Greetings one and all as spring is just around the corner.

At the beginning of our March 2 Board of Trustees meeting Bob Brick announced that he will be stepping down as Executive Director of PVPA as of June 30, 2010. He told of his plans, along with Ljuba Marsh and others, to apply for a new charter school in Holyoke based on a social justice theme. The PVPA Board is fully supportive of this new venture. On a personal note, I started with Bob and Ljuba as a founding board member of PVPA. I know their capacities to shape and build a new school. They have my very best wishes on this exciting new project.

Frank and Sarah Sansom tendered their resignations from the Board after seven years of service as co-treasurers and members of the Finance Committee. Sarah will remain on the Finance Committee where she has ably served as its chair. Frank masterfully brought us through the process of securing the mortgage so that we were able to purchase our present building. We will miss their financial guidance.

The three new Board members of whom I spoke last time were officially welcomed and attended an orientation session conducted by the Governance Committee prior to the Board meeting. They are Student member Sydney Levin-Epstein, and Community members Cynthia Anzalotti and Will Szal.

Business Manager Robert Brainin presented the FY 11 Proposed Budget which will be voted on at the April Board meeting.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Beth Graham spoke about the on-going inquiry and discussion around the grading system. A steering committee representing all departments and levels meets regularly. The group plans to visit schools that are employing standards-based assessment. She also reported on the grades 7/8 pilot teams of integrated, multi-age teams of students and teachers. The experiment has been working very well. Finally, Beth put out a call for folks to join the pit orchestra for Peter Pan. Contact Tony Lechner.

For Development, Mary Cantler noted that the dedication of the library will be at 5 p.m. on March 25. The library will be named for Herbert Robert Ladenheim, father of the donor who has made the library possible.

Among student comments at the meeting were that scheduling went very well this year thanks to the efforts of Beth Graham, Laura Davis, and Lisa Clark. Benny Docter expressed that Bob Brick's leaving is a great loss to the school. Sydney Levin-Epstein, speaking as a representative of the Diversity Committee, asked how there might be more staff and board members to reflect the diversity of the school community.

Speaking for staff Tim Brown said there has been discussion about how the executive director is to be replaced and that all constituencies need to be part of the discussion. He also reported that adjunct teachers feel excluded from the community. And he put a plug in for Peter Pan opening this month.

Until next time.

Dorie Shallcross, President