Worcester Magazine August 9 - 15, 2018

AUGUST 9 - 15, 2018

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Fall Education

Districts by the Numbers plus Urban Youth Collaborative making difference in lives of disabled and Esports explosion leads to new Becker College program

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Ten Years Later: The Anomaly of Armsby Abbey A decade before Worcester “reimagined” Main Street with its $11-million redesign, and Trinity Financial invested $53 million into neighboring residential real estate, Sherri Sadowski could see the future for Armsby Abbey. 23

in this issue A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018 • V O L U M E 43 I S S U E 50

the cover

Fall Education Districts by the Numbers Story on page 13 Design by Kimberly Vasseur

Bravehearts, Pirates eye playoff runs: It’s getting to be old hat for the Worcester Bravehearts, while the Massachusetts Pirates hope to be starting a new tradition. 31

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news

In Worcester, restaurant accessibility on the menu WALTER BIRD JR.

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or many of us, going out to eat is no harder than choosing a restaurant, making a reservation if needed, then jumping in the car and heading out. For those with disabilities, however, dining out can be much more difficult. Someone in a wheelchair, for example, can’t just park their car, walk in and be seated. A blind customer can’t simply thumb through a menu and choose the day’s special. And while some restaurants might book a live band or play background music, someone who is deaf or hard of hearing may find it almost impossible to hear the person sitting with them or the waiter taking their order.

“When we say access,” said Joe Prochilo, “we need to take a look at the definition of access we’re using. When restaurants gear up for access, it’s mainly been mobility access, the ability for someone in a wheelchair to get in, get around and use the bathroom, pay, get their food and exit the facility.

“The regulations, however, cover the blind community, deaf and hard of hearing, and the cognitively-challenged community. Those aspects of access have largely been ignored from a historical perspective.”

Prochilo, who uses a wheelchair, has been chair of the Disability Commission in Worcester for about a year. Living in the city, he has seen and faced some of the challenges that arise for the disabled every day. The Disability Commission has been working to raise awareness of those issues through efforts such as mobility strolls, which invite people to navigate different neighborhoods in Worcester as a disabled person

Joe Prochilo, chair of the Disability Commission in Worcester, and Jayna Turchek, director of human rights and disabilities for the city.

WALTER BIRD JR.

does. The aim is to hold three or four a year. Most recently, a mobility strolls was done on Grafton Street.

As sort of an offshoot of that, Prochilo and the Disability Commission are in the process of surveying restaurant accessibility, starting with perhaps one of the most popular dining destinations

in the city: Shrewsbury Street.

“The Commission has had a goal for the last year to evaluate local restaurants for accessibility, knowing that it’s very difficult to plan an outing or just go out for a meal with your family when you don’t know what to expect,” said Jayna Turchek, director of human rights and disabilities for Worcester. “It

took six to nine months to develop [the process] and get feedback from committee members on what’s important, what are they looking for.”

The result is a survey that is seeing the Commission and partners in the deaf community working to visit 31 businesses on Shrewsbury Street coded as restaurants.

They will be gauging how the eateries fare in dealing with three categories of disabilities: mobility, blindness and deafness or hard of hearing. Later, they will then fill out a questionnaire. The goal is to first present the findings to the Commission as a whole, meet with the local business association to

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news

Main South community leaders eye the cannabis biz I BILL SHANER

ke McBride, Edry Jimenez-Bonilla, Joe Johnson and Michael Rodriguez are familiar names in Worcester, especially in the Main South neighborhood. The longtime community stakeholders have a track record of doing what they can to help the neighborhood in the human services sector.

Now they’re looking at a new field. They’ve banded together on a venture they think may be able to do more good than they ever could

by themselves, but it takes a form one may not immediately connect to community benefit. They’re opening a pot shop. Or, at least, they’re trying to.

Called the Community Growers Partnership, they have a lease on a space in the 40 Jackson St. building owned by Steven Rothschild.

The group also plans to open a cultivation center elsewhere in the city, though the details have not yet been finalized. The shop itself would employ 18 people at the onset, on a scale from $15-

$20 an hour, and the organizers said they’re committed to hiring directly from the neighborhood.

At a meeting at the Main South Center for Community Development this week, they laid out their plan to a small but intently interested crowd.

“Since I was a kid, we used to joke about the area between the old Pip Shelter up to the McDonald’s. We used to call that the ‘dark zone,’” said McBride, referring to the stretch of Main Street immediately south of Chandler Street.

“It could be noon time and you hit that section of the city and it just gets dark because of all the things that are going on. We’ve all seen it, we’ve all lived through it.”

But, he said, a business like this will attract people to the area, make it a destination, and help bring some light to a small pocket of the city that has continuously struggled even when other neighborhoods have boomed.

“It’s a great opportunity. I know if we do, we’re going to make everyone proud,” said McBride.

Of course, it’s not a done deal yet. The group has a long road ahead of them before getting a license to operate. They need approval from the city via what’s called a community host agreement, and that will allow them to seek final approval from the state Cannabis Control Commission.

The group is one of several from around the state applying for what’s called an economic empowerment license from the CCC. The license offers a lower barrier of C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 7

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and hard of hearing, and mobility impairments. That’s not covering all of the hidden disabilities that are discuss what they learned. out there.

The survey could be extended “You’re talking about an ecoto restaurants in other areas of nomic impact in the billions of the city, Turchek said. According dollars from a purchasing power to Prochilo, there are about 426 standpoint. The disabled popularestaurants in Worcester. tion, by and large, is an untapped “This is a piece we’re piloting on economic powerhouse.”

Shrewsbury Street to see how long For restaurant owners, Turchek it takes, what is required, what said, “There’s a lot more they could kind of response we’re going to get,” be doing proactively, affirmatively, Turchek said. “We’re really lookto make sure they’re providing reing at this as a pilot to see how we ally competent customer service.” might be able to take on the rest of “Are business owners,” she the city.” continued, “thinking about this Prochilo said he thinks the surwhen they’re developing a marketvey is the first of its kind. ing plan … and when they’re doing “This is the first study I know of employee trainings? Even if the nationwide doing it in this manowner is aware, if the managers ner,” he said. “It’s by and large been on site are not tuned into these mobility. This is a much wider look, needs, and the wait staff and othbecause there are so many aspects of ers don’t understand the differaccess that fall under the regulations.” ent varieties of communication Prochilo who said he has already possibilities of how you might visited about half the restaurants work with individuals from these on Shrewsbury Street, said there communities, they’re really going is an entire set of criteria, from the to be at a loss.” ability to navigate the facility to Restaurant owner John Piccolo, whether waitstaff, when speaking who also heads up the Shrewsto a deaf or blind individual, are ac- bury Street Business Association, tually addressing them or, instead, agrees many restaurants may speaking to their companion. not pay careful attention to the “Are they patient enough?” different kinds of disabilities their Prochilo asked. “A deaf person is customers may have. going to have a different manner “I don’t think they’re aware of of communication, especially if the it as far as blindness or hearing staff knows no sign language at all. problems,” said Piccolo, who owns Then it’s going to be cell phones Piccolo’s restaurant at 157 Shrewsand notes. You have to take all of bury St.. “Everyone knows about this into consideration when you wheelchairs because [the Americome back at the end of the day cans with Disabilities Act] requires and do an assessment.” that you have have to be accessible.

As for how accessible some of I don’t think [other disabilities are] the Shrewsbury Street restaurants overlooked, but it’s just not that are, Prochilo said, “New places common.” like Via and the One Eleven [Chop Be that as it may, he said, restauHouse], they’re pretty good. From rants should be ready to deal with a mobility standpoint, it’s decent. all customers, regardless of their Some other places, when we start ability levels. going farther up Shrewsbury Street, “You’d like to think we’re even places like Wexford House equipped to handle someone and so forth, there are some chalwho’s handicapped,” he said. “You’d lenges. That’s why it helps to have think people would be willing to more than one perspective. The accommodate them. As far as other more eyes we have looking at this disabilities, I’d like to think my staff and we can draw a true consensus, would be accommodating, whether you’re not just drawing from one it’s reading a menu [ for a customer] perspective. or anything like that.”

The aim, Prochilo insisted, is not Paul Barber, owner of the Flying to punish the restaurants.

Rhino restaurant at 278 Shrews“This,” he said, “is a pulse check. bury St., said his business, which It was never in my vision to go he bought in 200, is “very ADA back to the state and say these compliant.” guys are in violation. The disabled “The tone of my restaurant,” Barpopulation is 20 percent of the ber said, “I want it to be agreeable entire populace. That’s just for to everyone. I don’t ever want to be blind, cognitively-challenged, deaf excluding people.”

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news CANNABIS BIZ

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entry to small businesses started by community members in parts of the state disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition.

The Main South neighborhood certainly fits that bill. And the group is hopeful the CCC will chose their business as the poster child of what the CCC means when it says “economic empower-

school,” said McBride. “This puts us in the position we don’t have to do that anymore.”

Outside some probing questions from At-Large Councilor Gary Rosen on bigger issues like driving under the influence and the effect on black market cannabis sales, there was no opposition from the small crowd to the proposal. Rothschild, the property owner, said before he granted the

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ELIZABETH BROOKS

From left, Ike McBride, Edry Jimenez-Bonilla and Michael Rodriguez.

spent

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lease, he went around and asked other tenants and neighbors.

“They all endorsed it,” he said. “I even got a few wise aleck remarks like ‘Great, now I don’t have to make an extra stop on the way home.’”

But it’s still not a sure thing the shop will open. Worcester will only offer community host agreements to 15 businesses, and they’ll announce the first wave likely in the fall. And the CCC has yet to approve a single economic empowerment license, though the category is ostensibly fast-tracked in the bureaucratic process.

On top of that, this group doesn’t have the business expertise or financial backing of the venture capitalists that make up most of the nascent cannabis industry.

“We keep reminding ourselves,” said Johnson, “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.”

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ment.”

“We want to do it right,” said McBride, who has spent most of his career with the Boys and Girls Club.

Jimenez-Bonilla expanded on the idea. She said the goal is to build up capital they’d never been able to previously and reinvest it in the neighborhood.

“We all come from a very long history of working for human services, we just haven’t been able to have the right resources to make a real impact, to make a change,” she said. “We’re really looking forward to it.”

Ideas included opening a youth summer camp, investing in the neighborhood’s schools, opening youth cannabis education programs, add lights to an area, and making other investments that impact neighborhood youth.

“How many times I’ve given my last $50 to a family that needs to eat, then I gotta call my mother for gas because I gotta get my kids to

news

worcesteria

WORCIDE’S REVENGE: You don’t build a nationally-respected community skatepark over the course of a decade with your bare hands by being lazy and/or apathetic, so rest assured, the Worcide organizers are not going anywhere. They announced this week their first major event since the city demolished the park without warning last month. They’re holding a fundraiser Sunday, Sept. 30 at Ralph’s Rock Diner that will bands, vendors and a raffle and they’ve launched a Friends of Worcide group to bring people in. Still no word on the city’s commitment to find a new space for Worcide, but it’s good to see the skaters working hard on their end. If you want to help them out, I suggest you look up the Friends of Worcide Facebook group and join.

TRUCK-IN-THE-DITCH MEME CHALLENGE: I’m sure you’ve seen it by

now. A glorious Worcester moment was captured by news cameras during a massive water main break Tuesday on Stores Street. Shown in the video is an old white Chevy pick-up truck with a black cab cover driving directly into the large, deep ditch created by the water main break. As the car starts to sink, the driver, a shirtless man, climbs out the driver-side window. After he climbs out – and this is the best part – six to eight lahge (sic) styrofoam Dunkin’ cups follow in his wake. This moment, captured for the world to see, is so Worcester it hurts. So, dear readers, I propose a meme challenge. Email me your best meme, using either the video or a still shot. Next week, pending I get one worthy enough, I will repost it in this column.

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THE WEEK IN WOOSOX: I’ve made my displeasure with the name WooSox known, so I won’t belabor the point except to say I audibly groaned when I read that an MLB lawyer trademarked the WooSox name last week. Anyway, that was the first of several PawSox news nuggets to perk Worcester hopefuls ears. There was that, a story about how the PawSox might try to move before the ball park is built, rumors they may want to play at Fitton Field (I’m sure the Bravehearts love that idea), a story in the Lowell Sun quoting Spinners officials about how a PawSox move to Worcester would hurt them, and then, to cap it all off, the crown jewel: Larry Lucchino, the big Paw himself, was captured on camera in the Canal District by my stalker-in-chief Walter Bird, Jr., When they actually announce they’re moving here, it’s going to be anti-climactic. We all pretty much know, so you might as well come out with it already.

88 IS A NAZI SYMBOL: As I was completely disconnected from society last weekend, drinking beer in the woods, I entirely missed the story of the Worcester House of Corrections guard with the “88” tattoo below his sleeve. Quick recap: Someone posted a pic to Facebook. Social media storm. Jail rallies behind employee, says tattoo is part of a larger football tattoo, and that 88 was his number. Though I’m coming in well after the story has died, I want to point out a few things I think were missed in the debate. 1. Working in a jail with a white supremacist symbol on your arm, even if it’s a coincidence, is terrible. Because our criminal justice system is fundamentally racist, jail populations are majority people of color, and it’s no big secret that white supremacist fascism can breed among white inmates and guards (google “Aryan Brotherhood”). 2. Find me a single tattoo artist on this earth who wouldn’t advise this guy that “88,” especially in that particular font, means “Heil Hitler” before permanently putting it on his body. 3. The original picture clearly shows other tattoos on his arm, but the picture the jail posted only showed the one tattoo, shortly after the guy got it. 4. Does the Worcester House of Corrections have a policy for screening candidates for white supremacy beliefs? 5. Those quick to dismiss this as an internet mob or witch hunt, either in good or bad faith, severely undervalue the seriousness of the issue.

Bill Shaner, reporter wshaner@worcestermag.com Twitter: @Bill_Shaner

news

the beat Good news for students and educators at the Abby Kelley Foster School. Concerns

the building may have been contaminated with the carcinogenic compound TCE were assuaged by follow-up testing this week that showed there were not elevated levels.

An initial test earlier this year showed there might be.

But bad news for folks who want to see an innovation school in the Worcester Public School system, after trying for years to get an

arts-focused school in Worcester Public Schools. Now, organizers are pursuing the prospect of opening the arts school as a charter school, outside the district. Should it open, it would be called the Audre Lorde School. The WPS administration and the Education Association of Worcester both oppose the idea.

On the real school building front, the new South High Community School is nearly operational. Well, not really, it’s still going to take a few years. But officials will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the project next Thursday, Aug. 23, at 9 a.m.

Oxford has a new town manager. Former state rep. Jennifer Callahan,

a Sutton resident, will take on the role soon. In April, former Town Manager Brian Palai resigned. Callahan won out over two other candidates, including Southbridge Town Manager Ron San Angelo. She leaves her job as Millville’s town administrator.

The fight to implement the Community Preservation Act in Worcester is not over, but it is delayed. Organizers of the CPA initia-

tive announced last week they intend to take the question to the 2019 city elections, as opposed to getting it on the 2018 ballot, which they initially requested of the City Council. In a close vote earlier this year, the City Council voted down the CPA proposal, saying it was up to the organizers to get something that would add to tax bills onto a ballot.

The Worcester Division of Public Health has been awarded $115,000

annually over the next four years to help curb smoking rates. The money comes from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and will be aimed at programs and policy tweaks to protect youth from exposure to tobacco and vaping advertisements, second hand smoke and access to assistance for those seeking to quit.

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Donald Trump to see the local impact of tariffs and other actions his administration has taken to ignite trade wars. In the letter, sent this week, he said he has been contacted by owners of several local manufacturing plants who say they’re nervous about the uncertainty the tariffs may create. “They’re anxious about the impact on their costs, their supply chains, and their ability to fulfill contracts. And workers need to know that their jobs are secure and that they won’t be laid off because of these tariff wars,” he wrote. McGovern invited Trump officials handling trade to come meet with local stakeholders.

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Local Congressman Jim McGovern is attempting to get President

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opinion editorial

Accessibility should not be afterthought

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here are, according to the chair of the Disability Commission, about 426 restaurants in Worcester. That’s a lot of options for would-be diners.

How many of them, however, are options for the disabled?

In a news story elsewhere in this week’s issue, Worcester Magazine reports on a survey being done by the Disability Commission, starting with restaurants on Shrewsbury Street, to gauge just how accessible they are to the disabled community. As Commission Chair Joe Prochilo notes, it’s not just about mobility, although to be sure, most businesses, when considering accessibility, probably think about wheelchair access.

There are, of course, many disabled who aren’t necessarily mobility-challenged. For their survey, the Commission is including access to the blind and deaf and hard of hearing communities. Do wait staff read menus to someone who is visually-impaired? What are the acoustics like for someone who is hard of hearing? If the customer is deaf, how do staff

communicate with them? Are they patient?

The editor of this newspaper is hearing impaired and wears a hearing aid. One of the biggest challenges when going out to eat is the background noise and music. Some restaurants, just the way they are built, are noisy. Many play music or feature live bands.

Some have TVs broadcasting local sports games. Entertainment can be a big part of an enjoyable night out to eat. However, depending on the noise levels, it can be a struggle for the hearingimpaired diner to converse with their partner or even hear the wait staff.

In conversations with a couple of local restaurateurs, it was refreshing to hear acknowledgment that, yes, restaurants - and other businesses - can do better when accommodating all customers, not just those on two legs and with no physical or cognitive impairments.

That’s not to say Worcester’s restaurants don’t pay heed.

John Piccolo, owner of Piccolo’s

restaurant on Shrewsbury Street and head of the Shrewsbury Street Business Association, said staff are always willing to help a customer in a wheelchair up the stair in the back. The front dining area, he said, is accessible. Paul Barber, owner of the Flying Rhino, also on Shrewsbury Street, said he would be glad to offer menus in Braille if it was something that could help his customer base.

It is also heartening to hear Prochilo say the survey is not a witch hunt aimed at catching lo-

cal restaurants breaking any laws.

As he tells it, the survey is a “pulse check.” Those visiting the restaurants as part of the survey will fill out a questionnaire afterward.

When all the the restaurants on Shrewsbury Street have been surveyed, Prochilo said the plan is to present findings to the Disability Commission as a whole, followed by a meeting with the Shrewsbury Street Business Association.

A venture such as this need not be confrontational. Given the survey is being done under the radar,

so to speak - that is, without advance notice - it is wise to gather information and look at what restaurants are doing right - and what can be improved. At the end of the day, restaurants are in the business of doing business with the public. They rely on disposable income and the disabled are customers like anyone else. Just as the concerns of an able-bodied customer would be promptly addressed, so too should those of the disabled. It is, after all, in the restaurant’s best interest.

Sarah Perez x334 Media Coordinator Madison Friend x332

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education Urban Youth Collaborative making difference in lives of disabled STEPHANIE JARVIS CAMPBELL

the result of a roundtable discussion amongst employees back in 1992. DDS Director of Recruitment Gerald Scott created an eight-week initiative with 20 students from Madison Park High School in Roxbury, and although there was some reluctance on both sides – from the interns and the service locations – that such a program would be successful, the closing ceremony brought tears because no one was ready for it to be over.

“You give love and you get love – and you get paid for it,” Scott said as to the program’s benefits and success.

The next year saw expansion to Worcester, Springfield and Lawrence, with 72 interns involved; today, the Urban Youth Collaborative has 20 different programs across the state, from Pittsfield

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ore than 25 years ago, a small pilot program started to not only encourage students to consider careers in health and human services, but to expand awareness for people with disabilities. That initial program had 20 interns; since then, the Urban Youth Collaborative has employed approximately 4,000 interns through the years.

A program of the state Department of Developmental Services, the Urban Youth Collaborative was

From left, Seven Hills Foundation interns Blandine Nikuze, Joseph Horn, Maxwell Amoah, Denzel Kumah and Alexis Addo, all of Worcester.

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STEPHANIE CAMPBELL

WALTER BIRD JR.

Alan Ritacco, dean, School of Design and Technology at Becker College, oversees the new esports management program.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

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an online battle arena game, and Overwatch, a first-person shooter game, are among those featured in competitions.

Esports is not just for competitors, either. An estimated 427 million people will watch esports by 2019 on platforms such as YouTube and Amazon Twitch. Money-wise, the esports industry is already generating north of $400 million in annual revenue.

“The excitement and interest has been greater than expected,” said Tim Loew, executive director of MassDiGi and general manager of Becker’s varsity esports program.

“There are inquiries from students all over the place.”

The interest has been in both the varsity team (Becker is the only

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emember when your parents would yell at you to put down the Atari or Nintendo and do your homework or get outside? Video games, they may have said, won’t help you graduate. Who knew? Nowadays, making or playing video games could very well get you through college.

Becker College in Worcester has built a growing reputation out of making gamers and game makers of their students. And the burgeoning esports industry is providing yet one more avenue for that. Competitive video gaming is taking the nation, and world, by storm and Becker, which already

has an eSports club, and where the Mass DiGi institute has earned the school a reputation as a leader in gaming, is helping its students jump in on the ground floor.

This fall, the school, which also has started a a varsity esports program that awards scholarships, rolls out an esports management major that will go into full swing in 2019. It is being billed as the first of its kind in the country. The four year bachelor’s of science degree joins the school’s master’s in fine arts in interactive media degree, which also debuts this fall.

It is all part of an effort to help students find their way in an industry that sees gamers compete in multiplayer video games.

Games such as League of Legends,

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

Esports explosion leads to new Becker College program

college in the state to offer varsity esports scholarships) and the management program. According to Loew, interest in the management program has come not only from transfer students, but from students already at Becker looking to move to a new major.

“We expected a high level of interest,” Loew said, “but it even surpassed our initial expectations.”

As Alan Ritacco, dean of Becker’s School of Design and Technology, explained it, the management program was a natural extension of what the school was already doing with its esports club and new varsity program.

“We’ve had that backbone there,” Ritacco said. “We’ve been in esports on the club level, competing in national and international [competitions]. I got together with the business department and said, ‘We [should] have a sports management degree. Sports management taking on all aspects: marketing,

education U R B A N YO U T H

locations.

“They bring an energy to me,” said Gile. “Every summer, I get to the Cape. The program takes rejuvenated when I meet my new place year-round, although many people.” of the internships occur during the Just as the staff members are summer, and at the annual retreat excited for the interns’ arrival, so Thursday, July 19, the packed Hogan are the people who are cared for by Center Ballroom at Holy Cross Central Residential Services and showed just how successful the UrSeven Hills Foundation. ban Youth Collaborative has been.

“They look forward to the interns Not only was the room filled with coming back,” Reno said. program officials, coordinators All four coordinators say the Urand interns, but a donation was ban Youth Collaborative is a valualso made to the Worcester-based able program, allowing the interns Abby’s House, a network of shelters to learn important life skills, such and affordable housing for women. as communicating with people in “You are certainly going to have other ways. And even if they choose an impact on the people you’re to pursue careers outside of the working with, and they’re going to human services field, said Gile, have an impact on your life,” DDS “they’re going to walk away with Commissioner Jane Ryder told the respect for people with disabilities” interns at the retreat. “The work – which will ultimately help them you’re doing does make a differin all aspects of their lives. ence. I appreciate the time you take Kupranowicz agreed, saying the to get to know these individuals as program “creates a compassion people.” that might not otherwise have That’s one of the goals of the been there, if they didn’t have this Urban Youth Collaborative – for experience.” the interns to be advocates for “I feel the interns and individunot only the program, but also the als learn from each other,” said Cox. people they serve through the site Throughout the course of the locations. For many of the students, program, she added, the interns Scott said, the internships are the “grow professionally and personally. first time they have worked with You see a difference.” people with disabilities, who are For many of the interns, though, “just like us. They just have special they do choose to stay in the field needs.”

– about 25 to 30 percent, say Scott Through the program – two of and Ryder. which are right here in Worcester “That’s our goal – because we at Seven Hills Foundation and want to hire them. It’s a natural Central Residential Services – the progression for us,” Scott said. interns help with daily needs, such Many of the students, Ryder as bathing and feeding; assist in conoted, are able to find a connection ordinating activities; and bring the to the program with what they are individuals into the community for studying in school. Alexis Addo, a lunch or other outings. This is one graduate of Framingham State who of most important aspects of the wants to be a nurse practitioner, program, as many individuals with said the one-on-one work she does disabilities have never experienced at Central Residential Services is eating lunch at a restaurant or simimore suited to her interests, rather lar activities, Scott and Ryder say. than the “hectic” pace of her previOver at Seven Hills Foundation, ous CNA job. which employs 22 interns this Likewise, Denzel Kumah, a nurssummer, and Central Residential ing student at UMass Lowell, said Services, which has 12, the program his time at Seven Hills Foundation has numerous benefits – from this summer is a great opportunity being able to provide more oneto open doors for him in the field. on-one attention to the individuSome, like Maxwell Amoah, als with disabilities, to providing have switched focus because of new opportunities for the younger experiences through the Urban generation who will graduate and Youth Collaborative. Originally an look to start careers in the human engineering major, he is now studyservice field. ing sociology at Framingham State Program coordinators Jen Gile – and is a third-year intern through and Lisa Reno of Central Residenthe program at Central Residential tial Services and Susan Cox and Services.

Amy Kupranowicz of Seven Hills For UMass student Joseph Horn, Foundation say the interns bring new ideas and enthusiasm to their C O N T I N U E D O N N E XT PA G E

12

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A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 11

education BECKER

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 11

economics, IT, delivery, finance for sports, including coaching and management of a team, and everything in between. Let’s take a look at an esports management degree.’”

And why not? There were 588 major global esports events last year, including the League of Legends World Championship. Major sports teams have already gotten

in on the ation, with New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft spending $20 million on Boston Uprising, a team in Blizzard’s Overwatch League. The Boston Celtics are fielding squads in the new NBA 2K League. On top of that, esports is being considered as a demonstration event in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The esports industry, Ritacco said, is going to continue to grow.

And Becker, he added, will help because of the different aspects of its

overall business program, which includes a focus on soft skills such as empathy, social and emotional intelligence, and an entrepreneurial outlook. It’s all part of an agile mindset, Ritacco said.

“We see this industry growing because of the entrepreneurial piece we’re going to provide our students,” he said. “We’re really super excited about this.”

Loew sees esports and the new management program helping Becker as well.

“We already have a really outstanding community that loves games here,” he said. “This just expands that community to include a new sort of neighborhood. There are very few places in the country where you can go to college and have hundreds and hundreds of other students that have the passion of video games.

“Hey, it’s the future. It’s only going to get bigger. My guess is over the coming year or two, you’re going to see esports featured at a

high level on almost every campus in the Worcester area, let alone across the country.”

Just how big might esports become?

“I’ve been making a bold prediction,” said Ritacco, “that maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe 20 years from now, esports is larger than the NFL.”

U R B A N YO U T H

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 6

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

who seeks a career in policymaking, interning at Seven Hills Foundation means splitting his time amongst the technology department; the advancement department, which coordinates community activities and outings; and then a day working at a Seven Hills day program.

“That one day a week is my favorite day of the week,” he said, although all of his work has shown him “how nonprofit work is really fulfilling.”

The five interns, who all live in Worcester, say their experiences have been beneficial in many ways.

“In school, we only learn the science of medicine,” said UMass Amherst student and Seven Hills Foundation intern Blandine Nikuze, adding, “The people we shadow really help us get the hands-on experience. They understand and respect we’re there to learn.”

The internships have been eyeopening toward people with disabilities as well. That’s important, says Kumah, because “we don’t want them to feel left out, like they’re isolated in the community.”

“It’s really about the connections you start establishing with the individuals,” Nikuze said. “I think that’s the best part of the job – each individual has different needs, and it’s about recognizing that.”

The program has been “very powerful,” Ryder said, because “the world is out there for everyone to experience,” and the Urban Youth Collaborative allows people with disabilities to do exactly that.

Scott, describing the interaction between the interns and individuals as “amazing to watch,” added, “I give all the credit to the interns.

Once they form that relationship early on, it’s unbreakable.”

13

feature

School Districts By the Numbers As students prepare to head back to school, baystateparent did a little homework on the numbers behind each district. From test scores to drop out rates and student-teacher ratios, here’s a look at how more than 85 public school districts in Central Massachusetts and MetroWest are performing.

We’ve also included figures on per-pupil spending, average teacher salaries and other important district-wide statistics.

This information from the 2016-2017 school year was provided in the state Department of Education’s School & District Profiles at profiles.doe.mass. edu. *Percentage of students who received “Meets Requirements” or “Advanced” scores in 2017. **Student Teacher Ratio

•

District

Superintendent/email

Enrollment

Grades Level

Acton-Boxborough Algonquin (Northboro& Southboro) Ashland Attleboro Auburn Ayer- Shirley Bellingham Belmont Berlin Blackstone-Millville Brookline Boston Boylston Burlington Cambridge Charlton-Dudley Clinton Concord Concord-Carlisle Douglas Dover Dover-Sherborn Fitchburg Foxborough Framingham Franklin Gardner Grafton Groton-Dunstable Harvard Holliston Hopedale Hopkinton Hudson Leicester Leominster Lexington Lincoln

William H. McAlduff/ wmcalduff@abschools.org Sara Pragluski Walsh/ spragluskiwalsh@nsboro.k12.ma.us

5,605 1,471

PK-12 09-12

2 2

James E. Adams/ jadams@ashland.k12.ma.us David A. Sawyer/ dsawyer@attleboroschools.com Maryellen Brunelle/ mbrunelle@auburn.k12.ma.us Mary E. Malone/ mmalone@asrsd.org Peter D. Marano/ pmarano@bellinghamk12.org John P. Phelan/ jphelan@belmont.k12.ma.us Jeffrey Zanghi/ jzanghi@bbrsd.org Allen W. Himmelberger/ ahimmelberger@bmrsd.net Andrew Bott/ andrew_bott@psbma.org Interim Superintendent Laura Perille/ superintendent@bostonpublicschools.org Jeffrey Zanghi/ jzanghi@bbrsd.org Eric M. Conti/ conti@bpsk12.org Kenneth N. Salim/ ksalim@cpsd.us Interim Superintendent Kristine E. Nash/ knash@dcrsd.org Steven Meyer/ smeyer@clinton.k12.ma.us Laurie Hunter/ lhunter@concordps.org Laurie Hunter/ lhunter@concordps.org Kevin G. Maines/ kmaines@douglasps.net Andrew W. Keough/ dayall@doversherborn.org Andrew W. Keough/ keougha@doversherborn.org Andre R. Ravenelle/ ravenellea@fitchburg.k12.ma.us Amy A. Berdos/ berdosa@foxborough.k12.ma.us Robert A. Tremblay/ rtremblay@framingham.k12.ma.us Sara Ahern/ aherns@franklinps.net Mark J. Pellegrino/ pellegm@gardnerk12.org James E. Cummings/ cummingsj@grafton.k12.ma.us Laura Chesson/ lchesson@gdrsd.org Linda Dwight/ ldwight@psharvard.org Bradford L. Jackson/ jacksonb@holliston.k12.ma.us Karen M. Crebase/ kcrebase@hopedaleschools.org Carol Cavanaugh/ ccavanaugh@hopkinton.k12.ma.us Marco Rodrigues/ mcrodrigues@hudson.k12.ma.us Marilyn A. Tencza/ tenczam@lpsma.net Paula L. Deacon/ paula.deacon@leominster.mec.edu Mary Ann Czajkowski/ mczajkowski@lexingtonma.org Rebecca E. McFall/ bmcfall@lincnet.org

2,756 5,948 2,610 1,706 2,283 4,592 183 1,713 7,801 52,665 299 3,520 6,914 3,925 1,883 2,113 1,273 1,329 492 1,192 5,349 2,596 8,739 5,291 2,326 3,155 2,417 1,095 2,905 1,133 3,518 2,633 1,569 6,005 7,246 1,189

PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-05 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-05 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-08 09-12 PK-12 PK-05 06-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-08

1 2 2 2 No Level 2 No Level 2 2 No Level No Level 2 2 No Level 2 No Level 2 No Level No Level 1 3 1 2 2 No Level 2 1 No Level 2 No Level 1 No Level 2 2 1 No Level

14

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A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

feature

Dropout Rate

Average Teacher Salary

SCI: 80; ELA: 71; MATH: 75 SCI: 94; ELA: N/A; MATH:N/A

371.8 114.8

15.1 to 1 12.8 to 1

$14,745.20 $15,859.59

Reading/Writing: 642; Math: 665 Reading/ Writing: 590; Math: 601

0.5% 1.1%

$79,900 $86,916

SCI: 64; ELA: 59; MATH: 60 SCI: 54; ELA:50; MATH: 46 SCI: 62; ELA: 61; MATH: 54 SCI: 58; ELA: 47; MATH: 43 SCI: 56; ELA :45; MATH: 49 SCI: 81; ELA: 75; MATH: 78 SCI: 53; ELA: 58; MATH: 61 SCI: 41; ELA: 45; MATH: 41 SCI: 70; ELA: 72; MATH: 72 SCI: 27; ELA: 31; MATH: 31 SCI: 59; ELA: 69; MATH:68 SCI: 55; ELA: 41; MATH: 50 SCI: 56; ELA: 54; MATH: 49 SCI: 59; ELA: 55; MATH: 52 SCI: 43; ELA: 40; MATH: 26 SCI: 76; ELA: 80; MATH: 79 SCI:96; ELA:N/A; MATH: N/A SCI:52; ELA: 51; MATH: 44 SCI:67; ELA: 71; MATH: 75 SCI:87; ELA: 82; MATH: 51 SCI: 28; ELA: 31; MATH: 28 SCI:68; ELA: 46; MATH: 62 SCI: 46; ELA: 37; MATH: 36 SCI: 67; ELA: 63; MATH: 63 SCI:31; ELA: 27; MATH: 20 SCI:68; ELA: 63; MATH: 63 SCI:78; ELA: 63; MATH: 69 SCI:86; ELA: 74; MATH: 71 SCI:69; ELA: 68; MATH; 63 SCI:65; ELA: 69; MATH: 66 SCI:80; ELA:79; MATH: 79 SCI:47; ELA: 50; MATH: 50 SCI:53; ELA: 34; MATH: 30 SCI:53; ELA:41; MATH: 45 SCI:81; ELA: 79; MATH: 81 SCI:65; ELA: 62; MATH: 62

199.9 373.8 178.9 136.5 171.3 273.2 18 134.1 626.1 4,196.5 19.6 322.2 670.7 270.1 151.3 169.4 102.6 92.3 41.8 106.5 366.5 202.5 661.9 401.4 172.6 241.6 176.9 88.8 214.4 88.2 256.2 234.0 111.4 418.0 589.3 117.9

13.8 to 1 15.9 to 1 14.6 to 1 12.5 to 1 13.3 to 1 16.8 to 1 10.2 to 1 12.8 to 1 12.5 to 1 12.5 to 1 15.3 to 1 10.9 to 1 10.3 to 1 14.5 to 1 12.4 to 1 12.5 to 1 12.4 to 1 14.4 to 1 11.8 to 1 11.2 to 1 14.6 to 1 12.8 to 1 13.0 to 1 13.2 to 1 13.5 to 1 13.1 to 1 13.7 to 1 12.3 to 1 13.5 to 1 12.9 to 1 13.7 to 1 11.3 to 1 14.1 to 1 14.4 to 1 12.3 to 1 10.1 to 1

$13,091.58 $13,377.56 $13,371.14 $13,974.81 $14,351.30 $13,348.83 $19,319.74 $13,330.26 $18,866.23 $20,247.05 $13,076 $19,865.87 $28,077.20 $11,749.78 $13,215.01 $17,517.12 $21,518.71 $12,646.35 $23,232.55 $18,998.56 $13,936.60 $16,057.56 $18,088.21 $13,310.36 $12,530.13 $11,376.65 $14,247.22 $16,216.26 $13,186.32 $12,822.34 $14,127.44 $15,528.96 $13,093.76 $13,301.96 $18,002.58 $21,798.63

Reading/ Writing: 591; Math: 609 Reading/ Writing: 551; Math: 550 Reading/Writing: 560; Math: 542 Reading/Writing: 542; Math: 532 Reading/Writing: 554; Math: 548 Reading/Writing: 616; Math: 634 No Data Reading/Writing: 541; Math: 539 Reading/Writing: 623; Math: 642 Reading/Writing: 494; Math: 511 No Data Reading/Writing: 577; Math: 577 Reading/Writing: 540; Math: 576 Reading/Writing: 570; Math: 576 Reading/Writing: 524; Math: 513 No Data Reading/Writing: 630; Math: 637 Reading/Writing: 554; Math: 528 No Data Reading/Writing: 640; Math: 645 Reading/Writing: 482; Math: 480 Reading/Writing: 572; Math: 571 Reading/Writing: 559; Math: 578 Reading/Writing: 638; Math: 582 Reading/Writing: 500; Math: 500 Reading/Writing: 579; Math: 578 Reading/Writing: 589; Math: 607 Reading/Writing: 618; Math: 595 Reading/Writing: 591; Math: 599 Reading/Writing: 581; Math: 575 Reading/Writing: 617; Math: 629 Reading/Writing: 564; Math: 543 Reading/Writing: 550; Math: 530 Reading/Writing: 538; Math: 540 Reading/Writing: 639; Math: 658 No Data

1.2% 2.1% 1.1% 1.2% 0.9% 2.2% No Data 2.2% 0.5% 4.4% No Data 0.2% 1.3% 1.0% 1.1% No Data 0.6% 2.3% No Data 0.2% 3.8% 0.1% 3.8% 0.4% 1.6% 0.6% 0.2% 0.0% 0.4% 0.3% 0.1% 2.6% 0.4% 1.4% 0.1% No Data

$76,899 $78,989 $68,465 $68,154 $76,176 $85,279 $79,814 $60,547 $93,727 $90,626 $74,314 $94,982 $82,409 $69,300 $66,410 $95,732 $97,978 $69,277 $96,429 $92,652 $72,736 $82,651 $76,898 $76,208 $65,977 $73,300 $78,414 $86,023 $78,566 $64,303 $84,350 $74,710 $74,797 $61,264 $78,776 $89,757

15

Average SAT Scores

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Total number S/T Ratio* Expenditures of teachers per pupil

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

MCAS*

feature District

Superintendent/email

Enrollment

Grades Level

1,529 1,658 1,641 3,856 4,575 1,398 2,629 4,329 2,271 4,186 1,734 1,302 3,343

09-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12

1 2 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 3 No Level 2 2

5,507 5,666 2,262 4,282 557 1,648 2,175 2,473 3,403 2,384

PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 K-08 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12

1 1 1 2 No level No level 2 2 2 2

1,685 706 6,214 4,868 1,320 2,003 1,366 900 2,696 1,421 1,788

PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-08 PK-12 PK-12 PK-06 PK-08 PK-12 07-12 06-12

No level No level 2 1 No level 5 2 No level No level 2 1&2

594

PK-12

No level

1,765 7,147

PK-12 PK-12

2 2

3,804 5,600 1,213 2,608 2,702 1,855 5,006 3,926 907 4,598 25,306

PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 K-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12 PK-12

2 3 No level 2 1 3 1 No level 2 2 No level

16

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

Lincoln-Sudbury Bella Wong/ suptprincipal@lsrhs.net Littleton Kelly Robert Clenchy/ kclenchy@littletons.org Lunenburg Kathleen Burnham/ kburnham@lunenburgonline.com Mansfield Teresa Murphy/ teresa.murphy@mansfieldschools.com Marlborough Maureen R. Greulich/ mgreulich@mps-edu.org Maynard Robert J. Gerardi / rgerardi@maynard.k12.ma.us Medfield Jeffrey J. Marsden/ jmarsden@email.medfield.net Medford Roy E Belson/ rbelson@medford.k12.ma.us Medway Armand R. Pires/ apires@medwayschools.org Milford Kevin Mcintyre/ kmcintyre@milfordma.com Millbury Gregory Myers/ gmyers@millburyschools.org Millis Nancy L. Gustafson/ ngustafson@millisps.org Nashoba Brooke Ann Clenchy/ bclenchy@nrsd.net (Bolton, Lancaster & Stow) Natick Anna P. Nolin/ anolin@natickps.org Needham Daniel E. Gutekanst/ dan_gutekanst@needham.k12.ma.us Nipmuc Joseph P. Maruszczak/ jmaruszczak@mursd.org North Attleborough Scott C Holcomb/ sholcomb@naschools.net North Brookfield Richard A. Lind/ rlind@nbschools.org Northborough Christine M. Johnson/ cjohnson@nsboro.k12.ma.us Northbridge Catherine A. Stickney/ cstickney@nps.org Norton Joseph F. Baeta/ jbaeta@norton.k12.ma.us Norwood David Thomson/ dthomson@norwood.k12.ma.us Oakmont Gary F Mazzola/ superintendent@awrsd.org (Ashburnham& Westminster) Oxford Elizabeth Zielinski/ ezielinski@oxps.org Plainville David Paul Raiche/ draiche@plainville.k12.ma.us Shrewsbury Joseph M. Sawyer/ jsawyer@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us Somerville Almudena G. Abeyta, Mary E Skipper/ mskipper@k12.somerville.ma.us Southborough Christine M. Johnson/ cjohnson@nsboro.k12.ma.us Southbridge Jeffrey Villar/ Jvillar@southbridgepublic.org Spencer-East Brookfield Jodi M. Bourassa/ bourassaj@sebrsd.org Sturbridge Erin M. Nosek/ noseke@tantasqua.org Sudbury Anne Wilson/ anne_wilson@sudbury.k12.ma.us Sutton Theodore F. Friend/ friendt@suttonschools.net Tantasqua Erin M. Nosek, Sean M Gilrein/ noseke@tantasqua.org (Brookefield, Brimfield, Holland, Sturbridge & Wales) Tahanto Jeffrey Zanghi/ nekstrom@bbrsd.org (Berlin-Boylston) Uxbridge Kevin M. Carney/ kcarney@uxbridge.k12.ma.us Wachusett Darryll A. McCall/ darryll_mccall@wrsd.net (Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Ruland & Sterling) Walpole Lincoln D. Lynch/ llynch@walpole.k12.ma.us Waltham Drew M. Echelson/ drewechelson@walthampublicschools.org Ware Marlene A. Di Leo/ mdileo@ware.k12.ma.us Watertown Deanne Galdston/ deanne.galdston@watertown.k12.ma.us Wayland Arthur Unobskey/ arthur_unobskey@wayland.k12.ma.us Webster Ruthann Petruno-Goguen/ rgoguen@webster-schools.org Wellesley David Lussier, Joan Mary Dabrowski/ superintendent@wellesleyps.org Westborough Amber Bock, Daniel P Mayer/ bocka@westboroughk12.org West Boylston Elizabeth A. Schaper/ elizabethschaper@wbschools.com Woburn Matthew T. Crowley/ mcrowley@woburnps.com Worcester Maureen F Binienda/ biniendam@worc.k12.ma.us

feature Average SAT Scores

Dropout Rate

Average Teacher Salary

SCI:90; ELA: N/A MATH: N/A SCI:70; ELA: 65; MATH: 60 SCI:58; ELA: 49; MATH: 54 SCI:64; ELA: 59; MATH: 61 SCI:43; ELA:36; MATH: 36 SCI:46; ELA:41; MATH: 41 SCI:71; ELA:71; MATH: 69 SCI:50; ELA: 45; MATH: 36 SCI:62; ELA: 67; MATH:66 SCI:57; ELA: 48; MATH: 40 SCI:51; ELA: 43; MATH: 40 SCI:57: ELA: 49; MATH: 57 SCI: 74; ELA: 69; MATH: 71

127.2 119.5 115.1 299.1 387.0 98.5 201.9 404.3 155.7 330.7 127.3 92.4 260.5

12.0 to 1 13.9 to 1 14.3 to 1 12.9 to 1 11.8 to 1 14.2 to 1 13.0 to 1 10.7 to 1 14.6 to 1 12.7 to 1 13.6 to 1 14.1 to 1 12.8 to 1

$19,282.33 $14,349.14 $12,982.32 $14,456.97 $14,889.33 $14,325.24 $17,043.82 $13,876.64 $13,883.19 $15,268.32 $14,989.37 $14,336.61 $14,838.07

Reading/Writing: 626; Math: 637 Reading/Writing: 603; Math: 595 Reading/Writing: 562; Math: 547 Reading/Writing: 578; Math: 585 Reading/Writing: 542; Math: 529 Reading/Writing: 557; Math: 531 Reading/Writing: 601; Math: 607 Reading/Writing: 546; Math: 544 Reading/Writing: 575; Math: 580 Reading/Writing: 552; Math: 543 Reading/Writing: 529; Math: 539 Reading/Writing: 558; Math: 540 Reading/Writing: 596; Math: 605

0.1% 0.0% 0.5% 0.5% 3.8% 2.0% 0.1% 2.0% 0.3% 2.1% 0.2% 0..0% 0.8%

$92,859 $72,868 $76,147 $80,248 $78,940 $73,398 $81,710 $76,179 $85,410 $74,924 $75,339 $74,694 $72,673

SCI:73; ELA: 63; MATH: 63 SCI:76; ELA: 72; MATH: 74 SCI:71; ELA: 64; MATH: 61 SCI:68; ELA: 60; MATH: 59 SCI: 30; ELA: 27; MATH: 26 SCI:63; ELA: 61; MATH: 62 SCI:46; ELA: 46; MATH: 42 SCI:58; ELA: 54; MATH: 49 SCI:58; ELA: 51; MATH: 51 SCI: 59; ELA:51; MATH: 50

403.9 408.2 158.8 285.9 44.7 113.6 164.1 194.7 270.8 159.9

13.6 to 1 13.9 to 1 14.2 to 1 15.0 to 1 12.5 to 1 14.5 to 1 13.3 to 1 12.7 to 1 12.6 to 1 14.9 to 1

$14,290.64 $16,546.96 $11,648.11 $15,032.77 $13,492.73 $15,978.85 $12,772.53 $13,949.62 $16,254.70 $12,713.48

Reading/Writing: 587; Math: 591 Reading/Writing: 610; Math: 608 Reading/Writing: 582; Math: 572 Reading/Writing: 584; Math: 579 Reading/Writing: 550; Math: 531 No Data Reading/Writing: 532; Math: 513 Reading/Writing: 546; Math: 513 Reading/Writing: 556; Math: 546 Reading/Writing: 561; Math: 545

0.6% 0.1% 0.7% 0.4% 2.4% No Data 0.7% 0.0% 2.0% 0.3%

$70,293 $89,622 $78,705 $74,761 $62,990 $81,775 $69,511 $70,276 $77,303 $70,290

SCI:43; ELA: 48; MATH: 41 SCI:44; ELA: 52; MAH: 48 SCI:72; ELA: 68; MATH: 69 SCI:52; ELA: 46; MATH: 47 SCI:63; ELA: 76; MATH: 82 SCI:20; ELA: 21; MATH: 19 SCI:43; ELA: 40; MATH: 39 SCI:60; ELA: 57; MATH: 63 SCI:68; ELA:73; MATH:71 SCI:53; ELA: 58; MATH: 53 SCI:67; ELA: 48; MATH: 60

123.1 48.3 398.5 427.6 93.0 187.5 112.0 67.6 208.0 99.1 135.6

13.7 to 1 14.6 to 1 15.6 to 1 11.4 to 1 14.2 to 1 10.7 to 1 12.2 to 1 13.3 to 1 13.0 to 1 14.3 to 1 13.2 to 1

$13,437.57 $15,099.23 $13,372.35 $18,843.12 $17,763.41 $14,120.63 $13,944.81 $13,369.44 $15,258.96 $12,867.68 $13,480.76

Reading/Writing: 531; Math: 528 No Data Reading/Writing: 590; Math: 605 Reading/Writing: 521; Math: 522 No Data Reading/Writing: 472; Math: 471 Reading/Writing: 538; Math: 522 No Data No Data Reading/Writing: 560; Math: 561 Reading/Writing: 566; Math: 585

3.0% No Data 0.0% 2.2% No Data 3.7% 2.4% No Data No Data 0.7% 0.6%

$65,114 $71,002 $77,043 $74,698 $84,043 $72,502 $63,401 $76,357 $83,234 $71,689 $78,911

SCI: 36; ELA: 60; MATH:57

45.5

13.0 to 1

$13,925.87

Reading/Writing: 592; Math: 585

0.7%

$69,778

SCI:51; ELA: 51; MATH: 48 SCI:66; ELA: 67; MATH: 64

108.1 462.3

16.3 to 1 15.5 to 1

$14,77,71 $11,895.60

Reading/Writing: 548; Math: 533 Reading/Writing: 580; Math: 576

3.4% 0.3%

$72,813 $71,442

SCI:68; ELA: 65; MATH: 64 SCI:51; ELA: 47; MATH: 41 SCI:46; ELA: 33; MATH: 26 SCI:48; ELA:47; MATH: 43 SCI:82; ELA: 71; MATH: 74 SCI:27; ELA: 18; MATH: 14 SCI:73; ELA: 76; MATH: 71 SCI:71; ELA: 72; MATH: 72 SCI:58; ELA: 60; MATH: 57 SCI:55; ELA: 49; MATH: 45 SCI:37; ELA: 33; MATH: 28

284.7 502.4 91.0 247.3 217.6 137.9 391.3 321.1 83.4 374.6 1,785.2

13.4 to 1 11.1 to 1 13.3 to 1 10.5 to 1 12.4 to 1 13.5 to 1 12.8 to 1 12.2 to 1 10.9 to 1 12.3 to 1 14.2 to 1

$14,243.88 $20,242.29 $13,030.64 $20,720.05 $17,426.23 $13,937.23 $18,635.99 $15,554.65 $15,085.15 $16,153.85 $14,492.18

Reading/Writing: 572; Math: 562 Reading/Writing: 523; Math: 526 Reading/Writing: 528; Math: 555 Reading/Writing: 550; Math: 564 Reading/Writing: 620; Math: 635 Reading/Writing: 529; Math: 528 Reading/Writing: 613; Math: 611 Reading/Writing: 605; Math: 616 Reading/Writing: 559; Math: 543 Reading/Writing: 549; Math: 557 Reading/Writing: 477; Math: 480

0.1% 3.0% 1.8% 1.1% 0.4% 6.2% 0.3% 0.2% 5.6% 1.8% 2.2%

$75,358 $76,597 $60,474 $78,217 $93,108 $75,802 $93,536 $74,649 $72,714 $79,592 $77,862

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Total number S/T Ratio* Expenditures of teachers per pupil

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MCAS*

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culture Alec Lopez and Sheri Sadowski, owners of Armsby Abbey, celebrate the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

ELIZABETH BROOKS

culture

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

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culture Beach Boys still cruisin’ after all these years SAMANTHA BRATKON

O

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n sunny days in 1966, the hypnotic rhythms brought forth from the “Pet Sounds” album floated out windows as they bellowed forth from car radios. Almost 30 years ago, in 1989, “Kokomo” captivated concert audiences and movie goers alike. There is something remarkable about the Beach Boys’ music that has allowed the group to stay relevant now for over half a century.

“I think we’ve accentuated the positive in our music. Everything is about something fun,” said Mike Love, the voice behind the quintessential boy band. Now 54 years, 29 studio albums

The Four Freshmen that really inspired us because they did this complicated, four-part close harmony.

We called it modern harmony back in the 1950s and 60s, so it’s probably called carbon-dated harmony now,” said Love. “At the core of it all, it really is the warmth of the harmonies, and that comes from the love of just getting together and making music.”

Last year Love and the band, performing under the Beach Boys’ name, played 185 shows at 175 different locations. Typically, the band plays two hour sets.

“There’s a lot of cumulative reasons for I think our lasting power, but also we’re very committed to recreating those songs as close as humanly pos-

The Beach Boys COURTESY PHOTO

and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later, Love continues to record and tour under the Beach Boys name.

The band plays at Indian Ranch in Webster Sunday, Aug. 12 “There’s a lot of positive themes in our music,” he said, “but at the core of it all I think we started our group long before we thought about being successful, getting famous, making a living out of it, having a career. We just thought about getting together and harmonizing. We love creating those harmonies together.”

From the band’s inception, it was their pure enjoyment of music that brought the Beach Boys together.

“There was this group called the

sible to the original recordings,” Love said. “My thought is that people come to see you based on what they know from you, so you don’t want to disappoint them by not doing on of their favorite songs.”

Being a part of the band has brought Love a plethora of opportunities, but for him the best part is playing live.

“My favorite is the live concerts, which we’re gonna be doing at Indian Ranch. That’s my favorite part of it all,” he said. “The recording is necessary and it’s very creative to be able to get in the studio and come up with something completely new and fresh.

But for me the spontaneity of the C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 25

culture

Ten Years Later: The Anomaly of Armsby Abbey SARAH CONNELL

A

Alec Lopez and Sheri Sadowski, owners of Armsby Abbey, celebrate the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

As for future projects, Lopez and Sadowski are set to open a new restaurant in Hudson intended to elevate simple Mexican cuisine in spring 2019. When asked whether he will be back in the kitchen, Lopez said, “I need to be.” Tapping on his temple with one pointer finger, he said, “It’s living here.”

Lopez will serve as executive chef to start, much like he did when Armsby Abbey first opened, though he acknowledges his successor will be present in the kitchen from the beginning.

The pair have lost track of all of the awards: local, regional, national.

It’s not that they are unappreciative, it’s just that to list off every award at this point would be like recalling every distinguished beer that has ever graced the draft board. That is to say, endless.

On the occasion of their 10th anniversary, Sadowski said, “If you make it through year one, congratulations, you’ve done something right.

Make it through year two and you’re doing something better than the rest.

Make it through year five? Well, now you’ve got something that others don’t have. After 10 years of consistent growth? We’re just an anomaly.”

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ing to write a yearbook,” joked Lopez.

The restaurant’s widespread notoriety has continued to grow on account of its place as a stop on the “beer pilgrimage” that brings people to New England for local treasures like Tree House and Trillium and farther north for the crown jewel: Hill Farmstead Brewery.

Lopez pushes himself to do one thing: tap the best beer he has access to.

“It has never been about money or anything else,” he said. “It has been about asking, ‘How can we blow people’s minds?’ What’s the experience that they can’t get anywhere else?’”

Lopez understands the subtleties of exceptionalism, which is why you will see more of Shaun Hill’s beers on the board than anyone else’s.

“You can think of Shaun like you think of a chef, I suppose,” Lopez said. “When you’re building something, it’s only as good as the sum of its parts. Your ingredients matter more than anything. A lot of brewers don’t even know that they need to manipulate their water a certain way or that hop selection is everything.”

He finds Hill Farmstead’s pursuit of perfection unparalleled in the beer world.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

sure. Whatever. You can buy our tomatoes. See you never.’”

But Lopez and Sadowski kept coming back.

It makes Lopez’s mind spin to consider how his network has grown.

He finds great joy in making phone calls on behalf of the “Armsby family” to help them land prominent jobs in the industry.

MS Walker Brand Ambassador Joy Flanagan saw her passion for cocktails and spirits ignited during her nine years behind the bar.

“I’ve taken plenty of what I learned with me as well, from Alec’s emphasis to building and maintaining relationships, to Sherri’s attention to detail and ability to create efficiency,” Flanagan said.

More than one member of the Armsby family has even gone on to a career in farming.

Farmer Joe Scully said, “Sherri and Alec supported me in taking a sabbatical in 2010 to intern on a farm in the Berkshires and bring that knowledge back to the restaurant.

The experience I gained working in the kitchen and behind the bar was a wonderful education.”

Armsby Abbey is, indeed, a breeding ground for success.

“When this is all over, Sherri is go-

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decade before Worcester “reimagined” Main Street with its $11-million redesign, and Trinity Financial invested $53 million into neighboring residential real estate, Sherri Sadowski could see the future for Armsby Abbey.

“I knew we’d have endless amounts of parking after 5 o’clock everyday,” she said. “The Crown Plaza was across the street, along with five hotels within walking distance. We’d have all the event venues located around us: the DCU Center, the Palladium, Mechanics Hall, Tuckerman.

We had nothing to lose.”

After a promising space in Lowell fell through, Sadowski started scouring Craigslist for other locations to house her new project with husband Alec Lopez.

“I called Alec and I said, ‘I found this amazing property. It looks just like the place we wanted in Lowell.

It’s a shell; we can build it out however we want,’” Sadowski recalled.

When she told him its location was 144 North Main St., he said, “North Main Street is cursed,” and hung up on her. Fifteen minutes later he called her back to explain he was standing in front of the most amazing building.

She asked, “Where are you?” True to form, curiosity had driven him to 144 Main St. “It was, a box. Just raw walls, no flooring,” Lopez said. “It had these really warm features.”

The couple commissioned a mahogany bar from Jon Sammis, a cabinet maker out of Petersham. Lopez wanted to have a bar that would be around for a century, reminiscent of his other Worcester business.

Sadowski and Lopez’s ties to many of the world’s most respected brewers began on behalf of a dive bar. The Dive Bar, actually.

There had been just over 1,000 breweries in the United States back when Lopez took the reigns at The Dive Bar in 2003.

“In the beginning,” Sadowski said, “craft brewing was small and if you wanted a brewer, they had to want you. A lot of relationship building had to happen.”

The couple had traveled extensively with the objective of curating a one-of-a-kind draft list at 34 Green St. in Worcester.

“Now there are 6,600 breweries,” said Lopez of a national figure that continues to climb. “It was a very different landscape and focused beer places were pretty rare, so it was easier to make a name for yourself.

Now it’s impossible.”

There was just one problem at the time: The Dive Bar had never been able to accomodate a kitchen.

When Lopez instituted a craft beer program at The Dive, he immediately noticed a drop in sales because people were drinking higher-alcohol-byvolume, or abv, beers and required food. Sadowski knew the answer was a restaurant.

“Alec had this attack of consciousness, where he couldn’t let go of his baby,” Sadowski said. “I stepped in as the harsh business person and said, ‘You can’t do two businesses with the same business model less than a mile from each other. It’s business suicide.’”

They decided The Dive would have to change.

“We started to focus on the beer garden and the live music side of things,” she said. “We made Armsby into a gallery of everything that we loved in the way of food, drink and beer. The Dive definitely took a hit the first couple of years, but then it started to develop its own identity again, rebrand itself.”

Nevertheless, Armsby Abbey’s success didn’t happen overnight.

“We did three days of soft openings. We stayed up for 48 hours,” Sadowski said.

Lopez’s heart still races whenever his wife tells the story.

“Everything went wrong the first night,” she said. “The draft system wasn’t installed. Everybody was waiting for two hours and it was 95 degrees out.”

She recalls crying at the end of the bar that first night, but she pulled herself together and clocked another all-nighter to reorganize the entire back bar. By Aug. 1, 2008 Armsby Abbey was up and running. The small craft beer bar they had set out to open quickly snowballed into a farm to table restaurant.

Sadowski, who grew up on a farm in Rhode Island, knew she wanted to source Armsby Abbey’s dishes locally, but even the farmers doubted her at first.

“I still remember the looks on everybody’s faces,” said Lopez. “‘Like,

culture

Adoption option Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League, highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at 508-853-0030.

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W O R C E S T E R M A G A Z I N E . C O M A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

SHERI BREADY PET PHOTOGRAPHY

Meet Matilda! Matilda was found laying on the pavement in a busy neighborhood of Worcester on a hot summer day. When she arrived to WARL she was very thirsty and tired. We found she has Cushing’s disease and arthritis, which will require medication for her lifetime. She came in missing much of her fur, and during her time with us her fur is starting to grow back. Though she has aliments that might slow her down physically, they don’t stop her from loving life. Many people come in asking to see her. She can often be found behind the front desk greeting visitors or snoozing. She loves to lounge and is very affectionate. Matilda would do fine in a home with children and pets who can respect her age and limitations (though don’t tell her we said that).

Matilda is estimated at 12 years young, spayed and current with her vaccines. Her adoption fee is reduced to $100 due to her age and condition. If you are interested in taking this special lady home, then please ask about adopting today.

culture B E AC H B OY S

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 22

COURTESY PHOTO

Upcoming shows at Indian Ranch Saturday, Aug. 11: Chase Rice Sunday, Aug. 12: The Beach Boys Sunday, Aug. 19: The Charlie Daniels Band Sunday, Aug. 26: ZZ Top Sunday, Sept. 9: Bret Michaels Saturday, Sept. 15: Rick Springfield Sunday, Sept. 16: Blackberry Smoke Saturday, Sept. 22: Hairfest Sunday, Sept. 23: Second Annual Local Countryfest

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

lectually, spiritually and musically.”

Returning to the area - Love will be joined by Bruce Johnston as the only early members of the Beach Boys - is sure to stir up old memories.

“We have some really fond memories of Worcester, specifically,” said Love.

The band had a relationship with Al Coury of Capitol Records, who grew up next door to the El Morocco.

Back in the 1960s, the band spent Thanksgiving with the families that owned the restaurant. The band was introduced to them by Coury, who got the track “Barbra Ann” to play on the radio in Worcester, and then Boston, before reaching the rest of the country.

“We have a good feeling about being back in the area,” said Love.

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

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audience response and the fact that they really get into it and appreciate what were doing. Multiple generations turn out to see and hear the Beach Boys, so that’s my favorite part of the whole thing.”

In 2016, a woman who was 100 years old attended a Beach Boys show for the first time. The following year she was back again to enjoy the music. Love jokes it would be nice if she could come again to the show this year.

During shows, Love enjoys performing all of the band’s popular songs.

“I think ‘Good Vibrations,’ though, is probably the most unique. It was number one in 1966 and we were voted the number one group in Great Britain, number two being The Beatles ... so that was pretty amazing because nobody Chase Rice was more successful during the ’60s than The Beatles, that’s for sure. So it’s nice to be regarded that highly and to achieve a number one record at that point in time.”

“Kokomo” is the biggest sing-along, he added. But it’s hard for him to choose a favorite.

“It’s like having a bunch of kids,” he said. “They all have different personalities and you love them all.”

Speaking of kids, Love uses music to connect with his own children.

His youngest daughter is featured on his latest album, “Unleash the Love.”

His son tours with the band and will be with Love and Indian Ranch. He raves about each of their musical abilities. In addition to creating music together, Love also enjoys listening to modern artists with his kids.

“I kind of like artists that have some connection to old school,” he said. “Specifically, I like Bruno Mars, a lot. My daughter and I bonded over some artists, Amy Winehouse, for instance, being one.”

Love can disagree with his children’s taste sometimes, saying a new rap single may have a nice beat, but isn’t technically even a song. It’s a discrepancy he thinks is not unusual for different generations.

“It’s always a pleasure to do stuff with my kids musically,” he said.

Beyond music, yoga was, and continues to be, a large part of Love’s life.

“What I do everyday is meditate,”

he said. “I do transcendental meditation, which is a form of mental yoga.”

This is a practice he learned in December 1967. The following month, Love was invited to India by the Maharishi Mahesh, where Beatles guitarist George Harrison joined him. This experience inspired the track “Pieces Brothers,” from Love’s new album, to commemorate the bandmates celebrating their birthdays together in Rishikesh, India in 1968. It is a time Love remembers as “wonderful intel-

culture Lyford Files JOSHUA LYFORD

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WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

BYYYE: Well, it finally happened. I am taking a week-long vacation.

Pro-tip: send me an email and catch my great slapback message. Last week, my colleague Bill Shaner turned his weekly Worcesteria column into an incredible future-think piece. I’m not as smart as Bill, so I’m not going to do that. I am going to keep with my constant theme of mailing it in, so instead I am going to share a very weird, very stupid fable I wrote for my “Frights and Fables” collection of short stories. Enjoy! Or don’t. Either way, I’ll be in the forest, and definitely not checking my email.

“Respite”: Gnarled and bent, the old trees were skeletal in the early months of winter. Their brittle boughs tap-tap-tapped a wicked melody on the shutters of a crooked old home on the far edge of a small mountain village.

The trees, which flourished and pleased the eye for many months for all the townspeople, bemoaned the coming season with their disparaging symphony. The tap provided an unsettling rhythm to the howling winds.

This home was a modest shelter, built by a poor farmer and his twin daughters. The pair were lauded as the loveliest in all the countryside. Both were strikingly blonde, one with eyes blue like a shining sapphire and the other with those of the softest brown.

They were a happy family, albeit an oft-struggling one, and on this night they settled into dinner, warmth and conversation by fireside.

“We should join the trees and dance,” the blue-eyed daughter teased, looking up from her meal. “The winds howl with delight, father!”

“This cold would be your end, sister,” the brown-eyed daughter replied.

The father hushed the two of them and smiled, “The cold can knock, but we won’t let him in!”

The family sat and worked through their hearty meals.

Suddenly, a loud rap tore through the room as a knock came from the thick oaken front door.

“Who on earth could that be, father?” The blue-eyed daughter asked.

“I don’t know prettiness, but I shall see.”

The two daughters slid close as the father left for the entry.

Frigid wind entered the home as he opened the door.

A weathered old man stood shivering in ragged robes in the stone entry.

He looked to the family with watery eyes and crumpled to the ground with a soft thud.

“Father we must help him!” The blue-eyed daughter cried.

The father dragged the old man into his home and closed and locked the door. He placed the robed man before the fireplace.

“Well, traveler, how do you come to my family’s home this evening?” The father asked as the man’s eyes opened slowly.

“I come with no intent but a taste of stew and to get well and to be on my way,” the old man said weakly.

“Then you must stay with us and eat and sleep,” the father spoke easily.

With that the daughters served the strange old man stew and they ate heartily and talked into the night. The sisters asked him how he found himself on this side of the mountain. The old man laughed and joked. He would answer their questions with a wink and a smile, preferring lighthearted riddles to direct responses.

As the evening continued to deepen, the girls became more adventurous with their questioning. Each had noticed a satchel tied with thin twine around the robed man’s neck. It glowed an eerie golden-green. The pair had grown curious.

“Friend,” the blue-eyed sibling said. “What does your satchel contain?”

“It is nothing!” he boomed uncharacteristically, pulling the satchel under his robe with a yank.

The sudden authority only served to make the sisters more curious, but they thought better of further inquisition. Noticing the man’s withering tone, the father prepared bedding for the old man and told his daughters to rest, as he himself would do. ... read the conclusion at worcestermag.com

Joshua Lyford Culture editor @Joshachusetts

culture Lifestyle SARAH CONNELL

Electric Runway

Love Your Labels threw a fierce fashion show Friday night, Aug. 3 at Electric Haze. Models sported local designer fashions from Macc Mulsane

and Sam Donovanas (of “Project Runway” fame) as well as a collection from Sweet Jane’s Designer Consignment right here in Worcester. In the aftermath, Sweet Jane’s owner and stylist AJ Setaro recalled, “A queen came up to me and put both hands on my shoulders and said, ‘This is the best thing to ever [expletive deleted] happen in Worcester. The future is here. Yasssss.’

It was such a moment!” Likewise, model and organizer Laura Marotta said, “The show was so incredible. I was backstage with the models most of the time, and they kept talking about how they are fulfilling a dream. How some of them always wanted to participate in a fashion show but never thought they could enter that space. There was such a variety of young and old in the audience, and so many different kinds of people represented on the runway.

It was an evening of positivity, self expression, acceptance, and beauty.” Love Your Labels co-founder Joshua Croke added, “The success of this event is going to allow the Love Your Labels campaign to get off the ground with the development of our first program teaching fashion design to youth that also acts as a safe and educational space to discuss gender identity and expression and breaking down binary, bias and stigma.” People interested in getting involved in the campaign can email loveyourlabelscommittee@gmail.com or message them on Instagram @Love.Your.Labels.

Spells and Screens

The secret is out. One of the top video game development programs in the country lives right here in Worcester and you have first dibs on their latest creations. MassDiGI’s Summer Innovation Program (SIP) will host its open house Thursday, Aug. 9, 1-4 p.m., at the Colleen C. Barrett Center on Becker College’s campus. This summer’s featured SIP projects include CyberDrive 2077, Line Slider: Paint the World, Lead the Light, and my personal favorite, Spell Strike. (Teen witches are having a moment. See: Broad City, Lorde, and the Hocus Pocus revival.) In Spell Strike, players shoot magic bolts into demonic portals to close them and help Persephone save the town after she tries to summon a friend, but instead accidentally invites a horde of demons. Attendees should RSVP at massdigisip18oh.eventbrite. com.

A Sprinkle of Cross-Cultural Puppetry

The Best Way On a Sunday

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Sarah Connell contributing writer

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Have you noticed the ever-present line winding its way out of 154 Shrewsbury St. since Nicholas Patchen took hold of Valentinos’ beverage program? He has injected a certain amount of energy into Valentinos that I haven’t seen on that block since the days of Cafe Dolce. Valentinos will host a Sunday social brunch Aug. 12, beginning at 11 a.m. Patchen gushes, “We will host DJ Juice from 12-8 p.m. along with giveaways from a few liquor brands. The entire space will be decorated in a tiki theme, including big palm leaves hanging from the ceiling and the bar wrapped in straw hula skirt material. We will be decked out in tiki attire and we are encouraging everyone to be dressed for the occasion as well [Hawaiian shirts and what not]. We will be serving some fancy craft cocktails in crazy tiki mugs. It’s going to be the most ridiculous place in the city, in the best way!”

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Another popular puppet show will hit the Sprinkler Factory stage Sunday, Aug. 12 beginning at 8 p.m., with a suggested donation of $5. “Migraciones” is a production of Paradox Teatro, led by Sofía Padilla and Davey T. Steinman. In light of expanding border walls around the globe, “Migraciones” follows the voyage of refugees as they travel through sand, water and shadows in search of a new home. Paradox Teatro is a collaboration between artists from México and the United States, communicating across cultures with puppetry, music and poetry in English and Spanish. Music by Jubilee Connolly will precede the event at 7:30 p.m.

culture Sonoma at the Beechwood

Table service is pointed and professional. Sonoma’s team is trained to pair your meal with selections from their extraordinary wine list, so be prepared to endure a lengthy tableside monologue. The bartenders 363 Plantation St., Worcester have equal star quality; even the floral 508-754-2000 displays are fit for a Kardashian’s sonomaatthebeechwood.com wedding.

I suggest you begin with Sonoma’s SANDRA RAIN kung pao cauliflower ($13), which ven AAA Four Diamond-rated combines celery, peppers, onions and peanuts in a Szechuan black hotels face challenges when vinegar and hoisin elixir that boasts it comes to outfitting their restaurants. For starters, it can more sweet than heat. Cauliflower is be tough to amass a crowd of regulars great for those who are carbohydrateconflicted. Tossed in the right sauce, in a space relegated to travelers. this humble veggie can stand in place Furthermore, a hotel that develops of just about any barsnack. With a a loyal yet transient following must large group out on the town, it’s fun submit itself to the ails of a long distance relationship. The hospitality to start with oysters rockefeller ($5 each) for slurpy little half shells of staff may not share a strong context pancetta, spinach cream, hollandaise for daily life with their guests. They and a dash of Pernod - the “original may encounter logistical issues of absinthe.” travel. Meeting one another’s needs Embrace your surroundings and may feel less intuitive. cut into a 6-ounce center-cut filet miBut there are benefits of long-distance relationships as well. Under the gnon ($39.) Cooked medium rare, the beef will slice like butter under your right circumstances, each meeting can read like an exotic adventure. The steak knife and melt accordingly on latter is true for all visitors to Sonoma your tongue. The au gratin potatoes are best left to buffets; opt instead Restaurant at the Beechwood Hotel. for the farmer’s choice vegetables of Even the Worcester natives will feel like guests of honor in a foreign land. the week. If you require some surf, you’ll enjoy the pistachio-crusted red In January 2017, I reviewed Sosnapper ($37) bathed in lemongrass noma at its previous home in Princcoconut broth, topped with Thai eton. I commented on their nod to ‘90’s decor, encouraging the owners to style jicama slaw and laid on a bed of jasmine rice. When paired with a either creatively embrace the kitsch glass of the 2015 Caymus Conundrum or move forward. At their new loca($13), a bouquet of coconut is apt tion on Plantation Street in Worcesto erupt from your bowl, giving new ter, Sonoma’s team has successfully resurrected its sophistication amidst vitality to the large piece of beige fish under your nose. the luxury accommodations and There’s no denying hotel prices are extensive private art collection of a world-class, European-inspired hotel expensive, but it’s also safe to say Sonoma is no longer just a countryside co-owned by Dr. Charles and Janet haunt for rich uncles. In Worcester, Birbara. The modernized menu feels Sonoma stands alone as a “special brand new, even if many of chef and occasion” restaurant for just about owner Bill Brady’s signature dishes anyone with deep enough pockets. If have carried over. you’re on a budget, the bar menu is I have visited Sonoma Restaurant an alternative entrypoint to elegance. at the Beechwood Hotel three times Patio tables likewise provide frontrow since it opened in Worcester less sunset views and frequent jazz perthan a year ago: once for a date in formances in a more casual setting. the dining room, once for a private On my last visit with a friend, we function, and most recently to sit at racked up a bill of $116.63. the bar with a friend. All three occasions offered distinct experiences, Explanation of Stars: Ratings are a rarity not bestowed by Sonoma of from zero to five. Zero is not recomPrinceton’s one-note dinnerhouse. mended. One is poor. Two is fair. Three The dining room is now set under a is satisfactory. Four is good. Five is stained-glass rotunda, which casts the green glow of Instagram’s Perpet- excellent. ua filter quite naturally. The adjoining function room offers a long and regal Food: HHHH Ambience: HHHHH table with banquettes on every wall for those wishing to get lost in their Service: HHHH quiet corners. The bar is luminous, Value: HHHH glowing like a crystal jellyfish in the lightless sea.

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culture

Bad moon rising JIM KEOGH

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inema 320 winds up its firstever summer schedule with a movie best described as, well, what? I’m still pondering the proper vocabulary to apply here, because “Good Manners” tends to slip and slide between genres. I’ll go with gothic fable erotic thriller social allegory Brazilian werewolf-boy horror story. That should cover it.

“Good Manners” is a strange ride from the get-go. A lonely nurse named Clara (Isabél Zuaa), living on the outskirts of São Paolo, accepts the position of nanny-to-be for the pregnant Ana (Marjorie Estiano), a wealthy and flaky young woman who lives alone in an opulent highrise in the city center. The two bond,

emotionally and physically, despite a yawning class gap that includes Ana tossing off casual commands like the spoiled rich kid she has remained.

Something’s amiss with Ana’s situation — strange harbingers loom everywhere. As she tells it, the act of conception involved a man who may or may not have transformed into a hairy beast post-deed (she’d been drinking).

Ana also tends to sleepwalk, though instead of shuffling from one room to the next or grazing in the pantry cabinets, she wanders into a parking garage, strangles a cat and eats its heart. And don’t get me

started on Clara’s eccentric former landlady, who warbles awful songs and prowls mysteriously at the fringes of Clara’s life. She’s the Ruth Gordon character from “Rosemary’s Baby.”

There is also a lullaby-playing music box, a sure portent of doom.

Music boxes in movies are always creepy because they never signify the presence of innocence, but rather its destruction. In “The Silence of the Lambs” FBI investigator Clarice Starling discovered naked pictures of a teenage murder victim hidden inside the girl’s music box. Even the Jessica Lange movie “Music Box” was all about Nazis doing horrific things.

A music box is the gateway to hell.

Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

Co-writers/directors Julian Rojas and Marco Dutra consume a good hour or so setting up the premise, which feels padded. The byplay between Ana and Clara is genuinely heartfelt and increasingly off-kilter thanks to Ana’s predicament, but once the atmospherics were established, I was antsy to get to the good stuff.

It finally arrives with a birth — more of an eruption, really — which turns the second half of “Good Manners” into something quite different and fascinating. I was reminded of the 2008 film “Let the Right One In” about navigating life as a childhood vampire. Swap the genus to werewolf, and you’ve got a sense of where

“Good Manners” is taking us.

Clara raises a boy who can’t attend school events, follows a strict vegetarian diet and sleeps manacled to a cinderblock wall in the “little bedroom” during full moons. As if middle school isn’t brutal enough, the poor little guy has to devise excuses for refusing sleep-overs without actually admitting his fear that he may disembowel the other kids.

The final 20 minutes or so of “Good Manners” goes absolutely bonkers — as it should. A boy has accepted an invitation to a dance.

The manacles in the little bedroom are empty. And the moon is full.

You can almost hear the music box playing.

“Good Manners” will be shown at 7:30 pm. Saturday, and at 1 and 3:40 p.m. Sunday in the Jefferson Academic Center at Clark University.

Jim Keogh contributing writer

sports p Bravehearts, Pirates eye playoff runs WALTER BIRD JR. (Editor’s Note: The Worcester Bravehearts started their playoff series Tuesday, Aug. 7. The Massachusetts Pirates play their first playoff game Saturday, Aug. 11 at the DCU Center.)

I

Joe Pesce hit three runs to give Worcester an 8-6 win in game one of the secondround series of the FCBL playoffs.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

ready to play? He went down in the second quarter against the Sharks with a high ankle sprain and did not play against the Steelhawks.

“It’s obviously tough when you lose a player of Brackett’s caliber and also that position,” Yatim said.

“Whenever you lose your starting QB, it’s always tough to rebound from.”

Yatim said the team expected to make a decision today on Brackett’s availability for Saturday.

and center fielder John Thrasher, to name a few.

But the team has a wealth of leadership in the form of 11 players who will be college seniors this fall. At the same time, 28 of the players currently on the roster were first-time Bravehearts this year. That, according to Pyne, was a conscious decision.

“That was with no disrespect to last year’s team,” he said, “but we just felt like it was an opportunity to inject a little bit of life. It’s unique

that, early in the season would sit in silence in the clubhouse. “Then, in early July, we walked in there and it was ‘Animal House.’”

The second component, he said, was Haus.

“You never want to sort of single anybody out, but the arrival of Eddie Haus really changed things,” Pyne said. “It’s unique to have a guy that really could have solved so many problems for us. He plays multiple positions … and could pitch if we

home-and-home series with the leagueleading Martha’s Vineyard Sharks, the Bravehearts won, 8-5.

Aug. 4 The Bravehearts’ last game of the regular season, on the road against the Sharks, was canceled.

Aug. 7 In Game 1 of the semifinals, the Bravehearts outlasted the Bristol Blues at home, 8-6.

(Upcoming: The Bravehearts traveled to

Bristol, Conn. Wednesday night to battle the Blues in Game 2 of the semifinals. A win would send them to the championship series against the winner of the Brockton Rox/Martha’s Vineyard Sharks series. The Rox took Game 1 on the road Tuesday night, 8-5. A loss in Game 2 would have the Bravehearts play a deciding Game 3 back home Thursday night.)

Massachusetts Pirates Aug. 4 The Pirates ended their regular season with a 67-7 thumping of the Lehigh Valley Steel Hawks.

(Upcoming: The Pirates host a first-round playoff game at home Saturday, Aug. 11 against the Columbus Lions.)

needed him to.”

The team, Pyne said, started getting a feel for one another, while Haus, who will be a senior at St. Mary’s College of California this fall, brought a veteran presence. He also offered protection for right-fielding slugger Mike Dellicarri, who was recently named league MVP. As the playoffs loomed, Pyne said he was feeling good about the team’s chances, although he wasn’t quite ready to compare this year’s Bravehearts to previous years’ squads.

“I can’t really sort of rank it or fully compare it until it’s done,” Pyne said of where he would rank this team with the other two Bravehearts teams he managed. “I think from about mid-June on, I said this team has a championship feel to it, and I’ll tell you right now, if things end a certain way, there’s no question where this season ends up on the list.”

Yatim, too, feels good about the Pirates’ playoff fortunes, but he knows that chapter has yet to be written. He also knows there is an expectation to win in Massachusetts. And Worcester, where the Bravehearts have already won two championships, while the new ECHL hockey team, the Worcester Railers, made the playoffs this year in their first season, is no different.

“Winning,” Yatim said, “is the only option, and that’s kind of how we attack things day by day, the way we prepare and the way we approach things. Winning is certainly at the top of the list of things we’d like to do.

“Obviously, we’re not finished.

We’ve got to kind of seal the deal, so to speak. We’re definitely hoping for a strong playoff push. The regular season’s nice, but it only means so much … We’re working hard and we understand it’s a winning environment when you play sports in Massachusetts.”

Round-Up

The Worcester Railers have signed right winger Malcolm Gould for the 2018-19 season. Gould notched 38 points in 55 games for the Dundee Stars in the EIHL last season.

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Worcester Bravehearts Aug. 1 The Bravehearts fell, 5-1, to the Brockton Rox on the road.

Aug. 2 The Bravehearts (32-19) clinched a first-round playoff bye with a 7-1 win over the Nashua Silver Knights.

Aug. 3 In Worcester for the first game of a

to have some guys that are available and want to come here.”

One of the biggest impacts on the Bravehearts, and a huge reason why the team turned a corner, Pyne said, was the arrival of all-around player Eddie Haus in June.

“The first [turning point] was we really saw this team come together in the clubhouse,” Pyne said of a unit

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

The Score

The Bravehearts, too, have dealt with the injury bug. They headed into the playoffs earlier this week with a roster that looked much different than earlier in the season.

Manager J.P. Pyne, in his third season with the team, has lost a number of players, including first baseman and catcher Mack Cheli, infielder Chris Rinaldi of Holy Cross

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

t’s getting to be old hat for the Worcester Bravehearts, while the Massachusetts Pirates hope to be starting a new tradition.

The Bravehearts, Worcester’s entry in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, are in their fifth season and playing in their fifth consecutive postseason campaign. The Pirates, an indoor football team, meanwhile, made their inaugural bow this year in the National Arena League and will be playing their first-ever playoff game this weekend at the DCU Center. They’ll take on the Columbus Lions.

Both teams are poised to make some noise in the postseason. The Bravehearts turned on the jets in mid- to late-June. To that point, they were closer to last place than first, and committing errors at a dizzying rate. The team went on a tear since then, finishing in second place at 3319, two-and-a-half games behind the first-place Martha’s Vineyard Sharks.

The Pirates, on the other hand, started out white hot, winning five of their first six games. Over their next six, however, they went 3-3. The team finished the season at 11-5, losing a tough one to the Jacksonville Sharks on July 28 before finishing the regular season with a 67-7 thumping of the hapless Lehigh Valley Steelhawks.

Now the Pirates set sail for the playoffs, which owner Jawad Yatim admits is a different beast than the regular season.

“We’re definitely excited about it,” Yatim said. “Obviously, it’s a different atmosphere. Playoff football, there’s nothing like it. Everything’s that much more crucial and imperative to

continue on to the next round, and hopefully hoisting a championship trophy at the end of the year. We’ll take it day by day. It’s obviously our first experience in the playoffs.”

The Pirates have a big question mark as they ready for Saturday’s tilt.

Namely, will starting quarterback Sean Brackett, who has lit the NAL on fire with a cannon-like arm, be

calendar Friday-Sunday, Aug. 10-12 The 136th Bolton Fair

Don’t miss the long-running fair on the Lancaster Fairgrounds, at Harvard and 7 Bridge roads. You can catch the midway preview Thursday, Aug. 9, 5-10 p.m. Hour on Friday are noon to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit boltonfair.org for prices and more information.

Friday, Aug. 10 For The Fallen Dreams-’Changes’ 10 Year Anniversary Tour

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Catch this show at The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester, 6-11:59 p.m. Cost is $15 in advance, $17 day of.

Friday-Sunday, Aug. 10-12 Italian Festival

Head to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish at Our Lady of Loreto Church, 37 Massasoit Road, Worcester Friday, 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, 12-10 p.m.; Sunday, 12-5 p.m. Admission is $2. Enjoy food, entertainment and rides. For more information, visit mtcarmelfestival.org.

calendar Friday-Saturday, Aug. 10-11 Friday-Sunday, Aug. 17-19 We Will Rock You

A musical you’ll really rock out to at Mount Wachusett Community College Theatre, 444 Green St., Gardner. Shows on Aug. 10, 11, 17 and 18 start at 8 p.m. Aug. 18 show starts at 2. Cost is $22.

For more information, visit mwcc.edu/tam/shows.

Saturday, Aug. 11 Chase Rice

Catch country music star Chase Rice at Webster’s Indian Ranch, 200 Gore Road, Webster, 2-5 p.m.

Tickets are $45-$60.

Friday, Aug. 10 Neighborhood Health Fair

It’s a guaranteed fun and educational time at Family Health Center of Worcester Inc., 26 Queen St., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Featuring local businesses, nonprofit organizations, games and more.

Saturday, Aug. 11 11th annual Barbara J. Walker Butterfly Festival at Broad Meadow Brook

Saturday, Aug. 11 We & The Dawg at Halligans

Check out this iteration of an old Worcester favorite at Halligan’s Royale Lounge, 889 Southbridge St., Worcester.

The music plays 8:30 p.m. to midnight.

Enjoy fun for all ages at Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, 414 Massasoit Road, Worcester. Features walks and workshops, performances, live caterpillars and more. Runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost is $5 for adult and children members, $6 adult and children nonmembers. For more information, visit massaudubon.org.

A U G U S T 9 - 15, 2018

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games

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JONESIN’ Across 1 Worker’s compensation 5 “M*A*S*H” actress Loretta 9 Wilson of “The Office” 14 Have ___ in the oven (be preggers) 15 “What ___ God wrought” (first official Morse code message) 16 Muppet wearing a horizontally striped shirt 17 2000 movie with the quote “What we do in life echoes in eternity” 19 Box lunch?

20 Relative that might be “once removed” 22 Wood for baseball bats 23 Removed 27 Mustard sometimes mixed with mayo 31 “Out of the Cellar” glam rockers 33 ___-de-France (Paris’s region) 34 1998 skating gold medalist Kulik 35 In-between feeding time invented for a Taco Bell ad campaign 38 Olympus ___ (Martian volcano) 39 Come together 40 90 degrees from norte 41 Intuitive power 43 “Don’t change” 44 Suffix similar to -let 45 Painters’ mediums 46 Lunar cycle segment 47 Present-day 49 Act like an old-timey suitor 51 Honorific for landmarks like the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, or Empire State Building 58 Cable movie channel owned

by Lionsgate since 2016 61 Lou Gehrig’s nickname, with “The” 62 TV input or output component 63 Appellation 64 Johnny of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” 65 Color for rolls of dimes 66 Actress Natalia of “Stranger Things” 67 “Undertale” character named for a derided font

“Even Chances”--the odd one’s out.

by Matt Jones

Down 1 Tail movements 2 Skilled 3 Burrito bar side, for short 4 Prefix with plasm 5 Sardine cousins 6 Look after 7 “Was ___ harsh?”

8 “No ___ Traffic” 9 Renaissance 10 Bowl game venue, maybe 11 Roadside rest stop 12 Insect egg 13 Keanu, in the “Matrix” series 18 “___ ever-changing world ...”

21 Living room piece 24 Short nap 25 Makes happy 26 Leave out 27 Chinese restaurant style 28 Repetitive-sounding province of the Philippines 29 Brought bad luck to 30 Brewer’s dryer 31 Archaeological site 32 The “A” that turns STEM into STEAM 35 Joining with heat 36 Harvard-set Turow book 37 Fit together 42 Range of perception 46 “Christopher Robin” character

48 Like feelings from ASMR videos, for some 49 Mock-innocent reply 50 Team VIP 52 Golden ___ (Sir Francis Drake’s flagship) 53 Airplane seat attachment 54 Head bobs 55 De Matteo of “The Sopranos” 56 Channel with a “Deportes” version 57 Sales force members 58 Succumb to gravity 59 NBC News correspondent Katy 60 Ending for Power or Gator

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CLASSIFIED ADS travel far

last call Travis Duda graphic designer T

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ravis Duda is the owner of Hunchback Graphics. As a talented graphic designer, he has a gift for branding, typography, art direction and logo design. Duda is also a vital member of Worcester’s creative community. (You may recognize him as the man behind all of the Pow!Wow! Worcester slime videos that have been popping up in your newsfeed.) In addition, Duda makes up half of the Asylum Coffeetorium team that currently operates out of the Worcester Regional Food Hub to bring popovers to the masses.

What is your history with the city of Worcester? I’m a transplant. I grew up in Connecticut.

I came to Massachusetts when I was working for a civil engineering firm in Framingham. Around that time, I met my wife and we were living in Marlborough, looking to purchase a house. We had only so much money and we looked around and we just kept coming back to Worcester.

We could just get so much more house for our money in Worcester than we did in any of the surrounding towns. We ended up in Vernon Hill. We bought the house four years ago and we’ve just been slowly digging in ever since. I have not found something I hate about Worcester yet. I love this city. Getting involved in a community like Technocopia really just jump started everything.

It has provided me with so many opportunities as a creator and as an entrepreneur.

I am curious about your career trajectory. How did you come to work for yourself? I went to school for graphic/information design at Central Connecticut State. I lucked into this awesome program. On top of teaching the basics of design, we talked a lot about the business of design, which is really important. A lot

of kids don’t graduate with that understanding. Coming out of school, I was super into just working for myself. I’m kind of a self starter.

It must have been scary to go out on your own. Oh, super scary. Super duper scary. And I thought it would only take me five years after school to get to that point. It took me nine years.

Even in my interview when I was working as a graphic designer for that civil engineering company, they asked me, ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ And I told them, ‘Not here. I’ll be working for myself.’ They still hired me.

I finally got to the point where I hated going into that place.

I could not work in a cubicle. I could not be part of that environment. It just was not for me. It was impacting my personality and my mindset. I talked to my wife and said, ‘Hey, can we actually swing this?’ For the first few months it was dicey, but I have some pretty steady clients now.

It’s starting to feel really comfort- Travis Duda of Hunchback Graphics in his Technocopia workspace downtown.

ELIZABETH BROOKS PHOTO able.

How did you find Technocopia?

I met the co-director, Mike D’Angelo, a couple of years ago and he kind of floated the idea and I put it in the back of my head for awhile. When I realized I was going to make the jump, I wanted to figure out a space where I could work that wasn’t in my house and wasn’t just an office somewhere. I need to be around some other people; I like being inspired by other people’s work. I just fell in love with this community of people who want to make stuff, make Worcester a better place, make the world a better place, and show that anybody can be a creative.

They are a makerspace. They’re educating younger and younger audiences and bringing STEAM education to a whole new swath

of people that wouldn’t normally have access to that type of thing.

Through them, I connected to Pow!Wow!

took an accidental 28-mile bike ride to get there. I’m an idiot when it comes to directions. My poor wife followed me because she’s lovely. When we finally got What is your official role on the to Jordan Pond House we were Pow!Wow! Worcester commitstarving. When I got home from tee? I’m the graphic designer. The that vacation I couldn’t stop sleeping thing has gone by the talking about the popovers. My wayside now that we’re getting mother-in-law bought me a pan closer and closer to August. I like and told me to learn to make that though; I hate being bored. them. I teamed up with my friend I absolutely despise it. I feel like Zac from home, who was managwe’re only given so much time on ing a Dunkin’ Donuts. We set up a tasting for friends with scones, the planet and to waste any of it muffins, cookies, sandwiches would be a shame. and popovers. Nobody ate any of the other stuff. They all ate the Tell me about your popovers. popovers.

It started when I went to Acadia up in Maine with my wife Sarah How did you decide to start on our one year anniversary. popping up around the city?

We went to Jordan Pond House Our friends at Wooden Noodles and I had my first popover. We

were killing it. They still are.

They’re so great at what they do.

And so we looked at what they were doing and they were clearly making progress. We started at 3cross. We’ve now done 10 popups over the past year. It feels right. I’m really interested in this upcoming Kelly Square Market.

I want to get one of those stalls.

I don’t even know anywhere else that you can get them around here. You used to be able to get them everywhere back in the ’90s.

Well, ’90s fashion is certainly back in style. You’re absolutely right. That’s kind of where we’re at. What’s old is new again.

— Sarah Connell

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