At the last meeting of the School Committee, Superintendent Heather Perry announced that Gorham received $560,000 more than anticipated for education in state subsidy, and she hopes for budget increases in the future as well. She is taking more steps on an approved referendum for major capital renovation on Gorham High School (GHS), having been approved for $150,000 in seed money.
Perry mentioned that Gorham was working with Westbrook, Scarborough, and South Portland on a regional job fair for substitute teachers, and is hoping to increase the number of attendees as well as hired substitutes.
In reference to Proficiency Based Learning (PBL), Perry stated that parents of students in K-6 will be seeing new report cards through Jump Rope. Parents will soon be told about the change in report cards and how to prepare for conferences through “How-To” videos arriving online. For parents of 7-12 graders, there will be fewer changes.
September is attendance awareness month, and the Count Me In project is working towards battling chronic absentees.
Currently the number of K-12 students stands at 2,756 students. Most increases have been at the elementary levels, which was as expected. Total enrollment is up 105 students from three years ago with the biggest growth being in grades K-3. Narragansett has 38 students more than last year and 30 of those are in second grade alone. The high school has 850 students and no additional classroom space according to Principal Jandreau.
The maintenance crews were thanked for getting the schools up and running for the new year. Norm Justice, facilities and transportations director, gave a summer maintenance report which included installing new playground equipment as part of We Love Gorham Day; installing sinks at Village cafeteria; converting a storage closet into a classroom at GHS; and repairing athletic field lights.
All five principals reported that the opening of each school was successful and filled with energy, excitement and a lot of new staff.
Perry referenced PBL again and teachers’ overachieving goals regarding it. PBL is focused on assessment practices, proving professional development to teachers. The graduation policy is a large focus of the Committees moving forward. Another big goal is engaging people with PBL and making sure it aligns with mission and vision.
Perry addressed the stature requirement for Title 1 and Title 2, which offers the opportunity for public acknowledgment regarding the use of national funding. Title 1 focuses on the lowest 25 percent of performing students in ELA and math, making sure that the number of students in that area that are proficient increases. Title 2 is about professional development, focusing on PBL work.
Darryl Wright took action on 2017- 2018 superintendent goals. All have been discussed and approved. The budget development timeline was approved.
Perry mentioned a nationwide resolution in the support of public education. She asked the Committee to approve the new resolution, which includes support of public charter schools, created in response to the Every Student Succeeds Act. The purpose is to fund and support all public schools. A motion was made to approve the movement and the motion was passed.
Kyle Currier was nominated and approved as the MSBA delegate for the upcoming fall conference. Sarah Titus was approved for the position of Middle School Boys Cross Country coach.