SALEM — The group charged with selecting a turnaround plan for the troubled Bentley School includes a former principal of the elementary school and a community leader who grew up in the largely Hispanic Point neighborhood.
Lynda Coffill, who headed Bentley from 1999 to 2007, was named to the 13-member local stakeholder group along with Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, a community organizer who was born in the Dominican Republic and graduated from both Salem High and Salem State College.
"The first person I called was Lynda Coffill," said Mayor Kim Driscoll, who selected several of the committee members along with Superintendent Stephen Russell.
The superintendent and mayor were impressed with Ubiera-Minaya, whom they spoke with at length at a Saturday morning meeting of a city neighborhood association.
"I come with fresh ideas and am very eager to help out," said Ubiera-Minaya, 35, a school parent who used to run a student internship program at the Peabody Essex Museum and is a former president of the Salem Hispanic Festival.
Russell submitted the names of the local stakeholder group to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by yesterday's deadline.
By Jan. 28, the group must recommend a turnaround plan for Bentley, which faces a possible state takeover if scores don't improve in the English and math sections of the state MCAS exam.
Last month, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education named Bentley one of the state's 40 underperforming Level 4 schools based on four years of poor MCAS scores.
Bentley, one of the city's seven elementary schools, is well-represented on the stakeholders group.
Two Bentley teachers were named by the faculty: fifth-grade teacher Edward Mercier and kindergarten teacher Gabrielle Montevechi.
The school's PTO selected parent Leanne Schild, who has two children at Bentley. She also is active in the Salem Common Neighborhood Association and volunteers at the Peabody Essex Museum.
"I think we have a group of people who are really committed not only to the Bentley School but to seeing this turnaround effort throughout our school district," Driscoll said. "They have a great deal of energy and are excited to roll up their sleeves and get to work, and that's what we need given the tight time frame we have."
"There's a lot of experience and knowledge about the city of Salem that will be sitting around this table," Russell said.
The mayor said many community members who volunteered but were not chosen for the Bentley group will be asked to help at other schools.
Although Bentley is the city's only Level 4 school, there are four Level 3 schools and others with low MCAS scores. Every principal has been charged with naming a stakeholders group and developing a turnaround plan.
"Nobody's off the hook," Russell said.
The primary focus, however, is on Bentley, which has been given three years to improve or face a possible state takeover.
First, the stakeholders group must choose from four state- and federally approved turnaround models that range from closing the school to transforming it. Once a plan is chosen, the School Department will be eligible to apply for up to $500,000 in grants.
Bentley Principal Renata McFarland, who also is on the committee, said the group is up to the challenge.
"I know we're going to be able to do it," the first-year principal said. "I know we're going to be able to turn around."
The stakeholders group must submit its recommendation to Russell by Jan. 28. The superintendent submits a draft plan to the School Committee and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by Feb. 27. A final plan is due April 27.
Bentley Stakeholder Group
Amanda Trainor, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Brendan Walsh, Salem School Committee
Joyce Harrington, Salem Teachers Union president
Renata McFarland, Bentley School principal
Edward Mercier, Bentley teacher
Gabrielle Montevechi, Bentley teacher
Leanne Schild, Bentley parent
Mari Matt, Salem YMCA executive director
Mary Sarris, North Shore Workforce Investment Board executive director
Lynda Coffill, former Bentley principal
Joanne Scott, Salem Boys & Girls Club executive director
Kathy Winn, community member
Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, community member
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