RUHS Bd. Looks

At ‘Alternate PE’

By Sandy Vondrasek

At its April meeting, the Randolph Union High School Board heard about a proposal to require an additional half-credit PE requirement that high school students would earn pursuing activities such as dancing, hiking, fencing, or playing on a school sports team.

Principal John Holmes distributed a draft report for the proposed half-credit, which would be awarded for 60 hours of documented activity that was done outside of a regular physical education class. The RUHS board has been asking the PE department to produce an "alternative PE" credit proposal for the last year or so.

Holmes said he, physical education teacher John Kenealy, and Assoc. Principal Dave Barnett developed the draft. The option would allow students, Holmes noted, to take advantage of resources in the community, such as martial arts classes, the SHAPE facility at Vermont Tech, or Montague Golf Club.

The new requirement would be phased in over four years, with the class of 2012 the first required to complete some form of alternate PE. If adopted, the proposal would increase the PE requirement for high schoolers from 1.5 to 2 credits.

Holmes noted that the proposal would require extra staff time to verify student activity reports. Board members agreed to discuss further the proposal and its costs at the May board meeting.

In other physical-education-related news, the RUHS board approved a one-year contract for a replacement teacher for Kenealy. Holmes said this week that Kenealy and his wife Sarah plan to teach in an international school in China next year.

The new PE teacher, Jamie Kinnarney of Royalton, is teaching at Mt. Abraham Union High School this year, and accepted the RUHS one-year position in order to be closer to home, Holmes said.

Music & Art

The board’s April 9 meeting opened with a presentation from the RUHS fine arts department.

Drama, art, and music teachers told the board that the shift to block scheduling had made it harder for students to take their courses. Creative approaches, including independent studies and half-year courses, have eased the situation, they said.

Music teachers Josh Stumpff and Jenn Moore each have half of the same long-block period, so that students can take both chorus and band. In order to practice, Stumpff and the 13 teen members of the RUHS jazz band meet before school, at 7:15 a.m., three days a week.

Stumpff and Moore also noted growing student interest—starting at the elementary level—in composing music with the assistance of computer programs.

Drama teacher and coach Brian Rainville stressed his appreciation for community and board support for his program. Box office income usually covers play production costs, and that kind of support, Rainville noted, "is not the case everywhere." He also thanked the board for supporting his requests to upgrade deficient curtains and lighting systems in Murray Auditorium.

Tech Program Dropped

Board member Angelo Odato, who also sits on the Randolph Technical Career Center board, reported that RTCC intends to drop its computer technology program, and replace it with a new program that could draw more student interest. One option being discussed, he noted, was fine arts technology.

Other options being discussed as a replacement program includes public safety, pre-engineering, and sustainable technology. The new program will not be launched until the fall of 2010, Odato said.

Small Class Coming

Assoc. Principal David Barnett noted that the incoming seventh-grade class is small, "in the upper 70s"—with about 53 kids from Randolph, nine from Brookfield, and 12 fromBraintree.

In recent years, incoming seventh-grade classes have been around 90.

Food Service

Principal Holmes advised the board that the RUHS food service continues to operate in the black, even as it took on preparing food for another school—Brookfield Elementary—this year.

Supt. Brent Kay explained that the change required Brookfield cooks to become RUHS employees and work in the RUHS kitchen. He noted that Braintree, which is running an approximate $28,000 deficit in its lunch program, is also looking at consolidating kitchen operations.

"It’s tough to run (a lunch program) in a small school," Kay commented.

As food prices soar, school lunch programs will likely be facing greater budget pressures, it was agreed.

New Staff

In other staff action, the RUHS board approved a contract for Gary Hurley as a 7^th grade humanities teacher for the remainder of the school year. Hurley replaces Erika Eyler, who is on maternity leave.

The board also approved hiring Peter Fernandez as a study hall monitor, also for the remainder of the school year. RUHS will be seeking two new science teachers for next year, as both Kathy Hockman and Sara Webb have tendered resignations.

Mid-April is when RUHS usually issues contracts to teachers for the next school year. However, since there is no contract in place for next year, teachers at RUHS and elsewhere in the OSSU district are being issued "letters of intent," regarding their employment next year.

Teachers and school board representatives declared an impasse last month after several months of negotiations for a new contract.

The two sides have agreed on a mediator—Ira Lobel—and a mediation session will be scheduled, Supt. Brent Kay told The Herald.

The RUHS board ended its April meeting ended with a 70-minute executive (closed) session to discuss a personnel issue.