School Committee voices opinion about West End development plan

Date: 1/24/2012

Jan. 25, 2012

By G. Michael Dobbs

news@thereminder.com

CHICOPEE — As city officials and residents have been asked to comment on the development plan for the downtown and the West End, members of the School Committee are sending their own request: additional athletic fields on city-owned parcels in the area.

School Committee member MaryBeth Pniak-Costello said that she and fellow member Deborah Styckiewicz have been advocating for more soccer and lacrosse fields and will be sending a letter of support to the Office of Community Development.

Pniak-Costello made her remarks at the School Committee meeting on Jan. 18.

Pniak-Costello also made a motion, which was approved, to annually send school enrollment statistics to the City Council.

“Hopefully the City Council will learn of the high rate of homelessness [among students],” she said.

The district has students from homeless families who are living in emergency housing in the city.

Pniak-Costello believes the City Council should take the over-all number of students into consideration “as they redevelop the city.”

The School Committee also approved a motion that the evaluation of Superintendent Richard Rege be postponed until the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s model for the evaluation process is received.

School Committee member Michael Pise explained that normally the committee would have started the evaluation, but is waiting for the state guidelines.

Pniak-Costello said that she considers Rege’s strongest attribute to be “how he handles people.”

“Because of his people skills, we don’t have chaos,” she said.

School Committee members Adam Lamontagne noted that test scores have been improving under Rege’s administration and the dropout rate has decreased.

The principals of the James C. Selser School, the Gen. John J. Stefanik School and the Hugh Scott Streiber School presented a progress report of their schools to the School Committee at the meeting.

Each of the principals brought along students and faculty members to speak to the committee.

January Wilson, principal of the Streiber School, and her students spoke on the importance the creation of a student council has made on the school. The group has made numerous recommendations for activities such as fashion show, a can drive for Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen and organized games for indoor recess.

Wilson also spoke about the school’s ambassadors program in which older students serve as guides for new students.

The students brought by Lynn Clark, principal of the Stefanik School, spoke on the creation of a “Fit Club” to encourage greater physical fitness and a fifth grade boys’ book club to assist in reading skills.

Clark said that increasing parental involvement at the school was one of her goals.

Irene Lemieux, principal of the Selser School, also shared that goal. Community service has also been important at the school, she added. Among the efforts have been sending Valentine’s Day cards to the elderly, food drives and collecting pennies to donate to charities.

State officials recognized the Selser School for its recycling efforts, she added.