We have almost made it to the finish line and our last meeting
of the school year was last night. The first thing we did was celebrate the
contributions of three retiring MVMMS teachers: Mr. Greer (Tech. Ed.), Ms.
Iagulli (Special Education), and Ms. Ahern (Science). Thanks to you all for the
amazing work you have done with students!
Supt. Taymore explained that the technology planned for the
new science labs will come in under budget, allowing for an unexpected
opportunity to perform work that was planned for two-three years from now
including: expanding wireless capacity (not only in the science wing but in
some other locations in the HS); expanding the wireless to 10GB; upgrading the
core switch at the HS; and segregating the MS and HS networks from the city
server (increasing speed). These improvements will allow for some additional
bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs including using cell phones during
instruction in a focused way.
We added some policies on non-discrimination and equal
opportunity for all (students and staff included) in order to be clear about our
intent as a school district prior to hiring new staff for the fall. These
policies are in sync with Melrose’s “One Community Open to All” approach and
declare that we will not tolerate discrimination or unequal hiring/education.
Beginning in July, we will take a systemic approach to
revising the district’s Policy Manual. The Manual is the primary way the
School Committee sets expectations and provides guidance to the superintendent
about how we expect the district to operate. We hope you will follow this
process and let us know what you think.
As you know, every year we evaluate the superintendent, and
this year’s process will occur in our two July meetings. In August, Supt.
Taymore will set her goals for the coming school year.
For more info, please check out the IQM2 portal on the
School Committee page of the melroseschools.com web site.
Thank you, thank you, for all you have done and all you
continue to do for our students!!