BBRSD Central Office Update
November 18, 2022
Superintendent's Office
School Committee Elections
Congratulations to the winners of the recent BBRSD School Committee Elections that were held on November 8 including incumbents Lori Hart, Meagan Grill, Mike Totman, Julie Lee, Robert Holmes, and newcomer Jessica Deglialberti. I look forward to working with you all and making BBRSD the best it can be.
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all the families of the BBRSD. Schools and offices will be open normal hours on Monday 11/21 and Tuesday 11/22. Students will have an early dismissal on Wednesday 11/23. Schools and offices will be closed on Thursday 11/24 and Friday 11/25 for the holiday recess.
Jeffrey Zanghi, Superintendent of Schools
Department of Teaching and Learning
Berlin-Boylston District Improvement Plan - Envisioning the Future; Learning from the Past
Members of our Administrative Leadership Team presented the 2022-2025 (3-Year) District Improvement Plan at the Tuesday, November 15, 2022, School Committee Meeting. You can find the plan here. The Plan focuses on both the current and ongoing needs of our district across and within our three schools. During the introduction to the presentation, district leaders spoke about the intent of the document and the broader goals on which we are focusing.
We want to be able to:
Give our students an educational experience that broadens their knowledge and prepares them for their future college studies and careers, including the trades.
Create engaging learning environments open to exploration, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Ensure that our schools are physically, emotionally, and socially safe spaces to learn and grow as individuals and within a microcosm of society.
Welcome new families who have chosen to live in our two communities and carry on the roles and responsibilities of good citizenship and stewardship of our land, as others who have lived here for generations have done.
The document highlights four specific objectives that were the focus of the Administrative Team in identifying our needs and creating the initial budget requests that will be presented to the School Committee at their December meeting. These objectives are:
Personnel Objective: To provide adequate and appropriate staffing at each of our three schools for the purpose of ensuring student safety, providing quality of instruction, meeting social-emotional needs, and advancing the opportunities for students to participate in innovative coursework.
Teaching and Learning Objective: To guarantee that each child in our district PreK-12 is provided with an equitable opportunity to access their education regardless of race, culture, disabilities, gender, or socio-economic level by 1) ensuring that curriculum meets the needs of all learners; 2) ensuring that teaching staff is supported by providing professional development opportunities, resources, and training to improve and enhance instructional practices; 3) building innovative programming that supports the needs of all of our learners; 4) providing our families with ongoing communication, and by 5) reaching out to the community for additional resources.
Technology Objective: To advance technology in our schools for the safety, functionality, and effectiveness of all systems; to continuously add, maintain, and replace tools and platforms to meet the ever-changing technological advancements in education and beyond; to ensure that all of our students have access to the necessary devices and connectivity to effectively perform tasks requiring technological support.
Finances & Budget Objective: To maintain long-term financial stability and sustainability for our district and to address long-range planning in a fiscally responsible manner.
Tahanto Teacher Named to Prestigious Science Board
Congratulations to Ms. Tannis Wood, physics and computer science teacher at Tahanto Regional Middle/High School, who was recently elected to serve on the Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers (M.A.S.T.) Board of Directors. We are very proud to have Ms. Wood as a member of our Tahanto staff and look forward to learning more about the good work that she is doing as a member of this Board.
Following Up on our Parent-Teacher Conferences
Thank you to everyone, parents, and staff, who participated in our fall parent-teacher conferences across the district. If you are a parent/guardian and have not already received and/or completed our very brief survey about your experience, please do so by clicking the link(s) below:
Berlin Memorial School - Please click here
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X5PSCQ5
Boylston Elementary School - Please click here. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X53SR37
Tahanto Regional Middle/High School - Please click here. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FLPWMCY
The deadline for survey completion is Monday, November 21, 2022.
Carol Costello, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Business Office
School Bus Transportation
As most of our community knows, the national driver shortage has affected some of our bus routes. Currently, the affected routes are Berlin Bus 3 and Boylston Bus 5. I would like to thank everyone for being so patient, we know how frustrating and unreliable some routes can be at times. We have been communicating with the bus company on a daily basis trying to be creative and improve the situation. The good news is that by January all routes are scheduled to be fully staffed with permanent drivers.
The Bus GPS app will also be released in December! More details are to be shared at a later date.
Join our School Nutrition Team!
Apply Here for our Food Service Associate Position at BES
Apply Here for our Food Service Associate Position at Tahanto
Need flexible hours? Become a Substitute!
Contact Lauren Staples at 508-869-2333 x2346
or lstaples@bbrsd.org for more information.Nancy J. Konisky, Director of Finance and Operations
Pupil Personnel Department
Preschool Information Night
Learn about the district’s preschool program and the application process for next school year at an information session on Tuesday, November 29th at 6:30 pm. Link to join Webinar
Jannel Fitzpatrick
Director of Pupil Personnel
Technology Department
As the Holidays approach I would like to share the link to the Berlin-Boylston school site where Dell offers some discounts on their technology offerings. Like many, they are having Black Friday Sales online. As always I will add that I am not endorsing Dell nor does the district receive any benefit should you choose to use the site. This is merely me passing on information regarding Dell discounts. The information is:
Shop online through the Education Purchase Program store: www.Dell.com/mpp/BBRSD
· BLACK FRIDAY - Live now for Education Purchase Program members - deals last through 11/26.
· CYBER MONDAY - coming soon, 11/27-12/4 includes some daily special “deals”
I hope your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Contact Us!
Email: parentquestions@bbrsd.org
Website: bbrsd.org
Location: 215 Main Street, Boylston, MA, USA
Phone: 508-869-2837