Author Jerry Pallotta Visits Hillside
Hillside kindergarten and first grade students could not contain their giggles in response to Jerry Pallotta’s audiovisual antics on a recent Thursday morning. Pallotta is a former Needham native and the author of the Who Would Win? series along with multiple alphabet and math themed books. He was invited to Hillside to make three presentations explaining the steps that go into writing non-fiction books and showing how much fun writing and reading non-fiction can be.
Pallotta’s day-long visit was funded by a grant from the NEF’s Spring 2017 Small Grants Cycle. Hillside parent Seema Meloni authored the grant with the support of school-based partners Liz Hitron, Hillside librarian, and Sena Hsu, 4th grade teacher. Their application pointed to recent research and changing Common Core standards that require elementary teachers to increase the amount of reading time that is focused on non-fiction texts to 50%. “It’s often challenging to find ways to excite students to focus on non-fiction texts,” Meloni wrote. This visit was envisioned to be a creative and innovative way to spark children’s interests and encourage them to spend more of their independent reading time on non-fiction materials.
“I loved that he showed students his writing drafts and work-in-progress to show that writing truly is a process,” Sena Hsu pointed out, “He also shared some titles and ideas of books that never got published. It’s so important for kids to realize that even adults try and don’t always succeed and that’s ok. That’s how we learn and grow. What great Growth Mindset moments!”
Jacob Peters, 4th grader, summed up the visit: “Jerry Palotta is a very bright and kind person. He is an awesome author, too.”
Race to Nowhere: Film and Panel Discussion
Nearly 200 parents, teachers, administrators and community members filled the Pollard auditorium on October 19th to watch a screening of Race to Nowhere. The film, which was funded by a NEF grant, examines the culture of over-scheduling, over-testing and over-pressuring children. It “reveals an education system in which cheating has become commonplace; students have become disengaged; stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant; and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.”
The film was introduced by Tamatha Bibbo, Principal at Pollard Middle School, who said that the new STRETCH Block is one way Pollard is trying to take some pressure off of kids during the school day. STRETCH classes meet for 6 weeks, twice a week, for 30 minutes each, and offer students the opportunity to “stretch their skills and competencies through enriching activities, and explore interests without the pressure of homework or assessments.”
After the film concluded, a panel of four educators took questions. Parents were curious what the Needham Public Schools are doing to address the issues presented in the film—especially considering it was released in 2010. Michael Goodin, Founder of the Rivers and Revolutions Program at Concord-Carlisle High School, reminded the audience that “seven years is just a blip in the education system. It’s going to take years and years to change things.” Lisa Fiore, Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at Lesley University, recommended that parents attend school committee meetings to let their concerns be known.
All agreed that professional development is one key to exploring the topics that were addressed in the film. Aaron Sicotte, Principal of Needham High School, said that the longer school day is enabling teachers at the high school to meet once a week.
The amount of homework was also a topic of conversation. Sicotte commented that homework is something “we’re continuing to talk about.” Parents and teachers need to consider, however, “If a child is taking six hours on homework, have we chosen the right class for him or her?”
Jimmy Odierna, Interdisciplinary Learning Specialist and Co-Founder of the Greater Boston Project at Needham High School, commented that the district is starting to focus more on growth mindset. Teachers of the Greater Boston Project have changed the rubric to include assessments on how much a student has grown and how a student has rebounded after dealing with a setback.
The pressure to achieve and attend the top colleges was a recurring theme throughout the movie. Odierna said “We, as a community, still push the top schools … Do kids need to go to an Ivy League school to be successful? Of course not.” He also stressed that NPS are focusing more on social-emotional learning and project-based learning. Sicotte added, “It’s a hard balance because we have a state and nation that has high expectations, and the town of Needham pays a lot of attention to MCAS and SAT scores.” “How do we make sure we have healthy kids?” he asked. “As parents, it’s important to know your kids and find a path that makes sense for them, and that path won’t necessarily be the one your neighbors are following.”
High Rock Creation Lab
Last spring, the NEF approved a small grant written by Erin Mack, High Rock’s Technology Integration Specialist, to transform the technology lab into a Creation Lab. We had a chance to sit in on a class in the Creation Lab in March, where everything that Ms. Mack envisioned in her grant application has come to life in her classroom.
Where there were once rows of computers facing a whiteboard, there are now lively work spaces defined with colorful rugs, furniture and dividers. During our visit, some students were recording in front of a green screen with plans of dropping in backgrounds suitable to their project. At one grouping of computers, two students were creating a poster together, while another group lay on the floor filming a stop motion film using their iPads, an iPad stand, and a whiteboard.
Erin never sat down while we were there – she moved from group to group and answered questions, gave instructions and ideas, and challenged students to think of new ways to accomplish their tasks. In her grant application, Erin wrote, “Imagine a room where teachers can be the facilitator and students have the autonomy to create, collaborate, and learn at different paces, showcasing their learning in various ways. The possibilities for differentiation and creativity are extensive.” Kudos to Erin on a well-conceived grant and accomplishing her vision with the High Rock Creation Lab.
Reaction from staff and students has been very positive, too!
“(I liked) the options available for students to have a choice in their final project for my course. There were designated spaces for kids to work in small groups or individually. All materials were available to help them be successful.” – HR Teacher
“I liked that you could be super creative with the stop motion.”- HR Student
Kindergarten Math Backpacks
In Spring 2016, NEF funded a $12,000 multi-school grant for math backpacks in every kindergarten classroom across all five elementary schools. With three backpacks per classroom, students take home math-related activities they can do with their families.
Elaine McKenna, grant writer and Hillside/Eliot math coach explains the program, “The kindergarten math backpacks are a great home school connection where the students are completing math activities, playing math games, and are introduced to math literature. The math concepts are aligned with Massachusetts State Frameworks but are introduced and practiced in a fun and engaging way.”
Backpacks contain a journal for students to record their experience with the backpack, which includes books, interactive games and manipulatives. Teachers report that their students are enthusiastic about the program, “The kids really enjoy using the math backpacks. They come to school excited to tell me that they played the games with their families.” And in the words of several students,
- “I love all the games!”
- “I learned how to count by tens.”
- “The books are my favorite!”
A Study of Courage for Mitchell 5th Grade Students
Blues Guitar Player Visits Needham High
NEF was proud to award the “Blues in the Schools” grant to Needham High School to fund a visit from Toby Walker, a Master Blues Artist and member of the NY Blues Hall of Fame. He provided an engaging presentation to the African American Studies classes that follows the history of blues from slavery, emancipation, and beyond. He also shared his personal narrative of how he came to acquire his knowledge journeying through the South. He also worked with guitar classes to teach them how to play blues style music, including rhythms and picking techniques.
See the article that appeared in the Hometown Weekly.
You’ve Got Mail! Helps Prevent Summer Slide at Broadmeadow
Film Screening of “Beyond Measure”
Piven World Comes to Mitchell Elementary
Through a small grant funded in the Fall 2015 cycle, Mitchell Elementary School students experienced the unique artistic talent of Israeli illustrator Hanoch Piven during self-portrait workshops with the artist. Piven’s illustrations, known for their playfulness, use everyday “found” objects to create unique works of art.
This collage technique encourages creativity and communication through play. Mitchell art teacher John Walek summarized the visit: “Having a world-renowned artist like Hanoch Piven teaching at Mitchell is not only a wonderful experience for the children, but also enhances our elementary art curriculum beyond measure.” To read more about Piven’s visit, check out this article in the Needham Times.
Film Screening of “Most Likely to Succeed”
“Most Likely to Succeed” has been heralded as the “best film ever done on the topic of school.” This film talks about a project-based approach to teaching and learning.
For most of the last century, entry-level jobs were plentiful, and college was an affordable path to a fulfilling career. That world no longer exists. The feature-length documentary Most Likely to Succeed examines the history of education, revealing the growing shortcomings of our school model in todayʼs innovative world. The film has been named “among the best edu-documentaries ever produced” by Education Week, and called a “smart and engaging look at education in the 21st century” by The Hollywood Reporter. Most Likely To Succeed, a film by award-winning documentarian Greg Whiteley, was an official selection of the 2015 Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.
In collaboration with all seven Needham PTCs, the NEF offered a free screening and panel discussion of the award-winning documentary on Thursday, March 24th at Newman Elementary School.
The panel included:
- Daniel E. Gutekanst, Superintendent of Needham Public Schools
- Robert Martello, Professor of the History of Science and Technology, Olin College, Needham, MA
- Mark Somerville, Special Advisor to the Provost, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics, Olin College, Needham, MA
- Daniel Warren, Sample & Recruitment Manager at the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University; Former Grade 5 Teacher at Newman Elementary School in Needham, MA
Excerpt from The Needham Times:
“Faced with a college admissions-obsessed, achievement-driven student body, Needham educators and parents began a discussion last week about whether they should – or even can – reinvent education in Needham.
Some 500 concerned parents gathered with educators for a screening of “Most Likely to Succeed,” followed by a panel discussion. According to the provocative, recent documentary, a college degree no longer guarantees a good entry-level job, because those jobs do not exist anymore. But most parents want their children to go to college – the best possible college – anyway. Subsequently, the high school curriculum is focused on AP classes and standardized test preparation to get kids into these colleges. This is a big, vexing problem, which calls on educators, administrators and parents to re-imagine U.S. education practices so that they might better prepare students for life in the 21st century.” Continue reading coverage of the event in The Needham Times.
Learn more about the film at http://www.mltsfilm.org/
