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CONNECTIONS
EASTCONN, one of six Regional Educational Service Centers
(RESCs) in Connecticut,
In this issue: » Students' Art Work & Writing Take
Center Stage
In spite of the shortage of school administrators throughout
The new administrators include GiGi Farrah, Principal of Putnam
Elementary School; Deborah Graner, Principal of Sayles Elementary School in
Sprague; David Harding, Principal of Willington’s Hall Memorial School;
and Joann Messina, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction, at
Woodstock Academy.
They agreed that one benefit of the Aspirant Leaders Program was the
support network it provided both during the program and after.
“It provided me with a
network of people who were in a similar place:
considering administration,” said “We’ve remained close, all of us,” said Graner. “You can call anyone up anytime, and I do. It’s nice to have an instant connection to bounce things off someone. There are many tough decisions. And people are generous.” “So far I can say, the program has been 100% successful in helping me,” said Harding of Willington, adding with a smile, “But can you really completely prepare anyone for this job?”
“There’s no way to avoid all the pitfalls,” agreed Graner,
“but you need to be ready to handle them when you encounter them. More
than ever, we need to be training smart leaders who can see a bigger
picture. We’re going to need
to think differently if we are going to meet the growing expectations that
are going to be placed on us.”
“The program was designed,” according to program coordinator
Debbie Siegel, “to get to the heart of leadership.
Not so much the nuts and bolts, like legal aspects or scheduling, but
really the heart of it: leading, in spite of all the demands, maintaining
their beliefs and their values first. A leader needs to make some very tough
decisions. If those decisions
are always made with the best interest of the children they serve, then the
road is really clear and the vision is really clear.”
Each of the new administrators said the Aspirant Leaders Program
offered high-quality, valuable presenters.
“The program offered a good variety of presenters –good diversity
– specialists in different areas – people with different philosophies.
It was a good mix,” said Willington’s Harding.
Graner said that the program introduced her to some of the best
administrators in the state.
“As different as they were, they had a number of things in
common,” said Graner. ”They were thoughtful, had great human relations
skills, always looking at student learning and always trying to do good
things for children.”
It’s a commitment that Graner has had to keep in focus on the job,
“It can be very lonely, even with support,” she said. “You have
to make lonely decisions and be held accountable, as it should be. But
students must remain your focus. I
learned commitment from the Aspirant Leaders Program. You are not going to
please everyone. Keep your goals
clear and focus on student learning and success.”
EASTCONN Helps Schools Customize Evaluation Strategies
Ask a simple question like, “How does a teacher best evaluate his or her
effectiveness?” and the answer can be as complex as it is varied. As new
state guidelines for assessing classroom success are implemented, EASTCONN
is working hard to help school districts find their own answers through a
variety of special programs and discussions.
“The key to effectively assessing teacher impact is to ascertain
whether teachers are teaching exactly what students need to know and whether
students are able to apply their new skills and knowledge,” said EASTCONN
Deputy Executive Director Paula Colen recently during a discussion about
rising calls for increased accountability at both the national and state
levels.
“There are many assessment methods that can be used but the focus
needs to be on measuring the impact on student learning. For example, you
have to ask questions like, ‘Did that instructional strategy enhance,
improve, or increase student learning?’ ” Colen said.
Helen Weingart, EASTCONN Staff Developer, worked with many school
districts last year as they developed Teacher Evaluation and Professional
Development Plans in response to new state guidelines
As districts begin implementation, Weingart provides training and
technical assistance.
One of the areas that districts are working on is the collection of
multiple sources of data to investigate whether students have met learning
goals.
“Ideally,” said Weingart, “you want to be using a variety of
assessment tools to get access to a variety of data. Kids need to have
options for demonstrating what they know. That’s why student work is so
critical.
“Another challenge,” said Weingart, “is to provide more options
for professional development, whether that is peer coaching, action
research, study groups, portfolio assessment or going for national
certification.”
Weingart is working with the
“We felt very strongly committed to where the State was heading,
making connections between what teachers are doing in the classroom and
student learning,” said Sue Rourke, principal in Sterling. “We wanted to
focus and reflect on what students give us. Is it what I wanted, or does it
drive me in another direction?”
“BEST is requiring portfolios for beginning teachers and they
provide a lot of opportunity to show student work,” said Rourke.
The
“Grade level teams began to migrate together looking at school
data, CMT data, grade-level data and classroom data,” Rourke said. “Peer
mentoring and coaching began happening spontaneously. It was fun to define
benchmarks and decide which artifacts to collect.”
Feedback from
“Teachers feel that the portfolio allows them to get to problems
sooner and more comprehensively so that they have the time to re-teach if
problems are discovered,” Rourke said. “The general feeling is
excitement. There is learning on the part of students, teachers and
administrators...I am seeing more curriculum work, teamwork and camaraderie
than ever before.”
For more information about teacher evaluation contact Helen Weingart
at 455-0707 or hweingart@eastconn.org. Calendar
of Regional Activities
APRIL
2002 2............. Implementing Your Teacher Evaluation & Professional Development Plan: Teacher Goal Development
4............. Math
Council
24............. Shaping
Future Environments; Project WILD Grades K-6 25............. A How To: Conducting an Aquatic Field Study - Hands-on Environmental-based, Real World Activities for Grades 5-8 26............. Shaping Future Environments; Project WILD Grades 7-12 30............. Pasco E-measure Workshop 30............. Lindamood BEll-Phoneme Sequencing MAY
2002 2..............Co-Teaching: A Powerful Way to Reach All Students in Diverse Classrooms 2............ Tech Council
6..............Orienteering:
Integrating Map and Compass Skills into the Curriculum 15............. MarcoPolo Training of Trainers 21............. MarcoPolo Administrator Training 28............. EASTCONN Board Annual Meeting
Note: Workshops fill up quickly. Please reserve seats early. E-mail the EASTCONN Conference Office at conferenceoffice@eastconn.org for more information about any of the meetings and workshops listed here. Workshop information is also available on our Web site at www.eastconn.org. EASTCONN
Magnet School to Increase Enrollment
Seven months after opening its doors,
“We are now half-way through our first year and the team is making
great strides toward providing a successful learning environment for our
diverse students,” said Dr. Elaine Lee, Academy principal, who announced
that EASTCONN would increase the number of seventh and eighth-grade students
next year from 30 to 40.
“The project-based
curriculum is an important feature,”
“Anothe important initiative of the school,” said Dr. Lee, “is
the active participation of both the Community Advisory Committee and the
Parent Advisory Committee.” The
Community Advisory Committee is focused on strengthening the multi-cultural
curriculum and profiling students for whom the program would be most
appropriate. The Parent Advisory
Committee is working to strengthen the academic program, build partnerships
with staff, and enhance student attitudes about learning.
Interested school personnel should contact Dr. Elaine Lee at the
Academy for enrollment information. Interested
parents should talk to their school guidance counselor or call the Academy
directly. School visits are
encouraged and an open house will be held in March.
An enrollment lottery will be held in April.
For more information about the INTERDISTRICT GRANT PROGRAMS Although EASTCONN’s Interdistrict Programs are diverse in design and content, they share some important common attributes, including:
Expert
EASTCONN staff members are available for each of the projects, including
writers-in-residence, as well as specialists in curriculum, technology, and
experiential learning. In the past, EASTCONN projects have stressed student
achievement. Now EASTCONN has shifted its focus toward the connection
between student work (as it relates to content) and diversity standards.
Progress towards the achievement of diversity goals is measured using pre-
and post-assessments. “We
are not just about field trips,” said Cathy Smith Carolan, one of the
program coordinators. “We expect kids to learn. We’re about student
learning and diversity in content through products and projects. We model
instructional strategies that support multiple intelligences and multi-modal
learning. We use curriculum standards to make connections between different
district curricula and local standards.” EASTCONN
currently operates nine school-year Interdistrict Grants throughout the
region.
ELEMENTARY
CONNECTIONS
For
more information, contact Mary Lou Smith at 860-455-0707, or msmith@eastconn.org. EXPANDING
HORIZONS
•
Pomfret and •
EASTCONN in partnership with the Windham Regional Arts Council and
the Windham Area Arts Coll For
more information, contact Nancy Vitale at 860-455-0707 or nvitale@eastconn.org. FACES
OF CULTURE
For
more information, contact Nancy Vitale at 860-455-0707 or nvitale@eastconn.org.
For more information, contact Cathy Smith-Carolan at 860-455-0707 or ccarolan@eastconn.org.
MAPPS
(Matching Area and People Project)
For
more information, contact Cathy Smith-Carolan at 860-455-0707 or ccarolan@eastconn.org. MOSAIC
Recent
accomplishments include:
For
more information contact Michael Mahony at 860-455-0707 or mmahony@eastconn.org.
For
more information, contact Donna Towne at 860-455-0707 or dtowne@eastconn.org.
Recent
highlights include:
For more information contact Mary Lou Smith at 860-455-0707 or msmith@eastconn.org
Highlights
include:
For more information contact Cindy Curry at 860-455-0707 or ccurry@eastconn.org. Student's Art
Work & Writing Take Center Stage
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EASTCONN Connections Editor: Teddie Sleight ~ tsleight@eastconn.org Assistant: Cindy Laurendeau ~ claurendeau@eastconn.org; voice mail: 860-455-0029, 3038 Photography: Peggy Roberts ~ proberts@eastconn.org Communications Department Dotty Budnick, Director ~dbudnick@eastconn.org EASTCONN-Windham Mills, Bldg. #1, 3rd Floor, 322 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 06226 ~ 860-455-0707 FAX: 456-9407 |
according to Dr. Lee, who cited several examples.
Six
hundred seventh-grade students are engaged in an interdisciplinary study of
the Willimantic Watershed. Interdisciplinary connections are made between
the scientific study of water habitats and other curriculum areas. The
cultural and historical aspects of life along the river are being explored,
as is the study of man’s impact on the environment. Students deepen
science and writing skills and relationships with peers from different
backgrounds. Participating districts: Tolland, 
