School Committee Returns Middle School Honors Program

At the initial urging of school committee member Joel Monteiro, the school committee voted to return an honors program to the middle schools. The vote took place at the committee's June 15th meeting. "I'm excited to announce that the recent School Committee meeting resulted in the approval of an ELA Honors program for our 8th grade middle schools. Many of our students enter the high school taking AP and Honors classes, as each student looks to find the right pace of class for their individual learning abilities," said Monteiro after the meeting. "These students find it tough to transition to the increased rigor, as they have had little or no experience with the type of workload and self-study it entails. While our EP students are strong, and many adapt to these desired courses, it is our duty to prepare them earlier, for a smooth transition," Monteiro added. Through a collaboration of our middle school principals, middle school teachers, and high school teachers, a program was designed to introduce such a program next year. "We hope it will be the beginning of a larger program for our middle schools. What's nice, and was always a must, is that both middle schools will offer the same program, equally preparing our future EPHS students. This year, hearing the successes of our Class of '15, and the amazing future endeavors they are undertaking was a well needed boost, and a reminder of the talented young people that walk among us."