Good Afternoon,
I hope this Superintendent Update for March 2024 finds you and yours well.
Safety First! Upon return from February vacation, the district conducted a planned “Shelter-in-Place” exercise that included a K-9 search for contraband at David Prouty HS and Knox Trail MS. This search was part of our commitment to having a “safe & drug free” regional school district. I am unable to express enough the deep appreciation I have to our local and state law enforcement for taking the time to search our middle school and high school for contraband. While the laws of our Commonwealth continue to change, the fact remains that vape, marijuana, and illicit substances should not be brought to any campus of our regional school district. It is not permitted on any school property.
Throughout this school year, we have held numerous exercises from fire drills to shelter-in place exercises to K-9 Police Searches of school property; all of these exercises have taken place in the interest of keeping our staff and students safe. To that end, thank you to our School Resource Officer, Todd LaPorte, and all of the law enforcement officers who took part in the yet another proactive measure to ensure school safety.
IMPORTANT: Please take note, as the Superintendent of Schools, I reserve the right to continue to partner with local law enforcement to bring the K-9 Units to the schools at anytime and will do so as many times as is needed to provide you with the peace of mind that this regional school district expects all of our schools to be safe and drug free. Please continue to partner with us for the safety of everyone who attends the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District.
Enrollment: Our enrollment as a regional school district has steadied. As of this morning, we have 1438 students enrolled within our district. David Prouty High School has 316 students enrolled; Knox Trail Middle School has 387 students; Wire Village School has 451 students; and East Brookfield Elementary School has 262 students including 119 students enrolled for the "Cubs Corner" Preschool!
Personnel: We continue to post for paraprofessionals as well as tutors to join our district. If you are interested in becoming a part of our family, please apply at: https://www.schoolspring.com
Spring 2024 Initial MCAS and ACCESS for ELLs Testing Schedule!
Student Recognition Awards! Please join me in congratulating the following students on earning recognition from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ad "High Achievers" on the MCAS and MCAS-Alt Assessments: Wire Village School’s Daxon Cadarette, Luke Hickey, and Silas Boivin; East Brookfield Elementary School's D'Anna Smith; Knox Trail Middle School's Christopher Worster, Connor Martin, Ciera Maldonado, Katherine St. Laurent, and Aarya Patel... All of these students were recognized throughout February and March by DESE, their Principals and myself as high achievers on the MCAS & MCAS-Alt. Job well done!
Public Schools Week 2024!
Each year, district leaders, specialists, teacher educators, parents and school board members come together with the Learning First Alliance (LFA) to celebrate Public Schools Week, a time to show the strength—and potential—of our nation’s public schools and our students’ futures. This year, Public Schools Week will be held Feb. 26-March 1.
In 2024, Public Schools Week is part of a larger campaign—#HerefortheKids. The #HerefortheKids campaign brings together families, educators and community members to shine a light on local public schools and tell the stories of the amazingly positive things happening in classrooms and school buildings nationwide.
Please join us in celebrating public schools and the dedicated educators and professionals who support students in so many ways.
There are so many ways you can make an impact:
Share your school success story on social media
Thank your child’s teacher or principal
Serve on a school or district committee
Volunteer to tutor
Volunteer at your local library
Encourage local businesses to develop internship & apprenticeship programs for students
Get started at www.publicschoolproud.org #PublicSchoolProud #PSW24
Read Across America 2024!
Each year, National Read Across America Day is celebrated on March 2nd, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The annual event is part of Read Across America, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association. Read Across America Week is celebrated from March 4 to 8 — it begins on the birthday of the beloved author, Dr. Seuss. The entire month of March, in fact, is dedicated to reading. The National Education Association (N.E.A.) aims to encourage reading and educate people about its benefits, especially among children and young adults. Events are organized across the nation by schools and organizations to promote the same. To learn more about this important event, go to: https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-america #ReadAcrossAmerica #DrSeussBDay
Civic Learning Week Starts Today: Monday, March 11th - Don't Miss Out!
Whether you're a student, educator, parent, administrator, policymaker, or a member of the general public, we have events for you during Massachusetts Civic Learning Week, March 11 –15, 2024! All events are free and virtual and organized by the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition (MCLC) in conjunction with National Civic Learning Week.
Throughout the week of March 11 –15, take part in youth-led panel discussions, Q&A sessions with civic leaders, book readings, democratic simulations, curriculum and pedagogy workshops, and more. And, since many of the daytime sessions are designed for youth participation, this is a unique opportunity to engage your students in civics learning!
Civic Learning Week is National - Check It Out!
Check out the Civic Learning Week (CLW) website. National events will include a forum with many prominent speakers and conversations regarding civics and various aspects of civics, as well as demonstrations of game-based learning for democracy.
Events here in Massachusetts and other states also may be accessed via the Civic Learning Week (CLW) website. Be sure to check out the Resources page as well.
MSBA Update: Our next meeting of the David Prouty High School Building Committee is tentatively planned to take place on Thursday, March 7th and Thursday, April 11th, 2024. Both meetings take place beginning at 6:00pm via Zoom. All are welcome to these important meetings. The agenda is posted on our website.
Winter Athletics Update: This 2023-2024 winter season our Panthers have had a great deal of success on and off the court, track and mat. At the time of this publication, our Girls Indoor Track Team won the SWCL "B" Division Championship; Our Boys Indoor Track team finished 2nd in SWCL “B” Division; our Cheerleaders performed really well in their recent SWCL competition at Quaboag Regional despite missing out on competing in Regionals; our Girls Varsity Basketball team concluded their season by defeating Assabet Valley in the CMADA Tournament; and our Boys Basketball team continues to march forward in the MIAA Division 4 Tournament preparing for the Canalmen of Bourne High School this Friday night, March 8th, 2024 at 6:30pm in the “Elite Eight!” To obtain tickets for this tournament game, go to: https://gofan.co/app/school/MA14554 If you have not yet had a chance or opportunity to see the David Prouty High School Boys Basketball team compete this season, make time to come out and cheer on our Panthers!
Fueling The Region! Did you know our meal count continues to climb? Last month alone, our Food Service providers served 1,976 more breakfast and 1,728 more lunches than last February. To say that Universal Free Meals is making a difference for our students is an understatement. Thank you to our School Lunch Heroes for their amazing work each and everyday feeding our staff and students.
Summer Eats 2024 is right around the corner and set to return to the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District for what is sure to be our best year yet!
Cubs Corner Preschool Registration and enrollment is now open for the 2024-2025 school year!
The Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District’s Cubs’ Corner Preschool is located at East Brookfield Elementary School, 410 East Main Street, East Brookfield, MA 01515. Our preschool is an integrated preschool with tuition paying students, as well as special needs students. Your child must be at least three years old to attend the preschool program.
Cost & Schedule
Sessions will be filled up on a first come first served basis. The cost is $15/day for half days (mornings or afternoons) and $32/day for full days (*subject to change). Our sessions are as follows:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday: AM, PM or Full Day
Tuesday/Thursday: AM, PM or Full Day
Monday-Friday: AM, PM or Full Day
New Registration
Please click the link to the left to begin the Preschool registration process for your child. Once your form has been submitted and reviewed, you will receive an email from SEBRSD with instructions on setting up a PowerSchool account. You will need to create your account to be able to enroll your child.
The following documents/items are also required to register your child into the district:
Copy of the Birth Certificate
Medicals (including most recent physical and Immunizations)
Two forms of Proof of Residency
Deposit equal to one week’s tuition (example: M/W/F am would need a $45 deposit)
Make checks/money orders out to SEBRSD Preschool
Pay online via UniPay
Once you have created a PowerSchool account, you will receive a verification email that requires you to click the link to verify/activate your account. Once verified, you can login to your account and click on FORMS from the Navigation menu to the left. Across the top of the screen, you will select ENROLLMENT to find the forms that you will need to complete, starting with the DEMOGRAPHICS form first. Starting with this form will allow you to effortlessly transition from one form to the next until all required forms have been completed. If you miss any forms, we will email you and ask that you kindly go back and fill them out to complete the registration process.
In-Office Enrollment
If you do not have access to the internet to complete the forms, we have a kiosk set up inside the Student Services office at David Prouty High School for families to use. An appointment is required to ensure that the kiosk will be available and a staff member is present to assist. The office is open for appointments Monday through Thursday, between the hours of 8:00 am and 3:00 pm.
Please call 508-885-8515 (opt. 7) or email pervierm@sebrsd.org with any questions, to schedule an appointment or to provide supporting documentation.
Returning Students
If you're child will be returning to Preschool you will need to fill out the Cubs' Corner Returning Student Response Form in the PowerSchool Parent Portal, submit a deposit payment, and provide updated medicals.
2024-2025 Kindergarten Registration - Enrollment Now Open! The Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District is now accepting Kindergarten applications for the 2024-2025 school year for children who will reach the age of five (5) years old by August 31, 2024. Letters will be mailed out this week to all families that listed their eligible child(ren) on the 2023 town census and emails will be sent to all resident families that have a child currently enrolled in our Cubs’ Corner Preschool program that will be of age by the cut-off date.
Kindergarten is offered at both Wire Village School in Spencer and East Brookfield Elementary School in East Brookfield. Students are enrolled at the school in their town of residence, in accordance with District policy. School hours are 8:25 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. There is no registration deadline.
All student registrations are done online. If you would like to register your child to attend, please complete the Pre-Registration Form to begin the registration process. When completing the form, select the 2023-2024 school year. Once your form has been submitted and approved, you will receive an email with further instructions on creating your online parent portal account where you will complete all of the required enrollment forms and upload required documentation. Families must provide a birth certificate (original or copy, with a seal), most recent physical/immunization records (dated within one year of school start date), and two forms of proof of residency from the accepted documents lists on the address form. If you have difficulties uploading your supporting documentation, please email them directly to the District Registrar (contact info below), along with your child’s name so that they can be uploaded into the portal.
Medical forms must be completed by a physician and must detail that your child has been given the following immunizations (including the dates the immunizations were given):
5 doses Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus (DTaP)
4 doses Polio
3 doses Hepatitis B
2 doses Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
2 doses of Varicella Vaccine or Chicken Pox disease
Proof of Lead Screening
Vision and Hearing Screenings
If you do not have access to the internet to complete the forms, we have a kiosk set up inside the Student Services office at David Prouty High School for families to use. An appointment is required to ensure that the kiosk will be available and a staff member is present to assist. The office is open for appointments Monday through Thursday, between the hours of 8:00 am and 3:00 pm.
Please call the District Registrar at 508-885-8515 (opt. 7) or email pervierm@sebrsd.org with any questions, to schedule an appointment or to provide supporting documentation.
Inclement Weather Notifications: As noted in our 2023-2024 school calendar, we will have traditional snow days this year. Safety considerations, uniform access to electricity/internet during the school day, make snow days an important part of successfully navigating the school year. Calling snow days in New England is a difficult task. As the Superintendent of Schools, I have a unique opportunity to evaluate conditions in real time, as well as consult with the National Weather Service, Department of Public Works, local Emergency Management officials, and neighboring towns. My decision regarding delaying, closing, or releasing schools early always has been and always will be based upon “safety first” for everyone within our learning community. If you have not already done so please put a plan in place for the safe care and/or receipt of your child in the event that a weather-related delay, closing, or release is necessary.
Notification Process: We will alert our learning community of a weather-related delay, closing or early release day via our SEBRSD Apptegy App. I will do my best to let you know the night prior, but not later than 5:30 a.m. on the day in question. Further, notifications will be placed on our website, Facebook page, and Twitter Account for the district well as Channel 4 (WBZ), Channel 5 (WCVB), Channel 7 (WHDH), and Channel 25 (FOX).
Finally, for more information about the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District and to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings across the district, please visit the website at www.sebrsd.org, follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and download the SEBRSD mobile app. As always, thank you for your continued partnership and support of the Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District. #Innovate #Inspire #Achieve
Sincerely Yours,
Paul S. Haughey, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Spencer-East Brookfield Regional School District