School officials recognize EHS softball coach for 300th win

  Ward 2 School Committee Member Jason Marcus recently presented a citation to Everett High School Varsity Softball Coach Stacy Poste-Schiavo in recognition of her 300th career win, which took place during a victory at home against Somerville on April 18. “I’ve had a chance to give awards out, but very few have done what this young lady’s done,” Marcus said during the May 2 School Committee meeting.

  School Committee Chairwoman Jeanne Cristiano offered her congratulations as well. “Honestly, 300 wins, that’s tremendous,” she said. “We’re so lucky she’s staying here with us and she’s going to continue to win.”

  In addition, Ward 4 School Committee Member Michael Mangan said Poste-Schiavo’s dedication extends beyond the softball field, adding that she and her husband put in “countless hours” at the Grace Food Pantry.

  Poste-Schiavo said one of her priorities has been to restore confidence in her players. She said that because of the COVID-19 pandemic her team only played eight games last season.

  “It’s about the kids,” she said. “It’s been a great run and I hope I can get 100 more.”

Library Strategic Planning Process

  In other news, Superintendent of Schools Priya Tahiliani updated the School Committee on the Library Strategic Planning Process which is intended to bring libraries and librarians back into the schools. Tahiliani said she and her colleagues have been working with the district’s Library Director, Mary Puleo, and with representatives from the Massachusetts Regional Library System. Tahiliani said the results of 860 surveys showed that students and families want additional bilingual library materials, ways to teach students how to access those materials and to foster a “culture of literacy.”

  Tahiliani said in one survey response, a parent wrote: “My child misses the library.”

  “We were aware of the strong desire for school libraries when we started this process, but our surveys and focus groups certainly reaffirmed that sentiment,” said Tahiliani.

  The next step will be to draft a formal Strategic Plan which will be presented to the community.

EHS senior receives national computing award

  Tahiliani called attention to Everett High School senior Betania Zelalem, who received the National Center for Women & Information Technology’s Award for Aspirations in Computing. She said Zelalem was one of 400 students across the country to receive this distinction.

  In addition to speaking three languages, Zelalem is president of the Computer Science Honor Society, a student ambassador and a member of the National Honor Society.

  Looking ahead, Zelalem plans to study artificial intelligence, computer science and linguistics in college.

COVID-19 Update

  The district reported 18 new cases of COVID-19 between April 21-27. Within that figure, 13 students had tested positive as well as five staff members. In contrast, six cases were reported between April 14-20. During that week, one student and five staff members tested positive.

  “It does demonstrate a little bit of an uptick,” said Tahiliani.