School Transformation Outside and In:
Board Moves on MHS Addition, 47 Teachers Up for Tenure
by Joan Simon
(October 15, 2003) On October 14, the Mamaroneck School
Board announced groundbreaking for a major addition to the
high
school, listed
core recommendations
from the three district task forces that have been meeting
for months, and reported a record number of teachers up for
tenure this year.
Groundbreaking to Begin on High School Addition
The Board accepted construction bids and anticipated groundbreaking
in the next two weeks on a major addition to Mamaroneck High
School. The new addition will become the “heart of
the school,” uniting the Palmer and Post buildings
into one, said Superintendent Sherry King.
A three-story structure will rise at the end of the Boston
Post Road science wing and will include an Athletic Office
on the first floor, the Principal’s Office and College
Information Center on the second floor, and a new Library/Media
Center on the third floor. There will also be a multi-level,
high-tech Large Group Instruction space for lectures, classes,
and community events, as well as future Board meetings. The
concourse connecting the Post and Palmer buildings will double
in size and become home to the Guidance Department.
One of the most exciting transformations, according to Dr.
King, will be the redesign of the current library into a
Student Commons and faculty dining area. “It will be
even more attractive than Starbucks next door,” said
Dr. King.
Record Number of Tenure Candidates The Board is considering 47 candidates eligible for tenure
this year. The group includes teachers from all six district
schools,
administrators and teaching assistants. The tenure hearings
(which are closed sessions) will begin at the end of October
and culminate in the Spring when the Board will awards tenure
to the successful candidates at its April 2004 meeting.
Two Task Forces Complete their Work; One Continues
In Spring of 2002, the Board launched a series of Community
Conversations. The upshot was
three Task Forces charged with investigating and making recommendations
on the major questions raised by the conversations. Now the
groups are returning to the Board with their findings.
The Gatekeeping Task Force will finish
collecting data from a survey of 13 comparable districts
in the area
before making its recommendations. This group
has concentrated primarily on investigating access to Advanced
Placement and honors courses in the high school and advance
level courses at the middle school.
The performance gap between minority and non-minority students
has been the focus of the Minority Task Force.
Of major concern were feelings of alienation among minority
students, a lack of academic support, both
at home and in school, and poor parent-school communication.
The Task Force recommended:
- working on ways to improve the relationship between teachers
and minority students;
- providing a broader array of academic
supports, especially outside the parameters of special
education;
- and reaching out to minority parents.
The group strongly urged a uniform Spanish translation policy
for school–to-home communications at the high school,
middle school and elementary schools with a significant number
of Spanish-speaking families. They suggested that the Task
Force continue as a “Minority Student Achievement Network” to
address ongoing issues.
The Special Education Task Force took a
hard look at variations in the pre-referral process and inconsistencies
in support
for students at different levels and in different schools. They recommended a consistent approach in both
of these areas, as well as a strong program to train general
education teachers in differentiation techniques for better
support of general and special education students included
in their classrooms.
The goals is to reduce the number of children classified
for special education and to improve the quality of general
education teaching. At the November 4th Study Session, the
Board will continue its conversations on Special Education.
Those interested in reading the complete Task Force reports
will soon
find them on the Mamaroneck
School District website. Printed
copies are availabe now in the Superintendent's
office.
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