Good Morning, Neighbors,

Today is officially Leo Day in Burlington. The day was named to celebrate the life and spirit of Leo Abramov, community activist and co-founder of our town’s Pride celebration, who died on March 9 after a nine-month battle with stomach cancer. Today, he would have been 37 years old. In Leo’s spirit, let’s practice some kindness and understanding, yes?

Smile a little wider at the person who holds the door for you at True North. Give a little grace to the person who just needs to squeeze in front of you in traffic on 3A. Tell someone you care about how much you appreciate them. Ask a question of someone you disagree with instead of making an assumption or judgment. As a town, let’s do Leo justice.

News didn’t slow down yesterday, as stories of the disruption of Pride at MSMS and the community’s response spread across the internet. Disruptive and intimidating calls were made to the middle school, making the end of the year even more stressful than usual. (A school resource officer was stationed at the school for the day.) Some community members appeared on national news shows, as well.*

Business in town continues as usual, with two more days left in school and the administration winding down and shifting gears for the summer. One thing school administrators might be thinking about as they plan for the upcoming school year (or the following one, since the 2023-24 calendar is already set) is how to structure the professional development days that in recent years have been scattered throughout the year.

Joyce Carey’s 10th grade class created a survey for their civics project in which they asked parents whether they would prefer full- or half-day professional development days. Ms. Carey and her students would like to thank everyone who filled out the survey, giving them a decent sample size for their analysis. Here are some results, along with a recording of the meeting students had with Dr. Conti and School Committee members Massardo, Simon, Monaco, and Brooks (who attended virtually).

• Parent preferences were nearly evenly split, with only slightly more parents preferring half days.
• Parents in favor of full days preferred a Friday or Monday rather than a random day in the middle of the week.

Ms. Carey reports that the parents’ perspective was very helpful, and she’s eager to see how the School Committee engages with this information as they begin planning for future years.

*Editorial note regarding the news coverage of the events at MSMS: I sit here shaking my head at the level of mischaracterization that some media outlets have engaged in, spinning the story this way and that to fit a thesis that doesn’t exist in this situation or in real life. But here we are, and here we’ll remain unless we learn to engage productively with one another and truly seek to understand. We actually can grow closer and more inclusive as a result of these unfortunate events. But will we?

Upcoming Events

I want to put a couple of upcoming events on your radar:

• This Saturday, June 17, in addition to being my birthday, is Shred Day in Burlington! Residents can bring up to two boxes of documents to shred. The event will take place from 9:00 to noon at Town Hall (29 Center Street).
• Next Wednesday, June 21, from 5:00-7:00, is the People Helping People annual open house. Join staff and volunteers of our local food pantry to enjoy light refreshments and live music. Address: 21 Murray Ave.
• Also on Wednesday, Made in Burlington and Wayside Shopping Center will be holding a Farmers and Artisans Market where goods and foods from local businesses will be showcased.
• For those of you who missed the Eversource Community Conversation about the proposed new substation near Marshall Simonds, there will be an in-person redo at the library on Wednesday from 6-8.
• Finally, Join members of the Democratic Town Committee for a discussion with State Senator Cindy Friedman on Wednesday, June 28, at 6:30 PM at the Town Hall Annex.

Today in Burlington

Meetings and Events

• 11:00 AM - Elementary School Building Committee - Communication Working Group will discuss the community meeting and updates to the website. (Virtual; Register)
• 12:30-3:00 PM - Bridge club (61 Center Street, 2nd floor)
• 1:00 PM - English at Large Conversation Group at the library
• 4:30 PM - Shawsheen Policy Subcommittee will review a policy manual update. (Shawsheen Tech)
• 6:30 PM - Planning Board (Town Hall and Virtual)
• 6:30 PM - Shishu Bharati School at the library for children to learn about the languages an cultures of India

Sports and Activities

The much-anticipated softball game was postponed yesterday and is scheduled to happen today at 4:00 in Westfield. The girls will play for a trip to the championship. Go get ’em!

Nicci