Saugus educators to vote on grant

SAUGUS-Superintendent Richard Langlois will find out what the Saugus Educators Association really thinks of the Expanded Learning Time grant when they vote Tuesday on whether to approve the initiative.Langlois, along with a group of Belmonte Middle School teachers, have been working on their own time to write a grant that, if accepted by the state, would bring $963,000 to the beleaguered middle school.The proposal includes expanding the school’s day by 72 minutes, significantly increasing the amount of time spent on English Language Arts, more than doubling the amount of time spent on math, adding foreign language back into the curriculum and adding enrichment classes.”It would put the school in order,” Langlois said.The grant would also provide for common planning time for teachers and professional development among other things. Because the the program would extend teachers’ work week by almost an entire day and add significantly to their duties, the SEA must approve the measure.Langlois said one of the primary concerns among teachers is that if they vote to approve the measure but the grant doesn’t come through, they will still be obligated to extend their day. But Langlois said if the district fails to get the grant, “all bets are off,” and life goes on at the Belmonte as usual.He said there is also an opt-out clause for teachers who don’t wish to participate.Langlois said compensation for the roughly 42 teachers that will participate is standard as compared to other districts that have already adopted ELT. And the funding for the compensation, he said, is built into the proposal.Langlois was quick to add that if the school does not get the grant it doesn’t mean plans for the middle school fall by the wayside.The middle school took a big hit over the last two budget seasons, losing programs and teachers and falling further and further behind in technology. Langlois said some new programs have already been implemented, such as the opening of the cable television station in the school.”It’s not like they’re stagnant,” he said, adding that with or without the grant he would continue to revisit and add programs and staff to the school to bring it back on par.The School Committee cast its vote of support for the expanded day Thursday when it voted unanimously in favor of the program.Committee Chairman Joseph Malone said he was thrilled that in these troubled economic times there was a serious chance the School Department could realize some funding to move the middle school forward.SEA President Rick Lavoie said teachers would be voting on the measure Tuesday at around 2:15 p.m.Langlois said he is optimistic largely because the initiative was very much teacher driven.Langlois said he believes teachers take a lot of criticism regarding their work hours, but he said they often go far beyond their what’s required of them and this grant is proof of that.”It’s work like this that keeps us going,” he said.If the teachers vote to approve the grant, it will be sent to the state and the district must then wait for the state’s reply.