EVENTS: HOLIDAY GROUP SHOWS, MADRIGAL FEST, “THE CITY IS ASLEEP AND DREAMING” 25 FILM: “ANNA KARENINA,” “KILLING THEM SOFTLY” 36 CROSSWORD, NEWS OF THE WEIRD 47
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EXTENDED FAMILY
DECEMBER 5-11, 2012 Free
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BILL KIRCHEN
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MUSICA SPEI
Greater Rochester’s Alternative Newsweekly
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News. Music. Life.
B U IL D IN G M O D E R N A TI O N
Gift ideas for finicky foodies. DINING, PAGE 15
African-American prints at Nazareth College Arts Center. ART REVIEW, PAGE 24
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LONGER HOURS
RPO: why we should let Remmereit go. URBAN JOURNAL, PAGE 3
PARENT/TEACHER CONNECTIONS
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SUPERINTENDENT
SCHOOL BOARD RELATIONS
NEWS, PAGE 6
Vol 42 No 13
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See College Town’s future Barnes & Noble.
2013 AND BEYOND
NIGHTLIFE, PAGE 30
AND MORE MUSIC, PAGE 16
TECHNOLOGY
I’ve always been into figure drawing. I also like movies and drinking beer.”
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INTERVIEW | BY TIM LOUIS MACALUSO | PAGE 8 | ILLUSTRATION BY MATT DETURCK
Vargas’s grand plan for the RCSD Rochester school district Superintendent Bolgen Vargas hasn’t made sweeping declarations about increasing the district’s graduation rate or raising test scores, the standard promises of most new superintendents. From his first days in office, Vargas has insisted that the district cannot fix its many problems alone. He has turned to parents, as well as the political and business communities for help implementing a plan that converts many of the district’s low-performing schools into middle class-like schools. He says it’s the only way to stop the decline in student population as
more city families move to the suburbs or enroll their children in charter schools. Vargas has tackled major obstacles like increasing the district’s attendance rate. He’s made reading proficiency a high priority for students, teachers, and parents. And he’s steering the district toward a redesigned, longer school year that offers students more time in the classroom, an emerging trend in urban districts around the country. In a recent interview, Vargas discussed his grand plan for the Rochester city school district.