Weekly Construction Update - May 23, 2017

Work continues to proceed at a rapid pace on the high school project, and we continue to meet the key goals of being on schedule and on budget.  At last Thursday's Building Committee meeting, it was reiterated that the project was 28% bought out at this point, and that we continue to track well for the future.

Taken from Mr. Murphy's Office

Here is the weekly itemized list:

• Final re-use of soils and exporting of the remaining stockpile is underway and will continue through early June.
• Street cleaning and catch basin maintenance along River Street will be ongoing throughout spring and summer construction activities.
• Site retaining walls are being installed along the west and north/west corners of the site to provide construction access around the building footprint.  This work will impede access to Alumni Field for a short duration in early June.  This will be coordinated with School Department activities.
• National Grid is engaged and working with the project team to provide temporary and permanent gas and electricity to the site and new building.
• The tie-in to water service in River Street is complete and service is run into the new site.
• Excavations for new foundations and footings are ongoing and on schedule.
• Concrete footings and foundations and underway and on schedule in areas throughout sectors C, D, E, and the south high wall is sectors A and B.
• Waterproofing and damproofing of foundations, and subsequent back-filling, is underway and will follow foundation installations around the site.
• Steel remains due onsite June 26, beginning in area C, at the end of June.  It is anticipated that a second crane will be added to the site just after July 4 to help speed steel erection.
• Steel and elevated concrete floor decks will be completed through the summer and into fall 2017.

Taken from the Special Education Office

Dr. Jill Geiser Appointed as Assistant Superintendent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 2017

This evening, the Billerica School Committee voted unanimously to support the recommendation for Dr. Jill Geiser to be the next Assistant Superintendent of the Billerica Public Schools.  Dr. Geiser will be taking over for Dr. Dede Galdston, who is leaving to become the superintendent of Watertown Public Schools on July 1.

“I am thrilled to have Dr. Geiser join us in Billerica,” said Superintendent of Schools Tim Piwowar.  “Throughout the interview process, it became clear that she has the right combination of skills, experience, and approach to the work that will make her a great fit for the students of Billerica and for our leadership team.”

For the past five years, Dr. Geiser has been the principal of the PreK-8 Healey School in Somerville; prior to that she served as a middle school principal and high school assistant principal in Lawrence.  Dr. Geiser holds a Doctor of Education degree from Boston College, and graduate degrees from the Teachers College at Columbia University and UMASS Boston.

Upon her appointment, Dr. Geiser said, “I am very excited about coming to serve Billerica as Assistant Superintendent.  Over the past few weeks as I have gotten to know the community, I have seen such a high level of commitment to educating its students and I am looking forward to being a part of that.”

Dr. Geiser’s start date will be July 1, 2017.

Weekly Construction Update - May 16, 2017

The Billerica Memorial High School Building Committee will be meeting this coming Thursday, May 18, at 6:30 pm in the Town Hall Auditorium, and we are happy to share that we will be on a regular schedule for future meetings on the third Thursday of each month.  At the meeting on Thursday, more detail will be shared about where we are with the project; however, in the meantime, here is the latest construction update:

• All excavations for footings and foundations become more complete in the coming weeks, offsite trucking of the stockpile will increase, and ultimately the large stockpile should be completely removed in the coming month.
• Street cleaning and catch basin maintenance along River Street will be ongoing throughout spring and summer construction activities.
• Site retaining walls are in the process of being set at the northwest corner of the site.
• Excavations for new foundations and footings is ongoing and on schedule.
• Footings are poured in areas B, C.  The south foundation wall of areas A and B is underway and footings in these areas will follow in the coming weeks.
• Concrete deliveries have been averaging approximately 150 cubic yards per day, and this pace will continue in the coming weeks and months.
• Waterproofing of poured foundation walls will begin in the late weeks of May.
• Steel is expected onsite, beginning in area C, at the end of June.
• Steel and elevated concrete floor decks will be completed through the summer and into fall 2017.

Weekly Construction Update - May 9, 2017

Work continues to move along well for the new Billerica Memorial High School, and one of the most exciting things is that we have had an opportunity to have our project team work with some of our students from our senior Engineering Design class.  Students from the class got a chance to visit the site on Monday afternoon:

Beyond that, the scope of this week's work is similar to the past few updates:

• Stripping, stockpiling, and trucking of loam is nearing completion.
• Street cleaning and catch basin maintenance along River Street will be ongoing throughout spring and summer construction activities.
• Site retaining walls remain underway and will continue in the coming weeks.
• Excavations for new foundations and footings is ongoing and on schedule.
• Concrete formwork and pours along the south wall of the new building, and into the southern two academic pods, are underway.
• Concrete deliveries will continue to ramp up over the coming weeks and continue through summer.
• Steel is expected onsite, beginning in area C, at the end of June.
• Steel and elevated concrete floor decks will be completed through the summer and into fall 2017.

Finally, one more picture taken of the site - this one taken from Mr. Murphy's office this morning:

Assistant Superintendent Finalist Interviews

Members of the Billerica community:

     I am are excited to announce that the initial round of interviews for assistant superintendent are complete, and that four finalist candidates will be coming to Billerica next week for site visits into the district.  Each of the candidates will spend time in the district, and we invite parents and other community members to participate in the process in order to provide their input.  The candidates, with the day of each visit, are as follows:

Monday, May 8: Dr. Jill Geiser, Principal, Healey School (PK-8), Somerville

Tuesday, May 9: Dr. Grace Wai, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Framingham

Thursday, May 11: Mr. Thomas Martellone, Principal, Fiske Elementary School, Lexington

Friday, May 12: Ms. Cathy McCulley, K-8 STEM Coordinator, Billerica

     The public interviews for each candidate will be held at 4:30 each afternoon in the Town Hall auditorium.  In addition, parents and/or community members are invited to meet with candidates at 1:00 each afternoon; those meetings will be in Room 210 at Town Hall, with the exception of Friday's visit which will be conducted in the Selectmen's Room at Town Hall.

     I look forward to having each candidate visit Billerica, and I welcome all feedback that people will provide after meeting the candidates.  I would also like to thank the Assistant Superintendent Screening Committee for their hard work in identifying our finalist candidates.

Thank you,

Tim Piwowar, Superintendent

Weekly Construction Update - May 1, 2017

As we hit the beginning of May and foundation work is moving along, we are excited to share new aerial pictures of the site, thanks to our IT department!

Aerial pictures taken via drone on Friday, April 28, 2017

It's great to see how much the site changes in a week!

Upcoming construction activities include:

• Stripping, stockpiling, and trucking of loam is nearing completion.
• Leveling and re-paving of the patch at the River Street water connection will occur in the coming week.
• Street cleaning and catch basin maintenance along River Street will be ongoing throughout spring and summer construction activities.
• Temporary and permanent drainage measures, including Alumni Field basin, are complete and the existing building is tied into new temporary drainage.
• Site retaining walls are underway and will continue in the coming weeks.
• Excavations for new foundations and footings is ongoing and on schedule.
• Concrete formwork and pours along the south wall of the new building are underway.
• Concrete deliveries will continue to ramp up over the coming weeks and continue through the summer.
• Steel is expected onsite, beginning in area C, at the end of June.
• Steel and elevated concrete floor decks will be completed through the summer and into fall 2017.

Seeking Parent Involvement: Redistricting Team

At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, the Billerica Public Schools will undergo a major transition as we open the new high school, change the district's grade configuration for schools, and close the Vining School.  Planning work to support this transition is already underway, and we are seeking parents to join us in this work.

With the Vining School closing, the district's attendance boundary lines for elementary school will need to be modified, and we will also be looking at the attendance lines for the two middle schools.  In particular, the key questions that need to be answered are:

• How do we draw attendance lines at the elementary level with the Vining closing?
• How do we draw attendance lines to ensure that there is no middle school split from sending elementary schools? (i.e., how do we wend the split from the Kennedy/Parker Schools?)
• How do we best engage the community in this discussion?

To support this effort, we are creating a formal Redistricting Team.  This team will ultimately be charged with making a redistricting plan recommendation to the School Committee, and will have the following composition:

• Superintendent
• Assistant Superintendent
• Director of Finance and Operations
• Assistant Business Administrator
• 3 Elementary School Principals
• 1 Middle School Principal
• 1 School Committee Member
• 6 Parents (one from each current elementary zone, evenly split among middle school zones)

This team will begin meeting this spring prior to the end of school, with the goal of having a plan to submit to the School Committee by the start of the 2018-2019 school year.  As part of this process, we anticipate having multiple public forums where parents from across the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the Redistricting Team's efforts.

If you are interested in being one of the parent representatives to the Redistricting Team, please send me an email at tpiwowar@billericak12.com with your name, address, and reason why you are interested, by Tuesday, May 9.  

If you have any questions or comments about this process, also please send those to me at tpiwowar@billericak12.com.

Thank you,

Tim Piwowar, Superintendent