It’s back to school for Montville students. Classes started on Tuesday, September 2.
The district’s staff was ready, including the Central Office, which moved from temporary quarters at the old town hall to Montville High School on July 30 back to the high school as part of the district-wide renovation of schools.
Days before classes started, former students, teachers, town residents and members of the Palmer family cut the ribbon on the renovated and renamed Palmer Academy, formerly known as the Montville Alternative High School.
Construction at Charles E. Murphy Elementary is nearly done, including a new traffic pattern, according to David Erwin, Superintendent. The music space at Oakdale School will soon be ready for students.
The Montville Board of Education approved a seven-point set of goals for the current school year, driven by raising standards and opportunities for all students while maximizing efforts to do the best with a barebones budget in tough economic times.
The goals, approved August 19, continue the Professional Learning Communities initiative formally started last year, according to Erwin.
“We’re making a very firm commitment to raising student test scores and student achievement,” he said. “The learning communities are based on the premise of whatever it takes to make students successful. Sometimes keeping them after school to do work that is not completed, just making sure as educators and administrators we all do our part, that we’re in communication with the families, not wanting to let any child not be successful.”
The other goals emphasize tight budgeting, seeking of grants, continued advocacy for education at the local, state and Federal levels, more communication with the public and strengthening interagency coordination with other community agencies, including requests to the Mohegan Tribe for funding, and outreach to Town Council.
Updates to the district’s teacher evaluation plan will mean the district is working with teachers in a different fashion and on a different time cycle than in the past, too.
Despite Montville’s budget referendum earlier in the summer, the school’s $35.5 million budget stayed at the three percent increase approved by Town Council. Although less than what Superintendent Erwin had requested in the spring, he sees it as the town’s continued commitment to education.
“As superintendent, I continue to realize the tough economic times we are all facing, but we sincerely appreciate the support that we receive from the townspeople,” Erwin said the week before school started. “We’re all suffering from the economy, but people here are very proud of their schools and they want to help children. We will do our best with what they have given us.”
The district expects to have around 2950 students, down about 30 from last year, he said. About 150 students are learning English as a second language; with most of the younger ones at Mohegan Elementary School, the district has been able to add a second Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), who will concentrate her efforts at the elementary level. These students are also called ELL, for English Language Learner.
The district recently found out that it is getting $94,000 less in state Title I grant funds. These are used for reading programs and para-professional staff. Erwin has notified district staff that he has contacted the Connecticut Congressional delegation to see if Federal funds can be reinstated for a portion of this.
Meanwhile, Montville is benefiting from being one of four school districts participating in a grant with UCLA that provides core curriculum teachers training and help with strategies to assist English Language Learner students in their classes.
Erwin said he jumped at the chance for teachers at Montville schools, which have seen an increase in ELL students, from about 5 when he arrived here ten years ago, to around 150 students today, to take part in the program. The five-year $250,000 grant is expected to train almost every teacher in the district.
Energy costs continue to be the big worry and unknown for school districts. Montville has set the goal of reducing total energy usage by 10 percent to offset part of the projected 33 percent or more increase in energy costs.
The list of measures schools have been following since last spring include turning off lights when leaving rooms as well as all computer equipment, including printers, speakers and monitors, and TVs, DVD players and VCRs when not in use. Copiers are to be turned off at the end of the day.
The district had already cleared out electronic equipment in schoolrooms that weren’t school property, including refrigerators, space heaters, microwaves, coffee makers, hot plates and toaster ovens.
Although the district has not had to significantly alter school bus routes and the number of bus stops this fall as a means of controlling fuel costs, the school board voted to pass along increased food costs for school breakfasts and lunches.
The cost of school lunches went up 50 cents at both the elementary schools, to $2.25, and middle and high schools, to $2.50. Breakfast at elementary schools went up 35 cents to $1.25 and increased 50 cents to $1.50 for middle and high schools.
Montville’s newest teachers. T
he following twelve teachers have joined the Montville Public Schools:
Elementary:
Dr. Charles E. Murphy: Pamela Green, School Psychologist, Tammy Hudson, Art.
Oakdale: Robin Slane, Special Education.
Mohegan: Rebecca Curtin, Special Education, Lisanne Kaplan, TESOL (Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages), Lisa Zablonski, Reading.
Leonard J. Tyl Middle School: Julie Dunn, Art.
Montville High School: Christine Dembinski, Consumer and Life Sciences, Cheryl Fish, Math, Heather Mathieu, Biology, Bethany Wisniewski, English, and Clare Wurm, Physics.