Assistant Superintendent Update

“A good education is the greatest gift you can give yourself or anyone else.” Mahtab Narsimhan

We have had a very positive and productive several months since the opening of our school district! Our administrators, teachers, and students have been very engaged in learning a great deal through our District goal of Social Emotional Learning. There are many positive strategies taking place throughout the district including Conscious Discipline, Restorative Practices, Kingian Non-Violence program, and Mindfulness activities.

What is Social Emotional Learning? Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. (https://casel.org/what-is-sel/)

We are visiting schools, classrooms, and students every week and building important relationships with all. It is wonderful to be a part of our students’ learning! Some of the events we have been part of: School openings, Open House, Field Day, Special School Academic, P.B.I.S., and Community Events. We are very proud to be a part of the North Providence School Community!

#npsdpride #npsdlearns #npsdfeedthepositive

Email: louise.seitsinger@npsd.k12.ri.us
Website: npsd.k12.ri.us/
Location: 2240 Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence, RI, USA
Phone: 401-233-1100
Twitter: @NPAsstSupt

• AIMSWeb Plus Universal Screening P.D. (Second round) for both Reading Specialists Teachers and Special Education Teachers at the Elementary Level to support conducting assessments, analysis of data and progress monitoring for students
  
• Completed District Universal Screening Assessments at the Elementary (AIMS Web Plus) and Secondary Levels (STAR); Utilizing data to provide interventions and progress monitor students
  
• Completed Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment to support identifying and improving students' reading instructional levels
• Examining data at all levels using templates for school wide conversations.
  
• Received and sharing results of screenings with administrative team, staff, and families.
• Recieved RICAS data https://lms.backpack.education/public/ride and in the process of reviewing and analyzing all data at district and school level in an effort to target areas of need in Reading and Math Grades 3-8
• Working on consistent systematic review and analysis of district and school wide data to improve both instruction and achievement.
• Fundations program (Phonics/Pre-Reading Skills) in Grades K - 2 is going very well. www.wilsonlanguage.com/programs/fundations
• Successful piloting of the Summit Learning program www.summitlearning.org in Grade 5 at both Whelan and Stephen Olney Elementary School to support personalization of students' learning; Hosted Open Houses for families to share the successes of this resource
• IXL Program continuines www.ixl.com for all students in Grades K - 8 to support Math and Reading Interventions and Enrichment

• Achieve 3000 Program continues www.achieve3000.com for all students in Grade 7 to support Reading Comprehension through Social Studies, Science, and ELA content
• Achieve 3000 ongoing Professional Devlopment including coaching and classroom teacher support
• Continuing curriculum professional development at both Elementary and Secondary levels: Math, ELA, and integration of Blended Learning resources in all curriculum.
  
• Middle School Content Professional Development conducted very successfully in collaboration with one of our teachers and FUSE Fellows, Mrs. Katie Bowers
• Ongoing Science Professional Development in coordination with East Bay RI Collaborative at the Elementary level and ongoing support of RI Science Assessment, Spring, 2019

• Technology: 1:1 Devices for all students Grade 3-5; continuing to add more devices for primary students at the Elementary Level; ongoing 1:1 at Middle School Level; adding more Chromebooks at NPHS.
  
• Continuing new 504 forms and procedures Grades K-12 introduced last year.
  
• Continuing our District R.t.I./M.T.S.S. Committee to review our current District Guide and how procedures, intervention forms and intervention resources are moving forward.
  
• Continued Universal P.B.I.S. programs at Elementary and Middle level with further expansion at Elementary schools with no formal behavioral support programs.
  
• Continued M.T.S.S grant work (American Institutes for Research) with McGuire Elementary and Birchwood Middle School.
  
• Our PTECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) program at North Providence High School continues to be a huge success and is recognized statewide for its achievements! We are so proud of our 82 students' outstanding work in the health field led by our Director, Mrs. Melissa Caffrey and team.
  
• Our Marine Trades program at both the North Providence High School and Birchwood Middle School continues to be an outstanding and real world pathway for our students. Our Marine Trades Program at NPHS has received preliminary accreditation as a CTE program.
  
• The Mechatronics Program at Ricci Middle School and S.T.E.A.M. Program at Birchwood Middle School continue to be successful and growing!
• Awarded Champlin Grant for S.T.E.A.M. program at Birchwood which will be utilized to build a greenhouse/outdoor classroom.
• The American Institute for Research (A.I.R.) is supporting our teachers at the Middle and High School levels in Math as part of the Better Teaching Math Network (B.T.M.N.). They will be working on improving Mathematical instructional practices and student engagement.

· Continuing to conduct and review current Elementary and Secondary curriculum documents and resources on district teams in an effort to improve coherence and consistency of curriculum K –12

. Met with all NPHS Department Chair teachers to review and discuss all curriculum documents

. Coordinating meetings between NPHS Department Chairs and Middle School related Content teachers to collaborate on verticle alignment of curriculum Grades 6-12

· Monthly meetings with K-12 Reading Specialists to work on curriculum, data analysis, and support collaboration. Continued work on a District Reading Website to share resources, materials, and strategies for teachers and families.

· Monthly meetings with Administrative Team, Elementary, and Middle School Administrative teams. Our goal is to improve communication, collaboration and support best leadership and instructional practices at all levels.

. Met with District Family Engagement Committee to support efforts for increased parent/family involvement at all levels. We are planning several activities for this year.

. Continuing to mentor an Elementary student in the district this year.

. Both Middle Schools and the High School P-TECH program sent student teams to the Junior Achievement Fair this month in Providence

It has been such a pleasure and honor to share and celebrate all of the exemplary teaching and learning we have experienced in the past couple of months. We have the best students in the world!!