NORTHAMPTON — Starting in the fall, Bridge Street School will be including bicycling in its physical education classes for fourth and fifth graders. Joe’s Garage, a Haydenville bike shop, received a grant from national bike company Quality Bicycle Products that will be used to buy bikes and helmets for the school.
The project is a collaboration between Joe’s Garage, the Bridge Street School PTO and the school’s gym teacher, Kathy Flaherty, according to Karen Foster, a volunteer with the PTO who helped write the grant.
“We’re aware of the income stratification of students at Bridge Street,” Foster said, and as the area bike trails grow, she added, “We want to make sure all students are included.”
“By making it part of the school’s PE curriculum,” she said, “when they leave elementary school, all students will have had the opportunity to access the bike paths.”
Exiting the School Committee
Rebecca Busansky, the School Committee’s Ward 1 representative, announced at a committee meeting on June 13 that she will not be running again for her position. She has been serving on the committee since 2015, and works as the coordinator for PVGrows Investment Fund.
“I’m sure I will continue to be involved in our community in some ways,” Busansky said at the meeting. “I believe in the importance of civic engagement and in our public schools in particular. In the meantime, anyone who’s interested in running for School Committee in Ward 1 should feel free to get in touch with me. I’d be happy to talk about the position further.”
The Gazette was not able to reach Busansky for comment.
Candidacy announcements
Roni Gold, an elementary school teacher, is running for the at large position on the committee. Currently, Gold teaches at the Rebecca M. Johnson Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School in Springfield and has been working in public education for more than a decade.
“I am running to be on school committee because I believe my experience and collaborative, outcome-oriented approach will be a valuable asset to the responsibilities of our school committee,” he wrote in an email to the Gazette.
Gold also has two daughters at Bridge Street School and is a member of the Bridge Street School Council and PTO.
Dina Levi, director of Inclusive Leadership at Amherst College, recently took out papers to run for the Ward 5 School Committee seat.
“I am running for Ward 5 School Committee in hopes of bringing my experience in diversity and inclusion to the policy decisions that impact the Northampton schools,” Levi wrote in an email to the Gazette.
“I have two young children,” she continued, “the oldest of whom will be in kindergarten in the fall of 2020, and part of my decision to run includes a desire to ensure she, and all students, are embraced for who they are as they are simultaneously challenged to think critically about the messages they receive from society.”
Previously, she worked as a high school counselor and in administrative positions at K-12 schools.
When it comes to policy, she said, “I am passionate about ensuring both funding and policies that support teachers, and am interested in ensuring practices that support students and families with working parents.”
So far, she said she’s knocked on more than 100 doors to kick off her campaign.
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.