With the recent heat wave, I don’t think any of us need a reminder that summer is here. But I do want to let you know that the school year ended with a wonderful medley of celebrations for all the hard work and success achieved by our students and teachers this year.
For the first time in 40 years, high school graduation was held outdoors on the football field under a beautiful sunny New England sky. Parents, teachers and the community joined to honor our 322 seniors who graduated in the Class of 2010. 93% of our seniors will be going on to college, most to the college of their choice, which this year included institutions such as Harvard, Boston College, Brandeis, Northwestern, University of California at Berkeley, Bates College, Cornell, Notre Dame, Holy Cross, Kenyon, Pratt Art Institute, Rutgers, WPI, VPI, University of Michigan, Tufts, Tulane, Carnegie Mellon and many other nationally and regionally known colleges and universities. 53 of our seniors will be attending a campus of the University of Massachusetts, 5 have chosen Boston University, and 4 Northeastern University. In addition, some of our students have chosen to enter the military or to pursue employment opportunities.
The link below shows the current status of enrollment for Fall 2010 in the five elementary schools in North Andover. This report will be updated regularly during the summer and can be found under the Enrollment section of District Information.
Building Respectful Community Newsletter - June, 2010
Here is the final edition of the Building Respectful Community Newsletter for the 2009/10 school year. We hope you all have a great summer, and we will continue to move forward with our BRC initiatives in the fall. Many thanks to the BRC Committee for their hard work this year and most especially Charles Salisbury, Town Moderator, for the opportunity to present the Building Respectful Community initiative to the voters at Town Meeting.
Elementary Summer Reading Program
We would like to encourage our elementary students to maintain their reading skills and overall enjoyment of reading over the summer. Please click on your child's grade in 2010/11 to view the appropriate summer reading brochure:
If your child is looking for some "light" reading, we have provided a list of fun titles. We hope that your child will enjoy filling in the balloon with the titles of the many books he/she will read this summer and have tried to address any concerns you may have in the Frequently Asked Questions section of the summer reading program.
Also, here is an online Reading Log if your child would like to record his/her summer reading. Click here to access the survey. The ifnormation gathered will be shared with the teachers next fall.
Athletic Survey Presentation
Director of Athletics Jon Longley presented the results of the Athletic Survey taken earlier this year to the School Committee at its meeting on June 17, 2010. Mr. Longley worked with SC Athletic Subcommittee Chair Chris Nobile to produce the presentation. The survey was initially designed to assess interest in switching league affiliation, but grew into an opportunity to collect community perspectives on six important areas in the North Andover athletic program:
Program Structure [including league affiliation and addition of new programs]
Sportsmanship
Student Leadership
Safety
Financing Athletics
Communication
The Athletic Director also informed the School Committee of the many awards that have been presented to North Andover teams and individual athletes this year. Among these, the MIAA Team Academic Excellence Awards identified 14 teams during the winter season and 15 teams during the fall season that achieved the MIAA Gold Level Academic Excellence Awards. This award is given to teams that achieve a combined grade point average [GPA] of 3.00 to 4.00. Five other North Andover teams received the Silver Excellence award for a combined GPA of 2.50 to 2.99.
To view the entire Athletic Presentation as presented to the School Committee, including recommendations for future action, click here.
Facilities Management Task Force
The North Andover School Committee approved a Resolution with the Board of Selectmen creating a Facilities Management Consolidation Task Force. The Committee is now soliciting interest in the community for a town member to be appointed by the School Committee to the Task Force. Those interested in serving should contact the Office of the Superintendent of Schools.
Elementary Library Presentation
A report on our libraries was presented by NAMS librarian Anne Bate to the School Committee on June 3, 2010. The report featured a very informative audio-video presentation by part-time elementary librarian Ellen Reusch. Ms. Reusch has spent the past four months working mornings in our elementary school libraries, taking inventory and assessing needs. Following the report, Ms. Bate answered questions on ways of improving our elementary library services.
This report serves as a status report on the state of the libraries at our North Andover elementary schools. Pursuant to the recommendations outlined in this audio report, Superintendent Christopher Hottel is forming an Advisory Committee to study and make recommendations on elementary library needs for next year and for the subsequent FY12 budget year.
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School Start Time Committee Update
On May 20th the School Committee heard reports from Dr. Carskadon and the Superintendent's Advisory Committee regarding school start times. In response to input received at the May 20th meeting, the Advisory Committee is being expanded to include parent representation from each of the elementary schools, St. Michael's School and members of the North Andover Public Schools teaching staff.
The Superintendent will not be recommending alterations for the start time for the high school or the middle school for the 2010-2011 school year.
At the June 17th School Committee meeting, the Superintendent will be recommending that the School Committee move forward with simply aligning the start times for the five elementary schools, Atkinson, Franklin, Kittredge, Sargent and Thomson Elementary, for the 2010-2011 school year. This adjustment would mean that Atkinson would start ten minutes later than it does this year, and Thomson ten minutes earlier. The official start time for all elementary schools would then be 8:25 a.m. Under this recommendation, the middle school and the high school would remain at their current start times for 2010-11.
The Advisory Committee is also exploring alternative ways to address the early start time for Advanced Placement science classes for next year. No decision has been made about this yet.
In the fall, the School Committee will hold further discussions on the more significant changes for School Start Times for the 2011-2012 school year.
Click here to view research information on adolescents and sleep.
Building Respectful Community (BRC) Parent Survey
Dear Parents:
Two years ago, the Building Respectful Community (BRC) initiative completed a district-wide assessment of school climate and social-emotional factors contributing to student learning. Project Adventure presented a report that identified pressing behavioral concerns about students, existing practices to build upon, and new strategies to advance.
Since that report, the BRC initiative has expanded its mission and vision, highlighted in the advancement of the RAISE values (Respect, Achievement, Inclusion, Service, Empathy). The common language associated with these values has been actively promoted and brought to life in many activities across the district at all levels. Your involvement in and dedication to promoting social-emotional learning and its relationship to academic performance has contributed significantly to all efforts.
We are currently engaged in a process to gauge progress. This process will help to further engage community input, help determine change over time, and inform on-going BRC planning and development. Part of that process involves completion of an on-line BRC survey. The survey should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes to complete. By taking the time to participate in the survey, you are providing important information that will contribute to helping us further develop as a respectful community.
Parents may access the survey from Tuesday, June 1, through Monday, June 7 by clicking here.
Thanks for your help and support.
Building Respectful Community Committee
Report of the School Start Time Advisory Committee on Adolescents and Sleep
Superintendent of Schools formed an Advisory Committee to study the possibility of later school start times as supported by years of research involving the sleep needs of our students. The Committee, comprised of a school administrator, principals, parents and central office staff, began meeting in January, 2010. The Committee’s primary goal is to pursue what is best for the health, safety and overall improved academic performance of our North Andover students. This research information has been summarized and is included in this report.
We encourage you to read through this information and invite you to participate in a survey that is now online regarding school start times.
We appreciate your support and concerns.
Click here to view the research information on adolescents and sleep.
The North Andover School Start Time Advisory Committee has put together a survey for ALL parents and staff, and the survey will run from this Tuesday, April 27 until next Tuesday, May 4. Your responses are totally anonymous!
North Andover High School's music department received top score at the Heritage Festivals Music Competition in Philadelphia and will perform at the National Youth Choir Festival at Carnegie Hall next spring.
Read more from the article in the North Andover Citizen.
Last Day of School 2009-2010
The last day of school for students for the 2009-2010 school year is Tuesday, June 22nd. The last day of school is a half-day for students.
NAHS Student Successful in National DECA Competition
North Andover High School junior Dimitri Lemonias triumphantly returned from representing the NAHS DECA program at the national competition held April 24-27, 2010, in Louisville, Kentucky. Dimitri initially qualified for the Finals in Principles of Business Management and Administration, which placed him in the top 18 students in the country. In the Final competition, Dimitri placed in the top 10 and was recognized at the Awards Ceremony.
The North Andover Schools' Building Respectful Communities Committee has released the BRC Spring Newsletter. The BRC Initiative is working hard to address the values of Respect, Achievement, Inclusion, Service and Empathy [RAISE] in our schools.
“The message is clear the moment a visitor walks through the door of North Andover's Atkinson Elementary School. The bold blue sign says ‘Respect, Achievement, Inclusion, Service and Empathy.’ The RAISE message is everywhere.
“‘It's not a curriculum. This is a way of life for us,’ said Assistant Superintendent Kevin Hutchinson.
“The five core values are intended to build an internal measuring stick of right and wrong, good and bad decisions. It's expressed throughout the schools, in murals, the students' artwork and regular assemblies.”
Those words are part of the Channel 5 Boston News Broadcast on April 10 that highlighted the work being done in all North Andover Schools by the Building Respectful Communities initiative to address respect in our schools and to keep the message strong that bullying and other forms in intimidation will not be tolerated.
In an effort to make the meaning behind RAISE part of town-wide culture, elementary school students will appear before town meeting on May 11 to speak about it and to unveil a sculpture in the spirit of respect, achievement, inclusion, service and empathy.
Average Teacher Salary Report Corrected
On April 15, the Boston Globe reported average teacher salaries for school districts in Massachusetts for the school year 2007-08. The data source is the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The figures for North Andover are not accurate and represent a significant under-reporting of the number of teachers in the district. This error was due to problems integrating an old technology system and new codes established by the DESE in both 07-08 and 08-09. These problems were corrected in August 2009 and subsequent reports will reflect accurate data.
The figures reported by the Globe were based on a count of 235 teaching positions. In fact, North Andover has 297 teaching positions. Consequently, the correct figure for North Andover for average teacher salary for 2007-08 is $56,721.
National Merit Finalist
North Andover High School is proud to annouce that senior Ajmal Thanikkal has been named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist in the Annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
With the recent news broadcasts about bullying incidents and internet videos of fights involving students around the state, including the report today about the North Andover Middle School incident, I am reminding parents, students, teachers and the community that North Andover has in the past year taken the lead in addressing bullying and fighting pro-actively. That effort continues with the BRC Committee and the work that is being done now in the schools.
The Building Respectful Communities initiative and the RAISE focus that is a part of every North Andover school is a crucial effort that needs reinforcement to address ongoing issues involving adolescent self-respect and consideration for the safety and security of all members of our school community.
I am encouraging every parent, every student, every teacher and administrator, to re-visit the RAISE focus both in and out of school. I have asked each Principal to place an extra emphasis now on communicating the values that are at the core of the RAISE effort. Families can begin this together by reading the BRC Newsletter that was issued this fall.
If you would like to know what you can do to help your son or daughter, or to support North Andover's Building Respectful Communities program, please contact your school principal or guidance counselor.
Christopher Hottel
Superintendent of Schools
Current and Projected Student Enrollment
As the North Andover student enrollment changes, it important to track the number of students at each school and grade. This helps us project our staffing needs in order to meet class size guidelines. The current district enrollment by school and grade can be found here. The student enrollment includes all students who are in classrooms in North Andover schools, including students at the Scarlet Knight Academy. When submitting student information to the DESE, Scarlet Knight Academy students are included as part of the North Andover High School population. The student enrollment figures do not include students placed out-of-district.
North Andover student enrollment data is also available at the The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education District Profiles website.
This information can then be compared with projected enrollments. Each year, the New England School Development Council [NESDEC] produces 10-year enrollment projections for North Andover and other New England communities. These projections are based on the official enrollment figures released by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for each school and district. The 2008-09 NESDEC 10-Year Projections help us to project strategically classroom and staffing needs in both the immediate and the more distant future. The methodology for the enrollment projections can be found in the full 2008-09 NESDEC 10-Year Enrollment Report for North Andover.
The North Andover Public School District does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, pregnancy, veteran’s status, military service, age, marital status, genetic information, handicap or on any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law or ordinance. The policy governs all aspects of employment, including training selection, job assignment, compensation, advancement, workforce reduction or transfer, leaves of absence, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.
The North Andover Public School District is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, the North Andover Public School District expects that all relationships among employees and students will be free of bias, prejudice and harassment.
