Blackstone-Millville committee approves school improvement plans, funds tutors and grants
November 02, 2023 | Blackstone-Millville, School Boards, Massachusetts
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The Blackstone-Millville Regional School Committee unanimously approved its 2023–24 school improvement and professional-development plans and moved forward on several budget and program items at its Nov. 2 meeting.
Jason DeFalco, superintendent, opened the school-improvement portion of the agenda by stressing the meeting’s celebratory tone and the district’s focus on instruction and early-literacy work. “This is the best meeting of the year because this is always the meeting that we have the most turnout and we're here to celebrate the kids,” he said.
The committee approved an embedded-tutoring proposal aimed at providing in-the-moment instructional support for grades eight and nine. The plan calls for two tutors — one English and one math — rotating between the middle school and the high school, each working approximately four hours per day on a six-day rotation to target students in core classes. The district estimated the cost at about $37,800 and asked the committee to approve no more than $40,000 for the remainder of the school year; the motion carried unanimously.
Coach Mary presented the annual eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., noting itinerary tweaks to protect student learning time at the Holocaust Memorial Museum and that fundraising has already raised nearly $2,000. The committee voted unanimously to approve the June 3–5 trip.
The board also accepted two grants: a $100,000 School Behavioral Health award aimed at bolstering mental-health supports and materials across the district, and a $3,600 grant to fund high‑school staff site visits to model schools. Superintendent and grant staff said they will seek an amendment to the behavioral-health award so part of the funds can be used for materials; the librarians will use up to $20,000 of the award (not more than $5,000 per building) to update library collections based on a student survey of more than 800 responses.
Other business included routine consent items and an athletic update. The committee concluded by moving into executive session; the next regular meeting is scheduled for Dec. 14 in the same auditorium.
The board recorded all votes on these items as unanimous; no roll-call tallies were provided in the public transcript.
Jason DeFalco, superintendent, opened the school-improvement portion of the agenda by stressing the meeting’s celebratory tone and the district’s focus on instruction and early-literacy work. “This is the best meeting of the year because this is always the meeting that we have the most turnout and we're here to celebrate the kids,” he said.
The committee approved an embedded-tutoring proposal aimed at providing in-the-moment instructional support for grades eight and nine. The plan calls for two tutors — one English and one math — rotating between the middle school and the high school, each working approximately four hours per day on a six-day rotation to target students in core classes. The district estimated the cost at about $37,800 and asked the committee to approve no more than $40,000 for the remainder of the school year; the motion carried unanimously.
Coach Mary presented the annual eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., noting itinerary tweaks to protect student learning time at the Holocaust Memorial Museum and that fundraising has already raised nearly $2,000. The committee voted unanimously to approve the June 3–5 trip.
The board also accepted two grants: a $100,000 School Behavioral Health award aimed at bolstering mental-health supports and materials across the district, and a $3,600 grant to fund high‑school staff site visits to model schools. Superintendent and grant staff said they will seek an amendment to the behavioral-health award so part of the funds can be used for materials; the librarians will use up to $20,000 of the award (not more than $5,000 per building) to update library collections based on a student survey of more than 800 responses.
Other business included routine consent items and an athletic update. The committee concluded by moving into executive session; the next regular meeting is scheduled for Dec. 14 in the same auditorium.
The board recorded all votes on these items as unanimous; no roll-call tallies were provided in the public transcript.
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