Day: April 1, 2026

Parker School Boys’ Track Team Wins MIAA Title

April 1, 2026 No Comments

By M.E. Jones DEVENS — When the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School boys track team won the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, MIAA, championship in February, it constituted a well-earned feather in the cap of a small public charter school better known for its non-traditonal philosophy than for sports. But that’s changing. The head coach of the winning team, Parker School Athletic Director Ben Benoit, explained why in a recent interview. Benoit traced the success story of the four-year-old team and described a sports program that has grown and thrived during his 20-year tenure with competitive options such as Ultimate Frisbee, boys’ and girls’ teams, co-ed teams and his specialty, track and field. Principal Brian Harrigan said the sports program Benoit has developed dovetails with Parker’s compentency-based learning model, including personalized classroom support and students demonstrating mastery in each subject. “Sports is analagous to that philosophy,” Harrigan said. And the results, including the recent MIAA win by the boys track team, “speak for themselves,” he said. “Obviously, the kids do it. But Ben and his coaching team put them in a place to excel.” Team members who meet regularly with Benoit after school talked about why they signed up and how they stick with what sounds like a rigorous training schedule. Common threads include cameraderie and the competitive spirit Benoit’s coaching style has fostered. Winning felt great, energizing and worth striving for, they said. But it wasn’t why they joined nor why they stay. Team members include Nathan Davis of Littleton, Nathaniel Henshaw of Templeton, Cormac Hildreth of Ayer, Danny Garrison of Groton, Zephyr Schermerhorn of Shirley and Jett Johnson of Bolton. Zephyr wasn’t a runner when he joined the team. “I was not into sports at all,” he said. But he values the team. “I did what I had to do to be part of it,“ he said. Hard work and all. Cormac had played hockey, but he wasn’t a runner, either. Until now. He noted the “consistency” of his team as a positive. All of them “almost always show up” for practice, he said. And he doesn’t find it hard. “I love this program.” Jett said a positive attitude makes it easier to tackle the hard work being on the team requires. “It’s a commitment,” he said. “And the team is a community.“ Henshaw agreed. “This has become my life,” he said. “It’s all-consuming but worth it.” Garrison said he wasn’t “very social” when he first came to the school. “But they showed me what it is to be at Parker . . . and to have friends.” Henshaw said the social aspect is a big part of his commitment to the team on and off the field—”just being with each other,” he said. “Hanging out.” Remarkably, none of the students were runners before nor were they stellar student athletes. In a different environment, they may not have made the team. But Benoit said the Parker School sports program has a no-cut policy. “If you try out, you’re on the team,” he said. “After that, it’s up to you.”

The Green Scene: Fredonian Park and Nature Center ADA-Compliant Pathway Design Complete

April 1, 2026 No Comments

By Sherry Anders The Town of Shirley received an FY25 Earmark Award in the amount of $35,000 through the office of State Senator John Cronin to conduct an engineering study for design walkways compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, at Fredonian Park and Nature Center. The design includes a crushed stone nature trail loop around nature center pond and a pathway to the gazebo. The Town contracted the engineering firm Howard Stein Hudson of Boston to do the work, fully permitted as of February 24. The firm also will provide bid-ready design specifications for the Town’s use. The idea to create ADA accessible pathways at Fredonian Park began nearly a decade ago when former Conservation Commission Chair Dave Bortell recognized a need for accessible nature and recreation areas in town. Given that it has relatively flat terrain, he saw potential at the park. Bortell and local business owner Eric Shapiro funded an ADA review of the park in 2018, which outlined conditions to be met for ADA accreditation. Shapiro, CEO of the Lexvest Group, the parent company to Phoenix Park, has personal ties to Fredonian Park. He is the great-grandson of Ida and Hyman Perlstein, Shirley residents who took over the Phoenix Spring Beverage Company in 1930 and to whom the gazebo at the park is dedicated. While the Covid-19 epidemic derailed initial efforts to move the plan forward, in 2021 Bortell partnered with the Town Greenway Committee to help move the project forward. Addressing a significant invasive plant infestation was a necessary step outlined in the 2018 review to meet accreditation requirements. The Greenway Committee launched a restoration effort with grant funding from Nashua Rivers Wild and Scenic Stewardship Council and mobilized community volunteers to help. Initial progress sparked support from local businesses to help restore the park. The Lexvest Group donated four new park benches, BoomX purchased restoration plants, and Bemis provided funding for historical and interpretive signage, now underway. In addition, the Town appropriated funds through Town Meeting to replace heavily deteriorated fencing. With the ADA pathway design complete, the Greenway Committee will work with the Town Administrator to seek grant funding for implementation. The project may also be eligible for Community Preservation Act, CPA, support.

New Law Principal Says She’s Just Where She Wants to Be

April 1, 2026 No Comments

By M. E. Jones When Jenna Larrenaga started her job as principal of Shirley‘s Lura A. White Elementary School in July, she believed she’d found a perfect fit. Now, she’s sure of it. In a recent interview, she explained why. First, the size of the school—about 350 students in grades K-5—appealed to her, she said. And so did the community. “Everything was exactly what I wanted,” she said. “I inherited a great school. My hope and dream is to keep it going.” Resume A resident of Sudbury, Larrenaga has three children ages 23, 20, and 17. The eldest is a teacher, she said, while the others are students, one at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and the youngest in high school. A graduate of DC’s George Washington University, where she double-majored in French lit and psychology, Larrenaga earned a master‘s degree in elementary education at Boston College. She is licensed as a principal/assistant principal and in special education. Her career in elementary education spans more than two decades and includes teaching and administrative posts in several Massachusetts communities, including Acton, Ashland, Bedford, and Lawrence, where she also taught an after-school enrichment class in French. Larrenaga was assistant principal at C. T. Douglas Elementary School in Acton for ten years and later served as principal at Mindess Elementary School in Ashland before coming to Shirley. When asked to identify the most challenging part of being a principal, Larrenaga observed, “Parent involvement is always key. There’s a nice balance here. Parents are receptive, even when they call with concerns. It’s a relationship we are framing.“ Since starting at LAW, Larrenaga has been reaching out as well as settling in. She hosted fall open house and a parent afternoon. She also assisted with morning car drop-off for three months. “I want to do that again,” she said. Asked if she has any new programs planned for LAW, Larrenega said her aim isn’t to change things but to support students and enhance the learning environment. To that end, she meets with teachers every month to talk about core values, she said. Exciting things are going on at LAW, Larrenaga said, including a program called Drop Everything and Play. A take on a national initiative several years ago called Drop Everything and Read, the DEAP idea is to target a time during the school day when work stops schoolwide, and other activities are set aside for 45 minutes of play, key to healthy development. “Play is so important,” she said. Specifically, the focus is on board games. “It’s a lost art,” she said. It goes something like this: teacher of reading and special ed teachers have board games in their classrooms to use during the designated DEAP period. Uno, for example, providesa simple but engaging card game for all ages as do other games, too. “Whatever the teachers may bring in,” Larrenaga said, “we play.“ Students gather in groups to play the games, with two adults assigned to each group. Asked if play periods might be outside, too, she said it could be a scheduling challenge to include the whole school at once, but she didn’t rule it out. “Outdoor play is good for kids,” she said. Larrenaga also mentioned a special reading initiative called Poem in Your Pocket, rolled out for Read Across America Week. “It’s amazing,” she said as she shared photos showing children with knitted pockets to tuck a poem into and read on the go. In addition, LAW will welcome community readers to the school, she said, revisiting a longstanding tradition when teachers invite local notables and townsfolk to come in and read stories to kids in their classrooms. All things considered, everything is aimed at engaging the kids, she said. “It’s all you hope to do.”