Dr. Suzanne Scallion
Dear Families,
Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year. We look forward to greeting our first through twelfth graders next Wednesday and our Kindergartners on Thursday. Many of our schools have had crucial and overdue work on their infrastructures over the summer. I want to express a giant thank you to our maintenance staff for preparing the buildings on such a tight schedule. The projects were a huge undertaking and I am amazed that we are near completion.
The year promises to be an exciting one. We will open our Autism Program at Juniper Park in a partnership with Westfield State University. And we will initiate a stellar professional development program for our staff. There is urgency in our need to develop curriculum maps, pacing guides and assessments for the new state standards. Massachusetts has adopted the Common Core curriculum, as have most states in the country. To make the needed adjustments in our program, we must provide ongoing training on the new curriculum and 21st Century Learning. Our students must be prepared to compete with their counterparts across the nation.
Our students in Kindergarten through second grade will participate in a literacy program led by Bay State Reading Institute. Highland has had tremendous success with the partnership over the past three years and all six remaining elementary schools will be participating in a similar model tailored to meet the needs of the children in each school based on performance data.
The middle schools have adjusted their programs to meet the demands of 21st century learning. Extended day intervention for students who need additional instruction will run from October through April. We are fortunate that we were able to maintain the preferred team model in our middle schools.
We welcome Principal Stefan Czaparowski back home to the Voke Tech High School. He is joined by Kevin Daley as Assistant Principal who moved over from North. We expect great things from this stellar team and the enthusiastic and dedicated staff.
Westfield High School continues to offer a comprehensive and rigorous program. The Bomber Pride is always evident in the multitude of activities for the students.
We realize that the Early Release Days are going to be an inconvenience to some of our families so we working hard to develop alternatives with community partners. Our purpose is to provide the best education that we can and our performance data needs to improve. And the Professional Development model that we have developed mirrors the practices of many districts across the state and nation. It is imperative that we provide our teachers with the most current training and materials for the benefit of the students. The staff is very enthused about the opportunity to train and collaborate citywide. Our goal is to successfully prepare students with programs that are competitive, rigorous and inspiring.
Enjoy the last few days of summer. Thanks for your partnership in the education of your student.
Best wishes,
Dr. Suzanne Scallion
Superintendent
