Pepe says closing Twilight Program would help Central High

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD With Mayor Charles Ryan and the members of the School Committee just learning last week of a four-year process of continued warnings that have led to the placement of Central High School on accreditation probation, one member of the committee thinks it's time for a vote of no confidence for Superintendent Joseph Burke.

School Committee member Antonette Pepe told Reminder Publications that Burke, who told the mayor he was "shocked" by the probation ruling by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, should have known about the warnings over the last four years.

The School Committee had voted this year to extend Burke's contract, although Burke was seeking a new job back in his native Florida, and Pepe thinks that vote should be reversed.

Burke did not attend a press conference Thursday morning in the mayor's office. The vice chair of the School Committee, Kenneth Shea did attend. Ryan said he had spoke to Burke, who was out of town, that morning. Ryan said upon his request, Burke had agreed to supply the documents from over the last four years that led up to the probationary status.

Shea reassured parents and students by stating the probation will not affect the ability of seniors to graduate and enter the college of their choice.

Ryan has called an emergency meeting of the School Committee for the week of Aug 13 to begin the action to correct the conditions at Central High School. He promised ending the probation would be the city's "number one priority."

Ryan said the city " has a mandate to get it [the probation] behind us as quickly as possible."

The probation was triggered by the following concerns listed in the letter from New England Association of Schools and Colleges to Central High School Principal Richard Stoddard included:

The pattern of the excessive class sizes for a period of years resulting in many classes over 30, prohibiting teachers from personalizing learning;

inadequate number of guidance counselors;

an operating budget, which despite some increases cannot support the teaching and learning budget needs of students and faculty;

inadequate technology, with outdated computers and software, and lack of funding for the district's technology plan;

a school schedule that does not support the use of a variety of instructional and assessment strategies.

The letter from Pamela Gray-Bennett, the director of New England Association of Schools and Colleges, read, "Once a school is placed on probation it will remain in that status until it can demonstrate that the identified operating budget deficiencies have been fully resolved. In order for the probation not to deteriorate to a recommendation for termination the school community will have to demonstrate reasonable progress resolving these issues through regular reports to the Commission [on Public Secondary Schools.]"

Shea pointed out the probation was not caused by ineffective teaching or curriculum.

With financial resources an issue with the Central High School probation Pepe said she knows where to get over $500,000 that is already in the School Department budget: eliminate the Twilight Program at Central High, the High School of Commerce and the High School of Science and Technology.

Pepe made a presentation to the Finance Control Board (FCB) recently asking the members to review for themselves the effectiveness of the program. Pepe presented the FCB with attendance figures that showed widespread truancy and tardiness.

From Sept. 5, 2006 through March 30, 2007, there were 2,591 incidences of tardiness and 8,070 incidence of truancy among the 247 students. Pepe said the absences prevented many of the students enrolled in the program from advancing to the next grade.

She said there have been 16 graduates of the program.

The program was designed for students who were failing academically and offers four and a half hours of instruction each afternoon.

The program costs the city $569,175 for teacher salaries with an additional $1,000 a day for a police officer at each school.

"I have complained numerous times that many academic classes in our high schools are overcrowded, with 30 to 40 students in some classrooms," Pepe wrote in her presentation." I feel a solution to this problem is to reassign Twilight Program teachers to the high schools during regular school hours and do away with the Twilight Program. This would not only help reduce the number of students in the over-crowded classrooms, but also would provide instruction to students who need smaller classes for support during the regular school day. It would certainly stop wasting taxpayers' money and resources."