Superintendent’s Welcome
I am pleased to welcome you to the 2013 – 2014 school year in the Millbury Public Schools. Thank you for visiting the website. As the year progresses, we look forward to learning more from you regarding the website’s ease-of-use and the quality of the information that you are seeking.
The District has developed six (6) Goals/Initiatives for the new school year that will drive the work of the School Committee, administration, faculty and staff. You will find those Goals/Initiatives and accompanying Action Steps, under the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment tab on the Home page. As has been articulated during previous years, the common goal within all grade levels and across disciplines, is the improvement of academic achievement for every student. High quality professional development will continue to drive the quality of instruction within the Millbury Public Schools.
One of the District’s six (6) Goals/Initiatives is To improve communication with and outreach to all stakeholders including families, community members, colleagues and between schools. All three school buildings and the Central Office will use the building-based websites and the district site as one of the many vehicles for communication.
The District wishes to thank the citizens of Millbury for approving two (2) critically important Warrant Articles during the Special Town Meeting in June 2013. $175,000 was approved to upgrade the technology infrastructure in all three (3) buildings. This was the plan for year 2 of a three (3) year plan to provide wireless capability throughout the schools. The school district, through the local budget, added $100,000 to the existing $30,000 in previous budgets, in order to upgrade and replace student classroom computers, teacher computers and add computer labs. Much of the hardware, prior to this initiative, was ten to twelve years old, having last been purchased during the refurbishment of the Junior/Senior High School and the Elmwood Street School. The achievement of this three (3) year goal, with the addition of high quality professional development, will allow the faculty and staff to deliver the curricula utilizing technological best practices.
In addition, the citizens also graciously approved a second Warrant Article of $103,000 to purchase effective mathematics programs that address the Common Core Mathematics Standards; possess rigor and relevance, with mastery as the ultimate goal, for grades K – 3, 4 – 5 and 6 – 8. An extensive review of programs was conducted by a district-wide Mathematics Committee. The Committee developed criteria by which the programs would be evaluated, interviewed other districts using the programs and piloted some of them before making a recommendation to purchase.
As you may well imagine, the summer of 2013 has been very busy improving the technology infrastructure, replacing/upgrading/installing hardware and purchasing materials in order to welcome students. It is a wonderfully exciting time for the Millbury Public Schools. However, none of the initiatives or educational opportunities would be available without the tremendous broad-based support of the families, community members, the Millbury Parents’ Club and businesses of the Town of Millbury. It is with great pride and appreciation that we thank you for your cooperation and collaboration, as we continue to provide the students with challenging educational experiences that facilitate excellence, life-long learning and responsible citizenship.
Regards,
Superintendent of Schools
Millbury Public Schools Mission Statement
The mission of the Millbury Public Schools is to provide a school climate that accepts all students of varying abilities and interests and provides them with a wide variety of learning experiences so that they will have the essential skills and abilities to be life long learners and contributors to improving the quality of life for themselves and future generations.