“The NEW West End NEWS is HERE!”
Volume 14 Number 2 Portland, Maine September 5 - September 18, 2014
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: Who’s Next?
On the first day of school, September 2nd, King Middle School students cheered on Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk and Kathleen Casasa, former president of the Portland Education Association, as they dunked themselves with ice water to raise money for the ALS Association. -West End NEWS Photo
CAULK CHALLENGES LOCAL New Online Classes Stir POLITICIANS Controversy with School Board The Ice Bucket Challenge has arrived in Portland. Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk challenged Mayor Michael Brennan, Maine Senate President Justin Alfond, and Chris Hall, director of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, to dunk themselves with ice water in the name of ALS research. In just one month, from July 29 to August 29, this national social media craze raised over $100 million from more than three million donors for the ALS Association, a nonprofit fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease. Participants agree to have a bucket of ice dumped on their heads, post footage of it on Facebook, and then challenge others to participate. Teacher of the Year Karen MacDonald took the challenge earlier this summer, and
publicly challenged Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk and Kathleen Casasa, former president of the Portland Education Association, to do the same. Caulk made his ALS donation in honor of the late Nan Urban, a social worker at Deering High School for nearly 25 years, who died of ALS in 2009. Casasa challenged the new leaders of the Portland Education Association. They are Sue Olafsen, president, Kevin Brewster, vice president, and Carrie Foster, secretary. The money raised will be used to fund research and care for patients. ALS is a disorder that affects the function of nerves and muscles. According to the ALS Association as many as 30,000 Americas have the disease at any given time. There are 15 new cases of ALS every day in America.
School Board members want a say in how online courses are offered to students in Portland schools. A new program starting this fall would allow students to take online classes. The new program was first introduced to the School Board at their meeting on Tuesday, September 2nd. According to Superintendent Caulk the program is part of the school’s curriculum and does not need Board approval, as long as it remains within budget. Pearson is the private company that was hired to run the new online program. Pearson currently runs the State’s online school that was created under the new charter school law. The School Board had no say in the choice of the company. Pearson provides the program at a cost of $4250 per
student, less than the $7000 per student that Portland schools receive in state funding. It is unknown which students would be allowed to take the online classes. According to Caulk, the classes are part of a pilot program that targets students who have left for the state’s online charter school. In Portland this is only seven students. Chief Academic Officer David Galin maintains that the online classes would have to be offered to all students. Caulk said he would have answers to the School Board’s concerns at their next meeting on Tuesday, September 16th. The School Board will meet at 7:00 pm in Casco Bay High School, Room 250. Casco Bay High is located at 196 Allen Avenue.