1 SE Sunday Republican, August 26, 2007 Summer school a 2nd chance Students spend part of summer in school and can concentrate on fewer classes. By NATALIA E. AGAWAM For Melissa M. Kriebel, summer school is a chance to get high school kids enthusiastic about learning Spanish. Kriebel taught Spanish to 28 students at Agawam High School this summer with the hope that they would do better in the subject the second time around.
"I love Spanish and I know they don't, or else they wouldn't be here, so Itry to get them excited about it," Kriebel said. NO Kriebel: engaged students by having them play various games where they learned how to conjugate verbs in Spanish. She hopes students will enter Spanish class in September with a positive attitude. Timothy M. Jendrysik, 16, said he tried to do his Spanish 2 homework but found the quizzes and tests too hard.
He said he was doing well in Krie- bel's class because he only had to focus on one subject. Jendrysik was one of 264 students who enrolled in Agawam's. summer school program this year with the expectation of earning credit for a class that was failed during the school year. The program, which ran for four weeks starting July 9, offered more than 30 courses for students in junior high, high school, and adult education. Each course cost $125.
More than 150 Agawam students enrolled in the program with another 95 students coming from outside the district. Program director Alan R. Cohen, a guidance counselor at the high school, said Agawam has one of the largest academic summer programs in terms of the number of courses if offers. "We try to run a very serious summer program but also keep it more relaxed," he said. Cohen said he and the teachers strive to make summer school a good experience for students.
shouldn't be a challenge. It should be a place that they want to come to," he said. Ralph J. Figy, an adjustment counselor at the high school, taught junior high-level math and science this sum- During summer school earlier this month at Agawam High School, Spanish teacher right, talks with student Timothy J. Jendrysik, of Agawam, as Tony Haight, left, of paper.
mer. Figy said. like the program because he In addition to teaching the David E. Blanchard, 14, had to wake up early and curriculum, Figy said teachers took both of Figy's classes. spent part of his summer in focused on getting students to The high school freshman said school.
do usually their here work. because "They they are he ing the didn't school learn year anything because dur- he High school senior LeeAnn made bad decisions about went to school to socialize. Cousineau, 17, said her bioloclasswork and homework," Blanchard said he didn't gy and business math classes 4. 37- UR Art 4. Staff photo by MARK M.
MURRAY home at the corner of Ridgewood Place and Mulberry Street in Springfield is a favorite Quality: Property marring Mulberry Continued from Page C1 44 This is Mulberry, (the neighborhood)." it's internationally Duquette suggested the' rambling boarded-up building known. We don't at 22 Ridgewood Place for The Republican's "Quality of Life" understand why the series. Duquette said the structure city is treating this users appears and to vandals. "People drug are area this way We be a haven for A said. breaking in all the time," he have put in hundreds City officials are well aware of thousands in these of the moldering property.
fied After in all, the owners, as identi- houses to try to city records Joanna Santaniello of Ludlow and the rehabilitate (the Ridgewood Place Nominee Trust, owe more than $500,000 neighborhood). 17 in unpaid property taxes. That tally, owed to the trea- William G. Duquette surer's office, stood Friday at $506,288, city records state. Another $9,352 is owed to The owners cannot be the collector's office and the found, Quagliato said, property is in tax title, records ed their "Either they addresses have not updatstate.
or they or Tina M. Quagliato, senior not involved in the property program manager for the anymore," Quagliato said. city's Office of Housing and The court has ordered the Neighborhood Services, said city to notify the owners by le- Friday she is well aware of the gal advertisem*nt, Quagliato old nursing home as well. said. Quagliato said the property Once that happens the city has accrued $700 in fines for will seek court permission to littering and overgrowth vio- periodically clean the proper? lations.
The matter has been ty and place a lien on the propreferred to Hampden County erty for the cost. Housing Court Santaniello, whose last -tit 1 Staff photo by MARK M. MURRAY Melissa M. Kriebel, Westfield, works on a were more in-depth than during the school year. "Maybe.
it's because I know all the material but just didn't really grasp it (during the year)," she said. STARK SCENERY QUALITY OF LIFE If you have a quality-of-life issue to report, we want to hear about it. Fill out the following coupon and mail your complaint regarding litter, noise pollution or vandalism to: Quality of Life, The Republican, P.O. Box 2350, Springfield, MA 01102. Or, log on to MassLive.com to print out and mail the coupon.
Quality of life complaint: Location: Contact person: 1 Telephone number: known address is in Ludlow, Quagliato said, could not be reached for comment. Although Duquette said initially the grass at 22 Ridgewood has gotten four feet high, he said last week that the grass has since been cut by the city. Quagliato said city work Senior: Complex debuts Continued from Page C1 this type of project," Roche said. from $2,250 to $4,500, depend- It will particularly draw tening on the services and type of ants from Ludlow, Chicopee, unit, according to a news re- Wilbraham, Granby, South lease. Hadley, Belchertown and Keystone Commons is affili- Palmer, said Beth L.
Edelbergated with Keystone Woods, an Cardillo, executive director. elderly housing complex in The three types of housing Springfield on Grayson Drive. are in one building, but in disKeystone Commons is a tinct settings, each having its joint venture between Victor own dining and activity Field of Ludlow, The Roche rooms, Roche said. Associates Inc. and Keystone Victor J.
Field, a member of Senior LLC, based in India- the Ludlow Board of Health, napolis, Ind. Keystone Senior purchased the five-acre parcel involves partners Timothy O. on West Street with the hope Eldredge and David M. King- of building an independent en, both of Indianapolis. and assisted-living communiAn advance analysis of ty, Cardillo said.
Ludlow and the surrounding The feasibility study found area identified a strong need "this area was ripe for indefor a market-rate senior living pendent living and assisted complex, Roche said. living," she said. "(With) the demographics, "It's going fast, and there is the number of seniors in those an obvious need for a rental communities, we found there community that is affordable was tremendous potential for in the area," Cardillo said. Help: Mentor assists Springfield, and 15 members volunteered. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has also agreed to allow mentor recruiting there for three days next month.
Springfield Fire Commissioner Gary G. Cassanelli said he will mentor again, after being paired last year with a 12-year-old boy at Elias Brookings School. "Basically, it's just an hour of conversation what's going on in in your life," Cassanelli said, adding that such meetings provide an outlet for children to express their feelings. Cassanelli said the experience opened his eyes to societal problems confronting today's youth. He is encouraging others to mentor and said Lawrence may speak to city firefighters soon.
Marilyn Irizarry said she believes many children could benefit from mentoring. "There's a lot of kids that need it, and a lot of parents don't know about the program," she said. Lawrence and Crystal Irizarry go to the library together and borrow books, and in winter, return to Lawrence's house to build a fire and read. They compose lists of vocabulary words and go over definitions together. They also see.
movies and go out to dinner. "It's been great," Crystal Irizarry said. She said Lawrence took her to a meeting a few years ago, headed by a teacher who helped struggling young people. The message was "that people could change other people's lives," she recalled. Information on mentoring may be obtained by calling the Springfield School Volunteers at (413) 787-7015.
Continued from Page C1 tian. Embassy Church in A former nursing target of vandals. said. Irizarry's mother, Marilyn Irizarry, has noticed changes in her daughter since the mentoring relationship began. "It helped Crystal a lot she's doing greatly now Leslie has taught her a lot of in herself," Marilyn Irizarry said, adding that Lawrence has been "a good friend, not just a mentor." Lawrence, who is married with one son starting college, became so passionate about mentoring that she has recruited about 50 people, including many friends and acquaintances, to act as mentors in Springfield's schools.
Judith D. Donahue, a program manager for the Spring. field School Volunteers, said even more mentors are needed, to spend an hour a week with students during the school year. No special qualifications are necessary, although potential mentors must fill out an application and agree to a criminal record check. "They have to be committed to working with students, and have a heart," Donahue said.
"We want people who feel they have something they can share with youngsters, particularly in terms of character development." Springfield School Volunteers is working with the community campaign called Step Up Springfield, which is enlisting mentors for students at Central High School and the Roger L. Putnam VocationalTechnical High School. Meanwhile, the Mass Mentoring Partnership will provide training for mentors, Donahue said. Lawrence spoke recently about mentoring to the Chris- crews have the ability to neaten certain areas of abandoned properties like this one. The city's involvement in the property is part of Operation Clean Sweep, launched in 2005 by Mayor Charles V.
Ryan as part of his focus on improving neighborhoods and quality of life..
