The Mattapoisett School Committee voted 3-2 to not participate in school choice at the elementary level for fiscal year 2013. Superintendent Doug White recommended that the committee vote against the program, which allows out of town students to fill available slots within Center and Old Hammondtown Schools.
Committee members Gerald Johnson and James Higgins argued for the proposal, citing benefits such as diversity and upward mobility opportunities for parents who want to move their child into a better school system.
White stated that teachers who live outside the town have the right to enroll their children in the Mattapoisett schools and that if school choice were approved and there were more applicants than slots, those children might be subject to the lottery. Class size was also discussed, with Chairwoman Grace Knox saying that the schools are reaping the benefit of lower class sizes due to declining enrollment.
The committee agreed to study the issue and put it back on the table for fiscal year 2014.
The committee was treated to an 18 minute YouTube video featuring Kahn Academy founder Salman Khan who was a hedge fund analyst who gave math lessons via video to his cousins several years ago. The videos worked and he put them up for free to anyone on YouTube. Mr. Khan described the incredible response that students, parents and teachers had to his teaching method.
Khan’s videos have been a spectacular success in teaching students basic and advanced math concepts. Bill Gates has funded Khan’s efforts to bring the videos into a classroom setting. To view the video, go to YouTube and type in “Salman Kahn Talk at TED 2011.”
The committee discussed the video and agreed to study the possibility of incorporating the videos over time. Elise Frangos, Director of Curriculum, said that one of the summer school courses will use the Khan videos and that several teachers in the district were familiar with the videos.
Mr. White congratulated the top five senior high students who were honored at the South Coast Conference Academic All Star Inductee Banquet held in Assonet. The students included: David Friedman, Megan Merlo, Anne Smith, Rachael Reints and Michael Stellato.
In other committee news:
- Grade three students will participate in the Mathematics MCAS assessment during the week of May 14. Students will take a practice test on May 14.
- Grade 4 and 5 will take the Mathematics MCAS assessment on May 8 and 9. Grade 6 will take the math MCAS on May 15 and 16. The Science MCAS for grade 5 will be taken on May 10 and 11.
- The Old Hammondtown School Jazz Band won a gold medal for their May 3rd performance at Stoughton High School. The jazz band will play at the OHS Spring Concert to be held on Thursday, June 7 at 1:30 and 6:30 pm.
- The summer school program, Summer Sail brochure has been printed and will be sent home in backpacks this week. The 28 courses offered will help students keep up with skills over the summer. Parents should register their child by May 18 to be guaranteed a space in a course of their choice. The brochure can also be viewed on the district web site at www.oldrochester.org
- For the first time, incoming kindergarten students and their parents have been invited to visit the kindergarten classrooms and meet the teachers on Wednesday, May 23 from 2:15 to 3:00 pm at Center School. On May 31, the kindergarten teachers will meet with small groups of new students and have them play, draw and name the letters of the alphabet that they know.
- The last day of the school year will be Monday, June 18, 2012.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry