• Principal’s Round Table Friday 12/17/10 by Julia Cerny
• Town Hall Meeting with Brian Osborne Editorial by Wendy Lazarus
• Round Table with Tina Lehn – Observations by Linda Thibodeau

(Scroll Down the Page to read all the editorials)
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Principal’s Round Table Friday 12/17/10 by Julia Cerny

On Friday morning, December 17th, right after drop-off there was a lovely opportunity to sit with Principal Tina Lehn in the Annex Library at one of the PTA’s Round Table meetings.

As we all enjoyed coffee or tea, Principal Lehn shared what her typical day is like, starting from waking up and ending with her head hitting the pillow.  However, nothing is typical about any of her days, as we learned Ms. Lehn does the job of 4 people, multi-tasking and putting out fires every step of the way!

She starts very early with a trip to the gym (very inspiring!) and gets to school by 7:20 or so, and the race begins!  Her schedule is booked minute-to-minute all the way until 5 in the afternoon.  Impressive was her commitment to getting into each and every classroom for a constant stream of formal and informal teacher observations—which also turn into direct interaction with our kids as well while she is there.  Principal Lehn aligns her priorities toward streamlining meetings and appointments with an eye toward giving the teachers all the tools, support, and resources they need to better teacher our children.  Closely working with Mrs. Samuels toward these goals, Ms. Lehn manages to respond to teachers’ and parents’ needs at both SMS locations throughout her day.

While the scope of her responsibilities is daunting, it was clear that Principal Lehn’s primary focus is the well-being and development of each of our children—and while we may have to wait until the afternoon or evening to receive an e-mail response from her, it is because she spends every second of her school time with the students and teachers.  Principal Lehn—we hope you find time for a power bar somewhere in there, it looks like you need it!

Bravo to the PTA for providing us with intimate sessions such as the Round Table Discussion, those of us in attendance walked away with a much greater understanding of how our school works—straight from the top!  Please watch for future Round Table’s and join us!

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Town Hall Meeting with Brian Osborne – November 16th, 2010: Editorial by Wendy Lazarus

On Tuesday, November 16, Superintendent Brian Osborne addressed the community in a town hall meeting held at Seth Boyden Elementary School.

He opened the evening with remarks highlighting the improved test scores and narrowing of the gap that occurred in many of the grades on the 2010 standardized tests. While acknowledging the work that still lies ahead, he is optimistic that the changes the district has made – including the implementation of the revised language arts curriculum in grades K thru 10 – are benefiting the students. He was also pleased that the district had more than a 90% attendance rate by the parents at teacher conferences this year. He believes that we are moving in the right direction to become one of the most successful school districts in a diverse community in the country.

There were several questions from the parents in attendance. Here is a summary of some of the issues addressed at the meeting.

The districts anti-bullying policies and programs
Superintendent Osborne stated that the district is very committed to preventing bullying in our schools and promoting tolerance.

Most recently, the district had the entire 5th grade congregate together at Columbia Highschool to attend an assembly – sponsored by The Parenting Center – on bullying, by a leading expert in the field. He also acknowledged the growing concern with cyberbullying among teenagers. He asked that parents also be vigilant and report any instances of bullying they become aware of, because sometimes the students are reluctant to report it themselves.

The effects of the budget cuts
To address last year’s more than 5 million dollar reduction in state and federal aid to our schools, the district was able to reduce costs, in part due to an immediate spending freeze and by outsourcing the paraprofessionals. He noted that it was a hard decision to make, and that many of them were given the opportunity to return to the district through the outsourcing company. In addition, the district was able to reassign funds from the operations
budget, (building and maintenance), to other programs to keep them running, including the inclusion classrooms. He anticipates further budget cuts this year.

The curriculum
Highlighting the importance of science and the dwindling numbers of people entering the field, one parent inquired as to whether the district had plans to bolster the elementary school science curriculum.
Superintendent Osborne responded that as a former science teacher himself, he too believes in the importance of elementary school science and that the curriculum would be addressed in the future. The district focused on revising the language arts and math curriculums first, because those are generally the tested subjects. Another parent inquired into whether the district was going to be implementing a gifted and talented math program in
the elementary schools. Superintendent Osborne stated that they were waiting to review the results of the math audit. Two possibilities are narrowing the math enrichment to make it more of a gifted and
talented program, or expand it to include all kids scaffolded at different levels.

Interventions to help reduce the disproportionate failure rate of boys
One parent raised her concern about the disproportionate failure rate of boys — especially in highschool. Superintendent Osborne said that the district is looking into programs to help those kids succeed. Among other things, it has instituted a mentor program in the highschool which has been well received.

In his final remarks, Superintendant Osborne stressed his respect for the profession of teaching. He asked that parents honor the teachers for their dedication to the students– especially those that go above and beyond. He pointed out that “thank-yous” go a long way coming from parents. He wrapped up the evening by urging everyone to “pay it forward.”

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Principal’s Roundtable Wednesday 10/27/10 — Observations by Linda Thibodeau

This morning at 8:15 I was curious to see what the Principal’s Round Table was about. Maybe it was the weather that kept people away but only a few parents showed up at the library. We had the undivided attention of Principal Lehn for about an hour until most of us had to run off to catch the train or get on with errands and work.

I was treated to a lively and informative discussion between the parents and Principal Lehn.

The first topic centered around bullying in school and how South Mountain has taken the initiative along with a couple of other elementary schools in our district to create a peer mediation program led by students. I found out select students were trained in peer mediation to help alleviate conflicts at recess, or lunch time when class is not in session. It was impressive how the children responded to this leadership opportunity. I want to keep tabs on how the program will work when it is actually put into practice. Principal Lehn promised more information to come to parents when the program starts.

Principal Lehn also spoke about the culture at South Mountain and how her efforts are focusing on positive reinforcement. Don’t be surprised if your child is called to the principal’s office! It is most likely for praise or a compliment on a job well done. Mrs. Lehn talked about her goal to create an atmosphere of kindness and caring in our school starting from the top- her office.

The subject quickly turned to curriculum, and the next question centered on concerns of inconsistency in teaching the district curriculum not only between us and other schools but also within the grades themselves. Principal Lehn’s response was that while teachers must stick to measurable specifics of the curriculum she believes that if the main concepts are being taught, the way they are taught is up to each individual teacher. She won’t mandate a certain style of teaching. She described the importance of understanding that teaching is an art and each teacher has his or her methods. She is glad to share with the teachers the ideas that parents think are successful from each class.

Teachers from each grade do meet frequently and share ideas too.

The next topic centered on the many substitute teachers that have been at our school lately. Many parents piped in that their children were very unhappy with quite a few of them. Principal Lehn has actually communicated with the central office NOT to send specific subs back due to the complaints from parents and the impassioned pleas and protest letters from many children. There have been a lot of substitutes recently due to the many teacher workshops and conferences that have occurred. (I didn’t hear about when those were coming to and end).

We also talked about community service and how to empower the children to learn about and choose different causes that are important to them.

There was a lot of lamenting about how our language curriculum is terribly short changed and that our children aren’t learning to speak or write it in elementary school. Lehn thinks it hasn’t been eliminated entirely from the curriculum due to state mandates but also due to the importance of any exposure to a language as being beneficial in the long run. (Principal Lehn pointed out that growing up European the only way to really learn a language is to speak it and be immersed in it- which I can also attest to growing up speaking English and French in Montreal.)

Principal Lehn also answered questions about the reading curriculum, spelling and even talked about the new and we think improved lunch aides…

I encourage you to attend the next Round Table if you have questions, concerns or ideas, you will be heard and get answers. It’s a great way to know what direction the school is going in and to hear what other parents are experiencing.