October 1, 2008
Dear Parents and Guardians:
A few updates from the Needham Schools:
Needham Schools and students have long been the beneficiaries of
talented, enthusiastic, and tireless (mostly parent) volunteers. The
extraordinary efforts of our parent volunteers provide the time, capacity,
and extra set of hands to ensure our students have a rewarding school
experience. This year, in order to comply with Massachusetts law and
School Committee policy, we will ask that all volunteers complete a
Criminal Offenders Record Information (CORI) form before they begin their
volunteering work in the schools and classrooms. Our district has a
longstanding practice of conducting these background checks on every
employee from substitute teachers, to bus drivers, to teachers and
administrators. The law also requires that we ask volunteers to have the
same background check in our on-going effort to keep students safe and
comply with the law. Specifically, and in accordance with School
Committee policy, adults who will have unsupervised, or potentially
unsupervised, contact with students will be asked to submit to a CORI
background check. This means, for example, that parents who regularly
volunteer in the school or chaperone field trips will need to complete the
background check.
It is not the States, nor our, intention to require CORI background
checks on every parent volunteer. Parents who come to school as
occasional classroom volunteers or celebrity readers typically have
teachers in the room with them. In these instances, the volunteers do not
require a CORI check. The School Committee Policy is intended to preserve
the very special relationship our schools have with parents and volunteers
while re-assuring all parents that every reasonable measure is being taken
to safeguard children. Principals will notify parents, in advance, if a
type of volunteer activity falls under the CORI provision. In those
cases, parents will be asked to fill out a brief consent form which is
then processed confidentially through the school department's human
resource director. The turnaround from the state is very prompt and the
volunteer work will proceed on schedule.
Parents who are currently volunteering can, of course, continue to do so
while the CORI procedure is fully implemented. Contact your school
principal if you have a specific question or concern. I appreciate the
time you give to our schools and your willingness to assist us as we
integrate this policy into our school routines.
We have learned that some folks attempting to access PowerSchool using
Internet Explorer are experiencing difficulty logging on. We are
addressing that problem and should have it corrected within a few days.
Please try again at the end of the week or, if possible, try accessing
PowerSchool on a different web browser.
The Permanent Public Building Committee (PPBC) has been hard at work
managing three school construction projects: Needham High School, High
Rock, and the Newman HVAC feasibility study. At the PPBC's meeting next
Monday, October 6th at 7:30 p.m., all three projects will be discussed and
the architect will review recommendations for Newman. I will send a
separate Superintendent's Update within the next few days to share with
parents some of the challenges facing the schools and community as we
discuss these critical building and school needs over the next several
weeks and months.
The district's 2008 MCAS results are again a good news story for the
schools and community, and we will share the results at next week's School
Committee meeting. The district overall made Adequate Yearly Progress
(AYP) and Needham High School students continue to perform at outstanding
levels, well above many of the communities to which we are often compared.
At the same time, we have subgroups of students who did not do as well:
Grades 3-5 special education students did not make AYP in English Language
Arts, and grades 6-8 special education students did not make AYP in both
English Language Arts and Math. Additionally, this was the second year
for the grades 6-8 special education students to not make AYP, which
therefore gives Pollard the NCLB Accountability Status of Improvement
Year-1 for this sub group. The Pollard staff is studying these results
and preparing a plan to address the needs of these students. We will
continue to use the MCAS as one of many assessments--but not the only
assessment--we use in our classrooms to understand student growth,
learning, and achievement.
We have enjoyed a terrific opening to the school year! I am very
impressed with the high level of engagement, creativity, enthusiasm, and
learning evident in the classrooms I have been visiting. I am excited for
the year to unfold and want you to know how much I appreciate being your
superintendent.
As always, please contact me at 781.455.0400, x 203 or
dan_gutekanst(a)needham.k12.ma.us if you have a comment, question, or
concern. Thanks!
Dan Gutekanst
Superintendent of Schools
