WESTFIELD –The School Committee held its first meeting of the new year on Monday, with new officers elected; Ramon Diaz, Jr. as vice-chair, and Cindy Sullivan as secretary.
Rebecca Hart and Stefan Czaporowski. (Photo submitted)
Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski began the meeting by awarding an “Above and Beyond” certificate to Westfield Fooingd Pantry director and Highland school parent Rebecca Hart. For the past five years, Hart has helped out with the Thanksgiving Food Drive at WPS, donating from 50 to 150 turkeys from the Food Pantry, along with the fixings, whenever possible.
In addition, for the past two years, Hart has solicited donations from businesses for Christmas gifts for 50 Westfield High School and Westfield Technical Academy students each year, raising almost $10,000, and going out and buying all of the presents. On the Friday before Christmas, Czaporowski and Curriculum Director Susan Dargie delivered the presents to students, he said.
Hart is also a member of the Highland Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, and is planning a fundraiser to fix up their playground.
Monday was also the official Westfield launch of MySchoolBucks, an online payment option for parents at WPS. Czaporowski said he sent out a robocall advising parents of the option, which allows them to pay for lunches and breakfast online. The program is run by Rachel Kania, new food services coordinator.
“People are very excited,” Czaporowski said, adding that many people prefer to do their transactions online, rather than mailing in a check. Parents may create an account at MySchoolBucks.com using their students’ id numbers, which are found in Power School and on report cards. Czaporowski said there is a $2.95 online transaction fee; however, parents may pay for multiple students in one transaction, avoiding duplicate fees from logging in and logging out. Next month, parents will also be able to pay athletic fees online.
In his report to the School Committee, Czaporowski ran through some of the accomplishments of 2018, including closing Russell Elementary and bringing all students back to Westfield; uniting the student body with the redistricting of Westfield Intermediate School and Westfield Middle School, and being invited into the eligibility period for the expansion of Franklin Avenue school with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).
Czaporowski also touted the double digit percentile accountability increases at Abner Gibbs, Franklin Avenue, Highland, and Westfield Technical Academy; a reduced student drop-out rate that decreased from 2.2% to 1.2%, and an increased four-year student graduation rate from 85.1% to 86.5%. In addition, the superintendent talked about adding 2,000 Chromebooks for students’ use to the district, and a 100% increase in students taking dual enrollment courses at area colleges and universities.
The New England Association of Schools and Colleges also returned to spend another day with Westfield High School on Jan. 3, because last year’s team had shortened their visit by more than a day due to impending snow.
“They wanted to come out so that they could get a better idea of what was happening at the school because the report was contradictory. When they were here, the met with WHS administrators, WHS staff, WHS students, as well as me and Susan Dargie,” Czaporowski said.
Czaporowski said the new visiting team’s debrief was positive and optimistic. “Before leaving, the commissioners remarked, `Today was a very good day,’ and that they were `so impressed with how many good things we have going on here.’ “
Czaporowski said they pointed to the principal’s and vice principals’ leadership style, saying teachers feel more empowered, and feel they can share ideas, have them taken seriously and be celebrated and or implemented. The team also commented that the administration is prioritizing needs and focusing on things that matter, such as trying to help all students find meaning in education.
The team suggested that WHS needs to continue to stay focused and work on rigor, relevancy, and relationships, and to continue working on opportunities for teachers to collaborate.
“The visiting team said that overall, they were extremely happy with what they saw and heard,” said Czaporowski, adding that they would be relaying that to the full NEASC committee at their next meeting. They also told him that WHS should expect to get a letter with some revisions to the focuses listed in the initial report.
