Teachers Work Over Weekend to Ready School

Schools throughout East Providence opened for class today. This is the first time EP kids have returned to school before Labor Day. Traditionally East Providence has opened school on the Wednesday after Labor Day but has opted to now start before the end of summer holiday. "We are trying to avoid going to school very late in June, should we experience several snow days," said outgoing Superintendent of Schools, Kim Mercer. Mercer will be leaving at the end of December, this year. The district is also looking to fill the vacant post of Assistant Superintendent. Last year the district experienced several "snow days" pushing the end of school almost into July.

Undeterred by a water main mishap that filled the school boiler room and a small portion of the school auditorium, teachers at Edward R. Martin Middle School in East Providence headed back in to set up their rooms this past Saturday morning. With the school being closed for repairs during the week when they usually come in to work in their rooms, teachers were left with the weekend to gear up for the school year.

“Teachers were rearing to go last week but couldn’t come in, so we decided to open up on Saturday morning,” said Martin principal, Sandra Forand. “It’s probably the last thing that someone wants to do on the last sunny Saturday before school starts, but the teachers in East Providence are truly dedicated.”

Forand, the former principal at Riverside Middle School, who spent the last three years working for the Rhode Island Department of Education, takes over this year at Martin. She replaces veteran administrator Frank DeVall who moved to East Providence High School during an administrative reorganization at the end of last year. Former EPHS teacher Robert Perry, who spent the last two school years at Barrington High School is the new Assistant Principal at Martin. Perry is an EPHS graduate who has assisted the school department throughout his career with technology needs as well as being a classroom teacher and club advisor.

“We face a lot of challenges at Martin, but the faculty is experienced and there is a lot of institutional knowledge in the building,” said Forand. “ I have no doubt that we will be able to continue the good work that Frank ( DeVall) has been doing and build up some other programs.”

Working in her classroom at Martin, 6th grade science teacher Marybeth Letendre is busy organizing colored notebooks for the new students she will meet on Tuesday.

“We need to be ready to set the tone from the beginning,” she said. “Responsibility and organization are an important part of our school culture and we need to model. It’s just what you do as a teacher.”

Martin had been hit with a major flood of some 3,500 gallons of water. The water entered the school via a check valve area of the boiler room. Insurance is expected to pay for damaged equipment and hot water was restored to Martin almost immediately. "We're ready for school," said schools security and Interim Facilities Manager, Tony Feola last week.

Martin Middle School and the rest of the schools of East Providence opened for the 2015-2016 school-year today. Preliminary reports are that all schools opened without any major disruptions. You can find more information about school openings on www.epschoolsri.com.

(Thanks to new Martin Assistant Principal, Robert Perry for his assistance with this article.)