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Superintendent reports smoother bus routes, new classroom lockboxes and portables as school year begins
Summary
Superintendent Desmond told the committee that Kindergarten and preschool students returned this week, the district added classroom lockboxes for high school phone storage, new portables were opened at Francis Drake and a new playground installed; busing remains a work in progress and families are urged to use the district's bus app.
Superintendent Desmond updated the School Committee on back-to-school operations during the Sept. 2 meeting, citing portable classrooms at Francis Drake, a new playground, classroom lockboxes for phones and ongoing adjustments to bus routes.
Desmond said the district welcomed students in grades 1'12 on Aug. 27 and noted that kindergarten and preschool students returned the week of the meeting. She said Francis Drake opened new portables now being used for pre-kindergarten and that the playground installation there was completed over the summer.
She told the committee the district purchased lockboxes for all high-school classrooms so students can secure phones at the start of class; at the middle-school level the district is practicing "bell-to-bell" phone storage where devices are locked when students arrive and unlocked at dismissal.
"At our high school level, we are allowing the phones to be utilized during transition times and during lunch," Desmond said. She added that the district supports the phone-storage practices because staff are seeing "more engaged students and less distractions during the educational times." The superintendent encouraged families to download the district's bus app, which she said provides precise bus arrival times as routes are refined.
Student representatives offered updates relevant to operations: Von Patel, the Leominster High School student representative, described longer lunch lines but said free lunch remains available and highlighted upcoming events including homecoming and the first home football game. A CTI representative, Hirsch Patel, reported staffing additions at the Career and Technical Institute, a new signboard and a brick-oven pizza oven capable of cooking a pizza in about three minutes.
Desmond thanked staff, city departments and the committee for support over the summer on projects ranging from portables to playgrounds and repairs. She said busing has improved each day since adding kindergarten routes but asked for patience while routes settle.
No committee vote was taken; the report was informational.
