GREENFIELD — As schools across the district opened their doors last week to welcome students for the start of the new school year, Principal David Potter marked his first day at the helm of the Discovery School at Four Corners.
Greeting students and families, Potter said he believes the school year is “off to a wonderful start.”
“I came to Greenfield because I have lived in the Pioneer Valley since about 1998 and I have a great affinity for all things Greenfield, and I was delighted to learn of this opportunity,” he said. “[The Discovery School at Four Corners is] an amazing building full of dedicated professionals and it’s got a great team spirit.”
Potter spent the bulk of his more than 30-year career in education working as a bilingual Spanish teacher. In his most recent role, he served as principal of the Twin Valley Middle School in Whitingham, Vermont.
In his new role, Potter said he aims to help the district meet its goal of increasing social-emotional learning, along with increasing engagement among students and families.
The district, in its efforts to boost literacy for students in kindergarten through grade four, held a full-day teacher training session to help improve small group literacy instruction. Potter said the training helped teachers learn new literacy teaching methods, including blending in components of reading and science.
“The district introduced some new materials that will support them … and ensure students are getting the best reading instruction possible,” Potter said. “My other goal is to provide the support and guidance necessary to continue with the upward trend in student improvement and to see student academic data continue to improve.”
Interim Superintendent Roland Joyal said that after walking into one of the literacy instruction courses, he saw instructors assist teachers with the process of helping younger students sound out words. He said he hopes the new instruction will help prepare students for their coursework and for assessments such as the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System).
“I walked in on a session today when they were working on … having students sound out words, being able to make sounds, pronounce letters the proper way and different scenarios,” Joyal said. “Our students need to read and write and be able to communicate, not only for themselves, but also when they’re taking things like the MCAS test, or any other assessments, and getting ready to go on to the next grade.”
Potter added that in his first day as principal, he was “overwhelmed” by the level of energy and collaboration he saw in staff and faculty.
“There’s a collaborative team spirit that the staff at this building have demonstrated with putting kids first and welcoming all families to our schools,” he said. “The more I learned about the Discovery School at Four Corners, the more I felt that it was a really great fit for my skills and experiences.”
