NHS Educators Present Their Goals To The School Board

By Tanjua Damon

In its review of the goals Newtown’s schools are setting for themselves, the Newtown Board of Education heard Tuesday evening from educators who were excited and enthusiastic about the quest for excellence currently under way at Newtown High School.

Even though the high school has received national recognition for its success, the faculty and staff are still pressing for further improvements in the school’s program. Department heads provided board members with testimony that goals are continuing to be met and modified to provide opportunity for every high school student to be successful and prepared for what comes after high school.

Presentations by departments focused on four major goals: performance assessment, process skills in reading and writing, implementation of technology into the curriculum, and curriculum development and implementation.

“One of the commitments that I’ve made to the faculty, and one that I believe in strongly, in order for goals to be successful is that they need to be long-term,” Newtown High School Principal William Manfredonia told the board. “The way we are applying them, they get changed and modified.”

Mr Manfredonia believes goals need to be in place for three to seven years to see what works best and what needs to be improved. In reading and writing, the school as a whole worked hard to improve writing skills; now the focus will turn to reading.

“With writing we have made major strides… Now we realize we may need to work on making our students proficient readers,” he said. “We tailor the goal and modify and put a new emphasis. We focus on a vision of where we want to be then look for students showing new growth.”

Eleven presentations were given Tuesday night at Newtown High School. In each presentation, department heads stated their goals, gave a description, and told board members the status.

Assistant Principal Jules Triber presented the Alternative School and Physical Education plans.

The Alternative School is in its first year as an offsite facility that provides a non-traditional educational setting for some students.

“The first semester we had some rocky times. We knew we had to go through a process establishing a base and student/teacher relationships,” Mr Triber said. “This semester they are beginning to come together. We are a quality school, not because the teachers teach the kids, but because we learn together.”

The Alternative School will continue to work at establishing an educational setting that provides students with the potential to succeed. Students will also explore future career opportunities for themselves.

In Physical Education, one of the goals is to work on the curriculum to have more of a standard for freshmen and sophomores providing activities that are taught to all students during the first two years. The staff wants to continue to work with students so they are successful on the fitness test, and integrate new equipment into the physical education courses offered at the high school level, according to Mr Triber.

The Fine and Applied Arts presentation addressed goals to improve students’ technical writing, give opportunities to students to create a Web site, provide technical skills for computer literacy and applications, and provide an environment that gives students an opportunity to assess and reward real world assignments and achievements. Department head Patricia Walsh showed board members various student-created Web pages, menus, and video projects that students have accomplished in the subject area.

“I’m not going to show you action goals. Instead I’m going to show you goals in action,” Ms Walsh said.

Michelle Hiscavich spoke about the music department. A third to half of the student body takes classes within the sphere of the music department, she said. There are 192 students in chorus, 168 in band, and 79 in orchestra.

“In spite of these numbers, we are always looking for new ways to challenge them,” she said. “We now have a curriculum for every area of music.”

The English Department continues to work on goals including preparing for the second generation CAPT Test, creating grade-level portfolios, coordinating the revision of grade-level curricula with the K-12 Language Arts Review Committee, and integrating the K-12 Reading and Writing Standards in all courses, according to John Terenzi, English department chairman.

Communication was the emphasis during Don Elliott’s presentation about the Guidance Department. The counselors continue to work to establish good communication with parents. Counselors update their knowledge about colleges, financial aid, and career information. The Guidance Department also emphasizes having counselors available to student access, group counseling in educational areas, and implementation of a study skills course for ninth graders.

“We really make an effort to communicate with parents,” Mr Elliott said. “There’s a lot of information parents need.”

The Math Department has had its Integrated Math Program approved by the board, according to chair Karen Sherman. But it continues to prepare students for the CAPT and SAT tests as well as tracking students’ progress in math achievement in grades K-12, and developing successful students through curriculum and technology.

Board members were able to examine Ecoli bacteria brought to the meeting in dishes by science department chairman Susan Henderson. She addressed various long-term goals including student portfolios, implementing laboratory activities, improving technical writing skills, keeping current with science advancements, trying to establish a science requirement, and creating a test for eighth grade student to determine where they may need additional support upon entering high school.

“It’s amazing where these kids have come,” Ms Henderson said. “And what they will be able to do coming from our department.”

Gwen Parks presented the Social Studies Department goals to the board. It continues to work with students to prepare for the CAPT test and Advanced Placement exams. The department continues to use the Internet and multimedia to strengthen the instruction and student learning by providing hands-on information that brings them to various places in the world. The department is also looking at existing courses and instructional programs that continue to bring experiences and opportunities to understand the diversity of the world.

Special Education students continue to develop the Back Door Café into a successful enterprise, according to Mureen Mas. Case managers continue to work as liaisons between parents, students, and teachers. The department continues to work to provide team teaching instruction to for students and expand the life skills program to meet the needs of students.

The World Language Department continues to acquaint students with culture and communities of the language they are studying and provide them with activities that support them communicating in that language, according to Paula Greenfield. The department is also working on establishing portfolios to reflect students’ work in meeting performance standards.

“I think it’s critical for the board’s point of view. By them understanding our goals, they can then help direct us,” Mr Manfredonia said. “One of our strengths is our faculty working closely together. We all believe in these. We wanted to show them student work. Seeing what the students do shows testament that it is really happening.”