I would like to applaud the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for their unanimous vote yesterday to adopt the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and mathematics. The internationally-benchmarked standards is a giant leap towards education reform in the Commonwealth and a brave move that will help level the playing field for all of our students and help us close the achievement gap; while raising the bar for all of our kids. Most importantly, it will go a long way in enhancing college and career readiness.
Our district will aggressively pursue all professional development opportunities related to the new frameworks so that can ensure that our curriculum is of high quality and aligned to the new standards by the start of the 2012-2013 school year.
Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester is to be commended for creating the opportunity to improve the state’s already high standards. We are fortunate to have Commissioner Chester at the helm leading the statewide effort to advance the quality of education for all students across the Commonwealth.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Keeping summer safe means keeping tabs on kids
As of this week, it’s official: summer is here! But with summer fun comes a responsibility that all of us share – keeping our young people safe. During these summer days and months, I urge all parents to keep close tabs on the whereabouts of your children. It is an important message that Mayor Domenic Sarno, Police Commissioner William Fitchet and myself are echoing loudly and clearly to the Springfield community. This summer, you will see a series of public service announcements made by us and airing on CBS3 Springfield and also ABC40/FOX6. We hope it will be a constant reminder for parents, guardians and caring adults to regularly call or text the child in your life to find out where they are and what they are up to. Let’s make sure our youth return to school incident free and ready to learn.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Graduation: an inspiration, celebration and awesome time of year
Graduation is the most important academic event of the school year. It is also one of life’s blessings for families and friends to witness their loved one’s graduation from high school. Beyond the obvious, the Class of 2010 gives me confidence that we’re turning the corner as a District in our efforts to improve the educational opportunities for all students.
The graduation season is one of my favorite times of the school year because it affords me the chance to see firsthand the fruits of our labor. I’m always inspired by the student speeches and this year was no exception. The following is just a snippet of what most in attendance would easily describe as awe inspiring remarks from a few of our graduates:
• Central’s Jeff Barcher (co-salutatorian) athlete and scholar spoke with much conviction on the power of resiliency developed from a great education in an urban center that sets he and his classmates apart from their suburban peers. Jeff will be attending the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts to which he received a Presidential Scholarship;
• Commerce salutatorian, Monalisa Leung spoke passionately about the quality of education she received as an International Baccalaureate (IB) student and the influence of her parents as she prepares to attend the University of Pittsburg to study molecular biology and Chinese; and
• Putnam valedictorian, Andy Yang captured everyone’s heart in sharing his beliefs about the importance of “attitude” and the power of expectations on future success. Although Andy had a scholarship opportunity to attend an ivy league school, he chose the University of Massachusetts in Amherst
While there is still much work to be done with respect to our graduation rates, dropout issues, student proficiency and closing the achievement gap, the Class of 2010 brought home the bacon. For our five high schools across the city, this year there were 1,180 graduates and 75 percent of whom plan to attend college; they have garnered over five million dollars in scholarship awards (double the amount from the previous year). Renaissance, our Expeditionary Learning Program had 100% of their graduates accepted into colleges.
Good things are happening in Springfield and I’m honored to serve as your superintendent with great hope for our future!
The graduation season is one of my favorite times of the school year because it affords me the chance to see firsthand the fruits of our labor. I’m always inspired by the student speeches and this year was no exception. The following is just a snippet of what most in attendance would easily describe as awe inspiring remarks from a few of our graduates:
• Central’s Jeff Barcher (co-salutatorian) athlete and scholar spoke with much conviction on the power of resiliency developed from a great education in an urban center that sets he and his classmates apart from their suburban peers. Jeff will be attending the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts to which he received a Presidential Scholarship;
• Commerce salutatorian, Monalisa Leung spoke passionately about the quality of education she received as an International Baccalaureate (IB) student and the influence of her parents as she prepares to attend the University of Pittsburg to study molecular biology and Chinese; and
• Putnam valedictorian, Andy Yang captured everyone’s heart in sharing his beliefs about the importance of “attitude” and the power of expectations on future success. Although Andy had a scholarship opportunity to attend an ivy league school, he chose the University of Massachusetts in Amherst
While there is still much work to be done with respect to our graduation rates, dropout issues, student proficiency and closing the achievement gap, the Class of 2010 brought home the bacon. For our five high schools across the city, this year there were 1,180 graduates and 75 percent of whom plan to attend college; they have garnered over five million dollars in scholarship awards (double the amount from the previous year). Renaissance, our Expeditionary Learning Program had 100% of their graduates accepted into colleges.
Good things are happening in Springfield and I’m honored to serve as your superintendent with great hope for our future!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
SPS Strategic Plan is a living, breathing document
Pockets of success and opportunities for improvements within the school district were the topic of conversation during a meeting at the district’s Professional Development Center at Duggan yesterday, which reconvened stakeholders who had participated in the district’s strategic planning process in 2008.
We reviewed the strategic priorities that were developed during that process, which center around academic achievement, school safety, staff qualifications, parent and community partnerships, resources and funding, leadership and communication. And the school district shared data as it relates to our progress in these priorities and student achievement overall.
Representatives from the business, faith-based, community, early education, higher education, Springfield Public Schools and others, were present to share their ideas and thoughts for moving the district forward.
The meeting further evidenced the depth of community support for Springfield Public Schools. The strategic plan is a living document that I frequently jokingly say is meant to be battered and bruised. By that, I simply mean it isn’t a document that looks pretty and sits on a shelf. It is to be continually revisited and edited to reflect the promise of increased student achievement. Yesterday was another leap in that direction and I thank everyone involved for their participation.
We reviewed the strategic priorities that were developed during that process, which center around academic achievement, school safety, staff qualifications, parent and community partnerships, resources and funding, leadership and communication. And the school district shared data as it relates to our progress in these priorities and student achievement overall.
Representatives from the business, faith-based, community, early education, higher education, Springfield Public Schools and others, were present to share their ideas and thoughts for moving the district forward.
The meeting further evidenced the depth of community support for Springfield Public Schools. The strategic plan is a living document that I frequently jokingly say is meant to be battered and bruised. By that, I simply mean it isn’t a document that looks pretty and sits on a shelf. It is to be continually revisited and edited to reflect the promise of increased student achievement. Yesterday was another leap in that direction and I thank everyone involved for their participation.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Partnerships Inspire
On May 20th, more than 150 people came together for the first Level 4 Schools Stakeholder meeting, and the half-day meeting/planning session was time well spent. The commitment to making our schools better was clearly demonstrated by this working group, which spent the day entrenched in data and dialogue.
I have said all along that the Level 4 status of 10 of our schools presents this district with an unprecedented opportunity to access resources in a new, bold way. It is clear that the Springfield community is willing to support this work. That is a critical component because we know the school district cannot do it alone. If you’d like to know more about the purpose of the Level 4 Stakeholders meeting, please click here to read a media release on the topic.
Following that great event was another event that I found to be just as powerful and inspirational – a second session of Center for Reform of School Systems (see March 22 blog entry). The conversation was lively and rich and, as always, centered on how we can function in ways that will best serve students and parents.
I have said all along that the Level 4 status of 10 of our schools presents this district with an unprecedented opportunity to access resources in a new, bold way. It is clear that the Springfield community is willing to support this work. That is a critical component because we know the school district cannot do it alone. If you’d like to know more about the purpose of the Level 4 Stakeholders meeting, please click here to read a media release on the topic.
Following that great event was another event that I found to be just as powerful and inspirational – a second session of Center for Reform of School Systems (see March 22 blog entry). The conversation was lively and rich and, as always, centered on how we can function in ways that will best serve students and parents.
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