Welcome Back!

Dear Chariho Faculty and Staff,

I hope everyone had a restful summer, took time to reflect and recharge, and looks forward to returning to the 2023 - 2024 school year! This past school year saw the successful year-two implementation of two new curriculum resources in math and ELA, revisions to our high school math and K-12 ELA curricula, embedded professional development in math and ELA, and one-to-one teacher coaching. We also started professional learning in the science of reading proficiency training. As a result, we had a very successful year that yielded strong student results. The district was also recognized for implementing high-quality curriculum materials and science of reading training, presenting our work at forums around the state. This implementation was only done with your dedication to ensuring the implementation was done with fidelity and integrity.

This upcoming school year allows us to collaborate and grow together in several ways. This year, we will have opportunities to increase our knowledge and skills as we enter year two proficiency training in the science of reading. Our elementary teachers, special educators, and reading specialists will culminate their learning about the research behind the science of reading and become active participants in implementing this learning in the classroom. In mathematics, we will continue collaborating with RIDE to bring embedded professional development using the i-Ready at the elementary and middle schools and the ALEKS programs at the high school level. Science teachers will continue the work with interim assessments and develop a deeper understanding of the Next Generation Science Standards.

Below is all the information you need in advance of our return. Excited to see you soon! 👋

The district continues to contract with Effective School Solutions to provide two clinicians. This year, the middle and high school will share a clinician, and a second clinician will provide support at both Richmond and Charlestown Elementary Schools. The clinicians will continue to play a pivotal role in supplementing the supports already in place for students. Elementary schools will also continue to access and utilize Dr. Pat Meinhold's student and classroom support services.

In addition, we will continue to provide district-wide professional development in the Trauma Attuned Model (TAM). During Summer Advance, our administrators participated in professional learning on creating a trauma-attuned learning community and will continue that learning throughout the school year.

Last school year, six teachers were trained in TAM as our first cohort of Teacher Champions from the high school Donna Caster, Cassie Iacona, and Jacob Guilbert. Ashley Smith, Christina Crowley, and Suzanne Krause participated at the middle school. A second cohort of Teacher Champions will be trained in TAM during the upcoming school year. The Trauma Attuned Model integrates tools to help educators manage the effects of trauma and the challenging behaviors that can often occur and develop. You can read more about this model here.

During the last week of June, thirteen Chariho educators became certified Youth Mental Health Trainers through the National Council of Mental Wellbeing. During the three-day training, participants learned about risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for how to help someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. Our participants also learned facilitation strategies to provide this training district-wide during the upcoming school year. We will coordinate this training throughout the school year during each professional development day for specific schools. I want to thank the following faculty and staff for taking on this critical and essential work on behalf of the district: Natalie Baggesen, Donna Caster, Christine Haberek, Emily Iredale, Stacey King, Justin Kazarian, Patricia Moore, Kayla Patten, Paige Sayer, Lisa Smith, John Spears, Danielle Stefanski, and Nicole Wescott.

As mentioned above, we successfully rolled out our new curriculum resources in math and ELA over the last two years. Research indicates that using high-quality curriculum resources can greatly benefit student achievement. Strong and skilled implementation of our curriculum materials has positively impacted student achievement. We look forward to continuing this momentum with embedded coaching and math and literacy support. As also mentioned, secondary science teachers will continue to deepen their knowledge of the science standards and continue the implementation of the interim assessments. We will also begin to revise the K-12 social studies and health curricula, business and the middle school STEM curriculum.

We begin year two of the science of reading proficiency training with AIM Pathways. You can find the Science of Reading PD Calendar here. We will start this training on our first PD day on August 31. We will continue to utilize our professional development and early release days for this professional learning. As a reminder, most teachers should have completed the modules for Awareness Training over the last two school years. Please send your certificates to Kristen Merritt and Nancy Pirnie if you still need to do so.

We are happy to have Kerry Pastore return as the district Literacy Fellow. Kerry will continue to provide embedded coaching and lead the work of our reading specialists with a specific focus on improving writing across the district. The Chariho Literacy Workspace has been updated to include our ELA K - 12 curriculum documents, assessments, the science of reading resources, the elementary report card updates, and professional development. You can find all vital information related to ELA on this site, which will be updated throughout the year. We will also follow the new structured literacy pathway in Into Reading for foundational skills in Grades K-2. The digital versions are available on the ED Platform on the Into Reading website.

The Rhode Island Science of Reading Team (RISOR) is excited to announce the first annual science of reading conference on Saturday, September 23rd, at The Compass School in Kingston, RI, from 9 am-3 pm! This conference is for ALL educators. REGISTER VIA THE ATTACHED PDF.

100% of all donations will go toward event expenses. Thank you for helping us cover the cost of this event!

Don't miss out on hearing Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan speak about best practices for supporting MLLs, and Director Brandee Lapisky shares her district's journey of shifting to evidence-based literacy practices.

In addition to the two keynotes, there will be breakout sessions throughout the day so you can learn with others as we all dive deeper.

As many of you know, Joe Lopes retired this past school year. We wish Joe well in his retirement. In his place, Linda Beaudry has stepped in as the MLL Specialist for the district. Linda has been working at the middle school as a grade 5 teacher. We are excited to have Linda in this role. She will be housed at Richmond Elementary School but will serve our MLL population throughout the district. Please join me in welcoming Linda to her new role!

As a reminder, all teachers and staff must use their district-issued email accounts to communicate with students and parents/guardians. For the safety of all, staff may not use their personal emails, cell phone numbers, or any apps to communicate with students and families. Please follow up with your principals if you have any questions.

New Teacher Orientation: Thursday, August 24th, 2023; 8 - 3:00 pm in the CMS Library

Convocation: Wednesday, August 30, 2023; 8:00 am in the CMS Auditorium

Professional Development Day: Thursday, August 31, 2023, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm at your schools. Your principals will share the agenda for that day with you.

Upcoming PD Days

• October 19th, 2023

• December 7th, 2023

• April 2nd, 2024

Early Release Days (All dates fall on a Thursday)

• September 21, 2023

• October 12, 2023

• November 16, 2023

• January 11th, 2024

• February 8th, 2024

• March 14th, 2024

• April 4th, 2024

• May 16th, 2024

Email: michael.comella@chariho.k12.ri.us
Website: https://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/teaching_and_learning

Location: 455A Switch Road, Wood River Junction, RI 02894
Phone: (401) 364-1150