WIS student Benjamin Miller reports on the summer transition program to the School Committee on Monday.
WESTFIELD – The School Committee meeting began on Monday with students from the Westfield Intermediate School talking about the summer transition session they attended, led by science teachers Matthew Wroth and Maureen Callahan. WIS student Benjamin Miller said they took tours of the building, which was the most useful part. “It was worth spending part of my summer,” Miller said. Other students talked about working with combination locks, learning that cameras are “always watching you,” and how to get to class in 2 minutes “without running.” Another student said because of the program, she couldn’t wait to start school.
“I hope every parent out there understood what you said, and how enthusiastic you are about your new school,” responded Mayor Brian P. Sullivan.
Westfield Technical Academy Principal Joseph Langone introduced Jared Fournier, returning as WTA’s school liaison to the school committee. Langone said Fournier is in the first class of seniors in Aviation Maintenance Technology at the school, which recently received a visit from Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley.
Cindy Sullivan was then nominated unanimously by the School Committee to serve as Vice-Chair, the position held by Kevin Sullivan. At the end of the meeting, Cindy Sullivan said she felt “a little overwhelmed” at the vote. She said at the next meeting, they will officially name subcommittee members.
No action was taken at the meeting on filling the vacant seat on the committee.
Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski made a brief presentation on three goals for the 2018/2019 school year; the first of which is staff training on new literacy and math assessments for students in grades K-6, to advance early interventions.
Czaporowski said his second goal is to increase online access at the district level, including online bill payments, which he said should be available in a month or so for school lunches and athletic fees. He said his third goal is to complete the third and final segment of the new superintendent induction program.
“I know there’s only three things here, and you do three million things,” Cindy Sullivan said.
In his report, Czaporowski spoke about setting up his Superintendent Advisory Board, which he said is comprised of a representative from each of the schools and from SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council). He called it a “great group.”
He also said Monday was the first meeting of the new Attendance Task Force, and thanked School Committee member Diane Mayhew for participating on it “We’ll have recommendations for adoption next year,” Czaporowski said.
Chief Finance Officer Ronald R. Rix reported on a new federal grant of $146,396 for Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students. He said the majority of the aid was given based on students that attended the district following Hurricanes Harvey, Maria or Irma last year. Rix said they received 39 students; one from the wildfires in California, and the rest from the Caribbean. He said 30 of the students remain in the district this year.
Rix said the state did a good job of coordinating the federal aid, and that Westfield’s numbers “look pretty good” compared to other communities, which had to dip into their resources to cover their expenses.
After the meeting was adjourned, a resident spoke on behalf of a group of residents who had come to address the School Committee. They were told they must come forward during public participation at the start of the meeting, and were asked to return at the next scheduled meeting on Nov. 5.
