Editor’s note: Newsmakers is a regular feature spotlighting accomplishments of Newton community members, businesses and organizations.
Ward and Mason-Rice named among top Massachusetts schools
Ward Elementary School and Mason-Rice Elementary School in Newton have been named among the top 10 elementary schools in Massachusetts.
Ward has a student population of 194 and a student-teacher ratio of 10:1, and 82 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, with 77 percent scoring at or above the proficient level for reading.
Mason-Rice has a student population of 332 a student-teacher ratio of 11:1. And like Ward, 82 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 77 percent scored at or above that level for reading.
William James College on-campus food pantry marks year of fighting food insecurity
A campus-based food pantry, the result of a collaboration between William James College and the Newton Food Pantry, has almost reached its one-year anniversary.
The pantry was launched in January 2024 and offers a variety of healthy shelf-stable foods and personal care products at no cost to William James College students, faculty and staff.
“At William James College we strive to ensure that every member of our community knows that our campus is a safe space to land. We are committed to using tools and resources at our disposal to ensure that members of our community are supported and cared for,” William James College Dean of Students Ann E. Coyne said.
The food pantry has grown each month with more than 530 individual visits, more than 4,000 items distributed and 108 active users. October was the busiest month to date, with September and November numbers close behind.
Research confirms that food insecurity disproportionately impacts both students of color and low-income students. By creating a self-serve on-campus food pantry, nutritious foods including pasta, rice, cereal, tuna, beans, and other shelf-stable groceries are easily accessible to the William James community. Items such as body washes and personal care products are also available.
Newton organization wins grants for ‘EcoStoves’ in Nicaragua
The Sister City project partnering Newton with San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, now in its 35th year, recently received two grants to support the building of “EcoStoves” with chimneys to remove smoke from kitchens (and lungs) in the Pacific Coast township.
The City of Newton’s office on Energy and Climate, working with The Village Bank, awarded the EcoStove Program a “Climate Action Microgrant” based partly on the program’s innovative development of a durable, locally sourced mortar that avoids the use of Portland cement (famous for its huge carbon footprint).
A second grant to Newton’s EcoStove Program: the Boston-based Thoracic Foundation will underwrite the continuation of the stove-building initiative for the next two years. Sister City Project President David Gullette says his team is “jubilant.”
Rural families pay no money for their EcoStoves, but they are required to put in “sweat equity,” that is, some member of the family must be ready to work every day during the construction process.
You can learn more about the Sister City partnership at www.newtonsanjuan.org.
Regina Wu of Newton joins Food For Free Board of Directors
Food For Free, a food rescue and distribution organization in Eastern Massachusetts, has appointed Regina Wu to its Board of Directors.
Board members of the organization leverage their expertise and connections to advance Food For Free’s work to minimize food waste and increase food security in the community.
“Food insecurity isn’t just a lack of access to food, it’s a lack of access to nutrition,” says Jessica Cantin, Food For Free CEO. “Food waste and food security go hand in hand. They can form a solution together. Regina will help guide Food For Free to continue to provide reliable access to fresh and nutritious food to Eastern Massachusetts communities.”
Wu is a physician at Mass General Brigham and has volunteered for Newton Food Pantry for 12 years, serving as president of its Board of Directors until earlier this year.
Wu met Food For Free’s Senior Program Manager Molly Hansen, who runs the nonprofit’s Heat-n-Eats program, in 2022 when Hansen was the head of the DISH food pantry at Bunker Hill Community College and Wu was the board president of the Newton Food Pantry.
Newton Food Pantry was in the planning stages of opening a pantry at Lasell University, and Wu was able to get Food For Free’s Heat-n-Eats meals distributed to food-insecure students. She learned of the Food For Free board opportunity when she was eager to continue volunteering to help food insecure residents.
