Accreditation Status

The North Middlesex Regional School District received information from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) regarding the accreditation status of North Middlesex Regional High School. At its meeting of January 22, 2012, the Commission on Public Secondary Schools reviewed the District’s progress in resolving the issues upon which the Commission had based its initial decision to place the high school on probation. In its letter dated February 13, 2012, the Commission stated that "no new information was submitted to substantiate any further progress to address the longstanding, unresolved facilities, space, and health and safety concerns that continue to negatively impact the school’s educational programs and services with no short-term or long-range plans, funding, or timeline to resolve/address those issues close to nine years following the decennial evaluation visit." The Committee will appoint a building committee at our March 12th school committee meeting and will work with member towns to place appropriate funding votes for preliminary planning before the citizens at annual town meetings in May." extraordinarily good news as it will enable the District to finally address the major infrastructure issues that threaten the high school’s accreditation status." I believe that the staffing levels are secondary to the infrastructure needs." Further she explained, "The school district has already increased the media specialist to full time and staffed the high school library so that the facility is now open 8 hours daily, Monday through Friday." About

Unfortunately, the Commission’s meeting to discuss the accreditation status of the high school was held just days before the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) voted (on January 25, 2012) to invite the school district to participate in the Authority’s Capital Eligibility Period. Since receiving notification from the MSBA, the School Committee and District Administration have met with town officials from the three member towns to discuss specific plans to complete the work required by the MSBA.

Susan Robbins, Chairperson of the North Middlesex Regional School Committee, stated, "

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Maureen Marshall, explained the significance of MSBA’s invitation to participate in the MSBA’s school construction grant program as "

When asked about the staffing level issues noted in the Commission’s recent letter to the school district, Marshall noted, "
The school district must file a progress report with NEASC on June 1, 2012.

Accreditation Status of North Middlesex Regional High School

The North Middlesex Regional School District received information from the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) regarding the accreditation status of North Middlesex Regional High School. At its meeting of January 22, 2012, the Commission on Public Secondary Schools reviewed the District’s progress in resolving the issues upon which the Commission had based its initial decision to place the high school on probation. In its letter dated February 13, 2012, the Commission stated that "no new information was submitted to substantiate any further progress to address the longstanding, unresolved facilities, space, and health and safety concerns that continue to negatively impact the school’s educational programs and services with no short-term or long-range plans, funding, or timeline to resolve/address those issues close to nine years following the decennial evaluation visit." The Committee will appoint a building committee at our March 12th school committee meeting and will work with member towns to place appropriate funding votes for preliminary planning before the citizens at annual town meetings in May." extraordinarily good news as it will enable the District to finally address the major infrastructure issues that threaten the high school’s accreditation status." I believe that the staffing levels are secondary to the infrastructure needs." Further she explained, "The school district has already increased the media specialist to full time and staffed the high school library so that the facility is now open 8 hours daily, Monday through Friday."

Unfortunately, the Commission’s meeting to discuss the accreditation status of the high school was held just days before the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) voted (on January 25, 2012) to invite the school district to participate in the Authority’s Capital Eligibility Period. Since receiving notification from the MSBA, the School Committee and District Administration have met with town officials from the three member towns to discuss specific plans to complete the work required by the MSBA.

Susan Robbins, Chairperson of the North Middlesex Regional School Committee, stated, "

Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Maureen Marshall, explained the significance of MSBA’s invitation to participate in the MSBA’s school construction grant program as "

When asked about the staffing level issues noted in the Commission’s recent letter to the school district, Marshall noted, "
The school district must file a progress report with NEASC on June 1, 2012.

Building Committee Forming!!

The North Middlesex Regional School Committee is seeking applicants to serve on a School Building Committee for the purpose of developing and implementing a plan to repair/renovate and/or replace North Middlesex Regional High School. Interested persons should forward a letter of interest in which the applicant summarizes his/her credentials.
 Friday, March 2, 2012 to:
The Building Committee’s work will extend over the next 2-3 years and involve regularly scheduled meetings. The frequency of the meetings will vary depending on project demands, but could be weekly during some stages of the Committee’s work

Should you have specific questions regarding this matter, please contact the Office of the Superintendent (Tel. 978-597-8713 Email: nmrsd@nmiddlesex.mec.edu)


Please forward the letter of interest by
North Middlesex Regional School District
ATTN: SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE
45 Main Street
Pepperell, MA 01463

North Middlesex Mock Trial team

On Wednesday February 8, the North Middlesex Mock Trial team defeated Cushing Academy.  The Patriots have amassed a 2 -1 record that includes a win over Nashoba Valley Tech on January 23^rd and a narrow loss to Westford Academy on January 30th.  This was the Patriots third and final trial in the preliminary round.

This year’s case involves the very relevant topic of school bullying.

The Mock Trial program is a statewide competition sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association and now in its 27^th year.  For North Middlesex, this is our third year of participation and we now have a core of seasoned “attorneys and witnesses” forming the foundation of our team.

The program is structured with the following goals:  To further the students understanding of law, the judicial system, and trial procedure; To increase their proficiency in such important life skills as reading, analyzing, speaking and listening; To develop advocacy skills regardless of which side of the case they are representing and irrespective of the party to which they might most readily identify with; and to give them exposure to the law and law related professions.

Our team is coached by faculty member Al Barbar and Attorney John Page.  The team now awaits word on whether they will advance to the regional competition round.  Great job Patriots, we are so proud of you!

Superintendent Search: Focus Groups

The search for a new Superintendent of Schools of the North Middlesex Regional School District is underway. The NMRSD School Committee has hired the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to assist with the search process. As part of the process, NESDEC will be conducting a series of focus groups on March 5-7, 2012.

Focus groups are an important part of the process because they are designed to obtain the input of teachers, support staff, administrators, school committee members, parents and community members about the attributes, experience and knowledge they believe the new superintendent should possess. The focus groups will also provide an opportunity for participants to identify immediate tasks on which the new superintendent should concentrate.

Each focus group session will last approximately 1-1 ½ hours. All meetings will be held in Cafeteria B at North Middlesex Regional High School

The schedule of focus group meetings is as follows:

Monday, March 5
3:45pm     Faculty & Staff
5:30pm     Community
7:30pm     School Committee

Tuesday, March 6
5:00pm     Town Officials
7:00pm     Parents & Guardians

Wednesday, March 7
12:30      Students

Secretary of Education, Paul Reville, Visits NM!!

Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Paul Reville, visited students and faculty on Monday, January 30 to see first hand, how NM's Innovative Schools Grant is helping all of its student reach their full potential through rigorous coursework! "The changes taking place at North Middlesex exemplify the intent of our Innovation School Initiative: to support schools as they implement creative and inventive strategies to improve learning outcomes for all students and reduce achievement gaps," said Reville. "I want to thank the faculty here for their leadership in taking on these challenges and thank the students for rising to meet that challenge."