Sentinel
& Enterprise
MPS brings in a
new principal
By Kyle Alspach
May 31, 2006,
FITCHBURG -- Challenges lie ahead for the Museum Partnership School,
but soon-to-be Principal Leslie Edinson says he is optimistic, calling
it a "unique opportunity." Edinson will become the first principal
of the school when it gains independence as a pilot school this fall.
The school will
also get a new name which has yet to be determined. It now serves around
150 students in grades 5-8.
Edinson has worked
as a principal for the last two decades, most recently at Alice Beal
Elementary School in Springfield.
He said Tuesday
he isn't dismayed by the prospects of leading a school without its own
building, with a staff that wants to be transferred and without the
Fitchburg Art Museum partnership.
"This school
is what made me want to come to Fitchburg," Edinson said. "I
believe in small schools, opportunity for schools to be very personal
environments for kids, places where students and teachers get to know
each other well. I was also attracted by the arts-integration."
The school focus
is on using art to help teach traditional subjects.
It will convert
to a pilot school this fall, following the model of the Boston Pilot
Schools. It will become the first pilot school outside Boston.
Pilot schools are
publicly-funded but have their own decision-making board, independent
of the city. Decisions such as budget, curriculum and schedule are left
up to the school itself.
Edinson said it's
a "disadvantage" for the school to not have its own building.
The school has been housed on the fourth floor of Academy Middle School
this year, after the city closed its ailing building last fall.
The school will
remain there for this school year at least, officials have said.
Edinson said he
met with Academy Principal Steven Silverman Tuesday.
"We chatted
about the space. I'm looking for ways to maximize the opportunity to
have its own identity within the Academy building," Edinson said.
Edinson said he
also met with some teachers from the Museum Partnership school.
All nine teachers
have asked to be transferred to other schools in the coming year, due
to concerns about a new work agreement and being asked by the School
Department administration to re-apply for their jobs.
Edinson said he
hoped some of the teachers will reconsider.
"What I hope
I was able to communicate to the teachers is that this is the best professional
opportunity in front of them right now," he said. "To be part
of building a new school like this just does not come along very often."
Another challenge
involves the relationship with the Fitchburg Art Museum, Edinson noted.
Museum officials
pulled out of the partnership with the Fitchburg Public Schools earlier
this month, after the announcement that the city will no longer pay
the museum $150,000 a year to use the museum space and get academic
support from museum staff.
"The challenge
for the museum and school department is how to forge a new relationship,"
Edinson said. "The museum is a great resource. I'm hoping we'll
be able to find new ways to continue to work together."
The Museum Partnership
School, which was founded in 1995, is now part of the B.F. Brown Middle
School.
Superintendent Andre
Ravenelle could not be reached for comment Tuesday about Edinson's salary.
(c) 2006 Sentinel
& Enterprise
