Public Schools Superintendent Frederick F. Foresteire announced that Everett Public Schools will open for the 2015-2016 school year on Tuesday, September 1st 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 Tuesday. Grades one through nine will be dismissed at noontime (12 p.m.) Tuesday-Friday. No breakfast or lunch will be served on the first day of school, with breakfast only Wednesday-Friday.
On Wednesday, September 2nd, 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 noon 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 7,200-plus 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 CONSTRUCTION
Superintendent of Public Schools Frederick F. Foresteire said that the construction work being done at the Albert N. Parlin School will be completed in September.
“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 all necessary measures are being taken,” said Superintendent Foresteire. “We take the safety of our students, parents, staff and visitors very seriously,” Superintendent Foresteire emphasized.
FRESHMEN (GRADE 9) REPORT TO HIGH SCHOOL ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st
Freshmen (Grade 9) only are to report on Tuesday, September 1 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 2015-2016 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 12 noon that day, Superintendent Foresteire added.
“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, SEPTEMBER 2
High school students in Grades 10, 11, and 12 — sophomores, juniors, and seniors — report to school one day later than freshmen, on Wednesday, September 2nd.
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.
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 2015-2016 school year. If a sophomore, junior or senior High School student has not received a homeroom assignment through the mail, that student should contact the High School before the High School opens on Wednesday, September 2nd for the first day of classes.
KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS REPORT ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
On Wednesday, September 2nd, 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 500 students for the 2015-2016 Kindergarten program.
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 9, 2015 at the ADAMS and WEBSTER schools.
“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.
SCHOOL OPENS FOR TEACHERS MONDAY, AUGUST 31st
School opens on Monday, August 31st 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 7,200-plus 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 instructional time for Kindergarten through Grade Twelve students” Superintendent Foresteire said, “and now we are seeing the results of this extra time for instruction.”
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 31st and all nine 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.