WAYLAND Gloria Harrison s father gave her 50 cents every morning to buy reduced-prices lunches at school.
Instead, the then-third grader went straight to a bodega in Dorchester and bought all the candy she could: Boston baked beans, Laffy Taffy, squirrel nuts. She d fill a paper brown bag with the worst candy you can think of that would ruin your teeth and store it in her backpack.
Meanwhile, her friend Carrie Clifford brought yogurt or raisins to school. They d often trade snacks during recess or lunchtime.
It was 40 years ago. That s when I don t think I realized she was white and she didn t realize I was Black, said Harrison. We were friends, just innocent kids playing at recess.
According to a statement from the School Committee, Easy is extremely excited to join the Wayland community.
In May, Unobskey and the School Committee announced they would part ways in a joint letter to the community. The two parties held long-term planning discussions regarding the district s central office administration, with Unobskey concluding that he would prefer to move to a more urban district, which would be more in line with his long-term interests and experience prior to coming to Wayland.
The other candidates for the job included Jennifer Parson, assistant superintendent at Hopkinton Public Schools and a Milford School Committee member; and Arcelius Brickhouse, an educational consultant and former executive director of secondary education for Plainfield Public Schools in New Jersey.
The second annual Black History Month Essay Contest will be held again, and after a very impressive first-year effort last February, Councilor Gerly Adrien and Dr. Omar Easy are looking to enhance the scholarship opportunities by holding a noteworthy fundraiser on Jan. 30 to kick off the effort.
The online fundraiser will be on Jan. 30 and will feature a keynote presentation by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and speeches by two of last year’s winners. The contest is specifically for students in Everett who are seniors in high school, both in the Everett Public Schools (EPS) and outside EPS. This year, the essays will be about Black influential leaders again, but the topics were chosen by Everett High’s Empowering Black Excellence Club.