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Winter Hill could be converted to Somerville innovation school

Print | Comments () Posted by Matt Byrne February 14, 2012 10:04 AM

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By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent

With the support of teachers and administrators, Somerville Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi is moving to convert the Winter Hill Community School into an innovation school by the fall.

“Innovation Schools are one method to improve performance and I expect at least one to be in place in September 2012,” said Anthony Pierantozzi, Somerville superintendent, in a statement by education group Progress Together for Somerville.

Pierantozzi said teachers at Winter Hill are "eagerly" discussing the plans to convert to the innovation model, which was established by a 2010 state education law, and allows educators some of the freedoms of a charter school while keeping education dollars in-district.

By law, educators at a school up for conversion must vote in favor of the switch before administrators can make official submissions to the state, which then must approve the change.

The move by the district comes after a polarizing proposal made last year to create the Somerville Progressive Charter School, which would focus on better educating English language learners. Teachers, administrators, and elected officials mostly unified against it, criticizing the charter's implication that the district does not properly instruct all levels of its diverse student body.

Pierantozzi said the district is now making grant and program applications to the state and to the Gates Foundation for the innovation school.

In the statement, School Committee president Paul Bockelman and Somerville Teachers Association president Jackie Lawrence gave their support to the plan. "The [teache's association] is excited that teachers will have a voice in the design of programs that will meet the needs of all students," Lawrence said in the statement.

At a December hearing, hundreds of parents, teachers, administrators, politicians, and others sounded off on the charter, with advocates saying the school would bring a fresh approach to teaching a large segment of the population. More than half of the city's students speak English as a second language. Almost a fifth, 18 percent, are classified as English language learners who require more intense language instruction.

Educators are also exploring creating a virtual high school within Somerville High that would incorporate the arts into a curriculum focused on science, technology, engineering, and math, the so-called STEM subjects.