The Whitesville Central School Board of Education approved a tuition agreement with Andover Central School for students in grades 9 and 10 for the ’23-’24 academic year.
The agreement came after a lack of viable recruits for a high number of key teaching positions for grades 9-12 at Whitesville.
Whitesville Central School Superintendent, Tammy Emery, said that she is grateful for the new agreement and for the students, staff and the community in Whitesville. “Our Administration and Board of Education had very candid conversations with our school community about how to best serve students in response to our ongoing teacher shortages,” she said. “While our first choice was to recruit qualified candidates for our students, our top priority is making sure our students continue to receive the high level of academic rigor and support they deserve – and this agreement accomplishes that.”
The tuition agreement will allow Whitesville Central School students to attend Andover Central School each day for their coursework. Transportation and support services will be coordinated and no changes to athletics will occur.
Emery added that the support from Andover Central has been helpful as options were considered. “We thank the Administration and Board of Education at Andover Central School for their support and flexibility and plan to evaluate the solution in the spring to determine if this agreement will be ongoing.”
Andover Central School administrator, Jennifer Joyce said “The success of our shared athletic program is a testament to the ability of our districts to work together for the benefit of our students. Andover Central School welcomes this group of new, yet familiar, students with open arms and expects nothing but a smooth transition.”