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The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the

interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, andall involved in one another.~Thomas Merton

When I woke my son up for school this morning, he rolled over and asked for a fewmore minutes of sleep. It reminded me of all the mornings my own mother wokeme up for school, when everymorning I would say ve more minutes please, !ustso I could dream a little longer. My parents were also dreamers and "mherst wastheir dream#an educated community oo$ing with %&'()s li*eralism and humanity#the +ualities that lured them here from hiladelphia, *ack then, in hopes ofproviding the *est opportunities for my sisters and me. I had the same hope for myson when I returned here to "mherst in -((. I wanted for him the opportunities I

had#a good education in a safe community, where people cared and shared similarvalues and dreams for a *etter world.

It didn)t take me long after I had returned, however, to reali$e that "mherst hadchanged. In many ways it had changed for the *etter, *ut in other ways it had*ecome very much like the rest of our country#re/ective of a larger society whosepast demons have come home to roost. Today, the world feels restless andunsettled, and "mherst is not immune to the e0ects of glo*ali$ation, poverty,environmental issues, war, greed, etc. More communities are turning inward, tocreative human capital as the catalyst for survival, social change, and communitysta*ility. It)s people, working together, that create a thriving, vi*rant, safe, andhealthier community environment with less stress, more empathy, and an overall

higher +uality of life.

1ecently, my dear neigh*or pointed to an article in 2usiness Insider that statedthat according to a real estate analysis *y 3illow, homes grow more rapidly in valueif they are in close pro4imity to a Trader 5oe6s or Whole 7oods. I admit that I relymostly on *oth to feed my family. 2ut what is also true is that pu*lic schools impactcommunity and house value. They are a core asset for drawing families to acommunity#the only reason that I, myself, returned here.

8o if all of this is true, what6s up with all of the political drama continuallysurrounding and plaguing our schools9 While we aim to teach our children that

*ullying is not okay, the current climate here suggests otherwise, as we witness thedrawing out of people6s personal laundry, aired in newspapers, *logs, emails,7ace*ook...spanning across social media, for all the world to see and !udge ourcommunity. 2ut interestingly enough however, so few of us are willing to simplypick up the phone or o0er to take someone to lunch for a simple conversation. "ndeven fewer of us are willing to come out from *ehind our computer screens toactually help, volunteer or make any sort of contri*ution toward *ettering ourcommunity.

170 Chestnut Street, Amherst, MA 01002 | 413-362-1820 |www.amhersttogether.org

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The critical factor here is that while we *oast a*out only the :h) is silent, we aremore passionate a*out !ust *eing vocal a*out the things that upset us, than we area*out actually helping to *ring a*out the changes we seek. This is not at allhelping our community or our children. ;owever, it is our children who havestepped up to the plate and aligned their e0orts with their voice, to take positiveaction. We could certainly learn from them. Within our schools, our students,

teachers, administrators, parents, paras, interns and many others "1< making adi0erence, and our children are standing up and nding the support they need toshare their voice and make a di0erence...in turn, providing many *enets to ourcommunity.

=ver the past year, I have had an opportunity to witness our schools in action#aprime e4ample of the *eauty and transformative nature of humanity and itspotential to impact people. 5ust within the last > months alone, our schools havemade signicant social impacts on our community and society at large?one in

particular, even gained the attention of resident =*ama. 5ust to highlight a few?

"t the ;igh 8chool@People of Color United (POCU)mem*ers !oined %,A((volunteers to help revitali$e >- homes for 8pringeld residentsBRefugees InDistress club (RDC)

organi$ed an assem*ly to raise awareness and educate thecommunity a*out the plight of refugeesBBlack Lives Matter (BLM)held twoassem*lies featuring the history of 2CM, performances, and small groupdiscussionsBBest Buddies clubhosted several events to *ring awareness to theisolation of people with intellectual and developmental disa*ilities; Counit!"ervice Clubhosted an annual 1ed Dross 2lood Erive in "pril, where 'F studentsand %( sta0 mem*ers donated *lood. G' pints were collected, setting a record with

the most since -(%%. "#renc$%#rancop$one Dinnere4plored various aspects of7rench and 7rancophone cultures from 7rance to West "frica.&frican "c$olarsPrograshared its e4periences of living with families during its recent e4changetrip to 8enegal and The Ham*ia. "t "out$ 'ast ig$ "c$ool Capus, a ',A((

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=utreach of "mherst satellite o0ice, home visits, and *efore and after schoolprogramsBLatino &c$ieveent +ig$tpartnered with DM"88 to host a greatevent for the %(th Catino "chievement Kight, with over F(( people in attendance,featuring awards, raLes, pri$es, and performancesB & "1;8 students and %% "18faculty and administrators attended the Coalition of "c$ools 'ducating Bo!s ofColor (CO"'BOC)conference in Kew ork Dity to support and strengthen our

district)s commitment to the development of our young men of colorBBlack"c$olars Risingceremony honored student transitions in grade level, whilepromoting the legacy and cultural awareness of the "frican "merican e4perience,with nearly F(( in attendance.

=ur schools have clearly provided much, much to *e proud of and cele*rateN;owever, there is still work to do to serve all of our children. This is an urgent callto action. We must support and nurture our schools and the hardJworking,committed people in it. We owe it to our children to champion their e0orts andprotect their environment. It is our responsi*ility as adults. We need to shift ourfocus from ridicule and *elligerence to encouragement and *enevolence. If not,

our schools su0er, our town su0ers, our property values su0er, our *usinessessu0er, our university and colleges feel the impact, and "mherst will not remain acommunity where people want to live, work, stay or come *ack to raise theirchildren. "nd that would *e sad. It)s time to *e a more compassionate communitythat works together and dares to dream. That need is now, and the shift *eginswith each and every one of us.

Darol 1oss

170 Chestnut Street, Amherst, MA 01002 | 413-362-1820 |www.amhersttogether.org

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