Warning is wake-up call for high school

A warning this month by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges has prompted school officials to accelerate academic and building upgrades at Gloucester High School.

On May 5, the association, which measures standards of education, issued a warning to the high school, criticizing the school's mission and expectations for student learning, and its curriculum. In addition, the association called for the district to replace the roofs above the science, vocational, cafeteria, and auditorium wings, and to improve air quality in the school. It also wants the school to eliminate mold in the building.

The organization is in the midst of a 10-year evaluation of the school, and according to Superintendent Christopher Farmer, the school could be placed on probation if the district does not respond to the association's concerns by February.

Farmer, however, is confident that there will be no further action taken by the association. "I expect by February of next year the school will be in a position to report again in a very positive way to NEASC that the school is making satisfactory progress in the areas where concern has been expressed," said Farmer.

Gloucester High School principal Joseph Sullivan, who will report back to the association next February, said a key to addressing its concerns will be the adoption of a new mission statement for the school. Included in the mission statement will be a list of seven skills to help evaluate students. The proposed skills are: measuring academic expectations in reading, mathematics, writing, interpersonal competencies, technology, conceptual understandings, and cultural and organizational systems.

Currently 1,333 students attend the high school, and last year 56 percent of the seniors were accepted at a four-year college. In 2003, the students' combined median SAT score was 986.

The association also criticized the school's curriculum for students who are not college bound, and also the school's "lack of adequate print and non-print materials and resources in the library media center."

"I don't know where that came from," said Sullivan, referring to the criticism of the school's curriculum for non-college bound students. Sullivan said the students can now enroll in courses in the wood, auto, and electrical shops, and also take computer, business, marketing, banking, child-care, and child development courses.

According to Karen D'Amour, the high school's guidance director, students who wish to attend college begin taking college preparatory courses as freshmen. The school uses guidelines created by the University of Massachusetts and state colleges, which call for future applicants to have taken four years of English, three years of mathematics, three years of science, two years of social sciences, and two consecutive years of foreign language.

Students who opt not to take the college preparatory program can choose from several vocational courses, and also can enroll in traditional subjects, such as mathematics, English, science and history, said D'Amour.

Beginning next fall, curriculum for non-college bound freshmen will include algebra, Farmer said.

Sullivan and Farmer said a lack of adequate funding for the library is a major concern for the entire district. The high school is the only school that has a staff librarian; volunteers assist students at the elementary and middle schools.

Building construction problems and air quality issues have been of concern since the school was renovated in the mid-1990s. Since then, the city has sued the project's contractor, TLT Construction Corp. of Wakefield, and the building's architects, Drummey, Rosane, Anderson Inc. of Newton Centre, citing "hundreds" of problems with the work, said Linda Lowe, the city's general counsel. The lawsuits are still active.

While the city spent $1.5 million in 1999 to fix ventilation problems in classrooms, and to repair the auditorium's roof, Sullivan still maintains a checklist of problem areas that he wants fixed. Inside the administration's offices, and the school library, the fresh air ventilation system does not work, causing mold to grow. In the field house, the plastic floor has warped in places, and one section of the track has been replaced by wood. Leaks are also a constant problem, with rain trickling into the auditorium, cafeteria, and the automotive tech shop.

"Every time it rains, we dance around the water leaks," said auto instructor Dennis Martin, who pointed to leaks in the building's roof, skylights, and water pipes.

Although no price has yet been put on the proposed renovations, Farmer and Sullivan said a plan would move forward. "We will take care of this," said Farmer.

Steven Rosenberg can be reached at rosenberg@globe.com.