Superintendent of Schools Douglas White announced at the December 14 meeting of the Mattapoisett School Committee that in the future, all state schools will move towards implementing a test that is a hybrid of the more traditional MCAS test and the “next generation” PARCC test. The merits of the PARCC test, compared to the older […] Read more »
After a years-long legal battle between the Town of Marion and Tabor Academy over an unpermitted backstop, Tabor Head of School John Quirk told the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals on December 10 that instead of continuing on the same path to try to keep the backstop, he was withdrawing the school’s appeal to start […] Read more »
It was a long time coming, between waiting for the engineer to complete the design and for Marion Conservation Commission approval, but the repairs to the spillway at Grassi Bog off Mill Road will finally move forward. The commission continued the hearing back on November 18 after a disagreement with Marion Open Spaces Acquisition Committee […] Read more »
The Massachusetts Department of Education Accountability Report is in, and Old Rochester Regional High School is back up to Level 1 status after falling to a Level 2 last year. Superintendent Doug White did not discuss specific data from the report to the Old Rochester Regional School Committee on December 9, but the news was […] Read more »
The December 15 meeting of the Mattapoisett Board of Selectmen featured a two-hour hearing to determine whether or not the license for the Hillside Motel should be revoked. Owner Sonya Patel came before the board to discuss improvements and changes she was instructed by various town departments to make, but after hearing from those department […] Read more »
It’s still only in the napkin drawing stage of development, said Rochester Town Administrator Michael McCue to the Board of Selectmen on December 14, but a plan to explore the construction of a new town-owned annex building has now shifted towards a new town hall exploration among members of a town annex study committee. During […] Read more »
Rochester Town Administrator Michael McCue did not get chosen by the Fairhaven Board of Selectmen on December 14 to fill the position of that town’s first town administrator, so he will remain in Rochester. McCue was one of three final candidates selected by a town administrator screening committee, and he interviewed for the position back […] Read more »
The PARCC exam is a “different level of challenge,” said Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos on December 3, with a focus on cognitive complexity and a higher demand in thinking when compared to the MCAS. “That’s really a big difference from what we’ve had in the past.” So, naturally, Principal Derek Medeiros as well as members […] Read more »
The large-scale solar farm project slated for Rochester center continues to inch forward after another session with the Rochester Planning Board on December 8, but an endangered turtle habitat finding from the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program has kick started a 60-day process of evaluation of the site, which will lead to a mitigation […] Read more »
The December 7 meeting of the Marion Planning Board kicked off with a discussion about an alleged continual problem. “The parking spots in front of 41 Mill Street are supposed to be 30 minute parking,” pointed out Planning Board member Eileen Marum, “but I always see cars parked there for three to four hours, and […] Read more »