Marblehead Public Schools - Marblehead Current

Marblehead Public Schools welcomes new METCO director

7Sep

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Municipal Matters, Top Stories

Marblehead Public Schools welcomes new METCO director

Marblehead Public Schools welcomed the district’s new Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity director, Caja Johnson, during the School Committee’s meeting on Wednesday night. Johnson will report directly to Superintendent John Buckey and head Marblehead’s district-wide METCO program, a voluntary school desegregation program funded by a state grant. Through METCO, about 60 children from “racially imbalanced urban schools in Boston” are enrolled in local schools. “My initial impression of Marblehead Public Schools has been absolutely amazing,” Johnson told School Committee members. “I already feel this really strong commitment to the students.” Johnson’s first couple of days have been impressive, Buckey told School Committee members when he introduced Johnson. ...

Marblehead kids, parents excited on rainy first day of school

6Sep

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools

Marblehead kids, parents excited on rainy first day of school

Share your first day of school photos with us on the Marblehead News Facebook page. Ayden Sanchez and his dad, Junior, walked to the Brown School this morning. PHOTO: Leigh Blander It was a rainy first day back to school, but that didn't dampen the excitement for students and their parents at drop-off this morning. After a bowl of Fruit Loops, Ayden Sanchez walked to the Brown School with his dad, Junior, for his first day as a third grader in Ms. McMahon's class. "I'm excited," Ayden said. "I had a good summer going to the beach." The class he's looking forward to the most this year? "I really like gym." Camille Plauche shows off her sparkly new shoes on the first day of school. PHOTO: Leigh Blander Camille Plauche is also starting third grade. She was t...

Marblehead school superintendent reports ‘astronomical’ increase in enrollment

1Sep

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Marblehead school superintendent reports ‘astronomical’ increase in enrollment

Marblehead School Superintendent Dr. John Buckey Enrollment experienced an “astronomical” 6-percent increase over the summer, with 131 new students set to star the year in Marblehead public schools next week, Marblehead School Superintendent John Buckey announced at the Aug. 29 meeting of the Marblehead School Committee. “We’ve had an increase in enrollment in every grade level except at grade 4, and it was static at grade 10,” Buckey said. “We’re fortunate to have the staffing that we do, and we’re fortunate that we didn’t make any reductions in staffing.” Kindergarten is seeing the biggest jump, with an increase of 22 additional students over last year. “Our kindergarten enrollment from last year to this year increased 14.4 percent, and that’s really significant becaus...

Marblehead municipal meetings, week of Aug. 22 – 26

22Aug

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Community resources, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Municipal Matters, Politics

Marblehead municipal meetings, week of Aug. 22 – 26

Tuesday, Aug. 23 2 p.m., Policy Subcommittee Meeting of Marblehead School Committee, front conference room of the Marblehead administration Building, 9 Widger Road. On the agenda: Review of nondiscrimination, nondiscrimination and harassment, reconsideration of instructional resources, student dress code, bullying prevention and physical restraint of students. marblehead_school_committee_-_policy_subcommittee_agenda_8-23-2022Download 2 p.m., The Abbot Public Library Renovation Committee Meeting via Zoom. Attend virtually HERE. On the agenda: Schedule, new business and updates from the owners project manager, director and designer abbot_public_library_building_renovation_committee_agenda_8-23-22Download Wednesday, Jan. 24 1 p.m., Joint meeting of the Transfer Station Fa...

New principals ready to ring in new year Marblehead elementary schools

22Aug

By Kris OlsonNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

New principals ready to ring in new year Marblehead elementary schools

Brown School Principal Mary Maxfield, left, and Glover School Principal Hope Doran The members of the incoming pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes at Marblehead's Brown and Glover schools will not be the only ones beginning a new adventure when the school year starts Sept. 6. Welcoming them will be two principals who are new to Marblehead, too. Brown School's Mary Maxfield and Glover School's Hope Doran recently took a brief break from settling into their new professional homes to discuss with Marblehead News their backgrounds, their thoughts on the impact COVID-19 continues to have on education, and the most interesting items in their offices. Q: Tell me a little bit about who you are and where you are coming to Marblehead from. Hope Doran: I’ve been in education for ab...

Q1 appears to pass, Q2 fails as vote count goes deep into night

22Jun

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Politics, Top Stories

Q1 appears to pass, Q2 fails as vote count goes deep into night

After several hectic hours when ballots ran out in all six Marblehead precincts, some initial election results showed voters approving Question 1, a $24.3 override for town capital spending, and rejecting Question2, a $3 million override for the schools. (Read more about the override votes on Wednesday, June 22.) The town-wide ballot shortage forced election officials to print paper copies of ballots, which could not be run through voting machines. That prompted a hand count that continued late into the night. Election workers were at Abbot Hall until 3:00 a.m., according to an official in the town clerk's office. Early results from Precincts 2 and 3 - which still excluded hand-count votes - showed Select Board incumbents Jackie Belf-Becker, Erin Noonan, Moses Grader, Alexa Singer a...

Marblehead voters OK $24.3M in capital projects

21Jun

By Marblehead News staff1 Comment

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Politics, Top Stories

Marblehead voters OK $24.3M in capital projects

In the Tuesday election, Marblehead approved a Proposition 2 1/2 debt-exclusion override to finance a $24.3 million smorgasbord of capital improvement projects over the next five years. According to preliminary machine and hand counted results, the first of two Proposition 2 1/2 override questions on the day's ballot was approved by a vote of 3,352 "yes" votes - or 57 percent - to 2,177 "no" votes. A total of 5,845 ballots were cast in a turnout that depleted the town's stockpile of ballots. "It's great," Select Board Chair Jackie Belf-Becker told Marblehead News as she watched results inside Abbot Hall. "We appreciate the support of the town." The spending voters approved can be broken down in four parts: $12.5 million on sidewalks and road improvements Almost $9 milli...

Marblehead voters turn down $3M permanent override for schools

21Jun

By Marblehead News staff1 Comment

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Politics, Top Stories

Marblehead voters turn down $3M permanent override for schools

In their annual election on Tuesday, Marblehead voters tuned down a proposed $3 million permanent override that sought to supplement the town's $43 million education budget. According to preliminary machine and hand counted results, the Proposition 2 1/2 override was defeated by a vote of 3,921 "no" votes - or by 67 percent - to 1,798 "yes" votes. A total of 5,845 ballots were cast in a turnout that depleted the town's stockpile of ballots. The measure would have raised Marblehead's levy limit and would have filled what Marblehead Superintendent John Buckey said was a $3 million funding gap. The override would have increased the tax bill of the owner of a median single-family home assessed at $738,000 by $310.53 annually, but the voters did not have an appetite for...

Marblehead marks Juneteenth with storytelling, music and poetry

17Jun

By Submitted ContentNo Comments

Marblehead Public Schools, Press releases

Marblehead marks Juneteenth with storytelling, music and poetry

The Marblehead Task Force Against Discrimination, in conjunction with North Shore Juneteenth Association, staged Marblehead's second annual Juneteenth ceremony on Wednesday, June 8. Organizers called the ceremony a huge success and extra special with Marblehead Public Schools students involved. Greg Coles from Greg Coles Dance & Drum donated his time to share African drumming, storytelling and history. Student representatives to the MTFAD Alexis Earp and Celia Sliney ran the ceremony on the lawn outside Abbot Hall. The role of the student representative at MTFAD is to “help create a safe environment at school for all by listening to peers, advocating for inclusivity and creating programming for MPS." Earp read the land acknowledgment recently created by the MTFAD and...

16Jun

By Kris OlsonNo Comments

Marblehead Public Schools

Congratulations, Class of 2022!

Marblehead High School bid goodbye to 246 members of the Senior Class June 3 in acommencement ceremony both jubilant and poignant. Pointing to the Wright Brothers, valedictorian Jeffrey Lederman urged his classmates to “leaninto their confidence and take risks.” He reminded them that they all have the opportunity tochange the world A poignant moment came when Dahlia Galante accepted the diploma of her late brother, James. He was a star Marblehead High School football player who died in a car crash three months before graduation. Other speakers included: Salutatorian Grace MacLean, who was also class president; Ketsia Klamanga, who gave the opening remarks; Superintendent John Buckey and Principal DanBauer. The graduation was held under fair skies at Piper Field. Marbleh...