Pathways

A weekly collection of information, thoughts, reflections, and accolades for the Reading Public Schools Community

March 25, 2018 Volume 4, Number 28

Upcoming Dates • March 24 – (6:00 p.m.)

RMHS Sophomore Semiformal in the RMHS Cafeteria

• March 26 – (6:00 p.m.) Community Open Microphone Session with Assistant Superintendent Finalists; (7:00 p.m.) Parker Grade 5 Family Transition Night

• March 28 – (6:00 p.m.) School Committee Meeting in Superintendent’s Conference Room; (6:15 p.m.) Coolidge Grade 5 Family Transition Night; (6:45 p.m.) Coolidge Math & Science Night; (7:30 p.m.) Financial Forum @ RCTV

• March 30 – Good Friday; Passover begins at Sundown

• April 3 – Local Election in the Hawkes Field House

• April 4 – Grade 6 – 8 Early Release

• April 8 – (2:00 p.m.) RMHS Formal Recital in the Endslow PAC

• April 9 – (7:00 p.m.) School Committee Meeting in the Superintendent’s Conference Room

• April 10 – 11 – (5:00 p.m.) Artsfest at RMHS

• April 13 – (11:00 a.m.) Grade PreK – 12 Early Release; Teacher In-Service Day; (6:30 p.m.) RMHS Junior Prom at Danversport Yacht Club

Aaron Polansky Presents at Blue Ribbon Keynote Presenter Talks About Being Yourself to Transform the World

Aaron Polansky

On Friday, Reading Public Schools held its annual Blue Ribbon Institute at Reading Memorial High School. Dozens of workshops featuring best practices in all realms of education were presented by Reading Public School staff and other educators across the region. As always, the conference provided opportunities for inspiration and reflection, very much needed in our profession.

The keynote speaker was Aaron Polansky who is the Superintendent of the Old Colony Regional Vocational Technical High School in Rochester, Massachusetts. In his message, Polansky spoke of Life’s Rubric of Kind.Honest.Improve. This is a guiding principle by which we evaluate our day to day decisions. If we are kind, honest, and constantly improving the situation for those around us, we can

Kudos and Accolades

• Congratulations to the RMHS Jazz Band who won a gold medal at the MAJE (Massachusetts Association for Jazz Education) State Finals. The will be playing at the MAJE Gold Medal Showcase on May 13th at the Berklee Performing Arts Center.

• Congratulations to the following Daily-Times Chronicle All Stars: Haley Lightbody (Basketball); Andrew Yatsuhashi, Andrew Riffe, Thomas Allardi, Jack Geiger, Maeve Swanton, Sarah Minard & Shannon Parks (Track); Michael Tobin & Kat Paradis (Hockey)

• To Craig Martin for his 21 years of service to the Reading Public Schools. Craig’s last day was last Friday.

• To all of the staff who presented at the Blue Ribbon Conference on Friday.

• To Administrative Assistant Lori Miller for all of her work in putting the Blue Ribbon conference together.

transform lives and entire cultures. We can focus less on the judgmental and more on continuous improvement.

As part of his remarks, Aaron referred to the short film called The Butterfly Circus and that we should treat people like the conductor of The Butterfly Circus and not the opening side show. This powerful short film, which has been seen by over 60 million people around the world is shown below. A review of the film can be found here.

http://thebutterflycircus.com/short-film/

At the end of the presentation, Aaron discussed several ideas to transform culture. Here are a few:

• Learn a new name everyday

• Leave notes of appreciation in teacher mailboxes

• Link assignments to passions with Academic Choices

• Elicit risk taking, curiosity, and creativity

• Identify favorite mistakes on a regular basis

• Put couches in places where you want students to read

• Are your rules in place to prevent 1% or guide 99%

• Please don’t email the entire staff with an “issue”

• Learn facial expressions

• Rapport before reports

Superintendent’s Office Hours this Week

All are welcome

3/29 Parker 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. 3/30 Coolidge 7:15 – 8:15 a.m. 4/3 Wood End 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. 4/4 Barrows 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Student Services Office

Hour and Classroom Visits This Week

3/26 Office Hour at

Joshua Eaton 2:45-3:45

3/28 Office Hour in the

Office of Learning and

Teaching at RMHS 7:30-

8:30 a.m.

3/29 Classroom Visits at

Killam 1:30-2:30

18 Reading Public School Teachers Graduate From Lesley Trauma Course

Lesley Trauma Course Graduates: In Alphabetical Order: Raymond Albright, Erica Boran,

Maureen Deligianidis, Danielle Fennelly, Karen Ghirardi, Talia Hallett, Amy Hussey, Lindsey Jacobs, Anne Manna, Tonia McGuire, Lynda Michel, Kerry Mullen, Jacquelyn Pelusi,

Nerecessa Pires, Fiona Schuette, Jessica Shaneck, Kelly Strob, Karen Stuart, Audra Williams. Also Pictured: Sara Burd of Arlington, and Lauren Sabella District Behavioral Health

Coach, Sal Terrasi LIFTS Instructor

On March 19th, 18 Reading Public School teachers graduated from the Lesley Institute for Trauma Sensitivity Graduate Certificate Program. Reading Public Schools in collaboration with Lesley University have been able to offer this program to their teachers free of charge, thanks to a Grant and tuition reimbursement. This program offers the opportunity for post-Master's professionals to develop expertise in psychosocial trauma work. The curriculum includes an overview of trauma theory and practice, as well as focus on specific client populations and topics. This collaboration was initiated by Sara Burd, who was a previous Reading Public School’s employee. The program has since been taken over and carried out by the District Behavioral Health Coach, Lauren Sabella. The teachers who completed this program are part of a small elite group. Only 5 groups have ever completed the program in its entirety. Those who have completed the program have demonstrated their ability to speak about the importance and value of trauma informed care training. This is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of for the entire Reading community. Congratulations!! Pictured here is the graduating class, who have successfully completed four consecutive graduate level courses.

Assistant Superintendent Finalists Announced

The Reading Public Schools are pleased to announce that the following candidates are finalists for the position of Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching:

Quote of the Week . . .

Struggles are required in order to survive in life,

because in order to stand up, you gotta know what

falling down is like.

• Brent T. Conway, Principal, Melrose Veteran Memorial Middle School

• Christine M. Kelley, Assistant Superintendent, Pentucket Regional School District

• Joanne E. King, Principal, Wood End Elementary School

• Jennifer Roberts, Principal, Essex Elementary School The finalists will participate in an open microphone session for staff, from 3:00-5:00 p.m., and for the community, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Both sessions will occur on Monday, March 26th, in the Patrick A. Schettini Library at Reading Memorial High School. The Staff Open Microphone Session Times are as follows: 3:00 p.m. Jennifer Roberts 3:30 p.m. Christine Kelley 4:00 p.m. Joanne King 4:30 p.m. Brent Conway The Community Open Microphone Session Times are as follows: 6:00 p.m. Jennifer Roberts 6:30 p.m. Christine Kelley 7:00 p.m. Joanne King 7:30 p.m. Brent Conway

All are encouraged to attend these sessions. Resumes and cover letters for each candidate can be found at the Reading Public Schools blog at

https://readingsuperintendent.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/finalists-announced-for-assistant-superintendent-for-learning-and-teaching/

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Reading Public Schools Administration Offices at 781-944-5800.

In High School, the Kids Are Not All Right

With social and academic pressure mounting, a teacher shares what he’s learned about tracking his students’ mental well-being. By David Tow for Edutopia

©Shutterstock.com/solarseven

I lost my first student to suicide not long ago. The student was no longer in my class at the time, nor even at the school, but I was flooded with the expected surge of feelings: overwhelming sadness, periodic despair, compulsive frame-by-frame replays of our every

Disney Tweet of the Week

"You control your destiny -- you don't need magic to

do it. And there are no magical shortcuts to

solving your problems."

-- Merida (Brave)

interaction. I felt the loss deeply. It was unspeakably tragic—for the student’s friends and family, for me, and for the world I’d hoped the student would help shape.

I was haunted, too—I still am—by the fear of a similar tragedy among my raw-nerved and anxious students. And the recent spike in teenage suicides in my area has underscored this fear sharply.

Based on my observations, the lives of the high school students I teach are hemmed in everywhere by social pressures and expectations: high-stakes testing, the looming shadow of college admissions, the fiercely competitive school system, the painful process of figuring out who you are, and the ubiquitous desire for peer acceptance. Add to this the unseen pressures—fractured or fragmented home lives, emotional or physical violence and abuse, struggles with substance use, legal problems, and the wide range of issues borne by the many immigrant communities across the country—and it makes for a period of unsustainable emotional distress. In recent weeks the constant pressure has meant dealing with student depression almost daily, and helping support those who I feel might be toeing the line of self-harm.

There are plenty of resources for dealing with student mental health issues, of course—though most of them are geared either toward college kids or, more tragically, toward elementary and middle school-aged children. The sources that do offer strategies tailored for high school students tend to be either excessively academic or so general as to be useless. Reviewing my notes from my joint credential and master’s program, I find inconsistency and a frustrating lack of clarity. The strategies include things like teaching positive management strategies and promoting emotional competency, or educating staff on mental health issues and encourage social supports.

As a practicing teacher, I don’t find that very helpful. And in my day-to-day work life, I see two common—and mostly inadequate—mental health strategies deployed to help high schoolers who look like they might be struggling: First, take some time, and second, get caught up. Even if the advice is phrased differently, it’s usually a variation on the same theme. Students are advised to take the adolescent equivalent of a personal day, and then complete their work accordingly. I’m not pointing fingers. I’ve done it myself.

In my case, frustration drove me to seek some better answers. In a series of recent conversations with the mental health professionals I trust, with colleagues who have a long history of putting students’ mental well-being first—and of course with students—I’ve assembled a list of strategies for classroom teachers to implement that might help not just treat the symptoms but also address the underlying issues.

5 STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING HIGH SCHOOLERS’ MENTAL WELL-BEING

1. Ask “How are you doing?”—and mean it. For the past six years, I’ve stood at the door and welcomed my high school students in with a handshake and a variant of that question. If I sense any problems, I might ask “Really?” or “You sure?” I think it’s reassuring to students to know that an adult in their life cares about their well-being, and the research strongly supports that position.

Student responses, even if they don’t answer honestly, can reveal volumes about their actual mental and emotional status. In my class, as students complete the warm-up, I go to my roster and note which students seemed upset or otherwise off.

Important Websites

RPS District Website

www.reading.k12.ma.us

Interface Health Services https://interface.williamjame

s.edu/community/reading

Over the course of an average month, I think it’s a good goal to seek out one substantial check-in with every student, no matter how they seem to be doing. The teacher will have made a meaningful one-on-one contact, and the student will know that the teacher has their well-being at heart. Furthermore, it’s easy and cheap in terms of time invested, but can yield important insights.

2. Set office hours. This is a policy I’ve borrowed from some of the best teachers I’ve worked with: Set formal office hours and use them to meet with students about more than just academic concerns. For example, I’ll try and meet with each of my students once per semester at some point outside of class time and use the conversation to learn more about who they are, what their academic goals are, and whatever other concerns they have. More often than not, these conversations move into more meaningful territory—most of my students just want or need someone to talk to. The primary objection is that this costs a great deal of time, and I agree. It’s time intensive, but I think it’s worth it.

3. Remember your Maslow. It seems trite to point this out, but in the midst of all the testing and the grading, we need to remind ourselves that mental health trumps academic performance every time. Students who don’t feel grounded or safe or healthy cannot do their best work. Instead of constructing a classroom environment that operates at 100 percent difficulty all the time, consider alternate models that allow students to feel supported and competent first—and then consciously and explicitly ratchet up the difficulty and complexity as appropriate. I try to practice a type of curricular minimalism: lots of guided and independent low-stakes practice, culminating in a manageable set of summative exercises.

4. Consider what matters. I have often spoken with both past and current colleagues about makeup work. Many are of the belief that if a student misses an assignment, they should be—and often must be—responsible for timely completion upon their return. Others tend to recommend a gardener’s approach, pruning the material to its most vital branch. More specifically, when a student is out, it’s important for teachers to consider what work, what skills, and what benchmarks are actually important for outcomes.

When a colleague suggested to me that not all assignments matter, and those that do matter don’t all matter the same, I balked—but there’s plenty of wisdom in the idea. When a student falls behind, consider dropping assignments or editing down the work and, most importantly, explain to the student why that exception is being made. They will appreciate the clarity and the empathy, and most respond by working with greater discipline toward more manageable outcomes in the future.

5. Use the professionals. The best attempts of teachers pale in comparison to the support, resources, and guidance of professionals. I cannot advocate enough for teachers and all school staff to get to know your on-site school psychologists or mental health counselors (if you are so lucky), or to find those very important names and numbers immediately. Every mental health professional I’ve met in education has impressed me with their sensitivity, care, and ability to identify underlying issues well beyond my knowledge, and they explain the connection between a student’s case history and my observations in a way that is both useful and crystal clear. Although teachers tend to try to be self-sufficient and eschew asking for help from those outside the classroom, we aren’t mental health professionals—and this sort of assistance is necessary.

And don’t forget to talk to someone yourself. This last strategy emphasizes self-care. I’ve seen teachers look just as punch-drunk as students, sometimes suffering from the same

Contact Us

The Pathways newsletter is published weekly for the Reading Public School Community. If you have anything that you would like to share, please email your info to John Doherty at:

john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us

anxiousness and depression. It’s important that teachers make an effort to talk to someone else—especially since the old truism that each classroom is its own kingdom is generally still true. A teacher who is burdened with the trials and tribulations of their hundred-plus students—and their own struggles to boot—won’t have the headspace to be a humane, observant, and effective shepherd.

Whether it’s in small doses with a spouse or significant other, structured sessions with a therapist, or even informational conversations with colleagues, getting those feelings and thoughts out of your head will make you more capable of responding to the needs of others.

Attention Youth Mental Health First Aid Participants

Are you a Youth Mental Health First Aider in need of your Certificate? Following your training class, a certificate was emailed to all of the participants. However, if you did not receive your certificate, misplaced it, or changed email, let us know. Email Erica McNamara at emcnamara@ci.reading.ma.us with the following info---Your name, email, when you took the class and when you need your certificate. If you need PDPs for this class, those are issued by Lori Miller. Lori has an updated list of all those that took the 8-hour class. Thanks everyone!

Reading Public Schools Happenings Killam Celebrates Read Across America To celebrate Read Across America and in connection with the picture book “Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig”, Killam students were challenged to read 40,000 minutes. If they reached this reading goal, Ms. Leveque promised to kiss a pig. Our Killam’s students smashed this challenge by reading a combined total of 106,644 minutes and Ms. Leveque kept her promise by kissing Bebop the pig.

37 Reading Public School Students Participate in Northeast Junior Districts After January auditions by students from more than 60 public and private schools, 37 Reading students were selected to participate in the Northeastern Massachusetts Junior District Music Festival, a prestigious Massachusetts Music Educators’ Association event. The program, for students in grades six through nine, is offered by the M.M.E.A. as an enrichment opportunity for talented young musicians. Students were selected to perform in the Junior District Concert Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band, Boys’ Chorus, or Girls’ Chorus. They rehearsed with guest conductors on March 14, 16, and 17 and then performed at two large concerts at Galvin Middle School on Saturday, March 17. Reading music teachers Jenny DiMuzio, Joe Mulligan, Andrew Norton, Cheryl Webster, and Anna Wentlent helped prepare students and accompanied them to the rehearsals and concert.

Row 1 from left: Timmy Duggan, Kylie Encarnacao, Claire Friedman, Amy DeMartinis, Melody Vakili, Smritha Srinivasan, Liam Synnott, Chase Fruehauf, Constantine Georgopoulos, Ethan Norton, George Speros Row 2 from left: Cole Kenyon, Caitlin McKenna, Kaylie Sheffield, Audrey Thornton, Carolyn Xu, Luke Godwin, Jonathan Clapp, Quinn Grant, Andrino Sabia, Brendan Manning, Julia Mullen, Emily Croteau Row 3 from left: Christian Alfieri, Charlie Lloyd, Kevin Yatsuhashi, Evan Kerr, Josh Bedingfield, Max Rizza, Charlie Benjamin, Graham Hardin, Raymond Borawski, Ryan Cain, Aidan Vinciguerra, Laurie Wise, Tallulah Patalano, Katrina Mirogiannis Parker and Coolidge Students Attend Women in Science Workshop On March 15th, twelve eighth grade female students from Parker and twelve from Coolidge, accompanied by Kim Peterson and Mollie McIver, joined together to participate in this year's Women In Science Conference hosted by Salem State University. The students attending three classes all taught by women in the science professions. From Forensics to Meteorology to Veterinary medicine, students partook in hands-on learning and collaboration with female students around Massachusetts to introduce them to the many exciting fields of science.

World Down Syndrome Day March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day due to there being three of the 21st chromosomes. In commemoration of the day, Coolidge students, led by Mia Krupa distributed stickers.

Stepping Stones… • Congratulations to Wood End teacher Lindsey Tainish on the birth of her

daughter Abigail Maureen on March 20th weighing 7 lbs. 9 oz.

• Our thoughts go out to former Barrows principal Karen Callan and Joshua Eaton teacher Michelle Callan on the loss of a loved one recently.

• We have posted a new position. If interested, please visit https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx to view the job detail

Reading Memorial High School Principal (Repost) https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=458

Special Education Program Paraeducator, 60 hours biweekly, Coolidge Middle School https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=459

1.0 FTE Long Term Substitute French Teacher, Coolidge Middle School https://reading.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=460

Blazing Trails…

"If Only They Would Listen." Ironically, it seems we talk about everything in school but

school itself, points out high-school senior Sahar Mohammadzadeh in this ASCD Express

article. Students are the school culture and policy experts seeking and demanding to be

heard, she argues. When students have a space to be heard and a platform for action, it's

amazing what they can achieve. Read More

"Massachusetts High School Awarded STEM Grant." The Lowell Sun reports Nashoba

Valley Technical High School was awarded a $20,000 Project Lead the Way grant "to offer

high-quality science, technology, engineering and math programs." It is one of 73 schools in

Massachusetts to receive the grant, "which is supported by the administration of Gov.

Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, as well as the One8 Foundation and Mass STEM

Hub." Nashoba Tech is planning to "use the grant to strengthen its existing Programming

and Web technical programming by incorporating Project Lead the Way Computer Science."

It will also use the funds to "support teacher professional development and the purchase of

materials and equipment that will be used in the hands-on, activity-, project- and problem-

based courses." Read More

"Rebuilding a Team of Excellence." You know that saying, "Teamwork makes the dream

work"? It does indeed, if you have a highly functioning team stacked with members who all

share the same vision and are working together to achieve it. But what if you don't? Please

read more in this ASCD InService post. Read More

"DeVos Talks Schools, Reputation on '60 Minutes.'" US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

addressed school choice and safety as well as her reputation in an interview on "60

Minutes." DeVos describes herself as largely "misunderstood" in the interview with

correspondent Lesley Stahl. Read More

"How Do We Prepare Students for a Complex World?" Educators today seem to be faced

with a choice: continue teaching centuries-old ways of organizing the world through

traditional disciplines such as mathematics and music or throw them out in favor of

innovation and creativity in order to move into a 21st Century paradigm for teaching and

learning. This is a false choice. Here's the important truth: innovation requires the creative

transfer of the fundamental and powerful concepts of the traditional disciplines. We should

put real-world challenges in front of students that require them to improvise based on what

humanity has already discovered. Innovators stand on the shoulders of past scientists and

mathematicians in order to innovate. They don't invent without a deep understanding of

how the world works. Read More

Have a Great Week!