Warrior Wednesday
News from the Andover Public School District
Wednesday, October 3, 2018- vol. 5
In Case You Missed It- AHS Students & First Responders Honored
Andover High School students were honored by principals and administrators from AHS, High Plain and South Elementary schools for leadership displayed in the immediate moments following last month’s fires in the Merrimack Valley. AHS students Ally Keenan, Ava Goff, Kelley Carzo, Hannah Rowe, Haley Brenner, Becca Nash, Julia Mazrucchi, Karishma Mistry, Bryant Kroeger, Melissa Holguin, and Morgan Swain were working in the after-school programs at High Plain and South elementary schools that afternoon and made the brave decision to remain with the younger children.
Holly Smith, Ella Vidoni, Eva Routhier, Maeve Feeley, and Julia Rodenberger, seventh graders at West Middle School have been hard at work since the Monday following the incident to raise funds for those in need. Holly, Eva and Ella presented Andover Fire and Police departments with certificates of appreciation and thank you cards written by students across the district.
View WCVB- Channel 5 story below.
STUDENTS' SPOTLIGHT- Eye to Eye Mentor Program
Meghan Arpin and Lucus Rush are AHS Chapter Leaders for this year’s Eye to Eye program at APS.
Eye to Eye is a national, award winning mentoring program for students with learning and attention issues. Eye to Eye trains high school and college students with learning differences, including dyslexia and ADHD to mentor similarly-identified middle school students. Meghan and Lucas were sent this summer to the Eye to Eye leadership conference and training at Brown University and spoke at a recent school committee meeting with Christie Spisak, national representative of Eye to Eye.
AHS’ first official Eye-to-Eye meeting with our middle school mentees was held on Tuesday, October 2 at West Middle School. The program includes a series of art projects and empowerment activities based on the principles of grit and growth mindset and will culminate with a community art show.
It’s not too late to join, Eye to Eye is still looking for mentors! For more information on how to participate, please email jean.tarricone@andoverma.us .
For the Love of Literacy- meet Sara Calleja, Literacy Program Coordinator, PK-5
Sara Calleja joins Andover Public Schools as the Literacy Program Coordinator for the district.
Ms. Calleja’s main initiative for this school year is launching APS’ new reading program, and her goals include working with each school to promote a seamless learning experience for students and to collaborate across all platforms with teachers.
Sara taught 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades and served as an academic coordinator in NYC, a literacy coach in Lawrence and an assistant principal in Salem. She is a graduate of New York University, earned a Masters of Arts in Curriculum in Teaching at the Teachers College of Columbia University and a Masters of Education in School Leadership from the Harvard Graduate Schools of Education where she received the 2016-2017 Leadership in Education award.
She has a passion for big ideas and loves to see what successes come from joining forces with all schools in the district. Calleja is impressed with the strong commitment from teachers at APS, and notes the students’ engagement is phenomenal.
Of course, as a literacy expert, Calleja has a favorite book! She recommends Wings by Christopher Myers for kids and adults, as it’s full of lessons, conversation-starters on inclusion, diversity and perspective.
Superintendent's Message- MCAS Results
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released 2018 MCAS results last week, and school and district accountability and assistance levels. We’ve reviewed the data, and our results are positive.
In particular, we saw significant improvement in elementary reading (ELA) at all elementary schools and for all elementary sub-groups, including students with special needs, English language learners and economically disadvantaged students. Given the investments we've made in literacy, it appears our efforts are making a difference. We also made improvement in science. At AHS, we had a 15% gain in students’ scoring advanced on the high school Introduction to Physics MCAS. Math results remained strong and stable.
As a district, Andover Public Schools is classified as meeting targets, the highest classification a district can receive. Individual schools within the district were all classified as “not requiring assistance or intervention;” many of our schools performed very well in terms of student achievement and/or exceeded targets across many indicators. West Elementary School was named by DESE as a School of Recognition, the highest designation a school can receive for high growth and exceeding targets and one of 52 schools in the state to receive this title. High Plain Elementary placed in the top 5% of all elementary schools.
Work has already begun to address areas where APS is partially meeting targets. Chronic absenteeism is a new indicator in the 2018 accountability system, and one where the district often failed to improve or meet targets. Chronic absenteeism is defined by the state as “students who are absent more than 10% of days of membership,” or more than 18 days in a full school year. Challenging weather conditions in the 2017-18 school year may have been a factor in one year declines, however because attendance has shown to be important for optimal learning, it will be a primary focus district-wide.
When reviewing students’ scores, students, parents and educators should keep in mind that the standards for “Meeting Expectations” are more rigorous than the standards for reaching the Proficient level on the legacy MCAS and that Next-Generation MCAS scores cannot be compared to legacy MCAS scores.
Andover’s 2018 Accountability Report can be found on the DESE website. We recommend reviewing the “Detailed Data for Each Indicator” (middle tab) for a comprehensive and accurate overview of the results. Parents of students in grades 3-8 should receive their child’s scores from the district next week.
Sincerely,
Shelley Berman, Superintendent
APS COMMUNITY NEWS
Join us for a community presentation on the effects of sleep on adolescents Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 7 PM at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, adjacent to the Doherty Middle School.
Dr. Judith Owens, director of Sleep Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and professor in Neurology at Harvard Medical School will discuss the rationale for later school start times for middle and high school students, including basics of sleep and circadian biology in adolescence, the consequences of insufficient sleep and the evidence supporting school start time change as a means of optimizing the health of students.
The School Committee is currently considering the implications of the Andover schools schedule on adolescents’ mental health and well-being, and potential impacts of changing start times within the district. We invite you to participate in this very important presentation.
Celebrate National Principals Month
Each year, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and the American Federation of School Administrators designate October as National Principals Month to celebrate the amazing work that school leaders do every day to ensure student success. If you have a principal you’d like to acknowledge, make sure to post about them with #ThankAPrincipal.
Many Thanks to Our Dedicated Bus Drivers
The Andover Public Schools’ unsung heroes during the gas line repairs are our 35 amazing bus drivers. They are navigating road closures and constantly changing traffic patterns daily, while trying to maintain consistent timing within our very tight routing schedules. We are grateful for their patience and commitment to our students.
West Elementary’s Quarters for Kenya and Support Walk to School will be held on Wednesday morning, October 10th. West El always marks Walk to School day by taking donations (quarters or more!) for a charity, and this year will focus on raising money for their sister school in Kenya, the Beverly School. The founder of the Beverly School in Kenya, Abdi Lidonde, will join the West El community this year. West El will also be donating half of the collection to gift cards for our neighbors still without gas. West El continues to collect gift cards in the office for West El families. Get in some exercise while raising money for a good cause!
ACE Scarecrow Festival
The Andover Coalition for Education (ACE) will host its 6th Annual Scarecrow Festival in Andover from Saturday, October 13 to Saturday, October 27. ACE is currently offering the public a chance to purchase “Make Your Own Scarecrow Kits,” which contain everything needed to craft your very own scarecrow. Individuals may purchase a Scarecrow Starter Kit for $30 (includes wood frame and hay). The theme for this year’s festival is “Andover Goes International – Explore the World!” inspired by our diverse community and educational focus on global connections through our Andover_Portal. Scarecrow Kits are available now at locations around Andover. To reserve your scarecrow kit today, you can contact jsrivastava@aceandover.org to arrange a pick-up date and location. ACE is celebrating 10 years of support for program innovation in the Andover Public Schools.
Are you, or someone you know, a substitute teacher? Choose when and where you’d like to work- APS is now hiring substitute teachers. For more information or to apply online please visit www.aps1.net and click on employment. Hours range between 7:30 AM- 3:15 PM.
$75 per day base
$85 per day with Bachelor’s Degree
$105 per day for retired teachers
Class is in Session for Parents!
Andover Public Schools held its first Parent’s English Language Learning (PELL) class at High Plain Elementary last month. In its second year, classes are led by Mellissia Walles, parent and language teacher, Edde Foster, english language teacher and Assistant Principal Marika Lyons.
The goal of PELL classes is to help immerse parents in our school community, and focus on school-based communication activities that help improve speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Classes are open to all parents. Future meetings will be held at 10AM in the High Plain Teachers’ Room on October 16, October 30, November 13, December 11 and December 18.
Any parent within the district is invited at any time, and small children are welcome. For more information contact Marika Lyons at 978-247-8600 or mlyons@aps1.net
About Us
Email: nicole.kieser@andoverma.us
Website: www.aps1.net
Location: 36 Bartlet Street, Andover, MA, USA
Phone: 978-247-7000
Twitter: @AndoverPS