Changes are on the agenda when the Warwick School Committee meets tonight at Toll Gate High School.
Newly named Superintendent Philip Thornton is asking the committee’s approval to move ahead …
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Changes are on the agenda when the Warwick School Committee meets tonight at Toll Gate High School.
Newly named Superintendent Philip Thornton is asking the committee’s approval to move ahead with his proposal that once Gorton Junior High School closes as a school in June it be re-purposed as the school administration building.
Thornton is also looking for committee approval to retain a consultant to streamline the department’s administrative hierarchy, which could mean the elimination of some top tier jobs and the retention of Martin and Associates on a per hourly rate of $70 to enhance district outreach and communications.
Thornton touched on those requests and gave an overview of the district as he addressed the Rotary Club of Warwick at its luncheon meeting Thursday.
Thornton also talked about teacher contract negotiations and his expectation that arbitration could be concluded by early next year; his interest in exploring enhancing school security through Mutual Link; increasing the ranks of school social workers to deal with student problems; and his conviction that start times for high school students should be 45 minutes to an hour later than the current 7:15 a.m. bell.
Thornton also outlined actions he plans on taking as Vets High School is re-purposed as a junior high school and the enrollment increases at Pilgrim and Toll Gate High School next fall. He said he wants to renovate both the Vets and Pilgrim auditoriums, removing the wood seating that has been a part of the schools for decades, and repair the tracks at both schools. On his list as well is repair of the Winman tennis courts used by the Toll Gate team and major alterations to the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center at Toll Gate. At the center, the plan is to relocate and enlarge the facility dining room used by the culinary program and the concentrate of all career and technical programs at the center – the marine trades program would move from Vets. The exception would be the early childhood program, which would remain at Pilgrim. Students on a career and tech path would become students at that school, thereby eliminating the school day busing currently happening. This would also serve to level enrollment at the two high schools.
Thornton has drafted plans for the re-use of Gorton as administrative offices, enabling the closure of offices on Warwick Avenue and the consolidation of offices from the adjoining Greene School. Greene School, portions of which are currently being used by the West Bay Collaborative, would continue to be leased and used for special education purposes. The Gorton auditorium would be used for school committee meetings.
Asked about fire code upgrades at Gorton, which were estimated at more than $1 million and became a reason for closing the school, Thornton said they do not apply as long as the building isn’t being used as a school. There may also be a chance for the district to gain revenues, as Thornton said there is a “dead spot” in cell phone coverage near Gorton and there may be an opportunity to lease space for a tower.
Test scores were also on the minds of Rotary Club members.
Thornton didn’t shy away from the recent PARCC results that put Warwick schools behind Woonsocket. He said, “grading needs to be changed…to see where your kid needs help. Warwick hasn’t had the conversation on how to weed the garden.”
As for a later start for high school, Thornton said studies have shown students perform better if they have the extra sleep and are alert when they start classes. As superintendent in Cumberland, the district did an extensive study of a later school start concluding it would be beneficial but shied away from the additional cost.
“It’s about money and buses,” he said. He didn’t have a cost to implement a later start in Warwick, but added, “It makes all the sense in the world.”
What about switching start times between elementary and secondary students, asked club member Joseph DesRoches.
Thornton said he feared for the safety of young children waiting at bus stops while still dark in the early morning hours. In a later interview, Thornton said he aims to explore a later start for Warwick with possible implementation in 2017.
More immediately, Thornton is looking into Mutual Link, a system that would interconnect all mobile devices and intercoms within a school enabling a communication system with police in the event of a breach in security.
“It’s expensive, but I love it. Every phone and income becomes one network,” said Thornton. He said the system “is on the top of his list” for additional city funding. He put the cost at $18,000 per school, saying the system could be built out over several years.
“We need more internal controls…things like that. We want to do everything we can do to be as safe as we can be,” he said.
Thornton’s office reported no new developments yesterday concerning arbitration. The school department and the union have both named partial arbitrators and have yet to name an impartial arbitrator.
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RISchadenfreude
Nonsense! Keep the school open, keep all the teachers on the payroll, and let them teach to empty classrooms- that'll ensure that the teachers' union is appeased.
Grading needs to be changed to "weed the garden"? How about competency and skills testing (and D&A testing) for teachers and staff for some much-needed "weeding".
Going to bed on time is the solution to students not getting enough sleep- it's called parenting.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015 Report this
danfire
Don't worry the warwick pubic schools under Jenn Ahern leadership will soon have a large surplus. All she has to do is recover all the stolen items that happened right under her nose. The surplus should be millions enough to give the adults who move into gorton a nice clean up dated building. I bet nothing gets done to make it nicer for the kids.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 Report this
warwick10
Love the later start times! 7:15 too early, considering most high school students are in sports, work, homework, studying.. my own daughter, works 2/3 nights weekly, dance class 2 nights weekly 2-3 hours homework + studying for test /quiz, eat, showe--no phones, TV (phone in kitchen) barely makes it to bed by 11/11:30PM, up at 5:15, more studying, breakfast, bus @ 6:20, ='s hard working, dedicated and tired student!
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 Report this
Justanidiot
I love that while schools are shutting down and the student population is waning, the administration is moving into a bigger building.
You know what that means -- you fill up whatever space you have, so, I guess the size of the administration is about to explode.
Just what we need. More chiefs and fewer and fewer braves.
Thursday, December 10, 2015 Report this
markyc
Doesn't keeping Gorton operating as administrative offices defeat most of the hoped/planned for savings by consolidating? Gorton is TOO LARGE to continue operating as administrative offices & Warwick can't rely on "hoped for" "possible" revenue "gains". The School System will be implementing a second phase of consolidation at the elementary school level; wouldn't one of the closed schools better serve for administrative offices? What's wrong with using Toll Gate's auditorium for school committee meetings?
"Grading needs be changed.......to see where your kid needs help". Supt. Thornton, Hello! Math & English!
Later start times for students-Cumberland has already done the study & it was too expensive! Manage your current operations within the existing budget-the Mayor/City Council is unlikely to provide significant additional funding for expensive programs when they & the public in general don't trust the School Committee. More internal controls? Why not try using the existing ones!
Thursday, December 10, 2015 Report this
WWalters
What message are the students going to get out of this? Nobody cares to fix anything at Gorton while there are students there, but the moment they are gone, in will go the air conditioning, and all of the windows, doors, lights, that are broken will get fixed. Kids aren't stupid- they will get the message- adult administrators matter, kids don't.
Thursday, December 10, 2015 Report this
Justanidiot
Sorry WWalters, these kids are being educated in Warwick so they are in fact stupid.
Saturday, December 12, 2015 Report this
Landoffoz
Dr Phil you must think the people of this city are retards. It's a known fact that the mayor is behind the curtain controlling things.Scotts plan all along is to turn Gorton into the new administration building and condos on the surrounding land. Aldrich will be repurposed for an office building and a new super Walmart.The ad building will also be knocked down and made into offices. It is we known that Scott will give the schools some money back when things are sold. I would hope you would look at this plan of packing 1500 kid into vets and filling Pilgrim to 93% of capacity is wrong. I do not want my children to get a Walmart education so the city can save on the taxes. Mr.Thornton why don't you ask the mayor to build a new school before we sell the other off. It seam like the only thing the city will invest in is new fire stations. we need to invest in our children's future. Unfortnally unlike Mrs. Ahearn I can not afford to send my child to Hendricken.
Sunday, December 13, 2015 Report this
Madisonandgail
The reason this school is closing is an adult stole from the schools and got caught so to make up the short fall the kids will have to lose again. A different group of adults are going steal from them and make it a first class home for them selfs
Sunday, December 13, 2015 Report this
warwick10
Stop re -electing the same politicians, including Scott!! Arghh! (And the rest of he R.I. politicians!!)
What us wrong w/ R.I ers?!?!?!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015 Report this