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By Kerri Provost, August 25, 2012 1:28 pm

The house cleaning that happened at the Burns School last spring was more than metaphorical. Besides the change in leadership, there have been renewed efforts to get the community involved. There was a major cleanup of the school — inside and out — in March.

In recent weeks, the Summer of Solutions program went to work on a corner of the school grounds, among its other projects in Hartford. The youth cleared weeds and rubbish; installed and painted raised beds; planted vegetables in those raised beds; and placed brightly-colored benches near the new garden space. Previously, this area was an overgrown and underutilized space.

On Thursday, the community was invited to welcome Dr. Monica Brase, the new principal at the school. She is replacing Mr. Sullivan, who served for a few months in the capacity as interim principal. The event also served as an opportunity for voter registration and new student registration.

Today, Knox Parks and Billings Forge led another beautification effort. After tackling more debris, volunteers planted several trees along the property. The school happens to be across the street from Pope Park North, which has received funding for the restoration with an expected completion date of 2013.

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By Kerri Provost, July 26, 2012 8:42 am

Photo by Helder Mira/Rabbit Ears Media

As some movie theaters around the nation have opted to respond to the shootings in Aurora, Colorado by banning costumes, it is worth reflecting once more on ConnectiCon, the multi-genre convention that was held in Hartford earlier this month.

This is one of the few gatherings that offers discounted admission for MENSA members, but not for senior citizens. Most attendees are young, year after year. The giddy, teen energy just about grabs Columbus Boulevard by the shoulders and shakes it for three days.

With 10,500 individuals — a majority of them belonging to the age group most likely to be involved in violent crime — attending this year’s convention, there were no serious incidents. Continue reading 'ConnectiCon: A Peaceful, High-Energy Weekend by the River'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 19, 2012 11:22 am

Miguel Cardona, Susan Marks (Superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools), and Gary Highsmith (left to right)

“We have a bad way of looking at things, that what gets tested is what gets taught,” Gary Highsmith, said at an education forum on Thursday. Highsmith is the Principal of Hamden High School, where he said students are taught things that are not tested, such as arts and music.

At a forum about inclusive housing policy and its impact on education, it seemed both incongruous and inevitable that the conversation would include the buzzwords of reform and accountability.

The forum — “Connecticut’s Achievement Gap: How Housing Can Help Close It” — held at the Lyceum explored the philosophy of housing policy as school policy, focusing on “Montgomery County,” a single example.

An inclusionary zoning policy — mixing housing affordable to those at different income levels — was adopted in Maryland’s Montgomery County (suburb of Washington, D.C.) in 1974. Heather Schwartz, a policy researcher with the RAND Corporation, conducted a longitudinal study from 2001-2007 of students in public housing who attended schools with very low-to-moderate poverty rates and those who attended schools with a moderate-rate of students living in poverty. Additionally, the moderate-level poverty schools received more resources, enabling smaller classes and more academic supports. The study found that while students in public housing at both types of schools scored about evenly for the first few years, students attending the schools with a low-to-moderate poverty level outscored their peers eventually. Students were placed randomly in these schools, taking out the option for more involved parents to steer their children into the “better” schools.

This study — and the speakers at the forum — failed to address some variables. Continue reading 'Student Transiency and Concentration of Poverty Tied to Academic Success'»

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By Kerri Provost, November 22, 2011 10:27 am

Not unusual: people coming into Hartford with big ideas about what residents need and what will “save” us.

The Public Allies — an AmeriCorps program — promise that is not their mission. They insist that they are “not here to re-market Hartford.”

Young adults in the program work with a non-profit four days every week; each Public Allies “community” — Connecticut has ones in Hartford, Bridgeport, and New Haven — undertakes a service project each year.

This year, the group’s goal is to “strengthen community through figuring out assets and problems,” Al Riccio, one of the Allies on the “Greater Hartford Team”, told participants at the Hartford Public Library Monday evening during the Hartford Unity Community Conversation. In chatting with residents, the Public Allies identified that many residents feel “proud to be from the city,” but believe that there are negative perceptions of it due to the news media. He added that a lack of jobs, housing, and access to resources were other issues identified.

During the first of what Public Allies say will be several community conversations, residents were told that the Allies — several of whom are long-time Hartford residents — would be facilitating discussion, but not participating. Heads nodded as residents commented that these conversations need to be in the neighborhoods, not just Downtown. The library was named a “hub,” a natural place for civic discourse to take place, and there are library branches throughout the city.

Broken into small groups, residents and stakeholders named activities that could “create attention toward positive aspects.” In the brainstorm, two groups named the Walk the Frog tour as an example of an event that has highlighted the positive aspects of a neighborhood Continue reading 'Hartford Unity Community Conversation: “Empower People Already in Hartford”'»

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By Kerri Provost, August 13, 2011 10:21 pm

The 49th Annual Greater Hartford West Indian Day Parade tried out a different route Saturday afternoon. Continue reading 'A Glance at the West Indian Day Parade'»

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By Kerri Provost,

The parade begins at Main and Battles Streets at noon. It heads South on Main Street, turns onto Trumbull, then continues on Jewell, Ford, and Asylum before ending in Bushnell Park around 2pm.

Dr. Neil Parsan — the Ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago — will be the parade’s Grand Marshall.

There will be a reggae festival beginning around 3pm in Bushnell Park, following parade.

Click here to see photos from the event.

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By Kerri Provost, July 6, 2011 3:48 pm

Eighteen people, ranging from traditional college students to retirees, gathered in a musty basement bordering the Trinity College campus, yet not one was currently affiliated with this institution. Reaching them required navigating around the bicycles; bikes were tied to the chain link fence, to other bikes, to the porch, or just leaning against the narrow hallway walls inside.

Five young adults from New England Climate Summer were meeting with community members during their week-long stop in Hartford. They are one team of six taking part in this action and are cycling across New England specifically to speak with local activists in various towns and cities so that these individuals and organizations are acknowledged.

The Connecticut/Rhode Island team — an all female team — began in Providence (RI) before coming to Hartford. Next, they will make stops in Bridgeport, North Kingstown (RI), Westerly (RI), Stonington, Mystic,New Haven, and will end their trip in Roxbury/Boston (MA). The majority of all New England Climate Summer participants, actually, are women.

After Thursday evening’s potluck meeting, attended by folks affiliated with CCEJ and The Summer of Solutions, and others, I spoke with women from the Climate Summer Connecticut/Rhode Island team about their adventure so far. To set out on such a trip, one would expect the cyclists to have raced or at least trained for it. Instead, they said:

No one in the group has [done] anything like this before. In fact, most of us weren’t even avid cyclists before the trip. We’re learning as we go, and I think a lot of us will definitely be inspired to bike much more now that we’ve had this experience. Now that we’ve done a couple of 50+ mile days, biking one or two miles to the store won’t seem like a big deal.

This home in Shandaken, New York (near Woodstock) is one of many with anti-fracking signs in the yard.

This might not seem like a lifestyle change to some, but 40% of trips people in urban areas take are within two miles of home, yet 90% of those trips are made using an automobile. In an age when peak oil is no longer something that may possibly happen in a few generations’ time, it’s hopeful that there are young people taking energy issues seriously.

While they report a few minor snags, like potholes, debris in the road, and the lack of shoulders, they say that generally, their experience has been “very positive”:

Avoiding using automobiles for the summer is much more doable than people might initially think.

The Climate Summer group says they have “most enjoyed Continue reading 'Climate Summer'»

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By Kerri Provost, June 5, 2011 3:45 pm

The 2011 Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade kicked off at eleven this morning and made its way down Main Street, before turning toward Bushnell Park.

Continue reading 'A Total Knockout of a Parade'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 16, 2011 5:45 pm

Last Saturday, about 25 people took part in a free walking tour through parts of the Frog Hollow neighborhood. The purpose of this was mainly to highlight the remainder of the Lyric Theater, but also to show some of the other interesting historical and cultural aspects of the area. For those who missed it, here’s how it went.

The group met up at La Paloma Sabanera and headed up Babcock Street to the Park Branch of the Hartford Public Library.

Continue reading 'Frog, Walked.'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 14, 2011 7:18 pm

This past week a young child died after he was struck by a vehicle. The news reports have been inconsistent and inaccurate by misreporting the child’s age. Several reports have instantly villainized the motor vehicle driver and have framed him as a “coward” in the same way that the person who evaded responsibility in the famous Park Street hit-and-run had been, despite the fact that this young adult turned himself in to police hours after the incident. I am reminded of an article I wrote over a year ago about how evading responsibility in such instances is not something that Hartford residents have a monopoly on, and how most of these drivers seem to do the right thing once they get over the initial shock and fear. Poor reporting does not help justice, nor does it paint an accurate picture for news consumers, many of whom are willing to pass judgment without relying on factual information. In reports, the area where the accident occurred was described as a road. At one time a road did go through the park; however, several years ago, the thru-street was removed. It is far more accurate to describe this section of pavement as a driveway, as it leads to a parking lot. It’s true that “Pope Park Drive” is listed on Google Maps, but as is necessary to remind people, Google Maps is often incorrect. The inability to accurately describe a place shows a disconnect with that area. This disconnect is seen again in reader comments left on the articles.

Here are a few gems from the comment section on WTNH:

I couldnt see the person hanging around after that. We are talking pope park in Hartford. That place is full of thugs and gangbangers. Best bet was what he did,Go to the PD. otherwise they would of attacked him. These people are into street justice..

And another:

If there were no roads through these parks, how would the police and ambulances get to all the Thursday afternoon “family gatherings” where someone OD’s or someone gets stabbed, beaten, or shot?

And another:

Pope Park should be closed, Its full of thugs and Dealers. Continue reading 'Thugs and Gangbangers of Pope Park'»