Chicopee School Committee names Morton as acting superintendent

May 10, 2022 | Matt Conway
mconway@thereminder.com

Alvin Morton.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

CHICOPEE – In the wake of former Superintendent Lynn Clark’s arrest on April 6, Assistant Superintendent Alvin Morton assumed leadership of the school district in the interim. The School Committee officially named Morton as acting superintendent during their May 5 meeting.

The unanimous vote in support of Morton places him in charge of the school district until June 30. Morton said he continues to operate some duties of his assistant superintendent role while overseeing the district.

“Everybody is pitching in, but yes, I’ll be wearing both hats…it’s not an easy task, but it can be done until June 30,” said Morton.

Ward 7 School Committee member Donald Lamothe said he suggested the June 30 deadline so the school can make decisions about the district’s superintendent process in future meetings.
YONDR enjoys success

To curb student’s over-reliance on cellphones, Chicopee High School Principal Carol Kruser requested the School Committee’s support the implementation of the YONDR pilot program in February. The program utilizes YONDR, a California-based company, to provide personal pouches for students to store their phone in during the school day, with a magnetic device on the pouches locking the phones in a protected space.

Following the committee’s approval, Chicopee High School introduced YONDR at the end of March. Kruser described the program’s first month of operation as “better than expected.”
“Since the second day, teachers were commenting that it was already better. They said that classrooms are better [and] hallways are better…I have not had one teacher that said it’s not going well,” said Kruser, who shared that some teachers have reported better test scores since YONDR.

Kruser shared that initial concerns about the project, such as student’s willingness to participate and possible delays in arrivals and departures at the school, are not significant issues. The principal acknowledged that while some students do not support the program, she considered that group a fraction of the student responses.

“A majority of the students are adhering to the policy. Some don’t like it, some are annoyed by it…We’ve had a few major blowups, but it’s a small number of people who refuse to participate. Overall, the climate is much better,” said Kruser.

Several students noticed improvements in their classroom attentiveness, enjoyed more interaction during lunch time and realized their overreliance on cell phones, according to Kruser. The Chicopee High School principal thanked parents, students and the School Committee for their support as the school endured a major transition.

“It’s not an easy thing, but it’s so much better for classrooms,” said Kruser. Funding for YONDR lasts until June 2023 before the school makes a final decision about the program.

The School Committee will meet again on May 18.

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