Dear Everyone Learning at Amherst Regional Public Schools:
Here are a few items other than the budget that are taking place in and around our schools.
ACHIEVEMENT INITIATIVES
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of dropping in on one of our first "Pipeline To Success" project sessions at Amherst College. Over 30 sixth graders, Amherst College student mentors, and a few of our teachers were getting started on this project that will keep cohorts of students together for several years with college mentors and faculty support. We are also piloting a Wednesday Achievement program which pairs elementary students with high school students from our MSAN Leadership Class (Minority Student Achievement) and a Saturday Scholars program that will begin with 3rd and 4th grade students from Crocker Farm. We are excited about these ventures that complement school and the many other programs in place.
SAFETY AND SECURITY
Our district Safety and Security Committee is comprised of representatives from each school and district department. The High School recently did a Shelter-In-Place training with faculty and staff (no students) as we continue preparation and prevention efforts in all schools. In addition, district administrator David Slovin, who has been coordinating many of these efforts in conjunction with the Amherst Police Department, has been attending coordinating sessions with the Town and the Five College network carrying on the work we started last year on flu pandemic and other emergency preparedness. Soon, I will be sending information to all parents about our work on these efforts.
RESPONSIVENESS COMMITTEE
I have formed a committee to review and develop protocols for students, adults, and parents in reporting information where safety of a student/adult is compromised. The group is reviewing topics of bullying, the proverbial "code of silence," procedures for reporting, and more. This group is comprised of counselors and administrators from the schools. They will meet with and listen to students, parents, and teachers as part of the process. The goal is a set of very clear guidelines and protocols for adults and procedures for students that will make it comfortable and confidential to report anything that is unsettling or unsafe.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
The Legislative Action Committee held its first meeting recently. It was a lively orientation to the three levels of government (town, state, and federal) and all of the items on the agenda for each. Our next meeting is April 5. If you would like more information, you can reply to this email and we will get back to you with details. Join us, please.
At the next meeting, I plan to provide information about three key topics for the committee to review and, hopefully, begin advocacy.
I am labeling this as a CB-3 Plan (that makes it easy to remember): Circuit Breaker, Circuit Breaker, and Charter Balance
Circuit Breaker - Special Education: advocate full funding to 100% or at least scaled higher funding for smaller districts
Circuit Breaker - Low Income: Support the Governor's plan for tax relief for seniors and those in low-income bracket
Charter Balance: Funding charters at $5,000 per student rate, which is the same as school choice funding.
We will review updates on other legislation, as well.
BUDGET ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The schools Budget Advisory Committee group has met about six times and it has been extremely informative. This group of business leaders, professors, and others have been learning all about our budget process and contents and analyzing several critical areas. The group provides a meaningful external lens on the budget which has been quite beneficial.
As you can see, we continue to keep our eye on all areas that affect our schools and we continue to initiate new efforts to support our kids!
Thank you for your continued interest in our children and our schools.
Sincerely,
Jere Hochman
ARHS JETS Teams Excel in State Competition
JETS TEAMS advisor, Val Veneman, reported the following excellent news about our students: The final state rankings for the 2007 JETS TEAMS Competition have been posted and three of our six JETS Teams will be advancing for national scoring again this year. Varsity A and Varsity B placed first and second respectively in our division at the state level in Massachusetts and Junior Varsity B placed first. All three of these teams have been selected for national scoring. It is notable that for the second year we had six teams (48 students) compete due to increased interest in JETS at the high school. It is also notable that our two top Varsity teams were comprised of four males and four females each. Our winning Junior Varsity B team was also pretty balanced with three female and five male students. To give you a little perspective about this years JETS Competition, 1,212 teams with a projected involvement of around 10,000 students competed across the country. Of the schools involved this year, Amherst Regional was mentioned on the JETS web site as one of only four schools in the country that had six or seven teams participating in the competition. It is a tribute to our students that, unlike many schools that put their top students together on one or two teams, we have spread our talent over six teams and still had great results. The national results will be posted some time in mid-April.
AGENDA for REGULAR Meeting of REGIONAL School Committee
7:00 PM, TUESDAY—April 3, 2007
High School Library
Call for Executive Session—6:30 p.m.
1. Welcome
A. Call to Order
B. Agenda Review
C. Minutes—March 27, 2007
2. Announcements and Public Comment
3. Superintendent's Update
4. Unfinished/Continuing Business
A. Budget Update—Amherst Override
B. Policy Review Update
5. New Business
6. Reports
A. Latino Student Achievement Initiative--General Update and New Projects
7. School Committee Planning
A. Sub-committee reports
B. Calendar review
C. Items for upcoming meetings
8. Adjourn