SHS School Improvement Plan Focuses On The Whole Child

By Tanjua Damon

Sandy Hook School will continue with ongoing goals as well as concentrate on others that address the needs of the whole child, all of which are included in the School Improvement Plan for 2001-2002.

Administrators and staff came before the Newtown Board of Education April 26 to present the plan that encompasses five goals: students will be effective readers, writers, and communicators; students will be proficient mathematicians and effective problem-solvers; we will maximize our students’ potential by meeting individual student needs; we will enlist parents as partners in educating the whole child; and we will foster a sense of belonging by valuing diversity, independence, and interdependence.

“Each of these goals overlaps each other. You can’t accomplish one without involving another,” Sandy Hook Principal Donna Pagé said. “The real work happens in the classroom with the teachers and students. This is where the frame is set. But the process of school improvement is where it takes place.”

Assistant Principal Cathy Mazzariello explained to the board that one of the school’s biggest challenges is the growing enrollment.

“Our growing enrollment probably represents our biggest challenge,” she said. “Schedule problems are one of the most difficult things, but one of our most important things.”

The school will continue to expand differentiated instruction to meet individual needs, expand opportunities for self-initiated as well as self-directed learning, foster connections between and among classes and grade levels, and focus on implications of third generation CMT expectations.

Sabine Hart is a new member to the Sandy Hook staff as a fourth grade teacher. She spoke about the BEST program for new teachers and the support she has received throughout the building.

“The support has been wonderful. When entering a district, things are different. The BEST program has been great,” she said. “I’ve learned more this year and have had more support than I would have had in other places.”

In the areas of math and science, the school will work to expand direct instruction in reading, writing, and discussion, mathematical understanding, explore ways to use technology to enhance and connect the study of mathematics and science, and establish formal mentorship/peer partnership with students in need.

“I view my job to help teachers be as good as they can be and consequently have students be as good as they can be,” George Stockwell, math/science specialist, said. “If it’s an easier job for teachers, ultimately the students will learn more.”

In language arts, goals have been set to extend Cast-a-Spell practices through grades three and four, implement writing portfolios to facilitate analysis and reflection, develop center/seatwork activities to maximize opportunities for learning, and pilot a literacy team approach to delivering instruction in grade two.

“Reading and writing is the base for all learning here. We do work together,” Judy Mitten, reading consultant, said. “We get to see all the growth. You don’t always get to see that on a continual basis. That’s exciting as you watch those children develop. We are on course. We refine it all the time. We look at it all the time.”

 “We have a deep commitment to teaching and learning,” Ms Pagé said.