Rachel McGregor Believes Providing Transparency is Key for Dedham's School Committee

Rachel McGregor is running for a seat on Dedham's school committee and she wants to increase the amount of parent involvement in the school system. And McGregor believes that providing transparency on key issues will accomplish that.

  Rachel McGregor decided to run for a seat on Dedham's school committee because of the changes that are going to take place within the next year.  She believes that parents should be more involved in the decisions, so providing transparency for the whole community will be one of her goals. "The more conversations we have the stronger we become as a public school district," McGregor said. McGregor has been involved as an educator for 25 years and is a literacy specialist.  And she is excited about being involved in the school committee because of the changes that will soon take place, such as setting the common course standard and the new teacher evaluation system. "I think it's important to become a part of the process," she said. "…

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Parents Ask School to Limit Involvement

The Dedham School Committee held a public hearing to hear suggestions about the new MOU.

  Most parents would agree that having a safe, drug-free community in Dedham's schools is important.  But not every parent will agree on how much schools should be involved with students, especially when it comes to drugs and alcohol. That was the main concern during the School Committee's public hearing.  The purpose was to get feedback from the public about the Memorandum of Understanding between the Dedham public schools, and the Dedham Police Department, otherwise known as the MOU. The committee wants to improve their relationship with the police department by reporting bad behavior.  The hope is to find patterns, and then try to find help for that particular student who may be going down the wrong path. But parents like Ann Mercer, …

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As Expected, Dedham School Committee Rescinds Police Agreement

The committee voted to reverse a previous vote to approve a new student conduct policy.

  The Dedham School Committee unanimously voted Wednesday to rescind a vote it took in March that called for changes in how the school department works with police on disciplining students. "We had to bring it back first, now we can move it forward," School Committee chairman Mayanne Briggs said. The original policy called for 12-month enforcement, as opposed to 10 months in the current plan, and for the policy to apply to students as young as sixth grade. The current policy only applies to Dedham High School students. Committee members voted to break up the discipline for a student caught in the possession of drugs or alcohol and for a student caught in the presence of either. The current policy doesn't make that distinction. But when …

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New Schools Map Adds More Streets, Parents Mum at Meeting

Few parents attended Wednesday's School Committee meeting when members voted for a new school district map.

  The Dedham School Committee unanimously approved a new district map that will move dozens of streets to different elementary schools. It was the committee's second vote on redistricting after parents argued they were not included in the discussion of the first plan, presented in March. The second map added streets both near Dedham Square and near the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Walnut streets. Changes proposed by parents over the past two months of debate include relocating streets like Worthington, Richards and Marsh from the Riverdale Elementary School district to the Avery Elementary School district. "I thought a lot of parents got a chance to get involved in the process," newly elected School Committee member Jennifer Barsamian …

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School Committee Pushes Redistricting Vote Back

The policy sub-committee will weigh its options next week.

  Roughly six weeks after the Dedham School Committee first considered a vote on shifting boundry lines for elementary schools, the committee announced Wednesday that it will delay the vote another two weeks. With a new member added to the committee - Jen Barsamian - and with more ideas coming to the table, the policy sub-committee will meet at 6 p.m. on May 9 at Dedham Middle School to make a recommendation, sub-committee member Dimitria Sullivan said. "We had asked the administration for some more information regarding numbers," Sullivan said. The full School Committee then is expected to take a vote on redistricting at its next meeting, tentatively scheduled for May 16 at Town Hall. The policy sub-committee will consider adding streets …

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Roberts Declines Recount in School Committee Election

Dave Roberts served the School Committee for four terms before losing the April 14 election.

  David Roberts informed the Dedham Town Clerk's Office Tuesday that he will not seek a recount in the April 14 School Committee election, a race he lost to Joe Heisler by four votes. With three seats up for grabs, Roberts, Heisler and Kevin Coughlin, who garnered the most votes, entered the race as incumbents. Jennifer Barsamian finished second as a write-in candidate. Roberts said Wednesday morning that he researched the machines used and the laws surrounding a recount, and determined the likelihood of making up four votes was low. "The aspect of a four-vote swing was not a reality," Roberts said in a phone interview with Dedham Patch. The race was uncontested between the three incumbents until April 9 when several parents launched a …

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Week in Review

Week in Review: Dedham Burns, Selectmen Halt School's MOU

A look back at some of the stories we covered this week on Dedham Patch.

  Brush Fire Dies Down After Scorching 20 Acres in Dedham A brush fire near the Manor and Greenlodge caused alarm for many not just in town but across eastern Massachusetts on Thursday. Reports say upward of 100 acres burned, but no injuries were reported and no structures were damaged. Dedham Selectmen Halt School's Conduct Agreement with Cops The Board of Selectmen started a sub-group that will take a look at the proposed memorandum of understanding between the schools and police that call for several changes to the current policy - including enforcement year-round and applying the rules to students in grades six through 12, as opposed to nine through 12. MBTA Solar Project Eyes Spring '13 Commissioning The MBTA released plans to build …

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POLL: Your Thoughts on School-Police Agreement

Should the district enforce the policy 52 weeks a year.

  The Dedham Public School District is considering enforcing an outside-of-school conduct policy year-round. This includes alcohol and drug possession and use, but also includes bullying, cyberbullying, assaults and other incidents. Opponents have said it takes parenting power away from parents and gives more power to the school department. Where do you stand? Answer the poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

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Avon Barksdale

11:18 am on Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The whole argument that this agreement is "taking away parenting power" is fairly ridiculous. The MOU has some phrasing/structural problems, it seems to overreach a bit, and it's unclear on how privacy/confidentiality will be safeguarded. Those are all legitimate concerns. But the "I will parent my child, not the school" is just a screeching bumper sticker slogan with no real meaning. If a child…   more ›

Dedham Selectmen Halt School's Conduct Agreement with Cops

A sub-committee will evaluate the current proposal and weigh changes.

  Dedham selectmen delayed a vote on a Memorandum of Understanding between the police and school departments that calls for, among other things, police to notify school officials of incidents involving students over the summer. A current policy holds students accountable for actions only between September and June. The School Committee passed the agreement on March 21 in a 4-3 vote. It cleared the policy sub-committee with a 3-0 vote before that, but since has met pushback from parents. On Thursday, selectmen joined the contingent to decry parts of the agreement. School Committee member Mayanne Briggs, who also serves on the policy sub-committee, said a driving force for switching to a 52-week enforcement is the growing trend of …

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anonomous

12:57 pm on Sunday, May 6, 2012

when did dedham turn into a police state...get the police out of the schools and hire some competent educators   more ›