Drip.

February 4, 2019

Drip. Drip. Tony from Burke talks about how if we do not have facilities. Drip. Drip. That are free of leaky roofs or malfunctioning spaces. Drip. Our children get distracted. Drip. Drip. And can not learn

Early this week at Concord, in the cafeteria, I sat round a table and asked students about the gym. Suddenly a group of young people focused their complete attention. They were engaged in questions, listening to the What? When? Why? They shared how their musical was coming up. And basketball. And their gym classes. Their interest was a mix of strong resolve, optimism and resilience. They wanted their gym!!


For those of you who do not know, last week there was a leak on the roof of the Concord School gym. We closed the gym and attached classrooms until they could be inspected and certified for use by an engineer. The building was built in the 1960s, designed with no insulation in the walls or ceiling. The large amount of heat escaping from the building causes (by design!) the snow to melt and slide off the roof. This was a standard building procedure in the 1960s. As a result, the heat, electric, and water systems work at full throttle, they are failing and need replacement (And the gym is very cold, not to mention the large heating bills each winter and waste of energy). 

In 2005, an engineer determined that the building was, “deficient with regard to building code requirements for snow load.” The 2005 report further “Recommend[s] that the school district formulate a snow monitoring and removal plan to prevent the overload of the roof structure and possible collapse of the building.” It ends up that the Richard, who has faithfully taken care of the Concord facility, climbs up on the roof, to take a snow sample, and test the density. The engineer report requires that if it exceeds the pounds per square foot, the roof has to be shoveled so it won’t collapse. I am sure you realized, at Convocation, that the gym looks great. This is because the gym floor was replaced in the last ten years and the custodians have gone a great job caring for their facility.


This past week we had a new engineering report, and can take action, however our insurance company is still not sure they are willing to take the risk to have us use the gym until all the snow is gone. We need to replace this gym. So. Drip drip. The students can have. Drip. Their musical. And all school meeting. And after school. And. And. And.


I share this with you, because all of you, at some point, have looked toward the need for an improved facility. The Board was ready to put a bond for a project to do work at Concord and Burke on Town Meeting Day (to replace Burke’s middle school which is a trailer, second hand, and has a rotting floor, and infrastructure work at Concord) . . Because of the Concord gym, this will wait a little longer. We will be putting together a complete needs assessment, so later this spring we can propose to take care of all of our building needs.

Think Tank

 The Kingdom East Think Tank is a group of teachers and leaders working to provide guidance as we chart a course forward. We reviewed this video, read and discussed a number of Articles, and created some I believe statements. The next step is to join the school board on March 26th, to help create the Kingdom East Strategic Plan FAQs Think Tank Ideas from December.
View Strategic Plan
Think Tank We Believe:
  • All children (regardless of economic, racial have access to the same opportunities, they can learn regardless of any background
  • All KE children can learn- they have the ability to learn
  • All KE children should have high quality teachers
  • All KE children should have exposure to non-academics to grow love of life experience later on
  • All KE children should have access to a certified school counselor
  • All KE children should have regular access to the arts, coding, world languages
  • All KE children shall have access to library and technology
  • All KE children shall have a social, emotional curriculum that they should be engaged in which includes mental health, happiness, thriving, well being.
  • All KE children should have the ability to tap into their divergent learning abilities
  • All KE children should have regular physical activity and access to physical education
  • We believe these opportunities also enhance our communities
  • All KE children should have the opportunity to be resilient
  • All KE children should have safe clean facilities and learning environments that enhance student learning.
  • All KE children should have access to the support that they need to be successful, wrap around services.
  • We believe every child can learn at his or her own pace, and enrichment, personalized and differentiated teaching- respects their developmental needs
  • All KE children should have opportunities to explore the things that they are passionate about.
  • Our communities must be engaged in this process and on board
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