If you’ve ever been to a Rochester school board meeting when board members are talking about closing a school, you know how volatile those meetings can get. The fury and blame fly in every direction, especially at board members. Rarely, however, do parents or community leaders strongly object to a proposal to open a new […]
Tim Louis Macaluso
I was born and raised in the Rochester area, but I lived in California and Florida before returning home about 12 years ago. I'm a vegetarian and live with my husband and our three pugs. I cover education, health care, and local politics for City.
Posted inNews & Opinion
Colleges support prisoner education
Despite widely known and draconian facts about the prison system in the US, Joshua Dubler says that he’s optimistic that public attitudes about the justice system and the treatment of incarcerated people are at a turning point. “We’re in a good moment,” says Dubler, assistant professor of religion at the University of Rochester. Higher education […]
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St. Boniface is back in the South Wedge
A statue of a saint known for his eighth-century missionary excursions has almost completed its long journey back to the South Wedge after being missing for nearly 60 years. The statue, a seven-foot-tall cast-iron image of St. Boniface that weighs nearly 1,000 pounds, will soon return home to St. Boniface Church on Gregory Street. St. […]
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Diverse schools? Survey shows the public may be ready
Great Schools for All continues to push for the creation of a network of theme-based magnet schools that are socially and economically diverse — enrolling students from the city as well as the suburbs. The group released a survey today that seems to confront one of the most deeply entrenched issues in a region widely […]
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Kent State survivor remembers shootings
Ohio’s Kent State University was a tinderbox during the last week of April in 1970. Thomas Grace, author of “Kent State — Death and Dissent in the Long Sixties,” was a sophomore at KSU at the time. A series of events heightened student opposition to the Vietnam War, which escalated with President Richard Nixon’s decision […]
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RTA says it doesn’t support new Code of Conduct policy
The Rochester school board is currently reviewing a proposal for a new Code of Conduct that would require a major shift in how teachers and students interact in city schools. The proposed policy is much less punitive that the current one. But after more than a year of planning and public meetings involving a […]
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Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity selling campus
CRCDS is selling its historic site on South Goodman Street across from Highland Park. In an open letter from CRCDS’s president, the Rev. Marvin McMickle, to alumni and friends, he says that the school has had to address some tough financial decisions. And the question of whether to sell the campus with its picturesque rolling […]
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Week Ahead: Eco-thriller to show at First Unitarian
First Unitarian Church will host a showing of the film “Racing Extinction” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18. The film by Louie Psihoyos has been described as an eco-thriller, and uses extraordinary photography to examine humanity’s role in the issues facing endangered species and a vulnerable planet. The film will be shown at the […]
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Dance provides catharsis for city youth
Racqueab Overton has the body of a big cat: compact, quick, and powerful. When the 20 year old dances, his shoulders roll and start a wave that reverberates through his arms and continues down into his torso as if he were possessed by an alien creature. After Overton finished performing at a recent Battle for […]
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Superintendent search closed to the public
Selecting superintendents for Rochester’s schools has become something of a ritual over the last 10 years. And some form of public engagement is often part of the process. You may remember the search that led to the selection of former superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard: public forums, writing your questions for the candidates down on index cards, […]
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Conduct discussion in RCSD brings out deep-rooted issues
The Rochester school board has until its June meeting to handle an issue that has been festering for years: how to work with misbehaving students and their parents. Board members have received a draft proposal of a new code of conduct policy that aims to replace punitive approaches to discipline with restorative justice practices. For […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Rochester school district aims for a connected city
Rochester City School District officials say that they hope to provide all students with the high-tech devices they need to do the advanced level of work expected of them. It’s the first tier to a more ambitious plan that Annmarie Lehner, the district’s information technology officer, will present to the school board later today. The […]
