School Committee Vice Chair Kevin J. Sullivan (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD – At a joint subcommittee meeting Monday prior to the start of the School Committee, Vice Chair Kevin Sullivan reported on the results of negotiations on a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the unions and resulting changes in the redistricting plan for FY ’19. The changes were approved and reported again during the School Committee meeting, where the plan passed unanimously.
Changes to the plan include a time shift for the elementary schools (K-4), to start at 9:15 and end at 3:15 p.m., with staff hours from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This represents a 15 minute shift later in the morning and evening for both groups. Pre-school programs and Individualized Education Plans (IEP) will not be affected, Sullivan said.
The times for Abner Gibbs pre-kindergarten program will also remain 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
School Committee member Cindy Sullivan said they had been working on this plan for over a year, and talking about adding 15 minutes in the afternoon for longer than that. “We’ve needed the 15 minutes in the afternoon for several years because of the buses,” she said, adding that it would save the district $500,000.
Westfield School Committee member Cindy Sullivan. (WNG file photo)
Cindy Sullivan also said that she had wanted to add the 15 minutes at the end without delaying the start time. “”It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t have come to an agreement for 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.,” she said.
Kevin Sullivan agreed, “My biggest fear is we’re opening up a gap in the mornings that parents aren’t used to. It alleviates a huge pressure of buses that we were facing,” he said, adding that the decision was made for financial reasons, but that it is “not a perfect plan.” School Committee member Ramon Diaz, Jr. commented that they could fall back on pre-school programs in the morning.
Kevin Sullivan also said that Russell Elementary School will be closing, and staff will be notified on or before April 11 using the union process based on seniority, which will go through the Personnel Department.
5th graders will not have parent-teacher conference days, like the rest of the upper levels. Parents will be updated through Power School, and invited in to meet teachers as needed. Grade 5 will have two person teams, and grade 6 two or four person teams. Another change is that the grading for grades 5 and 6 will be consistent, with numerical grades for both.
For FY’19, grades 7 and 8 will have seven periods a day, with teachers teaching for 5 periods, instead of the alternating eight and four block system that had been proposed. “All parties have agreed to talk about whether changes can be made going forward,” Sullivan said. Both grades will have five-person teams.
Kevin Sullivan thanked all of the people who were involved in the process. Diaz also thanked the administration, who he said “has done a great job of getting feedback from parents, students, teachers, and administration,” adding how important that is “when it affects a lot of people.”
