News

Curriculum Costs for Nashoba Budget

By Ann Needle

Last night’s Nashoba School Committee meeting hinted at more of next year’s resources being devoted to assessing performance and managing the core curriculum. Center and Nashoba Regional High Schools also reported on their activities, and administration feted the latest national recognition for the high school.

NRHS received kudos recently from Newsweek magazine, which ranked it among the top 2,000 high schools in the nation. At 451, the high school’s rank was based on such factors as graduation and college acceptance rates; average scores on major standardized tests, such as the SAT; average scores on Advanced Placement and other college-level courses; and how many students have taken at least one of the AP/college-level courses.

Goldman Marks 100th Birthday

By Ann Needle

As one of Stow’s most storied citizens, Ernest Goldman enjoys a wealth of superlatives. And, Goldman is about to enjoy yet another achievement, when he celebrates his 100th birthday early next month.

A musician by choice (and engineer by trade), it is appropriate that Goldman will mark this rare milestone as Sounds of Stow, which he helped found, celebrates its 35th anniversary at its November 24 concert. Co-founder and Artistic Director Barbara Jones assures that there will be a “rousing” rendition of “Happy Birthday” to Goldman at the concert.

Slots Parlor Proposed Off Rt. 117

By Nancy Arsenault

Think Rt. 117 traffic is bad now? What if there were traffic heading to and from a slots parlor near the Leominster Super Wal-Mart? This location is one of three vying for the state’s single slots parlor license to be awarded in late December. The other two candidates are offering proposals in Plainville and Raynham at former racetracks.

In September, Leominster voters overwhelming approved the Live! Casino Massachusetts plan, paving the way for the city to receive $38 million over 10 years from Baltimore-based developer The Cordish Companies, along with 2.5% of gross revenue every year after that first decade.

Nashoba Looks to Re-Accreditation

By Ann Needle

The Nashoba School Committee studied the details last night around Nashoba Regional High School’s upcoming re-accreditation, and received a glimpse into what to expect from the 2014/15 budget.

The dates for NRHS’s formal re-accreditation have been set for March 8 through 11, 2015, by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. NEASC Committee Chair and NRHS Social Studies Teacher Leo Sakellarion gave a detailed report on what the high school is doing to prepare for this crucial time period. “To say that it is the gold standard of accreditation is an understatement,” Sakellarion declared, with 650 New England schools claiming NEASC membership.

All Articles Passed at Town Meeting

By Nancy Arsenault

Special Town Meeting convened Monday night attracting a sparse crowd of 125, possibly due to the 5th game of the World Series being broadcast at about the same time. All articles passed with little controversy though a few did provoke comments from voters. Town Moderator David Walrath broke with longstanding tradition and allowed a live broadcast of the meeting on Stow TV.

The Board of Selectmen chose to support two specific Warrant articles, believing strongly that voters should follow their lead, and the voters did just that. They first approved $58,000 to add to the monies already appropriated to upgrade the town water plant, located in Town Building. This upgrade follows a directive issued by the DEP that if the system was not brought into compliance with newer regulations, fines could be levied against the town.

Minuteman Campaigns for Funding Bill

By Ann Needle

With a major building project proposal in the works, Minuteman Regional Vocational High School hosted a legislative breakfast last Tuesday, accenting support of a senate bill that would increase funding for school building projects. Minuteman Superintendent Dr. Edward Bouquillon also took the opportunity to discuss a proposal for changes to their current regional membership agreement with area towns.

The Minuteman session was attended by about 10 state legislators, including Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) and some of the bill’s co-sponsors. Last Thursday, a hearing was held at the State House for Senate Bill 228, calling for a 10% to 20% increase in state aide for regional school construction projects.

Substance Policy Proposed for Nashoba

By Ann Needle

Last night, the Nashoba School Committee reviewed a potential policy outlining student expectations and penalties surrounding drug and alcohol use at Nashoba Regional High School. The Committee also gave the nod to a plan for studying the school’s space needs.

Medical Marijuana Vote at Town Meeting

By Nancy Arsenault

Now that 63% of the state’s voters have approved the placement of medical marijuana facilities in communities, will Stow be one of these locations? The Planning Board held a forum last week to gauge public opinion, but with few attendees, they did not come away with much resident input, leaving the regulating process, at least at this point, fully in the hands of town government.

New Report Cards, Tests for Nashoba

By Ann Needle

How to measure success was at the top of last night’s agenda for the Nashoba School Committee. Along with discussion of a new middle school report card came an announcement that the district will participate in a pilot program aimed at replacing the MCAS with national standards.

Scheduled to be in place by next year, the new middle school report card will continue to list traditional letter grades in each subject, according to Patrick Perkins, principal of Lancaster’s Luther Burbank Middle School and one of the new report card’s chief developers. The rest of the report card is devoted to assessing how a student is progressing in the standards set for each subject by the state. For instance, in Math, one of the tasks a sixth grader is expected to grasp by the end of the school year is the ability to demonstrate and apply concepts of statistics. Each trimester, the student can be rated on the standard anywhere from a 1 (not yet progressing) to a 4 (exceeds).

Postal Pantry Counters Government Cuts

By Ann Needle

Could you feed yourself — or your child — on $6 per day? Take away $1, and what food would you cut out? That is the dilemma many people wrestle with daily. And, come next month, recipients of SNAP benefits (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) will see their budgets shrink even further.

For the Stow Food Pantry, this is the reality it tries to make a bit less daunting. And, its annual Postal Pantry Share the Bounty Food Drive, October 7 to 12, is the food bank’s biggest source of items and financial donations every year, according to Food Pantry President Amanda Bennett. Now that most SNAP recipients will see their benefits reduced by November, the Pantry must use this drive to help gear up for an expected increase in clients.