(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Dear Editor,

One of the most acute stresses of human rights in our city – students facing homelessness–is seen as students cope with the enormous forces driving our housing crisis. Let me report startling numbers shared from the School Committee. Earlier this winter I learned that the school year in our district opened with 111 students facing housing instability. 79 K-8 students became 61 after the Holiday break as 18 moved to shelter or out of state. And among the remaining 49 students in grades 9-12, 19 are unaccompanied minors. Deserved thanks for compliance with the McKinney-Vento Act goes to Regina Bertholdo and Jennifer Ochoa who work directly with our homeless families.

On top of the dislocation to the Edgerly Building following long neglected repair – now our Winter Hill School is literally on fire! Anyone could break-in Tuesday, with all the windows left open, necessarily, to let the smoke out of the building. Sycamore street neighbors at 10pm were approached for video in search of information that might lead to arrest.

But the danger to our community–the peril at the heart of the scare for me–is that our Winter Hill students are facing the most difficult situation in the School District. I should know, I have served as an intermittent substitute once in the fall and spring, working with students with Autism, Seventh and Eighth grade English Language Learners. My daughter is a Wildcat, my wife Emily Hankle serves on the PTA as co-vice president, and yes, I’m very well aware of the building committee frustration. But infrastructure is half the battle.

Attracting quality educators with meaningful work and a devoted caring community is not the problem. But retaining them at sufficient salary levels is vital if we are to triage performance levels. As put to the School Committee in its budget meeting Wednesday May 7th, Mr. B, our Winter Hill Dean stated that according to MCAS scores – it confirms Winter Hill is in the most dire need of support.

Sincerely,

Christopher Ryan Spicer
Candidate for Councilor At-Large
Current Somerville Human Rights Commissioner