Franklin Ave. second graders teach School Committee members to relax at the start of Monday’s meeting. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – The School Committee started its meeting Monday with a lesson by second graders at Franklin Avenue Elementary School. The students talked about mindfulness and self-care, sharing some techniques to help prepare the body and mind for learning. Lessons included breathing and stretching.
“It helps us get ready to learn without feeling rushed,” explained one student. The class led School Committee members in breathing in and breathing out exercises, and raising their arms high.
The class also has a self-care space where students may go when they’re feeling stressed, sad or tired. “It helps us calm down before we yell and get into trouble,” another student said.
Parents also spoke up, saying that their students are less anxious about school. One family said they have set up a self-care space at home, where their daughter goes when she needs a minute to sort through her feelings and process them. The father said that he had been a pretty rambunctious student in school, and could have used some of the techniques. Another mother said her son had suffered from frequent headaches last year and had gone to the nurse often, but this year it only happened twice because of the self-care techniques being used in the classroom.
School Committee member Diane Mayhew said the presentation was “confirmation that we are teaching the whole child.”
“We’re not only helping children to learn, but to feel good about the process,” said Principal Frances St. Peter-Sanft.
The School Committee also discussed the first draft of a three-year technology plan developed in the spring with the help of a newly formed Technology Committee comprised of representatives from the elementary, middle and high school classrooms, administration, the technology center and school committee. The plan was discussed earlier in the evening in the Educational Planning and Technology Subcommittee chaired by Ramon Diaz, Jr.
The plan lays out strategic action steps for each year, and focuses on date management, professional development for staff and integration of technology into the classroom. Among the first year goals in the new plan are the adoption of a responsible use policy, wireless density upgrades in all the schools, and the introduction of a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative in the secondary schools.
The plan also includes a rolling upgrade of technology throughout the district, according to Diaz. The previous technology plan, which was never passed by the City Council, had an initial price tag of $3.6 million, but also contained a plan for a continual rollover and upgrading of equipment built into the school budget, to make it self-sustaining. The district is now building on the concept of sustainability in the new plan.
“This needs to be sustainable. We don’t want to have one big bond, but a rolling upgrade of technology,” Diaz said.
Diaz added that WPS did a really good job with the plan, which is still in draft form and not yet available online. “I was very happy. Technology is my passion,” he said.
