SOUTH DEERFIELD — As the new school year begins, the town’s elementary school staff will focus on student-specific instruction as they implement a few changes.
Opening day for the school was Wednesday.
According to a news release from school Principal Jeanine Heil, “last year, Deerfield elementary faculty worked with Mike Anderson, a nationally renowned educator who is supporting our work around differentiating instruction for students.”
Based on the school’s collaboration with Anderson, teachers this year will be integrating new strategies, such as “using choice during instructional time with students” and “teaching the skills of self-reflection.”
In order to help facilitate the changes, the school has created a differential leadership team, which, the news release said, has spearheaded new practices by “participating in a powerful professional development model where they have observed each other teaching lessons.” From those observations, teachers have received constructive feedback which they’ll work to incorporate into their teaching this year.
The leadership team isn’t the only change in strategy — there’s also a “social and emotional learning leadership team,” based on a three-tier system to help students succeed.
The news release described the first tier s including “school and classroom-wide systems of support for all students.” The second tier emotionally supports students who’re struggling in school. Tier two also includes “specialized group instruction to target deficit areas.”
Students who need even more support fall under tier three, an intensive and “typically individualized system of interventions.”
The oversight team will be helping to integrate the program into curriculum using assessment tools, at each tier level.
This year has also brought new faculty — the 2016-2017 year will be the first time Tina Gemme serves as assistant principal of the school.
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 263