Supt. pleased with schools’ response to CT tragedy

Last week was a difficult one for Canton teachers and school administrators as they grappled with the best way to address the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. However, in searching for a silver lining, School Superintendent Jeff Granatino said he was very impressed with the collaborative effort of parents, administrators, and teachers, who came together via the Internet to share lessons on how to explain the shooting and its ramifications to children and students.

Granatino told the School Committee last week that he was pleased with the cooperation and planning of the teachers and administrators the weekend after the December 14 shooting, which enabled the staff to be ready for students on Monday, December 17.

Granatino thanked Police Chief Ken Berkowitz for having cruisers at all of the schools to help reassure students that they are safe. Granatino said the goal was to shield the children in the younger grades (K-5) from the details of the shooting. Both the middle and high schools observed the national moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, December 21, in honor of the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.

Granatino said administrators in all schools reassessed their public address and communication systems in case of an emergency. Granatino also announced that the Police Department will lead an information session on the new ALICE safety protocols for the School Committee and the public on Tuesday, January 8, at 7 p.m. in the CHS distance learning lab.

A week before the Newtown shooting, Chief Berkowitz, along with CHS School Resource Officer Chip Yeaton, led an initial discussion of ALICE, a violent intruder defense program created by former SWAT officer Greg Crane of Texas. The acronym stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. ALICE is a resistance model that gives students, teachers and administrators more options in a crisis situation. The program uses environmental design technology, communication and human action to improve one’s chances when faced with an immediate danger.

Granatino said it is the intention of Chief Berkowitz and the School Department to hold a separate information night for parents and PTOs after January 8.

In other news:

* The committee received an initial target number of $32.92 million for the FY14 school operating budget from Town Finance Manager Jim Murgia. The number is roughly $1 million more than the current year’s budget; however, School Business Manager Ken Leon said most of the additional funds ($944,000) will be needed to cover increased labor costs associated with the newly approved contracts for school employees. The committee will have until January 30 to deliver a preliminary budget to the Finance Committee.

* Leon also informed the committee of a possible budget deficit looming before the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Although the schools have saved an estimated $334,000 through employee attrition (retirements), as of December 20, there was an overall shortfall of $315,000 made up of increased expenses for substitute teachers, special education transportation, and out-of-district tuition costs. Leon said the special education costs fluctuate from week to week and the deficit could rise or fall in the coming months.

* The committee approved the cash capital budget for FY14 as administrators pared department requests from $1.5 million to $443,000. Portions of this budget include: $99,000 for system-wide HVAC improvements; $19,372 for Hansen School bathroom partitions; $17,770 for replacement of a hot water pump at the Galvin; $16,000 for Hansen School retaining wall repairs; almost $20,000 for district classroom printers; $14,500 for CHS art lab computer upgrades; $50,555 for phase one of the CHS and Galvin wireless build; $48,500 in technology upgrades; $17,585 for Rodman security additions; about $90,000 in textbooks; $20,473 for a new educator evaluation management system; $5,503 for new cafeteria tables at the Luce; and $8,000 for structural engineering work on the CHS bleachers.

* Jen Henderson, Canton Public Schools’ director of curriculum, said the district received a near flawless federal review of its Title 1 program for at-risk students. Henderson said there were 29 areas reviewed and only one minor concern was cited — the lack of an individual report for the middle school. Henderson said the report has been submitted and the district recently received notification of exemplary status for its handling of the Title 1 program.

* Debra Bromfield, director of student services, gave a positive update on her program. She is currently working with the CHS Art Department to create a mural that promotes a sense of community and inclusiveness, and similar murals are being planned at all of the Canton schools. Bromfield also announced that Canton will soon receive a grant from the state Department of Education to teach students problem solving skills and how to process information. She reiterated her goal to be responsive to each child and to give them every opportunity to grow as independently as possible.

* Granatino paid a recent visit to the Metro South Gymnastics facility on Revere Street — the new home of the CHS gymnastics team — and he came away very impressed. He said the space is two to three times larger than the Rodman gym and is much more accessible to spectators.

* The School Committee will next meet on Thursday, January 3.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Dec 27 2012. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.