Silver Lake Regional School Committee Honors Retiring Member Paula Hatch After Two Decades of Service
Citations from state officials and special gifts mark emotional farewell for longtime school committee member
KINGSTON - June 5 - The Silver Lake Regional School Committee honors Paula Hatch for her more than 20 years of dedicated service to the Halifax and Silver Lake Regional School Committees with citations and gifts during an emotional ceremony.
"After 20 years of service on her school committees, both Halifax and Silver Lake Regional, it's with bittersweet emotions that we want to send you off and congratulate you," says Jason Fraser, who presented Hatch with recognition from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
Representatives from state government present Hatch with official citations acknowledging her contributions. State Representative Kathleen LaNatra delivers a citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives, recognizing Hatch's "more than 20 years of dedicated and selfless service to the students of Silver Lake Regional School District."
Senator Michael Brady presents a citation from the Massachusetts Senate, and John Creed delivers a citation from Governor Healey that commends Hatch's "21 years of dedicated committee service" and her "two decades of leadership through the Halifax School Committee and the Silver Lake Regional School Committee, serving as chair of both."
In a touching moment, the committee presents Hatch with a varsity letter jacket featuring her name and commemorative patches representing her years of service.
"We honor you now with a jacket of pride for the seasons you've led with heart as your guide. A varsity jacket forever to wear for decades of service beyond all compare," reads a poem accompanying the gift.
Visibly moved by the recognition, Hatch expresses her gratitude to the committee and reflects on her journey.
"What started as something I was doing to support my kids turned into a genuine passion for me, something that I've loved. Truly an avenue of growth for myself," Hatch says. "I've grown so much serving this community. You know, more than 20 years. I got more out of the 20 years than I gave, quite honestly."
Hatch adds, "Silver Lake is very, very special. It has a heartbeat of its own. It's a great school system with a strong, enthusiastic culture and high educational goals. I am proud of the graduates we've launched from here."
Following the recognition ceremony, the committee proceeds with its reorganization, electing Gordon Laws as chair, Amy Cortright as vice chair, and Lukasz Kowalski as secretary.
The Silver Lake Regional School Committee unanimously approves a one-year trial of a new bell schedule featuring two 56-minute "Laker blocks" per week at Silver Lake Regional High School.
Principal Michaela Gill presents the results of a three-week trial of the new schedule, which ran from March 31 through April 17. The trial tested a fixed schedule with two 56-minute Laker blocks, compared to the current seven-period rotating block with one midday extended advisory every Wednesday.
"Ninety-three percent of our students preferred the Laker block two times per week, with 84 percent of our students seeking extra help or enrichment at some point during that trial," Gill reports, noting that 276 students responded to the survey.
Student feedback highlights several benefits of the new schedule. Athletes appreciate having time during the week to get extra support, while other students report having time to study before quizzes or tests, working productively without distractions, and experiencing improved grades.
"A lot of students reported an improvement to their grades, which was nice because it was towards the end of a term," Gill says.
Staff feedback is similarly positive, with 93 of approximately 100 teachers responding to the survey. Teachers note that the Laker blocks allow students to access counseling support, receive immediate feedback, make up work, and get more tailored instruction.
"A smaller group allowed for more specifically tailored direct instruction," Gill explains. "A teacher using the flex blocks could say, 'I'm going to have all of my Algebra I students who need that extra support with me,' as opposed to having two kids from Algebra I, one from Geometry, and one from Calculus all coming in at the same time."
The new schedule also helps "close the gap on students who cannot stay after because they have to sometimes get home to work or to watch their younger siblings," Gill adds.
Amy Cortright, who experienced a similar schedule change at another school, shares her positive experience: "Kids are coming to me a week, sometimes two weeks in advance, saying, 'Hey, I know we have a test on this day. Can you put me in your Clipper time for this day?' And they're really being like the kids are being more proactive with it than I would have even expected them, even some of our weakest students."
The committee votes unanimously to approve the one-year trial for the 2025-2026 school year.
The Silver Lake Regional School District may need to invest up to $73 million in building maintenance and upgrades over the next decade, according to a recent facility conditions assessment presented to the committee.
Mark Guidoboni, representing the Safety Facilities Fees and Revenue (SFFR) committee, explains that the district commissioned Habeeb and Associates to conduct a comprehensive assessment of all district facilities. The engineering firm identified three scopes of work with varying urgency and cost.
"Scope one is things that they're saying should be taken care of in one to two years, and the estimate for that was $7.6 million," explains Sarah Hickey, the district's Director of Finance & Operations. "Scope two, which is necessary but not yet critical, which they say three to five years on that... That estimate was $33.2 million. And then scope three, recommended work in six to ten years."
The total cost for all three scopes amounts to approximately $73 million, a significant investment but far less than the cost of replacing the buildings entirely. Guidoboni notes that replacing the high school would cost approximately $277 million, while replacing the middle school would cost about $156 million.
The committee discusses various funding options as the district approaches the retirement of its debt for the original school construction, with the final payment due in May 2026.
"The primary reason of the tri-town meeting is to let the towns know that the towns collectively, three towns, own these buildings," Guidoboni says, referring to an upcoming meeting with officials from Halifax, Kingston, and Pembroke. "We represent them from our school committee point of view, and we need to highlight a path to get there."
Options include taking on new debt, increasing annual budget allocations for capital improvements, or utilizing the district's stabilization fund. The committee also discusses the possibility of addressing the administration building's issues by purchasing existing office space rather than constructing a new building.
"The original estimate we got for admin building was $8 million in two years ago money, so it's going to be closer to $12 million by the time we get there," Guidoboni notes. "It may be something that the towns are willing to say, okay, you need to solve the admin building problem. Let's do it while office space is depressed in the economy."
The SFFR committee plans to present these options to town officials at a tri-town meeting on June 16, where they will tour the facilities and discuss potential funding strategies.