THE MALDEN ADVOCATE - Friday, May 11, 2018

Page 1

Subscribe to The Advocate See page 7

Vol. 20, No. 19

-FREE-

www.advocatenews.net

Published Every Friday

617-387-2200

Friday, May 11, 2018

Malden Says “Play Ball!� Teachers faced with crowded classrooms for English Language Learners

By Barbara Taormina lass size is becoming an increasingly difficult issue in Malden schools, and this week, the School Committee heard from a teacher trying to cope head-on with the problem. Laura Kelly, a first-grade teacher at Salemwood School, described the challenges of her job to committee members during the public comment segment of their meeting. Kelly teaches one of two first-grade classes at Salemwood that provide sheltered English Language Learner (ELL) instruction to students with limited English language skills. “I find it especially rewarding to teach students from so many different cultures and countries,� she told the committee. When Kelly first started teaching at Salemwood five years ago, she had a class of

C

Jackson Norales of The Athletics is shown with Mayor Gary Christenson shortly after the mayor threw the first pitch at the Malden Little League’s Opening Day ceremony recently. See more photo highlights on pages 11-13. (Advocate photo by Al Terminiello)

Be Safe Not Sorry! (781) 322-5050 (781) 324-5050 ~Family owned locally for 40 years~

IRU D &RQWDFW XV DWLRQ J OL E 1R 2

tĂŜƚ ƚŽ ĹŹĹśĹ˝Ç ĆšĹšÄž ǀĂůƾĞ ŽĨ LJŽƾĆŒ ĹšŽƾĆ?Äž Ĺ?Ĺś ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ć? ĆŒÄžÄ‚ĹŻ ÄžĆ?ƚĂƚĞ ĹľÄ‚ĆŒĹŹÄžĆšÍ?

)5((

“With 27 students, it almost feels like we are defeating the purpose of putting them in this special classroom,� she added. Kelly said that individual and small-group instruction is critical for her students to develop the English language skills they need, but growing class sizes limit those opportunities. She asked the committee to consider the possibility of adding more sheltered English instruction classes at Salemwood and throughout the city, to limit the size or those classes and to hire full-time support staff for the larger classes. “I want to be able to do the best for my students,� she said. “I hope this might be the beginning of a discussion for change so that all students in Malden get the attention and support they deserve,� she said.

City begins review of retail marijuana ordinance By Barbara Taormina

EVERETT TAXI M MALDEN TRANS

(617) 389-8100

12 students. Today, her classroom is packed with 27 firstgraders. The other first-grade class for ELL at Salemwood also has 27 students. “We have students from Brazil, China, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Moldova, India, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam and students with moderate special needs,� she said. “We get new arrivals all year long.� Kelly said that Malden’s sheltered English instruction classes for first graders are the largest first-grade classes in the district, and Salem’s two classes are 30 percent larger than those offered at other city schools. “Many students are newcomers who arrive at our classroom door not knowing any English or the American school culture,� she said, adding that they are expected to immediately assimilate.

alden is moving forward with new regulations for retail marijuana shops. The city’s Cannabis Review Committee this week submitted its draft for an ordinance that outlines where marijuana businesses can be located and the types of products and production that will be allowed. Individual businesses will also need a Host Community Agreement with the city, which will allow Malden to collect a three percent impact fee

0DUNHW $QDO\VLV 2I <RXU +RPH

Ä‚ĹŻĹŻ hĹśĹ?ƚĞĚ ĆŒŽŏÄžĆŒĆ? Ä‚Ćš ϲϭϳͲϰϲϭͲϰώϯϴ

$2.49 GALLON *$//21

:H DFFHSW 0DVWHU&DUG 9LVD 'LVFRYHU

3ULFH 6XEMHFW WR &KDQJH ZLWKRXW QRWLFH

*DO 0LQ +U 6HUYLFH

on gross sales in addition to the three percent sales tax. “We wanted to get this to the Ordinance Committee to vet before we have a public hearing with the Planning Board,� said Ward 1 Councillor Peg Crowe, who heads up the city’s Cannabis Review Committee. The proposed ordinance would allow retail marijuana shops, state-licensed testing labs, growing and packaging operations and marijuana product manufacturers in the city’s business highway and industrial districts as well as in an overlay district. Dimensional controls and parking requirements would mirror existing regulations for retail shops, greenhouses and manufacturing businesses. The buffer zones between marijuana businesses and schools, churches and homes proposed in the new ordinance differs significantly from the blanket 500-foot buffer originally proposed last year. That buffer zone would have virtually eliminated any possibility of marijuana production and sales in Malden. The new proposal still calls for a 500-foot buffer between marijuana establishments and

schools. However, the required distance between marijuana businesses and churches, parks and substance abuse treatment centers has been reduced to 75 feet. The buffer zone between homes and marijuana shops and businesses has been cut to 50 feet, and no marijuana shop can abut a daycare center. “That is all measured from property line to property line,� said Crowe. The ordinance would allow marijuana businesses to open and operate by right with a Host Community Agreement, which is required to obtain a license from the state. “The Host Community Agreement stipulates the responsibilities of the community and the applicants,� said Crowe. “They are negotiated by the mayor and approved by the City Council.� The state’s Cannabis Control Commission urges cities and towns to weigh the community impacts of a marijuana business against the benefits of jobs and revenue. It specifically allows for a three percent impact fee as long as a city or town can demonstrate its real costs are related to the marijuana business.

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.