Recent conversations with community members, the budget process, and more led Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue to reflect on the district. The superintendent sent a message to staff and parents on February 11, sharing a number of her reflections.

“This weekend, I reflected on community discussions I have had with PTA members, parents, senior citizens, students, and staff,” Dr Rodrigue wrote. She added later, “After robust conversations regarding the value of education, I felt compelled to share some thoughts and professional insights.”

Speaking to her message this week, Dr Rodrigue said some of her “current thoughts” for the district include the budget and special education action steps being created after a 2018 special education self-study, which she expects to be delivered to the Board of Education in the near future. She expressed high hopes for Newtown’s future.

“My thinking is focused on the perfect timing of this: A new future for Newtown, moving in the right direction with many of the requests that are visible, evident, in the budget,” said Dr Rodrigue. “This is an outstanding district. We have so much to be proud of and successes that aren’t often all publicized, but they exist. As the leader of the community, I want... a balanced view of what takes place, not only where we are, but where we are going.”

Dr Rodrigue said she feels it is her responsibility to make sure the message “gets out there.”

Newtown, she continued, is in the perfect position to move forward in innovative ways, with a focus on instruction — to support students and families using practices to revise curriculum to allow students to have a deep understanding of the content “through a conceptual lens” — and creating a “culture of care” across the district and the community at large.

Following the implementation of concept-based curriculum last school year, Dr Rodrigue said the district is reviewing its entire curriculum to ensure it is teaching basic skills, critical and creative thinking, and deep understanding of content.

“This is how real change happens — everyone in the system moving in the same direction and toward a common goal,” said Dr Rodrigue.

Areas To Celebrate, Improve

The district has areas it can celebrate, according to the superintendent, who shared recent test data.

“We were so proud of our third grade,” said Dr Rodrigue, highlighting data from the 2018 Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test data. “In English/language arts in SBAC, our third grade was at the top of the [District Reference Group (DRG)], 80 percent at level three or above.”

Math for third grade was also “at top of the DRG” with 82 percent at level three or above, said Dr Rodrigue, explaining that level three or above are students noted as demonstrating the necessary knowledge or skills.

“Our grades six, seven, and eight all went up, increased from 2016-17,” said Dr Rodrigue.

She also highlighted Newtown High School being ranked by US News with a silver medal in 2018 for state standardized testing performance data. The high school also has a “high four-year graduation rate” at 96 percent, according to Dr Rodrigue.

“These are only a few of the successes,” she said.

While there are “pockets of greatness,” Dr Rodrigue said there are areas where scores dipped. The 2018 SBAC data for fourth and fifth grade show decreases in English/language arts and math. Fourth grade tested at 68 percent in English/language arts and 66 percent in math. Fifth grade tested at 72 percent in English/language arts and 53 percent in math. NHS SAT results also showed decreases.

She said the district needs greater oversight and the proposed new position for a Director of Teaching and Learning in the 2019-20 budget would address that.

“I think for the size of our district, for the amount of work that needs to get done, for the expanded expectations for student learning, additional testing, it is a critical position in order to move this district forward in ways we need to get to — ways that will support us in the future,” she said.

The more the district works on using assessments, which the superintendent said are being expanded “across all levels,” the more she said it will be monitoring and identifying gap areas to implement immediate supports.

“We are providing better and more appropriate professional development for our teachers so that they understand what exists on these tests and what content or concepts are embedded in these kinds of assessments and whether or not our curriculum supports that all throughout,” said Dr Rodrigue.

Community Investment

Celebrating recent SWC championships by NHS teams, Dr Rodrigue said participation on athletic teams helps students be invested in schools. She spoke to the level of community investment that being involved on a sports team can instill.

“I feel we are really good about our social/emotional learning priority in the district,” said Dr Rodrigue, adding that it is organized and deliberate while involving all educators in consistent practices.

Social/emotional learning, she explained, considers the health and wellness of students.

“There needs to be a system of care, a culture of care, that rallies around each student and makes sure we are addressing those kinds of needs,” she said.

Areas she sees that can be worked on by the community together for improvement include responding to state mandates for testing and graduation requirements and higher expectations in STEM (science, technology, education, mathematics) programs.

“I think what is critical is if you are going to be transparent about areas for improvement, then the entire community... needs to understand it is a collaborative effort to accomplish the tasks at hand,” said Dr Rodrigue, saying staff, parents, and community members all can work toward improvement.

Current district priorities include the special education action steps, which Dr Rodrigue said she has worked with teachers, paraeducators, union representatives, PTA parents, and key district administrators, and she plans to meet with Special Education Parent Teacher Organization (SEPTO).

“All have had input on the action steps; the key people who will be facilitating ensuring those action steps are met in a timeline for evaluating whether or not the action steps have been realized and have made a difference,” she said.

One change that will be implemented as part of the action steps, according to the superintendent, is sharing an agenda at the start of every Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meeting with parents.

“Everybody has the right to make sure their voices are heard. Everyone has the right to ask questions and look deeply at the assessments and evidence that will be presented on behalf of a child or student. These are common sense and should be something that happens at every PPT so that all parents and staff feel welcomed,” said Dr Rodrigue.

Referencing the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education’s (CABE) recent campaign for people to share through social media why they support their public schools, using #ISupportMyCTPublicSchools, she said she feels all communities should understand the value of education.

Dr Rodrigue expressed a desire to create an environment in Newtown that will facilitate higher expectations, challenging and innovative classroom environments, expanded staff professional development, and include input of stakeholders throughout the system.

In her message to district parents and staff, Dr Rodrigue described a concept for a “collaborative culture of care” that embodies trust.

“It trusts the expertise of the school community — teachers, administrators, and families — to consider the unique needs of all students, keep them safe, review relevant information to make strategic decisions, and let nothing get in the way of the work to be accomplished,” she wrote.