School Starts Today: Find Out What's New At Each School

As Melrose Public Schools start the 2010-2011 school year, students should get used to seeing more than one teacher in the classroom.

The implementation of co-taught classrooms and—in schools already using the co-teaching model—expansion of those classrooms was the prevailing theme in interviews conducted by Melrose Patch with each of the Melrose schools principals last week. The co-teaching model puts a general education teacher and a special education teacher in the same classroom, with those teachers jointly working together to teach the whole class.

Each school also has their own unique initiatives and challenges as well. To learn more about each school's plans for the coming year, whether co-teaching or otherwise, and new teachers at each school, click on the links below, and read on for all the back-to-school information for Melrose students:

• Lincoln Elementary School
• Roosevelt Elementary School
• Winthrop Elementary School
• Horace Mann Elementary School
• Hoover Elementary School
• Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
• Melrose High School

First Day of School information

Melrose students in grades 1 through 9 return to school on Tuesday, Aug. 31; students in grades 10 through 12 report for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 1.; and kindergarten students report to school on Thursday, Sept. 2.

On Tuesday, sixth graders should report to the auditorium, while seventh and eighth graders should report to their homerooms. Ninth graders should report to the main lobby of Melrose High School. Homeroom assignments will be posted in the main lobby of the high school.

School hours are:

• Grades 1-5: 8:15 a.m.—2:20 p.m.
• Grades 6-8: 7:40 a.m.—2:03 p.m.
• Grades 9-12: 7:45 a.m.—2:09 p.m.

Kindergarten hours are:

• Full-day Kindergarten, first day only: 8:15 a.m.—11 a.m. The rest of the school year, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7: 8:15 a.m.—2:20 p.m.
• Half-day Kindergarten, first day only: 8:30 a.m.—11:15 a.m. The rest of the school year, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7: 8:30 a.m.—11:05 a.m. (morning session)

New Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures at Middle School/High School

Families of Melrose High School and Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School students will no longer have access to school parking lots from 7 a.m.-9 a.m. and from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. on school days, a change made with safety in mind according to a press release from Superintendent Joe Casey.

Instead, of pulling into the parking lots, families should drop-off and pick-up students on the school side of Lynn Fells Parkway or the school side of Melrose Street. Families may also drop-off and/or pick-up on the football side of Tremont Street.

Early Childhood Center at the Franklin School:

All programs will begin the week of Sept. 6 on the weekday designated by program type. Welcome letters with specific start of school information will be mailed during August. Contact the Early Childhood Center at 781-979-2260 with questions. Limited spaces are still available in certain programming options.

Education Stations - After School Enrichment Program

The first day of Education Stations, the Melrose Public Schools after school enrichment program, for children entering grades 1 through 5 is Tuesday, Aug. 31. The first day for kindergarten students will be Tuesday, Sept. 7. The program will not operate on Friday, Sept. 3 and Monday, Sept. 6 as schools are closed in observance of Labor Day.  Pre-registration is required; information can be found on the Education Stations website.