D ear Families,
All of us in the Stamford Public Schools are driven by our mission to prepare each and every student for higher education and success in the 21st century. The past two years have been a period of engagement, reflection, and evolution. I am certain that we are now on the brink of going from good to excellent. The commitment and intelligence of our educators will enable us to fulfill my vision for Stamford to be the highest performing small urban school district in the nation.
As an organization, the Stamford Public Schools is uniquely positioned to thrive in the 21st century. Nationwide, public education is at a serious crossroads. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has illuminated the inequities of urban public education. This legislation has forced us to better analyze our data and to ensure we provide for the needs of those children who are not achieving. Yet NCLB is an inadequate measure of the skills our children need as they enter a world that is becoming increasingly complex. Today’s educated citizenry must know how to thrive in a world where we are all connected to each other; where people speak multiple languages; where technology provides for unlimited access to information; and where “soft skills” are of paramount importance. Today, a basic education requires mastery of complex problems, analysis of multiple sources of information, and communication of difficult ideas to wide audiences. Standardized tests do not measure those skills. Although tests such as the CMTs and CAPT enable us to analyze our strengths and weaknesses, they are but one measure of our success. Other measures include school climate, graduation rates, and opportunities for all students to be engaged in a high-quality curriculum.
Since I arrived in Stamford just over two years ago, we have focused on three main questions: 1) How do we provide each and every child with curriculum and instruction that will enable them to graduate ready for higher education? 2) How do we meet the individual academic needs of each child? and 3) How do we show each child that we love and support them as individuals? To address these questions, our efforts have centered on establishing a core curriculum, while supporting children through differentiated instruction and social emotional learning. As we go forward in 2007-08, we are ready to build on this framework and to implement programs that will help our children achieve excellence.
This fall, each student in kindergarten through second grade will learn mathematics through a new program called Everyday Mathematics. Everyday Mathematics is a standards-based program that has been used with great success in districts throughout Connecticut and across the nation. It teaches children essential math skills through an approach that engages all types of learners. It is no longer acceptable for some children to be “math people” and others not. Today’s world demands that all children be able to think mathematically and grasp complex concepts while also being able to compute numbers in various ways. Additionally, this fall, all middle schools will implement a standards-based program called America’s Choice that will enable us to address the needs of those children who have struggled in mathematics. Both programs are part of our College Bound District Program (CBDP), which has been generously funded by the General Electric Foundation. Research shows that to achieve excellence, students must master Algebra by the 8th grade. Everyday Mathematics will provide the early foundation to make this possible, while America’s Choice will help those children who do not have that foundation to catch up. We will then start developing a common core curriculum for middle and high school mathematics for 2008-09, while we expand Everyday Mathematics in the elementary grades.
The CBDP is also funding new science programs, which we will introduce in the 5th, 8th and 10th grades this fall. These improvements will serve students well, as the State of Connecticut will begin testing in science next year. Our programs are based on hands-on inquiry and the development of analytical skills, while not foregoing the “hard skills” that are necessary for success in the science field. I am also very pleased that this year, we are re-establishing two laboratory periods per week for all high school students who take Biology and Honors Chemistry. We will expand this offering to all Chemistry students next year, and the year after, to those who take Physics.
Implementing new curriculum is never easy. In order to provide our teachers with the help and support they need, our schools will establish Professional Learning Communities and a Coaching model. Professional Learning Communities are based on the simple concept that teachers who regularly collaborate with each other on student achievement will be well-equipped to meet the needs of their children. In most professions, employees work in teams, constantly running ideas by colleagues in order to perfect a product or idea. Teachers are too often asked to work in isolation and very little time is available to plan or create together. Two of our most successful magnet schools, Westover and Scofield, are built on the concept of teacher collaboration, with designated time for teachers to work together. I am thrilled that we will be expanding opportunities in every school for teachers to collaborate and learn from one another.
Additionally, through the CBDP, we are fortunate to be able to hire a Math Coach for every middle school and for AITE. These coaches will provide direct support to mathematics teachers as they implement our new programs and curricula. What we learn from the middle school coaches this year will help us to develop a coaching model for every other school using existing resources.
The coming year also brings many challenges and questions. We will have $6.7 million less in our operating budget than I requested. This loss will require us to do business differently and to defer enhancements such as Gifted and Talented and Elementary Spanish. We also need to address performance in our middle schools, as I believe our current middle school program does not always maximize the commitment of our teachers nor fully engage all of our students. In the area of student discipline, new legislation from the State will require us to develop additional alternatives to our current approaches. This year, we will also develop a comprehensive approach to teaching literacy and ensure equity in opportunities for all students to take music, art, drama and physical education/health. I am pleased that we have begun to make strides in those areas, but, of course, more work needs to be done. A new five-year partnership with the Panasonic Foundation and the Connecticut Center for School Change will help us align those efforts with the Board of Education’s strategic goals, and will include extensive input from teachers, administrators, parents, students and the community.
I continue to be proud and privileged to be the Superintendent of Stamford Public Schools. There are few communities in America that have the kind of intelligence, commitment, willpower, and vision that we do. The question before us now is how we corral the energy, complexity, and opportunities of Stamford so that we do not settle for just going from good to great. We are on a path to go beyond greatness; in Stamford, excellence is the point.
Sincerely,
Joshua P. Starr, Ed.D.