CHS AD outlines coaching changes, new hoops hires

By Mike Berger

The School Committee last week heard a proposal by CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson to consolidate the coaching staffs of the boys’ and girls’ winter and spring track teams to include one head coach responsible for both teams with three assistant coaches. The current coaching configuration consists of a head coach and two assistants per team.

CHS AD Danny Erickson

Erickson said the move would save around $1,000 per season, adding that it makes sense because the teams work so closely together. Both teams currently practice together and have the same meets. “I think it will be more efficient this way,” he said.

Erickson said he will post the position this week and should be able to name a head coach within two weeks.

In other coaching news, Erickson said he has appointed new head boys’ and girls’ basketball coaches for the upcoming season.

Caitlin Jamiel will lead the girls’ program, replacing Kaitlin Mills, who stepped down after two seasons. Jamiel graduated from Norton High School and Keene State, and is currently an assistant wellness coordinator at Stoughton High.

The new boys’ coach will be Ryan Gordy, a teacher at Blackstone Millville Regional High School who has prior coaching experience at the freshman level. Gordy replaces Mike Devoll, a Canton High alum and former CHS teacher who coached the team from 2003-2011.

Both positions drew many applicants and great interest. “We are excited to have both coaches,” said Erickson.

In other news at last week’s School Committee meeting, committee members heard a presentation by Nancy Sullivan, director of The Education Cooperative (TEC). Assisting Sullivan in the presentation was Liz McGonagle, administrator for instructional services. School Superintendent Jeff Granatino said Canton pays an annual assessment of $24,270 to TEC; however, he said the agency has saved the district substantially more than that each year, including $140,000 in special needs costs and $32,000 in cooperative purchasing.

A regional cooperative serving communities west of Boston, TEC provides member schools with access to a variety of resources for students, teachers and schools, including professional development courses, administration and teacher licensing, online student courses, college fairs, and student internships. TEC also runs dozens of Job Alike Groups, which consists of monthly meetings for professionals in a particular field to discuss common issues and share ideas.

Granatino, school business manager Ken Leon, and many of the School Committee members praised TEC for the value and quality of its programs.

In other news:

* The committee asked Leon to further investigate the cost of implementing an online payment system for various school fees.

Currently, the school lunch program has such a service, and Town Hall uses an online system for real estate taxes.

Leon said the challenge is finding a third party provider that can categorize all the different school fees with a specific accounting number, accept the customer payment, make the transfer with the bank, and submit it to the town treasury. Leon estimated the cost of the program at around $25,000.

* Granatino also reported great success with the recent free screening of the documentary film “Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture,” held October 25 at CHS. The film focused on the stress and pressure that many students across the nation are facing in today’s classrooms. Granatino said that approximately 500 people saw the film.

“This was a great opportunity to open up dialogue on the issues brought up by the film,” he said.

* Committee member Elisabeth Salisbury, who also serves as the liaison to the Canton Youth Commission, said the commission is inquiring about a small amount of office space from either the schools or Town Hall.

* The School Committee will meet again tonight, November 10, at 7 p.m. in the CHS Distance Learning Lab.

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