Opinion: Do Boston Families Even Want Public Schools?

Low attendance at a city-sponsored meeting sends the wrong signal.

When you’re a member of the audience, you hope to outnumber the performers.  An empty venue is disheartening for those on stage and there’s less energy in the room. Boston Public Schools (BPS) took the stage this past rainy Tuesday night at Copley Library, holding its latest community meeting on improving school choice. But with fewer than two dozen people attending, speakers included – we barely made it. Go ahead, you can yawn – “community meeting on improving school choice” is one boring string of words, and not an event destined to be standing room only. But I was wide-eyed, thinking of the immense task Mayor Thomas Menino created for the city in January, in promising to overhaul the lottery assignment process and begin fostering school…

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Jamaica Plain Daycare Director Says Assault Charges are 'Not Me at All'

Linda Chery-Valentin says she 'really can't tell' whether the allegations against her in Jamaica Plain will discourage parents from enrolling at a new daycare she's launching in Sharon.

Linda Chery-Valentin, the daycare director alleged to have tried to run over parishioners of her host church, said Wednesday the charges are "no me at all." "I don't know what people are thinking," she told Sharon Patch. "But, they don't know me. I've been in business for so long. This is not me at all." Chery-Valentin, 46, of Natick pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery. She directs the Arc-En-Ciel Daycare in Moss Hill. She is accused of trying to run down parishioners of her host church and threatening the priest. According to reports in other media, the backdrop of the Sunday, May 6 confrontation is a lease dispute between Chery-Valentin and her host church, …

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Daycare Director Pleads Not Guilty to Assaulting Parishioners, Threatening Priest

Linda Chery-Valentin of Arc-en-Ciel Daycare has been ordered not to step foot in the church which houses her daycare in the basement.

The director of Arc-en-Ciel Daycare pleaded not guilty Tuesday to trying to run down parishioners of her host church and threatening the priest. Prosecutors say Linda Chery-Valentin allegedly drove her SUV at the church’s rector and a parishioner on Sunday, May 6. She got out of the vehicle, prosecutors say, and pushed the rector, saying, “You are going to be sorry.” Chery-Valentin, 46, is a Natick resident. She directs the Arc-En-Ciel Daycare and Montessori School from the basement of the 61 Rockwood St. church. She is also the founding director of a new French bilingual Montessori school opening in Sharon this September. "Father George, the church's priest, told FOX 25 that the owner of the daycare decided to hold an open house, but did …

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Ross: Some Boston Streets Shouldn't Have First-Floor Banks

City Councilor Mike Ross said Charles Street on Beacon Hill is an example of a business district where retail is being strangled by too many street-level banks.

Clusters of banks can strangle the retail vitality of certain Boston streets, warned City Councilor Mike Ross. Ross said Charles Street on Beacon Hill is an example where too many "big box banks" are buying up storefronts at inflated prices mom and pop shops can't afford. The resulting row of banks deadens what could be lively retail zones. "It’s not right for every street to make this 'No Bank First Floor' zoning change, but I believe it’s right for Charles Street on Beacon Hill," said Ross, who represents District 8. Ross said that banks close at 5 p.m. and aren't open on weekends, all of which has a deadening effect for the neighborhood businesses. He made his remarks at Wednesday's City Council meeting. The matter will be taken up by …

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Fatal Shooting in Forest Hills: Media Roundup

A review of what media outlets are reporting about Friday's fatal shooting at 132 Hyde Park Ave.

It's been the talk of JP this weekend: A man in his 20s was shot to death on Friday evening inside the house at 132 Hyde Park Ave. JP Patch has been covering the homicide, our neighborhood's most recent one since the stabbing death of Kenny "Black" Soto outside the 7-Eleven in October 2011. Here are highlights of what other media sources are reporting.   Boston Herald One Herald article focused on whether Forest Hills is a "safe" neighborhood. It quotes Ernest Pearson, who lives one house away from the homicide scene, as saying "The neighborhood is normally great. I’ve never heard of any shootings. The neighborhood is safe. I walk up and down the street all the time and I’ve never had any problems." Another Herald piece put Friday's …

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Indecent Exposure Reported Near Hollow Reed Preschool in JP

Boston Police say that, according to witnesses, a man in jeans called to children and exposed himself at the fence surrounding the Hollow Reed Preschool.

A man walked up to the fence at Hollow Reed Preschool on Tuesday, tried to get children to talk to them, and exposed himself, according to Boston Police. Police say the incident took place about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. The suspect is described as a short white man wearing blue jeans. He was trying to get children playing in the schoolyard of the Sedgwick Street school to talk to him. The man fled after exposing himself, witnesses told police. Police say detectives and the Sexual Assault Unit are investigating. They've alerted area schools and daycares. Anyone with information can contact detectives at 617-343-5628.  Anonymous tips can be given either by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1(800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME…

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New School Might Be in Jamaica Plain Just a Year

The Margarita Muñiz Academy, a high school, is scheduled to move into the old Agassiz School space come fall. But it might have only a year there.

According to Universal Hub, the new high school opening in JP come fall might be here just a year. The Boston blog reports that Margarita Muñiz Academy, slated to move into the old Agassiz School, could move out of JP at the end of its first school year. The school system also plans to move Mission Hill K-8 to the old Agassiz. It's a move some Mission Hill parents and teachers oppose on grounds of taking away Mission Hill's only elementary school. Mission Hill parents are scheduled to speak at tonight's JP Neighborhood Council meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. at the Julia Martin House. For all the details, please visit Universal Hub.

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Jamaica Plain Students Earn Honor Roll Status at Catholic Memorial

Four JP students achieved the honor for the third quarter of the school year.

WEST ROXBURY — Richard Chisholm, principal of Catholic Memorial School, has recognized the following Jamaica Plain students for achieving placement on the third quarter honor roll: Jonathon Treon 8 First Honors   Joshua Mullins 8 Principal's List   Owen Woodcock 7 Principal's List   Yushuang Hu 11 Second Honors   To be recognized on the Principal's List, students must achieve a 94.5 percent average or higher in all classes with no grade below a 90.  For First Honors: an 89.5 percent to 94.4 percent average with no grade below an 80.  For Second Honors: an 84.5 percent to 89.4 percent average with no grade below a 75. [Editor's note: This is a press release from Catholic Memorial.]

Connolly, Coppinger Testify About Raising Dropout Age at Joint Committee on Education

Two Boston City Councilors and two Boston state representatives testified about why they feel the high school dropout age should be raised from 16 to 18. What do you think?

Today At-Large Boston City Councilor John Connolly and District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson, state Rep. Ed Coppinger, D-West Roxbury, and state Rep. Carlos Henriquez, D-Dorchester, testified before the Joint Committee on Education at the State House. The Councilors and Representatives supported a home-rule petition sponsored by Councilors Connolly and Jackson that would raise the drop-out age in Boston from 16 to 18. [Editor's note: This item is posted on West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain Patch.]

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