Oh boy!

 Hmmmm....... eight new faculty members,and new faces, new and exciting staff  Bacon states. Sadly  ALL teachers who have not returned were teachers that spoke out against Miller, Bacon and Perry . Bacon also seems to be taking on a class but nothing was said of Perry who just got that big addition in her pay .. hmmmmm.
I wonder who are they trying to convince us or themselves? Poor leadership, and poor management does not change just because you changed the environment .

Its Not only classes that have changed, but also Bacon states----- Bacon said, the school offered sports-focused physical education and personal fitness. This year, Bacon hopes to have sports-focused physical education, conditioning (a revamped version of personal fitness), adventure (to include alternative forms of exercise like biking and hiking), and physical education dance. However, she said it’s “still a work in progress on how that would work .( Isn't this Gina Johnsons job??) Seems these two flunkies ( Bacon and Perry) can do all jobs and redesign them, First Cathy HH, Now Gina?

Sorry but the dance reminded me of grade school when we had to learn square dancing - Thank God that ended. :)

Sadly PVRS will never be the happy school it once was nor will it thrive like it once did . However a shout out to Wendy Hubbard and the other parents for making the first day rock.

NORTHFIELD — New faces aren’t in short supply as Pioneer Valley Regional School starts its 2017-2018 school year.
Pioneer Principal Jean Bacon said that in the wake of staff reductions that reduced the number of classroom teachers from 45 to 35, there are eight new faculty members and two long-term substitutes.
Some of the openings, Bacon said, were the result of not being able to renew their contracts for less experienced faculty and some unexpected resignations that resulted in hiring searches over the summer.
“It’s always challenging when people make decisions at the last minute,” she said. “(But) there’s a lot of new faces, new and exciting staff.”
Staffing changes Bacon said as the budget finalized, she was able to keep some of the positions that had been on the chopping block, and that casting a wide net simplified the hiring process, leaving the school in “a good position to start in the fall.”

For example, parents expressed concern during School Committee meetings about having one guidance counselor instead of two. Bacon said the school was able to keep two guidance counselors, who are both new hires. One is dual-certified as an adjustment counselor, and will work with grades seven and eight; the other will focus on college and career readiness with grades nine through 12. Adjustment counselor Erica Masson is also back.
As planned since December, Pioneer is also modeling its own youth in transition program off the Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT) program. Bacon said a business teacher is taking on extra responsibility as the program’s head, helping students with transitioning to and from school. Responsibilities for the position include helping students with job placement and shadowing, find internships and return to school following extended absences.
“We really felt we needed a devoted staff member and a devoted space,” Bacon said of the program.
Additionally, a Transition Team of 10 returning faculty members have revised the faculty guidebook in time for the new hires, Bacon said. The group is working on a new faculty leadership structure to replace the model of having department heads.
New classes Given the staffing changes, there are three classes Bacon hasn’t worked into this year’s schedule: psychology, sociology and civil liberties. Still, she is hopeful to keep the classes.
Several new classes are also debuting, primarily a string of computer science classes intended to meet new technology standards. Bacon said the classes include: Digital Communications for eighth-graders, a revamped version of the ninth-grade Keyboarding and Word Processing class; Exploring Computer Science for ninth- and tenth-graders; and Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles for tenth- through 12th-graders, which Bacon is co-teaching.
Bacon hopes the classes will help “widen the gateway into computer science,” getting more students involved in learning about computer data, the internet, problem solving to make computers work and even creating their own apps.
“It’ll be kids designing things that are meaningful and useful to them,” Bacon said of AP Computer Science Principles.
AP Language and Composition is another new course, along with redesigned physical education classes. Previously, Bacon said, the school offered sports-focused physical education and personal fitness. This year, Bacon hopes to have sports-focused physical education, conditioning (a revamped version of personal fitness), adventure (to include alternative forms of exercise like biking and hiking), and physical education dance. However, she said it’s “still a work in progress on how that would work scheduling-wise.”
Online learning options through Virtual High School have expanded student opportunities, Bacon said, citing students who are taking such varied courses as forensics and oceanography.
Bacon hopes incorporating new staff will prove fruitful in more ways than one, saying she hopes they’ll share their interests with students by offering new clubs potentially focusing on topics like yoga, robotics and the environment.
According to Bacon, having fewer staff has done little to influence class sizes, with the average class having between 16 and 23 students. Some highly popular classes, like French, have been known to regularly have 25 students, she added. However, she said teachers no longer have classes with only a handful of students, with the exception of specialized electives.
“It’s not like anything changed dramatically,” she said.