Arlington public schools has been awarded a $999,990 three-year grant from the US Department of Education as part of the Teaching American History Grants Program, which funds intensive professional development for teachers in American history, a core academic subject.

A news release from Superintendent Kathleen Bodie says the award will support teacher preparation to allow teachers to deepen their students’ understanding of the documents that established the framework for the United States and how that very framework affected key turning points, individuals, and events of our nation’s history.

On Tuesday, June 22, seven students representing the Leadership Enrichment Adventure Project’s (LEAP) Model United Nations Clubs attended the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education monthly meeting and presented to the Board and the Secretary and Commissioner of Education their thoughts about the value of Model United Nations.

They explained to those present at the meeting how participating in Model United Nations has made subjects in school come alive for them, helped them to develop important life skills, and taught them about being good local and global citizens. They provided the Board with a document they had created showing how participation in LEAP Model United Nations meets the many criteria set by the Twenty-First Century Learning Standards, and asked the Board, Secretary, and Commissioner for their strong and vocal support of Model United Nations Programs. They also gave those present information on the United Nations Association of Greater Boston Global Classrooms Program, which makes Model United Nations accessible to urban and less affluent schools.

The students who represented LEAP and Arlington for this presentation were Ottoson Middle School students Molly Rookwood, Chloe Singer, Isabel Verghese, Louise Tanner, Lucas Jurgensen, Myles Agudelo, and Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall Sophomore Aidan Wilcox. Congratulations are due to all of them for a great presentation.

The board president thanked them for coming to speak, and the commissioner and the secretary of education both thanked them and spoke about how employers are emphasizing the necessity of educating students to be global citizens and to have many of the skills the students were describing acquiring through Model United Nations.

They also engaged the LEAP students with information about the opportunities to be involved in the governance of the educational system here in Massachusetts and invited the students to consider applying for the State Student Advisory Board.

The selectmen on Monday, Aug. 9, unanimously approved a new traffic pattern for the Stratton School neighborhood, one that was revised after abutters expressed concerns. The plan should be in effect when schools reopen, Sept. 8.

After concerns expressed July 26, the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) switched gears. It had recommended that Pheasant Avenue be one-way westbound, but the current plan has returned the direction to the way it is now -- one way eastbound.

Steven Silvestri has been appointed as the interim principal at Bishop Elementary School for the 2010-2011 school year. Steve Carme, the longtime and much-respected Bishop Principal, is retiring this summer.

A news release from Superintendent Kathleen Bodie says the search for a permanent principal for Bishop will resume early next year.

School Committee Chairman Joseph A. Curro Jr. has released a memo providing guidance toward a policy surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance as the policy subcommittee prepares to address the issue July 20. The July 7 memo suggests a policy allowing a daily Pledge but not requiring one.

The full text of the  memo to Judson Pierce, chairman of the policies and procedures subcommittee, follows:

June 30: Arlington police probe hate e-mails to school officials over Pledge issue

The memo, titled "Policy Regarding Recitation of Pledge of Allegiance," was sent to all School Committee members, Arlington High School Principal Charles Skidmore, Town Counsel Juliana Rice and all Arlington-related media outlets.

"Thank you very much for your earnest efforts to research and develop a policy recommendation regarding the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in the Arlington Public Schools. As you know, this issue has aroused deep passions and spirited debate in our community, and I am very appreciative for the amount of time, which you have spent in reaching out to our fellow Arlington residents, our professional staff, and our counterparts in other school districts. I also look forward to joining you next week in discussing this matter with the representative of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with whom you have been consulting. 

"I have every confidence that when your subcommittee meets on July 20, you will be successful in developing a draft policy that addresses the broad array of issues that have been raised around the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and which might yet again place Arlington in a position of leadership, worthy of emulation. 

"In the hopes of being helpful, I have compiled one potential draft policy, which I hope might be factored into your subcommittee’s work. I offer this in full recognition that your final recommendation might be substantially different, based upon the research and input of your members and your understanding of the District’s legal obligations and constraints. 

"The attached draft encapsulates a number of key principles, which I have gleaned from my many conversations and communications with various community stakeholders. In particular, it seeks to ensure that: 

"• All students and staff of the Arlington Public Schools are afforded the opportunity for daily group recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. 

"• Building administrators are given reasonable flexibility to consult with their extended school communities regarding the means of meeting the above objective. 

"• Leadership opportunities are provided to students. 

"• There is no compulsion of staff or students to participate against their will. 

"• Harassment of individuals for their choice of whether to participate will not be tolerated. 

"• Disruption of the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance will likewise not be tolerated. 

"• The practice of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance will be supplemented with a comprehensive program of civics education. 

"I look forward to the results of your subcommittee’s work, and I have full faith that you and your fellow subcommittee members will produce a recommendation that is in the best interests of our students and staff and will make Arlington proud. 

"RECITATION OF PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

"At the commencement of each school day, all students and staff shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in a group recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Said recitation shall be led by a volunteer or a sound recording over the school public address system or in another manner to be determined by the building administrator, in consultation with the extended school community.

"Wherever possible, this practice shall be structured so as to provide students with leadership opportunities. Individuals wishing to utilize this time for silent reflection may do so without sanction. Harassment of any individual for their choice as to whether to participate or disruption of the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance shall not be tolerated. The Superintendent shall be responsible for ensuring adherence to this policy, along with the development and regular review of supplementary programs of civics education."

This story was first published at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 7.

Harrington / Globe photo

Arlington police are investigating threatening messages sent to multiple School Committee members Wednesday, June 29, in response to a controversy surrounding the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in the schools,Boston.com reported.

Acting Capt. Robert Bongiorno would not specify which committee members the messages were directed toward, but he said some of the e-mail messages were anti-Semitic.

Late Wednesday afternoon school officials targeted what they said were incorrect reports by Fox News that the School Committee had banned the pledge of Allegiance in Arlington schools.

“It is unfortunate that the national media has chosen to distort this very serious debate in a manner, which so badly misinforms the public,” said School Committee Chairman Joseph Curro in a press release Wednesday. “Recent reports have done little to present the facts about our school system and our community, and have been seized upon by many people throughout the country to target our dedicated school leaders with unwarranted hate mail and threats.”

As 17-year-old Sean Harrington plans to stick to his vow to have the Pledge of Allegiance heard daily at Arlington schools, high school Principal Charles Skidmore has offered a compromise, The Boston Globe reported June 30.

After the School Committee voted 3-3 June 22 about having a recording of the Pledge played before classes daily, Skidmore told The Globe June 29 he would lead the Pledge in the lobby of Arlington High School every morning five minutes before school begins.

Harrington told the newspaper that he wants the Pledge said in all classrooms and that saying it in the AHS lobby would work for students, who would have to hurry to class. More >>

In an e-mail to parents and guardians June 30, Charles Skidmore, principal at Arlington High School, offered further explanation of his compromise:

"I am sure by now that many of you have seen or heard the controversy about the fact that we do not recite the Pledge Of Allegiance daily at the high school. A daily recitation had not been done at AHS for quite some time, nor has it been done in any of the high schools I have worked in over the past thirty years.

"I would like to re-introduce the pledge to the high school. My plan is to start with the Pledge voluntarily said at 7:55 in the Main Lobby. We would then to move it forward to the classrooms via the loudspeaker after all students and teachers have had a chance to talk about appropriate behavior for those who do and don’t participate in the pledge. I want the Pledge Of Allegiance to be meaningful to our students, and I think giving students and teachers time to discuss the pledge as a community is the way to try to  make it not a rote recitation but meaningful as it should be.

"I have heard from many people around the country by phone, fax, and email. What I would really love, is to hear from you and your children, the students of AHS, about this issue.

"I feel terrible that somehow this past protocol has been projected, especially onto the teachers at the high school and the students, as not wanting to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I am hopeful that the District’s press release will correct some of the inaccuracies related to this story, and I genuinely apologize if I have caused any of you any discomfort."

June 23: School Committee rejects pitch for Pledge, despite tears |
June 30: School officials call some news reports inaccurate