First Ever! 
Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee Meeting - 7/20/2010

On July 20th the Ayer-Shirley Regional School Committee held its very first meeting. Prior to the meeting, the members of the school committee were sworn in by the two town clerks of Ayer, John Canney and Shirley, Amy McDougall. We thank both of them for making the time to join us on a Tuesday evening to conduct the official swearing in ceremony.

Interim Superintendent Mary Beth Hamel opened the meeting and then the committee organized itself for the coming year. Bob Prescott from Shirley was elected Chairman, Pat Kelly from Ayer was elected Vice Chair and Jim Quinty from Shirley was elected as Secretary.

Here are the highlights from the July 20th meeting.

We received an update on the middle school merger from Mary Beth Hamel and the progress continues to be impressive. The schedule is complete; we are in the final stages of mapping the bus routes and finalizing the daily schedule for all the schools in both districts. We will be communicating the start and end times and bus routes to parents as soon as it is final. We want to thank Bemis for donating trucks and volunteers to help teachers move equipment, materials and furniture to the Middle School. Everything is now in the middle school and in the process of being set up for the student's arrival. 90% of the middle school staff came together for 2 days of professional development. The staff was exemplary in their ability to align curriculum and quickly become a cohesive teaching team. Everyone in the school and in the district is excited about the upgraded curriculum and program for the middle school students.

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