The North Andover Parent Teacher Organizations Speaker Series presents: Worried about your worrier? March 23, 2010 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the North Andover High School auditorium.
Sargent Principal Search Update
Ms. Varsha Desai has been appointed Principal of the Sargent Elementary School.
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.
Senior musicians John Baylies (Tuba) and Tess Sammartino (Alto) have been chosen to perform at the 2010 All-State Music Festival. Having received all-state recommendations at the Massachusetts Eastern District auditions in December, Baylies and Sammartino auditioned for the All-State Band and Chorus respectively on January 23, along with three other North Andover High School musicians – Ben Barker, John Baylies and Scott Chamberlain. Selection to the All-State Music Festival is one of the highest honors any high school student can achieve in music.
Approximately 1000 students representing over 250 public and private Massachusetts high schools auditioned for the MMEA All-State Music Festival, of which about 450 were selected for the honors band, orchestra and chorus. The NAHS students will be attending rehearsals on March 18-19 at the Boston Seaport Hotel. The festival will culminate in a gala concert at Symphony Hall, Boston on March 20, 2010. The All-State Music Festival is held in conjunction with the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Annual In-Service Teachers Conference.
High School NEASC Accreditation
Principal Carla Scuzzarella reports that she "has received word unofficially - a letter will arrive later in February - that the warning designation for high school accreditation has been lifted in all 3 areas by the NEASC as a result of our Two Year Progress Report. The work we have done over the past two years to make meaningful changes in our school that benefit our students on so many levels, as well as the support from the School Committee and community, has NAHS on the edge of making that final jump to being a truly great high school. As I have often said, with or without the NEASC, we would still be moving in the direction we are going because it is what is right for our students. Thank you for your tireless dedication and commitment to making NAHS the wonderful place it is!"
Great news!
Renewing the RAISE Focus on Respect
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
School Committee Votes 3.41% Increase for FY11Budget
On Tuesday, January 26,The North Andover School Committee voted its FY11 School Budget to be presented to the Town Manager. the budget calls for a 3.41% increase to the FY10 Budget. the budget includes a level services budget, which accounts for 2.71% increase, and includes four critical needs. These are one additional teacher each at Kittredge and Franklin Elementary Schools, a 6th Grade Reading Teacher at the Middle School, and the implementation of a Therapeutic Behavior Program in Special Education.
North Andover School Committee Chairman Stan Limpert joined Superintendent Christopher Hottel and NATA President Rob Nardone in signing the Memorandum of Understanding required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for potential participation in the Race-to-the-Top competitive grant program. As of January 15, 147 school districts, 58 charter schools, 31 regional school districts, and 20 vocational schools had signed MOUs indicating their willingness to participate in Race-to-the-Top initiatives if the State of Massachusetts application to the federal government is successful. States will be notified of the status of their applications in April.
SBC Kittredge Project Status 1-14-10
On December 21, 2009 the School Building Committee approved the revised RFP for the Kittredge Modular Project. The RFP was advertised in the Central Register with an effective date of Dec. 30, 2009. Bids are due January 29, 2010. The School Building Committee intends to award the bid by the end of February. To date eight (8) vendors have picked up the RFP, including the four (4) who bid the project the first time.
On December 22, 2009 we were informed by the Town Building Inspector that the law governing sprinklers in additions would change as of January 1, 2010. The change dictates that any existing building that is not sprinklered would have to be sprinklered along with the addition if an addition is being built that will result in the TOTAL square footage of both the existing building and the addition exceeding 7,500 sq. ft. Prior to this, neither the addition nor the existing building would have to be sprinklered if the addition was less than 7,500 sq. ft.
School Building Committee representative Laurie Burzlaff and School Business Administrator Jim Mealey presented the SBC's case for appeal before the State Automatic Sprinkler Board on January 13. Notificiation of the decision by the Board should be received within 30 days.
International Center for Leadership in Education
The Andover, Hamilton-Wenham, Methuen, and North Andover Public School Districts are pleased to introduce our schools and communities to an international speaker, Dr. Willard R. Daggett on Wednesday, January 6, 2010, at the Collins Center in Andover. Dr. Daggett is President of the International Center for Leadership in Education and is recognized worldwide for his proven ability to move educational systems in their efforts to focus on the skills and knowledge students will need to be successful in the technological, globally driven world in which they will live and work.
On Wednesday, January 6th, Dr. Daggett will meet with administrators from Andover, Hamilton-Wenham, Methuen, and North Andover from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Following that presentation, Dr. Daggett will meet with the community from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Dr. Daggett speaks on a variety of topics including preparing students for the 21st century, rigor and relevance for all students, bringing focus and effective practices to our classrooms, and leadership components of school excellence.
Health Dept Flu Clinic for Students at Atkinson, Franklin, Sargent and NAHS
In a letter dated Decemer 8, 2009 North Andover's Director of Public Health, Susan Sawyer, notified the school department that the Town has now received enough H1N1 FluMist vaccine to address the vaccine needs of remaining students. The Town has scheduled the following H1N1 flu clinics:
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - students at the Atkinson and Sargent schools
Thursday, December 17, 2009 - students at the Franklin and North Andover High School
MASC Early Childhood Center Presentation
North Andover School Committee Chair Stan Limpert and SC member Chris Nobile gave a presentation at the 2009 Massachusetts Association of School Committees Conference in Hyannis on November 20 on the process of building the new North Andover Early Childhood Center. Limpert and Nobile were joined by NAECC Director Marylou Connors. The presentation highlighted the role of the School Committee, the School Building Committee,and the community in finding the funding to begin the project, in developing the RFP and in overseeing the completion of the building. The presentation was entitled Modular Preschool: An Updated Approach for School Construction. The trio also referenced a video available on the website of the construction company, Triumph Modular, called Permanent Modular School.
Corporate Sponsorship Highlighted
The October/November issue of Athletic Management highlights the corporate sponsorship fundraising work of School Committee member Chris Nobile in a feature article entitled Backed By Business. The corporate sponsorship program recently reached its goal of $30,000 and included donations by McDonald's, Pentucket Medical, Watts, First Student Tranportation, Wheelabrator, MacDonald & Pangione Insurance Agency, Bertucci's Restaurant, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Specialists, ERA Real Estate, Converse, and Jackson Kitchen Designs.
97 NAHS Students Receive Adams Scholarship
North Andover High School Principal, Carla Scuzzarella, announced today that 97 seniors at the high school are among seniors statewide to receive the state’s John and Abigail Adams Scholarship. This scholarship is available to students whose MCAS performance puts them in the top 25 percent of their district. To be eligible, students must either score Advanced on one exam and Proficient on the other, or Advanced on both the English and the Math exams.
North Andover High School offers outstanding opportunities for student athletes in over 20 sports. Please join us in making their experience one they will remember for the rest of their lives. As a Sponsorship Partner you can!
As we begin the 2009-2010 school year, we extend best wishes to the graduates of the North Andover High School Class of 2009 as they begin an important new chapter of their lives. Many are ready to begin their college careers. Others will be entering the military or work force.
We are especially proud of the acceptance record of North Andover graduates at national and local colleges and universities. We are posting here a new report of the Class of 2009 College Acceptances to help our parents and citizens understand the broad range of college options for which we prepare our students.
Work Permits
Work permits for all students ages 14-17 are issued through the main officce at North Andover High School, 430 Osgood Street. Please review the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Employment Permit Application and Procedures.
NAPS Staff Gives Presentation at State Conference
North Andover school leaders presented recently at the Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators’ Association’s annual professional development conference whose theme was “Accepting the Challenge: Leadership for the 21st Century.” Topics were chosen by school administrators to address the issues most important to schools and districts. Numerous workshop sessions encouraged attendees to share and learn best practices over areas of interest pertinent to the challenges of urban, suburban, vocational, middle school, or high school administrators.
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.
Kittredge Modular Update
September 23, 2009
There have been concerns raised regarding the progress of the Kittredge Modular project. The latest cause for concern has to do with the delay in the posting of the RFP to the Central Registry. I’d like to assure everyone, while we have had to adjust the due date for bid submittals and thus the due dates for review and award, this does not impact our scheduled completion date. That remains February 26, 2010. We met with the Technical Review Committee this morning and there were no major issues raised. We are now putting together the application to get on the November 2 Planning Board agenda. We had 7 firms attend the first pre-bid conference. This is a very good turnout. The School Building Committee is in the process of setting a date for the review of the bids. In order to try to alleviate any further concerns I will use this forum to keep you posted on any meeting dates and any significant events as they occur.
Jim Mealey
Business Administrator
North Andover School Department
Superintendent's Update
Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!
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.
