ARPS administrators presented the Elementary School Education Program to the School Committee at the Amherst School Committee meeting on October 20. This is a required step in the MSBA process. Among the three options being considered in the Feasibility Study, Superintendent Maria Geryk recommended that the School Committee reconfigure the elementary schools into grade wide schools serving all Amherst students. The Crocker Farm school would enroll children in grades pre K to 1, and a new building (location to be determined) would serve students in grades 2 through 6. Under this reconfiguration the Wildwood and Fort River buildings would no longer be in use by the district. The other options being considered would include new or renovated facilities for Wildwood alone. There is no state funding available at this time to renovate or rebuild Fort River unless the reconfiguration option is chosen. Regardless of the option chosen, it would need to be considered at Town Meeting and will necessitate an override.
The School Committee is scheduled to vote on the recommendation on November 3. The School Committee welcomes and encourages feedback and comments. It is important for all interested stakeholders to have their opinions heard. At the October 26th public forum on the project, Wildwood PGO board member Laura Quilter mentioned an online feedback form that she has created to encourage input from parents, teachers, school staff, and community members about the Superintendent's recommendation. The link to the Wildwood PGO's online feedback form is below, and the form is available in both English & Spanish. Additionally there are postcards available in Fort River's Main Office that can be completed and will be returned to the School Committee.
The simplest way to provide feedback would be to email the Amherst School Committee directly at schoolcommittee@arps.org. In any communication with School Committee members it is important to identify who you are and what school(s) your children attend (if any).
The Fort River PGO is taking no public position on the building study and the district's recommendations. Several members of the PGO Board have attended recent public forums and meetings and some have made public comments based on personal beliefs; these are not meant to be representative of the PGO or Fort River collectively. The Fort River PGO is providing information on the project and the link to this feedback form as a service to help our families learn more about the project and to provide some easy feedback options.
Email the Amherst School Committee: schoolcommittee@arps.org
Link to form: http://wildwoodpgo.com/reconfiguration-feedback-form/
Email the Superintendent: gerykm@arps.org
Email the Assistant Superintendent: morrism@arps.org
Email individual members of the Amherst School Committee:
Katherine Appy appyk@arps.org
Vira Douangmany Cage douangmanyv@arps.org
Phoebe Hazzard hazzardp@arps.org
Rick Hood hoodr@arps.org
Kathleen Traphagen traphagenk@arps.org
To learn more about the Wildwood/Amherst Elementary School Building study, you can visit the study's web site: http://wildwood.projects.joslinlesser.com/ or the Amherst Elementary School Building Project Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Amherst-Elementary-School-Building-Project-968374979880827/?fref=nf
