Monthly Archives: September 2011

Sleeping in is good for high schoolers. Who knew?

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Steve in Curricula and Learning, NPS Policies

Groundbreaking work that began in Minnesota in the 1990s routinely shows positive results for high school students who start school later in the morning. This relates directly to adolescent biology around Circadian rhythms and the timing of Melatonin production. Here … Continue reading →

Should we be making changes to early release time?

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Steve in Budget, NPS Policies, Teachers

Early release in Newton has been here for a long time and is firmly embedded in our teacher contracts. Rodney Barker, a former School Committee member and former Alderman, has fought about this in the past and he wrote an … Continue reading →

Top 2 challenges for our School Committee this year

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Steve in Budget, School facilities, Teachers

Top Two Challenges: 1. Completion of a fair and sustainable teacher contract. Signs are that we are close, and a contract that is long-term affordable while respecting our teachers as bargaining table partners is a very good thing. For years, … Continue reading →