Category: Burlington Buzz

  • Burlington Schools Plan Literacy Curriculum Overhaul and New Middle School Math Classes. Here’s What to Know.

    A group of Burlington teachers, administrators, and outside specialists is working to implement a new elementary school literacy curriculum and add two new math classes in the middle school next school year.

    While parts of the Burlington Public Schools curriculum have been updated throughout the years, there has not been a single, comprehensive curriculum update for more than 10 years, said Lisa Chen, the Assistant Superintendent for Learning for Burlington Public Schools. Conducting a curriculum review and update for literacy and mathematics was one of Chen’s first orders of business when she started her work in Burlington in July 2023.

    After a process that lasted the better part of two years, a task force of teachers, administrators, and specialists recommended a curriculum called Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) for grades K-5 to the School Committee at a February 11 meeting. 

    Before the district can purchase this curriculum, Town Meeting must approve $575,000 in funding, Chen said; this will be considered a capital expenditure because it falls outside the scope of the district’s operational budget. If funding is approved at May Town Meeting, which begins May 12 and may extend into May 14 and 19, implementation of the new curriculum will begin during the 2025-26 school year in all four Burlington elementary schools.

    Selecting a New Literacy Curriculum

    Literacy consultant Gail Lovette was hired to do an audit of the literacy curriculum from PreK-12, and a committee of teachers, administrators and specialists was formed. Lovette conducted classroom visits, met with teachers, and worked with the Literacy Task Force to articulate the district’s literacy priorities and compiled all the findings in a literacy report. 

    Through the review, Chen said, the committee members noticed that Burlington has a solid curriculum but could improve the consistency of learning experiences across the district. 

    The committee decided to focus on rolling out a new curriculum at the elementary schools first. They evaluated four potential curricula and then narrowed the options down to two, which they shared with the Burlington Special Education Parent Advisory Council and Burlington English Learner Parental Advisory Council for input, Chen said. Each council consists of parents and caregivers from each group (children with disabilities and multilingual children). The two curricula were also shared with families who joined the district for the Literacy Curriculum Review Night in December.

    Out of this process, Amplify CKLA for K-5 emerged as the chosen curriculum.

    A Focus on Cross-Curricular Connections

    The new curriculum aims to blend the fundamentals of phonics and learning to read with rigorous texts linked not only to English Language Arts learning goals but to science and social studies as well, said Sean Musselman, the district’s K-5 science and social studies specialist. It also adds more writing, said Chen. 

    “The program really works to build background knowledge through the reading of rich texts, sequential lessons, and there’s history, geography, science, literature, all embedded into the program,” said Interim K-8 Literacy Coordinator Bonnie Nichols.

    Kerri Lamprey, Director of English Learner Education at Burlington Public Schools, and other Burlington educators and administrators visited Lawrence Public Schools, a district that uses the Amplify CKLA curriculum. Because the schools there have a more consistent curriculum, she said, more English learner students are meeting state testing target scores and more English learner students are rapidly progressing toward proficiency. 

    “Imagine if you’re learning about animal habitats in science and then all of a sudden you go over to ELA and you’re talking about the Revolutionary War,” Lamprey said. “As an English learner, it’s like, ‘Whoa, I just learned vocabulary over here about habitats, but I can’t apply it here, so I’m not practicing it.’”

    The program is more vertically aligned, meaning certain skills and content will be taught and built on each year, Musselman said. For example, students will learn about Indigenous communities at the kindergarten level, and then that topic will come up again in later grades, he said.

    In grades K-3, 90 minutes are now blocked out for English-Language arts (ELA) learning and around 30 minutes for science and social studies, Musselman said. Because the new curriculum integrates science and social studies texts, a 30-minute block will be added to the ELA specific time, so K-3 students will have a total of two hours of ELA instruction each day, into which science and social studies standards are embedded. There will also be an additional 40 minutes for science, social studies or social emotional learning once a week during the schools’ intervention block, Chen said. Fourth and fifth graders will still have a total of 90 minutes of ELA instruction each day and a standalone science or social studies block.

    In addition, eight early release days for the elementary schools in the 2025-26 school year will allow teachers 2.5 hours for curriculum work, Chen said. 

    Chen said she and Nichols are working on building the implementation team that will help make the process of integrating the new curriculum as smooth as possible, with representatives from all grade levels and schools. 

    Adding New Math Pathways

    For the 2025-26 school year, two new classes will be available at the middle school level: one condensed math class for 7th graders that teaches all of the grade 7 and grade 8 standards, and an 8th grade class that integrates grade 8 and Algebra I standards, Chen said.

    The math department has long been a topic of conversation at School Committee meetings and on social media, as frustrated parents have expressed displeasure at the rigid math pathways and the rigor of the high school classes. The new classes allow for greater equity, giving students the chance to take more advanced classes, Chen said, adding, “Our data showed us that we’ve got students who are very talented who could have more challenge at the middle school.”

    With the current classes, students really only have one way to get to the higher-level math classes in high school, Chen said. The new classes will allow students to have more flexibility with picking math classes.

    “We don’t want tracks,” Chen said. “We want pathways for students.”

    Reviewing the Math Curriculum

    At the same time as the literacy review, math consultant Kateri Thunder came in to help review the math curriculum for PreK-12, Chen said. Chen and the committee wanted to ensure more access for all students who wanted to take higher-level math courses in high school without having to skip essential courses or double up on math classes.

    A math committee similar to the literacy committee was formed, and after the team set out the district’s priorities, Seeta Durvasula, an instructional coach at Marshall Simonds Middle School, worked with Thunder and the middle school’s math curriculum coordinator to figure out how to match the instructional units with state standards and examine how students are prepared to transition from middle to high school, Durvasula said.

    The committee brought teachers into the process to get their perspectives, Durvasula said. Because there is such variation in prior knowledge, the sixth-grade teachers have to spend time figuring out what the students know already.

    This work is ongoing, but the two new integrated math courses will launch this fall.

    What’s next?

    Assuming Town Meeting approves the funding for the literacy curriculum this month, Chen said the plan for the 2026-27 school year is to implement the new literacy curriculum at the elementary school level.

    Funding for the math curriculum review was already approved by Town Meeting, and the implementation of the two new courses isn’t on the Warrant for May Town Meeting – though currently the math review committee is seeking a textbook. Eventually, the plan is to add a pure high school-level algebra class for eighth graders.

    “We want to keep the students at the focus of everything,” said Dr. Chen. “It’s just very exciting when students can see themselves in the curriculum.”

  • Burlington Figure Skater to Represent the Area Internationally with Lexettes

    The ice skate blades made a crisp whoosh as they sliced across the ice and her purple skirt fluttered behind her. Burlington High School junior Lily Mansfield and her 15 teammates glided across the arena in unison, their smooth motions creating a beautifully flowing visual.

    The Ice Mates, Mansfield’s synchronized skating team, placed second in the Novice Free Skate 2025 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship on March 1, earning a 99.25 score, according to the U.S. figure skating website.

    Mansfield is moving up to the junior-level team, the Lexettes, for the 2025-26 season that begins in the fall, said Elizabeth Monaco, Mansfield’s mom. The Lexettes, a synchronized skating team run by Hayden Synchronized Skating in Lexington, competes nationally and internationally at the second-highest level of figure skating, according to the company’s website. Hayden’s skaters come from around the region, and some from other states and other countries.

    Mansfield’s success as a figure skater is a result not of only natural talent but of hard work, dedication and passion. 

    “She wouldn’t have come this far if she didn’t just love it,” Monaco said.

    Mansfield, 16, has been figure skating since she was 5, said Monaco, who has figure skating experience herself and introduced her daughter to it. Mansfield spent a year learning how to skate in California before she and her family moved to Burlington in 2014, Monaco said. 

    “She was a little unsure at first, but it didn’t take very long for her to just pick it up,” Monaco said.

    When she got to Burlington at the age of 6, she started skating with the Burlington Hockey and Skating Association and learned the fundamentals through completing all of its levels from first to fifth grade, Monaco said. Mansfield still skates with BHSA as a graduate of its skate program and sometimes volunteers to help teach skating lessons on Saturdays if she has the time.

    Mansfield started synchronized skating in 2019 after her private coach Christina Welch recommended it, said Welch, who has been a professional skating coach since 1987 and is the head coach for the BHSA figure skating program.

    Mansfield has known Welch most of her skating career. She has several additional coaches now, including Hayden’s synchronized skating coaches, and a dance coach and jump coach, who are friends with Welch, Mansfield said.

    Her passion is evident not just from her smile when she’s skating but from her commitment to it, Monaco said.

    “I have not seen many other kids that will voluntarily get up at 5 in the morning,” Monaco said. “She’ll put a practice session at 6 a.m. on the calendar, and she won’t even say anything to us, her parents.”

    She has both team and individual practices and skates three to four hours a day, almost every day of the week, usually taking Sunday off as a mental break, Mansfield said.

    She’s always exhibited a sense of fearlessness when learning a new skill, and if she wasn’t happy with how it turned out, she would ask why and how to make it better, Welch said. “She shows up to each lesson completely enthusiastic, ready to learn and practice what she already knows.”

    Mansfield is a “lefty” skater, so she is proud to be able to do a lot of “righty” things easily because it doesn’t come naturally, she said. 

    When Welch was teaching her how to stop, Welch said she noticed Mansfield had trouble stopping on her right side, the side most children would stop on. That meant she had the direction she was more comfortable with (left), but she also had to learn to do skills and skate in the opposite direction when she skated with other kids, Welch said.

    “She has a stronger skill set than a typical, average skater,” Welch said.

    However, figure skating is not Mansfield’s sole focus. 

    Mansfield puts school first, and people sometimes describe her as a “brainiac,” she said. When she has the time, Mansfield is involved with a number of Burlington High School clubs, including the girls’ STEM program, the National Honors Society and National English Honor Society, and stage crew in this year’s musical at BHS, she said.

    While she wants to continue to skate in college, Mansfield said she wants to put academics first. She hopes ice skating will be available at whatever college she attends, whether through a club or collegiate competition.

    Mansfield said loves the feeling when she’s skating because it is so rich and different from the other things in her life. 

    “When you’re skating, you have wind pushing on you,” Mansfield said. “You’re just free on the ice.”

    Burlington Figure Skater to Represent the Area Internationally with Lexettes

    Photo courtesy Elizabeth Monaco

  • Burlington Players Bring ‘Fun Home’ Musical to Life with Powerful Storytelling and “Queer Joy”

    The Burlington Players’ production of Fun Home opens May 2, exploring family, memory, and queer identity through music, love, and reflection.

    The cast of Fun Home rehearses ahead of the musical’s opening.

    Three vocal parts drift through the auditorium over a piano’s uplifting melody, blending into one rich harmony. The show is Fun Home, and the cast and crew are preparing for opening night on May 2.

    Fun Home focuses on main character Alison Bechdel, who relives two important periods of her life (around ages 10 and 19) while going through memorabilia after her father dies, and sees herself and her parents in a new light.

    The play, a musical of self-exploration based on Bechdel’s graphic memoir, explores themes that are applicable not only to the queer community but to a broader audience as well. The musical illustrates how the relationship between a child and parents changes over time — and the understanding that comes with looking back at the past while grappling with questions left unanswered after a loved one dies.

    “Fun Home is often called a tragic comedy,” said Shira Gitlin, the show’s director. “There are moments of beautiful, queer joy. There are moments of really thoughtful reflection.”

    April 19 marks the 10th anniversary of the musical’s official opening on Broadway. Fun Home, which opened two months before a Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage in the United States, was the first queer narrative Gitlin saw on Broadway, they said.

    The Burlington Players, an adult volunteer theater group, asked a year ago if Gitlin wanted to direct this show, and Gitlin instantly agreed. Gitlin, who identifies as queer and nonbinary, works as a freelance theater artist and has been involved with theater companies along the East Coast; they and do work with DEI and gender inclusion training around transgender identity.

    Gitlin and actor Adam Sell, who plays Alison’s father, Bruce, said they knew this cast was special from the first read-through. When everyone sat in a big circle and sang through the songs for the first time, it was evident that everyone brought passion and intimacy to the show, Sell said.

    “It really gave me a ton of confidence that this is going to be a special production,” Sell said. “And that’s rare.”

    This is Sell’s second show with the Burlington Players, but he has worked with around 30 theater companies in Massachusetts, acting in around 50 productions over the past 18 years, he said. Outside of theater, Sell works in research for HUMAN Security, a cybersecurity company.

    The show features contemporary musical theater music, with a mix of pop, rock and classic belting, Gitlin said. Some cast members described the music as “free form,” ranging from poignant songs to upbeat “bops.”

    “There’s a lot of motifs that come up over and over again,” said Ari Schmidt, who plays adult Alison. “I think it aids in Alison remembering memories.” 

    This is Schmidt’s second time playing the adult version of Alison, having played the character in Firehouse Center for the Arts’ production of Fun Home in 2023, they said. Schmidt said their girlfriend Lily played the character Joan alongside them in the Firehouse production, and the experience strengthened their relationship. 

    In the Burlington Players production, Schmidt said, the emotional connection to the show is still there, but Schmidt is acting more intentionally this time, especially with physicality and reactions. Because this musical is based on the real Alison Bechdel, Schmidt said they watched interviews of Bechdel to study mannerisms that could aid in their performance. 

    The show is for everyone, say the Burlington Players, whether they are a part of the queer community or not. 

    Many people have complex relationships with their parents, said Gitlin, and Sell said the musical explores the theme of “not understanding your parents as actual humans” until they’re gone.

    Co-stage manager Chiara Buchanan said she loves the show because it tells a story about imperfect characters. 

    “You can be flawed just like anybody else and still be worth love and attention and care and respect,” Buchanan said.

    The last couple of months have been challenging for many people, especially with rhetoric suggesting the transgender community should “go away,” Gitlin said. And that, they said, is why the show is as important as ever.

    The show runs at the Park Playhouse, 1 Edgemere Ave., from May 2 to 17 for nine performances. Tickets are $25 ($23 for students and seniors).

  • Burlington to Launch Pop-Up Art Gallery on Wheels to Showcase Local Creativity

    Burlington to Launch Pop-Up Art Gallery on Wheels to Showcase Local Creativity

    The Burlington Micro Gallery will be opening in the coming weeks

    In a fusion of creativity and community, one Burlington artist is transforming a humble cargo trailer into a solar-powered mobile art gallery—bringing pop-up exhibits and local talent to all of Burlington.

    This $55,000 project – which has added windows, hardwood flooring and lighting to the trailer – is largely financed by state funding that covers other initiatives, such as the Burlington Town Center Mural on the exterior wall of 202 Cambridge St., said Melisa Tintocalis, Burlington’s Economic Development Director. 

    “We’re trying to tap in more to the artistic, creative veins of Burlington, and so we were looking at trying to do more public art,” Tintocalis said. 

    Catherine LeComte-Lecce, a local photographer and mixed media artist, is overseeing the town-owned project. She said she came up with the idea for a mobile art space in graduate school and pitched the idea to Tintocalis a year and a half later. 

    LeComte-Lecce said she bought the trailer for $13,000 last October and met with the contractor, Andrew Magera from Modern Edge Contracting, almost every week during the renovation. She said she also worked with Jesse Graver from Graver Electric and designed the 16-by-2-foot solar powered sign made by FastSigns, a Woburn company. 

    Solar panels were installed on the trailer so it can be powered by renewable energy and be “off the grid,” Tintocalis said. Three large windows on one side of the trailer allow visitors to see the art inside even when the gallery is closed, LeComte-Lecce said.

    LeComte-Lecce, who grew up in a low-income household, said it is important to her that everyone has access to art. The first time she was able to enter a museum was on a school-funded trip in high school. 

    “That was my first time in a museum, and I absolutely loved it, but I felt pretty out of place coming from the economic background that I did,” LeComte-Lecce said. “I guess I had a mindset that the arts weren’t for me because I couldn’t afford them.”

    LeComte-Lecce said she is planning the next six months of programming and is in the process of getting artwork from a popular local artist to exhibit. She said she is also planning a collaboration with the Burlington High School art teachers to feature student work. 

    “I’m going to switch between showcasing local artists, [including] some Burlington artists,” LeComte-Lecce said. “And then I’m going to expand it to also include more regional artists because I’d like to really establish the space as like a professional gallery setting but still also have community projects and community involvement.”

    The artist, whose name has not yet been released, said she is excited about this gallery especially in a community that does not have much of an art scene. Her art consists of  soft-form paintings that use stuffed canvas frames instead of traditional frames; she said people have described her artwork as “blur[ring] the boundaries of painting, sculpture and installation.” 

    Because of the delicate nature of her artwork, the artist said she is happy to get the chance to be involved in a public art project that is indoors where she does not have to worry about using weatherproof materials. She said she thinks it is wonderful that the town of Burlington is supporting this project and hopes that it will inspire surrounding towns to replicate it.

    “Art enriches lives, and it’s also a universal language,” said the artist.

    For LeComte-Lecce, art is not only a tool for change and empowerment but also an outlet for emotional regulation and creative exploration. 

    After the sudden death of her father when she was 14, LeComte-Lecce said she developed depression and ended up dropping out of high school. However, after a call from a guidance counselor, LeComte-Lecce said she enrolled in a mail-in photography class, used her father’s camera, and earned enough credits to return to high school and graduate. 

    “So in a way, and with the help of the counselor, art sort of saved my life,” LeComte-Lecce said. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if I didn’t re-enter school through the arts and have that opportunity to be able to express myself in a new way where I feel like I didn’t fit into a traditional environment.”

    The gallery-on-wheels is more than a physical space—it’s a symbol of accessibility, resilience, and hope. As it rolls into local businesses and schools, it carries not just local art, but a reminder that creativity belongs to everyone. For LeComte-Lecce, this project is not just a dream realized—it’s a chance to pay forward the life-changing power of art.

    The Micro Gallery is expected to open with its first exhibit in the coming weeks.

    This story is part of a partnership between Burlington Buzz and the Boston University Department of Journalism

  • Upgrades Underway for “Tower Records” Plaza

    The property many know as the “Tower Records plaza” is getting a much-awaited refresh.

    Brixmor, the company that owns the shopping center officially named Burlington Square, is bringing in several new businesses and upgrading the shopping center’s outdoor spaces as part of its ongoing redevelopment plan.

    Among the tenants coming in are Tatté Bakery & Café, Life Alive Organic Café, YogaSix and [solidcore], a Pilates-inspired studio, said Marc Newman, Vice President of Redevelopment at Brixmor. Newman said he thinks the new businesses will open on a staggered schedule, starting late summer and continuing through the end of the year.

    The $8.5 million redevelopment of Burlington Square I, II, and III  includes “cosmetic” renovations such as updates to storefronts, a new patio in front of Tatté, and more sidewalks and pedestrian paths to integrate the Square with the neighborhood. The property needed updates as a result of natural wear and tear, said Newman; the goal is to retain tenants, accommodate new retailers, and attract future businesses. 

    “It’s going to be just an overall refresh,” Newman said. The renovations, which started last December, will hopefully be completed by the end of the year.

    This renovation helped prompt Life Alive Organic Café to open a new location in Burlington, said Bryan Timko, CEO of the restaurant chain, who hopes to open their Burlington location late this summer.

    “It’s very exciting for us. Burlington, in particular–it’s a great community,” Timko said. “It is also filled with small- and medium-size businesses, and there are just thousands and thousands of people who work in the Burlington area.”

    The retail side of Burlington is “really hopping,” Timko said, with the Burlington Mall being one of the few malls in the country that is still vibrant. There are a lot of people in Burlington “during the day for work, the night for dinner, and the weekends for shopping,” he said, adding that he hopes the 4,000-square-foot space becomes a local “gathering place.”

    “A lot of restaurants these days are trying to shrink their spaces a lot,” Timko said. “They want to get you in, run you through the line like a cafeteria, and they want to get you out.”

    While Burlington Square is in “the heart of the Burlington retail corridor” across from the Burlington Mall, Newman said, the space has presented some challenges. It is in a flood plain next to wetlands, and the parking lot has been flooded intermittently in recent years. 

    “We had spent considerable money and resources trying to identify the source of the flooding and solve for it,” Newman said. 

    Brixmor ultimately decided to lift up a portion of the parking lot so that it’s higher than the waterway that the shopping center drains into, Newman said. That construction started last fall.

    Cameron Hayward, store manager at Lacrosse Unlimited, said he has seen people hydroplane in the parking lot. He said he also noticed a major pothole – about 3 feet wide and a foot deep – that has since been filled in. 

    Hayward and John Lordan, the store manager of Title Boxing Club, said there are plans for light renovations to their storefronts including painting and new signage, but their day-to-day activities have not been impacted. 

    Lee Samnang, manager of The UPS Store, said the renovations have sped up in the past two months. The drilling and pounding noises from the construction have made it difficult to speak with customers at times, he said.

    “We try to apologize before they say something and explain that construction is going on,” Samnang said. “Sometimes we need to be yelling and screaming with the customers because otherwise we don’t hear each other.” 

    Despite the momentary inconvenience, Samnang said he is looking forward to the project being finished and hopes that the space will be better next year.

    “We’re really excited for when this is complete,” Newman said. “We think it’s going to be a real breath of fresh air for the area and property.” 

    This story is part of a partnership between Burlington Buzz and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

    Burlington Square is undergoing some cosmetic improvements this spring.

  • Burlington Police Officers Look Forward to New Station

    As Burlington approaches breaking ground on a new police station, officers look ahead to a modern building that will better support operations.

    Discolored patches cover spots on the ceiling. Bubbled-up paint coats parts of the wall. Plastic wrap is taped over windows. Areas of the floor crackle when stepped on. 

    The building that now houses the department – the former Union School – has been updated throughout the years, with things like new windows and roof shingles, but it suffers from damage, sits on the original foundation poured in 1897, and wasn’t designed for police use. 

    Burlington police officers say a new police station is sorely needed, and funding for one was approved by Town Meeting. Officers hope the layout and updated equipment in the future $46-million station will improve comfort and efficiency — and that their workplace will smell better.

    The existing building will be demolished, but the police department is working with the Historical Commission to preserve some parts, such as roof boards and beams, to be used in the new station or other town properties, said Police Chief Thomas Browne.

    Browne, who has worked in the building for almost 25 years, said the renovations are long overdue. 

    Water damage from roof to floor has crept through the structure over the years, and the air conditioning and heating system is inadequate, Browne said. There is mold throughout the building, including in the vents, and it gets on police uniforms in the lockers, Browne said, though he said the mold has been tested and is not the “unhealthy” kind.

    “There’s a lot of deterioration in the building,” Browne said. “It just hasn’t been kept up to the point where it’s salvageable.”

    Detective Sergeant James Hanafin, who has worked at the station since 2011, said there have been frequent problems with the sewage system, causing the entire first floor to smell like a sewer. The odor makes it unpleasant for residents who come in to discuss crimes or incidents, added Browne.

    “That entire area where the holding cells are would smell like a used bathroom, and that’s just not fair for the prisoners even,” Hanafin said. “And Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts come for tours, so it’s not just us.” In addition, the current lobby is “very dank,” according to Browne, and he hopes the new building will be more welcoming as residents walk through the doors. 

    The officers are looking forward to having more space too, Browne said. At 36,000 square feet, the new station will be over 30% larger than the current one. The new layout will allow the department to make better use of the space, as well, Browne said. For instance, detectives – who are currently spaced out in different parts of the station – will all be in the same area. Hanafin said he hopes to have a more efficient system for storing evidence, which is now kept in several different areas of the building.

    Devin Neal, a Burlington patrol officer for three years, said he is excited about the new station, especially with the hope of improving equipment and amenities, such as getting an updated dispatch center, gun range and training room.

    “[Training] amongst our police department, and how other police departments come in and train, is really a top priority,” Neal said. “Especially if citizens want Burlington police to be the top of the line, which I believe we are now, but it only helps us grow.”

    The police department will temporarily operate out of the former water treatment plant at Vine Brook, 171 Middlesex Turnpike, which is currently undergoing renovations – such as pulling out piping and water tanks and putting in office space – so it can be used as a police station, Browne said.

    Despite working out of tighter quarters in the temporary space, the department will still function at top capacity, he said.

    “Every person here, regardless of their rank or position, understands that we’re going to be uncomfortable for a couple years in order to be very comfortable in the end,” Browne said.

    One important detail is that the temporary station does not have holding cells, so the department will likely use the Lexington police station for booking and holding inmates, Hanafin said.

    Browne said he hopes the move to the temporary station will take only a couple of days, and there will be no disruption in officers’ ability to respond to 911 calls. 

    The community’s response has been “absolutely awesome,” Browne said, and the Town Meeting members and residents he has spoken to are supportive of the project. 

    “I’ve been very open and transparent about giving tours and letting people come in and making their own decision,” Browne said. “But I think when you speak to the personnel that work in here every day and you’re hearing the same thing from every one of them, it just makes sense that this is a time to cut your losses.”

    The Department will be moving to their temporary location during the summer; construction on the new facility is scheduled to start in August and finish two years later. 

    This story is part of a partnership between Burlington Buzz and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

  • Art on the Move: Burlington Selects Temporary Home for Sculptures

    The Sculpture Park paved the way for public art in Burlington. Now it needs a temporary home.
    The Burlington Sculpture Park will be spreading out along Center Street while the police station is being renovated.

    The Sculpture Park, currently located in the field between the Burlington Police Station and Grandview Farm, opened in 2020 and hosts three sculptural benches and 11 sculptures, two of which sit on the corner of the Town Common across from the Sculpture Park. The town owns six of the sculptures and leases the other five, said Jonathan Sachs, the park’s founder.

    Three of the sculptures were purchased and three were donated, and most of the sculptors are from Massachusetts or New England. L’Heureux said the total value of the sculptures is $123,500, but they cost the town much less: The committee purchased one for $9,000 using funds allocated by the Town Meeting and another for $7,000 using funds raised from last summer’s Pigs on Parade event.

    The sculpture Global Warming, a pair of yellow cherries with a map of the world etched into them, was made and leased to Burlington by a Ukrainian artist but could not be returned once the war broke out, Sachs said. The committee raised $14,000 in donations to buy the sculpture and sent the money to the artist in Ukraine.

    One work, depicting two cardinals on top of a heart, was commissioned and donated by Maureen Wall in honor of her parents.

    Other pieces in the park take the shapes of a dragonfly, a dragon, a dog, a woman with a child, and more abstract designs. The sculptures are of varying sizes and made of different materials, though most of them are made of steel. 

    Pigs on Parade Brought Visibility and Whimsy to the Burlington Public Arts Scene

    Many Burlington residents do not know the Sculpture Park exists, because it feels tucked away, L’Heureux said, but everyone she talks to knows about the Pigs on Parade project last summer.

    The committee purchased 16 white resin pigs, and Burlington companies and residents sponsored and painted them, Sachs said. The pigs stayed on the Town Common for the summer and have since moved to locations around Burlington.

    The pigs project had multiple goals, such as raising money for the park, providing fun for the community and enlivening the area, L’Heureux said. The town also tested whether any problems would arise, such as damage to the sculptures, she said.

    “It was incredibly successful because we had crowds of people for the event when we first unveiled them,” L’Heureux said. “But then afterwards, every time I drove by the Common I saw people there, people with their kids, people with their grandparents, people having their dogs pose with the pigs.”

    The Burlington Sculpture Park features a variety of different kinds of sculptures.

    Making Way for a New Police Station

    The pigs have found their forever homes, but the rest of Burlington’s  sculptures will need a temporary location for two years while the police station is demolished and rebuilt. 

    The Public Arts Committee, formerly known as the Sculpture Park Committee, presented two options at the February 10 Select Board meeting. Barbara L’Heureux, chair of the Public Arts Committee and Planning Board member, said one option is to put four sculptures on the Town Common — two on the Cambridge Street side and two on the Center Street side — and five sculptures across the street in front of the municipal buildings. Another option would place all nine sculptures along the edges of the Town Common. The committee has also considered putting the sculptures at 61 Center Street, where the Senior Center and Recreation Department are located, but does not prefer this location because it is even more “out of the way,” L’Heureux said.

    At a follow-up meeting on March 10, several more potential layouts were presented, including the east side of the Common near the bandstand and various walkway configurations. L’Heureux expressed the committee’s flexibility, saying they’d be satisfied with any of the options and are ready to implement whatever the board decides.

    Board members had differing views on the best approach. Nick Priest worried about clustering the sculptures, saying it might decrease usability of public space. Sarah Cawley and Jim Tigges say they’ve heard strong community support for moving the sculptures to the Common, citing 75-85% of communication they’ve received has been in support of the move.

    Mike Espejo, however, said he prefers to keep the Common as is. “Some people are very protective of our Common and want to keep it the same and keep it as a kind of sacred space,” Espejo said on February 10. “And with the pigs, the difference was that it was a few months. We’re talking a few years here.” Joe Morandi agreed, adding that most people who reached out to him said they didn’t want the sculptures moving to the Common.

    In a 3-2 vote, the board approved a temporary move to an area near the Center Street-Bedford Street intersection, potentially extending to both sides of Center Street. The final placement will be decided in collaboration with the Recreation Department at a future meeting, with an eye toward ensuring pedestrian safety and the maneuverability of equipment around the sculptures.

    Expanding Public Art in Burlington

    The Public Arts Committee recently decided to change its name to reflect the broader goals of the committee to include other art projects beyond sculptures, L’Heureux said.

    “We intend to continue with the Sculpture Park and put just as much effort in it as we always have,” L’Heureux said. “But we’d like to expand outside of that, and some of the things that we’d like to consider doing in the future are things like murals and painting painted electrical boxes.”

    The committee has collaborated with the New England Sculpture Association, which helped guide members through the process because most of them had no professional art experience, L’Heureux said.

    Despite the upcoming relocation, the committee hopes the Sculpture Park will become a permanent fixture because there has been a “tremendous response from the people in Burlington, from both the residents and businesses,” L’Heureux said.

    Bob Buckley, the Public Arts Committee business representative, said while he and Sachs have had clashing views in the past over certain economic development projects, they came together to make the Sculpture Park happen. 

    Buckley said the art scene in Burlington benefits the town because it makes it a more desirable, engaging place to live, which attracts more businesses.

    The Nordblom Company, which owns the 3rd Ave development in Burlington, has gone from supporting the Sculpture Park — giving the committee its first donation to get the park started — to starting its own outdoor art program, L’Heureux said.

    Todd Fremont-Smith, Nordblom’s senior vice president of development, said the company started its art program in partnership with the New England Sculpture Association a couple of years after the Sculpture Park opened. The company is spending $25,000 a year to buy and install art in and around 3rd Ave.

    “I think that the art adds texture and cultural depth to the park,” Fremont-Smith said. “It makes it more authentic.”

    Regardless of where the sculptures end up for the next two years, it is clear that the public art scene in Burlington is expanding, adding character and visual appeal to the town.

    This story is part of a partnership between Burlington Buzz and the Boston University Department of Journalism.