Kennett Consolidated School District prepares to go up and running for the 2011-2012 school year with course modifications, refined grading practices, and a new school
By P.J. D’Annunzio, Staff Writer, KennettTimes.com
The new Bancroft Elementary School is just one of many changes parents and students can look forward to for the 2011-12 school year in the Kennett Consolodated School District.
KENNETT SQUARE — Change is coming to Kennett Consolidated School District for the upcoming school year and students all across the board stand to reap the benefits.
“Students at Kennett High will acquire their technology credit in different manner than they did in the past,” KCSD Superintendent Dr. Barry Tomasetti said, “In the past we used to have one course; it was a Microsoft office course. Now we’ll be starting with the social studies department and ensuring students use technology in an integrated manner.”
Much like a senior project, students will embark on a technology-based endeavor to receive credit. For example, “students may create a blog on a social studies topic, they’ll get the program started and carry on conversations with other students, or it may be a spread sheet related to something in social studies,” Tomasetti said. Eventually the district plans to integrate the technology credit in other curricular areas.
Kennett High School is also offering new English Literature classes, “Along with our honors and AP English we’ll have college prep classes that are maybe of a little higher interest. The emphasis is on things that the kids like to read,” Tomasetti said. The new literature classes include Science Fiction/Fantasy, Popular Literature, Literature in Sports, and Adaptations from Text to Film.
With the new school year comes a change in attitude toward grading at Kennett High. These new attitudes and practices—based on research by the three most prominent figures in the grading construct field—focus on educators communicating and working with students to complete and understand assignments rather than issuing zero credit for missed work.
“We’re looking to teach resiliency and mastery,” Kennett High School Principal Dr. Michael Barber said, “We’re putting an emphasis on working with students and not accepting ‘I don’t have my homework’ or ‘I don’t have that assignment.’ We won’t be satisfied with that…we want students to do the assignments because we know those are critical things in the learning progression that helps students.”
For pre-secondary students the reformation of the elementary system within KCSD consists of the shifting of territories for New Garden and Greenwood Elementaries, the opening of Bancroft Elementary, and of the conversion of Mary D. Lang Elementary into a kindergarten-exclusive center, offering full-day kindergarten as opposed to the AM/PM half days formerly applied.
“Last year was the first year we had full day kindergarten and the assessments we gave our students demonstrates that the kids were farther ahead of any kindergarten class we’ve had in the past. And that’s a good thing because now we have to get ready to meet those students in first grade because their achievement is much higher,” Tomasetti said, “this increased reading achievement will last throughout their elementary career and builds the basis for reading to learn as opposed to learning to read.”
In terms of science education in the elementary schools, teaching will be enhanced by the introduction of Polyvision Boards, similar in most respects to Smart Boards. An emphasis on technology is in use to increase student engagement through participation along with new National Geographic science curriculum.
At Greenwood Elementary the “Star” program is being introduced to provide successful students with enrichment and struggling students with remedial attention. “It’s going to be a half hour of each student’s day. It’s going to be a pullout, it will be either acceleration or a remediation process,” Tomasetti said.
The remediation would focus on very specific areas within the students curriculum, for example, simplifying fractions, and would serve to bring struggling students up to speed. Students’ progress or lack thereof is evaluated by formative assessments (teacher observation) and benchmark exams, of which there are three per year.
Finally, the opening of Bancroft Elementary is drawing many former charter school students back into the district. This helps the district not only in terms of enrollment but also fiscally as each student that comes back into the district brings a return of $10,000 or $20,000 for a special education student. Bancroft is slated to be operational for the beginning of the school year; its dedication is scheduled for October 29, 2011.
