Mary Gormley, Superintendent of Schools, has posted her letter to parents regarding the 2009-2010 budget crisis on the school web site. You can read the full text of the Superintendent’s letter to parents here.

The letter outlines for parents the points made in her recent presentation to the school committee regarding the cuts in staff and other measures that will be taken to meet a stringent budget. The presentation is also available online. You can view it here.

In her letter Gormley says:

that if the budget crisis becomes a reality . . .we will be facing a substantial reconfiguring of the system to cope with our limited resources. Drastic cuts will be imposed across the district [and] Educational quality on all thee levels will suffer.

The cuts at the high school will be so significant that the school’s accreditation could be at risk, according to Gormley.

At the middle school the reduction in staff will likely require the dismantling of the “Team model.”  The team model is a system whereby incoming students are assigned to a team of 4 teachers within their grade. It has been a highly successful means of transitioning students from the elementary school into the middle school and preserving the sense of a nurturing, intimate enviroment within a facility that has hundreds of students. According to Gormley it also gives students, “consistent, personalized, rigorous instruction.”

At the elementary level the challenge is managing the logistics of the French Immersion program across 4 schools with reduced staff. The letter outlines two options, a French Immersion Continuum strand and a Partnership strand. Regardless of the option, class sizes for the most part will exceed 30 students.

There is an open forum tonight at 7:30pm in the auditorium of the high school. The school committee and school administration encourage the pubic to attend.