The sixth through eighth graders' part of Andover's Best Schools team won a mini-grant from New England College, according to Lynn Baker. Two students and a father used donations to purchase books for the middle school's accelerated reading program, said Slayton. At the recent Invention Convention, first grader Megan Hanscom won first place for making a device to hold up her unicycle. Slayton also praised Jimmy Hanlon who won first place among third graders. Slayton gave board members sample blue slips, along with a statistical summary of discipline this year.
Blue slips record a child's referral to the principal's office.
The person reporting the incident may check off more than one type of troublesome behavior, such as being both disrespectful and a bully. Even bus drivers fill out blue slips. If a child misbehaves two days on the bus, the student is kicked off school transportation for one day. If misbehavior persists, the child may be kicked off the bus for three, then five days.