Joint Statement From The Worcester Together Coalition

June 2, 2020

A JOINT STATEMENT FROM MEMBERS OF THE WORCESTER TOGETHER COALITION

Together we rise, together we stand, and together we change. On behalf of the Worcester Together Coalition, comprising more than 100 individuals and organizations formed in response to the COVID-19 crisis, we rise and we stand in condemnation of the brutal acts perpetrated by Minneapolis police officers in the murder of George Floyd. We stand in the name of countless Black lives lost at the hands of police and civil vigilantes and in the name of all Communities of Color that have and continue to experience institutional inequity and brutality. We seek to create and make change to shift the oppressive imbalances in our country in the name of all Communities of Color that have experienced profound loss including for George Floyd, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, Botham Jean, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and for whom their families and communities have endured deep pain, anger, frustration, and fear because of systemic racism and inequity.

Silence is not an option. Action is paramount. Worcester Together has demonstrated our ability to act and respond in crisis through COVID-19. Today, we speak aloud in disgust and with deep sorrow for our community and our country, and to leverage our collective and unified power to act and make change. The devastating racial disparities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic are intrinsically related to our nation’s history of white supremacy and structural racism. It is a legacy that we must reject and dismantle. As we seek to address the COVID-19 crisis and to build a fair and just “new normal” we commit ourselves to these principles in all that we do, both individually and collectively:

1. We will acknowledge the reality of white supremacism in our history and its insidious presence in our institutions, public school system, police department, community-based organizations, and ways of doing business and will facilitate courageous conversations and frank discussion of the issues at hand as a community. We will recognize our inadvertent complicity in the perpetuation of this injustice.

2. We will approach every initiative, policy or program that we undertake as an opportunity to

   dismantle racism. We will do this explicitly and embrace accountability for our results.

3. We will consistently and promptly identify, name, question, and actively resist and denounce

   policies in our criminal justice, law enforcement, education and health institutions that injure people of color and deprive them of the opportunity to participate fully in the life of our community

4. We will center, elevate and defer to voices of People of Color and support the economic

   advancement of Communities of Color by using our collective purchasing power to support locally owned Black, Latino, and immigrant businesses.

We are fallible humans acting in the name of humanity and cannot do this work alone. Please join us as we work together to create equity, shape and change our community and our country’s course.

The Worcester Together Coalition as signed by:

Action! by Design Mission E4 Alex M. Mooradian, Esq. Michael Sleeper, Imperial Distributors Ascentria Care Alliance Naomi Sleeper, Imperial Distributors Billy Fitzpatrick, College of the Holy Cross, 2020 National Grid Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Open Sky Community Services Boys & Girls Club of Worcester Organization for Nonprofit Excellence (ONE Worcester) Central Mass Housing Alliance Pernet Family Health Service CENTRO Project New Hope Inc. Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester Quinsigamond Community College Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc. Regional Environmental Council of Central MA Coghlin Network Services, Inc. Senator Ed Markey Community Health Link Senator Harriette L. Chandler Congressman Jim McGovern Seven Hills Foundation & Affiliates Department of Children and Families, Worcester East Southeast Asian Coalition Department of Youth Service, Central Region State Representative James O'Day Dress for Success Worcester State Representative John J. Mahoney Ed Augustus, City Manager, Worcester Straight Ahead Ministries Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center The Clemente Course in the Humanities, Worcester Edward Street Child Services The Guild of St. Agnes Emma Davison, College of the Holy Cross, 2021 The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts Face Mask Working Group - Mutual Aid Worcester Journey Community Church, Revs. Tom Sparling, Paul Joyal, Lou Soiles Friendly House Together for Kids Coalition Gina Plata-Nino, Esq. UMass Memorial Health Care Greater Worcester Community Foundation United Way of Central Massachusetts Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester University of Massachusetts Medical School HOPE Coalition University of Massachusetts Medical School Imperial Distributors Worcester Chamber Music Society/Neighborhood Strings Jeremiah's Inn Worcester Community Action Council Joe Ertle, College of the Holy Cross Worcester Cultural Coalition Kimberly Salmon, Worcester Resident Worcester Education Collaborative Latino Education Institute Worcester Family Partnership Legendary Legacies Inc Worcester Housing Authority Living In Freedom Together-LIFT Worcester Interfaith Love Your Labels Worcester Public Schools Main South Community Development Corporation Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Mark Richman, Professor, WPI Worcester State University MassHIRE,Worcester and Southbridge Career Centers Worcester Telegram and Gazette Mayor Joseph M. Petty YMCA of Central Massachusetts YWCA Central Massachusetts

Reading Together in the Time of COVID-19

Reading Together, WEC’s signature literacy program funded by the AbbVie Foundation, has expanded to two additional schools this year serving a total of 1,447 kindergartens through third-grade students and their families. The program consists of 4 classroom read-aloud sessions with students and families across the 7 Reading Together schools. Each visit includes a classroom activity as well as a copy of the book and a home literacy activity for each student. This year, we were able to complete three of the four classroom visits before the shutting of school buildings in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are heartened to know that these students have at least three books to engage with at home in addition to those from previous years. We are coordinating with the Worcester Public Schools to ensure the distribution of the session four books.

Complicating the ongoing work to supporting children in learning to read with confidence and proficiency is the phenomenon of summer learning loss, whereby children’s academic achievement ‘decays’ over the 10 weeks of summer.  According to research compiled, low-income students lose more than two months in reading achievement, while their middle-class peers make slight gains (Cooper, 1996, Wallace Foundation, 2011).  When this pattern continues throughout the elementary school years, lower-income youth fall more than two and one-half years behind their more affluent peers by the end of fifth grade. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the interruption in education is more than doubling the amount of time students are out of school.

We are excited to report that the AbbVie Foundation, in addition to funding the Reading Together Program, has provided WEC with additional funds to support Summer Literacy Kits for all Reading Together students.

We know that children who report easy access to books also read more books. Many low-income students do not have access to high quality, age appropriate reading material in the home. Studies show the effect of reading books over the summer can have a large enough impact to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall (Kim, J.S., 2004, Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk). For this reason, WEC is ensuring that all Reading Together students and their families receive a Summer Literacy Kit that includes:

·       10 engaging books featuring fictional, informational, and specialty themes

·       Think Sheets for every title

·       Summer Reading Journal to encourage reflection

·       Colored pencils to inspire creativity and imagination

·       A program guide for educators with implementation tips and family resources

We are grateful to the AbbVie Foundation and the Worcester Public Schools for their partnership in this endeavor. We anticipate Reading Together schools will be distributing the Summer Literacy Kits in early June.

Illustrations by Dale Crosby-Close