Schools Open : Tuesday, August 28th Opening Day for Everett Public Schools

Frederick F. Foresteire
Public Schools
Superintendent

Public Schools Superintendent Frederick F. Foresteire announced that Everett Public Schools will open for the 2012-2013 school year on Tuesday, August 28th  for all students in Grades One through Eight, as well as all Grade Nine students attending Everett High School for the first time.  They should report to their respective schools no later than 7:45am on that Tuesday.  Grades one through eight will be dismissed at noontime and Grade nine at 2:15 p.m.

On Wednesday, August 29th, all Kindergarten students who have registered and all students in Grade Ten (sophomores), Grade Eleven (juniors), and Grade Twelve (seniors) are to report to their respective schools no later than 7:45am that day.  Students will be dismissed at the regular time of 2:15 p.m. that day.

School enrollments in Everett public schools have been at an all-time high over the last five years; with Everett student population rising by more than 20%.  This year will be no exception; a record-breaking 6,700 students are expected to enroll for the opening of school, according to Superintendent Foresteire.

Parents who still have questions about school opening days, school hours, or programs offered after school should contact the Everett Public Schools Parent Information Center, located in the High School on Elm Street, or call the Center at 617-394-2490.

 

SAFETY MEASURES TAKEN DURING PARLIN SCHOOL REPAIRS

Superintendent of Public Schools Frederick F. Foresteire said that the masonry and lintel repairs on the Albert N. Parlin School located at 587 Broadway are now scheduled to be completed while schools are in session, but that should not be a safety issue for those using the school.

“I have been in contact with the Mayor and the city’s Building Inspector on the issue of safety at the Parlin School during these repairs, and a chain-link fence will be installed around the perimeter of the building to prevent anyone from walking under or near the school’s roof line, where the majority of repairs are to be done” said Superintendent Foresteire.

“Furthermore, all the school’s entranceways will be covered by a reinforced netting as a precaution” the Superintendent said.

“We take the safety of our students, parents, staff and visitors very seriously” Superintendent Foresteire emphasized, and added that he has been assured by the city that these safety measures will offer adequate protection.

The request for repairs at the Parlin School was submitted to the city by the School Committee in March of this year along with an urgent appeal to have the necessary work completed during the summer when schools were not in session.

The city’s new budget that went into effect July 1, 2012 included a proposed capital improvements bond for $7,015,767 that provided funding for the masonry and lintel repairs at the Parlin School, among other city projects.

However, bond authorizations require a two-thirds vote of approval from the common council before any funds may be distributed.  Unfortunately the council did not have enough members at their last special meeting to grant their approval of the two “bond authorization” measures.  Only ten council members were in attendance; eight members were absent.  Council President Daniel Napolitano was forced to delay the matter until the council could meet again.

With this unexpected delay, repairs to the Parlin School masonry must now be done while that school is in session.  This could present a danger to those entering and leaving that school on a daily basis.

As a result the Superintendent and the Mayor decided that additional safety measures needed to be installed for protection from falling pieces of cement, both before repairs are started and during the repair work itself.  The repairs are expected to take a minimum of six months to be completed.

Parents who still have concerns should contact the school at 617-394-2480.

FRESHMEN (GRADE 9) REPORT TO  HIGH SCHOOL ON TUESDAY, AUG. 28TH

“Only Freshmen (Grade 9) are to report on Tuesday, August 28th to the High School on Elm Street, no later than 7:45am, for an important orientation to High School facilities, classes, and programs available to students in the 2012-2013 school year” said Superintendent Frederick F. Foresteire.

“At the orientation freshmen students will be assigned homerooms, they will receive important instructions about school events, and they will learn of the many clubs, sports, and other extra-curricular activities available to them now that they are in High School” Superintendent Foresteire said.

Students will then walk through an abbreviated version of a typical Tuesday class schedule, and they should plan on a dismissal time of 2:15 p.m. that day, Superintendent Foresteire added.  Lunch will be available in the High School cafeteria on Tuesday, August 28th.

“Our freshmen orientation is held one day ahead of actual classes to help bring new students more efficiently into a larger, more complicated High School learning environment” the Superintendent said.  “Freshmen students also seem to find it easier to ask questions without the distraction of the full attendance of upperclassmen.”

HIGH SCHOOL OPENS FOR GRADES 10, 11, 12 WEDNESDAY, AUG. 29TH

Reporting for their first day of school one day later on Wednesday, August 29th are High School students in Grades Ten, Eleven, and Twelve at 7:45am.

Superintendent Frederick F. Foresteire explained that the staggered reporting times for High School students in different grades will help both students and teachers cope with another record enrollment again this school year.

“Our sophomore (Grade 10), junior (Grade 11), and senior (Grade 12) High School students should report one day later on Wednesday, August 29th  at  7:45am for a regular class day”  Superintendent Foresteire said.

Students in the three upper High School classes (Grades 10, 11, and 12) will be advised through the mail of their homeroom assignments for the 2012-2013 school year.  If a sophomore, junior or senior High School student has not received a homeroom assignment through the mail by Friday, August 24th, that student should contact the High School before the High School opens on Wednesday, August 29th for the first full day of classes.

SCHOOL OPENS FOR TEACHERS

MONDAY, AUG. 27TH

School opens on Monday, August 27th for all teaching staff in Everett Public Schools.  “Our teachers are scheduled to return one day in advance of students in order to get their classrooms organized and ready for the first day of classes” Superintendent Foresteire said.

“The record enrollments in Everett Public Schools over the last several years have left no breathing room for our professional staff once school was in session” the Superintendent explained, “With another record-breaking 6,700 students expected this year in Everett Public Schools, we all need as much time as possible to get prepared.”

Everett Public School faculty is unusual in that administrators work twelve months a year; teachers, and support staff work a school year of 189 days, with 186 student-teaching days, instead of the state-required minimum of only 180 days.  “We adopted this lengthened school schedule for the primary purpose of maximizing time for MCAS test instruction for Kindergarten through Grade Twelve students” Superintendent Foresteire said, “and now we are seeing the results of this extra time for instruction.”

Everett Public School students have MCAS scores that are higher when compared to other inner-city school districts.  In Everett, the math and English scores on MCAS tests in all grades taking the test have been at a level of 92% or better in the past four years. A minimum of a passing grade on the MCAS test in Grade Twelve is required by the state to graduate.

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM BEGINS

FOR THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS

The first day of school for all registered Pre School Program students will be on Wednesday, September 12th, 2012.

Superintendent Frederick F. Foresteire reminds parents with children who are three and four years old and who live in Everett are eligible to register those children for Everett Public Schools Pre School Program.  Children must be registered in advance for the Pre School Program no later than Tuesday, August 28th this year.

“This is a very popular program” Superintendent Foresteire said, “and any parent who delays registering an eligible child may face a long waiting list for acceptance.”

The number of three-year-old children that will be accepted in the Pre School Program will depend on how much space is available after all eligible four-year-olds have been registered and assigned schools.  The Everett Public Schools Pre School Program is offered at the Webster School located at 30 Dartmouth Street and the Adams School located at 8 Tileston Street.

Everett’s Pre School Program provides an opportunity for children to start learning in a formal environment.  The program also offers an opportunity for children to build relationships with other children outside their families, an important social step for children who may not have had the experience of neighborhood playmates their own age.  And for children who are ready for a structured learning environment, this Pre School Program may help smooth the transition into Kindergarten.

KINDERGARTEN

STUDENTS REPORT ON WEDNESDAY, AUG. 29TH

On Wednesday, August 29th, all registered Everett Kindergarten students should report to their assigned schools by 7:45am.  Parents and guardians with children who have not registered for Public School Kindergarten in Everett as of that date should report to Parent Information Center at Everett High School in order to register.  When that process has been completed satisfactorily, children will then be assigned to a Kindergarten program.

Everett Public Schools offers a full-day Kindergarten program free of charge to children of parents who live in Everett.  “In other school districts, parents are being charged fees ranging from $2,550 to $3,500 a year for one child to attend Kindergarten” Superintendent Foresteire said.  “That we are still able to offer this program to Everett parents and not charge a fee is due in great part to the efforts of the committed members of our School Committee” he added.

Enrollment in Everett’s full-day Kindergarten program has increased dramatically over the last several years.  The Superintendent predicted that this year would be no different, and said that his staff is expecting 490 students for the 2012-2013 Kindergarten program.

EVERETT SCHOOLS READY FOR OPENING DAY

Classrooms, lavatories, auditoriums, stairways, hallways, and cafeterias will be spotlessly clean and ready for the arrival of teachers and students on the opening day of school, according to Superintendent Frederick F. Foresteire.  “We open for business on Monday, August 27th and all eight of our schools will be ready, scrubbed down and sparkling, thanks to the hard work done over the summer by our custodians, headed by Mrs. Lona DeFeo, Head of Maintenance” said Superintendent Foresteire.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *