Mohawk Schools

• Intermin Planning Presentation 1-3-07(Powerpoint file)
• As Goes Mohawk, So Goes the State 1.3.07(Powerpoint file)

• Assessments - Close Heath and Colrain[PDF]
• Assessments - Close Heath and Sanderson[PDF]
• Assessments - Regional Elementary Staggered Colrain-Heath-Sanderson[PDF]
• Assessments - Regional Elementary Staggered Heath-Colrain-Sanderson[PDF]
• Assessments - Status Quo 3%[PDF]
• Assessments - Status Quo 6.5%[PDF]

Budget Planning Team Final Report

• Budget Final Report[DOC]
• Budget Task Force supplement[DOC]

Building Re-Use Final Report

• Building Use Final Report[PDF] [DOC]
• Appendix 1: Projected Classrooms[PDF] [DOC]
• Appendix 2: Capacity with Choice[PDF]
• Appendix 3: Capacity with No Choice[PDF]
• Appendix 4: Classroom Availability[PDF]
• Appendix 5: Capital Needs Assessment BSE[PDF] [DOC]
• Appendix 6: Enrollment Projections from BSE Report[PDF]
• SWOT Appendix[PDF] [DOC]

Transportation Planning Team Final Report

• Transportation Planning Team Final Report [PDF] [DOC]
• SWOT Models [PDF] [DOC]

Education Planning Team Final Report

• Education Planning Team Final Report [PDF] [DOC]
• Annotated Research Notes [PDF] [DOC]

Strengthen Local Schools

Enhancement
Retain current regional agreement. Retain current building infrastructure. Introduce new programming/alternative use into each building as determined. See brainstorming sheet.
Union
Dissolve current regional agreement. Create some combination of regional elementary districts and/or town elementary districts similar to Hawlemont and Rowe. Form 7-12 regional MS-HS.
K-8
Change current regional agreement. Close MS. Send 7-8 graders back to sending elementary schools. Convert MS-HS to HS; or use MS wing for Voc-Tech or something else.

Regionalization

Regional Elementary
Change current regional agreement. Create single regional elementary school. Begin process of funneling students from outlying elementary schools.
Regional Middle School
Change current regional agreement. Convert MS-HS to 9-12, possibly with Voc-Tech or something else. Create single 5-8 or 6-8 regional MS someplace other than Mohawk. Redistribute students from created MS to other elementary schools, possibly regional K-4 or K-5.
Regional K-12
Change current regional agreement. Convert MS-HS building into a single K-12 regional school. Begin process of funneling students from elementary schools to K-12 school according to select criteria

Consolidation

Consolidation
Change current regional agreement. Form 2 or more consolidated elementary schools.

• Arrive on time
• Intend to start and end meetings on time
• Turn off cell phones, pagers, etc.
• Inform your committee chair if you cannot attend

By choice, not by any legal requirement, all meetings of the Strategic Planning Committee and subcommittees will be guided by with the Massachusetts Open Meeting law guidelines in the following manner:

Notice of meetings will be publicly posted 48 hours (excluding Saturday's) prior to the time of the meeting
Public posting includes on MTRSD website as a minimum
Meeting must be located in a public place with access for all
Notice must include date, time and place of meeting
The chair calling the meeting is responsible to ensure the posting
Post by sending a copy to Judy Willis who will forward to towns and school committee by fax and email.

Minutes of all meetings will be taken, approved by the committee chair and submitted to the Central Office within 7 days following the meeting if possible. Judy Willis will ensure the minutes are posted on the MTRSD website.
Minutes must include as a minimum: the date, time, place, names of those in attendance, a summary of each discussion held at the meeting (not to include names of speakers; verbatim record not required), all "actions taken" and responsible parties to follow-up actions, and any remaining open times for discussion.
Note: "actions taken" includes not only votes or other formal means of reaching consensus, but also discussion or consideration of issues for which no vote is taken or final determination is made.
Note: For format consistency, minutes may be recorded on standard form provided by the Central Office if desired.

Conduct of Meetings shall be in open session where anyone may attend,
No person may address the meeting without permission of a committee chair.
Committee chair reserved the right to recognize or not, any speakers from outside of the committee.
All persons shall be silent at the request of the committee chair
If a person persists in disorderly or disrespectful behavior after warning from the committee chair, the chair may order him/her to withdraw for the remainder of the meeting.
A committee member who has been ordered to withdraw from a meeting has rendered themselves ineligible to vote during the remainder of that meeting.
No votes shall be by secret ballot
Motions or suggestions being proposed shall be recorded in writing; It is suggested to bring a handout when you are making a proposal for action.
Any decision by the Committee shall be done in an open meeting.
Sub-committee members will be appointed by the Subcommittee Chair by the conclusion of the second meeting of the subcommittee.

How Decisions Will Be Made

We will make our best effort to arrive at decisions by consensus as the preferred means because of the significantly high levels of support needed for implementation. A committee is considered to have reached consensus when it finally agrees on a choice and each committee member can say:
"I believe that others understand my point of view"
"I believe I understand others' points of view"
"Whether or not I prefer this decision, I support it and will not undermine it because it was arrived at openly and fairly and is the best solution for this committee at this time."
Consensus is most effective for the difficult decisions we will have to make because we must function as one body and are all under the same regional agreement and will have to "sell" the concepts at our individual town meetings.
When consensus cannot be reached, modified consensus will be used and the vote count as well as a majority and minority report will be submitted to inform the school committee and superintendent of the committee opinions.
We will work from a basis of the stated Mission and goals of the District and schools.

Email may be used to forward concepts to the group to allow all to think on a topic prior to a meeting and to allow scheduling of meetings. Discussion and decisions need to take place in open meeting.

How We Will Conduct Ourselves

Remain open to all possibilities- no decision will have been reached until we have reached consensus together.
No hidden agendas- harboring any preformed ideas inhibits your ability to be open to all possibilities.
To ensure transparency, all implications of any option being explored but be fully stated in "black and white"
One person speaks at a time and we will listen to each other without interrupting.
We will not monopolize a conversation.
We will make a sincere commitment to listen to one another, to try to understand the other person's point of view before responding.
We will treat other members with respect, even in the face of disagreement
When in disagreement we agree to stay focused on the problem instead of on any particular person (attack the issues, not the people with whom we disagree)
We will speak openly about our concerns, and not seek to involve others in "gossip" or "alliance building."
We agree to try our hardest and trust that others are doing the same within the committee.
We will support the expression of dissent in a harassment free and safe environment for conversation.
We agree to actively participate in discussions to ensure all sides of an issue are explored.
We recognize that "silence is agreement" because it forces each of us to speak up about what we don't agree with, because it's against the rules to leave the meeting and say, "Well, I didn't agree to do that!")
Recognize that whatever agreement is reached, we need to be united about executing it.
Badmouthing each other publicly is out of bounds.
We agree to take ownership of our contribution to process of creating a safe open environment for conversation.