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Greetings from the New England School Development Council. We have a new look for 2009. We are transitioning from the hard copy NESDEC Current Events Newsletter to our new "NESDEC Currents" e-newsletter. We will be doing a quarterly e-newsletter, in addition to special just-in-time electronic editions as needed. We hope this will help us communicate with you in a timely manner. |
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| Planning |
Work In Progress:
- East Haven, CT - Long-Range School Facility Master Plan
- Franklin County, MA - Future Education Planning Report
- Minuteman RVT, MA - Policy Manual
- North Smithfield, RI - School Capacity Determination
- Pathfinder RVT, MA - Management Report
- Peabody, MA - Demographic Report
- Portland, ME - Long-Range School Facility Master Plan
Work Completed:
- Freetown-Lakeville RSD, MA - Regionalization Report
- Hollis-Brookline, NH - SPED Report
- Mashpee, MA - School Capacity Determination
- Timberlane, NH - Long-Range School Facility Master Plan
- Waterbury, CT - Demographic Report
- Windsor, VT - Strategic Plan
Projected Enrollment Declines in New England
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the expected 10% national increase in K-12 enrollment between 2005 and 2017 plays out differently across the country. While enrollment increases are expected in 37 states, the 13 states with an expected decrease in enrollment include Vermont (-11.7%); Rhode Island (-11.4%); Maine (-8%); Connecticut (-6.3%); Massachusetts (-4%); and New Hampshire (-3.8%). Reasons for declining enrollments in New England include the migration of employment opportunities to the West and South, and the aging of the population in New England, resulting in fewer births. (See Nellie Mae Education Foundation, New England 2020. )Within each New England state, however, K-12 school districts are affected differently. In New Hampshire, for example, some districts in the southeastern corner of the state and in the Upper Valley area near Hanover have continued to grow while decline occurred in other areas. In Massachusetts, K-12 enrollment fell by 24,000 students (2.5%) from 2002 to 2007, with the greatest decline in Western Massachusetts and on Cape Cod (due to an aging population rather than to migration). Meanwhile, enrollment increases occurred in the suburbs surrounding Boston along Route 495, and overall population grew in Plymouth and Bristol counties. Enrollment is falling faster in large urban areas than in smaller, more suburban districts.
Is your district enrollment expected to grow or shrink? NESDEC provides free enrollment projections annually to over 275 affiliated school districts. Projections created on an annual basis are more reliable than enrollment forecasts done once every few years. NESDEC's new electronic format for the projections also displays the important (and changing) Birth-to-Kindergarten Relationship.
America's Perfect Storm: Education in a 21st Century Economy
"America's Perfect Storm," a 33-page 2007 report by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), anticipates the most important challenges currently facing public schools. Three forces are described: first, the skill distributions needed for a healthy 21st Century economy (prose literacy, document literacy, and numeracy); second, changes in the economy requiring education beyond high school or technical training for employment in the 21st Century; and third, the retirement of the large baby-boomer generation and the resulting need to depend upon additional immigration into the U.S. to increase the labor force, which in turn will increase the number of Limited English Proficiency students.
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| New Affiliates |
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NESDEC welcomes its newest affiliates!
- Bourne, MA - Mr. Edmond LaFleur, Superintendent
- Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, MA - Mr. William Fisher, Superintendent
- Chicopee, MA - Mr. Richard Rege, Superintendent
- Colchester, CT - Ms. Karen Loiselle, Superintendent
- Derby, CT - Dr. Stephen Tracy, Superintendent
- East Haven, CT - Mr. Anthony Serio, Superintendent
- Mansfield, CT - Mr. Frederick Baruzzi, Superintendent
- Mashpee, MA - Ms. Ann Bradshaw, Superintendent
- North Adams, MA - Mr. James Montepare, Superintendent
- Putnam, CT - Mr. James Connelly, Interim Superintendent
- SAU #74, NH - Dr. Harry Aliberti, Superintendent
- Saugus, MA - Mr. Richard Langlois, Superintendent
- Southwest Vermont SU, VT - Mr. George Carpenter, Superintendent
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| Executive Searches |
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Searches In Progress:
- Fremont, NH - K-8 Principal
- Westerly, RI - Superintendent of Schools
- Yarmouth, ME - Superintendent of Schools
- Brooklyn, CT - Elementary Principal
- North Kingstown, RI - Superintendent of Schools
- Berkshire Hills RSD, MA - Superintendent of Schools - Closed
- Easton, MA - Superintendent of Schools - Closed
- Shrewsbury, MA - Superintendent of Schools - Closed
- Southwest Vermont SU, VT - Superintendent of Schools - Closed
Searches Completed:
- Derby, CT - Mr. Francis Thompson, HS Principal
- Putnam, CT - Mr. William Hull, Superintendent
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| Learning & Teaching |
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Annual School Office Professionals Conference
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Doubletree Hotel, Westborough, MA
8:30 am - 3:00 pm
$95/person if you register by March 31, 2009; $125/person after March 31, 2009
Office professionals are the first contact that parents and public safety officials have with the schools. This conference is designed to provide them with specific information about the legal and security issues that confront you every day. Here are some of the topics that will be covered:
Residency:
- Who must establish residency?
- How is residency established?
- What are common issues that arise in determining residency?
Student Records - Student Information Systems:
- What information needs to be maintained?
- How is the information maintained - format and storage?
- Who is responsible for maintaining student records?
Child Custody Issues:
- What does the office professional need to know when dealing with issues of child custody?
School Security:
- What makes a successful relationship between the office professional and the local law enforcement personnel?
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| In Closing |
Thank you for reading our new NESDEC Currents. In future issues, we will be discussing new developments in executive searching and future trends in Learning and Teaching, which may include webinars, online courses, and professional learning communities. We are always eager to hear your suggestions as to items we might include in future newsletter editions, as well as ways we can be helpful to you.
Please feel free to forward this e-newsletter to school board members or staff you feel might be interested, and let them know that they can visit our website (http://www.nesdec.org) to sign up to receive this e-newsletter. |
Sincerely,
New England School Development Council (NESDEC)
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