Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Superintendent outlines course-scheduling changes, grant renewal and agricultural collaboration
Summary
Superintendent reported course-scheduling changes to streamline freshmen/sophomores, a pending Drug Free Community grant renewal, rebranding of a local prevention group to Quabbin Community Cares, and talks with DESE and neighboring districts about a collaborative agricultural program.
The district’s superintendent on Jan. 8 told the Quabbin Regional School District School Committee that the high school will streamline course selection for freshmen and sophomores to increase face-to-face advising and reduce schedule fixes after the school year begins.
The superintendent said the district will pursue renewal of the Drug Free Community grant (applications due in February) and noted the local group previously called "Q Drug" voted to rename itself "Quabbin Community Cares" and broaden programming to include food-insecurity work and a community closet housed in district schools. "The Q Drug is no longer going to be called Q Drug. They voted at their meeting on Tuesday night to change the name to Quabbin Community Cares," the superintendent said.
On career-technical opportunities, the superintendent described outreach from the Department of Agriculture and a planned collaboration with Spencer-East Brookfield School District to develop an agricultural program at New Braintree: officials said a multi-district collaborative would make the program viable given student interest levels and regulatory requirements through DESE.
Administrators also described budget planning steps: priority areas have been identified, a five-year spending review is underway to align recurring costs with needs, and enrollment trends at the elementary level are being used to forecast staffing needs. The superintendent emphasized distinguishing "needs" from "wants" as the district prepares for collective bargaining and the state budget cycle.
The administration said it will host school-based meetings and PTO sessions to gather community feedback for the strategic plan and will report back to the committee as grant and program developments progress.
