Goal Setting
During this time of year, much time is devoted to assessing our yearly progress and to setting related goals for next year. Therefore, I thought I would review our district goal setting process.
Strategic Plan
Last year, the board adopted a five-year strategic plan based on extensive surveying of community priorities. This was the first year of the implementation of this plan. The Strategic Plan helps to drive goal setting in the district, as it is the broadest view of district priorities. In considering curriculum and instructional initiatives and budget considerations, the Strategic Plan is always taken into consideration as a guiding element.
District Curriculum and Instructional Goals
In the spring of each year, the District Leadership Team, consisting of building, district and department leaders, works together to create a plan for goals to be accomplished that grow our instructional program and address any areas indicated for additional support. Faculty input is provided through building and department channels.
Goals are organized into broad, big picture categories that, for the most part, remain consistent over several years. What changes each year are the “SMART goals.” SMART goals are specific objectives to be accomplished in a given school year that support each broad goal category. The acronym SMART, in fact, stands for goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, result-oriented and time bound.
For example, one of this year’s eight broad goals, Goal 2, is to “Ensure strong student readers and writers who meet or exceed expectations of Common Core standards.”
Our smart goals which support Goal 2 and have been accomplished this year, included full implementation of the Fundations phonics, handwriting and spelling program in grades K-2, implementation of the Leveled Literacy Intervention program as a Tier 3 RTI Intervention for grades K-4 and implementation of Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Benchmarking in grades K-5.
As noted above, our smart goals always consider our overarching five-year strategic plan priorities.
So, for example, another of our eight broad goals, Goal 7, “Continue Successful Science Learning for Students,” a smartgoal this year was to develop a plan for the introduction of an engineering program to begin in the fall of 2014. This will be accomplished with the introduction of a 9th grade course in September which will begin the four-year sequence. [This smart goal is the one I described last week where our technology, science and math faculty and administration are in the process of making an Engineering Program recommendation.]
Each year, after our district curriculum and instructional smart goals are delineated, our Leadership Team, again with input of staff, develops a professional development plan for each coming school year that aligns with our goals and provides staff with the time and capacity to support our plan for accomplishments to continue to grow student learning.
Events of this Past Week/So Much Going On!
I was so disappointed that I was out of district and ill for most of this week and missed some really terrific events: Wednesday night’s Band and Chorus Concert at Wheatley; Willets Road 7th Grade Dance on Thursday and Wheatley’s Academic Awards Night on Thursday night, as well.
The Academic Awards Ceremony Program with the names of our student awardees and photographs from the evening can be viewed on Dr. Feeney’s blog at the following link https://thewheatleyway.org/ . Awardees will also be highlighted in our summer newsletter.
Dr. Feeney Honored
On May 29, our own Wheatley Principal Dr. Sean Feeney received a special award from the Long Island Council of Social Studies. Thank you to Assistant Superintendent Jacqueline Pirro who attended in my absence and introduced Dr. Feeney.
Each year, social studies educators are recognized for a variety of activities and accomplishments specific to the area of Social Studies Teaching and Administration.
This year, in addition to those recognitions, a special award was created to recognize educators, not necessarily specific to social studies, who are able to keep their eyes on the bigger educational picture. The social studies community feels that this broad-based perspective ultimately supports the values and goals of social studies education and recognizes its importance in the overall theme of an educated individual.
Congratulations to Dr. Feeney, co-winner of this year’s Leonard “Gus” Swift Award.
Girls on the Run
This is the second “term” of our inaugural year of our wonderful after-school enrichment program coordinated and hosted by the North Side PTO. Girls on the Run, a national organization, describes its mission to empower girls: to have a strong sense of identity; to successfully navigate the challenges of adolescence and adulthood; to honor their voices by standing up for themselves and what they believe in; to focus on their unique strengths and talents; to recognize the power they have to impact their communities in a positive way; to know the joy that comes from true friendship and teamwork; and to celebrate their bodies through the completion of a 5K run/walk event.
Many thanks to the North Side PTO Co-Presidents Lauren Shannon and Lori Asaro, the North Side PTO Executive Board and all the other North Side Parent/PTO volunteers whose hard work and commitment has made this program possible!
Below is an excerpt on the latest news from the program from volunteer coach Kristine Hackett. Thank you Kristine!
As part of the Girls On The Run Program, the girls were asked to discuss how they can make a difference in their communities. They are learning that their voice is strong but their actions carry a bigger impact when working together as a group.
The girls were given the assignment of how, as a group, they can impact a change in their communities. After much discussion this year’s Girls On The Run Team chose to raise money to buy toys for the shelter pets at the North Shore Animal League. The team came up with the idea and the strategy to raise money; they would have a Lemonade Stand. The girls are excited and motivated to make this fundraiser a success. The Lemonade Stand will be held on Tuesday, June 3, on the lawn behind school after classes let out.
The big race is coming up! All the Girls On The Run teams of Nassau County are running a 5K at Hofstra University on June 8 at 9:00 AM. With over 100 Runners registered, this event will be a great success and an amazing memory for the children! Come join us and cheer us on.
Don’t Forget … Baseball!
The Long Island Championship Varsity Baseball Game, Wheatley vs. Mattituck, will be played on Friday, June 6 at 4:00 p.m. at Farmingdale State College.
Congratulations and Commendations
Research in China
It was announced last night, at Wheatley’s Academic Awards Ceremony, that junior Arjun Kapoor would be traveling to Jinan, China (near Beijing) on June 10 – July 5 to continue research based on his 2013 Siemens research project. The project, which received regional finalist honors, “The optimization of parallel computing network topologies using simulated annealing with a novel distance recalculation algorithm” addresses the speed of computer processors connectors.
Arjun was selected by his mentor at Stony Brook University, Professor Yufan Deng, to join this team of Stony Brook University graduate students and Ph.D.’s to collaborate with a Chinese team of Ph.D.’s. He is the only high school student to participate in this collaboration. He plans to continue this research, while developing additional research for an upcoming project. I look forward to hearing about his adventure when he returns this summer.
Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest
For the past three weeks The Wheatley School has participated in the Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest held in Oyster Bay.
Approximately 40 high school students from 15 of Long Island’s top high schools were invited to participate in this annual competition. Three Wheatley students advanced to the semi-final round, juniors Courtney Schwartz and Jade Marcus and freshman Lianna Golden.
The competition challenges students to research, develop and present original five-minute speeches on Theodore Roosevelt’s life and legacy. Wheatley students gave speeches on Roosevelt’s youngest son Quentin Roosevelt’s tragic death as an aviator in World War I, Roosevelt’s famous dinner with African-American Leader Booker T. Washington and the creation of the Teddy Bear. The contest builds on students’ public speaking, critical thinking and independent research skills, thereby enhancing their academic potential and scholarship, confidence, self-reliance, and leadership abilities.
Lianna Golden was the only freshman in all of Long Island to qualify for the final round on Thursday, May 29 and was awarded a medal for her speech.
Have a Good Weekend
As always, please email me at kanase@ewsdonline.org or call me at 333-3758 with any questions, suggestions, and or any topics you would like to see in this newsletter.
