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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2016
VOL. 85 NO. 126
Casting call set for Westfield Theatre Group By LORI SZEPELAK Correspondent WESTFIELD – Collaborators Kathleen Palmer and Marion Dunk couldn’t imagine working on a Westfield Theatre Group musical production without each other. On a recent late afternoon, the women sat down to talk about their unique partnership which has spanned more than a decade. “Our connection was serendipitous,” said Dunk, as Palmer added that one day she was struggling to find the words to complete a song. “It all started with a show with children and I needed a song,” said Palmer. “One of the young girls said ‘I think my mom can do that.’” From that moment on, the duo have been producing shows for the Westfield Theatre Group, a department of the Westfield Woman’s Club on Court Street. In a few weeks the women will conduct auditions for their latest original adaptation of the O. Henry short story, “The Gift of the Magi.” Auditions are planned June 20 and 21 with callbacks on June 23 at 6:30 p.m. Children auditioning should arrive at 6 p.m. and adults should arrive at 6:30. “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry is a short story about a young married couple who find a way to purchase Christmas gifts for each other with little money. The story’s plot and its twist ending has been considered comic irony See Theatre Group, Page 7
Travel agents provide value for vacationers By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent SOUTHWICK–As summer approaches so does travel season. But before you go, it may be worth it to check in with a travel agent. Travel agents provide consumers with a lot of information that could be useful when planning a trip, in addition to deals and values that you may not know about. Also, they know the current trends in travel, which will help you to understand where the best places are to go, depending on what you desire in a vacation. “A lot of people may ask ‘why do I want to use a travel agent?’,” Kasie Provencal, travel agent and owner of Pro Tour and Cruises, said. “It’s because we may have access to promotions or space that you don’t. We can get a lot of discounts and specials and we don’t charge a fee for consultation.” Provencal said that travel agents, particularly local ones such as herself, get paid through the companies they work with, so the only cost incurred by the consumer is related to the trip directly. Also, travel agents have access to certain deals and promotions due to the large amount of consumers they provide See Travel Value, Page 7
WESTFIELD FIRE DEPT. PARAMEDICS
Drug related medical calls WESTFIELD — From May 20 to Friday, May 27, the Westfield Fire Dept paramedics responded to the following drug related medical calls: 0 PATIENTS GIVEN NARCAN 1 POSSIBLE (?) OVERDOSE 0 POSSIBLE OD DEATH
In
observance of
Memorial Day, The Westfield News will not publish
Monday, May 30. 75 cents Susan Dargie, Westfield Public Schools director of curriculum & instruction and Superintendent Suzanne Scallion in front of the binders they had to prepare for the comprehensive audit in November. The district review report is now available at www. schoolsofwestfield. org. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Audit finds Westfield Public Schools poised for success By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The Westfield Public School administrative team wasn’t just satisfied with the report on the comprehensive audit of the district this past November. “We were elated,” said Susan Dargie, WPS director of curriculum & instruction. Dargie was present for the last audit in 2009, and remembers how badly she felt after the debriefing. That review found the district to be “a system of schools operating independently.” “That statement became a statement that reminded us of our goals,” Dargie said about the years since. She said their overarching goal has been one of having consistent programming and education, and a common vision in all the schools. “That was the first thing that Suzanne (Scallion, WPS superintendent of schools) led our leadership team to develop,” she said. This time, the finding was “vastly different,” Dargie said. Scallion, who joined the district as superintendent shortly after the last audit, said they had very little notice for this one, only two months before a team comprised of superintendents, former special education directors, a human resource director and a vocational-technical expert arrived last November. “These are educators who came in with a fine-toothed comb,” Dargie said. The team visited 70 classrooms across the city, reviewed binders full of documents, and met with the School Committee, parents, teachers, and administrators in different focus groups. They reviewed six different areas: Leadership and governance, curriculum and instruction, assessment, student support, financial and asset management, and human resources and professional development. “At the end of their three days of turning us inside out,” Scallion said, the review team debriefed with the leadership team of teachers and administrators about their findings. “That’s what got written into this big report,” she added, saying they had to wait six months to get it. The entire district review report is now available on
Westfield School Committee weighs increases to student parking and athletic fees By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The School Committee’s Finance sub-committee met on Thursday to discuss whether to increase student parking fees at Westfield High School and athletic fees at both high schools. Students have been paying $20 a year for parking at Westfield High School for many years. School Committee vice-chair Ramon Diaz, Jr. said he paid $20 to park there. Students are also eligible to get $10 back as an incentive if they are not tardy during the year. No fees are charged for student parking at Westfield Technical Academy. The revenue from the parking fee may only be used to pay for maintenance of the parking lot. “It’s actually a state law,” said WPS business manager Ron Rix. “Anything related to the parking lot.” A discussion followed about the need to pave the parking lot at the See School Fees, Page 7
the home page at www.schoolsofwestfield.org. Scallion said the report found that the school system has been transformed into a collaborative system with transparency and coherence to district procedures. “Remarkable progress since 2010,” Scallion said. She said they were told at the debriefing that the district was “fully evolved, progressive and poised for success.” “It was high praise. We know we’re doing the right thing,” said Dargie, who credits the hard work of the teachers, the principals and the tireless work of the students. She also gives a lot of credit to Scallion. “All of the other areas rely on a strong leadership and governance,” she said. For her part, Scallion said the best preparation for being a superintendent was her experience as a coach. Scallion, who during her teaching career in Cape Cod coached field hockey, lacrosse, track and swimming, was named Cape Cod coach of the year seven times, and Boston Globe coach of the year in 1987. She received the award from Arthur Ashe. Scallion said one of the things she’s most proud of is the early release staff development (ERSD) program the district established for professional development. She said for new teachers, they offer “Westfield Public Schools 101” for them to learn “the Westfield Way.” “We want teachers to know the culture and practices,” she said. Susan Dargie teaches that class. New teachers take literacy and math courses to learn how the district teaches those subjects. Dargie said they have both ERSD elective courses and the district-assigned mandatory courses. Now most of the teachers are in the place of taking electives, such as projects-based learning, English language learners (ELL) instruction, and special education instruction. Teachers themselves design the courses and teach others. “The professional development ERSD was a leap of faith for the School Committee,” Scallion said. It required students leaving at the half way point
eight times during the year. Scallion believes the progress the district has made has been linked to taking that time. “The amount of professional development we used to have was not enough,” Dargie said. “In no other profession (does one) have to be so on and have so little time to evaluate,” Scallion said. “Let’s say I did a great unit in science. When do I have the time to share that with my colleagues? I would advocate for this on a daily basis – give teachers at least an hour a day colleague time,” she added. “Clearly, our kids have lots of needs, including literacy. If you’re not reading fluently with ease at the end of third grade, you struggle the rest of the way. The same is true with math,” Scallion said about findings in the area of student support. She said that coupled with English language learners, and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds (ie, single parent working to meet needs), not all students have access to the same resources. You have to make sure there is a level playing field through intervention programs, after school and summer programs, she said. Scallion praised Jen Alexander, the administrator of student intervention for her work in this area. Alexander started with Scallion, who said they had a “meeting of the minds.” One of the recommendations for the district that was highlighted in the report was to refine the way the district educates students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. “We have really got to take a look at the students included in general education for large parts of the day. We need to strengthen the collaboration between special education and general education. We have to make accommodations in science and social studies for kids with reading and math disabilities. What is the Westfield Way in terms of inclusion,” Scallion said. She added that is an area of expertise for Dr. Adam Garand, the district’s See Schools Audit, Page 7
Westfield High School and Technical Academy athletic director Eileen Flaherty (third from left) works with School Committee finance sub-committee members (left to right) Kevin Sullivan, Ramon Diaz, Jr. and Cynthia Sullivan to evaluate student athletic fees. (Photo by Amy Porter)