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First Graders from Orchard Gardens Visit the White House

President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick listen as Orchard Gardens Elementary School students recite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I Have a Dream" speech in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 28, 2012.  (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

On February 28th, Governor Deval Patrick brought a first grade class from Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury to meet President Barack Obama at the White House.

The students recited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech for the President in the Diplomatic Reception Room in celebration of Black History Month.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids,” said Governor Patrick. “I am so proud of the educators and students at Orchard Gardens for the progress they have made academically.”

The school opened in a brand new facility in 2003 bringing promise to a troubled, though deeply engaged neighborhood.  Despite its state-of-the-art facility, its committed and well-intentioned stakeholders, and supportive community, the school had languished with poor test scores. In 2010, the school was designated as one of Boston’s turnaround schools and is now empowered to take full advantage of the flexibilities allowed by the Patrick-Murray Administration’s Achievement Gap Act and federal turnaround grant funding. The school has already demonstrated incredible progress.

As a turnaround school, Orchard Gardens’ new school leader, Andrew Bott has been able to overhaul staff and hire only those who are deeply committed to mission of school, extend school hours, infuse professional development, use data as a driving force and make appropriate programmatic changes to fit needs of students.

In addition to a rigorous curriculum, students have music, art, drama, dance, gym, and sports. Middle school students now stay at the school until 5:15 p.m. to take advantage of extra learning time.

Early signs indicate that students are already faring better academically and emotionally, and the school has seen parental involvement dramatically increase.  While MCAS scores at Orchard Gardens are still low, they were much higher 2011 than in 2010. In English, the portion of students in grades 3-8 scoring proficient or advanced this past spring increased 10 percentage points to 30 percent. In math, the scores in those categories jumped 16 percentage points to 35 percent.

 

 

This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House. 

 

Protect Massachusetts Military Bases for National Security & Economic Growth

Tim Murray

Lt. Governor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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Recent announced proposals by Westover Air Reserve Base and Hanscom Air Force Base reflect a difficult reality that federal budget cuts will have an impact on military bases in Massachusetts and across the country. These proposals were unveiled shortly after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced plans to reduce military spending by approximately $500 billion over the next decade. While these developments highlight the challenges we face ahead in Massachusetts, the military presence in Massachusetts is too important for our national security and economy to be taken for granted.

Lt. Governor Murray tours Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield.

As the debate unfolds in Washington D.C. and across the country, it is important for Massachusetts to showcase and support the vital missions of our active military installations. As part of its budget cuts, the Defense Department proposed that Congress establish another Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to consider and implement possible base closures throughout the country. There has been strong, vocal opposition to this proposal, including from our own Congressional delegation, which is working hard with our Administration to protect our bases. We all must, however, be prepared in case this BRAC becomes a reality. 

Massachusetts bases coupled with businesses in the defense and aerospace industries generate more than 120,000 jobs in the Commonwealth. Defense contracts awarded to Massachusetts companies have almost tripled since 2000, because of our state’s strong, innovation-based economy and our world-class education, research and engineering institutions that support it. This is just one example of how important the military and defense industry is to Massachusetts, and we know there is plenty more information to best position and promote each military base to better position, promote, and protect these assets. 

Over the last year, I led a series of strategy meetings with our cabinet secretaries, and private sector groups such as the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative, to gather current data and perspectives, and today, I signed an Executive Order formalizing these ongoing efforts by creating the "Commonwealth’s Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force.”  In addition to engaging local and regional support to help promote and protect the state’s military bases, the Task Force will develop, coordinate, and implement actions in the areas of workforce training, infrastructure improvements, environmental and utility savings, housing and transportation to support the missions at military bases across the Commonwealth.  Additionally, the Task Force will identify step the state can take to remedy problem areas before preliminary recommendations from the federal government are adopted and missions are implemented.  Lastly, I along with all members of the Task Force will advise the Governor and Executive and Legislative Branch officials regarding the ongoing efforts by the U.S. Department of Defense to close, realign, restructure, streamline, or in any way impact military bases in Massachusetts.

As I move forward with the work of the Task Force, I am also visiting the state’s six major military bases to get a first-hand look at their operations, raise public awareness of their missions, and strengthen local and regional partnerships important for the bases. I began the tour at Barnes Air National Guard Base, an exemplary base that provides 24-hour protection for the northeastern region of the United States. Over the next few months, I will also visit Westover, Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod, the Natick Soldier Systems Center and Fort Devens. Understanding and promoting the strategic location, national security mission, and economic impact of these bases is a true statewide initiative. Our work in this region must extend to other military bases in Massachusetts as we plan for base consolidations nationally. 

In light of federal budget challenges, as the military collectively looks to deliver greater efficiencies and savings, we as a Commonwealth need to put our best foot forward to promote, protect, and even expand missions at each base in Massachusetts. 

 

Remembering and Looking Forward: Black History Month

Throughout the month of February, the Patrick-Murray Administration will host a series of events and discussions across the Commonwealth to celebrate Black History Month, commemorating the past, present and future of African-American culture in Massachusetts. 

Part of the celebration is a video highlighting the contributions of African-American leaders working within the Administration. 

The video includes testimonials from Governor Deval Patrick and leaders of his Administration, including: Major General Joseph Carter, The Adjutant General of the Massachusetts National Guard; Sandra McCroom, Undersecretary for Criminal Justice, Executive Office of Public Safety and Security; Ron Marlow, Assistant Secretary for Access and Opportunity, Executive Office of Administration and Finance; and William “Mo” Cowan, Chief of Staff to Governor Patrick

Patrick-Murray Administration Black History Month events:

(more details to follow)

• Thursday, February 16, 10:00 a.m., Governor Patrick and Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray host an event at Caffrey Towers in Brockton to salute the “pillars” of our senior community for Black History Month.
• Thursday, February 23, Governor Patrick joins a panel at the Governor's Western Massachusetts Office in Springfield to explore the legacy of African-American leaders from the past, present and future.
• Wednesday, February 29, Governor Patrick attends a closing reception at the African Meeting House in Boston, featuring members of the faith community and civic leaders.
• During the last two weeks of February, African-American leaders from the Patrick-Murray Administration will appear live on TOUCH 106.1 FM radio to discuss the Administration's goals and priorities.

 

A future in clean energy, with stimulus' help

Jeffrey Simon

Director, MA Recovery & Reinvestment Office

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One of the hallmarks of the Recovery Act is its dual objectives within each of its programs: Creating jobs for today and developing industries for tomorrow.

Nowhere is this more in evidence than in the Recovery Act’s investment in clean energy. The state received $245 million in clean energy and environment programs. In total, federal and state stimulus investments in energy/environment in Massachusetts was $790 million.

I recently visited a number of companies that received stimulus grants through the federal Department of Energy and saw firsthand the impact these companies are having now on their employees and the potential impact the products these companies are developing will have on our country’s economic and environmental future.

One of these companies, Ginkgo BioWorks, received a $3.5 million grant from the Department of Energy as well as a $99K Small Business Innovation Research grant. The company is engineering organisms in an attempt to develop an alternative fuel source. If successful, the product would have enormous implications for our reliance on imported fuel as well as what we are emitting into the environment. The stimulus grants are helping them do the critical research and development they need to do to develop this fuel. It also created 19 crucial jobs.

Another company I visited, Resolute Marine Energy, is developing a wave energy converter that will generate energy from the power of waves. They received a $1.1 million grant from the Department of Energy to help them develop this futuristic looking product that captures energy from the action of the waves. The vision of Resolute co-founder Bill Staby is that there will be a field of these wave energy converters generating useable energy. “We want to build a device small enough that it can be easily deployed,” he told me. According to Staby the stimulus funds were “hugely helpful” in helping the company develop and test the wave converter, as well as hire the employees they needed to get the product built.

At Coincident, which is housed in a six-story abandoned building in South Boston shared by other clean energy companies and dubbed Greentown Labs, the goal is to develop an energy management system that homeowners can use to manage their energy use more efficiently. Jason Hanna, the company’s founder told me that the company’s $1.1 million stimulus award from the Department of Energy was a “tremendous opportunity.” He noted that while there are other companies in this space, Coincident’s goal was to make their system affordable.

Pellion Technologies is working on the issue of the moment in the startup world: How to build a cheaper, longer lasting battery. Pellion’s idea is deceptively simple - to develop batteries from magnesium ion instead of the current lithium ion.  When I went to visit them, Dr. Robert Doe, one of the company’s founders told me that the company was largely virtual until it won a stimulus-funded grant from the Department of Energy for $3.3 million. The funds enabled Pellion to hire 21 employees and focus on its research and development. While Pellion’s magnesium batteries have many applications including cell phones and laptops, the company’s goal is to see these batteries power electric cars – and Poe’s credits the stimulus’s clean energy program with helping to get them there. “The ARRA funds let us go from two people and an idea to 25 and growing,” he said.