Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.

Skills academy gets first grant

Date: 5/3/2011

May 4, 2011

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Editor

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Plans for a 21st Century Skills Academy for high school students at risk of dropping out came one step closer to reality earlier this year when the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) awarded West Springfield a $15,000 Innovation Schools Planning Grant for curriculum development.

According to information obtained from the DESE Web site, West Springfield was among 21 Massachusetts school districts to receive Innovation Schools grant funding for fiscal year 2011. Other local districts included Springfield, Belchertown, Ware, Granby and Easthampton. The site indicates the purpose of these grants is to "give educators and other stakeholders across the state the opportunity to create in-district schools that will leverage the lessons learned from the state's top performing autonomous schools."

The grant does not provide funding for implementation of a program once it has been developed.

School Superintendent Dr. Russell Johnston shared with the School Committee at an April meeting that this grant would be used to develop online curriculum modules in conjunction with the Lower Pioneer Valley Education Collaborative (LPEC).

"LPVEC has been at the forefront of online learning for at-risk students," Johnston explained, adding that, following the LPVEC model, these courses would be "geared toward unique learning needs."

School Committee member Pat Garbacik questioned if students enrolled in the new academy would take classes at West Springfield High School or the LPVEC.

Johnston said under the tentatively proposed curriculum model, students participating in the 21st Century Skills Academy would remain enrolled at the high school and could still participate in clubs and sports. The classes, which he said would be taken either at the high school or LPVEC, could be completed in less time than a traditional class, would be "more hands-on" and would have an online component.

School Committee member Kathy Alevras asked Johnston how participating in this online curriculum would affect a student's graduation requirements. Johnston indicated the School Committee would need to approve graduation requirements for academy students.

He said school administrators and representatives from the LPVEC were in the process of creating a curriculum planning committee for the academy and hoped to have the program ready for the fall term.

Grant monies, he said, would be used for planning and to purchase some of the materials needed for the new program, as stipulated by the DESE.

The school department has not secured funding to implement the 21st Century Skills Academy, he added.



Bookmark and Share