Schools

Jokes, Tears and Shrieks on the First Day

Wednesday was the first day of school, and I spent it making the rounds with school board President Maurice Goodman.

On the first day of school, board members spend their morning bopping from school to school, to check in on the fun and the frenzy that is the first day and to get feedback from parents, teachers and students.

This morning, I tagged along with Board President Maurice Goodman as he made his rounds to four school sites. Here's what happened.

8:06 a.m.: I'm waiting for Goodman in the kindergarten drop-off area at Monte Verde Elementary School. A sign says, "Welcome to Kindergarten! We'll have a Great Day!" Though some kids look excited, others are going to need the encouragement as they look around nervously and cling to their parents' hands.

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8:23 a.m.: The courtyard's getting pretty full with parents, kindergarteners and their younger siblings. Teachers bend down to greet the kids and parents take photos and smooth out their children's hair.

8:25 a.m.: The bell rings and the classroom doors open. Goodman arrives as kindergarteners and their parents line up to enter their classrooms.

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8:32 a.m.: The kindergarteners in Room 3 put their backpacks in the closet before sitting down at seats marked with place cards. Most get to work drawing while others draw up the courage to say goodbye to mom or dad.

8:42 a.m.: We leave Monte Verde and head toward the Community Day School at the Foxridge Campus. This program is for students who have been expelled from their schools; while they're here, they have a chance to make up credits so they can eventually return to their schools.

8:56 a.m.: Teacher Frank Garafalo shows us around his Community Day School class, which has 13 students today. Goodman asks him questions about an online learning program and the Foxridge gym, which the board has asked the district to clean out so Day School students can use it.

8:58 a.m.: Goodman says it's important to him to pay attention to kids who are struggling. "This is what is going to make a difference if we get out of Program Improvement. We have to focus not just on the kids who are supposed to do well, but focus on the kids who haven't been doing well."

9:00 a.m.: A custodian opens the Foxridge gym, which is filled end-to-end and floor-to-ceiling with furniture and supplies. He says it's the district's only storage area, and there's asbestos under the floor tiles, some of which are broken. He and Goodman talk about creating another storage space so students can use the gym.

9:12 a.m.: Back in the classroom, Goodman leans over a student's desk to talk to him one-on-one. Later he says, "I was an underdog. I want to know we're always constantly checking to make sure those perceived weakest links are being taken care of."

9:19 a.m.: We arrive at , where we're greeted by new Principal Ed Colucci. Today is his first day as principal of Westborough, and he leads us on a tour up and down the hallways with a walkie-talkie in his hand.

9:22 a.m.: We pop into Room 11, where teacher Ms. Howard introduces Goodman to her students as "the boss of all bosses." She then leads the students in their new class motto: "What happens in Room 11 stays in Room 11."

9:30 a.m.: Mr. Colucci says this is his 30th year as an educator. "Every year you get excited. The first day is the most important day."

9:35 a.m.: The bell rings, and students burst out of classrooms and bound up the stairs, clutching their schedules. For sixth graders, this is the first time they've switched classes.

9:36 a.m.: A girl runs down the hall, screams, and hugs a friend.

9:39 a.m.: "If you really want to see something," Mr. Colucci says, "come tomorrow when the sixth graders get their lockers. Right, left, right—you think it's very easy."

9:46 a.m.: We pull out of the Westborough parking lot. Goodman says he tries not to get the PR tour when he visits schools. "I want to see the crack in the wall, the mold; I want to see the dirty bathrooms. I want to see what needs to be addressed."

10:03 a.m.: We arrive at . Goodman tells me a funny story as we walk around about how his photo ended up in the South City yearbook as a member of the class of 1990 even though he graduated from Jefferson High School.

10:15 a.m.: We go into the gym, where PE students are sitting on the bleachers. Goodman asks, "Where's the movement?" It turns out they're getting their lockers.

10:35 a.m.: Goodman goes into the office to say goodbye to the principal. He's got to get to work, and there are hours of school still left to go.


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