Two Hour Delay Today, Monday Jan. 25, 2010

School opening is delayed two hours today.

All Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools are delayed two hours.

School Budget Information

Information on the proposed cuts in next year's the school budget has been posted to the ARPS.org website at the following link: http://www.arps.org/node/1108.

The School Committee is planning meetings at which they will be taking public comment on the FY11 school budget.  I will let you all know the location and time(s) when the information becomes available.--Ann McLaughlin.

School Budget Advisory Committee Solicits Questions

A newly-formed budget advisory committee is currently collecting questions from parents concerning the Amherst School budgets. The members of this committee want to find out what people want to know about the budgets (or budget-related items). They will then help get those questions answered and back out to the public.

You can find information about the budget in general at the following link: http://www.arps.org/budget. Please note that we are currently in FY10 and the budget debate is about FY11.

Parent Council is collecting questions from the Fort River community. These questions will be forwarded to the budget advisory committee for further examination. Please send your questions to the following email address: ftriver@gmail.com.

Fall Festival Postponed Indefinitely

Hi Everyone,

Here is the text of Ray Sharick's message regarding the Fort River fall festival and Halloween parties at school tomorrow (Oct. 30).

Ann

Dear Fort River Families,
Over the past two days, our absence rate at Fort River has dropped somewhat (from 86 to 61 from Tuesday to today). This is still three to four times higher than our normal absentee rate. As Mark Jackson, the Middle/High School Principal has noted, it is not in our best interest to assume that we are out of the H1N1 woods just yet. So, given what is happening around us locally and nationally, we need to remain vigilant.

As a result, I am writing to inform you of my decision to change how we will conduct our Halloween festivities in school tomorrow, October 30th. While children may still follow their classroom teacher's guidelines and wear costumes, all halloween celebrations will have to remain in the classrooms. That is, we will not be having children parade around the school. I am also asking that you do not send treats to share, as we are trying to reduce the amount of contact that children have with each other.

Also, the Parent Council's Fall Festival, scheduled for the evening of October 30th, is postponed indefinitely. More news will follow about the possibility of rescheduling, but it is very difficult to predict if/when this may happen.

I realize this is likely disappointing news for children, families, and teachers. However, Health Care Providers and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are recommending that we increase social distances in schools and reduce opportunities for direct contact.

These decisions are made in what I believe is the best interest of all children and adults. I truly appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely,
Ray Sharick

Update on School Redistricting

The Amherst School Committee voted on Elementary School Redistricting during the Tuesday, October 27th School Committee meeting.  The Committee voted 4 to 1 for Redistricting Map Rendition #5. (Click here to view Map 5). 

Superintendent Rodriguez announced that his office will now begin planning for implementation of this map.

Thanks to the School Committee and the Redistricting Subcommittee for all its hard work and getting the vote done!

Report from the Crocker Farm Redistricting Forum

A new version of the Amherst Elementary School Redistricting Map was presented at the Crocker Farm Forum held on October 14th.   Changes were made specifically in the area of East Leverett Road that resulted in a change in the statistics of the proposed elementary school districts.  These statistics are tabulated below for easy comparison.  Click here to see the newest version of the map.

Superintendent Rodriguez also stated that clustering students by ethnicity/second languages was a remnant of older policies, not legal and would not be done in the future.  

Public comments and questions were taken.  All presentations and comments were translated into Spanish for the duration of the forum.
____________________________________________________


Redistricting Map from October 2, 2009


    School              # Students       % FRL*         % Struggling
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Crocker Farm      350                 33.4  %             21.4  %

    Fort River           450                 36.0  %             22.8  %
    Wildwood           446                 34.8  %             22.6  %



Redistricting Map from October 13, 2009

   
  School              # Students      % FRL           % Struggling
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Crocker Farm       350              33.1  %          21.4  %
    Fort River             452              39.8  %          22.6  %
    Wildwood             444              30.9  %          21.8  %


*% FRL= % of children who receive Free/Reduced Lunches.

Currently, Crocker Farm has 50.8% low-income students, Fort River 32.2%, Mark's Meadow 31.4%, and Wildwood 24.4%.
            
Please direct any comments or questions to the School Committee. To contact the school committee as a whole, send email to: schoolcommittee@arps.org

Elementary School Redistricting News

The map of the proposed redistricting of the elementary schools has been changed once again. The changes will have an impact on Fort River. Click on this link to see the latest map. The school committee will be voting on the new elementary school districts at the Oct. 27th School Committee meeting in the High School Library at 7pm. Please check the Amherst Bulletin website for the latest news about this topic (this should be posted by tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 16). -- Ann McLaughlin.

New Assistant Principal Hired

From the Principal:

I'm very pleased to say that I have offered the Assistant Principal position to Susan Kennedy Marx, and she has accepted. I'm sure many of you know that Susan did an excellent job working in Guidance at Fort River this past year, and she also has extensive experience in administration. I am very confident that Susan will be an excellent Assistant Principal, and Fort River will continue to work on "taking it to the next level" with Susan in this position. Please join me in welcoming Susan in her new role at Fort River. I hope you are all able to enjoy your summer. Sincerely, Ray Sharick

Amherst Elementary Budget and School Redistricting

During the Tuesday, May 19th meeting the Amherst School Committee voted unanimously to close Marksʼ Meadow and redistrict the elementary schools for the 2010-2011 school year. For more details please see this weekʼs Amherst Bulletin. The Superintendent's office has also issued a request for parent volunteers who are interested in assisting in the transition period. More information is available from the Superintendent's office at the following link: http://www.arps.org/node/881.

New Information about the H1N1 Virus from the Superintendent's Office

Principal Ray Sharick has sent out a special edition of his online newsletter. Attached to the email are two documents from the Superintendent's office with some of the latest information about the so-called "Swine Flu" and procedures that are in place for dealing with any possible outbreaks in the school system. Here are links to the two documents: http://is.gd/vWva http://is.gd/vWtk Also, you can check the ARPS.org website for updates as the situation develops.

School Budget Discussion Meeting is Being Planned

Parent Council is in the process of scheduling a meeting with School Committee representatives to discuss the various proposed cuts to the elementary school budget for the upcoming year. This meeting will most likely take place at Fort River during the week after April vacation. There will also be meetings at all of the other schools. There will be a community meeting as well. The same information will be presented at each meeting, so you can attend any one of them, regardless of where it is being held. I will post all the dates and times when they are made available -- Ann McLaughlin.

Ray Sharick's Newsletter Has Been Posted

Principal Ray Sharick has posted his latest newsletter here. You can read his earlier newsletters on the Fort River website here. You can view a revised April schedule for MCAS testing here. And finally, you can view PDFs of the following MCAS/No Child Left Behind reports:

Fort River NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Report Card 2008-09

Fort River AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) 2008-2009

Spring Chorus Concert

The fourth, fifth and sixth grade choruses will present our annual spring concert on Thursday, May 7th in the Amherst Middle School auditorium at 7:30 pm. Please have your child report to the auditorium by 7:15 pm that night so that we can have the chorus warm up and prepare for the concert. Concert attire for boys includes white shirts and dark slacks. Girls should wear a white blouse and dark skirt or slacks. If your child is unable to participate in this event, it is important that you send me a note to notify me in advance, as it affects the student line-up on the choral risers. If you are unable to attend the evening concert, we will also be presenting a daytime performance for the school in the Fort River gym on Wednesday, May 6th, at 10:40 am. -- Anne Louise White

MCAS Testing Starts Next Week

MCAS testing for grades 3-6 will be starting next week. Click here for the schedule.

Principal Sharick's Latest Newsletter Has Been Posted

Here's the link: http://www.arps.org/fr/Fort_River_News.htm

Amherst Elementary School Reorganization News

From the March 3rd Amherst School Committee Meeting. New Interim Superintendent Maria Geryk gave a thoughtful, well-organized and comprehensive presentation on updated budget scenarios and potential redistricting scenarios. She started the meeting by stating that she and the 4 Elementary School Principals did NOT recommend making any changes in redistricting and closing schools at this time. The redistricting scenarios were emphasized as being preliminary. At the end of the meeting, however, she did admit that, should they be looking at tier 3 budget cuts, everything would be back on the table. As figures for State and Federal funding are still not available and may not be for months after Amherstʼs budget decisions are made, the budget scenarios were again presented with 3 different tiers of budget cuts: the 1st being the best case scenario - the 3rd being the worst case scenario. These documents are to be available online at (www.arps.org). A summary of the proposed budget cuts, particularly as they impact students, are discussed on School Committee member Catherine Sandersonʼs blog (myschoolcommitteeblog.blogspot.com). Of note, Instrumental music was presented as being cut in a tiered fashion with 1.7 (of 3) instrumental teachers being cut at the tier 1 level (meaning a delay of instrumental music instruction) and all instrumental music effectively being cut at the tier 3 level. Further refining of the budget data will be presented at the Amherst School Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 17. As of now there is no planned presentation to the individual elementary schools. For other reorganization news keep checking back here at the Parent Council Blog for links to the ARPS website (www.arps.org), and School Committee member Catherine Sandersonʼs blog (myschoolcommitteeblog.blogspot.com). Check ACTV to view reruns of Tuesdayʼs School Committee meeting.

Schools in the News

Here are some links to recent newspaper articles about the Amherst schools: "Amherst schools pick says he's ready for pressure,"by Mary Carey, Amherst Bulletin, March 5. "Amherst school leaders cautious on budget cuts," by Mary Carey, Amherst Bulletin, March 4. “School chief consensus reached,” by Diane Lederman. The Republican, March 4. "Amherst picks Florida principal as schools chief," by Mary Carey, Amherst Bulletin, March 3. "Amherst Regional School Committee picks Miami-Dade's Alberto Rodriguez as new superintendent," by Diane Lederman, Republican, March 2. "Interim Schools Chiefs Resign in Amherst," by Mary Carey, Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 28.

Breaking News: It's Official--Superintendents Resign

The following is from the ARPS website:

Superintendents Vivian and Sprague Resign; Maria Geryk Appointed

February 27, 2009 The Amherst-Pelham, Pelham, and Amherst School Committees announce acceptance of the resignation of Interim Co-Superintendents Helen Vivian and Al Sprague for personal reasons. Concurrently, the School Committees have appointed Maria Geryk as Interim Superintendent, effective February 27 through June 30, 2009. Ms. Geryk has served as Director of Student Services for the district for the past six years. She has current certifications in the following areas: Intensive Special Needs, School Psychologist, Supervisor/Director - Pupil Personnel Services, and Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent. The School Committees appreciate the services of Dr. Vivian and Mr. Sprague and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Recent Newspaper Articles about the School District

Please click on the title to view the full text. "Superintendent choice due Monday in Amherst." Daily Hampshire Gazette, Feb. 26. "Cuts Eyed for Regional School," Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 27. "Skarz: Amherst is where I belong," Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 27 "Rodriguez: 'Students smarter than we were,'" Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 27. "Rodriguez 'Interviews' with town," Amherst Bulletin, Feb 13.

Instrumental Music Program Petition

I have been asked to post this link for all who would like to voice their concern about the possible loss of the instrumental music program--Ann McLaughlin. A growing group of parents is very concerned about possibly losing the instrumental music program in the elementary schools. Right now the school committee is considering proposals to eliminate the orchestra and band programs along with the instrumental lessons that support those groups. If you would like to learn more about this and voice your concern, parents have created an online petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/viCCu5ro/petition.html. Sincerely, Sara Eddy and Jessica Payne Crocker Farm Parents