Wishing Wild Success to Superintendent Hart!

Congratulations to Dr. William Hart - the new Superintendent of Schools in Ipswich, MA!  

Dr. Hart on his last day at Pentucket.
(As usual, he blended into the crowd 
and cheered on others).

The Pentucket Community was fortunate to have Dr. Hart as an Assistant Superintendent; the district grew tremendously during his tenure.  Under his guidance, teachers received support and training to fully embrace 21st Century Skills (preparing students to meet the needs of today's world).  Dr. Hart helped institute systematic changes enabling teachers to work more collaboratively.  As a result, all PRSD educators participate in 'Professional Learning Communities', with identified 'SMART Goals' to enhance instructional skills and create 'Powerful Learning' experiences for students.  Most notably, has been the work he accomplished moving instructional practices to incorporate the five 'Habits of Learning': Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Independence, and Creative Exploration.  The progress made in these areas has been so impressive that state officials and  neighboring districts have sent teams to Pentucket for site visits.  

I had the pleasure of working closely with Dr. Hart for four years.  He was a great mentor, who facilitated many administrative meetings focused on leadership and team building.  Those who know Dr. Hart, recognize his expertise in the area of thinking and questioning.   Whenever, we approached a new task he was famous for asking the question, "If ---- was to be wildly successful, what would it look like?"  

Reflecting on my four years with Dr. Hart, and the wonderful strides the district has made, I can confidently say he was wildly successful!  

Super Classy Gesture

This beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived today for "The Sweetsir Learning Community."  The card stated, "Looking forward to a great future together". Dr. Jeffrey Mulqueen, who was offered the Superintendent position on Tuesday evening, also sent similar arrangements to the other Pentucket Schools.

I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Mulqueen during the interview process and feel very fortunate to have such a highly qualified professional coming on board.  One of the things that most impressed me was the manner in which he interacted with both staff and students during his tour. Along with a warm smile and handshake, he greeted staff members by asking about their impressions of the district.  Even though we were at the end of a six building tour, he was personable and enthusiastic.

The School Committee Members have devoted a great deal of their personal time to select our next leader.  Along with attending many late night interviews, they traveled to site visits, performed background checks and showed candidates around all three towns.  When you see them, I hope you will join me in extending a sincere thank you for all the support they give our schools!

Leading and Learning Under Construction

Several parents have asked me to blog about the construction as a way to help them stay informed. While I am willing to share my personal observations, please keep in mind that I am not involved in planning or overseeing the renovations.  (I am happy to leave those decisions to the experts!).  My role is as an educational leader; my focus is on ensuring Merrimac children receive a solid educational experience.  

Since the construction projects are under the jurisdiction of the town, it has been reassuring to see the Town Building Inspector and Health Inspector spending significant time on-site to check the progress.  With the nice weather at the start of this week, the roofers were able to tackle areas above both the first and second grade wing.  The heating/ventilation crew also continued to work on installing duct work in the ceiling.  To work around each other, and take advantage of the daylight, the crews have worked both day and evening shifts.  I have never lived in a home while it was being remodeled, but several teachers who have mentioned this has a very similar feeling.  The secret is to stay flexible and keep reminding ourselves that this work is needed to create a safe, warm, dry school for these and future students.

I have been truly impressed with the response from Sweetsir Staff!  Despite the increased activity, teachers and paraprofessionals are doing an amazing job keeping the focus on children and on learning.  Classroom norms and routines have begun to settle in and the students are delving into the curriculum.  They appear happy and their behavior has been stellar.  The beginning of the year math assessments and DIBELS (reading) scores have already been completed and are being reviewed.  On the first early release day, teachers met in small groups, also known as 'Professional Learning Communities', to outline thier goals for the year.  The topics included: co-creating focus lessons for Reader's Workshop, examining students' work to drive instruction in Writer's Workshop, designing social stories and other differentiated activities to meet the needs of all learners, and using smart board technology to enhance math instruction.  All goals have the common element of using collaboration to create powerful learning environments for children.

Day One- My First Attempt at Blogging
Last week, I attended a fantastic conference put on by the Ma Elementary Principal's Association (MESPA).  The focus was on Technology in the 21st Century;  key speaker was Heidi Hayes Jacob (check out her site:  http://www.curriculum21.com/).  It was an excellent opportunity to network with other Elementary School Principals and discover how they are integrating technology in their schools.  Over a breakfast discussion, I became sold on Twitter and Blogging.  Apparently it is not just for movie stars and celebrities!  I've decided to start Twittering to build up a PLN - personal learning network and blogging to share information with parents and community members about the great things happening at the Sweetsir School!
Please keep in mind that blogging is new to me and  I am not particularly skilled in the tech area.  However, I do have a desire to learn and love a new challenge.  I believe it is important for Principals to model being learners.  This past week, I have found a number of resources on how to set up blogs, which has given me the guts to make a go at it.  Hopefully, I will share some of those links here once I get going.  I envision changing this blog over time.... just as I keep changing the picture on my Twitter Profile, lol.