.com/results?search_query=ethel+weiss+irvings
Disclaimer We have not asked for endorsements from anyone, including people mentioned in this document. *Ethel may have missed a graduation for health reasons, and she may have stopped attending graduation in 2007 because of her age.
September 24, 2019 Ethel Weiss | 9 ETHEL WEISS Guardian Angel
ONE MIGHT ASK WHY, at age eighty-five, Ethel Weiss continues to run her tiny shop full time. Indeed, when that question was put to her as she worked there recently, her answer came readily, in a simple and powerful way: “I love being with people, and talking and being useful, and that’s basically it. I listen to good advice, and I give advice if they want it.”
In fact, that advice is mostly given to the children from the nearby Devotion School (grades 1-8), and Kehillath Israel Synagogue, these youngsters every day crowding into Ethel’s little store, where there is not much money to be made from the trinkets, toys, cards, and candy she sells for pennies, but where Ethel’s advice, freely given, helps the children grow into adults who value community, family, and the spirit of giving.
Ethel has a wisdom all of us might wish to emulate. It may be that Ethel Weiss — by daily living her life the way she does — tells us all what it is to be ripe in a modern world that seems to be spinning from the community of the twentieth century into the surreal chatroom cyberspace of the twenty-first.
Perhaps it is no accident that Ethel’s shop is only steps from JFK Crossing at the corner of Harvard Street and Beals Street, a little way down from the unassuming wooden house where John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born, now administered by the National Park Service, and visited by thousands annually. Perhaps it is no accident, too, that Ethel’s store sits side by side with the more-than a-century-old Edward Devotion School, where so many of Brookline’s sons and daughters, some now famous, have been educated, and directly across the street from the long established Kehillath Israel Synagogue, a center for Brookline’s large Jewish community. These places reflect the community and family values still flourishing in this famous town of nearly sixty thousand, surrounded on three sides by the city of Boston, founded in 1636, not long after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, and incorporated in 1705.
1
Ethel wears a badge in the shop that reads I LOVE MY CUSTOMERS and echoes that: “I do love my customers,” especially the many children from Edward Devotion School and Kehillath Israel that troop through the shop daily. Ethel acts as sort of a guardian angel for these children, trying to inculcate values of community, caring, and charity, not to mention honesty. “The children respond very well,” she says. “I work on them, I compliment them when I can, and they respond to my trying to teach them the correct things. Some kids try to steal a little bit, . . . so I just watch them and try to teach them the correct thing. And I have these signs here in the store that say DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU and also STEALING IS NOT COOL. I am trying to teach these children better values.”
To use the vernacular, Ethel puts her money where her mouth is: “I have established awards at Devotion School that I give to the kids. I have an endowment there. There are five awards. These are to be given to the boys and girls who are judged to show warmth, love, caring, and understanding to all, and who generate goodwill and good behavior to their peers.”
Of course, the Brookline of today is far different from the Brookline of Revolutionary times, when William Dawes rode out from the Edward Devotion House on the same day as did Paul Revere from Boston to warn the residents of other towns that “the English are coming, the English are coming!” Likewise, Brookline today is very different from the nineteenth-century town that was the home of Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s most famous landscape architect, who designed (among many other parks) Central Park in New York City and the park that fronts the Capitol in Washington, D.C.; and H. H. Richardson, the architect of Trinity Church in Boston.
It might be said that it was not until the twentieth century, an era during which Brookline was both the birthplace of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the home of 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, that the town reinvented itself from a farming community and summer retreat of Boston’s wealthy to a community of immigrant Irish (like the Kennedys), Jews, and other Europeans,
2 and their children, who had gained a footing in the land of opportunity. That community, like Ethel and her late husband, Irving, found in family-oriented Brookline a place close to the city to rear and educate their children, where the voice of every citizen could be heard in the governance of the town in its representative Town Meeting, and a tradition of broad citizen participation in the multiple functions of its municipal government.
So it may be accurately stated that the values of the Kennedys in a grand way and of the Ethel Weisses in an ordinary way are both represented in the mix of professionals, academics, youthful dot.com and other entrepreneurs, municipal and regular employees, and elders, some working and some retired, of all races and religions, including newcomer Russians and Asians, that now make up Brookline’s diverse population. Many of those, like Ethel now and the Kennedys then, sought out the stable community environment that happily still persists in Brookline, but which in many places elsewhere in the land seems to be threatened by outbreaks of violence across the whole spectrum of American society, where a steady decline in community and family values seems to be increasingly supplanted by reliance on, if not idolatry of, money and material wealth in the new impersonality of cyberspace.
Perhaps it can be said that Ethel Weiss stands as a symbol for all those values, including hard work and persistence, that make Brookline a great place to live.
In August 2004 Ethel Weiss turned ninety, and is still flying around her shop as a guardian angel, with no plans to alight.
3 Ethel Weiss, 101; ran Irving’s Toy & Card Shop for 77 years
By Bryan Marquard Globe Staff,December 12, 2015, 5:35 p.m.
Ethel Weiss ran her Brookline toy store since 1939.suzanne kreiter/globe staff/file 2007
Items as timeless as the proprietor filled the shelves of Irving’s Toy & Card Shop in Brookline. Have a hankering for a Slinky or Silly Putty? Ethel Weiss had ’em. Need a witch’s hat? She could make one magically appear.
Imagination and affection were always free as she welcomed children who filled the tiny store’s aisles each afternoon when a nearby school let out.
Mrs. Weiss, who was 101 when she died Thursday, ran the Harvard Street shop she and her husband bought in 1939 for more than 76 years. Her commute was a short walk from her home in the building next door, which she made until a few weeks ago, when she could no longer get down the stairs.
“I love the kids. They keep me going,” she told the Globe in 1992. In the age of big-box stores hers was a shoe box — only a few hundred square feet, even after a slight expansion decades ago.
She liked to say she helped children learn arithmetic as they figured out the change they were due. Her tenure running Irving’s was its own equation: A 6-year-old who walked through the door in 1939 would now be 82.
Penny candy slowly climbed to 10 cents as Mrs. Weiss tended to the needs of four successive generations in some families, and she wasn’t just selling toys and sweets to children. “I feel I can help them become nice people,” she said in 1992.
To that end she created a poster with her “rules for shopping” — advice she rattled off from memory: Do what you know your parents would want you to do with your money. Buy only what you need. Before you enter a store, have an idea of what you want and what you plan to spend. Be polite and say please and thank you.
Over the years, shoppers bought board games and puzzles, toy cars and rubber frogs, Crazy Eyes and Eye Poppers, Nerf balls and Uggly Wugglies. Customers with a sweet tooth snacked on Atomic FireBalls, Jaw Breakers, and Jolly Ranchers.
But along with encouraging children to be frugal, Mrs. Weiss was watchful about what she placed on her packed shelves. “I won’t sell anything I think is dangerous for children,” she told the Globe in 1998. “I don’t sell gum cigarettes or candy cigarettes or cigars because they shouldn’t think it’s cool to pretend to smoke.”
Each day she wore a handmade pin that said “I Love My Customers,” which for her was no idle phrase.
“She looked forward to seeing everyone,” said her daughter Janice White of North Port, Fla. “It was truly a pleasure for her to be there. Yes it was work, but it was work she loved. She truly loved her customers. You didn’t even have to come in the door. You could just look in, wave, and she was happy.”
Ethel Arnowitz was born in 1914 in Newport News, Va., the only child of Robert Arnowitz and the former Rosa Goldberg. When she was a young girl, her parents moved to Portland, Maine. Her father had been a shipbuilder during World War I, Janice said, and up north he did fine furniture repair and was a cabinet maker.
“When I went to high school, there was an award for scholarship and I worked hard to get one each year, and I did,” Mrs. Weiss said in the 1998 interview, and Janice still has a scholastic medal her mother was awarded.
One day Irving Kravetz was playing in a basketball game that Ethel was watching. They married in 1937 and lived in Roxbury and Allston before moving to the building next to the shop they purchased in Brookline.
Irving had lost his job working in shipping for a food company when they heard that the Harvard Street shop, which had been a small grocery store, was available.
“We were just looking for something to do,” Mrs. Weiss said in 1998, adding with a laugh: “And I liked the idea of being my own boss.”
They bought the building they lived in, too. Then, Irving died of cancer in 1960 at 47. Ethel kept running the store and raising their two daughters. Later she married Abraham Weiss.
“Abe worked in the deli down the street,” said her other daughter, Anita Jamieson of Brookline. Though the shop bore her first husband’s name, and she ostensibly ran it first with Irving and then with Abe until he died in the late 1980s, it was always really her store. “My mother was the brains of the operation and her two husbands were basically the schleppers,” Anita said, laughing.
At home as at work, Mrs. Weiss dispensed life lessons through example and advice. “My mother was kind of a determined and driven person — extremely independent,” Anita said. “That was a very good role model for us.”
“She taught you that the simple things in life were important: ‘Never spend money that you don’t have. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it,’ ” Janice said. “My mother never had a credit card.”
Forever a favorite of children attending Edward Devotion School just down Harvard Street from the shop, Mrs. Weiss found that longevity drew attention. A video of her is posted on YouTube and CBS News profiled her in September. When she turned 100 last year, a birthday party with her family and many friends featured a cake with an image of Irving’s Toy & Card Shop.
“Because she lived so long, she became loved in the community and she enjoyed every moment of that,” Anita said. “She lived long enough to feel all the acclaim of the 101-year-old woman who was still running the store all by herself.”
In addition to her two daughters, Mrs. Weiss leaves a stepdaughter, Arlene Silverstein of Monroe Township, N.J.; 12 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. A funeral service will be held at noon Wednesday at Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline.
Though Mrs. Weiss had been treated for congestive heart failure, “it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve taken over doing the checks and various things like that, and it’s partially because of her eyesight,” Janice said.
“The store was her life. It was everything,” Janice added. “She did all the buying, she did all the organizing of the store, she did all of the book work.”
And that, Mrs. Weiss would say, was the secret to longevity.
“I never want to retire,” she told the Globe in 2013, when she turned 99. “I’ll stay here as long as God lets me.” Ethel Weiss in Irving’s Toy & Card Shop in 2013. Brock Parker for The Boston Globe
Bryan Marquard can be reached at [email protected].
From: chuck and linda swartz To: Cliff Brown Subject: Coolidge Corner School name Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 10:33:36 AM
Hi Cliff,
I’m not sure that I will be able to attend the sub committee meeting on renaming the CCS so I’d like to send my comments to be submitted.
I strongly support renaming the school after Ethel Weiss. Ethel loved the students of the former Devotion School. For decades, she attended school events. There would always be a chair set aside for her at each event. Her shop was an extension of the school, a place for kids to go when school was over, and a place for former students to gather when they returned to the neighborhood. Ethel was kind and generous. She was a role model and would be an inspiration to those who pass through the doors of the Ethel Weiss School.
As for naming the school for someone from an underrepresented minority, Ethel would be the first Jewish woman to have a school named for her.
Thanks, please share at the subcommittee meeting.
Chuck Swartz TMM Pct. 9 From: Michael Sandman To: SM Mayo Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Dennis Doughty; Cliff Brown; Lisa Portscher Subject: Re: Renaming of the Edward Devotion School Date: Thursday, September 12, 2019 11:39:41 AM
Thanks for your email, Sue.
Please note that Cliff Brown is the current chair of the subcommittee that that will hold a public hearing on these articles.
Following the subcommittee hearing, the full Advisory Committee will review the three articles on the warrant related to renaming the school, and all comments submitted by email will be circulated to the AC’s members in advance.
Best regards -
Mike
Michael Sandman Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1/617.513.8908 mobile & text
On Sep 12, 2019, at 17:23, SM Mayo
I no longer live in Brookline but attended Devotion, and would like to see the name changed to the Ethel Weiss school. She was every school child's second mother no matter what their race, gender, or religion. She taught the children how to make change, how to save up for a toy, and just general rules for how to live life.
Thanks, Sue Wolpert Mayo From: Paul E. Greenberg To: [email protected] Subject: Ethel Weiss School in Coolidge Corner Date: Saturday, September 07, 2019 6:20:27 AM
Mr. Brown:
I understand that the naming of the former Edward Devotion School is still being discussed by the Advisory Committee. I am writing to express my support for the “recommendation to the Advisory Committee on Warrant Article 27: Rename the Coolidge Corner School the “Ethel Weiss School” (Ruttman).”
As a longstanding resident of Brookline (31 years), much of which was spent in Coolidge Corner, I frankly cannot understand how any name other than that of Ethel Weiss merits serious consideration in this context. She was a local treasure, unrivaled in influence and positive impact. When I think of naming a school after a person, Ethel Weiss comes quickly to mind as an exemplar of precisely those characteristics worthy of being honored for evermore. She was kind and caring and thoughtful and wise and loving and joyful. Most importantly she made an actual impact on generations of the young people in Brookline as well as parents like me. She was not merely a symbol, not just a face matching an ideal we now wish to honor. Ethel was the real deal (she was even a character in the Beacon Street girls book series).
Ethel was the living embodiment of Coolidge Corner and a positive influence on the community for so many decades. That she lived to more than 100 years of age, working at her beloved Irving’s until the very end, underscores the incredible reach of her life. There is a good argument to be made that just as Coolidge Corner has long been the center of Brookline, Irving’s was for the longest time the center of Coolidge Corner. As Irving’s was so close in proximity to the school, Ethel is such a natural choice for the naming honors.
Ask anyone who graduated from the Devotion School about their experience, and the name Ethel Weiss is guaranteed to come up in conversation — and in a wholly positive way. Ethel taught all these children life skills that have no doubt endured long after classroom lessons were forgotten.
I know it is not in vogue for a white Jewish woman to be receive such attention these days, but quite frankly not naming the school after Ethel Weiss would be a disservice to Brookline and all those people who have such fond memories of her remarkable impact on the community.
I would be pleased to add to these views if that would be helpful.
Best regards.
Paul
Paul E. Greenberg Currently 93 Dean Road Formerly 17 James Street, #1 Formerly 80 Pleasant Street #66 Brookline, MA [email protected] (617) 513-5364 From: Faith Dantowitz To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Warrant Article 26: Rename the Coolidge Corner School the “Florida Ruffin Ridley School” Date: Friday, September 06, 2019 9:47:45 AM
Please respect all of our Coolidge Corner students work and diligence and name the school as they recommended.
Please put our students first.
Thank you.
Faith Dantowitz Parent to three Brookline students at three Brookline Schoos From: DonnaHealey To: [email protected] Subject: Renaming ofCoolidge Corner School Date: Friday, September 06, 2019 12:07:29 PM
To the Renaming Committee, I am writing to strongly support renaming the CCS The Florida Ruffin Ridley School. I think it is an important way to teach our children that we can make changes in alignment with our values as we learn more. I also support acknowledging the importance of Ethel Wise by naming a room after her. I have been a Brookline resident for 40 years. With appreciation for your work, Donna Healey 82 Stearns Road Brookline, MA
Sent from my iPhone
From: Martha Gray To: [email protected] Subject: Coolidge Corner School’s name to be Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 4:43:59 PM
Dear Cliff Brown: I am writing to register my strong belief that the only warrant article that should be honored is the one putting forth the name of Florida Ruffin Ridley. As a town we agreed on a process. We deputized our educators and our students to delve into research and propose names. It was an exciting process and an extremely worthy project. The name of Florida Ruffin Ridley, a strong accomplished woman was proposed and supported by the powers that be. To consider the two alternative names would be a deplorable action.
Martha Gray TMM Precinct 11
Get Outlook for iOS From: Diane and Jim Wilson To: [email protected] Subject: Florida Ruffin Ridley School Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 3:42:39 PM
Just asking that the AC advise the Town Meeting to name the school Florida Ruffin Ridley School. The naming committee put in a lot of hard work and came up with a solid answer. Let's name the school and move forward. In health, Diane (mom to Edith C Baker School students) From: Janet Echelman To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Letter for Tonight"s meeting Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 4:41:05 PM
September 24, 2019 - To be read aloud at tonight's meeting (Chris, as committee chair, can you please READ ALOUD the below submission at tonight's meeting?)
Dear Committee Members and Fellow Brookline Residents,
My name is Janet Echelman. I previously served as Town Meeting Member representing my fellow residents in Precinct 9, and I am a professional designer of public art, public space and public process for communities all over the world. I have deep love and connection to the Corner School, where both of our children spent their formative years studying, when it was affectionately called "Devo".
In this month of September, it seem especially appropriate for me to share with you my experience which began 18 years ago today, which led to my selection as the winner of a major 9-11 Memorial design competition that took multiple years to develop and complete.
What I learned from the public community process was that it is important to have a minimum of 5 - 10 years to let an important community experience settle and become integrated in a healthy way into the community, its identity and way of presenting themselves internally and externally. I believe that if any of the 9-11 memorials had moved forward immediately in the first few years that followed, the result would not have been as positive.
The discovery that the heart of our neighborhood-- the school where I walked daily and where both my children grew from toddlers into teenagers-- was named after a slave owner was deeply saddening. The decision to remove his name and replace it with an interim name of the Coolidge Corner School is one I support as both appropriate and good.
I also know that many adults and school children have been engaged in a process of nominating and selecting a new name, and I respect and commend that important work. That said, I feel that the interim name should remain for a minimum of 5-10 years, which will provide sufficient time to thoroughly confirm a more inclusive process, and to allow the town and our local community which is so connected with our neighborhood school to be involved in the name which is so much a part of our daily life and identity.
From 1892 - 2018, the school held its previous name. I hereby propose that from 2018 - 2028, it should remain the name that has already been approved as an interim name, The Coolidge Corner School, and that by 2028, a more inclusive process can be developed and completed to determine the final name. The previous name was used for more than a century. Our community deserves a decade with our interim name, Coolidge Corner School, to allow us time to inclusively consider and select the new name that will likely grace our community for the next century and beyond.
Sincerely yours, Janet Echelman Janet S. Echelman, M.F.A., D.F.A. honoris causa Fmr Town Meeting Member Precinct 9 & current Coolidge Street resident Proud parents of children educated at the Coolidge Corner School Guggenheim Fellow - United States Artist Fellowship Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award in Visual Art STUDIO JANET ECHELMAN of)- H 4"3 3* H H n il r; $6 FT€ sX ; 3.e-E s.gA -.h il5=8Kr-;.l*fi imT $6 A-: f *- J S g$is O=A' &*T * ;.sa5 q il$[g;$ a ";= *{ie[iTs"xx g-il *e€#nt w, e-c rff ,' $d-a- ; f KQ ig fD * R eH * #*1! ggf =sa - l--. n-; I a !t€ *5 .rt i ft il =fg =ig afils Fa s * oaja rD xxtf*fiis* 1 r*ts;il s;sa n '"* (r1 1_{:rsdasgifr;fA L =(rr IL vta|./rcJ{ r[r:r6:iisa*11$ *[r3r;F$g Efi i3 '.a* :rr.+ 3€:il9*$s}* Irr*s* lru egxx *3HH .}-() -'t sar *bE$if3*3i$ r#'g€R*gP $ffgFF$**F il'5t'j r}$ si# *eEclHas*Ix 3;siIf a fie-did;fi*laKTs8tri' fCI oJ r) u1 G;i:-**rq ;if HgtI (./) rD: EsB-s t, $s*snrnqssigf# fft6frgA* Af!$[A Xo a;. rIrtlfiii5*raua €$E;=se*[$$bE-$r $t$1frE F$$$ a{t_= qgf g$itil?ar;+$ e*; =--t (aO(DO z1 U,.? vr: L J- ra{${tgi{fgg?gq€ F1ei[if$ $t€l+rp P $fA€c' 6 .'+ fD n *e"t{: ;,rs ", d_r FSfi d-3#$? il 3e s \Y IF[e+lrixaE€*;r EdE.;rsg* :a#*: ra SFf f :*ns;-S?*ie ;Ss'F=.3 a€tie il$e ilmrDatf;$ af g g *d i;3 fi rD -.:. 1u-e-qi3fq-'Rq3:'*oT e E Fi[i3f Arn r:*qGfi*H+rr*gf i?grafiE.r trEfi sqo3' rn seqssaaFd$;q36 3-nR .-+ (-) $*i$:gsr- irds* o rD' ar
$$ailfFrf*a+r[* *+r O* SsaiiH;H6yf-sfn :$f+*:K?$$i1r$1f .,;fisn#ultF *[Eg***f go) sql; j= a: *[$c*i$fiag3F*E 1FIH**as 3Fiitr a- dl in 19 q5e=ffui;ilgEg$3[ ilf;eds+[? sqk$}-5i-a; fd$ oo5j :3+{e-ssq -h I;:rr$6.fgfF€a: rEa ci'ae* :v -r(D ieLr rD lJ1 i3i=$*;i;3F:A5 l$FE*$f* *Frii* (, €-H-sH -$uoqssFl fs' i* TJ rq{; d# '-+ $l 6o i".- i' u S+ -'! () f g; e* ** A ,s13 n c- @ +fi H i, i fi g { # i r #[#;s I$ 33ia 1:feiq 3e"i = f,ild€li$++5=; * + g * 3 g x I gEsq*r T3ileS+ig ggfi $s eE€ q: I $ n r il [ [H $t * [ [q sE $ g r I m e s a*€ru *;.gqs *E $ I * [ qg f .tr.o$rri."+_5 :Y5;3**gs o: g *g-*#d ffcrJn_3o.+fi-5 f -d ..* o-i.+ aD -.,t O O (.r) 1rr ra X ^' - s-He+o'-t { ro fn:8g-e X: =-c s 3:*.Xt X *i q;dr+o€ ryt+ rrr[ 3"8 3r: $Ei5 qs[s]'fi i?x.nR K:n r- E-3 tf B-f;n -r'*tvd0Jciad 5 r a< i yf3a u srd + g3*;-=q5 3 {'6 From: Deborah Katz To: Mariah Nobrega; David Lescohier; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Supporting WA#26 Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 2:17:58 PM
I am writing to express my strong support of WA #26. The school committee put in place a process for renaming the Coolidge Corner School. It was a comprehensive process with many opportunities to learn about what was being considered and provide input. A committee that included a strong representation of students took this task very seriously. They solicited names, researched, and narrowed the pool down to 15 choices, all of which were consistent with Brookline school-naming criteria. When I read the document detailing the choices, I felt so gratified. What a wonderful roster! How much the students and committee learned during this process. How much I and other community members could learn from reading the bios. I felt inspired and proud of my Brookline community of 28 years. What more wonderful educational opportunity could you design? I printed the document for my own use and even sent it to my sons [Brookline High graduates] and several others as an example of a meaningful and educational collaborative effort. I would be saddened and deeply concerned if this respectful and thorough process was bypassed. That would be a terrible lesson for all of those – especially the students – who stepped forward to engage in this effort. Our young people are realizing and acting on the notion that their involvement -- and citizen action in general -- are needed to maintain a healthy society. This would counter that at a time when their positive efforts are so desperately needed. As you’d expect, this sound process resulted in a wonderful naming recommendation. I had not previously known about Florida Ruffin Ridley. Her accomplishments awe me and her strength to undertake them in the face of major discrimination and racism is inspirational. Stories like this make me hope I can have the courage and insight to walk in these shoes. The fact that we do not know these stories is a sober comment on what we learn about our history. I call upon the Subcommittee and Advisory Committee to support WA #26. This in turn requires that these bodies not support WA#27 and 28. Sincerely,
Deborah Katz 125 Sumner Rd. Brookline, MA 02445 From: annika sarin To: [email protected]; [email protected] Cc: Anne Greenwald; DEBORAH BROWN Subject: Renaming the Coolidge Corner School - Public Comment for Tomorrow"s Meeting Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 11:49:03 AM
Thank you for including the below for consideration at tomorrow's meeting.
Dear Advisory Committee on Schools Members,
I am a Coolidge Corner School parent. I attended some of the first meetings where Anne Greenwald and Deborah Brown presented their warrant article to rename our school. I was moved by their call to action and helped with some art for the rename campaign. As a result of the renaming process I have witnessed a conversation about restorative justice start at our school. Last spring my daughters and I enjoyed going to the renaming night at school. We were impressed by the presentations of the semi- finalists by their peers. My kids were also excited to get to vote for a semi-finalist!
Florida Ruffin Ridley is an amazing choice. She was a Brookline resident, a civil rights activist, an anti-lynching activist, a teacher, a writer and an editor. She worked to give voice to black women in the women’s movement in 1894! Intersectionality is something we as women of color are still working on today. She co-founded with her mother several non-profits including the League of Women for Community Service which still exists today. She lived in this community and made an impactful and meaningful difference in this community and nationally and many of us living and going to school in the same town she lived in are learning about her for the first time!
The renaming process has given Brookline students an opportunity to engage in a real civic process. We have students excited to be part of the process and working to make a difference in their community! They voted, they are proud of their choice and now they are waiting to see what the adults do.
If we are going to teach our young people concepts like restorative justice and throw words like inclusion and equity at them please let us also show them that these concepts truly matter to us and are not just good words adults use. Florida Ruffin Ridley used civic engagement to make a difference in this very community and now our children have chosen to name their school in honor of her, after engaging in a civic process themselves in the same community over a hundred years later. It is a truly beautiful moment that we should all be proud of and support.
Thank you, Annika Sarin
Annika Sarin 917 753 6020 MeYouPaper.com From: Massey, David To: [email protected] Subject: RE: naming of Devo Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 11:09:48 AM
Just a quick note in support of the decision of the Devo committee and School Committee to name the school after Florida Ruffin Ridley. I note that the Town engaged in perhaps the most comprehensive and inclusive community engagement process I can remember, much of which involved a group of talented and committed CCS students. They used the Town’s naming criteria, the school committee’s naming criteria, CCS’s values and restorative justice. The students arrived at 4 finalists and the School Committee voted in vast majority for Florida Ruffin Ridley 7-0-1 (abstention) and one absence. . They believe that the school should be named after Mrs. Ridley, because of her many contributions to education and justice.
I see no reason why this process at arriving at a new name should be ignored with last minute suggestions arrived at totally outside the community process that was used. Sincerely, David Massey (my father was a Devo attendee in the early 1900's and I have lived in Brookline all my life.) From: Amanda Zimmerman To: [email protected] Subject: School renaming Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 10:44:16 AM
The students of CCS undertook a serious, months-long process to determine a name they would like the school to be named after. While there are many good options (including the alternatives mentioned), we should honor the work of the students and endorse their selection. Unless there's actually a problem with Ridley (there isn't), every other alternative is seen as a way to replace the name of a well respected African American woman who fought for civil rights in this country with a white man or woman. This cannot be the message we send, nor do I think it is the message Ethel Weiss or Robert Sperber would want us to send to our students. Please vote in support of our students to rename CCS the Florida Ruffin Ridley School. We can keep the short list of other names around for future naming ideas.
Thanks, Amanda Zimmerman precinct 8, CCS parent
-- Amanda Zimmerman, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Harvard Medical School [email protected] From: Mariah Nobrega To: Sarah Axelrod, TMM-4; Cliff Brown; John VanScoyoc; Dennis Doughty; David Lescohier; Lisa Portscher Subject: Re: Please vote to rename the CCS School to Florida Ruffin Ridley School Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 9:28:57 AM
Thanks Sarah. Cc'ing other committee members.
Thanks, Mariah --sent from my telegraph, please forgive any errant dots or dashes
On Mon, Sep 23, 2019, 8:39 AM Axelrod, Sarah T.
Good morning Mariah,
I’m writing to express support for naming the CCS the Florida Ruffin Ridley School.
The Town engaged in a comprehensive and inclusive community engagement process, much of which involved a group of talented and committed CCS students. They used the Town’s naming criteria, the school committee’s naming criteria, CCS’s values and restorative justice. The students arrived at 4 finalists and the School Committee voted in vast majority for Florida Ruffin Ridley 7-0-1 (abstention) and one absence. . They believe that the school should be named after Mrs. Ridley, because of her many contributions to education and justice.
While the other 2 individuals are worthy of recognition but the naming of the school should not be effected by this.
Please pass along my strong stance on this issue to the committee.
Thank you,
Sarah T Axelrod
TTM P4
From: Emily Bloch To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Coolidge Corner School renaming process commentary Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 8:52:57 AM
Dear Advisory Committee on Schools,
I am an alumni of the Coolidge Corner School, I was a student there for 9 years graduating 8th grade in 2004. As an alumni I am urging you to rename the Coolidge Corner School after Florida Ruffin Ridley.
I think it's important to rename the school after Florida Ruffin Ridley for a number of reasons, firstly because of Ms Ridley's extensive contributions to social justice and education and because it helps show students and community members the important contributions of people who are often erased in history because of oppressions like sexism and racism.
Lastly, from what I understand, this was the name of choice after an extensive research and feedback process led by CCS students and supported by adults. As an alumni I attended one of the school renaming nights in the new school auditorium. It was inspiring to talk to students who had put extensive thought and research into these potential school names. As a student at the CCS, I was taught that students voices are important and I worry about the message it would send to students and to the broader community for these students work to be dismissed.
Choosing to name the school after Florida Ruffin Ridley does not discredit the work and contributions of other potential school name candidates. Instead their contributions can be honored in other ways. I urge this committee to name the school after Florida Ruffin Ridley not only to honor her important contributions but also to honor the work and the process that the CCS students went through.
Thank you for your consideration, Emily
Gibbs St.
--
Emily Bloch
Movimiento Cosecha [email protected] 617-763-8085 From: Roberta M Falke To: [email protected] Subject: Naming the Coolidge Corner school Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019 9:45:49 PM
Mr. Cliff Brown Chair, Schools Subcommittee Brookline Advisory Committee
To Mr Brown and Subcommittee members: I have lived in Brookline for 40 years, and love the town. My son went to Devotion and the High School. I have not followed the workings of our governing bodies, such as the Select Board, Town Meeting, and the Advisory Committee. But I have been aware of the continued development, and the lack of affordable housing. I have been sorry to see the town accused of racism and lack of inclusivity. I do not understand why so many of my neighbors have been unwilling to see a new school built near them. I was pleased to hear about the CCS renaming process which involved community members and committed students, who worked hard. After much research and discussion, they chose Florida Ruffin Ridley, a forgotten leader from Brookline who was an educator as well as an advocate for racial justice and a suffragist. It would be wonderful for the school to be named after her. And the School Committee overwhelming supported this recommendation. It is therefore somewhat shocking to me that after all this, some of our residents have launched campaigns to name the school after two other (Caucasian) individuals. Ethel Weiss was beloved in the neighborhood, but not an educator. As superintendent of our schools, Robert Sperber left a great legacy, and has been recognized in many ways. His name is on an archway near the Pierce school, and an award, and an education center bear his name. If the Advisory Committee were to ignore the inclusive and inspiring process that led to the excellent choice of Florida Ruffin Ridley, you would choose to ignore our own students and the School Committee. I hope you will enthusiastically seize this opportunity to honor the memory of an extraordinary woman of color from Brookline, and to disseminate knowledge about her courage and accomplishmrents.
Sincerely, Roberta M Falke 15 Alton Place Brookline, MA 02446 From: Bill Schechter To: Mike Sandman Cc: Lisa Portscher; Cliff Brown; John VanScoyoc Subject: Re: The Re-Naming Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019 8:48:56 PM
Thank you, Mike, and all the other members of the committee, for confirming receipt of my letter and for providing this information.
Best, Bill
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 22, 2019, at 8:23 PM, Mike Sandman
H Bill -
Thanks for your email.
Please note that Cliff Brown is the current chair of the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee, and that John VanScoyuc has joined and Bobbie Knable has moved to the Human Services subcommittee.
All three warrant articles proposing names for the Coolidge Corner School will will come up for a public hearing by the school subcommittee at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/24 in Room 103 of Town Hall. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Advisory Committee, which will vote at a public meeting at approximately 8:25 PM on Tuesday 10/1 on its recommendation to Town Meeting.
All of the comments we receive will be circulated to all Advisory Committee members. You can be sure we will take both comments like yours and the student committee’s recommendation seriously.
Proponents of all three names will be able to speak at the Advisory subcommittee hearing on 9/24 and at Town Meeting in November. Ultimately, Town Meeting makes the decision. All three people whose names are being offered are worthy. But I expect that the Advisory Committee will give weight to the process that resulted in Florida Ruffin Ridley’s name being nominated by the School Committee.
Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting should contact Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator, to secure a speaking slot. ([email protected])
Best regards - Mike Sandman TMM3 & Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1.617.513.8908 - mobile & text
On Sep 22, 2019, at 15:01, Bill Schechter
Dear Advisory Committee,
As these letters to you may one day end up in some dusty archive preserving the history of Brookline’s unusual and important conversation about History. I want to offer a different perspective. At the outset, please know I've appreciated the opportunity to suggest names, though I felt no need to.
I strongly supported the renaming of the Devotion School and spoke publicly in favor of doing so. To be honest, like most in town I had never heard of Florida Ruffin Ridley or of her impressive story. But isn’t that just one more example of “Hidden History” finally being uncovered? So I have no objection whatsoever to the school being named in honor of this very worthy candidate. (No intent here to diminish the other impressive candidates). It did seem to me that those who launched this effort were hoping for and working toward the school being named after a woman of color. There is nothing wrong with that. Quite the contrary, there’s a whole lot right. It’s incontestable that women and especially women of color are underrepresented (to say the least) when it comes—or came—to the naming our schools. Ditto for the naming of streets and just about everything else around here that gets named.
Please, Advisory Committee, by all means recommend the re- naming of the CC School in honor of Florida Ruffin Ridley if you're convinced that she’s deserving of the honor. But don’t feel pressured into doing it because deciding otherwise would be racist or insulting or insensitive, as some seem to be suggesting. It’s not impermissible for my neighbors to have respectfully submitted or supported other names for consideration.They aren’t racists for doing so, or foes of justice. Approve the choice of Ms. Ruffin for the right reasons. Be persuaded by arguments, not clubbed by them.
But what I most object to is the invoking of students and “the message it would send to the students who engaged in the process” if the committee disagreed with a certain choice. The letter below goes on to remind us that “[o]ur young people are the future of this country, and it seems to me that their active and direct participation in this democratic process is likely to be one of the most powerful ‘lessons’ the school and the community has offered them.”
I’m sorry folks. This is not an fair argument in my opinion. Supporters of the Ridley choice should argue hard for it, but let’s not further malign those with a different view by suggesting they are also disrespecting kids and democracy. Actually, there was very little student democracy in the process, except for a relatively small number of students at the CC School, some of whom were quite young. As I see it, it was mainly an expedient process, not a particularly democratic one.
A worthy goal was decided upon and it has now been all but realized. But the involvement of our “young people” and the educational impact on most of them was minimal. What a shame. Perhaps there was an over-anxiety to achieve this worthy goal. Unfortunately, the educational benefits that would have accrued from a broader and deeper involvement of Brookline students were sacrificed. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for our kids to deal with history close-up in all its powerful complexity. More local history could have been brought into more classrooms concerning the town, slavery, and how we decide what or who should be remembered in that thing we call “History.” This would have enriched–not interfered with–their education. In an age of canned MCAS social studies state frameworks, we especially need rich learning experiences like that in our classrooms. Public conversations about the past don’t come along all that frequently.
This community decided to re-build a school. We paid for it together. We decided to change the name together. We decided to make students a part of the re-naming process. But this ended up involving only a portion of students whom I am certain worked diligently and got a lot out of it. Most students in our system were locked out of the process and of the full learning. To invoke “student participation” and democracy now in an effort to pressure the Advisory Committee just doesn’t seem right to me.
Why is all this important? For this reason: I hope next time, if there is a next time, we do this right and place equal value on both the chance to balance the scales of history and to extend the accompanying educational opportunities to all of our students.
The Florida Ruffin Ridley School? Yes, sure.
Bill Schechter
Lincoln-Sudury Regional H.S. History Dept. (1973-2008)
Tufts University Practicum Supervisor/ Social Studies (2010-2016)
On Sep 21, 2019, at 9:11 AM, Joan Lancourt
Dear Advisory Committee on Schools members, I am unfortunately unable to attend your Tues. evening meeting as I will be at an Affordable Housing Conference, so I am writing to urge you to reflect on how important it is to Brookline - at a time when, from many different quarters, so many of us are actively working to encourage both community engagement and the long-overdue recognition of the powerful contributions to our society and culture made by women of color - that we support in every possible way the extensive, broad-based, and exceptionally inclusive and democratic process embodied by the Coolidge Corner School Renaming Process. For many of the adults and young people who engaged in this very public process, engaging in such a process was a new experience. The process cast a wide and very public net to solicit both participants and potential candidates, and those engaged went through a disciplined and thorough deliberation in regard to those candidates. While the process was not perfect, there were numerous opportunities for public input at various points in that process, and the fact that the process itself attracted many who had never before been engaged will, I hope, be taken into consideration by you as you make your own recommendations.
As a result of those deliberations, Florida Ruffin Ridley was selected as the considered choice. While the proponents of the two additional candidates have a right to put forth additional names, I would like to urge the School’s Subcommittee in the strongest possible way to be mindful of the implicit and explicit ‘message’ it will send to the whole community if the Subcommittee decides not to support the recommendation proposed by the CCS Renaming Process. Unless someone were to come forward with a very compelling reason why Florida Ruffin Ridley is not a suitable name for the CCS, I think failure to support the Renaming Process's recommendation will send a negative ‘message’ both to everyone who engaged in the renaming process, and to the community-at-large. The ‘message' would be that community engagement processes are a waste of their time. I cannot think of a more dysfunctional message to be sending at a time when Brookline, and our country as a whole, desperately needs to bring both new and marginalized voices into our public decision-making processes at every level. I am particularly concerned about the message it would send to the students who engaged in the process. Our young people are the future of this country, and it seems to me that their active and direct participation in this democratic process is likely to be one of the most powerful ‘lessons’ the school and the community has offered them. Please do not give them a reason to feel that their participation was for naught.
Thank you for your consideration. Joan Lancourt, Ph.D.
From: Mike Sandman To: Katha Cc: Cliff Brown; John VanScoyoc Subject: Re: Renaming the Coolidge Corner School Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019 8:25:03 PM
Hi Katha -
Thanks for your email.
Please note that Cliff Brown is the current chair of the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee, and that John VanScoyuc has joined and Bobbie Knable has moved to the Human Services subcommittee.
All three warrant articles proposing names for the Coolidge Corner School will will come up for a public hearing by the school subcommittee at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/24 in Room 103 of Town Hall. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Advisory Committee, which will vote at a public meeting at approximately 8:25 PM on Tuesday 10/1 on its recommendation to Town Meeting.
All of the comments we receive will be circulated to all Advisory Committee members. You can be sure we will take both comments like yours and the student committee’s recommendation seriously.
Proponents of all three names will be able to speak at the Advisory subcommittee hearing on 9/24 and at Town Meeting in November. Ultimately, Town Meeting makes the decision. All three people whose names are being offered are worthy. But I expect that the Advisory Committee will give weight to the process that resulted in Florida Ruffin Ridley’s name being nominated by the School Committee.
Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting should contact Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator, to secure a speaking slot. ([email protected])
Best regards -
Mike Sandman TMM3 & Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1.617.513.8908 - mobile & text
On Sep 22, 2019, at 13:17, Katha
Dear Advisory Committee on Schools,
Unfortunately, I am unable to attend your Tues. evening meeting as I will be out of town. I am writing to urge you to respect the conclusion of the extensive, broad-based, and exceptionally inclusive and democratic process embodied by the Coolidge Corner School Renaming Process. The process cast a wide and very public net to solicit both participants and potential candidates, and those engaged went through a disciplined and thorough deliberation in regard to those candidates. While the process was not perfect, there were numerous opportunities for public input at various points in that process.
The process itself attracted many who never before engaged in town governance. The extensive and inclusive process embodied by the Coolidge Corner School Renaming Process embodied both the community engagement and the long- overdue recognition of the powerful contributions to our society and culture made by people of color that many of us in Brookline have been actively working to encourage.
As a result of those deliberations, Florida Ruffin Ridley was selected as the considered choice. I would urge the School’s Subcommittee in the strongest possible terms to be mindful of the implicit and explicit message it will send to the whole community if the Subcommittee decides not to support the recommendation proposed by the CCS Renaming Process. Unless someone were to come forward with a very compelling reason why Florida Ruffin Ridley is not a suitable name for the CCS, I think failure to support the Renaming Process's recommendation will send the message both to everyone who engaged in the renaming process, and to the community-at-large, that community engagement processes are a waste of their time. I cannot think of a more dysfunctional message to be sending at a time when Brookline, and our country as a whole, desperately needs to include the participation of all voices into every level of our public decision-making processes. I hope that, as you make your own recommendations, you reflect on how important it is for the Town to continue to support this extensive, broad-based, and exceptionally inclusive process in every possible way.
I am particularly concerned about the message it would send to the students who engaged in the process. Our young people are the future of this country, and their active and direct participation in this democratic process is likely to be one of the most powerfully direct lessons the school and the community has offered them. Please give them reasons to celebrate their participation.
Thank you for your consideration. Katha Seidman
Sent from my iPad Dear Advisory Sub-committee on Schools,
As you know, after a naming process that was transparent, engaged students with teacher guidance, and allowed for community input, Florida Ruffin Ridley's name was chosen. This whole process started in recognition that Edward Devotion owned a slave, and it seems quite appropriate that an African American who lived in Brookline would be chosen. Florida Ruffin Ridley was a Brookline resident, educator, racial justice advocate and suffragist who deserves to be honored. As an African American Women she is an example of those who have been hidden from history. Naming The Coolidge Corner School after her lifts up history that is not discussed and honors those who work for social justice which given that Edward Devotion was a slave owner is truly fitting.
There are two other Warrant Articles proposing the Coolidge Corner School be named for either Ethel Weiss or Robert Sperber. Some of the people supporting either of these names have charged that there has been a lack of transparency in the naming process. The exact opposite is true, there were public forums, and multiple opportunities for people to suggest other names. Others have insinuated that the students who chose the 4 finalists were manipulated. It is my understanding that the students from the outset were interested in naming the school for someone involved with social justice. I would suggest that those who have written Warrant Articles in support of Ethel Weis or Robert Sperber are trying to manipulate the public to deny the students choice and their commitment to social justice. Just like with the students who organized the Climate Strike on Friday, at times we should be guided by our younger residents who are less jaded than many of us are.
Ethel Weiss was a beloved member of the neighborhood and the school community, supporters of Florida Ruffin Ridley have proposed naming a room in the school for her. The students themselves did not want to name the school after her, could those now wanting to name the school after her do so because they do not prioritize social justice which is clearly the intent of the students. I also want to remind us that a building in Brookline is already named after Robert Sperber.
I hope that you all agree with me that naming the Coolidge Corner School after Florida Ruffin Ridley is a positive statement, communicating our aspirations here in Brookline. To invalidate our students wishes will be viewed as taking a step backwards.
Sincerely,
Steve Vogel Walnut St. From: Phil Durbin To: [email protected] Subject: Coolidge Corner School Renaming Update Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019 6:36:20 PM
Hello, in the "Coolidge Corner School Renaming Update" below, I was surprised to hear about three warrants to rename Coolidge Corner School. The children on the "Bee-lievers of Change" nominations committee (photo attached) worked incredibly hard for month to come up with Florida Ruffin Ridley School. The Coolidge Corner School community will probably be surprised if another name is chosen. Was the plan all along to have three warrants?
Thanks,
Phil
On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 4:02 PM Coolidge Corner PTO
Hi Gene -
Thanks for your email.
Please note that Cliff Brown is the current chair of the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee, and that John Vanscoyuc has joined and Bobbie Knable has moved to the Human Services subcommittee.
All three warrant articles proposing names for the Coolidge Corner School will will come up for a public hearing by the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/24 in Room 103 of Town Hall. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Advisory Committee, which will vote at a public meeting at approximately 8:25 PM on Tuesday 10/1 on its recommendation to Town Meeting.
All of the comments we receive will be circulated to all Advisory Committee members. You can be sure we will take both comments like yours and the student committee’s recommendation seriously.
Proponents of all three names will be able to speak at the Advisory subcommittee hearing on 9/24 and at Town Meeting in November. Ultimately, Town Meeting makes the decision. All three people whose names are being offered are worthy. But I expect that the Advisory Committee will give weight to the process that resulted in Florida Ruffin Ridley’s name being nominated by the School Committee.
Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting should contact Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator, to secure a speaking slot. ([email protected])
Best regards.
Mike Sandman TMM3 & Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1.617.513.8908 - mobile & text
On Sep 22, 2019, at 10:38, Gene Thompson-Grove
To Whom It May Concern:
I was delighted to hear that the recommended name of the Coolidge Corner School was Florida Ruffin Ridley. As I read her extensive biography online and looked again at the research the young people had done, I remember thinking, "what an excellent choice." If I was a teacher in the Brookline schools, I could imagine a rich series of lessons linking the life of a local person to so many important moments in US history.
Then I read with incredible disappointment that two other names had been submitted, superseding months and months of learning, research, and work by Brookline students.
There were countless opportunities during the past year for Brookline community members to have input - from nominating names, to attending presentations by the students of the sixteen people they finally chose (presentations that were widely advertised and held in the morning, at night, at the school, at the libraries - - with childcare), to weighing in online on the final sixteen names. Every student at the Coolidge Corner School also attended presentations and voted, with reasons.
It is to the credit of the Public Schools of Brookline that students have had a powerful experience of community engagement, and that they have also had a rich experience of learning about the positive contributions of so many people, especially local people of color.
The message to the students on the committee -- and indeed, to all of the students in Brookline -- will be simple and devastating: in Brookline, it doesn't matter if you follow all of the "rules" for getting things done while engaging people widely -- there are those who have more power and will overrule you. I implore you to not let that be the lesson these students learn.
Respectfully,
Gene Thompson-Grove
-- photo Gene Thompson-Grove Consultant - Facilitator - Coach Transformational Learning for Equity and Excellence at Gene Thompson-Grove & Associates
A 29 Green Street Brookline MA 02446 M 508-566-6664 E [email protected] W schoolreforminitiative.org From: Lynne Layton To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: Schools Subcommittee hearing on naming of Coolidge Corner School Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019 10:40:35 AM
Dear Members of the Schools Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee,
I am writing to express support for Warrant Article 26, that is, renaming the Coolidge Corner School in honor of Florida Ruffin Ridley. Equally important, I am moved to write because I deeply want to honor the extraordinary renaming process that took place last year and that involved so many members of the Brookline community, including students from diverse backgrounds. I attended one night at the library where the many finalists' stories were displayed and eloquently discussed by students and community members. I feel that to go against this process at the last minute by naming the school for someone else is profoundly disrespectful of that democratic process. The choice of Ridley capped what seems to me to have been a rare period of Brookline community engagement by many sectors of the population, and I would hate to see those who worked so diligently end up disillusioned about how decisions are made in the town.
I will mention one other reason for writing: While I am sure that both of the other nominees who have been brought forward are worthy of being honored in Brookline, I am often troubled by a tendency in this country to forget our history and to live only in the present of our own lifetimes and even our own immediate biographies. To my mind, the choice of Ridley is important in multiple ways besides the process issue mentioned above. That choice challenges our long history of ignoring the contributions of African-Americans, particularly African-American women. It gives us a chance here in Brookline not only to honor Ridley's contributions, reason enough to name the school for her, but also to engage in the work of repair for historical harm done to African-Americans.
Sincerely,
Lynne Layton
253 Mason Terrace, Brookline From: Mel Stoler To: Cliff Brown Subject: Fwd: Renaming the former Edward Devotion School Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019 8:09:13 AM
Begin forwarded message:
From: Anne Greenwald
Hi Mel, The people on the committee have changed. Please send the letter to: Subcommittee Chair: Cliff Brown, [email protected],617-232-5626 and/or [email protected] no later than 12:00 noon on the day prior to meeting. Thanks so much for writing. It matters. Best, Anne
On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 3:29 AM Mel Stoler
I believe that the school should be named after Mrs. Ridley, because of her many contributions to education and justice.
To honor Ethel, I'm in favor of the proposal to name a room at CCS “the Ethel Weiss room,” complete with installing an exhibit of a small replica of "Irvings" in her honor. I hear the chair she sat in has been located. Robert Sperber already has an education center named after him and his name is on an archway on the buildingon the corner of School and Harvard Streets.
Thank you for your consideration.
Mel Stoler 9 Coolidge Street Brookline From: Mike Sandman To: Joan Rachlin Cc: Lisa Portscher; Cliff Brown; John VanScoyoc Subject: Re: A name for the Coolidge Corner School Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019 5:59:14 PM
Hi Joan -
Thanks for your email.
Please note that Cliff Brown is the current chair of the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee, and that John Vanscoyuc has joined and Bobbie Knable has moved to the Human Services subcommittee.
All three warrant articles proposing names for the Coolidge Corner School will will come up for a public hearing by the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/24 in Room 103 of Town Hall. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Advisory Committee, which will vote at a public meeting at approximately 8:25 PM on Tuesday 10/1 on its recommendation to Town Meeting.
All of the comments we receive will be circulated to all Advisory Committee members. You can be sure we will take both comments like yours and the student committee’s recommendation seriously.
Proponents of all three names will be able to speak at the Advisory subcommittee hearing on 9/24 and at Town Meeting in November. Ultimately, Town Meeting makes the decision. In this instance there is no wrong answer. All three people are worthy of having a school named after them.
Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting should contact Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator, to secure a speaking slot. ([email protected])
Best regards from both me and Nancy.
Mike
Mike Sandman TMM3 & Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1.617.513.8908 - mobile & text
On Sep 21, 2019, at 17:21, Joan Rachlin
Dear members of the Advisory Committee on Schools,
First, let me thank you for your service and commitment to this remarkable town that all of us hold dear. I would also like to acknowledge the impressive and highly participatory process by which Brookline has sought to determine a new name for the Devotion School.
My husband and I have been proud residents of Beals Street for almost 40 years. We moved to Brookline because of the schools and, more specifically, chose the Coolidge Corner neighborhood because we heard that Devotion was the most culturally diverse among them. Our two children each spent 9 great years there, and the “values” education was as important to us as the academics.
With that as a backdrop, I am writing to respectfully urge you to consider renaming the Devotion School after Florida Ruffin Ridley... advocate for racial justice, suffragette, educator, journalist, and Brookline resident.
Naming the School after Florida Ruffin Ridley embodies the principles of restorative justice, which requires that repairing the causes of harm and injustice should focus on redressing that harm. Honoring Florida Ruffin Ridley meets both the spirit and letter of this important principle, i.e., if Brookline is changing the name of the School because Edward Devotion was a slave holder, then choosing to rename it in honor of someone who worked to end that practice is a fitting way of achieving restorative justice. In addition, naming it after Ms. Ruffin Ridley will, no doubt, stimulate innumerable “teachable moments” as the story of the original and current names is told and retold.
In additon, although Ethel Weiss and Robert Sperber were beloved and respected residents, they have been honored visibly and tangibly many times, whereas Florida Ruffin Ridley has not. Were the school to be named after them, such “teachable moments” would be fewer and less impactful, since it would be similar to the other names. I’m embarrassed to admit that I know nothing of those after whom the Heath, Lawrence, Driscoll, Baker, and Runkle schools were named, but the story of Edward Devotion and why the school was renamed after “Florida Ruffin Ridley,” will be told and passed on to generations of students.
In closing, our country is currently mired in new and terrifying waves of disdain for people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and, sadly, women. Naming the School after Florida Ruffin Ridley will demonstrate that Brookline is a “Town” upon the hill where equality, justice, dignity, and respect flourish for all.
Thank you for considering this letter.
Sincerely, Joan Rachlin From: Kat Tatlock To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected]; Joan Rachlin; Jessica Tatlock Subject: Renaming the Coolidge Corner School Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019 3:28:19 PM
Dear Mr. Brown -
As a Brookline resident for over 40 years, I have raised two amazing, highly educated and principaled daughters, both graduates of The Devotion School and Brookline High, and the proud grandmother of two amazing grandchildren who have also benefited greatly from the educations they have been receiving from these exceptional institutions.
It is therefore important to me to find a name for the temporarily-called Coolidge Corner School that reflects the principles we would like to see reflected in our cherished Brookline school and community.
I may not be able to make it to the meeting Tuesday evening, but would like to echo the choice of Anne Greenwald and Joan Rachlin to name the Coolidge Corner School after Florida Ruffin Ridley, whose life work embodies the principles and actions we need to assure a democratic approach to education and advocacy.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Katherine Deutch Tatlock
-- Kat Tatlock WRITER • DIRECTOR • CONSULTANT [email protected] phone: 617-277-5040 mobile: 617-835-3020 157 Naples Road • Brookline MA 02446 From: Pamela Roberts To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Permanent Naming of the Coolidge Corner School Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019 2:20:04 PM
Greetings to the Advisory Committee,
As the parent of three Devotion School graduates (2007, 2010, 2017), I see the renaming of the school in a very serious light. My children believe in the power of restorative justice, and are supportive of this; I take my cues from them, bright young people that they are!
The renaming committee worked hard and thoroughly last year, involving the community along the way. We were asked for submissions, and were encouraged to give input on the semifinalists, as well as the four finalists. The selection of Florida Ruffin Ridley is wonderful and powerful. She was a suffragist and a Brookline resident.
Please give powerful authentication to the work of the Coolidge Corner community, and ratify this name to go forward as your choice for Town Meeting's vote. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Pamela Roberts, 1. Former Edward Devotion School PTO president 2. Member, Devotion/Coolidge Corner School Building Renovation Committee 3. Member, Ad Hoc committee of the School Committee that has been researching all of the Brookline public school names 47 Crowninshield Road 617-909-0170 From: Larry Ruttman To: [email protected]; Dennis Doughty; bobbie knable; [email protected]; Mariah Nobrega; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Lee Selwyn; [email protected]; John VanScoyoc; [email protected]; Cliff Brown Subject: Schools Subcommittee Meeting on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019 4:51:29 PM Attachments: Warrant Article Ethel.doc.08.06.19.doc ETHEL WEISS.doc,story.09.19.19.doc Ethel Weiss.docx
The obituary is attached, and now replaces the incorrect URL originally sent. I would earnestly ask you to please read it’s moving words and to look at its telling pictures. Thanks so much. lar
Dear Chairman Mike Sandman and Advisory Committee Subcommittee Members Dennis Doughty, John VanScoyoc, David C. Lescohier, and Mariah Nobrega:
I write to you as the person filing the Warrant Article for the expanding group called Devotion to Ethel,” proposing that the former Edward Devotion School be renamed The Ethel Weiss School after the late Ethel Weiss who passed at age 101 in 2015.
In order to speed the process at the meeting of the 24th, I offer in this e-mail links and attachments to a few documents, and a verbatim journal entry by Ethel Weiss, telling why we believe Ethel Weiss is the sui generis choice for that honor, that is, respectfully, the one of a kind person who can be distinguished as different in kind rather than degree from the many other fine people who are or might be considered.
The documents are:
1. The Warrant Article attached.
2. Bryan Marquard's typically telling obituary printed in the Boston Globe on December 12, 2015, under the title, Ethel Weiss,101; ran Irving's Toy & Card Shop for 77 years, attached hereto.
3. A letter submitted to the Brookline Tab by me, and printed in June, 2019, explicating how Ethel Weiss deeply affected my life from age eight to eighty-four.
https://brookline.wickedlocal.com/news/20190609/letter-to-editor-name-devotion-after- ethel-weiss
4. The brief chapter attached on Ethel Weiss from my book Voices of Brookline (2005), entitled Ethel Weiss, Guardian Angel, explicating in detail how Ethel Weiss daily served the interests of Devotion School students for over seventy-six years, and how the school's life was heavily indebted to her influence.
5. An extract below from Ethel ‘s personal journal entitled, Thoughts for a Happier Life, setting forth her own ten commandments so to speak, which she inculcated daily to the tens of thousands of Devotion students who passed her way during the seventy-six year, approximately 27,700 day period, she ran her penny candy, toy, and card store, essentially for their benefit.
Thoughts for a Happier Life
Don't try to be perfect. Just do the best you can.
Practice random acts of kindness without expecting repayment.
Absorb the qualities you admire in people with whom you come in contact.
Be interested in other people's welfare. Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. Be kind, but don't allow others to take advantage of you.
Show appreciation. Try to be a good role model.
Don't buy what you can't afford. Handle your money wisely.
Think pleasantly about your work and do the best you can.Take pride in your work.
Eat sensibly and obey good health rules. Try not to acquire bad habits.
Care about how you look. Dress neatly and in good taste. Try not to antagonize others in dress or attitude.
Enjoy being yourself.
By Ethel Weiss January 28th, 1994
Thank you so much for reading this material.
Larry Ruttman
======
Larry Ruttman, Esq. 4 Cypress Street Suite 8 Brookline, MA 02445
cell: 617.759.8650 office: 617.232.4464 email: [email protected]
Larry Ruttman is the author of American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball, chosen as the #1 baseball book in America for the year 2013, among many, by Sports Collectors Digest, and now adapted into a musical play, "Jews on First". See much more at: americanjewsandamericasgame.com jewsonfirstmusical.com
See also: wikipedia | larryruttman.com | voicesofbrookline.com blogspot | facebook | twitter
I might have sent this message using voice recognition. Please excuse any errors. From: Arden Reamer To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Florida Ruffin Ridley Date: Friday, September 20, 2019 10:13:48 PM
Dear Schools Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee Members:
Please name the school formerly known as Edward Devotion, and currently known as Coolidge Corner School (CCS), after Florida Ruffin Ridley. Florida Ruffin Ridley is one of those forgotten leaders from Brookline and she deserves this honor. And, we as a community should do the right thing and give her this honor she deserves as a Brookline resident, educator, racial justice advocate and suffragette.
Please note that the Town engaged in perhaps the most comprehensive and inclusive community engagement process I can remember, much of which involved a group of talented and committed CCS students. They used the Town’s naming criteria, the school committee’s naming criteria, CCS’s values and restorative justice. The students arrived at 4 finalists and the School Committee voted in vast majority for Florida Ruffin Ridley 7-0-1 (abstention) and one absence. They believe that the school should be named after Mrs. Ridley, because of her many contributions to education and justice. The Ridley nomination takes nothing away from the other two nominations. In some significant way we should recognize their contributions to our schools and the Town. I support naming a room at CCS after Ethel Weiss, and Robert Sperber already has an education center named after him, with his name on an archway on the building at the corner of School and Harvard Streets.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Arden Reamer Parent, Coolidge Corner School, Grades 5 and 7 72 Stedman St. 617-834-5785 From: Mike Sandman To: Beth Jones Cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; David Lescohier; Lisa Portscher; Cliff Brown Subject: Re: CCS renaming Date: Friday, September 20, 2019 9:27:34 PM
Hi Beth -
Thanks for your email. Choosing between Ethel Weiss, beloved by the Devotion School community, Bob Sperber, beloved by the parents and students of a whole generation of Brookline residents, and Florida Ruffin Ridley, a Brookline pioneer in civil rights and women’s suffrage and the choice of a student naming committee will not be easy.
Please explain to your son that no one is taking issue with the work he and his fellow students did. To the extent that there is a complaint, it is with the School Committee. Perhaps you can also explain that while we benefit from broad citizen involvement in Brookline’s affairs, sometimes that involvement becomes a bit intense.
All three warrant articles will will come up for a public hearing by the Advisory Committee’s school subcommittee at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/24 in Room 103 of Town Hall. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Advisory Committee at a public meeting at approximately 8:25 PM on Tuesday 10/1, and we will vote on what to advise Town Meeting. Your comments and all others that we receive will be circulated to all Advisory Committee members. You can be sure we will take the student committee’s recommendation seriously.
The Select Board has its own parallel process, and it too will make a recommendation to Town Meeting.
Ultimately, Town Meeting makes the decision. In this instanced there is no wrong answer, only three right ones. All three people are worthy of having a school named after them.
Proponents of all three names will be able to speak at the Advisory subcommittee hearing on the 24th and at Town Meeting in November. Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting (including your son and his fellow committee members) should contact Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator, to secure a speaking slot. ([email protected])
Mike Sandman TMM3 & Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1.617.513.8908 - mobile & text
On Sep 20, 2019, at 20:46, Beth Jones
Hello, I’m writing regarding the renaming of Coolidge Corner School. My son was on the naming committee at CCS and I’ve been increasingly frustrated (disappointed, saddened, etc.), by the level of push-back by certain Brookline community members at the process, and thereby push-back at the students who participated in the process. I recently posted a message on the town-wide Facebook page in response to a few vocal town members’ ongoing efforts to redefine the process and prevent the renaming of CCS to Florida Ruffin Ridley School; this letter is an expanded version of that message. I’m also puzzled as to why Robert I. Sperber’s name would be circulated as an alternate, when a building is already named after him. I was a tremendous fan of Ethel Weiss and supported her nomination, and I am equally willing to accept that she was not chosen. The Coolidge Corner School students on the naming committee (including high schoolers), worked diligently and in good faith, comfortable in the knowledge that they were instrumental in the renaming process. I doubt it ever occurred to them that months later, the adults who criticized - and continue to diminish - the process, might have the power (and, more oddly, to my mind, the desire) to completely unravel a year’s work by thoughtful, volunteer students. What an unfortunate lesson that would teach. They volunteered. They showed up. They researched and wrote. They repeatedly presented to a not always receptive public – a public that had many opportunities to be engaged The process was imperfect. My son’s choice wasn’t selected, nor was mine. My son is still on the naming committee and I really REALLY hope I’m not going to have to explain to him that the adults in town (who could be working toward improving the process for the next opportunity instead of putting the kibosh on this one) have negated their hard work. What a poor reflection of our town that would be. My son and I are hopeful that the process will proceed and that Florida Ruffin Ridely – who is very worthy of the honor – will have this remarkable school named after her. I am especially hopeful since it was the children of CCS who put in the time and made the choice. Sincerely, -Beth Jones From: Lisa Portscher To: Cliff Brown; Dennis Doughty ([email protected]); David Lescohier; Mariah Nobrega; John VanScoyoc Subject: FW: Coolidge Corner School Renaming Date: Monday, September 23, 2019 2:42:38 PM
FYI
From: Jennifer Condensa [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2019 9:38 AM To: Lisa Portscher Subject: Coolidge Corner School Renaming
I am writing in support of the renaming of Coolidge Corner School to Florida Ruffin Ridley School. I would be very disappointed in our town if the thoughtful and thorough renaming process completed by the students of Coolidge Corner School was disregarded for the last minute and loud approach of a few community members. The town should consider the message to our community whether we value a thoughtful systematic approach or a louder is better approach.
Sincerely, Jennifer Condensa-Garcia 142 Fuller St #2, Brookline Lisa Portscher
From: Keith Grove
Hi,
The town has gone through an extensive, inclusive, and thorough process for selecting a new name for the CCS.
Besides the obvious stature of Florida Ruffin Ridley that more than "qualifies" her to have a school named after her, can you imagine the disempowering message to the students, particularly, and the town, in general, if at the last minute the school were to be named anything other than the Florida Ruffin Ridley School? I can not.
Please, just do the right thing!
Warm regards,
Keith -- Keith Grove 29 Green Street, Unit #1 Brookline, MA 02446 508-566-6668 (cell)
1 Lisa Portscher
Subject: FW: Coolidge Corner School name
From: Mike Sandman Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 10:08 AM To: Levitsky, Steven R. Cc: Lisa Portscher Subject: Re: Coolidge Corner School name
Hi Steve -
Thanks for your email. I’m the chair of the Advisory Committee, so I’m the one person of the 30 members who doesn’t vote, but
All three warrant articles proposing names for the Coolidge Corner School will will come up for a public hearing by the school subcommittee at 5:30 PM on Tuesday 9/24 in Room 103 of Town Hall. The subcommittee will make a recommendation to the full Advisory Committee, which will vote at a public meeting at approximately 8:25 PM on Tuesday 10/1 on its recommendation to Town Meeting.
I’m the chair of the Advisory Committee, so I’m the one person of the 30 members who doesn’t vote, but all of the comments we receive will be circulated to all Advisory Committee members.
Proponents of all three names will be able to speak at the Advisory subcommittee hearing on 9/24 (tonight!) and at Town Meeting in November. Ultimately, Town Meeting makes the decision. All three people whose names are being offered are worthy. But I expect that the Advisory Committee will give weight to the process that resulted in Florida Ruffin Ridley’s name being nominated by the School Committee.
Anyone who wants to speak at Town Meeting should contact Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator, to secure a speaking slot. ([email protected])
Mike Sandman
TMM3 & Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1.617.513.8908 - mobile & text
On Sep 24, 2019, at 09:51, Levitsky, Steven R.
Michael,
I have been a Coolidge Corner Resident (88 Beals Street) for more than a decade. My daughter attended Devo and is now at BHS. We loved the school, in part because it was among the most culturally diverse in Brookline. I write to urge you to consider renaming the Coolidge Corner School after Florida Ruffin Ridley, a Brookline resident, educator, and advocate for voting rights and racial justice. Naming the school after Florida Ruffin Ridley would, in my opinion, be an appropriate act of restorative justice.
Many thanks, and all the best,
1
Steven Levitsky
2 Lisa Portscher
From: Marjorie Schaffel
To the Schools Subcommittee of the Advisory Committee - I am writing this letter in support of renaming the Coolidge Corner School the Florida Ruffim Ridley School.
Thank you. Margie Schaffel
91 Beals St. Brookline 02446
-- Margie Schaffel, MEd, LICSW Educational Consultant
www.SchaffelEdConsulting.com
76 Bedford St. #26 Lexington, MA 02420
1170 Beacon St. 3rd floor Brookline, MA 02446
617 739-2615
1 Lisa Portscher
Subject: FW: Coolidge Corner School Renaming Process
On Sep 23, 2019, at 14:47, Charla Whitley
Dear Advisory Committee,
I learned that there are Brookline citizens who are unhappy with the outcome of the Coolidge Corner School renaming process and have filed warrant articles in support of Mr. Sperber and Ms. Weiss. I feel that the thorough vetting process that culminated in the recommendation of Ms. Ridley should be supported. I do not believe that Brookline residents who are sad that their favorite wasn’t chosen should be allowed to usurp the process. The hard work of that committee should be recognized and respected. I am personally excited for the children of Coolidge Corner to be inspired by an activist who challenges and changes society.
Sincerely, Charla Whitley 46 Abbottsford Rd. 917-612-6751
1 Lisa Portscher
From: Michael Sandman
Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Completed
Thanks for your email, Richard.
The Advisory Committee will review the three articles on the warrant related to renaming the school, and all comments submitted,itted by email will be circulated to the AC’s members in advance.
Mike
Michael Sandman Advisory Committee chair [email protected] +1/617.513.8908 mobile & text
> On Sep 12, 2019, at 05:05, richard thaler
1 Lisa Portscher
From: chuck and linda swartz
Hi,
I have pasted an email for tonight’s discussion, from a neighbor and CCS parent about the renaming process. Please include it with tonight’s materials.
Thanks,
Chuck
Dear Chuck,
It is very nice to meet you electronically. I look forward to meeting you in person.
I would like to ask you a question about viability of the strategy proposed in the initial thread of email messages in light of a message about his unwillingness to focus on the unfairness of the process that I received from Sandy Gadsby, Town Moderator. I wrote to him to inform that the process was non-inclusive last week. Below is a quote from my message to Mr. Gadsby: "My name is Vitaly Veksler. I am a father of a student at the Coolidge Corner School. I have found the renaming process to be deeply flawed. It was non-inclusive. The overwhelming majority of teachers, parents, students, alumni of the Devotion / Coolidge Corner School did not have a chance to contribute to it in a meaningful way. I was wondering if I may speak at the Town Meeting on November 19th."
Mr. Gadsby responded to me stating that he would not allow me to speak about the process.
Below is a quote from Mr. Gadsby's message:"You are of course entitled to sign up to speak at Town Meeting on this issue, and I will record you on the speakers’ list. You will appreciate that this issue has generated considerable interest and many others are likely to want to speak. Our rules require that I give priority to Town Meeting Members over non-TMMs, so there is some likelihood that we will not reach you before debate is cut off.
On a more important point, I am not likely to allow a debate on the renaming process itself. I understand that there have been complaints similar to yours. However, when we get to Town Meeting, I will want us to focus on the names before us and not on the process by which they got there. I have ruled that any of the three renaming articles may be amended to add more names. So if you or your fellow parents etc. have names that you believe were not given a fair airing during the renaming process, you should 1 find a Town Meeting Member who is willing to submit them as amendments to one of the existing articles. That is the simplest remedy for those who feel slighted by the process."
I support two of the names that are popular with people of Brookline: Devotion School and Coolidge Corner School. The first name would maintain relatively unrevised Brookline's history. The second is a more neutral name that refers to a geographic location. Maybe the name of JFK should also be added to the list, so all of the top 4 most popular nominees (JFK, Devotion, Ethel Weiss and Coolidge Corner) would be on the list? Would you consider adding these names to one of the renaming articles?
Thank you for considering my question! Once again, it was very nice to meet you electronically.
Look forward to talking to you both in the future!
Very best regards, Vitaly
Vitaly Veksler, CFA Founder / CEO / Global Macro Portfolio Manager Beyond Borders Investment Strategies, LLC
2 Lisa Portscher
From: Anne Greenwald
To the Advisory Committee, Please consider my letter when you enter into deliberations regarding the name change for the Coolidge Corner School. Thank you. Sincerely, Anne Greenwald TMM Precinct 8 Co-Petitioner WA 26
David Lescohier asked an excellent question at the Schools Sub Committee meeting last week. He asked what the significance of the new name would be for future students at the Coolidge Corner School and what the impact would be in 20 years from now?
I would like to answer that question because I think it is at the crux of what we have been trying to accomplish.
In my mind the goal of education is to help children develop their minds, to develop critical thinking and know the power of their own minds, to be excited about learning, and to be able to connect themselves with the past so they can think and solve problems in the present.
Understanding history and the impact of history on the present is key to creating a world that doesn’t continuously repeat mistakes from the past. Exploring the lives of people who lived before us is also part of history. Discovering little known or obscured historical figures and feeling the power of that new knowledge and passing it on to others is exciting and creates enthusiasm for learning. Trying to discover the reasons that some are well known and others are not is the development of critical thinking.
Learning about restorative justice is a critical piece to understanding how the damage of racism can be mended. I think this is an important piece of empowerment for students.
Future students would see that their age peers were able to recommend a new name for their school and adults listened to them. This would give them confidence as young people to put their ideas forward and help them believe that they are respected.
There were many worthy names presented by the community. The young people were aware of the underlying reason for changing the name. It was about creating an opportunity for restorative justice in Brookline. Florida Ruffin Ridley met the criteria of being an outstanding Brookline resident. This is not to say others also did not fit into that category, they did. The fact that many people had never heard of her before is the case in point, that the lives of African Americans and women, no matter how accomplished, were often obscured. The students took these issues into account when they were choosing amongst many outstanding people.
1 I would hope that the process of choosing a new name for the school using research, evaluation, decision making, and cooperative learning, will become a model for education in all the Brookline schools. I hope the minds of young people will always be respected. I hope this is the legacy that will be left for future generations of students.
2 Renaming Devotion: How Inclusion Turns Into Exclusion
“There is no way this school is going to be named for a white man.”
The candidate for local office was out canvassing for support, and we were chatting on my front porch last fall when he delivered that memorable line.
The school in question had been known for well over a century as the Edward Devotion School. It is one of eight public K-8 schools in our highly educated, painfully expensive, famously progressive town of Brookline, Mass.
Recently, amid efforts to unearth Brookline’s pre-1800 history of slavery, it became better known that Edward Devotion, a farmer, apparently owned a slave. The inventory in his will included “1 Negrow.”
In 2018, advocates proposed that Devotion’s name should therefore be stripped from the school. Brookline’s Town Meeting promptly voted overwhelmingly to do so, and to temporarily name the school for its neighborhood: Coolidge Corner.
Now we get to the hard part: choosing a new name.
The advocates who worked to remove the Edward Devotion name created a town-endorsed Website that included an initial list — https://www.renamedevo.com/your-suggestions/ — of suggested namesakes. They ranged from Native American chiefs, to African-American figures in the arts, to Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and former Mass. governor Deval Patrick. Some had local ties; some did not.
The list included only people of color.
If the overriding goal was to diversify the namesakes of Brookline’s schools, as the advocates argued, it certainly made sense to seek only someone of color. The seven other elementary schools are all named for white people — seven men and one woman — mainly for contributions to the town’s education system.
But Brookline is very white; its population is only roughly 3 percent African-American, about 6 percent Latino, about 17 percent Asian. Fifty-five percent of residents are female.
Brookline is also unusually Jewish, enough to support a number of major synagogues. The area of Coolidge Corner near the school, in particular, is home to several Jewish-themed stores and many Israeli families.
So — what was right? Fair? Best?
Social justice advocates argued that the school should be named for an African-American as “restorative justice” and to enhance recognition of contributions by people of color.
Or — if the goal was demographic fairness, then the school could arguably be named for a Jewish or Asian woman, the categories most short-changed by the current group of school names. (And not just in Brookline but in all of Massachusetts. Among the hundreds of public school names, there is not a single one that appears Jewish or Asian, a cursory look finds.)
No Way, JFK
In either case, the political candidate was right: No white men.
Back to the conversation on my porch: Race came up because I mentioned the most famously inspiring student ever to walk the school’s hallways: President John F. Kennedy.
No way, the candidate told me.
I put forth my own favorite namesake: Dr. Sidney Farber, who lived and toiled nearby in Brookline and is considered a father of modern chemotherapy. I’d just been reading about him in the masterful history of cancer, “The Emperor of All Maladies.”
Farber’s work helped turn most childhood leukemia cases from tragedies into treatable illnesses, saving thousands of children’s lives.
When my daughter began kindergarten at then-Devotion a dozen years ago, a child in her class had leukemia. That pale little boy who missed most of his first year of school is now a gloriously towering young man.
When my son began kindergarten two years later, he became friendly with a bright, curly- headed kid named Max. In first grade, Max was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery. He came back to school with a limp. In sixth grade, he died.
Advocates argued that the school should be named after someone who fought oppression. What, I asked, could be oppression greater than 600,000 Americans a year dying from a disease that first tortures and then kills them? What better aspiration for children than that they dive into science in order to help cure cancer and other diseases?
But — Farber was white — except to some white supremacists who don’t consider Jews to be white. True, he’d been forced to go to medical school abroad because he was Jewish, but still — white.
The politician looked dubious.
(I wondered: Is there any level of achievement that could allow a white man to be honored in this time and place? What if Jonas Salk, whose polio vaccine has saved millions, had been local? What about Alexander Fleming, whose discovery of penicillin has saved hundreds of millions?
The point is not Sidney Farber per se. It’s that few enterprises are nobler than the mission of science to divine Nature’s well-hidden secrets in order to improve the human condition. Yet the process ultimately excluded all heroes of science, medicine and tech.)
Later, I came across another favorite candidate: JFK’s sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who helped create the Special Olympics and was this nation’s greatest champion for people with disabilities, particularly intellectual disabilities. She’s the focus of a powerful new book by the Pulitzer-winning columnist Eileen McNamara, and she attended Devotion. The school could be named for her and Rosemary, the sister she defended. I also loved the idea of Ethel Weiss, an iconic local candy-and-toy store owner who lived to over 100 and was beloved by generations of Devotion children who came to her tiny store beneath its magical red-and-white-striped awning. She embodied constancy and community, a deeply sensible wisdom and the positive effects one person can have on everyone around her. And she sat in that 15-by-40 store serving the school’s children for more than 75 years.
But — white and white, and the town seemed to have handed the renaming over to advocates who would accept only candidates of color, particularly if they worked for race- or gender- related causes.
I had never run into this sort of identity-based exclusion in the name of diversity before. Diversity efforts I’d seen and supported in schools and workplaces tended to offer an advantage to candidates who would add diversity, but never to the point of saying “no whites, no matter their virtues.”
I supposed I could focus on identity too, argue that Farber and Weiss were Jewish, that Shriver and Weiss were women — categories with histories of oppression.
But I found I fundamentally disagreed that the central focus should be on identity. To me, by far the best criterion for choosing a school namesake was whether the person served as the best possible model for children of what they might try to do in their lives, inspiration for how to be in the world.
The school had a beautiful motto: “Work Hard. Be Kind. Help Others.” Whose actions best exemplified those values? Who did the most good?
The process
To launch an elaborate process for choosing the new name, school officials issued a call to the general public to send in suggestions. And they appointed a committee of 15 children, students and graduates of the school, to produce a list of semi-finalists, then finalists, and then one final choice.
The townsfolk responded enthusiastically, with 270 residents sending in 119 unique names.
(One made me laugh out loud: “Schooly McSchoolFace.”)
The most nominations went to: - JFK: 33 - Some variation of Devotion or Devo without the Edward: 19 - Ethel Weiss: 19 (three with her husband, Irving) - Keep the name “The Coolidge Corner School”: 16 - Roland Hayes (A barrier-breaking African-American opera singer) 15
But when the student committee announced its list of 15 semi-finalists, it included only Roland Hayes from among those most popular nominees.
Of the 15 semi-finalists, only one was white, a lawyer named Sybil Holmes. She was the first woman to serve in the state Senate, so she, too, was an identity-based candidate, but she was unlikely to have broad appeal. The rest were all people of color, including two Native- Americans. The list included no Jews. No Asians. No Latinx nominees. And, of course, no white men. The student committee’s meetings were not public. An Open Meeting Law complaint has been filed as a result, arguing that these were deliberative meetings by what would qualify as a “public body” that eliminated highly popular candidates from consideration for naming a town institution.
The school district did disclose that it brought in certain speakers: the two advocates who made the name change happen; a speaker on Brookline’s pre-19th-century history of slavery; and the school district’s chief of equity.
The views that do not appear to have been represented by speakers to the students include:
- Tradition and history are important, and it is enough of a repudiation of slavery to strip the “Edward” from the school while keeping the “Devotion” or “Devo.” - Ethel Weiss was the quintessence of this community and her many decades in her tiny store next to the school exemplify how a life can be both small and great. - JFK was a uniquely inspiring leader and actually attended the school. So did Eunice. - The neutral Coolidge Corner School would allow us to avoid a divisive, zero-sum process and instead honor the community’s diversity by naming multiple parts of the school after multiple groups. - Public opinion matters, and the community overwhelmingly favors choosing someone local or with strong local ties. (Six of the semi-finalists had none, and six had very weak ones.) - If “equity” means that the namesake should reflect the community demographics, then Jews and Asians should get special consideration. - The choice does not have to be oriented toward correcting history; it could — and perhaps should — be oriented instead toward the future. - And many more…..
At an evening event this April where the semi-finalists were announced, the community learned for the first time that the student committee had used a set of naming criteria different from the town criteria.
It chose to emphasize “restorative justice,” even though that term normally refers to bringing offenders together with victims, and the perpetrators of slavery are long dead. And it chose to honor someone who “addressed the history of slavery and racism and the need to more accurately recognize the contributions of people of color in history.”
This was news to just about everybody outside the committee, judging by reaction on the school Facebook group.
In their posts, some advocates argued that racial restorative justice had clearly been the goal of the renaming all along. On the advocates’ Website, renamedevo.com, they include a page on the warrant article (https://www.renamedevo.com/warrant-article-23) that makes it look like Town Meeting endorsed restorative justice as a goal of the renaming.
In fact, it did not.
The Town Meeting article that launched the renaming reads only: “That the Town change the name of the Edward Devotion School to a name to be selected by the School Committee after receiving public input through a process to be determined by the School Committee.” It instructs the town Naming Committee to consider the name and recommend action to Town Meeting.
In May, I sent an email to the school officials most involved in the renaming. I asked them to suggest to the students that because public sentiment strongly favored a local candidate, perhaps they could replace the six non-local candidates with some of the most popular nominees who’d been left off the list.
I never heard back.
The students gathered public feedback on the 15 semi-finalists, and eventually settled on a final single choice: a suffragist, activist and journalist named Florida Ruffin Ridley who may have been the first African-American homeowner in Brookline.
Though virtually no one had heard of Florida Ruffin Ridley, she certainly stood for laudable causes. And she checked key identity boxes (though some other nominees checked those same boxes and seemed much more inspiring, including Elizabeth Freeman and Phyllis Wheatley.)
It would surely do no one any harm to have a school named for her.
But several aspects of this whole exercise remain deeply troubling. They include:
Fear and the chilling of civic discourse
Multiple parents on the school Facebook group told me off-line that they had serious issues with the process but were afraid to raise objections because they could be called racist by the most vocal social justice advocates in the group.
And in fact, when some people — including me — pointed out on Facebook that the semi- finalists seemed to have been filtered by race and did not seem to reflect public opinion well, one parent accused us of abetting white supremacist ideology.
In previous discussions related to the name, people who questioned the renaming were accused of being “poor allies” to people of color. One advocate told people who questioned the renaming — people she had never met — that they were unaware of their own implicit bias and afraid of loss and change. When they denied that their views arose from racism, they were accused of “white fragility.”
Because the process had been effectively put in the hands of advocates whose central focus was race, it was impossible to propose any other priority without being seen as hurting the cause of racial equity. Science, civic service, educational greatness of the Robert Sperber type, community nurturing like Ethel’s — all other ideals would be seen as the priorities of “poor allies.”
At one point, the only African-American school parent who participated in the Facebook discussion posted:
“This restorative justice process doesn’t feel very restorative. By shutting down conversations about all the different kinds of people this community should value, we are tearing a close-knit community apart along lines of race, ethnicity, and religion. That is not restorative justice. I also don’t hear a lot of people of color in this discussion. Hard to do restorative justice without listening to victims.”
Identity, identity, identity
One parent of a student on the committee posted that there should be no complaints about the process, arguing that the students had worked hard and learned a lot from their participation. Surely, they did. But their lessons seemed to include intensive instruction in a form of identity politics that is sowing deep division in the country.
This school-naming process seems to reflect what many are describing as a growing divide in liberal-democratic-progressive politics: the clash between two attitudes about diversity.
One could be called the Martin Luther King school, the ideal that people should be judged on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. This school would never exclude someone like Sidney Farber or Eunice Kennedy Shriver — true heroes on behalf of the most vulnerable — because they were white.
The other could be called the structural bias school, which argues that unless we put great emphasis on redressing the historical biases against certain categories— people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people — by heavily favoring those groups now, we will not move toward justice.
This is the complicated stuff that underlies disputes about affirmative action and other diversity issues. But in “On Justice,” Harvard professor Michael Sandel provides a simple rule of thumb: What is the institutional purpose at issue?
For example, if a university sees one of its roles as helping to seed the country with more highly educated people of color, then affirmative action makes perfect sense, even if it means that not all the applicants admitted are the most academically qualified.
Here, the overarching purpose was never really defined or voted on at the town level. The town’s naming criteria are hideously murky: Namesakes “can” be donors or national figures or significant contributors to the community, but they don’t have to be any one of those things.
Lacking that lodestar, the deliberations seem to have defaulted to the simplest dimension: It’s always much easier to focus on “who” a person was than “what” they did.
But it is inevitably divisive. In the days after Donald Trump was elected, Prof. Mark Lilla wrote in the New York Times: “In recent years, American liberalism has slipped into a kind of moral panic about racial, gender and sexual identity that has distorted liberalism’s message and prevented it from becoming a unifying force capable of governing.”
That divisiveness was on display here. The initial call for nominees was an uplifting exercise, an invitation to consider the wonderful array of human riches in our community, all the myriad ways that different people work hard and make the world better. The full conversation could have been glorious, and included a great many people of color, judging by the full list of nominations.
But then, with the late-breaking shift in criteria, the committee rejected full diversity of achievement and identity. It chose to exclude all categories of achievement except civil liberties and racial justice — and thus to exclude, a priori, figures like Dr. Sidney Farber and Ethel Weiss and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, as well as many people of color of great distinction.
The African-American parent posted on Facebook:
“I am less concerned with the name of the school than I am with the process. As I have said all along, I think this is an important teaching moment. You had the opportunity to highlight contributions that people of color have made that do not fit racist stereotypes — people of color are smart, creative, hard-working geniuses — instead of once again leaving all of those contributions out of the conversation to focus on slavery.”
One particularly clear signal that identity ruled: Michelle Obama made it to the semi-finalists, but Barack Obama did not. Seems it was more important that Michelle was a woman than that Barack was president.
Solutions
Upcoming meetings will allow the public to be brought back into the decision, but perhaps too late to make up for how heavily the process has been skewed from the moment the semi- finalists were announced.
In particular, the Coolidge Corner School community has never had a chance to weigh in on a decision that will affect it the most. Yes, 15 students worked on the committee, but many more who wanted to participate did not make the cut, and there has been no school assembly, no vote, no survey. Evenings of student presentations that gather feedback on pre-selected semi- finalists are not the same as actually asking the community what it wants in a way that can be counted.
A small group of children, some as young as 8 years old, became the “deciders” for a town of nearly 60,000 on a name that can be expected to last well over 100 years. That’s the simple version of events; the more cynical version as laid out in the Open Meeting Law complaint is that children manipulated by advocates unsurprisingly voted in favor of the advocates’ agenda.
Some parents say if the town does anything but endorse the children’s decision, the process will be “hijacked.” Others say the process was already “hijacked” by advocates and their school district allies — particularly former superintendent Andrew Bott, with his overriding passion for issues of race.
Janet Echelman, a world-class sculptor who lives in Coolidge Corner and knows public processes well, argues that a complex one like this should be expected to take years, and that the school should keep its current name for at least five years to be sure the community is fully involved and reaches consensus.
She also favors keeping the neutral Coolidge Corner School name permanently, and naming different parts of the school after various figures.
One parent estimated that the students on the committee had spent at least 40 hours on their work. Janet can attest that a truly inclusive town process takes much, much more than that.
Ideally, I think, the town would put together a full package before a final vote on any one piece of it: All the school renamings (Heath and Lawrence may also be renamed); the Devotion renaming; and all the names for sections inside the schools. The final package could include all kinds and colors of heroes.
True, that would not resolve the fundamental clash of values, tribes and priorities here. But maybe that’s the point: it would allow the dramatically different values of the dramatically diverse members of our community to co-exist more comfortably, instead of pitting them against each other. Pro’s & Con’s of Recorded Votes – 10/1/2019
A member of the public made a request in a Facebook post the AC have roll call votes so that members of the public will know who voted for what.
I solicited comments from four former Advisory Committee chairs and one other person who is not an AC member and asked for comments from AC members. One former chair supported the idea, one opposed it, one said they took recorded votes whenever there was a close vote, and one waffled on the question. A couple of AC members are unhappy with the idea and a few said they like it.
Here’s a summary of the pro and con comments. See page 2 for our suggested options.
Pro Con Comments Recorded votes would Recorded votes would expose Our votes are already recorded provide an antidote to the AC members to being trolled some of the time – when we view that the AC is a secret online have a member on the phone society and at TM. And anyone who attends the AC meeting can see how each member voted. We should respond to a We’re knuckling under to a If the idea has merit, it doesn’t valid request no matter who small group of people who matter who it comes from. made it. consider the AC to be part of (Even a stopped clock is right the problem twice each day.) Recorded votes tell the If it’s known how members This “con” comment did not public what each member’s who are TMMs vote, it could come from someone on the view is on each matter prompt someone to run Advisory Committee against them because of a vote they make Recorded votes take too long A former chair suggested a When we vote by a raise of solution to both of these hands, I can see how my vote concerns – start with a raise of might affect the outcome. hands, and hold a recorded vote only when it’s a close vote
Or, we could use an electronic voting device – see below.* Sometimes I vote “yes” so I We could record “procedural can move for reconsideration. yes” votes as an asterisk in the A recorded vote might be not record reflect my true position
* There are several electronic voting solutions available, ranging from dedicated “clickers” like the one we use at Town Meeting to apps that run on Apple and Android smart phones. The ones that run on smart phones are the least inexpensive, and some of them interface with PowerPoint. But reliability may be inferior to a dedicated clicker system running on its own frequency. Options
Yes/No/Maybe
No way Yes/Maybe
Start now Maybe • Raise of hands • Evaluate • Call the roll apps/clickers only for close • Demo and votes decide • Evaluate apps/clickers