Board of Education update

Since my last posting, the new board assigned members to committees and liaisons to schools. I have been assigned to the Policy, School Improvement, and Teacher Negotiations committees. I have also been assigned as liaison to the Southwest School. I'm excited to work with the Chairs of each committee and with Mrs. Theeb.

Last week, I had the privilege of doing a district wide tour of our schools. The thing that struck me the most was that there was no lack of dedication and enthusiasm from the teachers and staff at all seven schools. At Torrington High School, I was able to see the newly developed Credit Recovery program in action. Currently, there are thirty six students with completed contracts for the program, thirty of whom are enrolled in more than one class. With the program only in its first month of implementtation, it's too early to gauge its success. Although, when I visited the credit recovery classroom, I had a unique opportunity to speak with some students who were using the program. They all had positive things to say about it and were thankful for the opportunity.

I also had a brief opportunity to speak to the guidance department at the high school regarding the student drop-out process. As I discussed in my campaign, I am very passionate about the drop-out issue. I plan on meeting again with the guidance department to discuss Torrington's drop-out rate and to try and find a way to solve this problem.

Vincent Merola

Board of Education member