Tufts on Feb. 26 was given the Outstanding Community Partner Award by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) for its ongoing partnership with Medford public schools.
The award honors Tufts' involvement with the Medford school district, and the many community involvement initiatives spearheaded by the university.
Medford Public Schools District Superintendent Roy Belson presented the award at the eighth annual Presidential Symposium, which annually brings together community partners and Tufts personnel to strengthen town−gown relationships.
"Medford schools have been great beneficiaries of everything Tufts has done," Belson said at the event, as quoted in The Boston Globe. "We're deeply indebted to the university in so many ways."
This year's symposium, entitled the "Presidential Symposium on Community Engaged Research," gathered approximately 100 Tufts and community representatives to discuss community−based research.
This focus was motivated by the increasing recognition of the importance of community input to ensuring that research conducted is successful at having an extensive impact on the public. There was a roundtable discussion and opportunities for networking.
At the event, University President Lawrence Bacow pointed out that Tufts was never intended to be a bubble.
Belson and Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn nominated the university for the award.
The award is given based on a long−term relationship with public schools, according to Glenn Koocher, executive director of MASC.
"We recognize a school that has provided meaningful, sustained and valued support for the public schools," Koocher said.
Koocher explained that the recognition is not often awarded to a university, making the honor even more remarkable.
"We recognized Amherst College six years ago," Koocher said. "It is rare that a college is recognized, but Tufts has a history of supporting Medford."
Belson in presenting the award cited programs such as the Leonard Carmichael Society's Kids to College initiative and Tufts Literacy Corps (TLC) as programs from Tufts that enhance the lives of many Medford public school students.
Kids to College attaches volunteers to local sixth grade classrooms to motivate high schoolers and teach them how to start preparing for college. TLC is a tutoring organization for children in Medford and Somerville that also runs innovative programs to support child development.
"The work TLC does is worth recognition," freshman Angel Thompson, a former TLC employee, said. "They are relentless in helping these kids realize their full potentials.
Thompson believes that the high school students benefit from the chemistry with college volunteers.
"The Medford district does a great job with the students, but I think they respond extremely positively to our presence," Thompson said. "We are the same age as some of their siblings. We are not as daunting as teachers can sometimes appear."
Thompson expressed her excitement that Tufts garnered this honor. "It is excellent that Massachusetts recognizes how hard Tufts works, how committed we are to improvement," she said.
Other Tufts initiatives highlighted at the symposium include a partnership with the Brazilian Women's Group to establish a cooperative for Brazilian housecleaners that supports healthy work habits. Tufts faculty and students have also recently worked with the Welcome Project, an organization that seeks to empower immigrant communities, on an oral history and photography project.
Shape Up Somerville, a healthy living program that originated from Tufts research, has also recently taken the national stage for its success at tackling youth obesity.
Freshman Marian Younge, who attended the Presidential Symposium, highlighted Tufts' commitment to serving the university's partner and host communities.
"What drew me to Tufts at the beginning was how involved and invested the university is in the community," Younge said. "It is not as if we are just a campus sitting in a city, minding our own business and thinking big thoughts in solitude. We are the community."
Younge also noted the long−term impact of the university's involvement with children in the community.
"By setting examples like this as a university, we are setting examples for kids in Medford," she said.
