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How do we make Warwick Schools more attractive? We keep programs other cities have cut due to budget constraints, we celebrate the success of our students and we promote the fact that we not only have the best special education in RI, we challenge the average students but also provide accelerated instruction for our students that need more.

I would like to explain further the problem Warwick Schools have with the

educational gap between Warwick's highest performing students and our lowest

performing students. Warwick schools have received deficiencies by the

Department of Education for multiple years and are in a "Warning" status. I have

talked with several administrators in the last 6 months and they have confirmed this

for me. I first became aware of it while I was on the School Committee. A Jr high

school was placed on warning and if the Jr High school did not close the gap

between these 2 groups the Dept of Ed would take corrective action just as action

was taken in Central Falls. It was explained to me by an administrator that in the

last 2 years not only was the gap not closed but the gap increased because the

lowest performing students did not increase performance, and the highest

performing students (ALAP and Honors students) did increase performance.

Warwick Schools have been under a warning status and according to the

administrator I spoke with, if the gap is not closed by the end of the year, the State

will take corrective action. The schools have the money to keep ALAP. They are

choosing not to keep ALAP.

I find no reasonable explanation why they would not want to keep it. I have heard

that principals have complained that ALAP creates a scheduling issue as they must

use a classroom and there might not be room so they have to work to find a room

for them. This is a complaint that has been forwarded to the Director of Elementary

Ed. I have heard that teachers don't like students being taken out of the classroom.

Karen Bachus is doing interviews with students? She should be talking with the

parents not the students. If you ask any student a question the right way, you can

get the answer you want. Her solution, after school program with stipends for

teachers. More money for teachers? I'm not surprised. There is no reason NOT to

keep this program until a real solution is found. This program has existed for 30+

years.

I believe that Warwick schools has given up on trying to close the gap by

increasing the performance of the lowest performing students and they are

attempting to slow the learning of the highest performing students to correct the

gap. Why would they want to do this? It is simple. According to the administrator

that I spoke with, the Department of Ed will come into the schools that have not

closed the gap and they will relieve all administrators at the school from their job.

The principal will be relieved of their job and will lose their certification in the State

of RI. The teachers can be let go and only 50% will be able to be rehired. It will be

just like Central Falls right here in Warwick.

This is a very real problem for the Warwick Schools. If the lowest performing

students can not increase their scores at the elementary level, then the

Superintendent should be let go. The director of Elementary Education should be

let go, the Principals at those schools should be let go, the teachers should be let

go and the School Committee should take action to NOT renew all of the people I

have listed. Instead, they will attempt to correct the problem by cutting the program

that benefits the highest performing students. It is immoral, and I will not stand for it.

I am surprised that we have not seen a full story on this in the Beacon. It would

take a simple call to the Dept of Ed to ask which schools are under warning and

what the consequences are if they do not improve performance.

It should be noted that all students by RI policy are to be provided a free AND

APPROPRIATE education. This means students at each level of the learning

spectrum. I fought for every special education student while on the committee, I

fought for every accelerated student while on the committee and I will fight for every

student even if I am not on the committee. It is appropriate that these students

receive this instruction. If they do not receive this instruction, I expect each parent

of an ALAP student to go to the school immediately and ask for an IEP for their

student. Request... demand an IEP for your student. The Warwick Schools must

provide a response by law as to why they will not provide an appropriate education

for your student. It will certainly cost much less to provide ALAP to every student

who qualifies than to create an IEP for each student.

I know this seems like a drastic course of action to preserve the program but

administration does not care about the program, finds no benefit to keeping the

program and the program will be lost forever. Switching to an after school program

is a temporary solution as the after school program will immediately be cut.

Finally, Warwick administration insists that the program costs $325,000. The fact is

that outside of the 2.5 Teachers assigned to the program only $2650 is spent on

the program. If the 2.5 Teachers are returned to the regular classroom which is the

plan, only $2650 will be saved. $2650 plus the salaries of the 3 teachers that do

not need to be recalled from the lay off list. Ten of the lowest paid teachers have

been laid off and of these 10, 3 will stay laid off if the ALAP program in not

reinstated. The salaries and benefits of these 3 teachers is approximately

$165,000 at a maximum. So, if the 3 ALAP teachers return to the classroom, the

schools save $165K plus the $2650, a total of $167,650. The school committee

currently has a $170K surplus that must be placed somewhere. They can easily

reinstate the program. In fact, if they take the 2.5 ALAP teachers and place them in

the classroom, they increase costs because the .5 teacher becomes a full time

teacher so they have a net loss because the ALAP teacher is a higher step than the

teacher that would be recalled from the lay off list.

The argument to take the ALAP budget, $2650 for supplies and disperse it among

all the Warwick students is a joke as well. If you take $2650 and divide it amongst

9500 students, that is 28 Cents per student. I believe 28 cents buys a pencil today.

So, we can provide a pencil to each student on the first day of class, let

administrators keep their jobs by closing the gap between our highest performing

students and our lowest performing students by lowering the bar rather than

working harder to prepare our low performing students or we can keep a program

that has served the Students of Warwick for decades. What do you think is the right

thing to do. Please contact your School committee member and let them know

what you think. Jennifer Ahearn and Eugene Nadeau have already voted to keep

ALAP. Contact BEth Furtado, Karen Bachus and Teri Mederios. Contact the

Superintendent too. Let him know you are want this program in the Warwick

Schools.

Great schools are the back bone of a Great city and many people relocating look at

schools as a primary reason for choosing where to live. When we have a school

system that people can be proud of then people will move here and this will

stabilize our finances by broadening our tax base. I want people to move here and

I don't want people to leave. Cutting this program is a terrible choice and once it is

cut people will chose not to come here and more will chose to leave. Saving this

program is a step in the right direction to making this city stronger.

Former School Committee Vice Chair,

Patrick Maloney Jr.

From: Panel calls for consolidation of schools

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