FARMINGTON – Changes await the students of Mt. Blue Regional School District when they arrive at school next week, with an expanded middle school, late-arrival Wednesdays and several advancing district initiatives.
The first day of school for students, kindergarten through ninth grade, is Tuesday, Sept. 2. Secondary school students in grades 10, 11 and 12 will join them on Wednesday, Sept. 3, which is the first late-arrival day of the school year. Pre-kindergarten begins the week of Sept. 8.
Throughout the summer, staff have been hard at work converting space at Mt. Blue Middle School and other buildings into additional classrooms, as the middle school will be expanding to a three-grade school for the 2014-15 school year. The decision was made in February, sending W.G. Mallett School’s 3rd graders to Cascade Brook School, while G.D. Cushing School will send 2nd graders to Academy Hill School. Sixth graders that would have previously attended Academy Hill, Cascade Brook and Cape Cod Hill School will go to MBMS.
The expansion of the MBMS’ population brings it into line with other middle schools across the state, which typically serve three grades, and alleviates overcrowding issues in a number of elementary school buildings. Superintendent Thomas Ward noted that the administration and school board would be carefully monitoring student enrollment numbers as they became available, in case further adjustments were necessary.
The work at MBMS had gone “very well,” Ward said Wednesday. Administrators were “pleased” with the project, which involved renovating spaces such as a staff room, a fax room and the old school board’s conference room in order to accommodate the increase in student population.
“The classrooms look brand new,” Ward said. “We feel pretty good for the start of school.”
Another change, which will debut at the start of the school year, is the advent of late-arrival Wednesdays. The one-hour delays will replace the 17 early-release Wednesdays that the district used previously. The change is designed to provide teachers with a more consistent schedule of staff development than the early release-system.
Ward, who said he saw the system utilized effectively in districts where he worked previously, said that the constant staff development would have a “direct impact on students.”
Parents should expect to hear more about proficiency-based education and graduation requirements. State law mandates that graduating students in 2018 receive a proficiency-based diploma, although up to three years of extensions are available as Maine school districts work through the transition.
At Mt. Blue, the administrative team is anticipating asking the Maine Department of Education for a single extension, meaning that the class of 2019 would graduate with proficiency-based diplomas. That class will need to meet the new Maine standards, which are based off the Common Core State Standards.
Ward said that the board and administrators would be continuing to make presentations to community groups in order to answer questions about the system, wherein students are evaluated through the completion of skills relating to each academic subject.
That initiative will tie in with others under active consideration, Ward noted, such as a teacher/administrator evaluation system.
“They all support what we’re trying to do for students,” Ward said.
I’m not sure how they expect parents to make this happen.!
If you have two children like myself, one in cascade one at the middle.. A late start means driving
one to school then back home for an hour then another to school and then to work only to leave for
pick up at 2 and then to come back again for a pick up at 3!!
How’s about a full week at school … Teachers get paid to teach enough hand holding !
I like the idea of late arrivals rather than early releases. Doesn’t make any sense to have kids get up at 6 to get out of school by 11:30. Let them sleep in an extra or two. School starts too early as it is.
Ideally teachers should get together a few hours on Saturdays once a month. Since we know that will never happen the late arrival day is a great compromise! Much better for most kids and parents. Hopefully this is just the beginning of many improvements by Mr. Ward.
So the second day of school is a late arrival day??
@CaptainPlanet Why should teachers be meeting on Saturday mornings? They work way more than 40 hours a week Monday through Friday. Give them a break.
@Parent You bring up a valid point, but why can’t your kids ride the bus to a daycare facility or another relative? And teachers do way more than just hand holding. In the generation of divorced and separated parents, kids aren’t learning basic manners and skills my generation learned at home. The elementary teachers are teaching kids to read, use the toilet, behave appropriately, use manners, etc. Some teachers are basically the parents for these kids and it is a very important job. If teachers only worked 40 hours a week, there would be no parent-teacher conferences, 504 meetings, sports teams, extra-curricular activities, after school help, summer tutoring, lesson plans, etc. Teachers do so much for our kids and get paid so little, so an extra a week of paid professional time to get some week is very deserved. Next time, think before you open your big yap about how easy being a teacher is.
To Parent: Why don’t your kids ride the bus? Unless there is some valid reason as to why they don’t and you must drive them, it sounds like YOU are the one making it hard on yourself. I could be wrong.
@Rob S – Well said and thank you.
@Rob s
My yap will say what it wants to … Your statement makes my point exactly.
Teachers should not be spending time in their day parenting, taking away time from children
who already have manners and are there to learn.
The hand holding I reference is just that .. Hand holding. And all the other special treatment given to those
That consistently Need help..
It’s now beyond the point of my child exceeding in school because of others who continually bring them down
And disrupt class.
To Your other point about the bus.. We have no other relatives and I already pay my taxes to send my
Kids to school I shouldn’t have to pay for child care because the school system decides to alter there schedual..
This is just making more younger kids have to stay at home longer alone.
I know first hand how much teachers work my family consist of 5 teachers in 3 different school districts .
A full week of school makes things consistent for kids and helps them find some bit of normalcy and routine in their sometimes hectic lives.
Teachers are paid to teach and the ones that do and do it well should be paid for it!
So before you reference my yap you probably should know who’s side I’m on!
Another waste of time and money. Enough said. Keep the classroom time and simply meet after school. What a brilliant idea.
As a retired EDUCATOR!!!!!!, we had one day a semester for a full day teachers workshop. Each department had their meetings to set or reset curriculum, make changed address problems and so forth. We have forgotten that the students are our foremost priority!!!We focus too much time on the teachers. If you do not want to be with the students every day, then find a new profession. We also had parent teacher conferences at night, or made time during the day if necessary. Oh yes, that may mean giving up your free period. Free period??
That time was spent to prepare or tutor students who needed help. Imagine that, a real professional. You did not go into teaching for the money, so lets get on with it. Start teaching, or get out.
Did everyone miss the big issue in this article? I realize that it is inconvenient to say the least to have early releases or late days, but isn’t the important thing our children getting a proper education?……………. ( pause for effect ) The two paragraphs in the article that should concern us are on how the curriculum is changing to this new “common core” baloney. The dumbing down of America has a resurgence.
“Parents should expect to hear more about proficiency-based education and graduation requirements. State law mandates that graduating students in 2018 receive a proficiency-based diploma, although up to three years of extensions are available as Maine school districts work through the transition.
At Mt. Blue, the administrative team is anticipating asking the Maine Department of Education for a single extension, meaning that the class of 2019 would graduate with proficiency-based diplomas. That class will need to meet the new Maine standards, which are based off the Common Core State Standards.”
These new standard and teaching methods will prove to be a destabilizing factor for parents who do take an interest in their childs’ development. As an example my daughter was in Kindergarten last year and was bringing home number bonding math problems without any instructional notes. She was unsure on what to do. I had to talk with her teacher to just find out what the heck it was. She went from loving math to hating it.
The major problem with the new core curriculum is that it is not base on getting a correct answer, but on the process the student used to arrive at their conclusions. You don’t have to be right as long as you can show your work. How is this going to prepare them for the real World? Do you think when they turn in a report to the manager or CEO of the company they work for and it if is not accurate that they can just show him there work or best guess?
They are also removing the special education classes and integrating the students into mainstream classes. The effect is that everyone has to move at a much slower pace for everyone to keep up. How is this going to help students like my daughter who exceed in class? They want to hold her back, so someone who needs extra help can be put in the mainstream classes? I think not.
Listed below are two good sources of information for parents on the new standards. The first video has people in it that were on the panel that looked at “Common Core” before it was rolled out. By the way did anyone even know that these standards were going to be put into place prior to your child coming home with new homework? It was pretty sneaky how they slipped this one in. ( I don’t mean RSU#9. They unfortunately don’t have much of a choice. Look a bit higher on the food chain folks. ) The second video speaks to this as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjxBClx01jc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXf91AGW2QA
I sincerely hope all parents look into this before it becomes too late for our young ones to have a fighting chance in life. We owe them at least that much. This parent is and will continue to be her biggest advocate. Remember fighting amongst ourselves will only serve to divide. Use that energy to make it a better place for our children and their children to live in the future.
Teachers DO get paid for after school meetings…coaching…staying after school for homework help, etc…it is not like they are doing it for free! I think they do not need to take from the classroom and the kids for their free time. They work 9 months out of the year…they get every holiday off with pay…they get their summers off…and they get great pay compared to many of the people in our community. They have medical and they do get paid for the extra time out of the classroom. What other job pays that well and with those benefits? I,d like just one of them to tell us! Let them see what it is like to work like many of us….with only 2 weeks off a year..and most times the bosses dictate when that will be. They need to get a reality check! I,m not saying teaching is easy..but MANY of us have stressful jobs that do not enjoy the perks they have. If they don,t like it….step aside, I,m sure many would come forward. Oh…must I mention money for advanced school…that we…as tax payers pick up? Meet after school and give that time to teaching our kids!