Around Amherst: Crocker Farm earns national Welcoming Schools Seal

Lily Stowe-Alekman, staff director for state Rep. Mindy Domb, left, presents a legislative citation to Elizabeth Burns, administrator of the Amherst Early Education Center, and Danielle Murray, Welcoming Schools facilitator and Safe and Welcoming Schools specialist.

Lily Stowe-Alekman, staff director for state Rep. Mindy Domb, left, presents a legislative citation to Elizabeth Burns, administrator of the Amherst Early Education Center, and Danielle Murray, Welcoming Schools facilitator and Safe and Welcoming Schools specialist. CONTRIBUTED

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By SCOTT MERZBACH

Staff Writer

Published: 07-12-2024 7:30 AM

AMHERST — Crocker Farm School’s Amherst Early Education Center recently became one of 35 schools across the country to earn the Human Rights Campaign’s Welcoming Schools Seal of Excellence, where work over the past three years is honoring family diversity, creating LGBTQ+ and gender inclusivity, and supporting transgender and non-binary students.

Preschool administrator Elizabeth Burns said in a statement that Welcoming Schools is the perfect program for preschoolers who are naturally curious and interested in talking about their families and their friends' families, as well as exploring identity and what makes them the same and different from their peers. The program includes lessons in how to show kindness and care to classmates and the local and global community.

“The learning and exploration that we have done over the past three years is apparent in the way staff interact with students and families, set up their classrooms and the environment and respond to student questions, curiosities and comments around gender, family and identity,” Burns said. “Every preschool staff member embraced the learning opportunities; as they always do when it comes to digging deeper and doing what is the absolute best for the students we care for.”

Burns also offered thanks to the administration, the School Committee, the community and preschool families for support.

The Seal of Excellence comes after training sessions were done and books, resources and toys to reflect and appreciate individuals and family diversity were updated. The award was presented to the center by Danielle Murray, the Welcoming Schools facilitator and a Safe and Welcoming Schools specialist.

Resident Aid Assistance

Low-income residents who have suffered financial hardships and economic impacts due to the COVID pandemic are eligible to seek portions of $50,000 remaining in the town’s Resident Aid Assistance Program, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Members of marginalized communities, including people of color, women and LGBTQ+ individuals and families, are encouraged to apply for one-time grants, up to $3,000. Payments can then be made to landlords, banks and utilities to help cover overdue rent, mortgage or utility fees. Over the past two years, the town has provided $150,000 from the fund to help residents.

To apply, residents should contact Family Outreach of Amherst at 413-548-1275. Application forms can also be downloaded at amherstma.gov/3743/Resident-Aid-Assistance-Program/.

Weekly Gallery Talk

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The Amherst Historical Society, 67 Amity St., is holding Saturday morning gallery talks to accompany the “Cambodians in Amherst” exhibit, with committee members guiding visitors beginning at 11:15 a.m. each week starting this Saturday and running through the end of August.

“Cambodians in Amherst” examines the story of the migration, resettlement and integration of Cambodians into the social and cultural life of Amherst. It is funded by a grant from Mass Humanities with additional support from the Amherst Cultural Council, Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission, Amherst Media and the University of Massachusetts.  The exhibit will be on view through October, with the museum also open until 3 p.m. on Saturdays, Wednesdays from 2 to 5 p.m. through August, and by appointment.

Meanwhile, on Sunday the society will honor the late Edwin W. Wilfert, who died Jan. 30, leaving a bequest for ongoing support of programming and activities. That event will be at 3 p.m. in the Munson Library as Julie Flood Page, Wilfert’s sister, invites people who participated with Wilfert in cultural activities such as music, dance and the visual arts.

Those planning to attend and share recollections should contact Page at juliefloodpage@gmail.com.

ReproductiveFreedom Rally

Members of the Amherst Young Feminist Party recently joined with Indivisible Northampton/Swing Left Western Massachusetts for a “Bigger than Dobbs: Weekend of Action” rally in Northampton, calling for bodily autonomy as a fundamental human right two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The June 22 rally on the steps of City Hall was organized by 2024 Hampshore Regional graduate Alice Jenkins and featured the Raging Grannies activist choral group and speakers, including state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, Northampton City Councilor Debby Pastrich Klemer and Freya Brody of the Amherst Young Feminist Party.

The Amherst Young Feminist Party is part of a national, youth-led, intersectional organization pushing for enactment of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution and widespread gender equality. Founded in May 2020 by Marisol Pierce Bonifaz, it has more than 50 youth activist members.

Church changes

The Rev. Valentine Nworah, who has been the assistant pastor for the past 18 months at both the Newman Catholic Center at the University of Massachusetts and St. Brigid’s Church in downtown Amherst, recently assumed the director positions at both churches.

The Rev. Gary Dailey, who had been Newman’s director since July 1, 2010 and added leadership at St. Brigid’s in January 2023, is leaving to serve as rector of the Cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield.

Dailey’s tenure came to an end as the former Newman Center building on North Pleasant Street closed after 60 years and the building was sold to the university, with a new Newman Center building opening a short distance away, on Thatcher Road, last fall.