A New Year!

Happy New Year to all of our students, staff, families, and community members! Whenever a calendar year changes, many of us think of this as a fresh start, a new beginning. For us, it is the realization that the first half of the school year is almost complete and a reminder of the work that we need to accomplish in the half year ahead.

In the area of teaching and learning, we are working to complete our curriculum writing work in all content areas so that we have clear plans of what needs to be taught from preschool through grade 12 in the district. Social Studies, Science, Visual Arts, Music, and Physical Education are all in progress toward that end.

Over the last year and a half, curriculum documents have been completed in the areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Foreign Language, Library/Media Education, and Technology Education. Copies of these curriculum documents can be found on our web site. The English Language Arts and Mathematics curricula are aligned with the Common Core Standards. These standards have been adopted by 45 of the 50 states, including Massachusetts. Teachers across the district are busy at work creating units of instruction that will provide a framework for implementing these curricula.

Our mathematics curriculum requires that we re-evaluate the materials needed to teach the curriculum. Teachers in grades K-8 are investigating new mathematics textbooks and several teachers will be piloting materials published by Pearson and McGraw-Hill. We hope to be able to make a decision regarding an adoption of these materials by the spring of this year.

Our district Technology Advisory Committee is also busy at work overseeing the implementation of the district's Technology Plan. We asked our teachers to complete a survey about how they use technology so we can plan for additional technology and professional development to help teachers learn best how to integrate technology into instruction. Members of the Committee will be visiting other districts who are integrating technology into instruction in order to inform our decisions for moving forward in this area.

So, the new calendar year is off to a busy start! There is much to be done in order to ensure that continue to provide excellence while achieving our mission of success for every student every day. Check back to this blog for updates - you can also subscribe to the blog by RSS feed or email (see area to the right).

The School Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 and the Playground Committee will meet on Wednesday, January 9, 2013. Check the School Committee area of our site to see the agendas for both meetings.

As always, please feel free to call (413.323.0423) or email me (superintendent@belchertown.org) with any questions or comments regarding this update.

Best regards, Dr. Judith Houle, Superintendent of Schools.