Student cell phones challenge the future

EDITORIAL (OPINION)

Most public school policies in our region state that cell phones are not to be used during normal school hours, and school hours typically include the time when students board busses until they exit.
Cell phone use on school buses, however, is an interesting issue to re-explore, as the Ware School Committee now finds itself exercising. As technology continues to advance, the various uses of cell phones aren’t just limited to talking.
Students now enjoy a multitude of screen options, including text messaging each other, composing prose, posting and sharing photos and artwork, searching and interacting with various Internet engines, blogging, capturing instantaneous video, audio and pictures, airing digital music files and radio stations, and playing endless video games. This just begins to touch the options available now and in the future – all without speaking a word on them.
The big question is where do school bus companies and school policy makers draw the line?
It is relatively easy to concede that young adults talking or using cell phones or any digital device during school classroom hours should be strictly prohibited, unless it is part of a curriculum lesson plan. They are too distracting to the student who is there to learn, and also to their peers and ultimately teachers.
The same argument can be made for school bus drivers. If 20 of the 40 children sitting on a bus are talking on a cell phone, it certainly can mess with a driver’s focus on what’s ahead of them instead of what’s behind. Moreover, at what age do you cutoff any technical use of cell phones? We see grammar school kids carrying them around now texting friends.
The so-called gray area always enters the picture with policy development and revision. Kids will always manipulate loopholes in rules. It is relatively easy to enforce a no-cell-phone use stanza like Ware’s through use of bus video and better parent and driver awareness. The challenge is controlling all of the other uses digital devices present. Snapping and distributing instant pictures of a student riding a bus whose parents have not signed a privacy release waiver form could potentially pose a significant legal and safety issue for a school district and the family.
Likewise, sharing insensitive or disparaging images or music can alarm some. Allowing any cell phone use heightens security concerns of possible theft and then perhaps financial liability for that crime.
A point was made during a recent Ware School Committee meeting that before the advent of cell phone texting, students traded baseball cards around and the like. It is a good point and actually demonstrates how technology continues to evolve. Phone cameras and Internet browsers are like a new form of the flashy color baseball card.
That said, school bus is an extension of school. Kids talking on cell phones does constitute a distraction and area school committees should double check their own stanzas to clearly detail a cell phone use policy as relates to the existing bus company rules.
For Ware, that process begins at its next meeting on Nov. 4. Clearly, kids can’t be allowed to talk on the phone during school hours, which includes school busses.
Here’s the gray area: We don’t think banning personal digital devices will work for other cell uses like texting, and could actually perpetuate the problem, as kids seem to shun bad rules.
It’s like smoking cigarettes in school. Kids will always find a crevice to challenge our rules.

WARE SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOTEBOOK

By Melissa Fales
Reporter
(mfales@turley.com)

Discussion continues re: students using cell phone on school buses

The School Committee resumed their discussion of whether or not students should be allowed to use cell phone while on school buses at their Oct. 21 meeting. The issue was initially brought up by parent Paul Morris at the committee’s Sept. 30 meeting. Morris said he understood the district’s policy that students’ time on the school bus is considered an extension of the school day, and therefore cell phone use is not permitted. However, he questioned whether the bus drivers should be the ones trying to enforce that policy on the bus at the expense of safe driving. He argued that a driver who is looking in the rear mirror trying to catch a student texting does not have their eyes on the road where they should be.
Committee member Brian Winslow said “Unless we’re going to create 2 different policies, we can’t allow cell phone use on the buses.” Winslow also said the committee should consider the future implications of any policy decision they make about cell phones, reminding them that there would always be new advances in technology to contend with.
Committee member Aaron Sawabi said that he thought the built-in cameras on many cell phones might be an issue for some. “That introduces a new element to the rules,” he said. “Some parents might not want their kids to have their pictures taken.” Chairman Christopher Desjardins pointed out that there is no ban on cameras on the bus, just cell phones.
Sawabi said before the committee can make any decision, it needs to speak with a representative from the bus company, First Student, and come to an agreement on the school district’s expectations and the company’s safety concerns. “We need to have a mutual understanding of what we expect them to do,” Sawabi said. Superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach said she would ask First Student to send a representative to the committee’s next meeting on Nov. 4 to discuss the issue.

Hill responds to committee discussion at last meeting

4th grade teacher Bill Hill addressed the committee regarding concerns raised at their Oct. 14 meeting about alleged inconsistencies between what 3rd grade students and their parents were told to expect in 4th grade during an open house in April and the reality they faced when school started in September.
Hill, who spoke to the parents and students at the open house, said he was not at the meeting as a spokesman for the 4th grade, but as a concerned individual. “I don’t believe I was inconsistent with my message from April to September,” he said. Hill said teachers are always looking for ways to improve the transition from Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School to Ware Middle School and admitted that the 4th grade has its own special challenges once students arrive, but said he felt the message presented to students and parents had been consistent throughout the process.
Sawabi thanked Hill and said that unless parents are willing to come forward and openly discuss their specific concerns, there is no way for the committee to address them or for teachers like Hill to consider them. Committee member Kara Brown, who had brought up the concerns about the transition into 4th grade, said she thought the committee’s discussion had “opened some doors” to make improvements for the district. Brown said she had spoken with 3rd and 4th grade teachers as well as SMK Principal Marlene DiLeo about ideas on how to better prepare students for the change and to help them adapt.

Nominations for Ware High School Athletic Hall of Fame now being accepted

Ware Middle School Principal Robert Warren announced that after an 8 year hiatus, the Ware High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is meeting again. He said the committee is seeking nominations from the community for worthy candidates, with the expectation that between 5 -7 alumni athletes will be honored at an induction dinner and ceremony in the spring of 2010. In order to be considered for nomination for induction in 2010, candidates must have graduated in 2004 or earlier. Nominations should include the reason why that person deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Submit nominations to Athletic Hall of Fame Committee Chairman Michael Robidoux via the ware public school website at http://www.warepublicschools.com, then clicking on “sports” and his email address.

WARE SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOTEBOOK

By Melissa Fales
Reporter
(mfales@turley.com)

Focused forum re: cell phone use on buses set for Oct. 21

At their Oct. 14 meeting, the Ware School Committee resumed their discussion of whether students should be allowed to use cell phones on school buses. Policy subcommittee member Kara Brown said the current cell phone policy in the student handbook is unclear. She is reviewing other school districts’ cell phone policies to see how they handle the issue.
Brown has also interviewed bus drivers, parents and teens about cell phone use on buses. Brown said the bus drivers offered several reasons against allowing it. She only found one parent who thought allowing cell phone use on buses was a bad idea. “Most of them think it’s their choice as a parent to allow their child to have a cell phone,” said Brown, adding that parents seem to like the idea that their child can reach them quickly. As for the students, “A lot of them didn’t know they weren’t allowed to text on the bus,” said Brown. At the suggestion of Superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach, the committee will make the issue of student cell phone use on the school bus the topic of a focused forum to be held at their next meeting, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m. All parents and students are invited to attend.

Committee adopts substitute nurse reimbursement

At Beach’s request, the committee voted to adopt a rate of $125 per day for the district’s substitute nurses. Beach explained that the district’s previous rate, instituted at least 2 superintendents ago, was $75 per day. However, 3 years ago the school began paying substitute nurses $125 per day with grant funds that have since run out. She said the district regularly uses the same two substitute nurses and that it’s unreasonable to expect them to now accept $50 less per day. She said other potential substitute nurses wouldn’t accept $75 per day either. She estimated that the district uses a substitute nurse between 6 and 12 days per year, adding that sometimes they are called in to assist with things like vision or scoliosis testing.

Ways to improve transitions between schools suggested

As part of their on-going discussion on how to reverse the trend of students school choicing out of the district, the committee discussed the challenges of students transitioning from elementary school into middle school and from middle school into junior high school.
Brown recounted a conversation she had with a mother of several children in the district who said she was “on the fence” about choicing out. The mother said there were “inconsistencies” between what she was told to expect when her child started Ware Middle School and what actually happened. She felt the information she received at the open house in the spring was somewhat “sugar-coated” and did not adequately prepare her or her child, particularly in terms of discipline and personal responsibility. “That jump from 3rd grade to 4th grade was enormous,” Brown said. Chairman Christopher Desjardins pointed out that there was a different Ware Middle School principal at the time of the spring open house, which might help explain some of the discrepancies.
Committee member Aaron Sawabi added that the 4th grade’s move to WMS two years ago was so recent, the school, teachers and students are still adjusting to the change. He suggested that during the open houses at all schools, the expectations could be spelled out more concretely and written down so everyone understands them.
Stanly M. Koziol Teacher Charlene Desjardins suggested that some parents coddle their children too much. She pointed out that she went through the Ware School system, going from SMK to South Street School to Church Street School without having any orientation ahead of time. “We never had a tour of the building, we never met our teachers ahead of time, yet we survived,” she said. Winslow said some of the onus to help children adapt to new expectation falls on the parents. “Transition is not all on the school,” he said. “Some of that is the parents’ responsibility.”
Beach acknowledged that transitions are a challenge and said she would work with administrators and teachers to see how they might better address them. One suggestion she had was to give the 3rd graders more homework in June to help prepare them for the heavier workload in 4th grade.

School Committee meetings now available online

Ware Community Television’s Stanley Ciukaj announced that streaming video of School Committee meetings and Ware High School football games are now available on the Ware Community Television website at http://www.waretv.org. The videos are also accessible on the Ware Public Schools website at http://www.warepublicschools.com. Ciukaj said it takes approximately 12 hours for the videos to appear online.

Recycling event raises $1600

Beach announced that the electronic recycling event held Oct. 3 was a success, with a net profit of approximately $1600 raised for the Technology Department.

Dog issue settled for now

Board authorized future action by dog officer if necessary

By Melissa Fales
Reporter (mfales@turley.com)

WARE – At an Oct. 6 dog hearing regarding two aggressive dogs on Laurel Drive, Dog Officer Traci Brearley ascertained that the dogs’ owner has moved out of town and taken the dogs with him. However, Brearley asked the Board of Selectmen to grant her the authority to remove and, if necessary, destroy the dogs at the owner’s expense should he move back into town with them. “These dogs are a huge safety hazard,” Brearley told the board. “They have been terrorizing the neighborhood and impeding the quality of life for the residents.”
Brearley presented copies of letters from Laurel Drive residents complaining about a pit-bull named Queen and a corgi mix named Dora owned by Jason Lazarz of 20 Laurel Drive. In the letters, neighbors allege that the dogs would sometimes bark continuously all day long. They detailed incidents where the dogs were loose, wandering the neighborhood threatening residents and other dogs. One resident wrote that the situation with the dogs “has completely gotten out of control” and suggested it was only a matter of time until the dogs seriously injured someone.
According to Brearley, the dogs had taken over the whole neighborhood to the point where children could not play outside for fear of the animals. She noted each time she was summoned to Laurel Drive with complaints about the dogs either excessively barking or running loose. Often, Lazarz was not at home and the responsibility of caring for the dogs fell to Maria Delrosario, also of 20 Laurel Drive. Brearley spoke to Delrosario and explained that even though she did not own the dogs, as their caretaker, she would be held accountable for the dogs’ actions. On one occasion when Brearley did speak to Lazarz, he indicated he would likely be leaving the area and/or getting rid of Queen.
Lazarz did not attend the hearing. Delrosario was present and told Brearley Lazarz is no longer living with her on Laurel Drive. She said she believes he has moved to Monson and taken Queen, Dora, and Dora’s five puppies with him.
Selectwoman Melissa D. Weise asked what would happen if Lazarz and the dogs return to Ware at some point in the future. According to Brearley, this is a real concern as Lazarz changes his address frequently and has lived at at least two other locations in Ware with the dogs in the past. Brearley suggested that if Lazarz and the dogs return, the only safe option would be to have the dogs removed from the town. She asked the selectmen for permission to do so and presented copies of the town by-law stating the board can grant her the authority to restrain or dispose of dogs as necessary. She said Queen would have to be euthanized because she is too aggressive to be placed in a new home. The board unanimously voted that should Lazarz return to town with Queen and Dora, the dog officer has the right to remove the dogs and dispose of them at Lazarz’s expense.
Brearley also noted she has issued 4 citations regarding the dogs for infractions including failure to vaccinate, failure to license, violation of the leash law, running at large, and having a vicious or barking dog. To date none have been paid. She told Delrosario that she is named on two of the citations, totaling $425. If those fines are not paid within 21 days, Brearley warned Delrosario she will be taken to court.

WARE TOWN HALL NOTEBOOK

Vote to accept sewer line tabled

Due to lingering contractual issues between W/S Development Company and the town, the board’s vote to accept the Lowe’s sewer line expansion was tabled once again. At the Oct. 6 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Interim Town Manager Mary Tzambazakis said attorneys are still working on securing an easement for the town for a portion of the line on W/S Development property. Once all of the legal issues are resolved, residents will have to vote to accept the easement at Town Meeting.

Intergovernmental agreement with Hardwick a no-go

Tzambazakis announced that the proposed intergovernmental agreement to share a wastewater treatment plant operator with the town of Hardwick will not take place. She said Hardwick declined to sign the amended agreement she proposed which made the two towns equally financially responsible for the position. Selectman John A. Desmond said he thought the initial proposal favored Hardwick and offered kudos to Tzambazakis “for making sure the town is well-represented.” Tzambazakis said the town will soon be advertising for the position.

Robbie’s Place public hearing postponed

A scheduled public hearing regarding an alleged violation of the entertainment license at Robbie’s Place, 80 Pulaski Street, was postponed until a later date, yet to be determined.

Selectmen outline goals for the year

The selectmen reviewed a master list of their goals for the year, synthesizing the suggestions of the individual board members. Chairman Nancy J. Talbot suggested the board choose a few to focus on. The board agreed with Selectman William R. Braman’s assertion that developing a comprehensive master plan for the town was a major priority and their top goal. Acknowledging that it would be an expense, Selectwoman Melissa D. Weise said the town should hire an outside mediator to oversee the master plan process. “The rest of us are too close to the mountain,” she said. At Weise’s suggestion, the board agreed that finding a solution for Nenameseck Square that maintains its cultural and historical significance while ensuring the safety of the town’s residents would be a possible first step in their work on the master plan.
The board’s other goals are to focus on the town’s fiscal year 2011 budget and to review and begin implementing the 33 recommendations that came out of the recent audit by the Department of Revenue. Talbot suggested that work on the goals be regularly listed on meeting agendas, so as to keep the board on task.

Town Hall to be used for Christmas decoration prep, Holiday Flair in Ware

The board approved the use of the Town Hall’s Great Hall for Christmas decoration prep and for visits with Santa during Holiday Flair in Ware. Holiday Decorating Committee member Peter Harder said some 75 Christmas trees and other decorations need some overhauling before they can be displayed. Work on the decorations will take place over the course of a few weeks. He also asked for permission to use the municipal bucket truck to hang the decorations around town.
Holiday Flair in Ware Committee member Sue LaBarge said Holiday Flair in Ware will be held on the evening of Nov. 27, the Friday after Thanksgiving. She said Santa’s spot in Veterans’ Park last year “was cold and crowded” and suggested putting Santa in the Great Hall, where children would be warmer while they waited for their turn to sit on his lap.
Talbot raised the question of liability should someone get hurt or property get damaged during these two activities. Braman said since the Holiday Decorating Committee is appointed by the board and Holiday Flair in Ware is a town event, both activities would be covered under the town’s insurance policy. The board voted to approve the use of the Town Hall for both activities and to waive the fee in both cases.

Ware Community Television now has streaming video

Braman announced an additional service now offered by Ware Community Television. Select archived programs of town events, including selectmen’s meetings, school committee meetings and Ware High School football games, are now available for viewing online by visiting http://www.waretv.org and clicking on “streaming video.”

WARE SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOTEBOOK

By Melissa Fales
Reporter
mfales@turley.com

Citizen warns of H1N1 vaccination risks

Resident David Kopacz appeared at the Sept. 30 School Committee meeting to discuss the survey the district sent out asking parents if they would want their children to receive H1N1 vaccinations if they were offered at the school. Kopacz outlined concerns he has about the vaccinations and said the public should understand all of the risks associated with the vaccine before making that decision. “I’m not here to tell people not to vaccinate, I’m here to advocate for fully-informed consent,” Kopacz said.
Kopacz has followed the H1N1 coverage in the media and attended a seminar held by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) about the virus. He said the CDC and the United States Food and Drug Administration have granted preapproval for the vaccination and he questioned the safety risks of lowering the standards for its testing in order to meet expected demand. Kopacz also questioned a possible link to autism with the number of vaccines today’s schoolchildren already receive.
Superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach explained that the purpose of the survey was to get a sense of how many vaccines might be needed, not for parents to grant consent for their children to be vaccinated.
Kopacz asked the school committee to re-issue the survey with information he has about the governmental testing and the additives found within the vaccine.
Chairman Christopher Desjardins asked Kopacz to forward his information to the central office so the school committee can review it.

Parent questions policy against student cell phone use on school buses

Paul Morris, a parent of Ware School District students, raised his concern about the district’s policy forbidding students to use cell phones on school buses. He said bus drivers are attempting to enforce the policy at the risk of the safety of the students. “It takes their attention away from the road where it needs to be,” Morris said.
Beach explained the district handbook says students are not allowed to use cell phones during the school day, which is defined as from when the student steps on the bus in the morning until they step off the school bus in the afternoon. Morris agreed it would be inappropriate for students to use cell phones while in school, but thought it was harmless for students to use cell phones on the bus. He said most students aren’t talking on cell phones, but holding the devices in their laps and texting, making it difficult for bus drivers to see who is using them. Morris said a bus driver looking in the rear-view mirror trying to catch students texting is not driving safely. “Is it worth it?” Morris asked.
Desjardins questioned why cell phones are forbidden on buses. He noted the use of MP3 players is allowed, and said if the concern is that students with cell phones won’t be paying attention in the event of an emergency, students listening to MP3 players would be even less likely to hear emergency instructions.
Committee member Kara Brown suggested reasonable cell phone use should be allowed and if students abuse the privilege, they should be disciplined as with any other bus conduct issue. Committee member Brian Winslow said the district needs to define what reasonable cell phone use is.
The policy subcommittee will revisit the policy and contact the bus company for its input.

2nd Annual Electronic and Appliance Recycling Fundraiser

Beach reminded all residents that the district’s 2nd Annual Electronic and Appliance Recycling Fundraiser will be held this Saturday, Oct. 3 in the lower parking lot of Ware Junior/Senior High School from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. The slogan for the event is “If it has a plug, recycle it.” Fees range from $2 for small appliances such as toasters to $15 for larger appliances such as stoves and refrigerators. All proceeds benefit the Technology Department. Ware High School football players will be on hand to help unload heavy items. Any senior citizen who has an item or items they would like to recycle should call the superintendent’s office at 967-4271 to make arrangements to have their items picked up.