Shawsheen Tech School Committee Votes to Submit Statement of Interest to MSBA

Contract for MacIntosh unanimously approved  

The Shawsheen Valley Technical High School Committee met on Tuesday with both Tewksbury reps, Patricia Meuse and Cheryl Bartelone, present. 

The committee recognized student Sarah Johansen, one of just five CTE (career and technical education) Presidential Scholars in Massachusetts. Johansen serves as the Student Representative on the School Committee, Secretary of the National Honor Society, President of the Teen Dating Violence Awareness Club and co-captain of the student orientation leader program. She is also a peer tutor, SkillsUSA competitor and varsity tennis player.

Shawsheen had overall success with SkillsUSA, with students winning 66 medals, 21 of them Gold; 56 students will move on to the State Conference. The board also congratulated Academic Director Danica Johnson on an Education 2.0 Conference Outstanding Leadership Award. 

Phone Use
Christine Tobin, dean of students, discussed cell phone use in the school. Shawsheen Tech regulates use of smartphones, which must be kept stored except during lunch. Some shop teachers collect phones, said Tobin.

“We became very strict overall as a whole in the building,” said Tobin. “Students are always going to try to use their cell phones, and they’re always getting turned into the office, but they know the expectation, they know the consequences.”

Tobin also discussed use of in-house suspension, where teachers provide academic work for the student to do. At home suspension is rarely used, she said, unless there is a safety concern.  

Superintendent Report
Shawsheen Business Manager Jenna Lesko reported on meetings for the school’s proposed stabilization fund, which would be funded with the excess and deficiency — surplus or deficit — monies certified at the end of every fiscal year. 

Tony MacIntosh presented the proposal to the Tewksbury Select Board earlier last month, and the proposal will come before Town Meeting in May. Lesko said she has also briefed Bedford, Burlington and Wilmington and will head to Billerica next week. 

Superintendent Tony MacIntosh said enrollment is holding steady at 1,282 students. Co-op is in good shape, with 232 students, 60 from Tewksbury, taking part — students have realized $1,628,346 in earnings.

“I would venture to guess that if we’re not at the top, we’re at No. 3 in the state as far as number of students out working, percentage of students,” said MacIntosh. 

For advanced coursework, Shawsheen is working with The Education Alliance to expand opportunities. Students can take concurrent enrollment courses at Middlesex Community College, UMass Lowell College of Engineering — which might offer an on-campus program — and Boston Architectural College.

“There are potential opportunities for grant funding, either to pay for instructors to run concurrent enrollment classes for our students, or to offset the cost of our kids to go to one of their institutions,” he said.

MacIntosh is also working with UML to get seats in the EPIC (Engineering Possibilities Immersive Camp) summer programs that could be open to students in shops like electrical or HVAC. He’s unclear whether there would be a cost to students.

MSBA Proposal
The facilities subcommittee voted unanimously to endorse a Statement of Interest for the Massachusetts School Building Association to be submitted this month, citing non-energy-efficient systems, severe overcrowding and obsolete buildings. The committee authorized an SOI in 2022 as well.

If the school is again rejected by MSBA, the committee discussed possibly hiring a consultant to assess ways to improve the likelihood of acceptance going forward. 

The committee also accepted the 24/25 school calendar, which can be downloaded in the packet, below.

Policy Updates
Tewksbury rep Meuse questioned several revised policies that use the word “equity” rather than “equality.” After some discussion, the committee voted to maintain the equity verbiage, with Meuse dissenting.

Meuse also questioned the language that a pregnant student “is permitted to” remain in regular classes. The wording was changed to “may” remain in regular classes.

MAVA Subcommittee
The Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, a professional association of educational leaders, advises vocational-technical and agricultural education districts. MAVA recommends having representatives from various committees in case there’s a need to mobilize to go to the State House.  

On May 18 there will be a legislative action discussion in Westford. Several representatives will attend.

Personnel Moves
The committee unanimously voted to renew MacIntosh’s contract and give administrators sick leave buyback and longevity pay in their contracts starting July 1.

The committee said goodbye to Tewksbury representative Cheryl Bartelone, who is not running again. On the ballot will be Robert Hutchins, president at Rogers Funeral Homes in Cambridge & Arlington, who pulled for Bartelone’s seat and has since maintained a low profile; he did not respond to invitations attend the Candidates Forum or do a Q&A.