Saugus schools go for Expanded Learning money

SAUGUS-The School Department is moving into high gear in an effort to snag a highly competitive Expanded Learning Time grant that could result in a longer school day for some students.The initiative would provide $1,300 per student in supplemental funding through the Department of Education to be focused in three specific areas – increased instruction in core academic subjects; integration for enrichment and applied learning opportunities; and increased planning time and professional development.The pace to get in the running for the grant is swift. According to Trina Abbott from Massachusetts 2020, a not-for-profit organization that helps schools write proposals for the grant, the preliminary proposal is due Oct. 21. The final draft is due Dec. 1.Superintendent Richard Langlois laid out the grant plan for the School Committee last week. He said he plans to target the three schools that failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress with MCAS – Oaklandvale Elementary School, Veterans Memorial Elementary School and the Belmonte Middle School.Abbott said while many schools apply for the grant, some do it simply because it’s a really good deal, while other schools are more needy. Saugus, she said, should definitely fit into the needy category.Abbott said Saugus should send a team from the middle school to a regional workshop Oct. 21. The team would come up with the preliminary proposal.Langlois said he was telling the School Committee about the project largely because he needs them to buy into it. The committee will have to give final consent on the program, but they are not the only ones who will have to sign on.Because the ELT program generally adds one hour and 40 minutes to the school day, teachers must also agree to the plan. Abbott said the plan will also have to be rolled out for parents and the public as well.Once parents realize their child’s afternoon activities can be shifted, Abbot said they usually sign on.”We are fast-tracked but this is doable,” Langlois said.Langlois said there are all sorts of things the district could bring back to the middle school, such as team teaching and foreign language if it wins the grant.”We need our own unique plan and we have to be aggressive in going after it,” he said.The result could be nearly $1 million in supplemental funds for the Belmonte Middle School, which he said could “refresh it.”School Committee Chairman Joseph Malone asked Abbott if anyone ever opted out of the program once they were accepted into it. “No they haven’t,” she said. “All the schools are still in it.”While the state is struggling to come up with funding for its cities and towns, Langlois said he didn’t think the ELT program would suffer.”This is part of the governor’s 21st century package and he won’t give this up easily,” he said.