February 1998

To the Residents of the Oyster River Cooperative School District:

It has been an extremely busy year of growth, change, and opportunity for our school district. Enrollment growth continues to be one of the greatest challenges Oyster River faces. In the past decade, we have experienced a 725 pupil increase in enrollment - a 47% increase! This continuing growth in the number of students served by Oyster River schools impacts nearly every issue that has come before the Board, from setting Board goals for the year, to student/teacher ratios, to the budget, to policy matters, and most emphatically to facility issues. As a district, we have been addressing facility renovation and expansion issues for more than ten years.

In May the Board adopted the following goals for the year and continued to support the vision statement approved in 1995:

• Address high school space needs through a multi-phased bond proposal to be placed before the voters at the 1998 annual school district meeting.

  Back in 1986, the Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) reported to the Board that additional classroom space would be necessary at all school levels by 1997, and the projections have proven to be quite accurate. Each school board since that time has addressed this issue. Many options were studied and considered.

  Decisions made by each of these different school boards and votes by the community at district meetings have led to a variety of resolutions: Moharimet School was built in 1989, elementary and middle schools were regraded in 1994, and additions to both elementary schools opened in 1994 (see history of facility plans in the December 1997 issue of SPAN). Additions and renovations to the middle school were carried out during 1995-96. This year voters are being asked to address the problem of space needs at the high school level.

  In the spring of 1996, the Board formed the High School Space Needs Study Committee (HSSNSC) composed of representatives from the Board, administration, high school faculty and students, Long Range Planning Committee, business, and a community representative from each town in the school district. The committee spent many months studying the high school, reviewing previous studies conducted by the district, and considering ideas. The committee recommended to the Board an addition and renovation to the existing facility.

  In November 1996, the Board voted to accept the recommendation of the HSSNSC. At last year's district meeting, voters approved a warrant article to fund development of a design plan for the high school addition to provide a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). During the summer, the Board conducted numerous interviews and selected Team Design, Inc. to provide a design and Baybutt Construction to act as construction manager to develop a GMP.

  Every ten years Oyster River High School goes through an accreditation process by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). ORHS was last accredited in 1987, and the cycle began again in June of 1995 (see SPAN December 1997 for more details). In November 1997 the Board received word that the NEASC voted to continue accreditation but to place the school on warning due to deficiencies in the school's adherence to the NEASC Standard for School Facilities. This means that ORHS is currently accredited by NEASC but that we may lose our accreditation if the facility problems are not corrected in a timely manner. We must submit progress reports to NEASC by August 1, 1998, and again in 1999.

  The Board held three public forums on the high school project to seek input from residents and provide opportunity for questions to be answered. Warrant articles #3 and 4 address the high school project.

• Resolve the Mast Way sprinkler/fire code issue.

  At the time the Board was notified that the State Fire Marshal required the district to construct a sprinkler system at Mast Way School, the construction was nearly complete. The Board appealed the decision, but in 1996 the Fire Marshal made final his decision to order the district to meet current life safety code requirements by installing a sprinkler system at the school. A preliminary design was then developed, with an estimated cost of $198,000. This design meets state code requirements. Warrant article #5 addresses this issue.

• Continue progress toward optimal care and use of facilities and equipment.

  This goal reflects the Board's desire and directive to support and maintain our investment in our facilities on an annual basis.

• Develop and implement a system to evaluate teaching performance to encourage continuous improvement and to recognize instructional excellence.

  Last winter the Board formed the Supervision and Evaluation Committee, composed of each of our principals, central office administration, faculty representatives from each building, and Board representation. The charge to the Committee on March 19, 1997, was lengthy:

  • to identify and define common terms related to supervision and evaluation, and to develop a common language for performance expectations,

  • to review and recommend modifications to the current list of teacher responsibilities and establish guidelines for the implementation of district curriculum,

  • to review the process and forms currently used for supervision and evaluation and develop new processes, if necessary, and

  • to develop a process for working with teachers whose evaluation reflects less than satisfactory performance, leading to the development of a teacher assistance/improvement plan.

  This committee has been meeting monthly to develop a plan and make periodic reports to the Board regarding its progress on this very important issue. The focus of this committee is to improve student learning through development of a system encouraging continuous improvement of our teachers.

• Begin implementation of K-12 curriculum aligned with the State Frameworks.

  This goal addresses the Board's directive to develop K-12 curricula aligned with State Frameworks. Over the past year, the Board targeted math and music areas for curriculum development and heard reports from these committees. The proposed budget reflects the level of financial support necessary to begin gradual implementation recognizing other budgetary impacts this year. Efforts are also underway in the sciences, and the Board anticipates ongoing work and reports in these and other areas in the upcoming year.

During the past year in a continuing effort to incorporate new legislation and current practice, the Board updated the following policies:

Other policy revisions remain in process as this report goes to print.

In April, Drew Christie and John Collins were elected to the School Board. In June the Board said farewell to John Powers, Superintendent of Oyster River School since 1967. In July we welcomed our new Superintendent, Dr. Thomas J. Carroll, after an extensive nationwide search involving the Board and representatives from the community, administration, faculty, and students.

In addition to regular and special board meetings at which the Board heard numerous reports, the Board held at least a dozen workshops on a variety of topics, three public forums on the high school facility, a public hearing on the budget and the bonds, and co-hosted a public forum with our local state legislators on the topic of defining an "adequate education." The Board continued to meet with the Durham Town Council and Lee and Madbury Selectmen and began exploration of a new format for continuing communication on issues of mutual interest.

Thank you for your attendance at both Session I and Session II of the Annual School District Meeting. Your interest in and support of the education of our students benefits our entire community. It has been an honor and privilege for me to serve as the Chairperson of the Oyster River Cooperative School Board.

Sincerely,
Joan Valentine
Chairperson

Last update on 30-Mar-99 at 9:46 PM.

http://www.orol.org/district/elections/1998/report/chair.html

This page is edited by David K. Taylor. Please send questions or comments to editor@orol.org.