Hello West Boylston Town Residents.
There are several exciting new programs under way at the Major Edwards School and West Boylston Middle/High School. The School Committee would like to share a few of them with you.
Forging the way in technology, Jeanne DeRosa, one of the middle/high school's excellent math teachers, has discovered a way to incorporate iPads in the classroom. Second, Susan Cassidy from Major Edwards Elementary School, has begun an exciting new Readers Workshop in her first-grade classroom. Last, a challenging Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) Academy is organizing to begin in the fall of 2013 for our town's seventh- and eighth-graders.
Technology is here to stay whether we like it or not and it's important our students learn how to use technology productively (texting a friend at the mall doesn't count).
Jeanne DeRosa and eleven other teachers gave up their first week of summer vacation to travel to Burlington High School and learn how to use iPads in the classroom. As the “technology person” in her family, Jeanne realized how important and beneficial this medium is to the student's overall education.
After getting a “technology in the classroom” lesson from Burlington High, Jeanne decided to use Khan Academy, a website that allows students to learn or review mathematics concepts through video tutorials. She also got started with an app called "Show Me."
"Show Me" is a way to evaluate students by listening to them speak through a recording they make on their iPad in addition to watching them write on an electronic blank slate to demonstrate the problem.
It's similar to someone taking a video of a student at the blackboard talking and writing through a problem. The teacher can then review each video on the iPad and evaluate the students understanding.
Jeanne said she immediately saw many benefits to students in her calculus class. To start, the students were engaged and excited with their work. Technology and young people just seem to go hand in hand. Second, Jeanne could easily monitor their progress by logging in to Khan Academy which was concurrently recording everything the students did.
Last, the iPad required the students to explain their reasoning which made them really think through the problem and Jeanne could then review each individual student's work on her own time.
If you would like to take a look at the website for this pilot program use this link, https://sites.google.com/a/wbschools.com/ipads/.
Overall, Jeanne said it has been a real learning curve for her, but seeing the students' enthusiasm to learn is well worth the effort. There are seven teachers at the middle/high school who have also taken the initiative to work this technology into their classrooms and we look forward to seeing the results.
Moving from one initiative to the next, Susan Cassidy, a first-grade teacher, is one of six lab teachers at Major Edwards who are receiving specialized training for Readers Workshop from two consultants from the Teaching and Learning Alliance. This is being funded by the school district.
Susan is so excited by what she is learning she has removed her teacher's desk, after 29 years, to make room for the children to be more comfortable reading around the classroom.
Susan, and her co-teacher, Diane Holmes, explain that the workshop structure has three main parts: a focus lesson – I can learn how to become a better reader; independent reading – I can practice what I have learned; and group share – I can share something I did as a reader.
Students have their own “book box” with books selected to match their reading level. The students also get the chance to read to someone, listen to reading, do word work and work on writing.
So far Susan is enthusiastic about the response from the children. The teachers at Major Edwards have invested a lot of time and energy as they launch Readers Workshop. Overall they are looking to build a community of readers and writers.
Finally, the middle school is working to incorporate a brand new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineeering, Arts and math) Academy, in the fall of 2013. This is a very exciting development and one the School Committee is eagerly anticipating. The idea is to expose highly-engaged students to a project-based curriculum that will tap into their creative and problem solving skills.
The school hopes the program will provide an opportunity for these particular students to test their abilities at a more challenging level. Students who successfully complete the program will be more prepared to face tomorrow's dynamic challenges.
Currently the school is still in curriculum development. Stay tuned for more details to follow.
All of us on the School Committee are exceptionally proud of these recent initiatives to improve learning in our school classrooms. West Boylston's dedicated teachers have spent their own time to study new methods and we look forward to seeing the results in our student's accomplishments.
We realize the Banner is a critical link to our community. Please consider this the first in a series of articles focused on exciting programs within the West Boylston Public Schools intended to deliver a 21st century education to our students.
John Owanisian is the chairman of the West Boylston School Committee. This column was one of a multi-part series the committee plans to write during the school year to keep residents aware of school initiatives.
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