 |
|
 |
Serving the Town of Wilton, Connecticut
|
|
aoconnell@wiltonvillager.com
WILTON — In the 2009-'10 school year, literacy and the "whole child" will be hot topics in the Wilton schools. Both items figured prominently in the schools' long-range plans presented to the school board Wednesday night.
Effective language arts instruction is an issue at Wilton High School, Middlebrook and Cider Mill, according to the planning teams.
According to high school student and planning team member Mike Tartell, literacy is always an issue. This year, however, the long-range planning team received feedback from recent graduates who said that Wilton High School did not adequately prepare them for the oral presentations they have had to give in college.
Therefore, oral presentation skills will be worked into the curriculum, says Tartell.
The high school's other goals are school community and climate, innovative and global curriculum and technology.
At Middlebrook, the school wants to get more students involved in afterschool clubs which encourage reading and writing.
Student and planning team member Simon Bulenzi says that there are already many students who like to write involved in activities such as the student newspaper. The team is suggesting that the school add clubs which cater to reluctant readers.
"(We are suggesting) the addition of clubs which will help students to improve their writing in an engaging manner," he said.
Cider Mill's long-range planning team says their school has implemented uninterrupted 90 and 100-minute blocks of reading time for all grades to improve literacy.
Cider Mill's other goals include social studies, technology and the "whole child." To care for the whole child, the school's goal is to create a nurturing, safe and educational environment through keeping class sizes low, using social and emotional learning programs and by improving collaboration with other schools so that transitions between the schools won't come as a shock to students.
Assistant principal Christopher Moretti said that there needs not only to be communication between adults at all schools, but there also needs to be communication between the students at all schools.
Middlebrook is also working with the "whole child" approach. The school's other goals are science and differentiation.
At Miller and Driscoll, the schools listed the social and emotional development of the k-12 child among their goals. The schools also wish to encourage critical thinking and improve communication between school and home.
To that end, the schools plan to update the Miller/Driscoll Web site, which will have Web pages for each teacher and grade level. They also plan to distribute terminology guides and review progress report to ensure that parents understand the reports.
