Pentucket Schools Accept Snow Day Comments Until March 13

WHAV News Staff By |

Pentucket Regional High School.

A final decision on proposed make-up school days, including Saturday and Good Friday sessions, in the Pentucket Regional School District is expected during a March 17 meeting of the Pentucket School Committee, according to Superintendent Jeffrey Mulqueen.

In a letter to parents and staff, Mulqueen said his proposal presented to the school committee Tuesday “provided the Pentucket Regional School Committee with a starting point for their decision making.”

“The School Committee deliberated about possible changes to the school calendar at the February 24 Business Meeting. Many ideas were considered and ultimately some changes to my proposal were made prior to the Committee coming to consensus,” Mulqueen said.

Mulqueen also said he will respond to and collect feedback on the plan until March 13.

The current proposal, according to Mulqueen, includes:

  1. Conduct two days of remote, structured learning for high school students on March 21 and March 28, 2015. The start and end times would be the same as a usual school day.  Students would engage in learning activities remotely and not report to school.  Staff members would have the flexibility of engaging with students remotely or from the high school to support students’ use of resources in the development and extension of individual learning plans.
  1. Conduct a full day of school on April 3, 2015 for all students.
  1. Conduct an abbreviated day of school on April 11, 2015 for all students, ending in an early-release day for students.
  1. Reserve May 16, 2015 as a possible added day to the calendar should the need arise.  It may be needed, for example, in order to maintain the graduation date.

“The result of these changes will realign the high school with the other schools and establish June 23, 2015 as the last day of school for everyone.  Again, this date could change if additional time is needed to address weather or school related emergencies,” Mulqueen said.

A series of major snowstorms prompted closure of Pentucket Regional High School and other district schools before last week’s February break in order for crews to clear accumulated snow from school roofs. Also a broken water main connection to the high school, under route 113, caused those students to miss two days of classes while repairs were made.