From the Eagle Tribune;
October 24, 2011
Timberlane to focus on science improvement
By Cara Hogan
chogan@eagletribune.com
PLAISTOW — Science is not a strong subject for the Timberlane Regional School District.
The New England Common Assessment Program science scores for 2011 are low at the high school, middle school and all but one of the district's elementary schools.
"In all of the schools, except for Atkinson (Academy), we get lower overall scores this year," Kerri Killen, director of elementary education, told the School Board Thursday. "We're going to be taking a closer look at our science curriculum, from preschool all the way up through grade 12."
Timberlane Regional High School students scored the worst, with just 17 percent of students scoring a proficient level of 3 or 4. At the Timberlane Regional Middle School, just 30 percent of students were proficient, down from 39 percent last year. That compares to a state average of 55 percent proficiency.
"High school numbers are certainly low," said Scott Strainge, director of secondary education. "We talked to middle school kids after taking the test and they said there was some stuff on there they've never even touched."
In the elementary schools, Pollard Elementary scored the worst with 37 percent of students scoring a proficient level of 3 or 4. Danville Elementary students scored 47 percent proficient. Sandown Elementary scored 61 percent proficient, down from 78 percent last year. Atkinson Academy rose from 67 percent last year to 80 percent this year.
Superintendant Richard La Salle said he wants to make sure the scores are accurate.
"We need to understand these scores," he said. "Why does one or two questions different make such a difference on where you fall in proficiency?"
The School Board asked for solutions.
"These scores are discouraging," member Robert Collins said. "At the elementary schools, the disparity is huge. We go from 37 to 80 percent. What's your plan to improve this?"
Strainge said the district brought in Dr. Ed Henry, a state science consultant, last year.
"We brought him in to work district-wide with the science committee," he said. "He had some good ideas. We changed the standards so we don't have a kid who gets to biology in his sophomore year of high school and hasn't seen biology in three years."
Unfortunately, Henry's job has been eliminated in the state budget this year, so the school is on its own to try to raise the NECAP scores.
Pollard School principal Michelle Gaydos said they have a renewed focus on science because of these scores.
"We're a school in need of improvement and focused so much on reading, writing and math, that the kids didn't have the science inquiry they needed," she said. "This year, we made it a priority. I think we'll be in a better place soon."
Strainge said officials will be analyzing the curriculum and doing everything they can to raise the scores.
"We're just looking for continuous growth," he said. "With the NECAP scores, it's like turning around an aircraft carrier in the ocean. You can't do it on a dime."
Atkinson Town Hall
The Norman Rockwellian picture of Atkinson
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34 comments:
It's the PARENTS FAULT that scores are so low, NOT the teaches. After all, teachers only work in the school and get paid for it. Parents are in the home and are responsible for educating their kids.
Meanwhile Superintendant Richard La Salle states that he is going to have to add another nine million to the school budget, so he can address this on going PARENT problem. With LUCK, science scores should improve a few points in the next nine or ten years, he said.
It is the fault of the parents for not following the school board around in their helicopters.
La salle. Spending is out of control. You bankrupt us.
Article submission please.
Hello? Is This The Atkinson Police Department? I Need Help
Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 12:13PM
I guess it is safe to say that the next 10 years of litigation against the Town of Atkinson will probably revolve around the Police Department and the newly released MRI Report found here:
http://www.town-atkinsonnh.com/
Some towns in New Hampshire can be described as dysfunctional, Windsor, where the elected officials and friends do not pay property taxes is one, but Atkinson tops the field with its “part time police chief” who costs the municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits and a failed police department.
Check out pages 7-8 for a sample of the absolute stupidity displayed by part time chief/full time liability, Phil Consentino.
The public employee (Chief Consentino) answers the phone in the Atkinson Department office and gives out the names of “approved” contractors with a 10% discount for mentioning they got the name from the Atkinson PD.
And how do you get on the “approved” list in Atkinson so you can do business in town?
Is there any reason a contractor gets bumped from a list?
I’ll bet it would be a hoot to find out how you get blacklisted by Chief Consentino from working in Atkinson. But do you think the blacklist is written down for review - probably not. And I assume so safely because when you read the rest of the report you will find that Chief Consentino doesn’t keep written records of most things a professional or competent police chief would – unless it is a list of possible elderly voters who support his political agenda.
Chief Consentino isn’t very smart but he is a punk and a bully. Just look at some of his ravings on YouTube.
The one single advantage Consentino has in Atkinson is the complete weakness of the people who have floated through the Board of Selectmen during Consentino’s reign of stupidity.
If I was a contractor in Atkinson I would hurry on down to the Town Office and ask for, under RSA 91-A, a copy of the “Atkinson Police Department Approved List of Contractors and 10% Discount Policy.”
The MRI Report says they have one.
And the gutless Selectmen thereby approve.
October 23, 2011
Editorial: Timberlane leaders cannot hide the truth forever
The Eagle Tribune Sun Oct 23, 2011, 12:17 AM EDT
There is a serious problem in the Timberlane Regional School District. It is an unwillingness to treat parents and taxpayers with the respect they deserve.
That lack of respect comes from the top of Timberlane's leadership — from Superintendent Richard La Salle, from the School Board, from Timberlane High Principal Donald Woodworth. The lack of respect is reflected in their unwillingness to communicate honestly with the public, to provide information explaining decisions that affect students, parents and the taxpayers who support the school district.
It is more than a matter of mere disrespect. In the past, the administration's unwillingness to share vital information with the community has put children's safety at risk.
Frankly, parents and taxpayers in the communities served by Timberlane — Atkinson, Danville, Plaistow and Sandown — ought to be outraged. They should demand an end to administrators' insulting code of silence that treats them as second-class citizens who cannot handle the truth.
The latest incident involves the administration's decision to end the cheerleading season at the high school. No one will say why. The public is left to speculate about what sort of terrible events might have prompted such a decision. A simple statement of the truth would put an end to such harmful speculation. But honesty seems beyond the scope of Timberlane's leadership.
Timberlane High Principal Donald Woodworth made the decision to end the cheerleading season. But he refused to provide any explanation.
"We don't want to single out individual students, coaches or team issues," he told reporter Cara Hogan.
But Woodworth already has singled out an individual team. It was the cheerleading season that was shut down, not any other school sport's.
Woodworth would not even identify the coach of the cheerleading squad, newly hired this year, or say if she had been fired.
What happened on the cheerleading squad could have been a serious incident, or a minor one. How are the district's parents to judge if they are kept from knowing the facts?
But Timberlane parents and taxpayers can more easily judge the failure of district leaders to treat them honestly and fairly in previous incidents.
Why did Superintendent La Salle not better explain why he allowed a middle school teacher under investigation for possession of child pornography to remain in daily contact with children for more than a year?
Federal investigators told Timberlane administrators in March 2008 that Scott Buatti, a middle school teacher and coach, was under investigation for having child pornography on his home computer. But Buatti continued teaching and coaching until his indictment in 2009.
La Salle said then that the safety of students is the first priority. But he also said he had been working with the school district's attorney to avoid exposing the school district to a potential lawsuit.
So which comes first: student safety or avoiding lawsuits?
Buatti was convicted in April on 10 counts of possessing child pornography and later sentenced to two to four years in prison.
In 2008, the Timberlane Regional School Board took secrecy to a new level, ordering the minutes of a secret meeting sealed for 99 years.
By hiding its actions for a century, the School Board demonstrated its utter contempt for the public and the state's Right-to-Know law.
The law requires the public release of the minutes of closed meetings within 72 hours, unless certain limited conditions are met. If, as has been suggested, the subject of the minutes was an unfounded allegation, there may be good reason to keep the minutes sealed for some reasonable period of time. But it shows a remarkable lack of faith in the public to say that people cannot understand that an allegation has been found to have no merit.
Also in 2008, Dennis "Bucky" Tardif supposedly retired as Timberlane athletic director. But he was kept on the payroll as a consultant to his replacement, Angelo Fantasia. No one in Timberlane leadership seemed to know when the decision was made to hire Tardif, a 23-year school district veteran, as a consultant. There was no record of the decision in the minutes of any meeting. There was no contract, no specifics on how long he would work — except for an estimate that it might be up to a year.
Such lack of respect for the public is both insulting and appalling.
Timberlane administrators may claim their silence is intended to protect the district's children and employees. That is false.
With their silence Timberlane's leaders seek only to protect themselves, by keeping the public in the dark about the true nature of their decisions and their intentions.
ATKINSON POLICE DEPARTMENT
LIST OF RELIABLE SERVICES/CONTRACTORS
REVISED March 13, 2011
SOME CONTRACTORS WILL PROVIDE OUR SENIORS WITH A 10% SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT. YOU MUST ADVISE THE CONTRACTOR THAT YOU OBTAINED THEIR NAME FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT’S SENIOR CITIZEN CONTRACTORS LIST IN ORDER TO RECEIVE YOUR 10% DISCOUNT.
ATTORNEYS AT LAW:
SENIOR DISCOUNT ATTORNEY MARK GIARRUSSO
114 KENOZA AVE 1(978) 469- 9400
HAVERHILL, MA 01830
SENIOR DISCOUNT ATTORNEY DENNIS SPURLING
21 WINGATE STREET 1(978) 374 2230
HAVERHILL, MA 01830
BOTH ATTORNEYS SPECIALIZE IN ELDER AND REAL ESTATE LAW, WILLS AND ESTATE PLANNING.
AUTOMOBILE COLLISION REPAIR
BUNTING AUTO REPAIR
35 PROVIDENCE HILL ROAD 362-5657
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
ELECTRICIANS
SENIOR DISCOUNT
COUNCILMAN ELECTRIC
MAIN STREET 362 4792
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
K-J’S ELECTRIC
JIM MILLER
MAPLE AVE 362 5661
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
PALLARIA ELECTRIC
4 LEROY AVE 362 8365
ATKINSON, NH 03811
HOME CARE PROVIDER
CARING FOR YOUR LOVE ONES 362-9895
SENIOR DISCOUNT
12 CENTERVIEW RD
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
DOG CARE SERVICES
CRICKET’S HAPPY TAILS PET SERVICES 362-5600
SENIOR DISCOUNT
2 NOYES LANE
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
HOUSEHOLD REPAIRS RICK THEBERGE
SENIOR DISCOUNT
MERRILL DRIVE 362 4986
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
RYAN & SON CARPENTRY
1 PHEASANT LANE 362 8230
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
WILLIAM WILLIS “BILL’S HOME IMPROVEMENT”
9 COVENTRY RD 362 5464
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
PETER CLINCH 1-978 374 9254
413 GROVELAND STREET
HAVERHILL, MA. 01832
SENIOR DISCOUNT
GEORGE CUNNINGHAM
EAST ROAD 603 583-0013
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
APPLIANCE REPAIR
SENIOR DISCOUNT
P-J APPLIANCE REPAIR
8 SMITH CORNER ROAD 382 8729
PLAISTOW, N.H. 03865 382 5169
DRIVEWAY PAVING
KEN’S HOT TOP SERVICES
292 MAIN STREET 382 4270
PLAISTOW, NH 03865
CHIMNEY SWEEPS
SENIOR DISCOUNT
THE LUCKY CHIMNEY SWEEPS
68 CATHERINE AVENUE 382- 2962
HAMPSTEAD, NH 03841
LOCKSMITH ALPHA LOCKSMITH 382-5680
SENIOR DISCOUNT
HAMPSTEAD, N.H. 03841
PAINTING & WALLPAPERING
SENIOR DISCOUNT
FINISH PAINTING 603-231 2912
PO BOX 1049 603- 378 0777
EAST HAMPSTEAD, NH 03826
B&G PAINTING
54 EAST ROAD 362-8788
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811 603-303-3101
SEPTIC SERVICES
PETE’S SEWER SERVICE
124 FOREST STREET 382 1691
PLAISTOW, NH 03865
SENIOR DISCOUNT STEWART’S SEWER SERVICE
47 RAILROAD STREET 1(978) 372 7471
BRADFORD, MA 01830
GLASS REPAIR
SENIOR DISCOUNT
TRAYNOR GLASS
1 GIGANTE DRIVE 329 6668
HAMPSTEAD, NH 03841
SENIOR DISCOUNT
TIMBERLANE PLATE GLASS
MAIN STREET 382 6969
PLAISTOW, NH 03865 ASK FOR ERNIE
HOME HEATING OIL MIKE MURPHY & SONS 362-4879
SENIOR DISCOUNT ATKINSON, N.H.
.04 OFF CASH PRICE KINGSTON, N.H.
HEATING SERVICE REPAIRS
MAIN STREET 603-4216251
RC NIGHELLI
PROPANE, NATURAL AND OIL ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
LANDSCAPING
SENIOR DISCOUNT
WILLIAM MOODY
MAPLE AVE 362 5248
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
RICK THEBERGE
MERRILL DRIVE 362 4986
ATKINSON. NH 03811
ODD JOBS
SENIOR DISCOUNT
RICK THEBERGE
MERRILL DRIVE 362 4986
ATKINSON. NH 03811
GEORGE CUNNINGHAM 603-583-0013
EAST ROAD
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
ROOFING
SENIOR DISCOUNT
LAMBERT ROOFING 1978 374 9224
265 WINTER STREET 329 8200
HAVERHILL, MA 01832
SNOW PLOWING
SENIOR DISCOUNT WILLIAM MOODY
MAPLE AVE 362 5248
ATKINSON, NH 03811
SENIOR DISCOUNT
RICK THEBERGE
MERRILL DRIVE 362 4986
ATKINSON. NH 03811
PLUMBING & WELL PUMPS & CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING
SENIOR DISCOUNT
UPTACK PLUMBING & HEATING 1-978-372-8503
CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING
32 ROCHAMBAULT STREET
HAVERHILL, MA. 01830
SENIOR DISCOUNT
PAUL WHITE
329-6172
HAMPSTEAD, N.H.
SENIOR DISCOUNT
JOSEPH FITZPATRICK
365 MAIN STREET 382 4280
DANVILLE, NH 03819
SENIOR DISCOUNT
HAPPY HOME PLUMBING & HEATING
489-1625 OFFICE
37 ACADEMY AVENUE
ATKINSON, N.H. 03811
WATER CONDITIONING SYSTEMS
SENIOR DISCOUNTS
LINDSAY WATER CONDITIONING CO.
190 A EAST MAIN STREET 382 4394
EAST HAMPSTEAD, NH 03864
TAX PREPERATION
Senior Discounts Jim Blackadar CPA
Yes 50 Meditation Lane
Atkinson, N.H. 03811 603-498-5678
nhcpa@comcast.net
Senior57
No wonder Cunningham has to work on the charity, her hubby gets work channeled over to him.
And who is RICK THEBERGE, a big donor?
Conflict of Interest.
Interesting! These people are all friends of the Conman. What punishment do they receive from him, if they won't do what he insists they do?
Example: Does Jim Blackadar CPA
(Member of Atkionson Budget Committee) get "Black Balled" from the list if he doesn't support the Conman's budget? Does he get special favors for doing so? Our guess is yes!
Consentino insists that you tell these people up front that they were referred by the Police Dept. in order to get the discount. How do we know that they don't add 20% BEFORE they subtract 10% when you get their bill? (10% for them and 10% for the Conman)! What would happen if a senior forgot to tell them that they were referred by the Conman, and then deducted 10% from their bill? Would one of these perferred contractors deny the discount and take the elder to court?
Anyone see the problem with having our pollce dept. being involved with ANYTHING other than police work?
Don't ask our selectmen to see anything wrong with it, because the three monkeys are SELF-SERVING!
How do you spell CONMEN?
For PUBLIC SAFETY.......PERHAPS it's time for the HONEST TAXPAYER to BLACKBLALL all these contractors AND give them the middle finger for their associations. Time to give them a break from the Conman's influence. Hurt their business and PERHAPS they will disassociate themselves from the OLD, BALD, FAT Conman.
Your Police Chief and the Selectmen that make the rules (or not enforce them) are our BIGGEST PROBLEM in OUR TOWN!
As Consentino WOULDN'T SAY........Just say NO to CORRUPTION! It's a DRUG to those in P0WER.
I am disturbed with how all these people are intertwined.
i am disturbed by all the slander of the elderly, dont you people understand that this is all they have, why must we treat them like this. Please help and shut this scum web site/ blog down once and for all. It must be done
Elderly Smelderly. Let's get the politics out of Elderly Affairs. Dump Consentino's bus service and bring in C.A.R.T. They serve all residents, not just the friends of Phil.
Since there are no midterms or finals at the high school, no one would have known how poor a job TRSD is doing had there not been state wide tests. Instead of admitting that, "We're a school in need of improvement and focused so much on reading, writing and math, that the kids didn't have the science inquiry they needed," the SAU would be declaring the experience wonderful and special. When you open the schools the minimum number of hours allowed by law, replace teachers with televisions, and eliminate testing, you get...Timberlane Regional School District.
Fire La Salle, fire the school board, disovle the SAU, hire some teachers and teach the kids. How hard is that?
It is not parents and it is not "the curriculum".
I've had two high-achieving kids go through TRHS over the past 10 years and the core problem is the highly variable quality of teachers.
I have done my job... my kids were motivated, involved and aspired to academic achievement. But I am not qualified to teach them Chemistry, Physics ("Mr. Ed" was a particularly poor excuse of a teacher) or Biology.
First, perhaps 20% of the teachers are truly superb... caring, involved and willing to challenge the kids academically. Another 50% are OK... thay does not mean bad, they were OK.
But perhaps 30% were truly dreadful... mostly clock-punchers with no concern for anything but their years-in-service and retirement. They epitomize the term "going through the motions".
The Administrators know who they are, the kids know who they are and the parents know who they are. But little can be done because we have a tenure system that makes it impossible to fire the incompetents and a union that advocates only for the teachers, too often at the expense of the kids.
So we'll hear all kinds of plans to review and revamp "the curriculum". But put that new curriculum in the hands of incompetents and we'll still get poor results.
Bet on it.
Why don't we take Atkinson out of Timberlane and pay to have the kids go to Pinkerton? We can keep the Academy, which is doing fine and cut our loses and our taxes and frustration with that administration.
The real fear of getting old is not having our skin sag, our joints ache or our teeth fall out – it’s the fear of being treated like crap.
Such has largely become the case for the older generation these days, with a litany of society’s rude behavior towards them to prove it.
Let’s start with the Atkinson Reporter 2 Blog “I Hate Old People” – that’s right.
The page description, along with a number of other online rants, complain about everything from old people hair nets to their aroma.
Why are you trying to insult the elderly? You are out of line and the only here who is doing it.
After reading all of what has been said about the town plugging certain business entities as the ones to go to I never would have thought the town was in the business of doing the work of the chamber of commerce ,tv,radio, newspapers ,etc. This action by the town borders on conflict of interest if not crosses the line of conflict of interest in leaps and bounds. The town hall should stick with the permitting they have to issue and not give an opinion or recommendation of who to go to to have any thing done by anyone who needs to have a home project done. IT IS NOT THE TOWNS JOB TO RECOMMEND A BUSINESS OR TO PROVIDE A PERSON WITH ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR DISCOUNT[S].
Looks like a conflict if interest to me too if the police are recommending vendors. Wrong in any mans book.
This is how certain individuals have learned to get in favor with others. It's also called corruption.
1:59pm;
You are a riot! That's what I thought about a man who is both employee and employer voting to approve his own request to take money out of police donation account.
Or approving an extraordinary payment of $1,300 to himself as "union benefit" when the union contract SPECIFICALLY prohibits him as chief from participating in the contract.
What "every man" should recognize as moral boundaries have NEVER applied to the chief.
Uh, ya, they do. When is someone going to hold him accountable?
What an embarrassing situation. It just goes to show how the $$ and power are all that matters. Phil hands out goodies to loyal supporters. Kiss the ring!
maybe the elderly need to know the contractors have been checked out and are not going to rip them off, that is properly why ea has a list
Good spin Phil. We know you're only protectign the seniors. While your at it, go write up another $800,000 tower warrant article, will ya? I'm sure the seniors won't mind the hit to their tax bill for something the town never needed. And you got most of them to vote for it the poor suckers.
Exactly WHO has 'checked out' these contractors?
Now one has checked them out, except the conman himself. A good donation to his slush fund is all the checking out he does.
Help me understand how the issue of Timberlane's poor performance has anything to do with the police chief issues. Give it up or at least respond in the correct place. As for Timberlane, if you are not a Cheerleader of on the Wrestling team or invoved in a sport, you are not even on the principals "scope" There have been cases of bullying hid under the cover and incidents with the sports team members that go unpunished while the non'sport A student "geeks" get the run around or punished if they do the littlest thing wrong. Time for him to go especially after this latest coverup.
He sounds like the Chief.
Thanks for providing us this useful information.
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I never would have thought the town was in the business of doing the work of the chamber of commerce.
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