Wellesley camps & programs 2020 — find a great summer experience

July 1, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

The Swellesley Report’s Summer Camps & Programs page lists over 75 camps and programs in Wellesley and beyond. It’s time to sign your child up for a great summer experience. Whether they’re into coding, arts and crafts, sports, drama, or nature, the perfect camp is out there for them.

Swellesley’s Summer Camps & Programs page is sponsored by iCode of Wellesley. iCode’s interactive programs for kids ages 6 – 18 are going on now. On-site and online programs available.

Please be aware that of the camps and programs listed, some are going forward, some have substantially re-worked their offerings, while others have canceled for 2020.

Contact Deborah to update your summer listing, or for advertising on Swellesley. Camp parents and guardians: Please let camps know that you found them here, if you did…thanks.

Wellesley to hold public hearing on Verizon cable contract

June 25, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

wellesley town hall war memorials The Board of Selectmen will hold a virtual public hearing on Monday, June 29, 5pm, to discuss Wellesley’s contract with Verizon cable television.

The hearing is one of two that are required in order for Wellesley to renew its license with Verizon. The Town’s current Verizon license ends in November 2021.

The discussion will be streamed live on Wellesley Public Media and may be watched on television on Comcast channel 8 and Verizon channel 40.

Residents are invited to participate and give input on the Town’s cable TV needs and interests. To take part, please email [email protected] prior to the hearing. Participants will be assigned a number designating the order in which they’ll speak, and a phone number to call where they will be conferenced in to give comments.

Verizon cable TV records and information about the license renewal process are available from the Selectmen’s Office. As Town Hall remains closed to the public, please email [email protected] to request information.

A second public hearing on the Verizon license will be held in September 2020.

Additional tech news—MLP webinar on June 25th

Wellesley’s Municipal Light Plant is hosting a webinar on June 25 from 7-8:30pm to get the word out about plans to mount AT&T small cell antennas on more than 40 poles around town in an effort to boost wireless service. AT&T reps and radiation safety specialist Donald Haes, Jr., will be part of the program, and residents can submit questions in advance to have them addressed before the installation is set to begin this summer. More info here.

Small cell antennas could be a big deal in Wellesley

June 18, 2020 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Leading up to this event, residents are calling attention to the town’s small antenna plans and urging others to study up. They’ve hit up town meeting members and also reached out to us. Iris Lin has already questioned the aesthetics of the pole-mounted antennas during a meeting of the Design Review Board of which she is a member. At that meeting, MLP Director Don Newell said he’s personally visited all the planned antenna locations as the MLP works on “balancing aesthetics with coverage.” The MLP has decreased the size of the antenna shrouds in some cases, he says.

bates antenna mlp — Small cell antenna installed across from Bates Elementary School (screenshot from Wellesley Public Media recording of Design Review Board meeting)

Still, Lin says the town should have done more to give residents and schools residing near the utility poles a heads up about the planned installations in light of health, environmental, property value and aesthetic concerns. Lin cites other communities, such as Burlington and Cambridge that have formed small cell committees and involved public hearings during the process.

Lin posted about the issue Thursday on the What’s Up Wellesley Facebook page, sparking a conversation in which some thanked her for letting them know, some pooh-poohed health concerns, and others celebrated the potential for better cell service. Lin and other neighbors have written to the MLP and Board of Selectmen to register their concerns as well. We happened to be listening to the Natick Board of Selectmen meeting last week when a resident during citizen speak expressed his concerns about an increase in small cells in that town, and urged the BoS to consult with an industry expert.

The small cell antennas in Wellesley would pave the way beyond today’s 4G wireless technology, to use carrier lingo, and toward next-generation 5G wireless that boosts data speeds and has more capacity. We haven’t noticed Wellesley using the term 5G, perhaps intentionally. The small cell antennas are separate from the distributed antenna systems the town has installed in recent years to improve wireless service.

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Wellesley tech entrepreneur Chris Zannetos seeks to get on ballot for Congressional primary

April 19, 2020 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Update (5/11/20): Chris Zannetos collected the necessary number of signatures to qualify for the 9/1 ballot.

Under normal circumstances, 20-year Wellesley resident Chris Zannetos and his team would be seeking signatures at the RDF and local supermarkets to get on the ballot for the Sept. 1 Democratic primary for Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District seat. But the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Zannetos, who announced his run for Congress on April 1, to resort to other means to stir up support.

He’s been touring the 4th district by bike, holding virtual town meetings and webinars, and mailing nomination papers to residents, which he’s urging people to sign and send in by Wednesday, April 22.

The race is shaping up to be a crowded one, with 11 candidates vying to get on the ballot. Fortunately for candidates, a judge has ruled that they need to collect fewer signatures than usual due to health crisis, but it will still be a logistical challenge for them.

We sent Zannetos, who boasts a strong IT security and business technology background, a handful of questions this week to learn more about what he hopes to bring to Congress.

If we weren’t in this COVID-19 situation, how would you be trying to collect signatures and get the word out about your campaign? How are you doing things differently as a result of the situation?

We would be standing outside the Roche Brothers, Whole Foods and at the recycling at the RDF, asking people to sign the Nomination Papers (in fact, we started that in the beginning of March) and we also started in-person Meet & Greets at people’s homes in the district. But of course, all that has changed. We have had a table out in front of my house for people to stop by and sign the papers, and we’ve mailed out Nomination Papers to many thousands of voters in the district…in fact, every household with a Democrat in Wellesley should have received this [week]! We are also trying to take advantage of the Internet to bring information and services to our district, build connections, and to get word out about the campaign – with a web series on New Paths to the American Dream and our Ask to Expert series. In addition, I’m an avid biker, and I’m cycling through every town in the district to highlight each town’s special character and small businesses.

Many in Wellesley have the resources to survive a run-of-the-mill crisis relatively unfazed. But how do you think the current health, social and economic crisis will affect the town, its residents, its businesses in the months/years to come?

First, I think we have to remember that while Wellesley is an affluent town, not everyone has the resources to be out of work. Having the experience of managing a business through the post 9/11 recession and the 2008 Great Recession, I’m afraid that the impact of this crisis will be deeper and longer lasting. It is unlikely that we will just “spring back”, and many businesses will be severely damaged by this.
Hopefully, for those who do have the resources to weather this crisis, this is a reminder to help others in our community whether it’s by giving to the food pantry, donating to nonprofits that help people meet their rent or mortgage payments in times of crisis, or just by eating out more often to help keep restaurants in business.

The reality is that we don’t know how we are going to come out of this because the disruption of so many aspects of our lives – financial, health, daily routines – is unprecedented. Regardless of the financial impact, I don’t think we’ll fully understand the emotional and mental health impact of this on our children, our elderly, really everyone, for some time to come.

I believe, though, that we have the opportunity to come out of this with greater resilience, a greater appreciation for what we have, and a greater respect for our fellow residents. We can come out with improved and more resilient education, with a focus on supporting our local, family-owned businesses. Our town, state, and federal governments can be better prepared for the next crisis, if they honestly examine how we could have prepared better. We can come out with a renewed commitment to find ways to bring us together for the common good, instead of focusing on wedge issues to divide us. We can demand that our government work as effectively and quickly in “normal” times, as it has in this time of crisis.

What have been the big tech lessons learned during the crisis so far? I mean besides, “unmute yourself.” What big changes would you expect to happen as we recover?

I think we’ve learned a few things about technology and ourselves:

1. Technology can enable very important, even deeply personal human connections. My mother was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. My family was able to see and speak with her because the doctors and nurses had added Facetiming with patients’ families to their already heavy responsibilities. It was not only wonderful to see my mother – who thankfully has improved enough to be discharged, but the compassion and dedication of the nurses and doctors to care for their patients and their families was truly touching.

2. Technology can enable many to work effectively from home, and that perhaps we don’t need as many people to be going to the office every day. Given the traffic we have here, perhaps we will take advantage of this to reduce traffic, to reduce pollution, to reduce aggravation, and reduce time wasted sitting in our cars in traffic jams.

3. I do think that our experience in a variety of industries, including education, will open up new opportunities for improvement. I’ve already heard from some teachers that teaching remotely has created some ideas for improved in-class teaching.

4. Finally, with all our advances, it is clear that we have not done enough to enable our seniors with technology. I’ve heard many stories from friends about unsuccessfully trying to teach their parents how to use technology to connect with family. The tech world has more work to do.

How long have you been thinking about running for public office? Did anything specific trigger your move?

I’ve always enjoyed serving the community in one form or another – whether as soccer coach for Wellesley United, as a volunteer for the Boy Scouts Food Drive or the Boston Marathon, on the board of my church and other organizations, or as the founder of a non-profit that brings companies together with schools to make STEM education more accessible to underserved people. I didn’t plan to run for Congress, and that’s probably apparent by my late entry. I went to the Wellesley Democratic Committee’s “Meet the Candidates Night” in late January, and I felt that I really had something to bring to the table that separated me from the other candidates, certain experiences that could be truly beneficial to our district and in Washington, and I started thinking about whether I needed to run.

I think our country and our democracy are at a critical point. We’ve had this booming economy, but it has benefited very few because we haven’t made the 21st century, technology-driven, economy accessible to all. Even before the pandemic, over 40% of Americans didn’t believe the American Dream of achieving a better life than the generation before was available to them. And with urgent action needed on income inequality, healthcare accessibility, climate change and other important issues, we’ve gotten only inaction, divisiveness, and hyper partisanship. Washington isn’t reflective of a division in our country, it’s a driver of division.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased our challenges dramatically, but it has also highlighted the solution. After we get through this, we can’t go back to business as usual in Washington. Now more than ever we need people in Washington who understand the science and technology that drive our world, have experience creating higher paying, more resilient 21st century jobs, and know how to bring people together for win/win solutions instead of posturing for partisan gain. If I had seen that experience or focus at that Meet the Candidates Night, I’d still be focused on running my software company instead of running for Congress.

An aerial view of Wellesley’s COVID-19 pandemic shutdown

April 8, 2020 by Bob Brown 5 Comments

Wellesley’s Michael Tobin compiled this video and photo montage of Wellesley’s mostly empty streets and open spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The drone, one of the ultimate social distancing tools at our disposal, flew mostly at an altitude of 150 to 400 feet, though zoomed closer to land for a few close-ups.

“As Wellesley started to shut down, and we were all ordered to work from home and stay home, I couldn’t help be awed by the change in the feel of the town as I did venture out on essential walks and trips to the grocery store.” Tobin says, who took the videos on Sunday April 5 and Monday April 6. “At what should have been the busiest rush hours, there were virtually no cars on the road. The parking lots of shuttered business and the schools were empty. I’d be in the backyard and hear no cars going by on our usually busy cut-through street. No sounds of occasional overhead planes. Even quieter than a Wellesley summer weekend evening! So eerie!”

Tobin’s hopeful that if residents continue to stay at home as much as possible and follow Health Department and state orders “we can get through this to fill those restaurant tables and get our local businesses running again as soon as possible.”

More: Centennial Reservation looks pretty great from above, too (2017)

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Wellesley School Committee meeting: the challenges of remote learning

April 2, 2020 by Deborah Brown 3 Comments

The Wellesley School Committee (SC) met on March 31 the same way it did last week — remotely via Zoom, the online meeting platform that’s gone from workplace communications tool to lifeline for a socially isolated population trying to remain connected. The SC was unable to hold its meeting at Town Hall as usual due to coronavirus concerns.

With all Massachusetts schools shut down until at least May 4, 2020 per Gov. Charlie Baker, the burning issue before the SC is how effectively the Wellesley Public Schools are managing the education of its over 5,000 students.

The meeting began with public comments, with parents of school-age children coming to the virtual microphone to air their concerns.

Mark S., a Hardy parent of two, said, “It think that the parents of Wellesley would like to see online and remote learning happen quickly.”

His perception is that such learning has ramped up quickly across the country, but that Wellesley has been slow to adapt. He said that the schools should by this point be able to provide “timelines and deliverables” and that “people are hoping the district is going to do a faster job and not necessarily blame the State for certain things. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”

Oscar E., an elementary school parent and former teacher said, “It’s been more than two weeks since this crisis started,” and that educationally it seemed like the ball was just getting rolling. He expressed concerns that teachers are not in direct contact with students, which he said “could be as simple as teachers having a 20-minute conversation with each student per day. The lack of engagement is what concerns me.”

“They are obligated to be working eight hours per day. I’m not saying they are or are not. I’m not their supervisor and I can’t account for their time, but I have that concern. When I look at the current picture, I cannot see the output.”

Superintendent David Lussier, citing Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidelines, said that equity and access issues around pubic education remain a concern, and that last week the SC was “eagerly awaiting guidance from DESE.”

Since those guidelines were released last Thursday, Lussier said school staff has been busy working on what remote learning 2.0 will look like. “We all agree we’d like to see our approach become broadened a bit, more comprehensive, although some things really can’t change such as a continued focus on equity and access, knowing that not all of our students are going to be able to engage.”

DESE guidelines list the top priority of the schools right now as to ensure the safety, social, and emotional health and wellness of its students.

This is disappointing to parents who want to see learning of new academic material move forward.

In an email to Swellesley from a parent who asked to remain anonymous, the parent said, “No administrator or School Committee member questioned how our students will catch up if they do not continue to learn new curriculum. Where is the concern? How can we possibly make up all of that lost curriculum? What about foundational material that you need throughout high school to succeed on standardized testing and moving onto next-level math?”

Lussier said the State guidelines are clear that “remote learning is not synonymous with online learning, where everything goes online and we’re just going to be teaching online classes. That is not the approach the state is recommending or that districts are adopting anywhere in the Commonwealth in terms of public schools.”

He went on to say that there’s a rough recommendation for learning for the totality of both indirect and direct learning “to represent about half of what we would normally expect during a traditional school day. There is a strong recommendation for reinforcing and applying foundations that have been built in the first semester.”

For older students, however, Lussier stated the desire to advance the curriculum more traditionally, which would include the introduction of new material.

What about grading?

The School Committee is still working on that. It seems clear, however, that the new Schools Standard-Based Report Cards (SBRC) rolled out this academic year for K – 5 students will not be able to serve as an accurate measure of performance as related to remote learning. Geared to communicate progress toward Massachusetts’ grade-level standards and expectations, the SBRC indicates to families whether their children are meeting standards; progressing toward standards; beginning to progress towards standards; or not yet demonstrating progress.

How grading will look at the K – 5 level for the rest of the school year is as yet undetermined.

At the middle and high-school levels, where students receive letter grades on an A – F scale, the SC is considering a move toward a credit/no credit assessment, or possibly a pass/fail system. More information on that in the coming weeks.

As the schools work toward their next steps in remote learning in what the SC is referring to as Version 2.0, Lussier noted that he and the SC are in meetings with the Wellesley Teachers Association. The constraints of staff as they try to provide productive learning are real concerns.

Lussier also noted that the SC has heard from families who are concerned that remote learning might go in a direction in which “the responsibilities are so significant that a family can’t possibly support their children in everything that’s being asked.”

Joan Dabrowksi, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning, spoke about the needs of the district’s youngest learners. “We want to think mindfully about screen time…we have to keep that balanced and measured with the offline work.”

Dabrowksi also talked about emphasizing the social-emotional piece of education, making teacher-student interactions a priority, and ensuring that kids are getting physical activity. “That’s a big part of wellness.”

Sarah Orlov, Director of Student Services talked about the DESI guidelines for Special Education (SPED) students. “Basically , the guidance we were given is directed among providing some services to students and trying to hold some Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings…IEPs in a lot of ways aren’t suited to a remote environment. While we won’t be able to implement every child’s IEP as written — it simply wouldn’t be possible — what we are hoping to do is talk to families around what they feel they need the most. Then try to develop a plan that is implementable.”

As for high school students set to take the upcoming Advanced Placement exams in May, Orlov said, “The College Board weighed in very quickly with a plan.”

Students will take the exams at home, and College Board has modified the exams significantly. The not-for-profit organization has reduced the scope of content students will be tested on to reflect the part of the curriculum students would have covered up until early March, when many schools started closing across the nation.

What’s next?

“Going forward,” Lussier said, “We’ll see how meetings go with the Wellesley Teachers Association.”

Meanwhile, in town there are signs that kids and families are, indeed, getting restless.

Graffiti at Reed’s Pond; a Brook Path as crowded as a Manhattan sidewalk; the Wellesley College campus and the Lake Waban path closed to all but the 200+ students hunkered down on campus and the staff there to support them after throngs poured onto the privately owned property; accusations of hordes of teens congregating; testy exchanges in the Roche Bros. freezer aisle; and more.

The schools have been closed since March 12.

They’re scheduled to be closed until at least May 4.

Whether schools will open at that time is anyone’s guess. The School Committee will meet weekly on Tuesdays through the coronavirus crisis. The public is encouraged to attend the meetings, and to email any SC member with their concerns.

Here is the agenda for April 7, 2020, 6:30pm meeting, along with information on how to view the meeting in real-time, and how to participate in Public Comments.

More: Wellesley schools superintendent: “We need to be doing more than what we’re doing now” (March 25 School Committee report)

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How Wellesley Police will enforce new hands-free cellphone law

February 19, 2020 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

I sometimes occupy my mind while walking Wellesley’s streets by tracking the % of drivers I see looking at their cellphones. It’s often disturbingly high, like 75% or more some mornings on Linden Street near the train station. Though I only noticed about 1 out of 15 during my latest count on that strip, and he was using the down-low method where I couldn’t be absolutely sure it was a phone he was viewing.The Wellesley Police Department, professionally trained in such observations, will soon be taking a sharper look at such driver behavior in light of the new Hands-Free free going into effect in Massachusetts on Feb. 23.

The law essentially prohibits you from holding a mobile/electronic device while driving. All operation of the mobile device has to be in a hands-free manner with very exceptions, such as making a 911-call. No, you can’t check your texts while stopped at a red light. Drivers under the age of 18 are already restricted from any mobile device use, including in hands-free mode, while driving.

Until March 31, 2020, drivers who violate this law will be issued a warning. After that, drivers could receive a $100 fine the first time, then $250 plus a distracted driving program on second offense, and $500 and a whole ugly prize package for three or more offenses

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This will replace the previous law MGL Chapter 90 section 13 which allowed the use of a mobile phone as long as one hand remained on the steering wheel

I asked Wellesley Police Lt. Marie Cleary how the local force would be enforcing the new law. She says, “This is a law that will be enforced as violations are observed. It would likely be pretty apparent to an officer if a motorist is talking on their cell phone when it is not in ‘hands free mode.’ If a motorist is holding the cell phone in their hand, holding it to their ear, etc.”

I also asked whether Wellesley tracks crashes tied to phone use.

“Currently the information that is tracked for driver contributions to crashes does not specify phone use,” Cleary says. “There is a code that tracks if a driver was distracted, but that could be for many reasons.”

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