Believe it or not, it’s that time again already—in just a couple of weeks, students in the tri-town area will head back to school for the 2017-’18 school year. Doors open Wednesday, Aug 30.

Returning students can expect more Chromebooks, along with an increased emphasis on critical and creative problem solving. Introductory manufacturing classes are being expanded. And there will be changes in staffing. Two long-time administrators will not be returning this fall. Former Chester Elementary School Principal Dr. Joanne Beekley, retired at the end of last school year. Tyson Stoddard, who was most recently the supervisor of special services, will be the new principal at Chester Elementary school starting this year. Garth Sawyer, the business manager for the district for the last 10 years has moved from Connecticut to South Carolina; Kim Allen, formerly the business manager for North Stonington Public Schools, will be the new business manager for the Deep River, Chester, Essex, and Region 4 schools. Jennifer Nucci, most recently the associate principal at Essex Elementary School, will be the new supervisor of special services. The associate principal role at EES will not be filled after Nucci’s departure, as declining enrollment has made the role unnecessary.

Guaranteeing Technological Access

This year the district will add Chromebook distribution to 7th grade students; last year they were handed out to grades 8 through 11. The program will eventually provide laptop computers to all students in grades 7 through 12. The computers are turned in at the end of the year.

“It gives equal access to all of our students to have the ability to participate and have Internet service, and do research and communicate with teachers,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ruth Levy.

Summer Exchange Program

The summer exchange program was considered a success; 30 students and two teachers from China spent two weeks in the valley area experiencing American culture and taking classes along with about a dozen Valley Regional High School (VRHS) students. While it was considered a positive experience all around, there is no international enrollment at VRHS at this time.

“It was a great experience,” said Assistant Superintendent of Schools Kristina Martineau. “It brings to life that part of the mission statement about preparing our students for a globalized society and including cultures from across the globe.”

Manufacturing Awareness

“We are expanding our manufacturing program. Previously we worked with Whelen and will certainly continue working with them, but we are now looking for other manufacturers and industries in the area to be able to partner with and develop a relationship for our students to get experiences,” said Levy. “We’ve had an excellent relationship that we’ve developed between the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the local district, and our partners, to teach and develop courses that teach the kinds of skills that our students need for postsecondary careers and employment. And working all together, manufacturers tell us what their needs are, and we can in turn work to supply those kinds of needs.”

A new middle school program will offer an introduction to manufacturing. More focused exploration within the classroom, the program will still give middle school students a chance to tour Whelen facilities. VRHS students can take general, introductory manufacturing classes at Whelen Engineering, where they work side by side with the employees to build things. There is also an advanced class with more focused instruction, internships, and a capstone project possibility their senior year.

“It prepares them for what they want to do as well as what they don’t want to do, and that is really important,” said Levy. “It also offers some students the opportunity to work after school and in the summer.”

Levy sees the program as an opportunity to serve students who’ll seek a career straight out of high school.

“The Department of Labor has worked with us to award students when they graduate with apprenticeship hours, which is akin to a scholarship for students going on in terms of less hours that they need to work before they are actually made a part of the company. And the other thing that we are doing is moving down now from the high school and including many courses at the middle school as well. So, being able to offer students that option; it serves the needs of manufacturers in the area, but it serves the needs of our children more than anything else. It gives people a direction and could be an alternative to going into post-secondary education or it could include the experiences they have in making post-secondary decisions,” continued Levy.

Curriculum Updates

Region 4 is also instituting a new strategic plan that focuses on critical and creative problem solving. Teachers and administrators will work on developing district-wide rubrics that span the grade bands in a cohesive way, according to Levy. The plan “focuses all of us on one particular aspect, and it gives us a better measure of how we’re doing. It’s more of a personalized student approach,” said Levy. “It actually crosses over between social, emotional, and academic learning. In this world, it’s not just being able to memorize information and give back the information on a test—it’s being able to actually take the knowledge, understand it, and use it to come together and have meaningful solutions to larger world problems and problems they will be dealing with in their careers and in their lives.”

Next Generation Science Standards and the Bridges mathematics program will both be implemented this year. Next Generation is a state-wide set of new assessments that will begin being implemented at grades 6, 9 and 10 this year, but will eventually be rolled out K through 12. Bridges is an elementary (K-5) mathematics program that is being implemented at the district level.

“Next Generation Science Standards give an increased focused on inquiry, looking at multiple perspectives, and learning as scientists,” said Martineau. “There is a lot more focus on the problem-solving and inquiry piece, and less on the content piece, and the content is more integrated. When we went to school, we learned biology in isolation, physical science in isolation—now things are more integrated, the way the science really functions. “With Bridges, we are transitioning to new resources that will help our teachers and our students access mathematical thinking and improve their mathematical skills. It’s a rigorous program, but it is a program that scaffolds and meets individualized learning needs for all our students,” continued Martineau. “It really helps them think like mathematicians, and to really deeply understand math. It’s not just the rote memorization. It’s that real world application; it’s not just classroom knowledge. We’re going to apply them to real problems to think of innovative ways to approach things.” Computer coding courses have also been added at the middle school level. Previously, there was some exposure at elementary level, and last year, there were intro to coding and mobile app development courses at VRHS. The middle school will offer introductory and exploratory courses in coding.

Levy sees the changes to the curriculum as a move toward education based in flexible thinking, making students capable of problem solving and adapting to the future. “We’re working to prepare them for totally different ways of employment and different careers; we need to teach them the skills they need to create and solve and work with one another,” said Levy.