Tri-town students at both the high and middle school levels have exceeded state averages in the MCAS for science, mathematics, and English language arts, according to a presentation from Sharlene Fedorowicz, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.

            Following the heels of her meeting with the Marion School Committee from earlier this month, Fedorowicz last Thursday told school officials that Old Rochester Regional Students – much like elementary students in Marion – have not shown much growth in ELA, though still surpassed the state in every category.

            This presentation, as well as a presentation on the district-wide Community Learning Program, were some of the major topics discussed at the December 12 ORR School Committee meeting.

            “We remained well above the state scores,” Fedorowicz told school leaders.

            In Grade 8, students displayed a slight decrease in growth in ELA but surpassed the state average in all domains. Grade 10 students displayed a 6-percent decrease in growth but outperformed the state in all categories, according to Fedorowicz.

            Fedorowicz mentioned that some of these students took the test following several months of online, at-home learning during the 2020 COVID-19 shut down. This shutdown followed a school year in which students had to learn through masks, worn by both students and their teachers during the 2020-21 school year.

            She and other school leaders’ students especially excelled at analyzing literature that traces character development.

            In math and science, the district exceeded state scores by a wide margin and displayed growth over previous years.

            She and other leaders noted that Grade students exceeded state scores by 19-percent and displayed a 6-percent increase over the previous year.

            Some school leaders touted a learning program implemented across the district, OpenSciEd, a program that focuses on problem-solving learning, rather than traditional lecture-based learning for students.

            School leaders also witnessed a slide show about the district’s Community Service-Learning program.

            District leaders were wowed by the interest of students in giving back to the community. Projects included but were not limited to writing letters to soldiers and staff within the community, baking hot desserts, creating cold desserts for seniors, teaching students and certifying some with CPR training, making bags for the elderly, visiting sick children at hospitals, working on a community garden, as well conducting campus and community clean-ups, including Silver Shell Beach.

            With the holiday season underway, school officials were impressed by the “Sounds of Happiness” program in which holiday songs have been recorded by district students and are being aired on Old Rochester Community Television.

            The School Committee acknowledged the retirement of longtime ORR High School science teacher Lynn Connor. School leaders noted that Connor pioneered a marine biology program that brought students on exploratory trips in locations around the community – “bringing science to life,” according to one school leader. Officials said she has also helped the district over the years garner grants to improve education within the district.

            The district approved an art student trip to France in April 2026. School leaders noted that these trips often happen during school vacation weeks and offer a great opportunity for students to travel abroad and improve their artistic understanding and cultural awareness.

            The ORR committee will meet again February 27 at 6:30 pm through a hybrid Zoom link and at the junior high school media room.

ORR School Committee

By Jeffrey D. Wagner

            On December 12, Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals extended to January 2025 its hearing into the signage for the ExtraSpace Self-Storage facility proposed for County Road after raising alarms about the exact look of those signs.

            Project representative Joseph Sanda told the board the developer is seeking a special permit to allow erecting six signs on the property. The biggest of these will be a 37-foot-long by 4-foot-high sign proclaiming the company name that will face the Route 495 south bound exit approaching Exit 2 to Rochester.

            The first sign will be placed at the beginning of the property, Sanda said. Four others will direct customers who have entered the two-story facility. The only proposed sign above the 50 square-foot size limit allowed in town bylaw is the 164-square-foot sign that will face Route 495 in order to draw customers to the facility.

            “For advertising purposes because the property doesn’t have great visibility,” Highland Development Managing Partner Adam Hird explained. Project engineer Phil Cordeiro added, “the signage size is in line with the size of the building.”

            Board Chair David Arancio led the response that the panel wants to see exactly what those signs and the building lighting will look like before approving the special permit. “How much lighting noise will be generated by the sign?” Arancio asked. He noted he didn’t want to set a bad precedent, allow a sign special permit that a neighboring business would also want. “I would like to see an actual example of this company’s signs,” he said. “Where could I travel and look at an example, or a drawn rendering.”

            Board member Richard Culter added that he too would like to see drawings with a colorized rendering of the sign. Board member Donald Spirlet asked, “If the company has its own color, how can we reasonably deny for that reason?” Still, Arancio reiterated, “I am looking for a colored rendering of this sign.” Board member Michelle Upton said she would like to see a more subtle sign than some self-storage facilities use for what might be some people’s first introduction to the town of Rochester.

            The board continued the hearing to January 9, 2025. Hird agreed to return on that date with a colored schematic of the signs and lighting intensity calculations, and he said he will see what color options the ExtraSpace Self-Storage company allows for its signs.

            Hird elaborated in a later email to the Wanderer that Highland Development Ventures, together with its venture partner The Davis Companies located in Boston, have completed the development of 17 self-storage facilities totaling 2.2 million square feet in markets including Walpole, MA, Stamford, CT, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island, NY, Southern NJ, Chicago, IL, and Milwaukee, WI.

            In other action, the board granted a variance to side setback requirements for the construction of a 16×24-foot storage shed at 324 High St. In November, homeowner Stephen Cobb requested the zoning panel approve a variance to place the shed in his front yard, a move not allowed in town bylaw. On December 12, Cobb reported he had moved the proposed shed to his side yard and received a Conservation Commission permit to encroach on the wetlands border there. The resulting variance approval included the condition that he build the shed no more than 23 feet into the setback limit.

            The Zoning Board of Appeals’ next meeting will be Thursday, January 9, 2025, at 7:15 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals

By Michael J. DeCicco