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Date: 11/23/2016
WILBRAHAM – In the fallout of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District’s failed attempt to unify its two middle schools, Superintendent Albert Ganem and members of the School Committee have received multiple phone calls and emails from parents requesting information on transferring their children from Thornton W. Burgess Middle School to Wilbraham Middle School.
Those parents now have their answer.
Parents of students interested in applying for a transfer from one middle school to another for the 2017-18 school year may do so by submitting a letter to the Superintendent’s Office by Dec. 22, 4 p.m.
The letter must include the name of the child or children, their date of birth, address and grade in addition to an explanation of their request.
The School Committee and Ganem agreed on the transfer request method and timeline at their Nov. 15 meeting.
In order to transfer, a student must be currently enrolled and entering grades 6 to 8. The transfer will only be approved if it is determined to be in the best interest of the child.
Ganem added the information would be sent to families via email and written letter and detailed information would also be posted on the district’s website.
Ganem also reiterated at the meeting his intentions to incorporate fifth grade into Green Meadows Elementary School as opposed to Thornton W. Burgess.
Ganem explained the move would put Hampden schools in line with state educational standards.
“The standards are written up to grade 5 in the elementary school [level] and things change in the sixth grade; it becomes part of that middle school concept,” he said.
Ganem also stressed his belief that fifth grade was a “huge year” for students.
“Please appreciate, not that that we ever teach to the test, but one of the things we assess our fifth grade on the MCAS is ELA, math and science,” he said. “That is the one year where we’re really taking all of these and making sure these kids have that knowledge. It’s really a huge dipstick on how these kids are doing, so it’s incumbent upon us really take a look at the education we’re offering.”
While a measure that does not require School Committee approval, the committee made a vote of unanimous support for Ganem’s decision.
School Committee member James Thompson and Ganem both noted the School Committee’s previous support of the plan.
“I think it’s important to note that at the informational session presentation on Oct. 18, I believe he made it clear that no matter what the outcome of the unification vote that fifth grad students would move from Thornton Burgess back to Green Meadows,” Thompson said. “I think it’s extremely important to be consistent and that it was a good idea then, it’s a good idea now and we should not be second-guessing ourselves.”
In other business, the Attorney General’s Office recently determined the School Committee was not in violation of Open Meeting Law. School Committee member Patricia Gordon made the complaint with regard to the process through which Ganem was selected as the district’s superintendent with the departure of former Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea.
Gordon had alleged that members of the committee had deliberated outside of a scheduled meeting regarding their top-three choices after all members of the committee with the exception on Gordon chose the same
three candidates.
The Attorney General’s Office’s determination explained, “The complainant, who is a Committee member, alleges that based on the lack of discussion prior to the Committee's selection of the top three choices for new school superintendent, a quorum of the committee deliberated about the candidates outside of a meeting. Based on our interviews with the Committee members, we find no evidence that a quorum of the committee communicated about the candidates outside of a meeting.
“Furthermore, the individual conversations between two committee members constitute less than a quorum of the committee, and thus do not constitute deliberation, as defined by the law.”