District Adds Jewish High Holiday Observance to Belmont School Calendar

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Photo: Dr. David Alper speaking before the Belmont School Committee. 

The Belmont School Committee approved a pilot program to close school for one day in observance of the Jewish High Holidays beginning in the coming 2015-16 school year.

In addition to the decision made Tuesday night, March 24, Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan once again voiced his support to begin each school year the week before Labor Day, rather than the traditional first Wednesday of September.

“We felt it was very important that we made sure we were respectful to our community,” said Phelan, who discussed the issue with the six school principals and senior staff. The move came after the committee requested on March 10 that Phelan review possibly changing the school calendar’s traditional makeup.

Two weeks ago, School Committee member Elyse Shuster questioned why the Belmont schools calendar traditionally had a half day scheduled for Good Friday and not any other religious holidays as well as the annual hardships Jewish families encounter.

For Jewish parents and students, the current policy of not penalizing students for taking a day to observe one or both of the High Holidays – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – has never been a satisfactory compromise as children are expected to make up any missed class and homework scheduled on those days, said Shuster.

With the holidays coinciding with the first month of classes, the prospects of falling behind so early in the school year has many observant Belmont families having to make difficult choices.

Shuster also pointed out that many surrounding communities such as Winchester, Arlington, Newton and Milton observe one or both of the high holidays.

“We are an outlier not … closing for either or any of the Jewish holidays,” said Shuster.

Dr. David Alper, who has children in the district for the past dozen years, told the board he has “suffered with this for 12 years.” Every year Alper said the prevailing calendar “adds stress to my children while we try to have them focus on observing our holidays.”

Alper said the need for a day away from the secular and to the religious is also important on a broader plane.

“The fact is that we need to be able to have the opportunity to let children across the community understand that religion is an important part of our lives,” Alper told the committee, saying a discussion of any observance is a way to introduce tolerance to others.

“We need to be able to do these types of [observances],” he said.

Amy Tannenbaum is a life-long Belmontian, who missed school for 12 years to attend services. But expectations of students – especially in High School – is much greater than when she was attending the district. So her children would come home from services and immediately hit the books to complete homework rather than be observant.

“I think there is a stress piece … that these kids feel like ‘the class got taught, and most kids were there and I got to make it up’,” said Tannenbaum.

In the end, the School Committee accepted a 2015-16 school calendar closing the school for one day – Shuster and the board believed that day should be Yom Kippur, a day of atonement and repentance in which Jewish people fast for the entire day and spend that time in prayer. Yom Kippur will be observed on Wednesday, Sept. 23 this year. Good Friday in 2016 will remain a half day.

If Yom Kippur should fall on the weekend, such as in 2017, the day off will revert to Rosh Hashanah.

PHOTOS: Sail to Belmont High to see Performing Arts Co.’s ‘Anything Goes’

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Photo: Zoe Miner as Reno Sweeney leading the ensemble in “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” in the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s production of “Anything Goes.” 

Who knew you had to rehearse final bows?

But for director/producer Ezra Flam, nothing can be left to chance, especially when you have more than 70 students on the stage in the last scene of Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s production of Cole Porter’s musical “Anything Goes” that opens Thursday, March 26. 

Playing a theater’s version of a traffic cop on stage during Tuesday’s dress rehearsal. Flam is calling out directions to a slew of students who first came together in try outs before Christmas to claim a spot in the annual spring musical. 

Just minutes before, Flam’s choreographer Jenny Lifson demonstrates to Reno’s Angels – the 10 featured female dancers – just how to hold up the hands and for the sailors to remember to “smile” while performing a series of tap steps before lifting their “Angels” in the finale. 

“Not one of them knew how to tap,” said Lifson, pointing to the boys’ in uniform on the stage.

“Look at them now. That’s impressive,” she said.

And while there were some hiccups during Tuesday’s run through – someone forgot to grab a chair at a scene change and the spot light went hunting for a feature actor during a scene – the majority of the afternoon rehearsal showed a polish few other high school groups could match.

Performances are Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m. and two shows on Saturday March 28; a matinee at 1:30 p.m. and the final show at 7 p.m.

Tickets are adults: $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Students: $10, Chenery 8th Grade Students: $5.

Tickets can be purchased online and at Champions Sports in Belmont Center.

Belmont Student Artists Set Gold Standard at Scholastic Art Awards

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 Image: “Olga,” by Olga Brevnova, Gold Key/American Visions nominee from Belmont High School. 

For the past week, seven Belmont High School and three Chenery Middle School artists had their works prominently displayed at Boston University’s 808 Gallery as part of the “Exhibition of Gold Key Work” part of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, run by the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA), in partnership with the Boston Globe.

The Scholastic Art Awards are the nation’s longest-running, largest, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers in the visual and literary arts. The works, from 17,000 entries, are judged on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.

This year, a total of 28 Belmont students earned awards:

Belmont High School                                                                                                                                                                                           

  • Olga Brevnova      Gold Key/American Visions Nominee      Painting               “Olga”
  • Della Copes-Finke             Gold Key                                            Painting               “Mirror Mirror”
  • Darcy Feeley                       Gold Key                                            Painting               “Virus”
  • Chihiro Ichikawa               Gold Key                                            Painting               “Records of My Universe”
  • Austin Ickes                        Gold Key                                            Photography       “The Gang’s All Here”
  • Sabine Strauch                   Gold Key                                            Painting               “Nausea”
  • Vinutna Veeragandham   Gold Key                                            Painting               “Frame Of Green”
  • Suyeon Ji                             Silver Key                                          Painting               “paint my identity”
  • Kimberly Paquette             Silver Key                                          Painting               “Disintegration”
  • Hae Soo Park                      Silver Key                                          Painting               “Emptiness”
  • Cheng Qin                           Silver Key                                          Digital Art            “Origin”
  • Amy Wang                          Silver Key                                          Painting                “Cast From the Garden: Self and the Seven Deadlies”
  • Adam Alper                        Honorable Mention                        Painting               “Party Like Its 1899”
  • Hayoung Jo                        Honorable Mention                        Painting               “Hide and Seek”
  • Najin Kim                           Honorable Mention                        Painting               “The Show”
  • Yuzhe Li                              Honorable Mention                        Painting               “Peanut Butter”
  • Shreya Patel                       Honorable Mention                        Painting               “Incased”
  • Sierra Tseng                       Honorable Mention                        Painting               “Staring Contest”

Chenery Middle School                                                                                                                                                                                           

  • Zoe Armstrong                    Honorable Mention                        “Sophie”
  • Laurel Carpenter                Honorable Mention                        “Untitled”
  • Laurel Carpenter                Gold Key                                            “Good Things Come in Threes”
  • Samantha Dignan              Gold Key                                            “Red Apple Roosters”
  • Leon Fan                              Honorable Mention                        “A Tale of Two Souls”
  • Octavia Leeb                        Gold Key                                            “Queen Bee”
  • Hallie Liu                             Honorable Mention                        “A Man’s Burden”
  • Johanna Matulonis            Honorable Mention                        “Songbird”
  • Viola Monovich                  Honorable Mention                        “Try Everything”
  • Viola Monovich                  Honorable Mention                        “Purple Haze”
  • Victoria Shaw                      Silver Key                                           “Reading Alone”
  • Emily Zhang                        Silver Key                                           “Neptune”

Belmont High Frosh Jumper Sets Marks at National, State Track Meets

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Photo: Belmont High freshman Anoush Krafian at the New Balance National Indoor on Friday, March 13. (photo, Don Rich.)

Anoush Krafian stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall. And she can jump higher than her own height. That’s special for any high school athlete. Did I mention that Krafian just turned 15? That’s extra special.

In the past month, the Belmont High School ninth grader has been showing her soaring and running talent in state-wide and, this past week, at national competitions.

On Friday, March 13, Krafian jumped 5-feet, 2 1/2 inches to place 14th in a field of 27 of the nation’s top freshmen at the New Balance National Indoor for High School Track & Field in New York City.

“It’s really exciting. I’m proud of myself and what I’ve done,” Krafian said earlier in the month when her name was floating around as possibly heading to the nationals.

In the Massachusetts Div. 3 state championships on Feb. 13, Krafian equaled her personal best with a 5’4″ effort in the high jump, equaling the best height of the meet and only placing second only due to the number of extra jumps she took. In the 55-meter hurdles, the Marauder ran 9.05 seconds to place fifth in a field stacked with seniors and juniors.

While she didn’t have a great All-States meet the next week, Krafian holds the distinction of being the only 9th graders competing in both the high jump and hurdles out of two dozen competitors from across the state. Statewide, she is nearly three-quarters of a second faster than the next freshman in the hurdles – that’s close to a lifetime in the sprints – and has jumped two-inches higher than the second-best ninth-grader.

Yet her best event is one that isn’t one most people know. On Feb. 23, Krafian finished 7th in the Massachusetts State Track Coaches’ Pentathlon, a two-day, five-event competition in which competitors are tested in the 55-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put and 800 meter run. Her total of 2,774 points made her the only non-senior in the top ten, and nearly 900 points better than the next freshman.

“I’ve done the pentathlon a lot with my club, so I’m used to it. My three best events are the high jump, hurdles and long jump, so I’ve got three of the events down,” Krafian said.

Krafian is no overnight sensation, having been a long-time member of the Waltham Track Club and earning the title of Massachusetts Middle School state track champion in the high jump and hurdles in 7th grade. She missed defending her titles last spring due to a stress fracture in her back.

“I played soccer, basketball and track, a lot of everything. When I got older, I narrowed it down to just track because those are my strengths,” she said.

Krafian had some adjustments to make running for a high school program.

“High school is different than middle school because here it’s intense, up to an hour-and-a-half practice each day and meets every week,” she said. “I had a slow start, I was just getting into it, but now I’m where I want to be.”

Krafian’s goals at Belmont is to win an all-states meet and do well nationally. “I’ve come so far, and I have just a little bit more to go,” she said.

And there is no rest for the weary; Krafian first day of spring practice starts on Monday, March 16.

Belmont School’s Calendar Could See Changes, Adding Jewish Holiday, Earlier Start to Year

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Photo: The Belmont school calendar could see changes on adding religious holiday and the start of school. 

Every year since she’s had children attending the Belmont schools, School Committee member Elyse Shuster has been in the same situation as so many Jewish parents at the beginning of every school year: should we keep the kids out of school during the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?

Even under the district’s current policy – the system officially doesn’t recognize religious holidays – that allows students to miss a day or two without penalty (and teachers are advised not to schedule tests on those days), Shuster and others have feared their children will not be fully caught up with their school work during the important first days of the school year as the important holidays occur between September and early October.

“It’s extremely hard to miss those days especially for high schoolers,” Shuster told the Belmontonian.

“The teachers will say that students won’t be penalized for missing class, but they also won’t hold up teaching for those days. Those kids are on their own,” she said.

For some families, the choice is one of education rather than faith.

“The [observances] are important to us, but I’ve known families who have sent their children to school rather than miss two or three days of class,” Shuster said.

Elected to the committee in 2013, Shuster was approached by parents and friends on the subject.

“People would come up to me to ask, ‘When are you going to bring it up?'” said Shuster.

That time came at the Belmont School Committee meeting held Tuesday, March 10 at the Chenery Middle School when Shuster received the handout with the draft 2015-16 school calendar.

On the sheet, in March, was scheduled an early release for Good Friday.

“If the district’s rule is not to observe religious holidays, why are we having a half-a-day on Good Friday?” asked Shuster.

For the next half hour, the school committee and district officials discussed how to put into effect either including those observances and how it could affect future discussions.

“I’m glad you’ve brought that up because this comes up, and we then forget about it,” Lisa Firo

Shuster is not asking to strike a sacred Christian day from the calendar, “that a religious holiday is … only being taken away in a tit-for-tat way,” said Shuster. In fact, she was hoping to draw interest in adding a holiday – most likely a day set aside for Yom Kippur which takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 23 – for an important observation to a sizable minority in the school population.

“If it’s all or nothing, then I think that’s fair. But I want to us to think about the High Holidays of the major religions in this town and have a dialog in this town,” she said.

Belmont Superintendent John Phelan said Belmont should not look how other cities and towns have broached he matters since every community is made up “of folks who have … different experiences and religious backgrounds and be respectful of where our local community feels is important and then try to reflect that.”

Just this week, the Easton School Committee voted to eliminate three religious holidays – Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday – from its calendar.

What Shuster is attempting to change is, at times, harder than discussing religion or politics with your relatives; the status quo. For as long as anyone can remember, the school year in Belmont begins after Labor Day and there is a half-a-day of work on Good Friday. When presented to past school committees, calendars were approved after a curtsey look.

“It alway seems like it’s the status quo and even when we bring it up, how does it change? I hope that people … will appreciate that this discussion is happening about religious holidays,” said Shuster, inviting people to the next school meeting to discuss this issue.

With Schuster opening the door to altering the calendar, Phelan said he wants to re-examine the long-standing tradition of a post-Labor Day beginning of the school year.

“If we start going down the path of additional days recognized, we may also simultaneously entertain starting school before Labor Day,” he said, a change that could led to schools opening in August.

Current school policy is that Belmont schools open on the first Wednesday in September. Under the proposed 2015-16 calendar, the school year does begin before Labor Day – tentatively a full day for 1st to 12th grades on Wednesday, Sept. 2 – due to the late date of the holiday, falling on Monday, Sept. 8.

“I think it’s good for the kids, and I just want to make sure that is discussed,” said Phelan.

School Committee Chair Laurie Slap said she was eager to start that conversation “when we have that opportunity.”

Other important dates in the draft calendar are the winter recess beginning on Thursday, Dec. 24 and running through Monday, Jan. 4; February break begins the week of Feb. 15 and a late Spring break week starting April 18.

The earliest the last day of school will occur will be Tuesday, June 14, that is if no snow (or any other weather/emergency) days are declared.

Approving changes to the calendar will need the cooperation of the Belmont Education Association, the bargaining representative of teachers, aides and staff. Language in the teachers’ contract pertaining to the calendar will need to be reviewed by all sides before action can be taken, said Phelan.

With more research needed and with Phelan meeting with other superintendents this week where he will bring up the subject, Slap said the committee will take up the issue at its next meeting on Tuesday, March 24.

Mark it down on your calendar.

Get Out the Vote: Belmont Schools in Race for Recycling Award

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Photo: From left, Emma and Chloe Ellis along with Brady Chan and Brent Hudson recycling milk cartons at the Wellington Elementary School. 

After they finish their lunches, the last thing students at the Roger Wellington Elementary School on Orchard Street do is head for the refuse barrels.

But before they throw away anythings, students will be pouring out the milk and water from the containers into a pail then tossing the boxes along with papers and plastic boxes into a blue recycling bin.

“The more you do, the more it helps the earth,” said fourth grader Rachel Hudson.

Recycling is not just a lunchroom activity at the Wellington, but an activity that goes on throughout the day.

“It’s a big initiative at the school. Our school is very earth-minded … and we have been recycling almost since I started here,” said Wellington Principal Amy Spangler, noting the building was constructed to promote natural light and geothermal heating in an environmental-friendly way.

There are recycling bins in every classroom where children have a responsibility bringing to major receptacles and helping each other to be as diligent as possible in reprocessing material, participating in a six-week “Tray-less Thursday” program in the cafeteria that highlighted best menus to serve to reduce food waste and attending all-school assemblies that incorporated art from recycled material, presentations and taking part in national contest focused on sustainability.

“The Wellington is the model for the other schools. The staff, the parents, and the children, have been wonderful here,” said Mary Beth Calnan, the part-recycling coordinator with the town’s Department of Public Works.

“They really embrace even the little changes,” said Calnan. Much of the student’s enthusiasm comes from the most basic of reasons.

“Telling elementary students that what they are doing is good for the earth is a simple, strong message,” said Calnan.

“Mary Beth has been a great partner as kids are really conscious of recycling,” said Spangler.

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Students who don’t need to be told to recycle; they’re naturals at it: from left, Brent Hudson, first grade; Emma Ellis, first grade; Chloe Ellis, third grade; Rachel Hudson, fourth grade; and Brady Chan, first grade. With the students are (left) Belmont Recycling Coordinator Mary Beth Calnan and Amy Spangler, principal at the Wellington.

The Wellington’s recycling program is part of a district-wide approach to increasing recycling in the six schools in the system that includes a wide variety of programs and events.

Calnan thought the district-wide effort established in the past two years was worthy of attention.

“So I went ahead and nominated the district for a state-wide contest held by MassRecycle,” she said of the non-profit organization which highlighted local, business and school recycling for 20 years. 

In its first year of being nominated, the Belmont School District is one of the three finalists in the K-12 category.

And now until Friday, March 13, Belmont residents and students can vote on-line for the district to be honored with the first prize.

“I am extremely proud of this district’s effort of following the four R’s: refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle to become more sustainable in the last two years,” said Calnan.

The initiative has produced long-term changes in the schools and town, she said.

“The most far-reaching aspect of the recycling campaign has been changing the culture in the schools by way of the PTA/PTO’s,” Calnan said. “The thing I like the best is that the PTAs and PTOs have initiated their own ‘Green Teams’ made up of residents who are concerned about the environment and related issues such as local food and sustainability.”

Last year, the parent’s groups got together to create the Green Schools Alliance, which meets bimonthly with school district leaders to shape a comprehensive approach to environmental issues facing the schools and the wider world.

“We share ideas and success stories as well as programs that weren’t so successful. It’s a place to share,” said Calnan.

Last month, the Alliance and the elementary school Green Teams learned the results of the nationwide Green Cup Energy Challenge in which the Wellington and the Winn Brook schools finished in the top-ten at schools in the Northeast.

“This growth was a combined effort of students, parents and staff from the school and town departments working collaboratively to carry out these green initiatives,” Calnan said.

 

Belmont Girls’ Hoops Goes Out Fighting, 49-40, in Sectional Semis to Watertown

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Photo: Senior Elena Bragg stares at the court after Belmont lost in the sectional semifinals to Watertown on Wednesday, March 4. 

They working themselves to exhaustion, physically and mentally, on that basketball court in Malden. The Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball team wanted this game against its arch-rivals, knowing to a player they were capable of pulling off the upset.

They put it all on the line.

It wasn’t enough.

When the buzzer sounded to announce Watertown High School’s 49-40 victory over Belmont in the Div. 2 North Sectional semifinals Wednesday night, March 4, the tears and emotion from the players who bonded throughout their successful season unashamedly came forth.

“I’m super proud of those girls. I can’t say enough about this team and how great they are. It’s just a shame that it’s over,” said a subdued Head Coach Melissa Hart, looking at her girls pulling their uniforms into their face, not to show how bad they felt.

“I think we left everything on the court, for sure,” said Sophia Eschenbach-Smith, one of the team’s co-captains.

“Yes, we came up short but we played our hearts out for every second of it, so none of us have any regrets how the game went,” she told the Belmontonian.

On this night, Watertown – undefeated, a number-one seed and a top-ten ranking in media polls for the entire season – made more plays and fewer mistakes against their neighbors, earning that trip to Lowell Saturday for the sectional finals against Pentucket Regional.

“Watertown, they made the plays, they made the shots. And we were just a little sloppy,” Hart said.

A major aim of Belmont’s game plan was to keep Watertown close, both in the score and physically, to hamper the high-powered offense that proved itself by sweeping through the season without a loss, including an opening game win against a much different, less put-together Belmont team.

On Wednesday, Watertown was successful with their “drive and dish” offense in which a Raider players would head for the basket, luring Marauders to her, when she would pass to an open player, with sophomore Shannon Murphy (10 points) or junior Katelyn Rourke (game high 15 point) mostly on the receiving end.

Nor was the level of officiating helping Belmont. While both teams play a physical game, and the Raiders are known for their ball hawking manner, the officials appeared to pay closer attention to incidental contact from the Marauders. Near the end of the first half, Belmont amassed nine fouls to Watertown’s two, a discrepancy noted by the large turnout of Belmont students who came to support their team.

Watertown played a crisper first half while Belmont found the going tough near the basket as Murphy swatted away a number of Marauder attempts. At the end of the first quarter, Belmont was looking up at a 7-point deficit, 11-4.

But the Marauders appeared to shake off their nervousness between quarters and came out a more confident crew, especially on offense. Senior Co-Captain Linda Herlihy (4 points, 5 rebounds, got things rolling with her patient hook shot off the glass. Junior Irini Nikolaidis (4 points, 5 steals) hit a jumper in the paint before freshman Jenny Call (5 points) knocked home an open 3 pointer to cut the lead to a deuce, 13-11, at the 6:30 mark.

Resting starters, Hart placed the game into the hands of three freshmen – Call, Carly Christofori (9 points) and Greta Propp – who kept the game close, and when Eschenbach-Smith hit a 3 pointer and Christofori put in one of two from the line, Belmont was within a bucket, 24-22, with 60 seconds remaining to play.

But in that final minute, the Raiders made the decisive move of the game, going on a 7-0 run – with baskets by sophomore Murphy and junior Michaela Antonellis (5 points, all in the first half) as well as a big 3 from senior Rachel Morris (her only basket of the game) – to shot the lead up to 9 at end the half, 31-22.

The third quarter was like trench warfare during World War I; no one was giving an inch as both defenses stiffened. After six minutes, a total of 7 points (five for Watertown, two for Belmont) was scored before the Raiders punched home two buckets off  “drive and dish” moves to lead by 13, 38-25, with eight minutes remaining.

With the exception of the second quarter, the anticipated Belmont surge – an explosion of points that put away opponents for the entire season – had not materialized, and with less than four minutes remaining, Belmont trailed Watertown, 44-29.

Then finally, it appeared. The final push from the Marauders came in the guise of an 11-2 run, all within two minutes. A pair of Christofori free throws, Eschenbach-Smith’s second 3 pointer and a pair of free throws got the score within 10 points before senior captain Elena Bragg (6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) put her stamp on things.

Bragg – who is looking to play in a Division 3 college program in Boston next year – took a pass from Eschenbach-Smith for a layup, then immediately stole the ball and proceeded to throw up an over-the-shoulder, running prayer that was answered. The improbable basket brought the Marauders’ within six points with 59 second remaining, sending the Belmont fan base roaring and Herlihy calling out supporters to become even louder.

But that was a close as Belmont could get as Watertown settled down and spread the court, forcing Belmont to foul and sending them to the line.

At the buzzer, seniors sought each other while some of the younger players looked a bit in awe after seeing the emotion and grit spent Wednesday night.

Outside the locker room, parents and friends waited to greet their loved ones, to brush away tears and applaud the team one final time.

“We all came out with such high intensity from everyone,” said Herlihy. “The girls who don’t play that much, they were on their feet, ready to go come out and play.”

“I love this team, honestly, and I hate to see it end, but we had an amazing season. I’ll miss everyone so much,” she said.

 

 

 

 

Tickets ‘On Sail’ for Performing Arts Company’s Musical ‘Anything Goes’

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What do I hear? Is that spring in the air?

It must be as tickets are now on sale for Belmont High School’s Performing Arts Company’s spring musical, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.”

The story consists of a series of madcap antics between a stowaway, a heiress, a nobleman, a nightclub singer and “Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin” all aboard an ocean liner heading from New York to London. The list of popular songs in the musical includes “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.

Performances

  • Thursday and Friday, March 26 and 27, at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 28; a matinee at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets

  • Adults: $15 in advance/$18 at the door.
  • Students: $10
  • Chenery 8th grade students: $5
  • Belmont Schools staff: reserve a free ticket online with coupon code BPSSTAFF or by e-mailing tickets@bhs-pac.org 

Buy tickets online here, at the door and at Champions Sports in Belmont Center.

Limited Tickets Remain For Foundation for Belmont Education’s Spring Fling

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Photo: The highly entertaining Neal Fay will be this year’s auctioneer at the Foundation for Belmont Education’s 16th annual Spring Dinner.

Don’t be left out in the snow: a limited number of tickets are still available to the Foundation for Belmont Education’s 16th annual Spring Dinner set for Saturday, March 21.

And it would be wise to get those tickets soon as the price of tickets will increases March 2, from $125 to $150.  

You can obtain tickets here.

“Mad for Education” is this year’s theme for a night of dinner, dancing and a fast-paced auction led by Neal J. Fay.

The event takes place at the Belmont Hill School from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

For more information, e-mail the FBE at springdinner@fbe-belmont.org

Schools Budget Deficit Fix: Teacher Layoffs, Increased Class Sizes, Lost Ground

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Photo: The Wellington Elementary School will lose a third-grade teacher with the acceptance of the available revenue budget in fiscal year 2016.

When asked her reaction to the presentation by Belmont School Superintendent John Phelan on the details of cuts facing the district, Jamie Shea at first just shook her head.

For Shea and others who attended the Belmont School Committee meeting Tuesday night, Feb. 24, the impact on education in bridging the anticipated $1.7 million facing the district in the coming fiscal year was akin to listening to an eulogy for the reputation of a proud district.

“It’s extremely sobering to hear the potential cuts we all are facing,” said Shea, who is the current president of the Foundation for Belmont Education, the group that supports excellence and enrichment in Belmont’s six schools.

“It would be transformative to the district. It will impact every single student in the district. Every single one,” she said.

Phelan said the district – which he has been in charge since July – will not be the same to the one which many families moved to Belmont to attend.

“The Belmont Public Schools will struggle deeply to meet the expectations of their students and families that they so rightly deserve. If there were a headline from this presentation, it would be ‘Available Budget Impact Students Experiences Negatively,” Phelan told the Belmontonian after the meeting.

The cuts are necessary due to a historic surge in enrollment, higher expenditures for special education and unfunded state mandates.

During Tuesday meeting, Phelan walked the committee and residents through the components in each school group – elementary, middle school and high school – where savings will be made.

The cuts, which were compiled by the Leadership Council – made up of school principals, senior staff and curriculum directors – are significant and deep by most measures.

(The presentation can be found on the school district’s website.)

Most of the retrenchment, $1.3 million, will come in personnel with the elimination of 22 full-time equivalent professional positions, with the remaining amount coming in less support for instructional material, personal development and facilities and increase fees for student actives and full-day kindergarten.
The cuts include:

  • In the elementary schools, the elimination of more than seven aides, the Butler, Burbank and Wellington will lose guidance counselors, a reduction in music education and physical education and the firing of a third grade teacher at the Wellington.
  • At the Chenery, there will be wholesale cuts to the long-standing team teaching model in English, math, science social studies and world language in sixth through eighth grades, the eliminate of all eighth grade music and art electives, cutting sections of small group reading and a large reduction in library services.
  • Belmont High School will see the elimination of English, math, social studies and fine and performing arts teacher while all the World Language teachers will be reduced to part-timers.

District wide, the science director will be let go as will a preschool teacher. A reduction of instructional material and supplies, facilities, and professional development while student and rental fees are increased.

In total, Belmont will lose more than 14 teaching positions and nearly ten aides.

For classroom teachers, the cuts will fundamentally change the relationship with their students, said John Sullivan, the president of the Belmont Education Association, which represents Belmont teachers and aides in salary negotiations.

“You can’t get to know [your students] personally, to know when they are upset about something and then reach out to support them. It changes the entire student experience,” said the Belmont resident who teaches at Belmont High School.

While the cuts in teaching staff and other savings will drain the system of its red ink, the impact on students will be significant, said Phelan. For example:

  • Three of every four elementary students, about 1,300, will be in taught in classes exceeding the school committee’s guidelines for effective education.
  • Junior and seniors in high school – more than 600 pupils currently enrolled – will be limited to five courses in a seven-course schedule.
  • The average class size for math and English at the high school will be more than 27, effecting 1,250 students.
  • More than 300 seniors will be unable to take courses that will impact their chances being accepted at high-performing colleges and universities.
  • More than 300 students in the middle school will be heading to study halls due to the cuts in fine and performing arts.

The cut of the science director will seriously delay the district’s plan to move forward with STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-related courses which national leaders are calling crucial for all citizens to know.

And the loss of aides and guidance councilors in the four elementary schools will reduce the effectiveness of the district’s Response to Intervention services that identifies educational challenges for young students as well as addressing the social and emotional needs of students.

The magnitude of the cuts was unsettling for those who oversee education in Belmont.

“I think it has the potential to really decimate the system,” said Laurie Slap, School Committee Chair.

“What struck me was that one of our colleagues said that it was so sad to see educational opportunities just shrink for our students from K to 12 especially in the high school. Five courses? That isn’t what anyone expects from this district.”

Phelan said the district, and especially Belmont High School, has been worn down over time by trimming courses and reducing staff. With this major hit

“The reductions we are proposing and the elimination of positions are rooted in the methodology in what we need to do first and what we would like to do second. Our ‘likes to do’ are now are stables and cores – the everyday things – in districts that surround us. We will lose even more ground with the proposed budget,” said Phelan.

For Phelan, the School Committee and many attending the meeting, the only way to preserve the district’s reputation is for the passage of a $4.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override recommended by the Financial Task Force in January.

“I support the Task Force’s recommendation for the fiscal health of the entire town. If that fiscal health is brought back to a certain level through an injection of funds that goes to sidewalks streets police, fire, and schools, the whole town is a better place,” said Phelan.

At the end of the meeting, Slap said that everyone in town needs to know what the choices they face and everyone needs to get informed to understand what the cuts means to the district.

“It’s important that people get informed and understand what the reductions will bring if we do not pass the … override and get to the polls,” Shea told the Belmontonian.

“Hopefully we can get a coalition of different coalition of different constituent groups that can work cooperatively to make sure our students get the best education they can,” said Sullivan.