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Date: 10/18/2022
AMHERST – After a year of starting school earlier, the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee discussed the results of a survey sent out to parents, students and staff about the survey during their Oct. 11 meeting.
The survey was compiled by Margo Pedersen, a town intern from Amherst College. The new start times were 9 a.m. for Amherst Regional High School (ARHS)and Amherst Regional Middle School (ARMS), and 8:10 a.m. for elementary schoolers.
According to the survey, over 50 percent of students, families and staff experienced the change as “net positive.” Students’ mental and physical health improved, while the scheduling shift helped many working parents better balance their home life with their job. 47 percent of students reported always getting enough sleep on school nights, and another 30 percent reported getting enough “sometimes.” 70 percent of staff agree that students are more alert during their first two periods of the day.
Some negative feedback was received. The most common complaint for middle and high schoolers was that their dismissal time was now too late; they reported feeling exhausted with not enough time for extracurriculars and homework. In the elementary schools, the complaints were on the behalf of teachers; they reported being rushed in the mornings due to a lack of preparation time. However, 71.8 percent of those surveyed still felt it was in the best interest of the community.
During the meeting, the committee also met with Union 26, the superintendency union representing Leverett and Shutesbury elementary schools as well as Erving and New Salem, to vote on a salary increase for Superintendent Michael Morris. The decision was made to raise Morris’ salary by 2 percent, bringing it to $173,611 for the year, retroactive to July 1. The vote passed unanimously.
After Union 26 was adjourned, Morris gave his superintendent’s update. The district’s Best Buddies program is back in full effect, having hosted their third meeting of the year on the afternoon of the meeting. The ARHS open house was “packed,” and parents enjoyed being back in person.
ALICE training was provided for ARHS and ARMS after press time. This training gives students and teachers strategies for an “active” response to a lockdown or safety situation. It is recommended at the state and federal level, and a new, licensed trainer from the Amherst Police Department led instruction. Members of Amherst Recreation will also receive the training.
Morris ended the update by voicing how impressed he was with ARPS student athletes and the crowds that have been attending their games.
“I’ve been really impressed with not only our student athletes but also their fans in the crowd. As athletics reemerge, and we don’t have limits on who goes, there’s no shortage of incidents nationally and locally about fan behavior … what I’m witnessing is that our students are really coming to the games to cheer on our teams, they’re very aware of boundaries … I know these seem like simple things, but they’re not … I just really want to compliment us,” he said.
The enrollment report for the 2022-2023 school year was also revealed. As of Oct. 1, 380 students attend ARMS and 859 attend ARHS. ARMS’s number is down 32 from last year, while ARHS is only down one. At ARMS, grades are broken into “teams.” Seventh grade has one team of 77 students, and an “uber-team” of 109 students, who are provided with two additional core teachers. Eighth grade consists of 92-student and a 93-student teams.
ARPS Finance Director Douglas Slaughter gave a brief budget update. As of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, the district has finished under budget by $687,094, meaning it only spent 97.8 percent of the money it projected to spend. Slaughter reported that the excess was “larger than we would have liked, but not too bad.”
The ARPS School Committee will meet again on Oct. 25.