Weekly Update
Monday, June 10-Regular School Day!
Russell Annual Town Meeting -7pm
Chester Annual Town Meeting-7pm
Tuesday, June 11-Finals Half Day for MS/HS students, full day for elementary students, full day for all staff
Wednesday, June 12-Finals Half Day for MS/HS students, full day for elementary students, full day for all staff
-5th grade step up day to the Middle/high school
Recognition Ceremony hosted by the School Committee-6pm
School Committee meeting-7pm
Thursday, June 13-Half Day for all students, full day for staff
Friday, June 14-Half Day for all students, full day for staff
8th grade Step Up Ceremony
It has been a true pleasure to grow and learn alongside of you all this year. Given the new opportunities with the Barr Foundation and the energy and love shown from all staff in our district committing to this work, I want to share that it was personally my best year as an educator since I started teaching in 2007. THANK YOU for giving us your dedication, time, support, and focus this year. Our students are so lucky to have you all!
PLEASE get some good rest and enjoy the summer!
Staff Celebration hosted by the School Committee
You are invited to the staff celebration hosted by the school committee on Wednesday, June 12 to honor our retirees and award winners from this school year. The reception is from 6-7pm and it's in the foyer area outside of the cafeteria. The school committee brings yummy treats, and we highlight our staff including:
Retirees:
Gail LaBrecque
Ruth Harper
Nancy Blume
Mike D'Astous
Marie Pease
Marian Vancour
Recognition:
Amy Mason
Please join us for this lovely celebration!
YouthTruth Data
As discussions have occurred regarding next steps, there was a request to get more information from the YouthTruth Data. I am pleased to share the data with you compiled by Cheryl and Anne-Marie that provide some insights from a variety of perspectives. These are data points that are meant to spark curiosity and push our work to be more insightful. Please take a peek at your leisure!
24-25 Proposal (see below for posting)
After working with the eight school districts that was invited to participate in the first year of the Meeting the Moment Grant, the Barr Foundation invited six school districts to participate in the next phase. These six schools will be awarded from 100,000 to 400,000 depending on their level of commitment to this process and the ideas that generated from the first year.
I am pleased to share that Gateway was invited to submit a proposal for the full $400,000!
This amount will span over the next two school years and be allocated towards rich professional development, stipends for teacher work, community building activities, teacher travel, and student experiences including travel.
The talking points from this year and for next year are as followed:
Throughout the 23-24 school year, we have seen the strength of relationships throughout our district. Our plan moving forward will build on our positive relationships to increase our capacity for change through the development of a culture of using both positive and constructive feedback focused on student learning.
Throughout the 24-25 school year, we will prioritize building our skill of giving and receiving feedback and using that feedback to increase student learning. To do this, we will engage in instructional rounds (non-evaluative, learning-based walk throughs) and provide specific, non-evaluative feedback on areas of focus to those whom we visit and develop our feedback skills to increase student learning. We will continue to encourage positive risk-taking in our instruction based on models observed and learned through PD, site visits in and out of state, and our own instructional rounds.
During the 24-25 school year, it is our hope that every student 6-12 will visit another school site for a full day to help build our Gateway Instructional Vision. Students will talk in mixed-grade groups to share about their experiences and will culminate their learning in a student summit, where students will share their ideas about what learning might look like at Gateway. For grades PK-5, we hope to have immersive learning experiences, which may involve inviting experts into the schools and will be facilitated by adults in the respective elementary schools and secondary students. We are hoping to connect our high school students more to the elementary schools and encourage leadership skills.
By the end of the 24-25 school year, we will work together– students, staff, and administration– to develop a shared understanding of the instructional vision at Gateway and personalized goals for the next school year.
Throughout the 24-25 school year, Central Office administration and staff will be working on clearly communicating with one another to continue to define our roles and increase trust and efficiency to empower school leaders. There will be a focus on developing a strong hiring and onboarding program for new staff to feel respected and supported.
This is a work in progress, so if you have thoughts or ideas about these talking points, please send them to me!
24-25 Site Visits *SIGN UP BELOW!
https://forms.gle/P2usT4GdaZA3Th5j9
There is one visit already scheduled through Barr--this is a visit with two staff seats available. The visit is scheduled for October 21-24 to Louisville, Kentucky to see STEAM Academy (high school) and Eminence K-12 School. It is planned through the NGLC in partnership with the Barr Foundation, and they also require two students and two parents to participate in the trip as well. If you are interested in participating in this experience and you have not yet done an overnight Barr trip, please email Kristen and Will directly to express interest no later than Friday, June 7. The team will be selected based on the criteria set from NGLC. Obviously, you must plan to be at Gateway next year to participate. The draft agenda is below. Given the limited amount of seats and the time away from school, it is likely that NGLC will not be able to accommodate everyone who may be interested in this trip, but we promise to plan more amazing opportunities!
**Posting for Barr Operations Teams in the 24-25 School Year**
The work using Barr Funds next year will require close collaboration with the school principals and many logistical tasks to plan effectively. The grant will fund the positions listed below. There will no longer be a "core team" for Barr, as the goal is to shift the work to Operations Teams and teams in place through the contract such as the PD committee and teacher leaders.
The structure will be as follows:
Each school will have a School Operations Team of three staff members led by the School Principal funded by Barr. In the fall, two high school students will be added as operation team members to each School Operations Teams.
1 School Coordinator for each school
- works closely with the principal and is the lead member of the school operations team
- Coordinates the logistical tasks of the school operations team and facilitates the completion of tasks including planning for site visits for all students and the student summit at the secondary level and planning for "out of the classroom experiences" at the elementary level
- Coordinates instructional rounds at the school site for staff
- Develops communication describing the work of the school with Barr funds
- Plans community events for the school using Barr Funds
- Also sits as the school liaison on the District Operations Team
- $50/hour @ 2-3 hours per week, some weeks very busy requiring more hours, other weeks not busy at all requiring less
2 Operations Team Members for each school
- Works closely with the principal and is a member of the school operations team
- Takes direction from the school coordinator to organize and execute logistical planning with Barr funds including site visits at the secondary level and out of the classroom experiences at the elementary level and instructional rounds
- $50/hour with a few busy weeks of planning, totaling about 30 hours for the year
*Send letter (email) of interest to Kristen and the school principal by Friday, June 14. Please be specific about what position you are applying for.
Additionally, the district will have a District Operations Team. Two district coordinators, the School Coordinator from each school (see listing above), one member of the PD committee (appointed by the GEA), and one additional administrator will sit on the District Operations Team led by the Superintendent.
2 District Coordinators
- work closely with the Superintendent to lead the District Operations Team
- Coordinate the logistical tasks of the District Operations Team and facilitates the completion of tasks including planning for staff site visits throughout the school year
- Support the overall budget allocation of the Barr Foundation Grant
- Manage overall communication about the Barr Foundation Grant with the community
- Oversees the work of all schools to ensure alignment and collaboration when appropriate
- Plan community events for the district using Barr funds, complimenting the work of the schools
- $50/hour @ 2-3 hours per week, some weeks very busy requiring more hours, other weeks not busy at all requiring less
One Administrator Representative for the District Operations Team
- Works as a contributing member of the District Operations Team
- Completes Administrative tasks for the District Operations Team as assigned by the Superintendent
- Supports each school appropriately with their building-based work using Barr funds
- No additional stipend if full year administrator--$50/hour for non-full year administrator on non-work days
*Send letter (email) of interest to Kristen by Friday, June 14. Please be specific about what position you are applying for.
Congratulations to Martha Gendron!
I am pleased to share that Principal McCaul recently announced to families that Martha Gendron has been selected as the new Assistant Principal of Littleville Elementary School beginning July 1, 2024. Our search committee, which consisted of administrators, support staff, teachers, and parents, reviewed many highly qualified applicants, and we are confident that Martha is the perfect fit for this role.
Martha has been a dedicated member of the Littleville community since 2014, serving as a special education teacher. Her commitment to our students, her collaborative spirit, and her deep understanding of our school’s mission and values made her stand out as the ideal candidate for this position. Martha’s experience and passion for education will undoubtedly contribute to our continued growth and success.
FY25 Budget Passed!
I am pleased to share that the towns of Huntington, Montgomery, Middlefield and Blandford all approved the Gateway Budget at their Annual Town Meetings. Therefore, our operating budget from towns is approved per our regional agreement. The towns of Chester and Russell will meet on Monday, so we're hoping for unanimous approval :)
The state budget is still being considered which will determine our allocation from the state as well as the amount of Rural School Aid. Strong advocacy is still needed to support the statewide budget process to come out favorably for Gateway.
It is heartening to know that our local communities support our schools--now if only the state would do their part for our students!!
Our Annual Report
Our District Priorities
These priorities were introduced on opening day, but I am re-sharing to emphasize our focus on these two areas. Our PD, evaluation system, support for teachers in the classroom, walk throughs, and discussions at meetings will be centered around this work.
Cultural Priority
All staff in the Gateway Regional School District will intentionally build positive, caring relationships and uphold clear, equitable systems and policies so students are respected, feel safe to learn, take risks, and make progress towards their goals every day.
Instructional Priority
Gateway educators deliver excellent, culturally responsive learning experiences grounded in our high quality instructional materials and review data to make adjustments to their practice so that students make their thinking and reasoning public while engaged in rigorous, grade-appropriate tasks.
