The Aspire Project

I contributed to a project by The Daily Hampshire Gazette and WHMP called the Aspire Project.  The Editor wrote, "South Hadley Selectman and native Bob Judge reflects on his immigrant roots, and the unfriendly welcome received by Irish immigrant Phoebe Prince--and why it is so unlike the reality that exists in modern day South Hadley."

"A Wish for a More Welcoming Shore" - Audio

"A Wish for a More Welcoming Shore" - Text

Anti-bullying recommendations hailed in South Hadley

 Wednesday, June 23, 2010

SOUTH HADLEY - South Hadley School Superintendent Gus Sayer believes four months of work by a special school/community task force has given the district "a real big jump" on efforts to prevent bullying in public schools.

In presenting the final report of the town's Anti-Bullying Task Force to the School Committee Wednesday night, Sayer lauded the "extraordinary" efforts of the group, which began meeting in February, following the bullying-related death of South Hadley High School freshman Phoebe Prince.

"I've never worked with such a large group over such a sustained period," said Sayer, who faced criticism in some quarters for the way the district handled bullying incidents that preceded Prince's death. "Over 100 people came out week after week to work on this report. Everybody really wanted to do right by the schools and really put their heart into this effort."

School Committee members will hold a special meeting June 30 to vote on the task force recommendations for bringing district policies into line with the state's new anti-bullying law. The group's final report also proposes new bullying prevention strategies for South Hadley schools.

Key recommendations include:

 · expanding the district's anti-bullying program beyond the ninth grade, where it now ends, and boosting anti-bullying education at all grade levels;

 · establishing a new anonymous reporting system for bullying incidents and a requirement that school administrators investigate such incidents within one school day of being notified;

 · adopting a "Community Code of Conduct" emphasizing respect and tolerance that will be posted in all public buildings in South Hadley;

 · reconvening the task force's 29-member steering committee, made up of teachers, administrators, parents, community leaders and municipal officials, to monitor implementation of new anti-bullying policies.

The report defines bullying as repeated use of "written, verbal or electronic expression," physical acts or "deliberate acts of exclusion" that cause physical or emotional harm. It prohibits bullying that takes place on school grounds or off, if those incidents contribute to a "hostile environment" at school or disrupt the educational process.

School Committee Chairwoman JoAnn Jordan questioned how school leaders can enforce rules about bullying incidents that don't occur on school property.

High school Principal Dan Smith, a member of the task force, responded that the language in the prohibition section comes from the state's new anti-bullying law. "It simply means that if incidents are reported here to us in school, even if they happen outside of school, we can add that together" in deciding how to respond, he said.

Sayer emphasized that the work of the task force - and the school district - on the bullying issue is far from over. Over the summer, school administrators will be developing a specific plan to address bullying, as required by the state's new law - deciding on anti-bullying curricula and developing ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the new anti-bullying policies.

"But we have a real big jump on other communities because of the work of this task force," he added.

South Hadley Selectboard Vice Chairman Bob Judge was one of several task force members who attended Tuesday's School Committee meeting. For him, the most important part of the group's work is its focus on involving the broader community in preventing bullying.

"How does the community of South Hadley take this report and adopt it for the town?" Judge said. "That's what I'm most interested in."

"Localocracy is coming to South Hadley"

Friday, June 11, 2010
 
Localocracy is coming to South Hadley. The online website, which provides a public forum for residents to discuss issues facing their hometown, was recently endorsed by the Selectboard and is in the process of trying to gather enough participants to launch a test site before opening operations to the entire community.

The website, founded by Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules, both students at the University of Massachusetts, was launched earlier this year in Amherst after the pair received a $10,000 Innovation Challenge grant from the university. The group's expansion into South Hadley comes after the duo received a second Innovation Challenge grant - this time totaling $12,500.

"Localocracy is a site where registered voters can vote on real issues and rank the best reasons for supporting their side," White-Sullivan said. "It is a platform for the entire community where everyone can see both sides of the issue."

The organization decided to establish a South Hadley site at the request of the town, which was looking for a way to promote respectful dialogue following the suicide of South Hadley High School freshman Phoebe Prince in January, White-Sullivan said.

"I was attracted to the feature that requires each person to identify themselves by name," Selectboard Vice Chairman Bob Judge said. He argued that websites and blogs where readers can post anonymous comments have poisoned debate in South Hadley.

"Anybody who is going to put their name out there, I would hope, will think about what they say: Do I want to call someone stupid or lay blame, for instance."

Localocracy is looking for 50 members of the community to participate in a test site that will help determine how the South Hadley site will be run, White-Sullivan said. Once that process is complete, a public site will be established for the entire community.

On the organization's Amherst site, a particular subject of debate is posted. Users then write their comments about that issue, and other users rank those comments according to how much they agree with them. The most popular comments appear at the top of the page.

"This is just another vehicle of communication, and the more vehicles the better," said Judge.
Individuals interested in participating in the project can contact contact@localocracy.org or selectboard@southhadley.org. The organization is online at www.localocracy.org.

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Suicide attempts rise on Cape Cod

Suicide attempts rise on Cape Cod - Cape Cod, MA - Wicked Local - Cape Cod

Selectboard Seeks Opinions through "Localocracy”

June, 2, 2010
South Hadley, MA--- The South Hadley Selectboard has endorsed an experiment to obtain opinions from residents.

Selectboard Chair John Hine announced that at its May 18 meeting, the Board endorsed a trial of http://localocracy.org for South Hadley.

According to Vice-Chair Robert Judge, the website drew a story on local public radio and has been endorsed by the Amherst Town Manager and State Senator Stan Rosenberg.

The founders of Localocracy, Conor White-Sullivan and Aaron Soules, presented the idea to the S. Hadley Selectboard at the May meeting.  “There appeared to be a consensus on the Board and in the audience that we should take the next step,” said Hine.  That next step is to get at least 50 S. Hadley residents with an email address to agree to participate in the trial or “beta,” as it is known. 

According to White-Sullivan, "We want to create a way not just to distribute ideas but to allow citizens to find the best ideas and have a voice themselves." The idea is to set up a nonpartisan site that poses questions on local issues and accepts opinions from readers. But unlike some blogs and local Web sites, those responders must use their real names and be residents of the town. Participants will be able to rank others' ideas so that viewers can tell which arguments other readers have found persuasive.

Judge said, “On the internet, most people would prefer a place where they can know they are interacting with people who have a real stake in their community, and not an anonymous screen name representing someone who may not live here.”

The Amherst site can be viewed at http://localocracy.com Any South Hadley resident who would like to participate in the South Hadley trial should send an email to Selectboard@SouthHadley.org.