We have an UPDATE

It seems their was a meeting at the school last night  held in Executive session behind closed doors concerning the Administration and the SC. It was done at the last minute and no announcement except from Gail Healy wanting people to come to support Miller. ( Of course she would after receiving a  hefty raise for 2018, $11,180.00 to be exact. She can't balance a lunch program but we give her a raise. Priceless.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6az_Rkk2vEcbm8yd3VXM1Q5NEk/view  ) However, it seem to of gotten shut down quickly by no other than Paul Young.( we are working on finding out why) Why wasn't this meeting open? Were the other teachers who were bounced out given the opportunity to speak or even notified? It seems in the last couple of years nothing but behind the scenes secrecy has been going on with this committee and Administration. Teachers who have been at PVRS for years have been fired or left , to be replaced with unqualified personnel.  Now, it seems the Principal of Pearl Rhodes  has also left to better pastures, do I believe what Miller said , absolutely not .Now we have a principal doing two schools and this does not seem to be a proper way to handle a school of any size. It was in the budget to have a principal at this school, can anyone say  "misappropriation of funds"? They are giving the principal working two schools an extra 10,000.00 so wheres the rest of the money going that was intended for this position?
So taxpayers are you angry enough yet? We warned you about Miller. This school committee can pretty much tell you whatever they want and you suck it up only to find out down the road it was more lies. Example: Millers first year report .. that was in simple terms lying bullshit! They knew than and now she was a bad choice and that was done simply to cover themselves for NOT doing their jobs. Now it has spiraled so outta control it can no longer be hidden. Suggestion taxpayers get a full audit  by a private company outta the SC and Millers control.

Next step is to contact the state, this is now spiraling outta control. Miller has always  stated she cannot release information as to why a teacher or Administrator leaves yet here she is giving all kind of excuses.. ah no! This is Miller trying to cover her ass. Listen you know we will not get answers from this useless School Committee or Administration and so the only other way to get help for our schools is to contact Mass Dept of Education .

Will update when we hear more. The school year begins and not on a good note , who could of guessed that .

LEYDEN — Bernardston Elementary School Principal Bob Clancy is taking on a new role this year, doubling as Pearl Rhodes Elementary School’s principal in neighboring Leyden.
Clancy stepped in to replace former principal Deanna Leblanc, who announced last month she accepted another job and would not return for the 2017-2018 school year.
Though efforts to reach Leblanc were unsuccessful, Gateway Regional School District’s website shows Leblanc as the assistant principal of Gateway Regional Middle and High School in Huntington.
Pioneer Valley Regional School District Superintendent Ruth Miller suggested during the School Committee meeting she felt Leblanc found another job due to the discussion about potentially closing Pearl Rhodes — which currently has 33 students according to Administrative Assistant Carolyn Curtis. However, no decisions have been made regarding closure.
“It’s been conversation in the town of Leyden, and maybe Deanna was feeling nervous that the school would close while she was there,” Miller said. “She has a family and she felt like she needed to find another job. So it’s very short notice.”

Leblanc worked as Pearl Rhodes principal for one year, serving concurrently as early education coordinator for the district as Christine Maguire had done before her. Renee Keir, a teacher at Bernardston Elementary, will now double as early education coordinator.
Miller said because of discussion around potentially closing Pearl Rhodes, and because of the school’s close proximity to Bernardston Elementary (a 13-minute commute), she thought having Clancy work as principal for both seemed like the best decision. Though $52,800 was budgeted for Leblanc’s salary, Clancy will receive an extra $10,000 for his additional services, Miller said.
Clancy, who has been Bernardston Elementary’s principal for seven years, said that for the time being, his being Pearl Rhodes’ principal is a one-year assignment. He believes administrators may assess in mid-winter how the situation is working and whether it’s important for Pearl Rhodes to have its own principal.
“For the moment, I really am going back and forth between the two buildings, making sure everyone is getting the attention they deserve,” Clancy said of balancing his responsibilities.
Clancy plans to craft a more routine schedule, and work on getting to know students and their families at Pearl Rhodes, the school he feels is “really the sister school to Bernardston.”
“If the other needs me, I will hop right back over,” he said. “I want to make sure I’m 100 percent for both. Obviously I can’t be in both buildings at the same time, but I want to make it work.”
Town officials seem to have mixed feelings about the new arrangement. Some in the audience expressed concern about how Clancy could balance Pearl Rhodes, with 33 students, and Bernardston Elementary, with 158 students, while others were happy to find a solution so last minute.
“I, as a town official, feel Bernardston is entitled to and should have a full-time principal,” Bernardston Selectman Robert Raymond said, adding that Clancy is out of the building frequently enough for administrative meetings.
“I think Leyden is fortunate to have Bob step in at the last minute,” Leyden Selectman Jeffrey Neipp said. “It might give the superintendent and the School Committee some additional revenue that’s needed elsewhere in the district.”
Students and families interested in meeting Clancy are encouraged to attend open houses on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 5:30 p.m. at Bernardston Elementary and Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. at Pearl Rhodes.

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.

Where do you begin ???

Another case of where do you begin..............
In 2015 , let go back and review the day in Leyden.
( SC is for school committee )

Jim McCray of Warwick also expressed his concern over the possibility of adding a public safety officer to Pioneer.
“A school that has a police officer on duty is a huge negative in my mind, and I’m against that unless there is a need for it,” he said. “I don’t see any reason. I can’t see how our school or the reputation of our school is helped by having an armed officer for my kid to see every morning when he walks in.”

 Now if I remember correctly , more than just Jim agreed with this unanimously, but was shrugged off by the SC and Miller.  Students also expressed deep concern about how they felt and that too was written off. Now, a school that once had 42 teachers has what 14 or 15? A school once know for its spirit and pride now has parents searching to  find new ways to educate them and school choice no longer exist. ( Tell us SC hows that working out for you now that you pissed taxpayers money away? Just curious.  )

Also the new Superintendent location, remember that?
 
Another source of discontent was the relocation of the PVRSD’s central office back in January from the Pioneer campus to a space at 168 Main St. in Northfield. The decision came following the discovery of mold in the old office’s basement. The 18-month lease includes monthly payments of $3,030 for an annual total of $36,360.
Scott McKusick, a clerk of the works who examined the mold situation, said at the meeting that the mold was minor, and could have been easily remediated. He sees the administration’s decision as a poor use of taxpayer money.( and it was )

 More money pissed to the wind and wasted and the SC once again made excuses stating it wasn't made to last forever .. hmmm but it was OK for Dayle Dorion before you pushed  her  out right? It was also OK to piss away thousands of tax dollars for a rental when this could of been resolved the first year.  Just curious but hows that working out for you now SC? 

Or my favorite quote - 

“The system is bleeding administrators that are leaving,”
Now we can add the teachers who spoke out against Miller, Bacon and Perry. Thats right people, all them teachers gone spoke out against them and now have no jobs.. ANOTHER WARNING YOU DID NOT LISTEN TO SC AND THAT CAME FROM TEMPLETON TWO YEARS AGO.  ( Again we jut need to ask how is that working out for you now? Yep, were still curious )

Remember this? This was two years ago.

 Two of Franklin County’s regional high schools received “silver medal” rankings, placing them among the nation’s top 9 percent of “Best High Schools,” according to US News and World 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
Pat Shearer own words:
 
“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.’” ( won't be saying that again now will ya Pat) Maybe we should contact these news source to do an update on how PVRS has progressed these last two years, I am sure alot will be said by many.

Look at us now . :(  In just two short years our once happy and healthy school  has become this today where parents are looking for other sources of education, where school choice is down to zero and where it once was a student-teacher ratio for Pioneer was 12:1what is it now ? (I am sure we are not even close what maybe 75:1 ) Last I heard PVRS is lacking in paras as well and looking for new hires , how nice to throw people outta jobs and than replace them and lets not forget ALL the administration got one hell of a hefty rate increase in salary. I guess Miller needs this extra for when she starts helping her boy friend with his new school .  In all honesty people how can we with a good conciousness allow her to go to a private school and do to the teachers and students what she has done to Pioneer and Templeton as well? I know your also reading Templeton , shouldn't the state be aware of this abuse? You had the boyfriend who was also asked to leave due to his behavior by Templeton after Miller made sure he got one hefty raise before leaving.( that came from a Templeton source ) Seriously how can we allow this abuse to continue ?  Now were talking about ALL children's lives here and this is not acceptable. It's high time we all write letters to the state to ensure that they are aware before allowing this to go forward. We may of not been able to save our own schools and teachers but maybe we can save others. ( His name is in the blog history)
John Graziano  in case you didn't find it .



 Now for my final thoughts, two years ago we warned you of Miller and her despective practices ,( Loss of administrators)  we warned you how she will want her own space ( moving to main st) we warned you she will explode budgets and give her administration raises, we warned you she would fire  anyone who spoke out against her, we warned you of abuse and lying, and here you are , loss of teachers, admins,and now students, and oh, lets not forget a financial source of income , SCHOOL CHOICE. PVRS was once the go to for school choice its not even considered because of the mess of this school and with that in mind you lost over a half million dollars when that class graduated last year. Also, keep in mind if  the contractors to take down VY  move into Vernon, thats more children and they will ask about schools and you have been black listed , more money you won't see due to abuse of your SC and whats running Pioneer now and yes, that also includes Perry and Bacon HIGH on that list. Jut a FYI for you , many in school choice chose PVRS due to its size and no POLICE OFFICER  (they could have that at BUHS) and its academics and teachers and Administration you got rid of . You cut off your own footing here. Not to mention the loss of a great band leader and the two hired quit before they even came . Your batting zero here. SC when are you gonna smarten up? 

Be aware we are watching .

NORTHFIELD — With dozens packed into the Pioneer Valley Regional School library, many to speak out against a potential cut of the school’s police resource officer, the School Committee this week sidestepped a vote to axe the position.
The fate of the districtwide resource officer — a Northfield police officer who works 20 hours a week, 16 of which are at the regional school — was saved ultimately by an opinion by the district’s lawyer who said it would be unlawful for the committee to cut the position, which is slated to cost the school $28,000, after both the school board and the town of Northfield previously approved the position.
“The money is in that budget and we need to spend it,” Chairwoman of the School Committee Patricia Shearer said.
Instead, the committee decided to keep everything the same for this school year.
The committee will later discuss its role in reviewing the officer’s responsibilities and to clearly talk about what it can afford in subsequent years.

At the very start of the meeting, Northfield’s Selectboard Chairman Jack Spanbauer defended the position, held by Igor Komerzan, 26, of Northfield.
Spanbauer told the committee that it would not be realistic to cut the position, considering the logistics of the job. He stated that about half of the salary is paid by the school and the other half is paid by the police. And without the position, it “throws our police department payroll into chaos.”
“Now we’re not sure what we’re going to do with our town budget regarding the police,” Spanbauer said. “We’re disappointed, but it is what it is.”
Instead of opening up the room to discussion at that point, the committee moved on with its agenda and returned to the discussion of the police position later.
Member Jeanne Milton of Bernardston got out of her seat and described the importance she sees in the officer. She chiefly cited his ability to offer CPR training to teachers, without an additional cost to the school.
“If we saved the lives of one student, then it’s worth more than $28,000,” Milton said.
She also added the value of the officer as a role model at the school: “To lose another respected male figure in this school is a huge detriment to us.”
Before further conversation ensued, Superintendent Ruth Miller noted “We can debate this, but we have a signed contract with Northfield Police … We have an obligation to Northfield to fill this position at this time. Cutting it at this time makes no sense.”
Hanging over the discussion was conversation on continued budget cuts in the district, as others said the committee needs to be mindful of the money it spends.
Member Susan O’Reilly-McRae of Warwick complained the school board had not reviewed the officer’s job description.
“I can’t find any minutes that talk about the job description being reviewed by this committee. I see it in budgets, but I don’t see it discussed,” O’Reilly-McRae said. “As a job in the building, we should be involved in approving that job description.”
At this point though, the chairwoman told the committee the district’s lawyer said it would be illegal to vote to eliminate the officer’s job.
Nonetheless, conversation continued.
“My suggestion is since we’ve cut so many people, we focus on teachers,” O’Reilly-McRae said.
The superintendent said there should not be debate over the job description of the resource officer.
“A police officer is a police officer,” Miller said. “We can’t change his job description. When he walks into the door, he is a Northfield police officer.”
Later on, Northfield Police Chief Robert Leighton would reiterate Miller’s point when she asked him, “Rob, is there any flexibility in the (SRO’s) description?”
“Not really,” Leighton said.
During this conversation, member Sharon Fontaine of Leyden made clear her position.
“We’re in a tight situation. It’s about the money,” Fontaine said. “It’s not about him,”
In a speech that received an ovation, 15-year-old Ella Potee advocated for the position, although she had initially told her mother she was not a fan.
“I can confidently say now I’ve never been more wrong to start an argument with my mom,” the teen said. She continued: “Last year’s turmoil was stressful for all of the students. I can say affirmatively to have a familiar face is critical.”