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Friday, May 17, 2013

Chelmsford High Earns More Honors In New Top Schools List

Earlier this month, Newsweek named Chelmsford High as one of the top thousand high schools in America, and now a publication here in the Bay State says Chelmsford High is in the Commonwealth's top 100.

  After being named as the 773rd best high school in America by Newsweek earlier this month, Chelmsford High has received another award, this time from a publication closer to home. GoLocalWorcester has named CHS as #90 in its Second Annual Massachusetts' Top High Schools list. The website ranked 345 public, charter and and technical schools across the state in a formula developed at Babson College to measure criteria such as test scores, student-teacher ratios, and graduation rates to name a few. Chelmsford jumped from 116th in last year's poll. Other nearby schools on the list included Wilmington (#99), Groton-Dunstable (#87), Shawsheen Tech (#74), Westford Academy (#44), Minuteman Tech (#40), Littleton (#35), Acton-Boxborough (#23), …

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Rob C.

8:29 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Who says we are number one in the country for a few years now? I have never seen a stat that says we are.   more ›

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Newsweek Names Chelmsford High as #773rd Best High School in America

The magazine's 2013 rankings came out Monday.

On mobile? You can see interactive map here. Newsweek has ranked Chelmsford High School as the #773rd high school in the country. For its rankings, Newsweek sent out a survey to more than 5,000 high schools in the U.S., with about 2,500 schools responding in 2013. You can see the details about Chelmsford High School's ranking, and every other ranked high school by clicking on the markers in the interactive map above. The survey scores were then weighted and calculated using several criteria including on-time graduation and college acceptance rates. In addition, instead of averaging the number of courses offered, this year Newsweek considered the percentage of students enrolled in AP, IB or Advance International Certificate courses. The …

ron johnson

2:14 pm on Thursday, May 9, 2013

John, The number is an average salary, not a starting salary.   more ›

Friday, April 26, 2013

Turf Field Supporters State Their Case

In a presentation to Town Meeting Representatives last week, supporters of Article 18 aim to cement support for next week's vote on new turf field at Chelmsford High School and McCarthy Middle School.

Chelmsford’s Town Meeting representatives have been busily preparing to make their decisions on a variety of warrant articles next week, and advocates for one of those articles hope they’ve made their case. Capped with a presentation last week at the Police Station, supporters of new turf fields at Chelmsford High School and McCarthy Middle School invited Town Meeting representatives to a presentation on the approximately $3.1 million project. Article 18, which goes before Town Meeting reps next week, would authorize $1.2 million in Community Preservation funds as well as an $800,000 bond for the project, with the remainder of the funding coming from town and school capital budget as well as private fundraising. Supporters of the article …

Second Generation

11:26 am on Thursday, May 2, 2013

When the high school was built a swimming pool was not approved. Thirty-Eight years later -- no pool. Here we are today trying to improve the quality of our athletic program so Chelmsford can read the headlines of its great athletes winning over other towns, attract business (events) and new families to town (the school system has always been important to home sales in town). Chelmsford is not …   more ›

Friday, April 12, 2013

Should The Chelmsford School Year Begin on Rosh Hashanah?

The topic, and related issues around religious holidays and the school year schedule, was a heated debate on Tuesday. Today we want to get your take.

  At Tuesday's School Committee meeting, residents voiced their concerns with the fact that the 2013-14 Chelmsford School Year will begin on Rosh Hashanah, a discussion that also included concern over tests given on religious holidays. In discussion with the teachers' union, it was determined that a start earlier than September 1 would not be feasible. The board voted to begin the next school year on Sept.4, with a professional day on Sept. 3. Rosh Hashanah will begin on the evening of Sept. 4, ending on the evening of Sept. 6 Today, we want your take. Is it appropriate to begin a school year on a day when many students and faculty members might be able to attend due to religious obligations? What about other parts of the school year? How …

John

5:30 pm on Friday, April 12, 2013

No, it's fine that they don't give them the day off, but it too hard to miss the first day of school. Start it on another day.   more ›

Thursday, March 28, 2013

LETTER: Jeff Apostolakes for Planning Board Alternate

The following is a letter to the Editor

Askenburg Bids Farewell to the School Committee

Outgoing School Committee Chair is a Candidate in Next Tuesday's Board of Selectmen's Race

At her final School Committee Meeting this past Tuesday, Chairman and current Candidate for Chelmsford Board of Selectmen, Janet Askenburg was presented with a plaque honoring her three years of service on the Committee. Chelmsford Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Frank Tiano presented Askenburg with the plaque and gave a short speech thanking Askenburg for her service and leadership as both Secretary and Chairman. “We know that anyone who volunteers for this Committee, or for Selectmen, or any of the other town boards, really have taken time out of their personal lives to do a service for the town. We’re really grateful for that, and in particular, we’re grateful for your leadership and all of the hard work you put into it,” Tiano said. …

Tom Christiano

8:25 am on Thursday, March 28, 2013

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication on the School Committee Janet.   more ›

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Should Stand-Alone Honors Nights Be Scrapped?

One nearby school district thinks so.

Ipswich school officials have decided to fold the district's Middle School Honors Night into a wider school assembly this year, saying it made students who weren't honored feel left out, the Salem News reported this week. The Ipswich Middle School principal reportedly sent parents a letter explaining the decision, saying having an exclusive honors night can be emotionally damaging and can impact a student's academic growth. "The honors night, which can be a great sense of pride for the recipients’ families, can also be devastating to a child who has worked extremely hard in a difficult class but who, despite growth, has not been able to maintain a high grade point average,” the principal's letter read, according to the Salem News. Instead…

highflyer

2:29 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013

The honors ceremony will be included in a whole school assembly. This sounds like a reasonable compromise. The school will save a little bit of money from not having to heat, and power the assembly for a night.   more ›

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Chelmsford Teen Facing Charges in Billerica Trailer Accident

Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

  WBZ is reporting that a Chelmsford teenager has been charged with another teenager from Billerica in an accident that left a landscape trailer on top of several cars. At approximately 10 p.m. on Thursday, police were called to Salem Road in Billerica in response to the incident, which they believe occured with the trailer broke free from a towing vehicle, left the road and crashed into nearby vehicles. No further information is currently available on the teenager, and his name is being withheld until arraignment on Monday in Lowell District Court. Both teenagers are being charged with allegedly leaving the scene of property damage, driving an unregistered vehicle, not having safety chains while towing trailer and attaching a registration…

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Nashoba Tech FIRST Robotics team gearing up for regional event

Students in Nashoba Valley Technical High School’s FIRST Robotics club will attempt to scale new heights at the upcoming Boston FIRST Regional Robotics Competition.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Tiano Says June School Days Don't Factor in Snow Cancellations

Chelmsford's public schools are currently set to end their year on June 24.

With the brutal snow storms that have been hitting the region so far this winter, Chelmsford has been forced to make the decision to cancel schools in the event in inclement weather. But with many people thinking about the end of the school, Chelmsford School superintendent Dr. Frank Tiano said last week that it was still too early to make a decision on the last day of the calendar year, based on how many days will have to be made ip in June. “Currently we have cancelled school four times (this calendar year). Without any snow days, we would be scheduled to be out on June 18. Currently, we would be scheduled to be out on June 24,” said Tiano. Many questions have been asked about the actual process for cancelling school and how it’s done. …

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