SharonForRepresentative: June 2014

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Early Childhood Education

If we want to turn around the education system in the United States, we need to make sure our children have the foundation necessary to be successful in school. We hear over and over again that children are entering the school system without the basic tools they need to begin the learning process. Many parents cannot afford quality day care for their children, nevermind pay for preschool. This is no longer 'only' a class system, is has become a critical situation we can no longer ignore. By providing early childhood education nationwide we will benefit everyone by helping more of our youngsters start school ready to learn while freeing up parents to work without having to incur the expense of daycare which they often cannot manage.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is throwing his support behind a new initiative called Early Childhood Nation. “A coalition of mayors and brain scientists are trying to get the U.S. government to make early childhood education both a priority and a right in America. This [Early Childhood Nation] is just one of the many initiatives rolled out at the 82nd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting this week in Dallas. http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/education-sec-arne-duncan-discusses-future-learning/

This initiative is being funded by the Bezos Family Foundation. From their website, “Drawing from the latest findings in applied research and advances in neuroscience, we support innovative programs with promising evidence that provide a direct benefit to young children and invest in lasting support systems for parents and caregivers, including communications and public awareness efforts. http://bezosfamilyfoundation.org/early-learning

The Bezos family not only supports early childhood education but education through high school. All of their efforts are grounded in research. "Through investment in research public awareness and programs, the foundations works to elevate the field of education and improve the life outcomes for all children."

They also have a strong civic and community awareness component, something that is sorely needed if we are to continue to live in a democratic society.

Or we can take a page out of the Finnish playbook:
"In Finland, school readiness means that the school has to be ready to receive, welcome, and help all children. Compared to here where 4, 5, 6 year olds are expected to meet standards before they are considered “ready” for school. Most parents in Finland are not at all concerned about kids’ academic performance. We are concerned about friendships, if they are happy, what their interests are."
http://www.citizensforpublicschools.org/finnish-lessons-what-we-learned-from-pasi-sahlberg/

Through investments in research, public awareness and programs, the foundation works to elevate the field of education and improve life outcomes for all children. - See more at: http://bezosfamilyfoundation.org/about-us#sthash.dH3zbBoJ.dpuf

Students Rebuild is a collaborative program of the Bezos Family Foundation that mobilizes young people to connect, learn and take action on critical global issues. Our current Water Challenge, in partnership with charity: water and Global Nomads Group, will help to bring clean, safe drinking water to schools and communities in Tanzania. - See more at: http://www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org/students-rebuild#sthash.02hFuU1Z.dpuf

We support rigorous, inspired learning environments for young people to put their education into action. Our investments along a continuum from birth through high school aim to elevate the field of education and improve life outcomes for all children. - See more at: http://www.bezosfamilyfoundation.org/#sthash.Hb94A5Tg.dpuf

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Juvenile Justice in Massachusetts

Juvenile Justice is something that concerns us all. I thank God that I have never been close to anyone involved in any manner of atrocity so I can not speak from personal experience. I can speak from a human experience though. I can speak from the position of someone that has been around juveniles all my life and have witnessed over and over again the marvelous transformation they make as they grow to adulthood. A friend of mine use to say it is a miracle anyone makes it through their teenage years because they make so many dumb choices. Amen to that.

Fortunately most of the dumb choices are relatively harmless and only a minor percentage of them are egregious enough to warrant prison time but how can we, the people of Massachusetts, think that the actions and behaviors of a teenager should define him or her for life? All of the evidence tells us their brains are not fully developed until well into their twenties. They are not to be excused for making bad choices but neither should they be permanently defined by it.

“On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court issued an historic ruling in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs holding that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger convicted of homicide are unconstitutional.” http://www.eji.org/childrenprison/deathinprison The Spremem Court ruled that mandatory life without parole for juveniles is unconstitution. How did we need the Supreme Court to tell us that? ““Simply put, because the brain of a juvenile is not fully developed, either structurally or functionally, by the age of eighteen, a judge cannot find with confidence that a particular offender, at that point in time, is irretrievably depraved,” the court wrote. “Therefore, it follows that the judge cannot ascertain, with any reasonable degree of certainty, whether imposition of this most severe punishment is warranted...Given the unique characteristics of juvenile offenders, they should be afforded, in appropriate circumstances, the opportunity to be considered for parole suitability,” the court wrote in its decision.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/24/mass-high-court-strikes-down-life-without-parole-sentences-for-juveniles/eyjKrVSE2EXD0KF7wQXX5M/story.html

The Massachusetts legislature has taken up the charge to come up with a reasonable plan to offer these people an opportunity for parole. Last week the House of Representatives voted 128-16 to pass bill H4184. “Under terms of the bill that the House passed on Wednesday, juveniles convicted of murders that involved premeditated malice or extreme atrocity or cruelty would be parole eligible after serving 25 to 30 years in prison. Juveniles convicted of committing a first-degree felony murder between their 14th and 18th birthdays would be eligible after serving 20 to 25 years in prison.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/18/massachusetts-house-passes-measure-parole-for-juvenile-killers/qz5dNtfeSuWfow1Gu03QDN/story.html?p1=ArticleTab_Article_

“Also, H.4184 bill would allow the Parole Board to impose a 10-year wait –double the current 5-year setback – before an individual who has been denied parole can go before the board again. THIS UNPRECEDENTED TEN YEAR SETBACK APPLIES TO ALL PERSONS SERVING LIFE SENTENCES – THOSE SENTENCED AS ADULTS AS WELL AS THOSE SENTENCED AS JUVENILES.” http://jeantrounstine.com/?p=1968#

See https://malegislature.gov/Bills/BillHtml/137483?generalCourtId=11 for the full text of the bill.

While 20 - 30 years prior to parole hearing is certainly an improvement over a life sentence, it is still an unusually cruel sentence to give a 14 - 17 year old. A kid that was still in the midst of a crucial aspect of brain development, the piece that would help guide decision making. “...Gail Garinger, the state’s child advocate, voiced concerns that juveniles convicted of first-degree murder would wait too long before becoming eligible for parole under the House proposal. It doesn’t give sufficient recognition to how juveniles are different from adults,” she said.” And what is the point of doubling the 5 year wait time to 10 years? Has there been evidence that this action is warranted?

According to Citizens for Juvenile Justice, we still have time to impact the Senate Bill. They put out a call asking us to call our Senators and tell them the following:

*1. Youth should have an initial opportunity to seek parole no later than 15 YEARS into their sentence. REMEMBER: Eligibility is NOT a guarantee to secure parole, just an opportunity to be reviewed!

2. Everyone should be eligible for further parole hearings, if needed, no later than every 5 YEARS.”

3. This bill is inconsistent with the SJC's decision in Diatchenko, and would result in de facto life sentences for young people.

See below for phone numbers of Senators, please call them and voice your opinion on this important topic.

These recommendations seem reasonable to me. Give the kids a chance to show if they have redeemed themselves. But we should also make a greater effort to provide opportunities for redemption, help work on social and civic skills as well as skills for employment upon release. When we lock up teenagers and release them 15, 20, 25 years later as adults, we better make sure they have the opportunity to be successful productive members of society unless we want to send them right back.

“The special education John [Odgren] needed was too expensive for his school district, though the state will spend about $2.5 million to imprison him for the rest of his life.” http://bit.ly/1nHkeHF

In a related but separate case, in September 2013 Governor Deval Patrick raised the age a juvenile can be tried as an adult from 17 to 18. I was at the State House when Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian recited the statistics from his jail. Unfortunately I don’t remember all he said but I do remember being amazed and saddened to listen to him describe the inmates in his jail. The majority of them have mental health and/or substance abuse issues that were never adequately treated and a large number of them do not have viable job skills. He is trying to address these issues in his jail but why are we warehousing our underserved population in jail rather than getting them the help they need before they find themselves in jail? It would be a much more effective use of taxpayer money. Not to mention it is ‘the right thing to do’.

Senate Judiciary Chair, William Brownsberger (D., Belmont):

617-722-1280, William.Brownsberger@masenate.gov

Senate Chair of Ways & Means, Stephen Brewer (D. Barre): 617-722-1540, Stephen.Brewer@masenate.gov

President Therese Murray (D. Plymouth):

617-722-1500, Therese.Murray@masenate.gov

Majority Leader Stanley C. Rosenberg (D. Amherst):

617-722-1532, Stan.Rosenberg@masenate.gov

President Pro Tempore Richard T. Moore (D. Uxbridge):

617-722-1420, Richard.Moore@masenate.gov

Senate Majority Whip Karen E. Spilka (D. Ashland):

617-722-1640, Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov

Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Lincoln Squirrel - Lincoln’s Antia sets sights on state legislature

The Lincoln Squirrel

Lincoln’s Antia sets sights on state legislature

Posted: 10 Jun 2014 06:25 PM PDT

Sharon Antia

By Alice Waugh

Sharon Antia of Lincoln has opinions and isn’t shy about sharing them with the people she meets—and she’s hoping enough of those people will vote for her in November to win her a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Antia, who is running as an independent, is challenging incumbent Democrat Thomas Stanley, who has been the state rep for the 9th Middlesex District since 2000. The district includes Lincoln and part of Waltham.

“My primary goal is to be a voice for the people, and the people I’ve talked to in both Waltham and Lincoln don’t feel they have that voice. Almost everyone in Lincoln said they had never met [Stanley],” she said during a conversation in the Whistlestop Cafe. “it’s not going to be easy. He’s deeply entrenched in Waltham life and the community, but maybe it’s time for a change.”

Antia has held public office only once, when she replaced a departing member of the Lincoln School Committee in 2005. However, she’s been active with the Council on Aging, hosting monthly “fireside chats” to discuss topical issues including gun control, civil rights, energy and the needs of the aging.

“I really like bringing together people that may or may not have the same views and help them find common ground—to listen and understand even if they don’t agree,” Antia said.

Social policy is “really dear to my heart,” said Antia, who holds a master’s degree in education and policy management from Harvard. She and her husband Bob adopted four boys through the state Department of Children and Families (DCF), so she has first-hand experience dealing with social service agencies for kids and adopting parents.

“I don’t think it should be this hard to get the services you need,” Antia said. “They try, but the resources—the knowledge, people, training, money—just aren’t enough… and I think both our communities are very concerned about these issues.”

She’d also like to see more state funding for the METCO program as well as closer relationships between METCO and Lincoln families. “I think there’s room for us as parents in Lincoln and Boston to model for the kids what that looks like,” she said.

Another local educational resource, Minuteman High School, is “woefully [under] utilized” by Lincoln families, Antia asserted. “Going to Minuteman does not mean you’re not going to college,” she said. However, the school’s recent efforts to change its multi-town funding formula to place more weight on each town’s overall means is “crazy,” she added. “We need to look at other ways of raising funds for Minuteman.”

Antia is also in favor of increasing state funding for early education. “The earlier that kids from all economic levels are given opportunities, the better,” she said. “We need to level the playing field.”

As for the thorniest Lincoln education issue of late—the school building project debate—Antia voted against the plan proposed at Town Meeting in 2012. “I didn’t think we were ready,” she said, adding that she supports a school project in some form but isn’t sure what the ultimate solution ought to be.

Other issues Antia would like to tackle as a state legislator include transportation, energy and the environment, and business development. “Wouldn’t Waltham be a great place as [an innovation] hub for manufacturing?” she said, adding that its proximity to area colleges and research labs make it ideal for apprenticeship or co-op programs.

Antia grew up in Attleboro in a family of eight children—“we were poor, but our parents always read to us,” she said—and worked for 15 years at Dunkin Donuts, where [as a single parent] she rose through the ranks to become a general manager of three stores. Later, she worked full-time as a development center specialist and customer support engineer while earning an associate’s degree at the Community College of Rhode Island, she got her bachelor’s degree in business management from Northeastern University in 1999 and her master’s from Harvard in 2010.

Since 2004, Antia has been a parent advocate, serving as a member of advisory committee for Caring Together (a DCF/Department of Mental Health (DMH) collaborative effort to create a new standardized residential system of care) and a researcher for the DMH to study how parent support resources are utilized and develop best practices.

Antia is also an advocate for women who have had surgery for breast cancer or are considering it. After several family members were diagnosed with cancer, Antia had herself tested and discovered she was positive for the BRCA2 gene, which carries a significantly elevated risk for breast and ovarian cancer, so she had her breasts and ovaries removed but elected not to have reconstructive surgery afterwards. “I’d like to help normalize our bodies as flat,” she said of herself and other women who have made this choice.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Someone Else's Child

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/07/kasper/LZMEpvVlky8TohK9AdEc9H/story.html

Anyone that has a child with mental health issues can imagine the pain this parent is feeling. Jim Kasper tried everything he could to give his son a chance at a ‘normal’ life. He dedicated his life to trying to find the right combination of services that would allow his son to lead a productive, responsible life. According to this article he “devoted himself to his son’s care: speech therapy, psychiatrists and psychologists, social groups, a special elementary and middle school targeted to students with learning disabilities.” When his son was an adult he convinced him to check into psychiatric hospitals including McLean and Bridgewater State and when he ran away from the hospital his father had him civilly committed for 9 months in the hope that he would get the help he needed.

The son, too, desperately tried measures to help himself. “Harry was always searching for some silver bullet that would change him into the person he wanted to be. He tried electroshock therapy and eliminated yeast from his diet. He took steam baths at home, disappearing into the bathroom to run the hot shower for hour-long stretches several times a day, tripling the gas bill. He faithfully practiced Korean yoga because it promised students “mastership over their body and mind.”

Ultimately he died of a heroin overdose. He died with no one around to care about him, to help him. He died trying to ‘fit in’ with his best friend, a drug addict. Harry did not have a history of using heroin but his friend did and Harry so wanted to have a friend and so wanted to find an answer to what was plaguing him that he went too far. He died in an alley with no one around.

This is not anyone’s fault and it is everyone’s problem. This boy grew up wanting to be one of the guys but he didn’t know how. There are so many children like Harry that want to fit in, want to be like their peers, want to have friends and do well in school and get jobs and raise families. But they don’t know how. This hurts all of us. Harry could be any one of our children but he was not. He was ‘someone else’s child’.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Together We Can

At least that is my story. Twenty five years ago I was a student in a computer programming program at Boston University Corporate Education Center in Tyngsboro MA. My route there is slightly unconventional and an act of faith and charity on my community’s part. But it started long before that.

I grew up 40 miles from Boston in Attleboro MA, the jewelry Capital of America, at least that is what the sign said. I was 1 of 8 children in an Irish Catholic family. Long story short, I got pregnant right out of high school, had a shotgun wedding which lasted about 3 months and decided to go to the local community college. After my son was born I went on welfare and attended the Community College of Rhode Island while my mother took care of Billy. Summer came and rather than sit around I went back to my job from high school, slinging coffee and donuts at the local Dunkin. My mother once told me that once when we were driving by Dunkin Donuts when I was little I said dreamily, “I’m going to work there one day”. Little did I know…

CIrca 1987

I worked full time that summer making minimum wage and as a result no longer qualified for government loans for school. Instead, my boss sent me to Dunkin Donuts University in Randolph MA. There I learned how to make the donuts and how to manage a store. Within a few years I was running 3 Dunkin Donuts and by the time I was 25 I bought a house. A small house next door to my parents, it cost me about $35,000. My aunt gave me $1500 for the down payment. My father died a few years after I bought the house and I found the courage to consider a new career. You see, I couldn’t change jobs while my father was alive. After he got home from WWII he worked in a paper mill right up until cancer no longer allowed him to work. He was a child of the great depression and never failed to tell me how lucky I was to have such a good job. At the time I didn’t realized it but I just couldn’t move on and risk letting him down.

Though I did wonder about other careers. I often wondered how I could access a different kind of life. A life that did not include working in a hot kitchen over a fryolator in 90 degree weather and did not include phone calls at midnight or 5 AM from people saying they couldn’t come to work that day. What it would be like to not smell like a donut all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job. I used to sing (to my co-workers lament) as I made the donuts but I wanted more than anything to move on with my life.

One day after a particularly difficult New Year’s Eve of someone calling in sick one time too many, I saw an add in the newspaper for a computer training program at the Boston University Corporate Education Center. I applied for all the credit cards I could get my hands on, took my $5000 in savings, quit my job and enrolled in the program. I was so scared! I tried to think of what the worst possible outcome would be. I decided the absolute worst was I would lose my house and have to move in with my mother while I picked myself back up. No one would die, no one would get hurt - I literally had to keep reminding myself of this. I also knew that this was a chance to move on. To acquire a skill that could help me move ahead and it was too good a chance to pass up. But I was petrified.

When I gave my notice at Dunkin Donuts I was 29 years old. I had been working at Dunkin almost half my life. My boss RIchard, God-bless-him, gave me a stack of coffee and donut cards to last me for several months. He also paid for my health insurance while I was out of work. The employees got together and gave me several gift cards to the local grocery store so we would be able to eat. I was moved to tears.

The training program lasted 8 weeks and in June we graduated. When it was over I worked part time at Dunkin Donuts and part time at a local Community Service Agency while I looked for work. I bought my first answering machine so I would not miss out on any opportunities. It was a scarey summer for my son and me. Billy was 12 and that was a particularly hot summer. Between the heat and our nerves Billy developed a case of the hives. My brother brought over a little air conditioner that we put in Billy’s bedroom which was the only way he could be comfortable. In August I turned 30. While I was out in the morning BIlly came out of his room and made me a birthday cake. In the microwave. Yup. Best birthday cake I ever had.

By the fall I had a job as a computer programmer at AMICA Mutual Insurance Co. AMICA gave me, a single mother and college drop-out a chance to make something of myself. I had to drive into Providence RI every day and work in a big old glamourous office building. I was beside myself with joy. And fear. I was sure they had a made a big mistake. Every night for the first three months I got down on my knees and begged God to help me because I knew any day they were going to find out I didn’t have a clue. Every single night. And then, after three months, I realized He didn’t need to do it for me anymore. I knew what I was doing.

Meanwhile, after I started getting a paycheck I went back to Dunkin Donuts. The deal I had struck with them was that they would pay my insurance and once I got back on my feet I would reimburse them. I went in and saw Roger, Richard’s brother-in-law. Roger wouldn’t take my money. He told me my debt was forgiven and he wished me well.

I tell this story because I think it is a nice story of how a community of people pulled together for me and my family. I could not have achieved what I have on my own; I had help from a wide variety of people. My parents babysat my son while I worked and gave me rides when my car was not working. My boss at Dunkin Donuts saw a potential in me that I did not see and sent me for training. My aunt helped me buy my house. My co-workers and my boss helped support me when I was ready to move on. I did not mention this in my story but two of my brothers spent weekends remodeling my house for me at cost. My sisters and my brothers were always ready to babysit my son when I wanted to go out. AMICA took a chance on me when they hired me without a college degree and only 8 weeks of training.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were more stories like this? How can we, as a community, provide more opportunities for people to succeed?

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Healthy Communities

This is one of the driving points of my candidacy. One thing Waltham and Lincoln both do well is community events. Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Concerts in the Park, Winter Carnival, etc. These events are so important to build community and trust. But while these events are crucial to building community, they alone are not enough. These events draw us together for special occasions, schools, churches, sports teams and social service activities also pull us together and these too are critical ingredients to healthy communities. Land conservation, exercise and wise food choices are important, arts and music are important, we are also good and getting better at these activities.

Dialogue

At what point, in what location do we get together to actually discuss difficult issues? There are some church groups and educational groups that do host discussion groups and there are some civic organizations that approach difficult topics. But where do we all get together and hash out issues? Where do we all get together and discuss mental health parity or class or climate change? Where do we all, people of all stripes and sizes come together and decide for ourselves, for our communities, what is important to us and what kind of community we want to be? We read the paper and listen to the news. We post on FaceBook and Twitter and Redit when something of interest propels us to ‘action’. But then what. What do we do with all these great thoughts we find and carefully display for our friends and perhaps our friends friends to see?

Transparency

How do we know what is happening in our communities? Meetings are posted in city and town halls and perhaps posted on the local website. The weekly newspaper or the local online squirrel or patch might tell us what they know to tell us. But how do we really know. If we are interested in an issue, lets say casinos, and we want to know how our local legislators feel about casinos and how they voted on the issue, how do we find that out? If there is a housing voucher coming available in our area, how do we know? Where is this information made accessible to us? And in what language(s)? Only English? Or Haitian Creole? Spanish? Portugues? How do we as a community find out what is important to us? Is there a way to sign up for the information? Are there office hours scheduled so we can go and speak to our elected officials?

Neighbors

How do we know when our neighbor needs help? Do we know our neighbor? Once, years ago when I was still living in Attleboro, I was walking and when I got to about a half mile down my street a woman came out of her house begging for help. She said she was hungry. I stopped and talked with her. She said she had the money but not the transportation to get to the store and would I go and purchase the items she had on a list. I did as she asked and thereafter I stopped by occasionally and bought her supplies. I noticed that she always requested several pounds of pasta. I also noticed she would never let me in the kitchen to help her put the food away, I had to leave it on the table. One day I snuck a peak and her cupboard was overloaded with pasta.

A short time later she was taken away in an ambulance and I lost track of her. I have never forgotten her and often have wondered it it was a case of mental illness, loneliness, eccentricity; I will never know but I have never regretted offering to help her and have only wished I had done more.

More recently I noticed emergency vehicles down the street at a neighbor’s house here in Lincoln. He was a peculiar man, not taken to speaking to neighbors and in fact had several signs posted around the perimeter of his lawn suggesting in strong words that we steer clear. Being a good catholic school girl I did just that. But now, now that there were all these vehicles there I got to wondering. I hadn’t seen any activity there in a while, hadn’t noticed the clothesline with which he blocked entrance to his driveway when he left the premises being missing for quite some time. Turns out my neighbor died that night. Alone. With us right across down the street not even knowing him.

I have another neighbor I have known for years. Not well, but certainly friendly enough to chat when I see her and carpool our kids around. It is only recently I found out she is a victim of domestic violence.

We need each other. We need permission and opportunity to work together to help each other. We need to figure out ways to make ourselves available to our community to both offer our friendship and receive the friendship of our neighbors.