Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski and Kevin Sullivan at a School Committee meeting in June.
WESTFIELD – The Westfield Public Schools spent the first half of 2018 finalizing plans for redistricting, including closing Russell Elementary School, changing the remaining five elementary schools to K-4, moving grades 5/6 into the former North Middle School, and grades 7/8 into the former South Middle School. The summer was spent finalizing the bus schedules, on professional development, hiring and orienting new staff, and in some cases providing pre-orientation to students.
Two weeks into the new schedule and new schools for thousands of Westfield Public School students, the district suffered a devastating loss with the unexpected passing of School Committee Vice-Chair Kevin J. Sullivan at age 52. Stunned and saddened, the School Committee carried on with the goal of providing the best educational experience for the district’s students. As Kevin Sullivan was known to say, “It’s all about the kids.”
2018 in Review
School logos were designed by Westfield Technical Academy Graphic Arts.
In early February, final redistricting plans for the elementary schools were presented to the School Committee. Changes announced included keeping all 128 students from Russell Elementary School together and sending them to Highland Elementary. Changes were also made to the English language learner groups, with ELL students consolidating into mirrored programs in two schools, Highland and Munger Hill.
The previous October, the School Committee had voted unanimously to house grades 5/6 at North Middle School, and 7/8 at South Middle School. Following that vote, School Committee member Cindy Sullivan said both schools would be renamed. In April, a subcommittee tackled renaming the North and South Middle Schools.
During the discussion on new names, WPS Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said that although the term Intermediate School was not being well received by staff, many other districts were using it.
“I did a lot of research. 5-6 Intermediate schools are becoming quite popular. My proposal would be Westfield Middle School and Westfield Intermediate School,” said School Committee member Diane Mayhew at the time.
“I think the word Intermediate makes sense, because if you use Intermediate, you can keep Middle School. It is an intermediate step between. I think the word intermediate is going to be tough for one year,” Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said, and the recommendation was made. The new names of Westfield Intermediate School and Westfield Middle School were finalized by a vote of the School Committee in May.
Westfield Intermediate School principal Katherine Bourque was excited to have the students visit on Step Up Day.
The schools held an ambitious “Step Up Day” on Monday morning, June 11, transporting 2,400 students to the new schools they would be attending in September. WPS Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said they had done Step Up days before, but never on this large of a scale. In the past, each elementary school sent their fifth grade students on different days to visit the middle schools.
This year, all fourth and fifth grade students, approximately 850, visited the newly-named Westfield Intermediate School, and about the same number of sixth and seventh grade students went to Westfield Middle School.
New logos were on display at the schools, the Westfield Intermediate School Polar Bear (along with a life-sized costumed one greeting the students), and the new Westfield Middle School Wolves.
“This was the first time we did step up days for the high schools,” Czaporowski said. About 150 eighth grade students visited Westfield Technical Academy, and 300 went to Westfield High school. Also new this year, was that all of the Russell students visited the Highland Elementary School, he said.
In August, one week before school began, Superintendent Czaporowski gave a report to the School Committee on preparations for the new school year. He said that 43 new teachers would be attending an orientation that week at Westfield Intermediate School, adding that he still had four spaces left to fill.
Westfield Public Schools transportation director Pamela Kotarski talks about new bus schedules in her office in City Hall.
Czaporowski gave a “shout out” to Westfield Intermediate School, which held a summer transition program in which 60 students participated. He said the school would also be giving a tour for fifth graders on August 29 from 6 to 6:30 p.m., and for sixth graders on August 30 from 6 to 6:30 p.m.
Westfield Middle School planned to hold two tours on Wed., August 29, along with an orientation presentation in the auditorium, followed by a Q&A session. Czaporowski said the week before, 300 students showed up for a pizza social and tours at WMS.
The Superintendent also said that Transportation Director Pamela Kotarski was working hard on bus routes and schedules to be ready for opening day. He reminded the School Committee that 1,400 students in grades 5-8 were going to be transported across the city to Westfield Intermediate School and Westfield Middle School.
“I do know how hard the busing is every year. I give you a lot of credit,” School Committee member Heather Sullivan said to Kotarski.
One week into the school year, on Sept. 10, Superintendent Czaporowski and the Central Office leadership team tried something new. Instead of holding a convocation, and inviting all of the faculty from all of the schools to gather, the leadership team went to each school in the first week and met with the faculty and administration on their home turf.
“What I like about it is I had face time with every teacher in the district,” Czaporowski said.
The visiting team also included Chief Financial Officer Ronald R. Rix, Director of Human Resources Paula Ceglowski, Director of Curriculum Susan Dargie, Administrator of Special Education Martha von Mering, Director of Assessment Denise Ruszala, Administrator of Student Interventions Christopher Rogers, Director of Transportation Pamela Kotarski and Grants Coordinator Shannon Barry.
Parents lined up at food vendors parked outside of the Westfield High School open house. (Photo submitted)
The schools also got creative with open houses, where parents get to meet teachers, staff, and each other, and get information on upcoming school events.
At the Westfield High School open house on Sept. 10, food vendors parked outside the school from 4 to 8 p.m., giving parents an opportunity for some good food and a chance to catch up with each other in a less formal atmosphere. The vendors were sponsored by the Council on Peer Education (COPE) to promote community building.
“I was very pleased with the turnout of our open house and all of the kind and supportive comments from parents about our school and staff. Our open house gave me a great opportunity to interact with families informally, and really has me excited for this school year. We’re off to an outstanding start and all of our teachers, administration and students are excited,” said Westfield High School Principal Charles Jendrysik.
Food was also part of the Westfield Middle School’s open house plans, with a cookout sponsored by the PTO at 5 p.m., preceding the program from 6 to 8 p.m.
KEVIN J. SULLIVAN (WNG File Photo)
On September 16, barely two weeks into the new school year, the Westfield School Committee and the entire district suffered a devastating loss with the sudden passing of Vice Chair Kevin J. Sullivan.
“He will be sorely missed by family, friends and the entire community,” Czaporowski said, in announcing the cancellation of the School Committee meeting scheduled for September 17. “His work with the School Committee was all about the kids.”
That day, School Committee members released a formal statement:
“Kevin has been on the School Committee since 2008. He was currently in his 3rd term.”
“During his time on the School Committee he served multiple times as Vice-Chairman and the Chairperson of The Finance Sub-Committee. He led the Committee in Unit A collective bargaining agreements for the past 8 years which, among other things, ultimately led to savings of millions of taxpayer dollars in the coming years.
“He also worked diligently with WPS staff to establish an updated technology plan to help students become 21st Century learners. He also served under three Superintendents.”
Collectively, School Committee members said, “Kevin’s accomplishments on the School Committee extend beyond standard expectations. He spent countless hours advocating for students with positive outcomes. His experience and personality will never be replaced.”
One month later, on Oct. 15, Cindy Sullivan was 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. No action was taken at the meeting on filling the vacant seat on the committee.
Bo Sullivan is sworn in as a member of the School Committee by City Clerk Karen M. Fanion Monday. (Photo by Amy Porter)
That seat was filled on Dec. 16, in a joint meeting of the School Committee and the City Council. Bo Sullivan, Kevin Sullivan’s brother and a board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield expressed his interest in filling out the year remaining on his brother’s term. Also putting in his name was former School Committee member Jeffrey Gosselin.
Both candidates were given an opportunity to speak. Bo Sullivan was then appointed by a majority vote of the two committees.
“It was a difficult process. Kevin is missed by this committee, and his seat can’t be filled,” said Cindy Sullivan at the end of the meeting. She said Bo Sullivan stepped forward at the request of the family, and added, “We’re thrilled to have Bo.”
Reflections on Redistricting
Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski (WNG file photo)
Asked for some comments this week on how the redistricting went overall, Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski decided to reach out to the principals of the Westfield Intermediate School, Westfield Middle School, Highland Elementary and Munger Hill.
“As you know, the middle and intermediate schools had to start from scratch. In my visits to both schools, I am impressed with how quickly the students have acclimated and how the schools have already developed their own identities. In speaking to a student from the intermediate school on my radio show last week, his comment was, ‘the intermediate school is way better than elementary school. I like that we have more than one teacher all day.’ Extracurricular activities at both schools are really taking off as well. Students are participating in high numbers. For example, 120 students are in the Intermediate School chorus! And they sound great!” Czaporowski said.
He also said that he reached out to Highland and Munger because they were the schools most affected, with Munger Hill taking half of the elementary ELL program and Highland absorbing most of Russell.
Highland Elementary Principal Mary Claire Manning
“The students and staff of Highland School were eager to welcome the Russell Elementary students and families at the start of the 2018-2019 school year. The transition was seamless and it feels like the Russell students have always been a part of Highland. ALL students are excited to learn and to work together as part of our Highland School community. Go Huskies!”
Munger Hill Principal Salvatore Frieri
“We couldn’t be more satisfied with how well the transition to becoming a K-4 school with a more diverse and energetic student body has gone for us at Munger Hill. With 60 new English learners, we are able to continue our important work on inclusive learning environments for all of our 365 children. The district prepped us well to ensure success for our new EL program by allocating four full time positions, which we’ve been able to fill with two caring and intelligent teachers as well as two very dedicated and helpful bilingual paraprofessionals. We could not have found so much immediate success without the truly collaborative efforts and positive attitudes of our teachers most of which, until now, had never taught students for whom English is a second language.”
Westfield Intermediate School Principal Katherine Bourque
“For the huge undertaking the transition was – it went extremely smooth. It was a community effort and I am grateful for the support. The Intermediate School is running smoothly and we are already creating new traditions.”
Westfield Middle School Principal Paul Newton
“The successful transition at Westfield Middle School far exceeded my expectations. We were pretty sure that the students would settle in fairly quickly. Young people tend to be highly resilient and adaptable to change. Many of the students knew one another from their elementary schools and from sports programs and other activities in Westfield. The staff and parents in our new Westfield Middle School family have been nothing short of amazing throughout this period of transition. Our school genuinely has the feel that we have been united together for years not months. I thank all of the members of our school family for trusting us and working with us to make Westfield Middle School a place where our students can thrive as thinkers and doers. We look forward to see what the future holds as we continue to grow together as a community of learners!”
