From the Community

Three Jamaica Plain Schools to Benefit from $350,000 Arts Expansion Grants

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Three Jamaica Plain schools are among 60 Boston Public Schools that will receive $350,000 in grants to fund more than 30 arts partners across the city. The students of the Hennigan K-8 School, English High School, and Community Academy, will continue to receive their quality arts education programs throughout the 2019-2020 school year. The annual grants are part of the successful Boston Public Schools (BPS) Arts Expansion initiative, which is celebrating its 10th year in bringing quality arts instruction to underserved neighborhoods. The city of Boston, BPS and EdVestors announced this latest round of funding as part of this week’s seventh annual BPS Citywide Arts Festival, a three-day celebration featuring more than 1,100 BPS student performers and exhibitors. “We are grateful to our partners in Boston Public Schools Arts Expansion who have worked tirelessly for 10 years to bring equity and access to arts education to our schools and inspiration to our students, many of whom are showcasing their talents at the festival today,” said Mayor Martin Walsh via press release.

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Transportation

Stonybrook Neighborhood Slow Streets Meeting May 8

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There will be a community meeting to discuss the traffic diverter pilot project that was previously installed on Dungarven Road in the Stonybrook neighborhood on May 8. The Boston Transportation Department (BTD) installed the pilot traffic diverter on Dungarven Road, which was just south of the intersection with Gartland Street, on June 15, 2018 and removed in October 2018. At the upcoming meeting, the BTD will share a summary of data and observations collected before, during and after the traffic diverter was installed. Resident feedback that was collected will also be shared, and residents will be able to provide feedback at the meeting. The strategy of the diverter was supposed to:

Discourage people from driving the wrong way on Washington Street
Discourage drivers from cutting through Hatoff’s driveways
Discourage and eventually end wrong-way driving on Williams Street
Reduce the number of people navigating the low-visibility intersection of Dungarven/Kenton
Reduce the volume of thru traffic on Kenton Road

This public meeting will be at 6:30 pm on May 8 at English High School (144 McBride St.).

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Schools

BuildBPS Meeting in Jamaica Plain on Jan. 10

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The community is invited to a public meeting to discuss the Boston Public Schools' BuildBPS plan on Jan. 10 at English High School. Interim Superintendent Laura Perille, a Jamaica Plain resident, and school committee members will be on hand to discuss the plan, its impacts on neighborhoods and to answer questions. The BuildBPS plan calls for some old schools to close, new schools to be built, and other schools to expand, including growing the amount of K-6 schools. Jamaica Plain's Manning School wants to be one of the schools to add a sixth grade. In December the school committee voted to close the former West Roxbury High School building, which houses Urban Science Academy and West Roxbury Academy.

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Schools

English High Students Team with Pepper the Robot to Kickoff Computer Science Week

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English High School students have a new partner who's probably not going to be late to class -- Pepper the Robot. On Monday, students from English's award-winning robotics team showed how the 4-foot tall robot interacts with humans to kickoff Computer Science Education Week for Boston Public Schools (BPS). English High is one of 10 high schools in Boston with computer science programs that have started to use Pepper robots in the classroom. At English, students are learning how to use Pepper to recognize human movements and commands to lead Pepper to respond with a fist-bump, bow its head, open its hand or do a 360-degree spin. Pepper was donated by SoftBank Robotics America, which is donating 100 Peppers in public schools in Boston, San Francisco and British Columbia in Canada.

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City Services

How to Make Egleston Square More Pleasant Being Discussed at JP/Rox Transportation Action Plan Meeting on Oct. 23

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How can Egleston Square be a more pleasant place? That's a question that will be examined at the next JP/Rox Transportation Action Plan meeting on Oct. 23. At the meeting, the fourth on the topic of Egleston Square, Transportation Department personnel will discuss public feedback they received about two plans the city put forth to make the area safer to walk and travel through. A preview of actions items for the upcoming meeting will also be discussed, as well as priorities for the project.

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