Benton Names Interim Principal Of Wilmington High School

New principal brings more than 35 years of education experience to the position.

Benton Names Interim Principal Of Wilmington High School

New principal brings more than 35 years of education experience to the position.

Wilmington Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton has named Linda Peters as the interim principal at Wilmington High School for the 2013-2014 school year. Peters has been with the Wilmington Public Schools for 35 years and is currently curriculum team leader for the Math Department at Wilmington High. Peters will succeed Eric Tracy, who has accepted a position as principal at Hamilton-Wenham High School, effective July 1. Benton broke the news in an email to school committee members Monday afternoon. School Committee member Robert Hayes published the memo on his Facebook Page. According to Hayes, the follwing is the text of the memo: "I am pleased to inform you of the appointment of Ms. Linda Peters as the Interim Principal of Wilmington …

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In Wake of MCAS Scores, Middle School Schedule To Be Changed

Proposal calls for more time to be dedicated to core subjects.

Wilmington Middle School administrators want to alter the school's scheduling structure in the wake of disappointing scores on the last few rounds of MCAS exams. Appearing before the School Committee recently, Principal Christine McMenimen issued a presentation that called for, among other things, an additional 60 minutes of instruction time each day in the core subjects, as well as interdisciplinary "pods" in language arts, math, social studies and science, according to an article appearing in the Town Crier. The school would still follow block scheduling with a six-day cycle. Foreign language, phys. ed. and performing arts would be offered twice per cycle, with phys. ed. switching to a year-round program, according to the article. The …

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J.R.

5:48 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013

Here's an interesting article about teenagers and their sleep patterns from the Mayo Clinic. It has some great tips for helping them to regulate their internal clocks: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/teens-health/CC00019   more ›

School Department Officials To Introduce A.L.i.C.E Thursday Night

Willmington schools will be implementing new safety protocols in all buildings by the fall.

School Department Officials To Introduce A.L.i.C.E Thursday Night

Willmington schools will be implementing new safety protocols in all buildings by the fall.

The Wilmington School Department was already well along in the process of investigating new safety protocols in mid-December. But when a gunman murdered 26 people, including 20 children, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the project took on much greater significance. On Thursday, parents and the general public are invited to the Wilmington Middle School Auditorium for an informational meeting on the school department's new safety protocols. Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate, or A.L.i.C.E., will be fully implemented in Wilmington High School and the Middle School this year and in all Wilmington schools by the fall. To this point, lockdown protocols in the Wilmington schools have been limited to locking the …

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Benton Requests Budget Increase of 3.25 Percent

Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton detailed her budget to the School Committee on Wednesday, a figure that has decreased since her initial presentation.

Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton updated School Committee members on her proposed budget, a figure that has decreased since she originally presented it several weeks ago. Benton is requesting a budget of $33,628,350, which is a potential increase of $1,058,520. That total would be a 3.25 percent increase over last year’s budget of $33,628,350. During her initial budget presentation in December, Benton proposed a 4.61 percent increase. When voters approved last year’s budget, it was a 3.50 percent spike over Fiscal Year 2012. “Continuing to support 21st century learning initiatives throughout the district must continue to be a priority with the FY14 budget,” Benton wrote during her presentation to the School Committee on Wednesday …

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Patch-n-Batch

9:58 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Excellent point. He truly is a millstone around the neck of proficiency.   more ›

Superintendent's Initial Budget is 4.61% Increase

Joanne Benton proposed a total budget of $34,072,153, which would be an increase of about $1.5 million, though she said that number will go down in the next month or so.

In the first step of the school budgeting process, Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton laid out an initial budget proposal this week that would represent a 4.61 percent increase over last year, though Benton acknowledged that that figure will likely decrease in the upcoming months of the budget process. “We strive to provide the highest quality educational experience for the children of Wilmington and to ensure that they have everything they need to succeed in the classroom, the art studio, the stage and on the ball field,” said Benton. “As we approach the Fiscal Year 14 budget cycle, districts across the country are struggling to find ways to better prepare our children for this ever-flattening global society that defines our world …

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UPDATED: Wilmington Public Schools Closed on Monday

Per the request of Governor Deval Patrick, Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton announced the cancellation on Sunday night.

Updated at 6:58 p.m.: According to Board of Selectmen chairman Mike Newhouse, Monday's trash pick up will go on as scheduled. Newhouse said trash and yard waste will be picked up, but the garbage will be the first priority. Any yard waste that is not collected on Monday will be picked up on Tuesday. Original Story: Hurricane Sandy's impact is already being felt in Wilmington, even before the storm officially arrived in town. In an update to the Wilmington Public Schools website, the district announced that classes across town are canceled on Monday due to the impending impact of Hurricane Sandy. "Schools and offices will be closed tomorrow per request of Gov. Patrick," said Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton said in an e-mail to Patch…

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Educators, Students, Ready for 'Fresh Start' on Tuesday

Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton said she is excited for the new school year, and she believes the district's students share that sentiment.

Summer doesn’t officially end for a few weeks. But for Wilmington students and teachers it does on Monday and Tuesday. And for Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton, that’s just fine. Benton said that she is excited for the end of the district's summer vacation as teachers report for orientation on Monday before students pour into schools around town for the first day of the new year on Tuesday. “I can’t wait for Tuesday, and I can’t wait to have students in the schools because that is what it’s all about,” said Benton. “It makes it so much more fun when the little ones are around, and I can’t wait for the high school kids to cross over Church Street to start the new year. I think the students are just as excited as I am.” It’s routinely…

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Wilmington Schools Open to iPad or Laptop Learning

Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton said it is critical for schools to change and adapt to the technology of the world.

Technology is ever changing. But just how much the technology inside Wilmington classrooms changes in the near future remains to be seen. With high schools and colleges in the area turning to 1:1 programs that provide each student with an iPad, there are learning opportunities that go beyond textbooks. Burlington High School students received iPads last year and Regis College recently made the decision to turn into an all-iPad college. Wilmington Superintendent of Schools Joanne Benton said the district is open to the 1:1 concept. Benton said that while iPads are strong pieces of equipment for receiving content, they do not allow students to create content and thus in a 1:1 program the district prefers laptops over iPads. “The Wilmington …

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Janus

4:54 pm on Saturday, July 28, 2012

Jo, thank you for your informed reply. I hope the school district heeds your advice. Everything you state is accurate. As a professional in higher education, Wilmington students would be better served with tablets if seeking technological proficiency. I too was bothered by the comment that tablets merely serve as browsers when that is certainly not the case. I suspect the district is letting the …   more ›