Athol school's fate to be decided; Accreditation in jeopardy.Byline: George Barnes There have been several notable people named George Barnes. They include:
ATHOL - Hoping to avoid its high school losing accreditation accreditation, n a process of formal recognition of a school or institution attesting to the required ability and performance in an area of education, training, or practice. , the Athol-Royalston Regional School District will learn tomorrow if state officials will recommend that the district be deemed underperforming, or be kept on a watch list of districts in need of improvement. The district is also looking at a significant shortfall Shortfall The amount by which the capital required to fulfill a financial obligation exceeds available capital. Notes: Shortfall risk is often combated with an efficient hedging strategy created by a fund, group, institution, or individual. in next year's budget. In outlining a plan to reorganize re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. the school district to address concerns that led to the New England Association of Schools and Colleges The New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC), founded in 1885, is the oldest regional accrediting association in the United States whose stated mission is the establishment and maintenance of high standards for all levels of education, from pre-K to the taking away Athol High School's accreditation, Superintendent of Schools Anthony Polito warned that the district is facing other problems as well. If nothing changes before July 1, next year's school budget will be $1.7 to $2 million more than the district can expect from state aid and other revenue. Mr. Polito said a major portion of the shortfall is because of another $500,000 the district expects to lose from the state as more students leave the district on school choice. This year the district saw its state aid reduced by $1.5 million because of students moving. Mr. Polito and School Committee members will also meet with state officials tomorrow to talk about the district's educational quality and accountability assessment. The state placed the district on a watch list in 2004 because of concerns over how it conducts its educational program. The superintendent said that if it is decided the district has improved during the past year, it would remain on the list. If not, the recommendation to the state Department of Education would be to label the district as underperforming. But the meeting yesterday was focused mainly on Mr. Polito's proposal to save the high school's accreditation by moving Athol High School into the Athol-Royalston Middle School building and moving the middle school into the high school building. The superintendent's plan would also call for closing one of the elementary schools elementary school: see school. in Athol and moving Athol fifth graders from the elementary schools they are in now, to the middle school when it is located in the high school. The plan, Mr. Polito said, is the only way he can think of to keep the high school from losing its accreditation. "I don't have a plan B," he said. The superintendent said moving the high school into the middle school building would allow the district to address concerns raised by the New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. Association of School and Colleges about a lack of proper laboratory space, an inadequate school library and a lack of guidance office space. After the meeting last night, Athol Teachers Association President Robert Harris Robert Harris may refer to:
"It grossly exaggerates the benefits of flip-flopping the middle school and high school and grossly underestimates the cost," he said. Mr. Harris said the reorganization of schools under the plan would be highly disruptive disruptive /dis·rup·tive/ (-tiv) 1. bursting apart; rending. 2. causing confusion or disorder. and does not appear to address the needs of the students and the community or the long-term needs of accreditation. He said he supported recommendations made by School Committee members Lee Chauvette and Pamela Caranfa that the district also continue to attempt to address the concerns raised by the accreditation body in the hope of getting the decision to take away accreditation reversed without switching the two schools. Mr. Chauvette also raised concerns over whether the middle school would be adequate as a high school; and warned that the district would likely have to go to a town meeting to get previous votes on the building of the middle school changed, and to the Zoning Board of Appeals to seek a variance The discrepancy between what a party to a lawsuit alleges will be proved in pleadings and what the party actually proves at trial. In Zoning law, an official permit to use property in a manner that departs from the way in which other property in the same locality because of a lack of parking at the current middle school. Mr. Polito said that, regarding Mr. Harris' concern over the cost of the switching of the schools, he believes the figures are reasonably accurate. He also disagreed with Mr. Harris' comment that the benefits of switching the schools were exaggerated. "The benefit is keeping the high school accredited accredited recognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria. accredited herds cattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. ," he said. "I think that is invaluable." ART: PHOTO CUTLINE: A bus waits for students in front of Athol High School yesterday. PHOTOG pho·tog n. Informal A person who takes photographs, especially as a profession; a photographer. : T&G Staff/RICK CINCLAIR |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion