Here is another clear example of how Bacon does not understand PVRS. Let me be clear here. Many, many students from PVRS have gone on to four year colleges ! Also, Ms. Bacon before you and Miller came here we were one of the top schools in Mass.
( Under Dorion and our previous Administration and teachers)
Pioneer Valley Regional High School was ranked as 69th in Massachusetts, while the Mohawk Trail Regional High School was 74th in the state. Both schools ranked within the top 21 percent of all Massachusetts public schools that were evaluated for this report.
According to US News, about 32 percent of Pioneer Valley Regional School students take Advance Placement courses, and the graduation rate is 91 percent. Based on MCAS scores, 97 percent of students ranked proficient in English and 93 percent are proficident in math.
“Hallelujah,” exclaimed Pioneer school board Chairwoman Pat Shearer, when told of the news. “That has happened to us maybe 10 years ago. I’ve saved the magazine. That is so great. We’ve got a wonderful group of teachers and administrators that are top-notch. That really helps make the kids what they are. It starts from kindergarten on, not just the high school,” Shearer added. “We’ve had graduates go on to military academies, Harvard and Yale, other so-called ‘superschools.’”
http://www.recorder.com/Mohawk-Pioneer-among-best-schools-in-US-News---World-Report-2650584
Since Miller and you came we have been dropped to a Bronze school
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/massachusetts/districts/pioneer-valley/pioneer-valley-regional-9488
Seems to me what we need is to replace you!
Also, if you had any common sense of PVRS you would know that students EARN that free time. They knew this from day one in 7th/ grade. They worked hard and knew that when 12th/ grade came they EARNED special time to go to DD and have them free periods. It wasn't GIVEN to them they EARNED it!
Its obvious that since you all came we have been in a steady decline. No choice school chooses PVRS, and kids and parents have looked elsewhere for their children's education and some parents have removed their kids from PVRS environment due to its so negative .
Miller ,Perry nor you Ms. Bacon are PVRS material. It shows in the schools standings and the environment of the school. The loss of valuable administrators, and teachers. In other words OUR CORE VALUE IS LOST.
SC smarten up .
BERNARDSTON — Hoping students will graduate more ready to succeed in the “real world,” Pioneer Valley Regional School is looking to change its standards to align more with area schools.
Around the new year, Principal Jean Bacon plans to present her goals for the high school to the School Committee for approval.
What this could look like is still up in the air, but at Bernardston Elementary School Thursday night, Bacon presented what a focus-group had drafted, complete with two core proposals: align graduation requirements with MassCore and increase engagement of the student body, particularly juniors and seniors with free time.
“We have these kids for 6.5 hours a day and they’re spending somewhere between 1.5 and 3 hours of that time unstructured,” Bacon said, referring to study hall time. “I’m sure many of them look forward to that and love that, but is that what we want as a community for them?”
When Bacon first came to Pioneer, she said she was “shocked” at the time students spent lounging around and headed to Dunkin’ Donuts, when they could be taking electives.
Instead, Bacon hopes to get students into more electives, although she’s aware they only have so many teachers. Bacon said that the more students sign up for electives, the more likely the district is able to retain teachers. She wants high-schoolers to engage for seven periods a day.
After presenting statistics from the region — showing variables like graduation rate, students going onto four-year colleges and percentage of students coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds — Bacon stated she wants her students to have the chance to achieve more at Pioneer.
With a tight budget, the high school will have to find alternative ways to get its students the coursework they need to advance their learning, Bacon said. For instance, students are offered online Advanced Placement courses and out-of-class internships to learn workplace skills.
“It’s really about preparing kids to be economically viable,” Bacon said. “We don’t just want to prepare them for a minimum wage job.”
Bacon emphasized the importance of four-year college for students to have a career in the 21st-century economy.
Part of this expectation, she continued, comes from the state expecting students to be more “college-ready.” That means when students go to college, they don’t have to take remedial courses to supplement their education, but rather are ready for the coursework; this goes hand-in-hand with offering an array of AP courses, she said.
“We have to give them this message that this is the expected path,” Bacon said. “Everybody should come into Pioneer with the expectation of going on to a four-year college.”
The only pushback during Thursday’s community forum came from the idea that Greenfield Community College might not be considered sufficient for students. She countered to say that GCC can definitely be the best fit, but the general expectation of the student body should be a four-year college.
Bacon reminded parents this curriculum isn’t necessarily for every student, adding she’s also working on alternative programming for students who need it.
If all of this is achieved, Bacon believes Pioneer can bump its statistics up closer to peer schools, like Frontier Regional School, which has similar demographics. And if Pioneer can do that, she feels students will graduate more prepared than ever for their next step in life.
Future forums Bacon will lead three other community forums at Warwick Community School on Monday, Pearl Rhodes Elementary School on Thursday and Northfield Elementary School on Nov. 13. All forums start at 6:30 p.m.
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