Good Morning,
I hope this Superintendent Update for April 2023 finds you and yours well. There is a very old saying that April showers bring May flowers! Well, so far, the weather has been rather cold, wet and damp... So, let's look forward to some sun and fun in the weeks ahead as we continue our journey together focused upon “teaching and learning with purpose!”
Enrollment: Our enrollment as a regional school district has steadied. As of this morning, we have 1452 students enrolled within our district. David Prouty High School has 351 students enrolled; Knox Trail Middle School has 378 students; Wire Village School has 440 students; and East Brookfield Elementary School has 254 students including 118 students enrolled for the "Cubs Corner" Preschool!
Personnel: Open positions for summer and fall have begun to be posted within the district. If you are interested in becoming a part of our family, please continue to check back and apply at: https://www.schoolspring.com
Project Bread Advocacy: Recently, I had the honor and privilege to share a virtual space with Addario Miranda, Amy Mistrot, Bernie McMann, Dr. Magda Parvey, and Marta García. To hear their encouraging words during the webinar was such a great reminder of why we do this work every day. A recording of the panel is linked here to revisit and share.
We're so grateful to have legislators, school administrators and staff, students, community leaders, and grassroots advocates alike continuing to discuss the issue of– and fight against– food insecurity while centering the experiences of those most impacted by hunger and poverty. This event was a reminder of the impact and necessity of this policy, and we are thankful that Massachusetts has heard us and passed the supplemental budget needed to secure School Meals for All for the rest of the school year.
As for next steps, we ask that legislators maintain support by cosponsoring An Act Relative to School Meals (H.603/S.261) and urge their colleagues to pass the one-year extension of the school meals program for the 2023-2024 school year to ensure children can make the most of their education.
For our fellow hunger advocates, if you are not already a part of our Feed Kids Coalition, please be sure to join here, and take action by thanking Governor Healey and the legislature for supporting School Meals for All here.
Thank you again to Project Bread and others for what you have done and continue to do to make all our shared efforts a success!
MassHealth Redetermination Process Begins! As you may or may not have already heard, Starting April 1, 2023, MassHealth will begin the eligibility redetermination process, renewing all 2.3M members over the following 12 months. This will generally be the first-time members are at risk of losing their coverage since February 2020. In preparation for this effort, MassHealth has increased staffing significantly to handle a greater volume of calls and applications, improved our systems to automatically renew as many members' coverage as possible, and is working in close collaboration with health plans, providers, and other stakeholders. Even with this preparation, we understand that this may be difficult for members. We’re asking for your support as part of our outreach strategy.
MassHealth is sharing the Phase 2 Redeterminations Outreach Toolkit for you and your partners to help educate members and make sure they are prepared and know how to complete their renewal. This toolkit includes key messages as well as downloadable flyers, posters, and other materials in 9 languages. This toolkit also includes materials for specific populations, such as children and families, members experiencing homelessness, or members with disabilities. We are also excited to share the MassHealth Renewal Help Guide, a new resource for individuals who interact with members.
You can learn more about the upcoming redeterminations process at mass.gov/masshealthrenew.
Hoax Phone Calls. It has been brought to our attention that "swatting" calls resumed last week with hoax phone calls coming in to many schools throughout the Commonwealth.
"Swatting" is a hoax in which a caller seeks to bring about a significant police response by making a non-credible threat of violence.
If a school were to receive a call, we would immediately initiate our safety procedures (e.g., Shelter-In-Place, Lockdown) that have been established with the support of our local police departments to ensure the well-being of our students and staff. As we have done in the past, caregivers would be notified if their student's school was initiating a safety procedure via the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District's automated “alert” messaging system through Apptegy.
The safety, health and wellness of our students and staff is our highest priority. Please contact your son or daughter’s school principal if you have further questions
Student Recognition: As we turn our attention to spring 2023, we would be remiss if we did not take time to celebrate our students-athletes and all of their successes from the winter season.
- Winter Cheer finished up their season with a solid showing at regionals and was in attendance cheering on every one of our boys’ basketball games throughout the tournament.
- The Boys Basketball Team went undefeated in the SWCL; won the Clark Small School Championship; and finished in the Division 5 State Finals at UMass-Lowell’s Tsongas Center on the last day of the winter season.
- Girls Track: As well, our Girls Track Team won the SWCL "Division B" Championship and sent a handful of student-athletes to states in Boston, where they had a strong showing representing David Prouty HS!
Take A Bow!! Many congratulations to the entire cast and crew on an outstanding set of performances over the past few days. DPHS Drama "Addams Family The Musical" was the first production put forward by our district in over four-plus years. Please join us in extending a heartfelt “Job Well Done” to each and every member of the DPHS Drama "Addams Family The Musical" production!
Podcasts Growing in Popularity! Since the introductory episode of the Choose SEBRSD podcasts, students have been working diligently to produce multiple episodes covering their experiences in the CTE marketing program, as well as a recap of the boys’ basketball season and work experiences in the community with various companies. To catch one of their exciting episodes on Spotify, or Apple.
MSBA Update: Sustainability – Front & Center! David Prouty High School Students and Staff met recently with the Owner Project Mgr, Architects, and Specialists - to review sustainability efforts including NE Chips for our building project!
Next Meeting: Our next meeting of the David Prouty High School Building Committee is tentatively planned to take place on Thursday, April 13th, 2023 at 6:00pm at the Wire Village School. All are welcome to these important in-person meetings.
The My Ideal School Contest is BACK! The 14th Annual My Ideal School Contest is officially OPEN! Grab your crayons, grab your watercolors, grab your colored pencils because it’s time to get drawing! For information as to how to participate, click here.
Early College Update! David Prouty High School continues to offer Early College courses. This spring semester Entrepreneurship is taking place in partnership with Worcester State. Students are working diligently to learn about wat is takes to be an entrepreneur in the 21st century and are really enjoying the course. Moving forward, David Prouty High School administration, faculty and staff are looking to expand our offerings in Early College with Anna Maria College, Mount Wachusett and Worcester State. We thank our local colleges and universities for their partnership and look forward to becoming an Early College designated high school in the coming school year with the Massachusetts Board of Education and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education… More to come.
CTE Update: Quality Support System (QSS) happening this spring! David Prouty High School is excited to be a part of the Quality Support System process with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) Career and Technical Education Division. David Prouty High School is one of nine schools that DESE will partner with in this learning process to examine our work in the area of career and technical education. We appreciate DESE’s readiness to work together. This is a learning process, and we look forward to the opportunity this spring to learn from them and them from us, as well. More to come.
Upcoming Events in April 2023!
As you know, each month we have many exciting activities taking place throughout our learning community. This month, in the month of April, here are just a few things planned.
- Event: SEPAC Meeting – Bullying: What Parents Need to Know via Zoom. (Mon, April 3, 6:30 PM)
- Event: School Closed: Holiday – Good Friday (Fri, April 7)
- Event School Committee Meeting (Tue, April 11, 6:00 PM)
- Event: SEBRSD/Spencer Night at the Worcester Red Sox (Wed, April 12, 6:00pm)
- Event: School Building Committee Meeting (Thurs, April 13, 6:00pm)
- Event: School Closed – April Recess (April 17 – 21)
MCAS Season Begins! MCAS has been upgraded to better measure the critical skills students need for success in the 21st century: deeper understanding; knowledge application; synthesizing; and writing. Most students will take the test on a computer reflecting the digital world we live in today. MCAS helps the Commonwealth identify schools and districts that need additional support. The next-generation MCAS reports your child's scores in new categories that better show whether your child is meeting expectations in their grade level.
Beginning at the end of March/beginning of April, your child will be taking MCAS, our Commonwealth’s standardized test. Let’s work together and make your child’s experience a positive and successful one! We’ve been preparing at school. Here are some suggestions you can do to help everyday:
✔Ensure your child arrives at school on time.
✔Have your child eat a healthy breakfast at home or at school.
✔Ensure your child gets a good night’s sleep.
✔Gently encourage them to do their best.
✔And finally, take a quick moment to write an encouraging note to your child.
To learn more on steps you can take as parents/families, go to the MCAS Resources for Parents/Guardians website.
And finally, thank you for your continued partnership and support of the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District. #Innovate #Inspire #Achieve
Sincerely Yours,
Paul S. Haughey, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District