So I was surprised by the influx of kindergarteners in the schools this year - looks like they will need 2 extra classes in the fall. Wonder why so many this year? Is it the free K incentive (I know other towns are charging 4k) is it the new developments near Oak Grove? More young families moving into town? Is it the improved MCAS results in the elementary schools? Are there less kids going to the charter school? Anyone have any idea?

It is the amount of all the new families moving into Melrose, which is a nice thing. The numbers in kindergarten have never been higher. I heard rumblings that paras in kindergarten are being let go due to a grant that the city will not be receiving. Also, I heard only one new classroom was approved. Larger class sizes, no paras! Make any sense to you??????

I'm not sure what planet you are on. Improved MCAS results in elementary schools?? I don't think so. Things have been moving in the other direction. In fact Horace Mann is now a level 3 school, down from level one just a couple of years ago. From the DOE's website: "State law requires ESE to classify schools into Level 3 if they are among the lowest 20% of schools relative to other schools in the same grade span (percentiles 1-20).

Please, lets keep it real.

Please chill a little. It's not "no paras" but rather 7 fewer if the K grant is not approved, although the MA Senate and House are likely reversing this, which means that those 7 positions will probably get spared. The superintendent said she was not in favor of adding 2 classrooms, for lots of complicated reasons. The K numbers are increasing but overall enrollment is not yet up to what it has been in previous years.

There is a school committee member and some MEF folks whipping the kindergarten parents into a frenzy, and this is not going to help resolve the issues, for K or for the district as a whole. Instead of reasoned solutions, there will be political ones. A few years from now you and your children will be sorry that so many district resources have shifted to the ECC and K. This is not the way good districts operate.

If you think Melrose students are performing well and this is a reason for the influx of new families, think again (or for once). Realtors are lying and misrepresenting exactly how Melrose students are doing on many measurements. Horace Mann has sunk, unbelievably, to a Level 3 school, which is really quite an "accomplishment" considering it used to be one of the highest-performing schools in the entire region. You have to be kidding if you think that great test scores are why K enrollment is on the increase. Drink that koolaid if it makes you sleep better, but you're not helping your kids by believing this crap.

Seven fewer paras in K means some classrooms without a para in K. Also, check your facts. Enrollment is huge for next September!!!!!

I think they are reinstating the para money in the school budget. And true to MelroseMessages, you indicate that the. Elementary Schools are failing by focusing on the one school that has done worse instead of the. 4 schools that have improved. The elementary schools are improving, but whether or not that is why more kindergarteners are registered, or if it is just a demographic blip, I don't know.

Determinations on Principal contracts usually take place in late spring or early summer to allow enough time to advertise the position if a new contract is not offered.

No, actually it's so that they can hide what's really going on by doing the important things--like scheduling superintendent and administrative raises--during the summer or holiday seasons (some years it's in Nov right before turkey) so that the public will stay in the dark and not question anything. They have never really cared about what's in the best interests of the kids or hiring truly qualified people. It's all about feathering their own nests and hiring people that are inexperienced, cheap, and most importantly, controllable. They don't get rid of bad administrators even if they have a proven terrible record until or if they become a screamingly obvious embarrassment (look how many years it took before Rob agreed to dump Joe). Don't forget, the H Mann had Brent's good buddy in charge for quite a few years before he was forced out after costing too much in legal expenses, not because he had damaged the school (further damaged by the current regime). These unfolding disasters have a long prodrome, which the suck-up parents have known about and helped get worse by explaining it all away. Buy into all this stuff at your own children's peril, Melrose parents!