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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 84 NO. 253
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015
75 cents
Mestek Main Street expansion approved
Mixed reviews on Common Core; most don’t like PARCC
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – This past week, volunteers have been collecting signatures at the Big Y in Westfield and other locations to put the question of ending Common Core and PARCC testing on the statewide ballot in 2016. They have until November 18 to collect 66,000 signatures. City Councilor Dan Allie, who has been stationed at Big Y, said he has collected over 500 signatures from Westfield. “This is one of the most important issues we can work on,” Allie said. “This is our kids’ education. It’s too important to buy into a failing system of education.” The Common Core standards were adopted in 2010 by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and adopted into schools the following year. Common Core is a national educational initiative that details what K-12 students should know in English language arts and mathematics at the end of each grade. The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and seeks to establish consistent educational standards across
Gateway Student Council President Brennan Foley said Gateway students voted for MCAS over PARCC testing at a recent regional Student Council meeting in Northampton. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The Westfield News will run our masthead in pink, in recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Westfield City Councilor Dan Allie (L) and End Common Core MA volunteer Susan Mahoney (R) collect a signature from parent Laurie Goodreau on a petition to put ending Common Core and PARCC testing on the statewide ballot in 2016. (Photo by Amy Porter) the states. Several states have repealed or are in the process of repealing the standards. The actual implementation of the Common Core, including how the standards are taught, the curriculum developed, and the materials used to support teachers, is managed at the state and local levels. “The Common Core is widely misunderstood,” said Westfield School Superintendent Suzanne Scallion.” There has always been a lot of what needs to be taught at any given grade level.” Scallion said we live in a mobile society, and kids move all the time, and there should be some consistency from state to state. “We’ve had frameworks for over twenty years,” she said. Scallion feels that the issue has become political fodder. “The Common Core is a list, not a conspiracy,” she said. She said it was vetted in every state, and teacher representatives had an opportunity to give input. She also said that Massachusetts adopted the national standards, and then added 15 percent more standards (“what kids need to know”) as a framework for each grade. “From my perspective, it’s largely a good thing,” Scallion said. She said the hard part was implementing the new standards all at once. “I became superintendent right when the new standards came out. Teachers have done a beautiful job,” she said. “Now teachers are able to instill their own creative energy.” Gateway Superintendent David Hopson agrees. “I think they’re actually a good set of standards, because they were originally based on Mass. state standards,” Hopson said, adding, “You’re going to throw away a lot of the work
Melissa Rutkowski of the Westfield Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) said high stakes testing isn’t good for anyone. (Photo by Amy Porter)
that’s been done,” if Common Core gets repealed. Donna Colorio of End Common Core MA, the group behind the petition drive disagrees strongly. “They were nothing like the Mass. standards,” Colorio, a teacher at Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester said. “Common Core is trademarked. We can add 15 percent, but we cannot change them.” End Common Core MA is also holding a fundraiser on October 22 at the Shortstop Bar & Grille hosted by Allie and State Representative John Velis. A See Testing, Page 3
By DAN MORIARTY Staff Writer WESTFIELD – The Planning Board voted last week to approve an expansion of the Main Street Mestek building following a presentation of the scope of work by Bryan J. Balicki, P.E. of Sage Engineering & Contracting Mestek, Inc. petitioned the planning board for approval of a site plan and stormwater management plan to allow construction of a 5,850 square-foot expansion of its existing 16,000 square-foot research and development facility located at 63 Main Street. The Mestek facility is located behind the Cumberland Farms gasoline station and convenience store. The 16-acre parcel was part of the Smith Boiler purchase by Mestek. Balicki said Mestek needs additional testing space because all of Mestek’s products are tested at that location to ensure the products function within design specifications. Balicki said that newer products are larger and need a test area that will accommodate the larger equipment. The new building will be added to the rear of the existing building and will be put on an area which is currently paved, so there will be no increase of impervious surface. The expansion will not result in an increase of the workforce, or traffic, at that location. Mestek, founded in a garage on Meadow Street in 1946, is a global company and was recently named the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce 2015 Business of the Year. Balicki said Mestek, between its North Elm Street headquarters and the Main Street research and development facility, has a workforce of 368 employees. “Mestek remains committed to Westfield and has continued to maintain its corporate headquarters here,” Balicki said. “This expansion is needed to create more space for testing of their product lines. Units are getting bigger, so they need space to be able to move them around.” Balicki said that no hazardous materials are used in the research and development process at that site. The Planning Board approved the project, but will require that chain-link fencing be augmented with a stockade fence to protect the privacy of residents located to the east side of the property along Clinton Avenue.
Nationals will make anticipated return to Southwick By HOPE E. TREMBLAY Staff Writer SOUTHWICK – The Nationals are coming back. After pulling out of Southwick’s famous sandbox motocross track in 2013, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship is returning July 9, 2016. Last week, MX Sports Pro Racing and NBC Sports unveiled the 2016 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship schedule. The tour is sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, The championship will once again consist of 12 rounds of competition in its 44th season, composed of 24 motos that will take the star-studded field of international riders to 11 different states, including the highly anticipated return of the Southwick National for the first time since the 2013 season. “When we made the decision to leave Southwick at the See Nationals, Page 3
The Lucas Oil Pro Championship motocross race will return to Southwick next summer. (WNG File Photo)