The FY25 budget season is underway, and the School Committee and MERSD Leadership Team are working hard to deliver a budget that supports the priorities of the MERSD Strategic Plan and the goals outlined in our District and School Improvement Plans.

Over the next few weeks, the district team will be focused on synthesizing the school-based budget requests into our initial district FY25 budget proposal known as the Tentative Budget. In accordance with the guidelines in the Regional Agreement, MERSD presents a preliminary budget and holds a public hearing for feedback in December. This version of the budget is not a formal request to the towns, but, rather, it is a status update that represents our initial assessment of needs for the upcoming fiscal year. In January, the district will work to refine initial assumptions to determine the final FY25 budget request that is submitted in February. For more details on the budget timeline and process click here Budget Basics & Timeline.

How To Participate and Learn More

We welcome your participation and input as we navigate the budget process and work to deliver a fiscally responsible budget that maintains excellence, supports our strategic priorities, and positions MERSD for continued growth.

Public comment is welcome at the beginning of all regularly scheduled School Committee sessions, and there are two key budget meetings that will take place in December:

• December 5th – Presentation of the Tentative Budget (6:00pm / MERMHS Learning Commons). This is a regularly scheduled School Committee Meeting at which we will present and discuss the FY25 Tentative Budget Proposal.
• December 13th – Public Hearing on the Tentative Budget (7:00pm / MERMHS Learning Commons). This event is meant to provide the community with an opportunity to learn and to ask questions about our proposed budget.

This year, we are engaging in a curriculum review process for grades K-12 in History/Social Sciences. The purpose of a curriculum review allows us to take a deep examination of DESE Frameworks/Standards and research from the field to evaluate our MERSD curriculum. The team will then engage in analysis of needs and make recommendations for next steps with our curriculum. Finally, the curriculum review process may result in actionable steps that then will require ongoing support for implementation of any changes.

Please CLICK HERE to learn more about our MERSD Curriculum Review Process.

This year, our schools (gr.5-7) will be using Investigating History, a new history curriculum developed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in collaboration with Primary Source, a global education nonprofit based in Watertown. MERSD received a DESE grant which allows us to fund a field test and all associated Professional Development for our teachers. We chose to field test these resources because, with the updated History/Social Science standards in recent years, this resource allows us to engage in rich learning experiences while exploring potential curriculum materials. This tool will be an evaluated component during our K-12 History/Social Science Curriculum Review Process.

Heather Leonard, leonardh@mersd.org

Powerful Strategies to Help Children Develop Independent Executive Functioning Skills

(including a focus on using technology in positive/helpful ways)

Presenter: Sarah Ward

January 3rd, 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. ~ Virtual

Sponsored by MERMS Council

More information and events coming soon!

Upcoming Events:

Navigating Your Family's Emotions: An Introduction to the Zones of Regulation

December 4th at 6:00 p.m., at Essex Elementary Cafeteria

Join special education teacher and social worker Lauren Costa for a workshop that focuses on strategies parents can use at home to support children in developing self-regulation. The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum that helps children to identify feelings that arise when they encounter challenges, recognize when they are becoming less regulated, and manage emotions in order to feel grounded and re-centered. To make emotions easier to talk about, think about, and regulate, The Zones of Regulation utilize simple, common language and visuals to make the complex skill of regulation more concrete for learners and those who support them.

Please email Shelley Mullarkey at mullarkeys@mersd.org to RSVP.

Allison Brown Collins, Director of Student Services, and Avi Urbas, Director of Finance and Operations, presented to about 25 special education officials in Worcester on Thursday, Oct. 19.

The 2 1/2-hour workshop by Collins and Urbas was part of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Special Education Leadership Institute. This initiative is supported by the ACCEPT Education Collaborative and offers two years of workshops, training, and mentorships to incoming special education directors.

Topics included:

• An introduction to challenges in public school budgeting, such as Proposition 2 ½ limits, increasing expenses for goods and services, and funding inequities.

• How to analyze a special education budget, including following trends to identify proactive investments.

• Managing spending through unexpected change.

• Thinking outside the box, such as restructuring or analyzing for cost savings.

• Grant compliance.

The Independent is the award-winning newspaper created by the Manchester Essex Regional High School journalism class. Current monthly issues can be viewed HERE.

Thank you to MERHS Students and Ms. Buckley. (Senior Ella Chafe is missing from the photo below.)

Congratulations to the Cast and Crew of Freaky Friday the Musical!

November begins the next Planet Aid contest, which runs for the month of November.

The Planet Aid Partnership with Manchester-Essex Regional School District has been beneficial to both communities, by allowing residents to donate textiles for reuse and distribution to less fortunate areas of the world. Additionally, Planet Aid supports the Green Team classes and clubs in each school. Since the beginning of the partnership, the district has collected 189,880 pounds of textiles. This has significantly reduced the volume of material sent to landfills or Trash to Energy facilities. Historically, MERSD has placed in the top 5 schools in every contest in the region.

There are cash prizes for schools with the greatest volume, largest increase from last year, and a raffle for all schools involved this year. Last contest, the district collected 4260 pounds total. We are hoping to surpass that this year!

Please consider using one of the Planet Aid bins to dispose of your unwanted clothing/textiles.

Third Wednesday of each month during the school year.

2:45-3:30 p.m.

12 Story St.

Essex, MA

The Open Door Food Truck will visit Essex Elementary School and Manchester Memorial Elementary School. For more information about The Open Door please visit their website.

Mobile Markets will run 2:30-3:30 p.m. in November on the first Wednesday of each month and an early release schedule of 11:00-12:15 p.m.. on the first Wednesday of each month starting in December for the balance of the school year.

43 Lincoln St.

Manchester, MA

Looking for the latest updates and MERSD Newsletters, check out mersd.org below ⤵️

The District Calendar is available in the Quick Links Section of the district and school homepages. Please note that the last day of school, if all snow days are used, will be June 20th; without the use of snow days, we are scheduled for the last day of school to be June 12th. Should we exceed five snow days, additional make-up days will be added to the end of the year through June 30th.

• School & District websites – we are making an effort to keep these informative and up to date.

• District & School website calendars have up-to-date information about school and district activities.

• Athletic schedules can be accessed from a link on the Athletics page.

• The budget page can be accessed by a Quick Link off the district home page – here you will find our FY 24 budget documents and presentations. We will be updating this in the fall to reflect the FY25 budget process.

• Superintendent’s Blog is a forum to share good news, observations, and information about our schools and about education in general.

• MERSD Facebook

36 Lincoln St., Manchester, MA 01944

https://www.mersd.org/

Phone (978) 526-4919

Fax (978) 526-7585