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Date: 2/10/2021
WESTHAMPTON – Hampshire Regional High School Principal Kristen Smidy gave updates on quarter one, new cohort information, transportation, Clarke program, and sports at the Hampshire Regional School Committee’s Feb. 1 meeting.
According to Smidy, one of the academic interventions the school tried in quarter one allowed students to recover any credit from failed classes during the winter vacation. Students who participated in this were allowed to make up credit for up to two classes and earn a 60 for the course instead of their failing grade.
Smidy shared that 18 percent of students failed one or more classes and out of that percentage 62 students signed up for a total of 90 courses. Twenty five students recovered their grades in a total of 27 courses.
“This was a bit disappointing because we had hoped that more students would take advantage of the opportunity. I did want to note that multiple students did sign up to recover more than one class and it seemed that the trend was that students were able to make up the work for one but not both classes, even if they attempted that,” Smidy said.
She continued to say that it was good information to have so they knew how to move forward.
Smidy shared that her principal’s group is continuously coming up with ideas that will support the students when it comes to things like grades, applying to colleges without adding additional stress and anxiety.
“I do acknowledge that there seems to be a trend across the nation so I am trying not to take it too personally but I certainly feel for our Hampshire kids who are in a situation where they are struggling and there is little they can do,” Smidy said.
Smidy shared that in the past they allowed cohort changes as soon as they could happen but now the school has changed the policy around that.
Students who wish to switch from remote to hybrid can only happen at the quarter or progress report time because of all the time it takes to switch students over. This does not include any students who only switch for a limited time due to being sick or have any other conflicts. Students who wish to switch from hybrid to remote can happen anytime.
On Jan. 25, the middle school Clarke Mainstream Program began. School Committee Chair Margaret Larson told Reminder Publishing that the Clarke School educates deaf and hard of hearing students. The high school houses a program in their building for that purpose.
For two half days a week on Monday and Tuesday, there are five students and one teacher involved with the program. Clarke follows all Hampshire Regional High School (HRHS) protocols and procedures, follows HRHS calendar for delays and cancellations, use one room in the school for their instruction, and utilize some services such as the nurses and main office.
The Board of Health has permitted outdoor activities to continue with some modifications. The seniors are now planning a sledding day, a capture the flag day, and an outdoor tye dying party.
Myka Plunkett, the musical director, and Jenneka Reynolds, an HRHS parent and the president of the Musical Boosters Club are proposing to have an outdoor musical in June, a week after graduation.
If they can move forward with having the musical, Plunkett said they are planning on putting on the show in the stadium seating area which will allow them to save money on seating. She said that doing it outdoors gives them a lot of opportunities to follow the COVID-19 requirements.
The two of them are looking to have the show on a Friday evening and have double shows on Saturday and Sunday. Plunkett shared that the show she is hoping to put on is shorter in , which also means they would not have to rent lighting equipment.
“I think it is very doable, I think that it is going to present some odd challenges,” Plunkett said.
Plunkett and Reynolds are asking the committee for their ongoing financial support of the musical and that it be worked into their budget. Plunkett is asking the committee to consider funding with $10,000 to $15,000 annually.
Plunkett shared that it usually costs between $18,000 and $21,000 to put on the show every year. In previous years they keep it self-sustained through ticket sales, program ads, and grant writing.
“I think your students have it within themselves to rise to the occasion if we had the funding to provide them a little bit more educational structure to the musical, it is not really reaching its full potential in my opinion. For what it is worth I think it has that capacity and I think it needs a bit of support,” Plunkett said.
Plunkett said without additional funding they will not be able to put on the musical this year.
Business Administrator Bobbie Jones asked that either Plunkett and Reynolds reach out to her to discuss this item deeper.
Smidy announced that they are looking to hire a seasonal COVID-19 compliance coach for indoor practices and games. This job would run for four weeks unless they participate in fall two sports then the position would be extended. The applicant would be required to enforce safety and wellness protocols. The salary is $20 an hour and the compliance coach would observe practices to make sure all strategies are in place.
To apply call the Superintendent's Office at 527-7200 for an application or visit the employment section of our website at www.hrhs.net.
Smidy gave an update on the attendance policy change and said the new changes will reflect their data more accurately.
Before the change, students were marked absent from class if they were more than five minutes late to class in-person or logging on to remote learning.
The revised procedure is if students miss more than 10 minutes of one class period they will be marked absent tardy, a new code in PowerSchool. If a student misses the entire class period, they will be marked absent. If a student misses less than 10 minutes they will be marked late and students who are marked absent and or absent tardy for two classes will be marked absent for the whole day.
Interim Superintendent Michael Sullivan gave an update on the five district agreement working group. He shared that the group found three buckets of work.
The first is to potentially create an all-district committee that will help the oversight of the central office and any other things that need to be figured out between the five schools. The second, providing feedback and oversight on personal issues related to central office including superintendent evaluation, contract for certain central office staff like business director, special ed director, and assistant superintendent. The third, cost-sharing related work, helping with oversight with how costs are shared and divided among the five.
Sullivan said that while the working group considers all three portions, they will bring it back to their respected committees, and hopefully, they can all vote on it soon.
During the meeting, the committee approved a letter asking that teachers teaching in-person are prioritized once the educator vaccine begins. Larson used the example that school nurses were low on the list when medical professionals were being vaccinated.
After two hours, the committee went into an executive session to discuss the tuition agreement with Worthington School District.
The Worthington district does not have a high school so HRHS formed a tuition agreement with the town to allow students to attend the high school.
Larson shared that Worthington students currently pay $7,500 per student attending the high school.
According to Larson, the Worthington tuition contract is ending this year so the two committees are in the works of crafting a new agreement.
The Hampshire Regional School Committee decided to send the proposal back for another round of negotiations.
“In general terms, Worthington would like a non-voting member on the committee as well as a longer-term contract. There are specific dollar amounts that are still being negotiated as well,” Larson said.
Worthington School Committee Chair Alison Todd said nurturing a long-term relationship will be beneficial for both districts. She added that if they build a consistent annual increase into the contract rather than one steady number for five years and then having to meet again to rework it, it would be easier for people to plan their budgets ahead of time.