Newtonite
Newton North High School, 457 Walnut Street, Newtonville, Mass. 02460
◆ Friday, Sept. 30, 2011 • Volume 90, Issue 9
Schools receive additional funds Hilary Brumberg Perrin Stein When the State budget was approved in July, the Newton Public Schools received $777,000 in state aid and circuit breaker reimbursements. This funding allowed this school to hire back the equivalent of 1.4 full time educators (FTEs), which were used to lower class sizes and add sections of preexisting classes, according to superintendent David Fleishman. Principal Jennifer Price said the funding was used to add one section of the following classes: creative writing, speech, chemistry, ninth grade history, robotics and engineering, 10th grade history, 10th grade English and jazz band. The NPS usually receives additional state aid once the State approves its budget, according to Fleishman. The funding cities and towns receive is based on the State’s revenue projections for the fiscal year, he said. Along with the $200,000 in state aid, the NPS received $577,000 in circuit breaker reimbursements, which are given to cities and towns to offset the cost of out-of-district tuition from the previous fiscal year.
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Bullyproof:
This money was in addition to the reimbursements estimated in the FY12 budget. The NPS’s FY12 budget approved by the School Committee in May accounted for 40 percent reimbursement from FY11 because it had “been that low for the past several years,” Fleishman said. After reviewing all reimbursement claims from FY11, the State decided to increase the reimbursement percentage to roughly 65 percent. Consequently, the NPS received an additional $577,000 in circuit breaker reimbursements, which was added to the budget in July. Fleishman said it is “not typical” for the NPS to receive additional aid when the State budget passes because the circuit breaker reimbursement percentage rarely increases. Once the NPS knew it would have additional money to add to the FY12 budget, Fleishman, the deputy and assistant superintendents and all of the City’s principals reviewed the school system’s needs, Fleishman said. On July 19, he proposed to the School Committee to add the additional funding to the FY12 budget and recommended how ◆ continued on page 3
Schools create prevention plan
Alex Feit Newton Teachers Association negotiators are close to striking a deal with the School Committee for a new teachers’ contract that will include changes in teachers’ health care, benefits and base salary, according to NTA president Mike Zilles. “I am cautiously optimistic that the NTA Negotiations Team will soon be reaching agreement
with the School Committee on a fair contract that will extend through the coming three academic years,” Zilles said in a speech at the August 31 all-City faculty meeting. If a new contract were to be ratified, it would mark the end of a year-long negotiation process. Teachers and other Newton Public Schools employees are entering their second year without a contract, Zilles said.
Jacob Schwartz
At Club Day: Seniors Michael Dinsmore and Veronica Ingham promote Mock Trial Monday in the cafeteria. See club special pages 7-10.
Jonathan Yeo, the School Committee’s chair of negotiations, said that he is “very hopeful that a fair settlement will be reached in the next few weeks.” In reality, two contracts are being negotiated, said history and social sciences teacher Joel Greifinger, the chief negotiating chair for the NTA. One contract will cover the 2010-2011 school year, during which a contract was not in place, and a suc-
cessor contract will cover the 2011-2014 school years, he said. A central topic of the collective bargaining agreements has been how to divide out-of-pocket expenses for NPS employees’ health-care plan, Zilles said. Under a law passed in the State House earlier this year, local municipalities are required to provide health insurance eit h e r t h r o u g h t h e G r o u p ◆ continued on page 3
New laws dictate injury procedure Jay Feinstein Gloria Li “It’s part of the game...until it’s you,” Mario Manningham, a wide receiver for the New York Giants, once told The New York Times. Manningham was referring to the severity of concussions and how they do not get enough attention. On July 19, 2010, the Massachusetts legislature passed a law that mandates how policies regarding concussion prevention for student-athletes should be enacted within all public schools in the State. The law was put in place at the end of last spring, and this is the first complete season in which the policies are being used for all student-athletes.
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Jacob Schwartz
Collision: Concussions are most prevalent in football, according to neuropsychologist Dr. Neil McGrath.
Samantha Libraty To comply with the new antibullying laws passed in Massachusetts, the School Committee adopted a new anti-bullying curriculum that will be incorporated into classes and schoolwide events throughout the year, according to Beals housemaster Michelle Stauss. “The Newton Public Schools have programs in the elementary and middle schools addressing bullying. However, even though some people are under the impression that bullying behavior stops in high school, it is a relevant issue that we proactively address at this school,” she said. The curriculum, which is called Bully -P roofing Your School, was chosen by a group of teachers, counselors and administrators from both high schools, Stauss said. It will be used to conduct classes in homerooms, she added. Thursday marks the first of four extended homerooms for the delivery of the curriculum. The others will be Wednesday, Nov. 23, Thursday, Dec. 1 and Thursday, Jan. 26. In addition to teachers speaking about bullying, there will be two schoolwide events on Friday, Oct. 14 and Monday, Oct. 17. “With this curriculum, we are trying to strengthen this school’s environment to positively affect students and make the school a safe place for everyone,” Stauss said. “Bullying occurs in every school, and instead of being bystanders and not preventing bullying, we want people to speak up and be involved. We want to go from a silent majority to a caring majority,” she added. Over the summer, a steering committee made up of teachers, counselors and administrators from both schools discussed the ways this anti-bullying curriculum could be effectively used, Stauss said. Along with Stauss, history teacher Gregory Drake, special education teachers Lisa Goldthwaite and David Turcotte, English teacher Michele Leong and guidance department head Beth Swederskas were all on the committee. Stauss said, “Everyone at this school should be taking a stand against bullying. Research shows that when a student is bullied, he or she can’t focus in class, and both teaching and learning can be affected. “Bullying has serious consequences. The program will positively impact the academic, social and emotional growth of our students.”
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Non-profit org. US postage paid Newton, Mass. Permit no. 55337
The State law
The State’s new law has three
main components, according to Dr. Neal McGrath, a neuropsychologist who served on the advisory committee that helped develop the regulations. The first component requires students, parents and coaches to take an annual online education course on concussions. “It gives an overview of symptoms, risks and treatments of concussions,” he said. According to McGrath, who specializes in the evaluation and rehabilitation of traumatic brain injuries, two dozen states across the country require concussion education. The second component of the law prohibits athletes with concussion symptoms from playing sports. “It basically establishes the rule ‘when in doubt, sit ’em out,’” McGrath said. A student ◆ continued on page 14
See inside for costumes, club special, September 11 coverage and fall sports
page 5
pages 7-10
page 11
pages 14-16