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SUPERINTENDENT’S UPDATE Time does seem to fly when you experience all of the joys and challenges that are part and parcel of the educational experience. We are four months into the school year and yet it seems as if we just began. All in all, it appears that the first part of the year has been successful, and we look forward to seeing our September goals develop into positive experiences for all of our students and staff as we move forward. We are encouraged by our students’ sustained enthusiasm for learning and growing as they participate in the many educational opportunities and activities offered during and after the school day. We appreciate the support of our parents and community members as partners who recognize, appreciate and support all of our efforts in providing our students with a quality education. Please allow me to update you on our ongoing district initiatives. Solar Initiative The second phase of our ongoing solar initiative is drawing to conclusion with panels being installed on our remaining eleven school buildings. The project is on target for completion in early 2012. This initiative continues to reap great rewards by providing the district with clean and lower-cost energy. Also, more than a million dollars in additional revenue is generated annually through SRECs from the initial phase of this initiative. Genesis Parent Portal Like solar, the parent portal is another “going green” initiative that is being implemented. At this point, more than 85% of our families have signed up for this online program which allows parents to access information about their children. The primary information that parents are provided with through this system includes attendance, progress reports and report card grades. Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Our district has completed its professional development in compliance with the new HIB legislation enacted in September. In addition, all schools were involved in activities for the “Week of Respect” in October and continue to plan and implement programs to encourage positive school climate. Our fundamental goal is to provide a safe school environment that is conducive to learning. There have also been curricular initiatives at all levels, including the following: Elementary Level We are currently implementing a new research-based writing program, “The Art of Teaching Writing.” Our teachers and administrators continue to take part in professional development opportunities to assist them in fully implementing the program. The insight that our teachers have provided thus far, has allowed us to fine tune the program, and our early reports show evidence of significant student progress. We are also piloting a new reading program in two of our elementary schools. Significant time and effort is being invested in determining the overall effectiveness of the program. A comprehensive professional development model is being developed to provide our administrators and teachers with targeted and sustained opportunities that focus on literacy instruction. Secondary Level Our district recognizes the positive impact that an adult mentor can have on identified adolescent students. Therefore, we have designed and implemented a mentoring program for chosen students at the secondary level. We are encouraged by the initial feedback of the administrators who facilitate these programs at each of our secondary schools. Teachers continue to volunteer to assist the students who have been chosen to participate. At the intermediate level, we are in the process of monitoring the implementation of our new “200 Club,” which is a program being piloted this school year. The focus is to improve student performance by providing designated sixth, seventh and eighth grade students with one additional period of either math or language arts instruction per week. Feedback from the teachers involved in this initiative all speak to the enthusiasm and receptiveness of the students as well as to targeted reinforcement of skills, concepts and test-taking strategies. At the high school level, we have just completed the development of a new “tutorial math program” targeting eleventh grade students at our three high schools. This ten-week tutorial program will provide designated eleventh grade students with one additional period of math instruction per week in order to best prepare them for HSPA math. These programs are just a sampling of what is new in our school district this year. Each and every day, 17,000 students benefit from our collaborative efforts to provide positive learning opportunities that promote academic, social and emotional growth. In closing, our commitment and repeated message to our students, parents, staff members and community members remains this—to do all that we can do to keep our students safe, to provide our students with challenging educational programs, and to offer our students a variety of after-school programs to sustain their engagement in the learning process. The holidays are a time to count our blessings and to enjoy the comforts of family. Enjoy the holidays with your family. Frank J.
Roselli
Older entries: Welcome Back to School While I know that we all experience mixed feelings with summer coming to an end, we are also excited and somewhat anxious about the start of the new school year. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to welcome 48 new teachers to our school district. Our new teachers are enthusiastic to join the exceptional teachers, administrators and numerous dedicated staff members that comprise our school district. Together we are here, first and foremost, to meet the various needs of our students- to keep our students safe, to challenge them academically and to provide them with a variety of extra curricular opportunities. Professional Development Much has been accomplished over the summer. With respect to professional development, our teachers, administrators and other staff members have been involved in numerous formal and informal professional development opportunities. The following are a few examples: one hundred and seventy five elementary teachers and administrators participated in an in-service on our new “Units of Study for Teaching Writing” curriculum. Sixty intermediate and elementary teachers from our districts’ Title I schools participated in a three day Professional Development Academy. Fifty intermediate level teachers and administrators met and finalized their respective quarterly assessments for the upcoming school year. At the high school level, a good number of teachers and instructional supervisors met to continue planning for the curricular realignment to the newly adopted Common Core State Standards. Facilities With respect to our facilities: our custodial, maintenance, and grounds employees have done an outstanding job cleaning, painting and making the necessary repairs to have our 19 school sites ready for the first day of school. A major project that continues to be on track is our district’s solar energy initiative. The roof preparations for the schools that are scheduled to have solar panels installed are nearly completed and the installation of the solar panels will now commence. A major refurbishing to the media center at High School South was also completed over the summer. I am confident that the students at South will be most appreciative of both the aesthetics and expanded functionality of the new media center. District Initiatives We as educators constantly evaluate and re-evaluate all that we do. The summer is a time particularly devoted to the evaluative processes and to developing new strategies/programs to impact student learning. While there are a variety of initiatives being implemented at every level of our school district, there are four that I believe are most noteworthy. At the elementary level, our school district will continue to expand the implementation of a new research-based 3rd through 5th grade writing program which is aligned with State Standards and is designed to improve our students’ writing abilities. At the intermediate level, we are piloting programs designed to provide targeted and sustained intervention for students who struggle with state assessments. At the secondary level, we are going to implement a mentoring program targeting “at risk students.” This program is designed to engage students in meaningful relationships with staff members, which will contribute to the student’s receptiveness to school and to the learning process. District-wide we are also in the process of finalizing our plans to fully implement a variety of proactive strategies to address issues of Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB). On the first two days of school, each staff member will participate in two hours of professional development on this topic. Parents and students will be provided with information on our district HIB policy as the school year progresses. Without question, the ultimate goal of this policy, along with all of our proactive strategies, is to teach our students to treat each other with kindness and respect while continuing to provide a school wide atmosphere that is conducive to learning. Budgets and Programs In closing, we are fortunate that our budget passed last April. Members of our regional community were told back in April that this was a “maintenance budget” and if the budget passed funding for all programs in the 2010-2011 school year would be maintained for the 2011-12 school year. I am proud to report that all programs, in fact, have been budgeted for and are being offered to our students. There is no doubt in my mind that by working together we can continue to experience success in our school district. Thank you for your continued support. Frank Roselli _________________________________________________________
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