City Launches Community Forum Series About Public Schools

Parents, teachers and administrators met Sunday at the Argenziano School; another forum is scheduled for this spring.

Editor's note: The following was sent by Somerville Public Schools: Somerville Community Forum on Education Draws Broad Participation More than 100 community members from across the City of Somerville gathered at the Argenziano cafeteria on a beautiful Sunday afternoon for a discussion on education.  It was the first of what is expected to be a continuing series of Community Forums on Education designed to engage all interested stakeholders in an ongoing dialogue about education in the Somerville Public Schools.   The Forums – a collaborative effort organized by Progress Together for Somerville, the Somerville Family Learning Collaborative, and the Somerville School Committee and sponsored by the Mayor’s Office, the Somerville Teachers …

• Photos (1)

SCHOOL DAY

Debate on Somerville Progressive Charter School Isn't Over

If the state's board of education votes to deny a charter, the creators of the school will submit a refined application later this year.

After the state’s education commissioner announced last week that he wouldn’t support the proposed Somerville Progressive Charter School, the welcome note on the school’s website changed to reflect the creators’ revised goal.  “There is a new public school which will hopefully be opening in Somerville in the Fall [sic] of 2013.” For months, Somerville School Committee members, parents and teachers debated, among many issues, whether or not this publicly funded independent Commonwealth charter school would educate English language learners and teach science better than the district’s elementary schools do. And although Progress Together for Somerville, a group of parents who oppose the charter school, declared in a statement that the “…

• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Somerville Welcomes No Child Left Behind Waiver

The waiver will allow school officials more control over how they use federal funding.

Somerville’s public schools don't need to worry about penalties if not all students score proficient in math and reading on the 2014 MCAS test, according to an announcement from the state’s education department.  Earlier this month, President Barack Obama gave Massachusetts and nine other states a waiver from meeting this primary requirement of the No Child Left Behind Act. Massachusetts received the waiver because it established what was deemed an acceptable alternative approach to dealing with student achievement.  The waiver lifts the threat that the Somerville school district could be labeled as “failing." It also allows school officials more control of how they spend federal money, said Assistant Superintendent Vince McKay. “It gives …

• Photos (1)

Winter Hill Community School Could be Innovation School by Fall

The Boston Globe reports the Winter Hill school could move to an "innovation model." The city is exploring the idea of an innovation school as it waits for state education authorities to make a decision about a proposed charter school.

The Somerville School Committee has been discussing the idea for nearly a month, and now, Somerville Schools Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi has said the Winter Hill Community School could become an "innovation school" as early as this fall, according to the Boston Globe. The Globe reports that Pierantozzi expects an innovation school to open in Somerville in September, 2012, and that teachers at the Winter Hill school are discussing plans "to convert to the innovation model." School administrators, along with members of the Somerville School Committee and certain parents groups have explored the idea of an innovation school in large part as a reaction to a proposed charter school in the city: the Somerville Progressive Charter School. …

• Photos (1)

SCHOOL DAY

Somerville's Top Education Stories of 2011

A look at what happened in the city's schools this year.

  A lot happened in Somerville schools this year. Here's a look at some of the top school stories of 2011: 

• Photos (1)

SCHOOL DAY

A Chat With Somerville Progressive Charter School Supporter Selena Fitanides

A member of the founding group for the proposed charter school talks about why she believes the city needs it.

  Editor's note: In previous articles about the Somerville Progressive Charter School, Somerville Patch has touched upon a few reasons some people are opposed to the school. We felt it was important to speak with those who have proposed the charter school and present their point of view. Amanda Kersey, who wrote this article, is also speaking to members of a parents group that opposes the charter school, and we plan to post that article on Friday, Dec. 9. -- C.O. Selena Fitanides is one of 30 parents who put together the application to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the establishment of the Somerville Progressive Charter School this fall. The publicly funded independent Commonwealth charter school, …

•  9 Comments
• Photos (1)

Somerville Public Schools' Grants Writer, Researcher and Spokeswoman to Resign

Gretchen Kinder, who has worked for the schools for five and a half years, will resign this September to take a management position at a local non-profit organization.

The woman who repeatedly met with parents to figure out what sort of education they wanted for their children, pushed to revamp the district’s website and helped get Somerville named one of the best communities for young people will resign from her management position at Somerville Public Schools.   Gretchen Kinder, the district’s grants writer, researcher and spokeswoman, said that this September she would begin working as the director of development and strategic growth for Raising a Reader Massachusetts, a non-profit organization that encourages needy families to read to their young children every day. “I'm leaving knowing there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to help the district stay ahead of the changing face of …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)