Good news or bad news ???

This is good news and yet I feel bad news . Miller does NOTHING without a bigger reason  that suits her behind it and she is surly not doing it for the kids, I can assure you of that .  So, that brings me to her budget .
Update:
I received an email from Templeton , they have been watching our blog and see we are still fighting the fight and was warned again to watch her budget . Its not about the kids and Templeton was left holding the bag .. wait for it  47,000,000.00 . Yep you read them numbers right . Also, watch the budget  with special ed students they will  curiously be left behind .

Also lets remember a name if it should ever come up I will tell you the rest later . John Gaziano. This was one of Millers hire who she got a big raise before leaving Templeton and he has now come up upon the missing . Some say he was removed in handcuffs ( but that has not be verified ) However he was removed from the property by police before the bus arrived to take the kids home for the day .  Another of her hires Matthew Kacavich, was also  just dismissed  for having sexual relations with students and Yes, she was at the school when it initially  started ., as Superintendent . Seems they were not vetted well ..

Time will tell but again watch the budget .

NORTHFIELD — Hoping to save the district money coming into fiscal year 2018, Pioneer Valley Regional School District plans to move its central offices back to the Pioneer campus.

Currently, the central offices are in a leased 2,806-square-foot space at 168 Main St. in downtown Northfield. The space costs $3,030 a month to lease, a cost that Superintendent Ruth Miller wants to eliminate.

“How much money are you going to spend to have office space for seven or eight people?” Miller questioned. “(The Main Street office) has been a very good place to land initially, but I want that money to go back into programming for the kids.”

Up until January 2016, the central offices were in three single-story modular buildings behind Pioneer. However, foundation cracks, rust and roof leaks, outdated electrical, communication and alarm systems, and mold in the basements led Pioneer administrators to relocate.

The offices would not be returned to the modulars. Though they are still on the campus, Pioneer administrators are looking to have them removed.


Instead, the building and grounds subcommittee toured Pioneer during a Thursday meeting. Led by Facilities Director Tim Brandl and Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy, the subcommittee viewed the most likely space for the central offices: rooms 206, 207 and 208.

“This is the best place as far as not disrupting students,” Healy said during the tour. “This is where we have found to be the most logical, least intrusive, least expensive and it works for kids.”

“The technology is already there, the services are already there,” Miller said.

The classrooms are in a wing not far from the school’s main office, but removed from more heavily trafficked hallways. The classrooms are also next to an outside door, where Healy said a door buzzer could be installed to allow for easier access to the central offices.

Because administrators are proposing a roughly 13-percent reduction in staff for next school year, Miller said more classroom space would be available in the school to fit the central offices.

Miller hopes to have the offices moved by the end of June, when the 18-month lease of the Main Street office space will end. Miller said there is a possibility the district could lease the space on a month-to-month basis if necessary, but she hasn’t factored that cost into the fiscal year 2018 budget.

Following the tour, the building and grounds subcommittee voted unanimously to recommend to the School Committee that the offices be moved to Pioneer’s 200 wing. Healy expects the committee will discuss the move at the February or March meetings.

Miller said Brandl will be tasked with figuring out how to divide the classrooms into cubicles and ultimately create “a very nice space, at the absolute lowest cost.

Chorus - Date to remember

Pioneer Valley Regional School invites you to our annual February concert. This year makes ten years with Ms. Oliver. We will be singing some of our favorites from the last decade. 

Friday, February 17 at 7 PM

 

 

 

Come out and support the kids and Chorus ~~~~

 

Donations welcomed .  

Parents talk to your kids

I had an interesting conversation with someone and its clear we have a big issue brewing  at PVRS .

It seems Bacon has now taken on yet another task to assign kids classes. WHAT!

Kids are coming  home talking to  parents and are angry that they  now are in classes of up to 25 per student . They feel they are overwhelmed and not able to get the help and support they once did and teachers are overwhelmed as well. Now, correct me if I am wrong but, last I knew we were not a city  school but a rural one . Alot of parents who chose this school liked the fact it did not have over crowed class rooms and teachers were able to pay that extra attention. Now with the class sizes larger not only is that not possible but is putting a strain on kids and teachers as well .

We are a class 2 school and it will be dropping quickly to a 3 or 4 and the state will eventually step in . We need to stop this abuse before we hit that point .

When kids are complaining that the class sizes are to large and they are not getting the support they need and in the next breath  Miller and Bacon say lay offs we need to find out who exactly who should be showed the curb and I don't think its the teachers.

This bullshit has gone on long enough and now its effecting students to a point they are concerned  about how they are being educated , this needs to be brought to a halt but quick.

Word also has it that the seniors want Mr Duprey to come back for their graduation , they do not want  Bacon speaking for them and if not him Cathy Hawkins Harris ,.( preferably both ) being their time I think this  should be allowed  and I hope all senior parents step up to support them .

Well just something to think over . Again watch the budget and motives you not only have one snake to watch but two.

                       As posted before Silence kills , Speak up before you lose your voices.

Hats off to PVRS SC

 Who knows maybe the SC is finally seeing the light . I also think its time the SC talks to all the teachers ( past and present)  and students  to get a handle on what is really going on at the schools . This would be no easy tasks due to the fact teachers  are afraid to speak up for fear of retaliation and job loss. ( I would also like to put to task how the SC would like being bullied going to work and live in constant fear )

You have a Superintendent and Principal  who are not working for the betterment of the school but instead for each other . This is a no win plan that fails every time. You have teachers maybe not on the lists looking elsewhere for employment . What do you do than? You have such chaos running thru this school its a wonder it functions at all . This is due mainly to wonderful outstanding teachers who put themselves last and students first . So for just one second put yourselves in their shoes and ask yourself could you work in conditions that they have ? 

Sadly you see Students no longer have the spirit they once had , its more like getting thru the day and leaving, than it is enjoying school and being excited about learning . With the news of Ms Hawkin Harris  moral  has sunk lower . Many expressed that if they weren't graduating would ask for transfers and the ones staying parents are already looking .  When the kids lost  very suddenly all they had ever known who supported them and guided them , IE: Mr Wehrli, and especially Mr Duprey this hit many students hard and quite frankly I am still wondering why a SC would choose a Superintendent over people they have known for years who stood by them and allow such abuse and threatening  ( verbally) to continue . Now losing Ms Hawkin Harris , you basically have set a school in a tails spin.  These teachers and Students went from having someone who believed in them and supported them , to a school of fear and negatively . I need the SC to explain to ALL of us  just how they plan on fixing the mess this school has become before I agree to another dime , let alone a 5 year plan. You have teachers trying to teach all the while fearing they will be the ones receiving pink slips, how is that a positive atmosphere  for the students or teachers?

Matt Killeen was absolutely correct to ask this of the SC. Bacon excuses is just that , she knows damn well  these teachers were kept in the dark.  Her bait and switch lies won't get past us and hopefully  not the SC.

These were replies posted just a few weeks back :

AnonymousJanuary 10, 2017 at 7:27 PM

Misinformation, half truths, strong arming, and acting against what is in best interest of students is the way of this new admin. who has zero experience. Thank goodness for Cathy HH and caring teachers who are still doing what PVRS has always done. Hoping they don't drive them out.

 AnonymousJanuary 2, 2017 at 10:41 AM

The SRO at PVRS was a political move to allocate a 4th officer to Northfield under another line item. The concerns in the article need to be handled deftly, but within the school climate of misinformation and strong arming, the SRO has a very long road ahead.

AnonymousJanuary 5, 2017 at 9:00 PM

Teachers have been told many times that their jobs are not secure for next year. So many questionable things going on in total secrecy. Probe, please. First year principal supposedly out of building on a two week vacation right now. Unheard of.

These are real concerns by taxpayers , who seem to get more information from us here than where  it should be coming from .This blog came to life in June of 2016 , its not even a year old and already its numbers are  way to high  which shows people are concerned as to where PVRS is headed. 

Pageviews today 136 Pageviews yesterday 237 Pageviews last month 8,029 Pageviews all time history 47,866

Many feel its time that the SC takes a larger stand and bring back Duprey if you can and another good move would be to keep Cathy HH as Vice Principal .Its also time to search out a more responsible and workable Superintendent who has the teachers and students best interest . Bacon is a failure  and is not PVRS material nor is Miller. This is bluntly clear .

This will not end till you make your wrongs right and with that you will have our total support . Till than we will report the truth  like it or not . 

School committee postpones vote on Pioneer’s five-year plan, after faculty concens

By SHELBY ASHLINE
Recorder Staff

Sunday, January 29, 2017

• Print
• 
  

• NORTHFIELD MA
• Pioneer Valley Regional School District

NORTHFIELD — After members of the Pioneer Valley Regional School faculty expressed concerns over the new five-year School Improvement Plan, the School Committee decided to postpone a vote on the plan until its March 23 meeting.
According to Pioneer Principal Jean Bacon, the plan gives administration a clear vision of what the school should look like in 2021, with the main goals being improving seventh- and eighth-grade performances on Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests and giving students necessary preparation for college or careers following high school. The plan also states the school will offer more Advanced Placement and online classes in heterogeneous groups.
However, the process by which the school council presented the plan to faculty raised concerns. Social studies teacher Matt Killeen spoke before the School Committee during its Thursday meeting, and asked that the committee’s vote on whether to approve the plan be postponed pending further staff outreach.
“We, members of the PVRS teaching staff, are in the midst of a cultural miscommunication,” Killeen said, reading from a prepared statement.
The “cultural miscommunication,” Bacon later explained, may be a result of how the school council and administration notified staff.

In the past, she said, faculty would wait until a plan was complete and be invited to give their feedback at the last minute, after which changes were made accordingly. However, Bacon, who took over at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, offered faculty opportunities to contribute during the process.
The school council, made up of Bacon, four parents, four students and four faculty members, met every two weeks starting in September to draft the plan, which was completed Dec. 13.
Faculty outreachShe said meetings were held in October and November where faculty were invited to discuss possible areas for improvement and teachers voted on topics that were priorities to address in the short and long terms.
After creating a draft, it was emailed to all faculty, and they were invited to provide additional input. The school council also scheduled a meeting where faculty could share input and ask questions. Only two faculty not on the council attended, she said.
“In the last month, I’ve heard nothing from any faculty members regarding concerns with the plan,” Bacon said. That is, until Killeen approached her a few days prior to the School Committee meeting, she said.
Bacon presented the plan during the Dec. 15 School Committee meeting, and board members had the opportunity to review it before Thursday’s meeting, but given faculty’s concerns, agreed to postpone voting on whether to endorse it.
Members of the school council were understanding of the request.
“I think it’s important that we look at this, maybe because it’s a little too generic,” said Dana McRae, a Pioneer student and school council member.
“I think you have sort of our first thoughts,” said Sue O’Reilly-McRae, a school council member and McRae’s mother. “I think I’d like to take the request of the staff to have a little more time with it.”
Killeen hoped that by March’s meeting, he and other faculty might better understand the changes.

OMG when does this end ??

This is BS!! Now they are eliminating Dean Of Students  Kathy Hawkins Harris . Yes, people you read that right . Many students are upset and the one's returning are asking families to change them to other schools.
This new Administration has done nothing but destroy PVRS and remove past Administrations teachers .
To state you will be reducing the Vice Principals pay but not  Bacons or Millers or other Admins,  shows they are not serious about the betterment of the school.
They have stated lower enrollment , OK, than why not move the Superintendents office to one of the schools? Why pay all this money ? Tax papers smarten up , this is not about  the school its about Miller keeping her sanctuary .PERIOD! If  there concern was really about the school  than this would  not be a question but actually done. Demand the Superintendents office is moved.Thousands of dollars between rent, electricity, phone etc.. would be saved and that would be a 40,000.00 plus savings . Watch the numbers . This would show an effort  on their part of saving money for the  school not eliminating teachers from past administrations .
Unlike what Bacon thinks, alot since this new administration has come aboard  has been detrimental to the students.
 We also must ask how many students will be involved in these new on line classes? How many are now ?
How many classes like the arts and sports will be removed?

Its bluntly clear that Miller nor Bacon have any idea of what PVRS is or stands for . This  school has gone from a superior school to a barely get by  and its not the teachers its the Admins destroying  it .

Feb 2 and 6 are vital dates to attend these meetings . They are hoping you don't show up . This is how they are able to pass  these .
 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6az_Rkk2vEcU1FPbTJOanlXLXc/view

Pioneer expected to reduce staff by 13 percent; enrollment decline cited

• 
  

• Administrators at Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield are proposing a roughly 13 percent reduction in staff for next school year. RECORDER FILE PHOTO/SHELBY ASHLINE

By SHELBY ASHLINE
Recorder Staff

Friday, January 27, 2017

• Print
• 
  

• POLITICS
• NORTHFIELD MA
• Pioneer Valley Regional School District

NORTHFIELD — Due to a 25 percent drop in enrollment at Pioneer Valley Regional School over the past eight years, administrators are proposing a roughly 13 percent reduction in staff for next school year.
According to Pioneer Principal Jean Bacon, 10 full-time positions are being cut, as well as one administrator, and one districtwide technical support staff member will be reduced to half-time.
Currently, Bacon said, there are 88 staff members at Pioneer. While it is currently unclear which positions will be affected, Bacon said the administration will consider what individual teachers offer, as well as how the layoffs would affect class size and diversity of programs.
“It’s never easy to lose some staff,” Superintendent Ruth Miller said during a Pioneer Valley Regional School District budget subcommittee meeting. “It’s really the only way we’re going to right-size this budget at all.”
Between a nearly $55,000 reduction to the assistant principal’s salary, and the reduction in staffing, the cutbacks would save the district more than $360,000.

One of the goals, Bacon said, was to lower Pioneer’s overall budget by 9 or 10 percent. Figures accurate as of Thursday show the overall budget dropped nearly $300,000 from fiscal year 2017, a reduction of about 7 percent.
Miller said that at the elementary level, staffing levels have decreased gradually over the years. As staff retired, their positions were eliminated and classes were consolidated accordingly. However, Miller said no such adjustments have been made at Pioneer, until now.
Bacon said that in just the past five years, Pioneer’s enrollment has declined by 140 students. As of the start of the 2016-2017 school year, Pioneer had 409 students.
“There’s a big misalignment,” Bacon said. “We just don’t need as many teachers to deliver education to a population that’s 140 less.”
Bacon said School Council has endorsed the proposal.
Although 11 full-time positions and one half-time position are being cut, the reduction in staff will not be quite so dramatic. Two of the affected staff members have plans to retire, and Bacon intends to add four new full-time positions and one half-time position, ones that she believes better fit the needs of the school.
“It’s shifting the positions to support the goals of the school,” Miller explained.
The new positions include: an online learning facilitator, who will supervise students in a lab environment while they work on online classwork; a districtwide science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) facilitator; a college and career readiness facilitator; a Tier II interventionist to give small group or individualized instruction to students who require extra support; and a half-time instructional assistant supervisor to oversee instructional assistants and ensure they receive necessary training.
Miller said the dean of students’ position will be eliminated, leaving only Bacon and Assistant Principal Jennifer Albert Perry as administrators.
Regardless, Bacon said she doesn’t feel the changes will be detrimental to the students’ education.
“I think we can reduce this many teaching staff and still offer the diverse programming we’ve been offering. That’s what makes Pioneer special,” she said. “I don’t think less resources mean a drop in quality.”
Bacon added the changes would mean condensing classes, but said it would even out class numbers. Some classes currently have as few as six students.
“My goal is to have class sizes between 17 and 22,” she said. “Talking to the other principals in the region, it seems fairly typical.”
The school district’s fiscal year 2018 budget will be voted on by the school committee during a Feb. 9 meeting, following a Feb. 7 public hearing. The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. in the Pioneer auditorium.

Starlight Spaghetti Supper - Benefit PVRS Chorus/Theater trip to NYC!!

 

 

Starlight Spaghetti Supper - Benefit PVRS Chorus/Theater trip to NYC!!

Friday at 5 PM - 8 PM  Jan 27, 2017

$10/person

5:00 dinner is served!
6:00 Entertainment provided by PVRS music students.
Dessert buffet to follow!

All proceeds will benefit the participants of the annual NYC trip.

Kids will be participating in a Broadway workshop, eating at Ellen's Stardust Cafe, and enjoying the matinee of The Lion King.

Thanks for your support!

Miller & Bacon shame shame

Shame on you Miller & Bacon .. You had to know we would find out about yet another lie you tried to pass off.
It seems Miller & Bacon in a school  email she sent out was not so honest to the parents .

Now remember one thing we did learn last year about Miller is how she likes to write letters and  have others sign them and  initiate them. This was also a reason we lost Mike , he chose his intergiety instead. We were also warned how she  did it to Shawn in Templeton  as Principal.

1- Nothing was discussed with teachers or students  before the email was sent out .
2- All was also done with out the communities consent.
3- However, the biggest concern here is the lying .
4- Ms Bacon states ::The School Council that developed this plan considered input from our students and faculty about what they hoped for the Pioneer of the future, research on best-practices in education, as well as the financial realities of our school and district.(This has Miller written all over it) However this is not true Miller/Bacon  developed the programs . Students and teachers were unaware till they received the email.

Meeting Thursday Jan 26

Now , how much longer do we have to tolerate a Principal and Superintendent who is obviously rouge lying to us?

Personally I think its time ( and so do others ) that the School Committee steps up to the plate and take  control in these matters.

How can we go forward in a positive way for PVRS with deception and lies ?

Ms Bacon obviously needs extra training . Miller gets a "F" rating score with us .