October 5, 2012

Dear Parents,

This is a very busy and exciting weekend at AISC. This weekend, our school is hosting the South Asian Inter-Scholastic Association (SAISA) swim meet. So many people have come together to make this a great weekend for the middle and high school students participating in this meet. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the elementary school teachers and parents who have welcomed visiting students and coaches into their homes for the weekend.

Please join the Elementary EAL Coordinator Karen Sumaryono and EAL Teachers Andrea Morris, Salome Verghese and Deanna Doherty Wednesday morning, October 10, in the ES Cafeteria at 8:45 to learn more about changes going on in the English as an Additional Language (EAL) program. We will discuss some recent research about language acquisition and give tips for how parents can help their children at home. Thank you to Ms Karen, Ms Salome, Ms Andrea and Ms Dee for this collaborative commitment and contribution.

Teacher collaboration and professional learning communities are frequently mentioned in articles and reports on school improvement. In a 2006 article in The Best in Educational Leadership, Roland Barth writes, “When I visit a school and look for evidence of collegiality among teachers and administrators the indicators I seek are:

·             Educators talking with one another about practice.

·             Educators sharing their craft knowledge.

·             Educators observing one another while they are engaged in practice.

·             Educators rooting for one another's success.

I am very proud of the strong culture of collaboration in the elementary school. While I could cite many examples of this culture, one new initiative that our Literacy Committee has spearheaded for teachers is peer to peer observations in literacy classrooms. Peer observations create opportunities for teachers to observe other classroom teachers, which subsequently lead to professional discussions about instructional methodology. Peer observations are non-evaluative. Instead, the value of the observation is the collaboration it creates for teachers and the opportunity for teachers to develop a common language and understanding of what high-quality instruction looks like. Ultimately, peer observations inspire teachers to reflect on their own practice, which in turn, will have a positive impact on student learning. Thank you to our Literacy Committee members for organizing this truly authentic professional development opportunity for teachers.

Be sure to click on the After-School Activities link for an exciting announcement about a new after-school swim club!

Have a great weekend!

Kevin Hall

Elementary School Principal