All Around APS

Dear APS families and staff,

The 2023-24 school year is almost behind us! In the final few weeks of every school year, it’s a pleasure to participate in year-end events at our schools and see our students celebrate their accomplishments. We also honored our staff retirees earlier this week for their many years (306 years combined!) of service and dedication to our students.

Throughout the summer months, we will continue our planning for the 2024-25 school year. Students at West Elementary will return to class in a new school building in August. The district will begin the evaluation of vendors next year for redistricting as the completion of the West Elementary and Shawsheen project creates an opportunity to balance our resources and to meet the changing needs of our community. As the redistricting process for 2025-26 school year begins, we will look to the community for their input and collaboration.

To further encourage partnership with our community in the upcoming school year, we will convene the FY26 Budget Advisory Council to facilitate productive conversations and identify community priorities in developing a balanced FY26 budget. In the coming weeks, we will also introduce a Superintendent's Advisory Council.The goal of this council will be to foster connections with the Andover community and find opportunities to better share information and engage with our families and neighbors.

In 2024-25, work will continue with our curriculum councils, our Vision of a Graduate work, and middle school schedule initiatives. We are also excited to welcome three new principals to the district, James D’Andrea to Andover High School, Rebecca Perry at Doherty Middle School, and Dr. Mary Ellen Carideo-Cobbs to West Elementary.

As always, I appreciate the support of our families, staff, and the Andover community as we work together in service to our students. I would also like to thank our community partners, our PTO/PACs, Andover Coalition for Education, and Andona for their constant support to enhance our students’ experiences. I wish you all a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you in the fall.

Dr. Magda Parvey

Superintendent

On June 3, 2024, 409 Andover High School seniors joined families and friends at the Tsongas Arena for graduation! Graduates proceeded into the celebration, led by valedictorian Vismay Ravikumar and salutatorian Aneesh Ratnala, with music performed by the AHS band, orchestra, and choir. Seniors Connor D’Angelo and Aisosa Oviasogie offered a welcome to the crowd and Eddie Mukalazi shared the class essay to seniors.

We are so proud of the AHS Class of 2024 and know they will accomplish great things! We wish them the best for the future and thank you for representing Andover High School with pride!

Approximately 150 Special Education students from North Andover and Andover competed in the annual Special Olympics School Day Games on Friday, June 7th. The day began with the “parade of athletes” and opening ceremonies before athletes participated in track and field events, including the 50 m dash, tennis ball throw, standing and running long jumps. The Special Olympics organization has been supporting athletes with intellectual disabilities for over 50 years. Through sports, Special Olympics provides “the opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in sharing skills and friendship.”

What a great day! Congratulations to all our students!

We are so proud of Pete Nelson, the crossing guard at Wood Hill Middle School, for being recognized by the Massachusetts Safe Routes to School program as Crossing Guard of the Year-Honorable Mention this year. Pete was nominated by WHMS Science teacher, Rebecca Clay, and he was honored at a ceremony at the State House earlier this week. High Plain Elementary School also received an honorable mention for their commitment to creating safe routes to school!

This recognition is awarded to school partners that excel in establishing or enhancing Safe Routes to School programs through innovation, creativity, and community engagement. Congratulations to Pete for his hard work and determination in promoting safety and advancing the goals of the Safe Routes to School program over the past school year at Wood Hill.

Last month, students enrolled in the "Learn to Work" program attended the Pfizer Open House with their parents and APS administrators. The event provided parents and new students with an overview of the program and ended with recognizing our graduating students who interned in the program this academic school year.

Since 2014, the "Learn to Work" program has provided APS special education students who have vocational goals on their IEP, an internship at Pfizer. Our AHS students, under the guidance of AHS Vocational Coordinator and Transition Specialist Paula Westmacott, learn how to self-manage a work routine. They practice following-through with routine tasks that need to be completed each cycle, navigating office dynamics, applying expected protocols, and presenting themselves in a professional manner. Students in the program have the chance to acquire experience in several areas at Pfizer, including security, publications, and the mailroom.

Congratulations to Sofia DuranClark, who was recently elected to serve as the New England District Governor at the Kiwanis Key Club Division 8, which includes Key Clubs in the Merrimack Valley. As District Governor, Sofia leads the district board and represents her district on the Key Club International Council and to the New England Kiwanis Family.

Kiwanis is a national service organization that supports high school students in the Key Club to build character through service and leadership.

Andover Public Schools (APS) was selected as one of the recipients of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2023 Clean School Bus Program. These rebates will help APS, in partnership with our transportation vendor NRT Bus, purchase 25 new electric school buses for the district’s fleet. The district secured the award through a grant application and will begin the process of procuring the vehicles with NRT. To view the full announcement, visit our website.

• Monday, June 17, 2024 - last day of school for students (early release day)

• Wednesday, June 12, 2024 – Shavuot*
• Saturday, June 15, 2024 – Hajj (5 days)
• Monday, June 17, 2024 – Eid al-Adha*
• Wednesday, June 19, 2024 – Juneteenth

*observance begins at sundown the previous day

Hello Summer!

The 2023-24 school year is almost over! For the 2024-25 printable school year calendar; please click here.

The district welcomes Andrea Barlow as our new Assistant Director of Special Services at Andover Public Schools. Ms. Barlow will replace Christina Ryan, who has accepted a position as the Director of Student Services for the Danvers Public School District beginning on July 1, 2024. We are appreciative for Christina’s contributions to APS and wish her the best in her next endeavor.

Ms. Barlow previously worked at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in the Problem Resolution System (PRS) unit. Prior to her role at DESE, Ms. Barlow served as Director of Student Services at a charter school in Marblehead, a Secondary Team Chairperson in North Reading, and as a Special Education teacher at Masconomet and Landmark High Schools. Ms. Barlow holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting, a Master of Education in Moderate Special Needs, and a second master’s in counseling and Psychological Services. Additionally, she has earned a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Administration, specializing in Secondary and Special Education.

On June 11, 2024, SEPAC will be holding their annual elections as well as hosting Nancy Koch, Executive Director of Special Services to answer questions regarding the FY25 budget and the department restructuring to support our students. If you would like to submit questions prior to the meeting, please submit them to Nancy at nancy.koch@andoverma.us. We look forward to seeing you there. Please see SEPACs June newsletter for additional information: SEPAC Newsletter

What: SEPAC June Meeting - Elections and Q&A with Nancy Koch

When: June 11th at 7pm

Where: West Middle School Library

Or via zoom: Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 912 9376 4113

Passcode: 030359

Construction at the West Elementary and Shawsheen Preschool building is almost complete and will open for West Elementary students and staff for the 2024-25 school year! The West Elementary and Shawsheen Preschool Building Committee invites the community to a virtual public forum on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Following a presentation, the Building Committee will answer questions from the community. For more information on how to join the forum, click here.

Topics for discussion include:

• What to expect over the summer months at the site, including roadway and building construction, demolition of the existing school, and access to playgrounds.
• What to expect when the new school opens after summer vacation, including traffic circulation for cars and school buses for the 2024-25 school year, drop-off locations, parking, site features and any ongoing construction work.
• The completion of the school and opportunities for the public to tour the new building.

The Andover High School Athletic department will be hosting an Athletic Information Meeting/Meet the Coaches night for the rising freshman (current 8th graders) on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at the Dunn Gym at AHS from 6-7 p.m.

Athletes and parents will hear information regarding the registration/tryout process, season timelines, academic expectations and more! They will then have the opportunity to meet with the coaches from each of the respective teams to ask any sport specific questions they may have.

The School Committee met on Thursday, June 6, 2024. Items on the agenda included a PK-8 district literacy update, a vote on the Collins Center Contract rates, and presentation on school improvement plans (AHS, middle schools, elementary schools).

Meetings are held in the School Committee Room at Central Office, 30 Whittier Court – 2nd floor and are broadcast live by AndoverTV via Andover public access television (Comcast Channel 6 and Verizon Channel 43) or by streaming from www.andovertv.org. Recordings of these meetings are posted on Andover TV’s Video Archive under the School and Building Committee Meetings webpage.

To view meeting minutes from previous meetings, check out the School Committee’s meeting minutes archive page.

The next School Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, June 20, 2024. Agendas are posted up to 48 hours in advance and can be emailed directly to those who are interested and sign-up for “Notify Me” alerts on our website.

The School Committee welcomes the community to join us for an informal forum on Saturday, June 8, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. at Memorial Hall Library.

These forums have no set agenda, and the community is welcome at any time to speak with two members of the School Committee on any topics related to our schools. Because these sessions are attended by only two School Committee members, they allow an interactive dialogue outside of the Open Meeting Law legal parameters. Additional Informal Forum dates for 2024 can be located here.

A Special Town Meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center at Andover High School.

At Annual Town Meeting on April 29, 2024, a resident proposed a floor amendment to increase the School Department’s FY25 operating budget by $1,875,000. Voters in attendance voted 476 to 451 in favor of this amendment. This created an unbalanced budget, which must be resolved prior to setting the tax rate in the fall.

The warrant for the Special Town meeting is located on the town’s website. The School Committee joined the town of Andover’s Select Board and Finance Committee at a Tri-Board meeting on Tuesday, May 28th, to review and vote to approve or disapprove these articles.

Article 1 would transfer from available Free Cash a supplemental increase of $1,591,913 to the FY2025 School Department operating budget. This, combined with an anticipated increase of $283,087 in Chapter 70 state aid, sums to $1,875,000.

The School Committee voted 3-2 to recommend disapproval of Article 1.

Should the Special Town Meeting vote to support Article 1, it is important for voters to understand that these funds will not be used for recurring expenses, such as salaries. Doing so would compound the financial challenges in the district’s budget and create larger deficits in future years. On May 23, the School Committee voted 4-1 to use potential one-time funding, such as Free Cash, only for one-time expenses. Should Free Cash be received by the School Department, there are a limited number of ways to direct such funds, and it is possible that some or all of it may be unused.

Article 2 would amend the original School Department operating budget to $102,761,421 – which reflects an anticipated increase of Chapter 70 state aid in the sum of $283,087 directed to the School Department. Dr. Parvey has shared that this additional funding may be used to support staffing in strategic areas defined by student need, including support for multilingual learners, student support, mental health and counseling services. In the event that an unexpected increase in enrollment occurs, these may also support staffing allocated to this area. This additional Chapter 70 funding sustainably supplements the School Department budget to add positions in key areas of changing needs.

The School Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of Article 2.

Article 3 places $121,323 into the Finance Committee Reserve Appropriation. Historically, Chapter 70 funding is received by the Town, which directs 70% to the School Department and directs the remaining 30% to support education through the Town’s budget – for example, to support school building maintenance and library services. The amount in the article represents the 30% of the Chapter 70 increase directed to the Town.

The School Committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of Article 3.

We encourage the community to review information and FAQs on the FY25 Budget on our website.

The Juneteenth Planning Committee is pleased to invite you to the Andover town-wide Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 15th, 4 - 6 PM, at the Andover Youth Center. This annual event is presented by the Andover Baptist Church, other churches, a synagogue, the Town of Andover, and the DEI Commission. This will be an opportunity to observe Juneteenth traditions. The theme is "Strength, Resiliency, and Diversity in our Community."