Tag: parents

  • For 60 Years, Hill House Remains a Hub of Beacon Hill

    Several families engage their children in athletic programs, such as indoor tennis, during the winter. Photo by Ryan Owens.

    Little footsteps patter across the hardwood floor, while instructors and volunteers attempt to get everyone in line. Toddlers yell with excitement, interrupted by the occasional anxious cry-turned-laughter.

    This is the regular symphony at Hill House, a nonprofit Beacon Hill community center that serves families throughout the downtown Boston area. Founded in 1966, Hill House – whose slogan is “Your backyard in the city” – has been providing families, particularly their children, with physical and intellectual enrichment through a variety of activities and weekly programs.

    “We were founded 60 years ago by the Beacon Hill Civic Association,” said the center’s chief executive officer, Katherine Snider.

    The association was a group of families concerned about their neighbors moving to the suburbs and abandoning downtown.

    “This group of parents said, ‘How are we going to make Boston more livable for families? What do we need to do?’” Snider explained.

    Hill House began at 74 Joy St., but the demand and needs from families continued to grow. The organization later expanded to 127 Mount Vernon St, a former firehouse near the Boston Public Garden where the main operations currently take place.

    Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sold the building to Hill House for a single dollar, and a group of families came together to have the former firehouse undertake the necessary renovations to make it safe for children.

    Jamie Kelly, programs director, said Hill House provides an opportunity for her to pursue a lifelong passion.

    “I have always enjoyed working with children, and I thought I would be a teacher at one point,” Kelly said. “Then I was looking to relocate to Boston, and Hill House is just an outstanding organization that really drew me in.”

    “I realized that there’s so much that I can learn and so much that I can give, and it’s been that way ever since,” Kelly said.

    Diana Fabbrucci, a South End parent of two and recent board member, said Hill House gives her ease of mind that her children will be in good hands.

    “I’m a very overprotective parent,” Fabbrucci said.  “[Hill House] is a safe place. There are no other adults in the building. That …makes me feel really comfortable.”

    From ninja warrior training to painting and from Dungeons and Dragons games to cooking, HIll House offers an array of programs and activities six days a week.

    Most of HIll House’s programs are designed for younger participants, particularly those anywhere between age 3 and 12. However, there are also programs targeting seniors and other groups, such as expecting and new mothers.

    Hill House has thrived through multiple generations. People who start as children become volunteers and then parents who bring their children to Hill House to engage in the same community that they once did. It’s “my community,’’ Fabbrucci explained.

    “I feel like I am part of the organization because I’m so invested and my kids are doing so many of their programs,” Fabbrucci said.

    People who use the center grow up familiar with Hill House’s mantra – give back to the community.

    “It’s a partnership,” Kelly said. “It’s families turning to us for something…and then they’re on our soccer field next week.”

    “A lot of families that will be part of those programs have lots of means,” Fabbrucci said. “They will be part of the programs, but they also will contribute to Hill House so that they can make programming accessible for everyone.”

    Hill House offers a scholarship fund for individual families and people from underserved communities, the officials said. It also promotes volunteer opportunities on its website.

    Snider said the center’s next focus will be on locating space to facilitate new programs and finding capital supporters to fund the project and maintain the buildings.

    On a recent day this month, several parents and children took refuge from the cold to test their swings in indoor tennis.

    In another area of the building, other children could be seen huddling with an instructor as they tapped into their artistic abilities, such as sketching, painting and crafting.

    Fabbrucci said that being at the Hill House is a “wonderful feeling.”

    “I’d hope it lasts for another 60 years,” Fabbrucci said of the center.

  • Jim Murphy wants to bring educators’ voices to School Committee

    After spending nearly four decades in classrooms and school offices, Jim Murphy says it’s time educators had a loud voice in the policies that shape Newton Public Schools.

    Murphy, 64, a retired teacher and administrator, is running for the Ward 8 seat on the Newton School Committee with a clear mission: repair relationships and increase transparency.

    In the past five years, Newton schools have endured the pandemic, a teacher’s strike and a budget crisis, leaving the community divided on the path forward. Tensions remain high between educators and district leadership. As an educator and school administrator for 38 years, Murphy said his perspective is exactly what the school committee has been missing. 

    “There’s this silly idea that an educator on a school board is somehow a conflict of interest,” Murphy said. “It’s important to have the voices of people who have done that work and know what it looks like.” 

    With Amy Davenport no longer on the Newton School Committee, the board has no former educators among its members. Davenport, a former teacher and high school principal, was elected in Ward 7 in 2023 but stepped down in September 2024.

    Murphy has faced criticism that his background in education could make him biased toward teachers. He firmly rejects that claim.

    “The school committee in Newton needs educators,” he said. “My experience as both a teacher and administrator gives me insight into how policy becomes something in the classroom.” 

    From attending parent-teacher meetings to managing budgets and evaluating curriculum as a department director, Murphy said he has learned how to bridge competing interests. 

    Murphy started his career teaching at an alternative school in Dorchester and finished as the grades 6-12 social studies director in Weymouth. He’s introduced debate teams, coached softball, and sat through countless parent-teacher conferences and budget meetings. Through it all, he said, he’s learned to bridge competing interests.

    He earned a bachelor’s degree in social thought and political economy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in teaching and curriculum from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Murphy is continuing his education as a PhD candidate in the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at UMass Boston, working on his dissertation in civic education in Massachusetts. 

    Originally from Weymouth, Murphy has roots in the Boston area that go back generations. He’s been a Newton resident for 18 years, living with his wife, a lifelong Newton resident. While the couple doesn’t have children, Murphy says his commitment to education stems from decades of working with students and families.

    After dedicating most of his life to teaching and learning about the education system, Murphy said running for the Newton School Committee felt like an obvious next step.

    “I continue to have a strong belief that people need to be involved in their communities,” Murphy said, “so I spent a long time teaching people that’s what they should be doing. In retirement, I wanted to continue to walk the walk.” 

    Budget breakdown

    While he knew he would eventually run, recent backlash to Newton’s fiscal 2026 budget inspired Murphy to take action. “The budget allocated by the mayor’s office would require layoffs and stalling programs that were beginning to show success,” Murphy said. “And the current school committee wasn’t pushing back.”

    ”There needs to be a true accounting of what it means to be educating kids,” he said. Murphy knows how many important costs get missed in the school budget. For example, he said, every school has a nurse, but money to pay for nurses isn’t included in the official budget.

    “The first thing about budgeting is better transparency,” Murphy said. “What money is available, and where is money needed? We need truer figures instead of pretending certain costs don’t exist and allocating future budgets based on that.” 

    Vision for reform

    In 2023, Newton Public Schools introduced the “Portrait of a Graduate” initiative, emphasizing core values the community wants to see in students. This student is adaptable, with strong critical thinking skills, a learner’s mindset and empathy. 

    And according to Murphy, this student can’t exist under Newton’s current education system. “It does not match up,” he said. 

    “This is not just a Newton issue; education has long needed some changes,” Murphy said. “We are still trying to make a 19th-century education system work in the 21st.” 

    If elected, Murphy said, he would focus on curriculum reform that includes broad input from parents, administrators, committee members and teachers. 

    “Top of the agenda is repairing these relationships,” Murphy said. “We need to get back to the place where everybody’s on the same team.”