Budget Season is in Full Swing

Budget Season is in Full Swing

To date, this year's budget season has been both challenging ... and rewarding.  The challenges have been coming quickly to grips with the existing line items, from personnel to paper clips, and understanding the needs behind any new requests.  The rewards have been realizing how caring and supportive of staff and children the Board and the Litchfield community have always been.  I appreciate that the community wants to be both conservative with spending and generous in support of kids' needs.  The administrators and Central Office staff have been thoughtful.  I ask a million question, all of them beginning with 'why?' and they are still thoughtful.

The budget supports current staffing and benefits (77% of the budget) and fixed costs such as utilities and transportation (13%).  The remaining 10% supports programming, curriculum, materials, and supplies.  In addition to meeting our contractual obligations, here are the three priorities of the 2015-2016 budget: 

First, a new Math curriculum for grades K - 5.  

We are investigating a Common Core aligned program that is rich in differentiation materials and teacher and parent resources.  Common Core is not the demon so many groups paint it to be.  It is a rigorous set of standards that expect hands-on learning, complex problem-solving, and communication of ideas.  As with any new change, it's what you do with it that counts.  Litchfield’s previous math program was aligned to the requirements of the old CMT with 26 different content strands each year.  We’ve come to call that approach ‘a mile wide and an inch deep.’   The new Common Core State Standards require far fewer concepts per year and a much deeper level of understanding.  The new requirements also add ‘math practices’ to the core content expecting teachers and students to change their old strategies and incorporate more hands-on problem-solving, more conversation about how and why an answer is right, and greater fluency and facility with number sense.  The math practices expect students to persevere if a multi-step problem is difficult.

Second, the technology to support a new Math Curriculum.  

Any math program worth our investment will support this new Common Core math content and a student-centered instructional approach.  Any worthwhile program will also offer rich technology supports such as pre- and post- assessments, online skills work with opportunities for immediate feedback, teacher resources for differentiation at all levels, SmartBoard-ready lessons, and online parent supports.   We’re looking at programs which offer computer-adaptive activities that look like games, but are individualized to each student’s ability.  They repeat skills the child is struggling with until they are mastered… or escalate the skills until a child is being challenged.  The data is readily available to teachers and paraprofessionals.  We've looked at one program which when parents scan their child's homework from a device, an instructive video opens re-teaching the lesson.  The same videos are available through online links.

Finally, retaining the class sizes at the elementary schools and the diverse program offerings at the high school. 

At the elementary schools, class sizes average at or below 20.  Caseloads in Special Education are also very manageable at about 12 - 15.  We are expanding pre-school for 3’s and 4’s, but keeping classes at or below 12. 

In a small high school such as Litchfield’s, class sizes are much more variable.  Several factors play with simple arithmetic:  number of students who elect a class, weighted classes (AP, Honors, and Academic); heavily-enrolled core classes (band and chorus), and specialty courses with only one section, called singletons (AP classes, Tech-Ed, World Languages, art).   

This is easier to see by example.  Imagine this year’s junior class, for example, with 84 students.  Simple division would yield four English classes with 21 students each.   But, there may be only 12 juniors who elect AP Language and Composition and 48 students who want Honors English.  The schedule then becomes further complicated when, of the 48 students taking Honors English, 20 are in Band and cannot take English during that particular Band block.  If 14 of the 20 Honors/Band students are also taking AP US History, another singleton class, an extra section of English may now be needed to cover the inflexibilities caused by selecting these three classes in combination.  Litchfield is committed to providing programming which does not cause a junior to choose between AP US History and Band.  We do the best we possibly can in honoring students’ individual program needs through flexible scheduling and recently through the flexible (asynchronous) scheduling of a few virtual high school courses.

The Board of Education budget is understandably a collection of static numbers with a bottom line.  But, more poetically, it is the foundation on which we are building our future through the education of our children.  So side-by-side with our analysis of the figures, we should remember our accomplishments throughout the district and celebrate our children and teachers at work.  Ours IS a people business, and this budget continues Litchfield’s tradition of supporting the individual growth and development of every child.  Simply put, it’s what’s best for kids.

To view the budget presentation in easy-to-read slides, click HERE.

Connecting Reading to Real Life

Connecting Reading to Real Life

Yesterday, I was taking my 13-year-old grandson to an away soccer game which gave us that momentously valuable opportunity for a car-ride conversation.   Anyone who loves a child knows that sometimes the best conversations can happen in the midst of everyday activities when we are not eye-to-eye.

I wanted to discuss a bullying scene from a movie we had been watching just before we left, and I asked him what he would have done if he had seen the same thing happen at his school.  “Gramma,” he said.  “It’s fake!  It’s only a movie.”  I was struck once again with the difficulty we have as parents and educators helping kids connect to what they read, or in this case, view.  It’s the difference between merely seeing the picture and internalizing what that picture means in terms of being human. 

Readers may already know that helping kids connect the text and their outside experiences is a tough challenge.  But, much more important than mere reading comprehension is the need for a child to connect with what he or she reads or views simply because empathy is a significant life-long success factor.  The best leaders, (as well as spouses, friends, and parents), have the ability to understand the patterns of human behavior and what motivates others.  In addition, people who connect with others and feel empathy are better able to withstand adversity.  Connecting with others provides a feeling of belonging and reduces feelings of loneliness.

Typically, our students connect to the events in a story or a show, and if they have never experienced that particular series of events themselves, they have difficulty imagining themselves in the same situation.  Our job as teachers and parents is to help children move beyond the situation itself and explore the elements of human nature embedded within.   This human connection can come from connecting with pictures in magazines, television, books, and movies.  It involves considering what the people are thinking and feeling, and why.  It involves asking kids important questions about what they read and view.

Try this out with your child.  Use the picture below and ask a few questions such as:   How did the boy get into this jam?  [You don’t want the obvious: ‘He put his head through the chair.’  Rather, and answer such as, 'Maybe someone dared him to do it.' Or, ' Maybe he was showing off for his friends.'] What is the boy thinking?  [He might be embarrassed because everyone knows he did something foolish.  He might be afraid of getting in trouble.  He might be afraid of getting hurt.]  What do think is going through the mind of the lady in the tan jacket?  [She might be afraid … She might be angry …]  How about the man in blue with the saw?

Any example of human experience will do, but if you’re game there is an incredible video on youtube.com at “Sailor Surprises His Son.”  After viewing, ask your child: If the boy is happy, why is he crying?  How does the father feel?  Why do you think the surprise was a good one?

Even our littlest readers and viewers can begin to connect to what they read, hear, and view with practice.  Good connection questions help us draw conclusions about people in general.  They help us understand jealousy, loyalty, shyness, embarrassment, and a whole wealth of feelings humans share in common.  They also enable us to understand reactions which are not common to most people.  Next time you’re reading a story or watching a movie, ask your children to think about whether or not they would like to be friends with a particular character or person.  Ask them what they might have done in that same situation, if they would like to visit that place or to meet that person you read about.  Ask which part of the story or movie they liked best, if one of the characters reminds them of anyone they know... and, of course, always ask why.