The City of Everett and Everett Public Schools are set to receive an “Inclusion Community Award” from Triangle, a disability-services nonprofit, for a group employment program that puts Triangle participants to work cleaning school buildings.
That is the actual substance here. Not a vague celebration of “inclusion.” A paid work arrangement.
According to material provided to the Everett Independent, Triangle says four program participants work three days per week “as a team to clean up school buildings, earning a paycheck while they build their employment skills.” In a city where plenty of official statements dissolve into slogans, “earning a paycheck” is the part worth underlining.
The award is scheduled to be presented Wednesday, April 29 at Triangle’s annual awards ceremony and fundraiser, “Celebrate,” at the Regattabar in Cambridge. The speaking program begins at 7:30 p.m.
Triangle says the Everett partnership is part of its Inclusion Community program, which began in late 2024. Since then, the organization says “eight municipal partnerships have created more than 25 new employment opportunities for Triangle participants.”
For Everett, the people slated to receive the award are Superintendent William D. Hart, Mayor Robert J. Van Campen, and Director of Facilities Robert Moreschi.
Also expected to attend are School Committee Chair Samantha Hurley, Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Dennis Lynch, and Assistant Superintendent of Finance Christopher Barrett.
There is not much to argue with in the basic idea. If a public institution can provide real paid work to people who are often shut out of the labor market, that is better than another panel discussion about equity served with cheese cubes in Cambridge.
Still, the useful question is the boring one: what does the arrangement actually cost, how is it funded, and is the program delivering reliable work experience that leads to permanent employment?
Triangle’s own description says group employment is “often the springboard” participants need “on their pathway to competitive employment.” “Often” is doing some work there. How often? For how many people? Over what time period? Those are the numbers that matter if Everett is going to treat this as more than an awards-night applause line.
The source material does not answer those questions. It reads like what it is: an event announcement asking for coverage and offering to provide “a few photos and a write-up post-event.” That is fine as far as it goes. But it is not reporting, and it is not an audit.
What is clear is that Everett schools and the city entered into a practical partnership that produced paid jobs. That deserves more respect than the usual performative language around inclusion because it appears to involve actual work, actual wages, and actual municipal participation.
If city officials want credit beyond the trophy, they should release the details. How many Everett participants have gone through the program? What are they paid? Who funds the positions? And how many moved on to competitive employment afterward?
That would tell taxpayers whether this is a solid program or just another nice night out with a plaque.