Retiring Superintendent Ruscio called the Central office on Tuesday afternoon (August 21, 2007) on his way back from the State Office Building in Boston with the following message:

"Earlier this morning, Superintendent Ruscio, Four Corners School Principal Gail Healy, Newton Elementary School Principal Mary Lou DiBella, Academy of Early Learning Principal Joan Schell, and Technology Coordinator Carol Holzberg attended a meeting with the Educational Management Audit Council (the organization that oversees the EQA). After a brief presentation by EQA Executive Director Dr. Joseph Rappa, a presentation followed by the Superintendent, the principals and the Technology Coordinator regarding the steps taken to improve the District in the last two years. The group responded to questions by the Council.

At 12:12pm, the Greenfield Public Schools was officially voted "off watch status"!!

The entire Council commended the Greenfield School District for its hard work and success in just a short time."

Congratulations, Greenfield Public Schools!

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Woodshop, drama, chorus are back at middle school

By DIANE BRONCACCIO Recorder Staff
PUBLISHED: Saturday, August 11, 2007

GREENFIELD -- With a longer school day on the horizon, what did Greenfield Middle School students want more of?

''Woodshop, drama and chorus,'' said middle school Principal Chris Collins, referring to results of a student survey about the school's new Expanded Learning Time grant, and its 70-minute longer school day. ''That's what the kids want.''

But they'll also see longer periods for core academic subjects, such as math, science, social studies and English, as well as spend 83 minutes a day for eight ''encore'' electives -- physical education, health, art, music, drama, foreign languages, computer technology and woodshop.

A parents night is scheduled for Aug. 22, 7 p.m., at the middle school, so that school families, especially those with incoming fifth-grade students, can ask questions about the new school day, which will start at 7:45 a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m. Collins is hoping to be able to provide school bus schedules by then.

5th-graders a first
As the school converts to an expanded school day and school curriculum, it will also accommodate fifth-graders for the first time. Collins said the fifth- and sixth-grade students will share the building's third floor, and will use a separate entrance from the middle school students. Collins said school officials are working to get playground equipment on the school grounds for the younger children.

Although the same school buses will transport children from all grades to the middle school, adult monitors will be hired to ride the buses, to ensure order and appropriate behavior, said Collins.

''You have to be careful with this age development, because there is such a vast difference at this age range,'' he said. ''One of the parents' concerns is that these (fifth-grade) kids are going to become middle school students. Just because they're moving into a bigger building doesn't mean we want them to grow up faster. We're going to run our model like an elementary school'' on the upper floor.

Besides core subjects, students will have academic enrichment programs that may bolster their academic knowledge and interests. For instance, they may join reading groups or poetry groups.

He said students with special education needs will be able to get remedial help without having to give up art or music, now that the school day is longer.

Flex time
''All the students will rotate through all the (encore) classes throughout the year,'' said Collins, who anticipates a student enrollment of about 520 fifth- through eighth graders. ''We've added more variety.''

Near the end of the school day is 45 minutes of flextime, in which students will be able to choose the option they want.

''At times, kids will be assigned places and at other times, kids will be given choice, which is not typical of most schools,'' he said.

For students who participate in school team sports, some of their flextime may be used for seasonal practice or games.

According to Collins, 47 out of 52 teachers in the school will be participating in the longer school day -- a choice that was optional for instructors. ''There's been a lot of support from the staff,'' said Collins. ''If that hadn't happened, we couldn't have done this.''

Collins said the school is negotiating with the Community YMCA for other enrichment programs. For students who would like more academic programs, there may be reading groups, poetry groups or a chance to pursue some subjects, such as Spanish, on a more advanced level.

Library reopens
Collins said the grant will enable him to hire back a full-time woodshop teacher and a full-time performing arts teacher for drama and chorus. It will also enable the school to restore a full-time librarian, which means the library will be open to students throughout the school day.

''That's a big issue, said Collins, ''because that library should be the learning hub of our building. It's a beautiful facility, and it should not be dark every day.''

One of the new programs planned, in conjunction with Baystate Franklin Medical Center, will be a walking club for students. Hospital spokeswoman Amy Swisher said the focus of the club will be to improve students' fitness, reduce the risk of obesity, and give them a pleasant way to learn more about their community.

Walking class
The hospital will provide pedometers, so students can track their steps as they check out different walking routes. ''They can integrate that walk with their math curriculum, or, integrate it with social studies or history, as they walk past points of historical interest -- old houses or factories,'' she explained. The walks could also be combined with geology and earth sciences.

Swisher said they are hoping town historians and civic leaders will volunteer to go on walks with the students, to give the students a stronger sense of involvement with the community. The final aspect of the walking club will tap the students' writing skills, because they will be asked to put together booklets on the various walking tours they take in town. Baystate-Franklin will print the booklets, for possible distribution at the Chamber of Commerce and other areas.

''In publishing their findings, the ripple effect will be huge,'' said Swisher. ''The idea is to get more people in the community walking.''

A draft schedule of the newly reconfigured school day shows that students will have about four hours per day of core academic subjects, 83 minutes per day of encore electives, a 25-minute lunch period, 30 minutes of flextime after lunch and 45 minutes of flextime at day's end.

The middle school's Expanded Learning Time grant comes to $707,200, based on an enrollment projection of 540 students.

Collins urged any parents with concerns about transportation, scheduling and how the changes will affect their children to call at 772-1360 Ext. 242.

You can reach Diane Broncaccio at: dbronc@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext. 277.

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Newton School increases science with longer day

By DIANE BRONCACCIO Recorder Staff
Published: Friday, August 03, 2007

GREENFIELD -- In planning Newton School's new Expanded Learning Time school day, teachers were sure of one thing: ''It was not going to be a longer period of time doing the same things we've always done,'' said Principal Mary Lou DiBella.

''There still is this (wrong) impression that, come 3 p.m., everybody does homework.''

Vowing to redesign the school day instead of just adding on 75 minutes' worth of electives at day's end, Newton School teachers created a curriculum for the school's roughly 200 kindergarten through Grade 4 pupils that will include more interaction with community members, more in-depth science and social studies courses, a community responsibility component, and a schoolwide focus on environmental sustainability, said DiBella.

Newton and Greenfield Middle School were the two district schools to receive state grants of $1,300 per student to expand their curricula along with the length of the school day, to provide more comprehensive education. For Newton, the grant totals nearly $300,000.

One term of the grant is for all of Newton's students to participate in the new program; but DiBella is pleased that 100 percent of the teachers have also opted to teach the full, longer school day. That includes three former Green River School teachers who are now on Newton's staff, says DiBella.

In DiBella's office sits a plastic milk crate filled with folders of surveys from students, parents and teachers on what they would like to see included in the curriculum, now that the school day will go from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., instead of from 8:30 to 2:55 p.m.

''What the kids weighed in on, is they wanted more science,'' DiBella said.

''We were shocked.''

Also surprisingly, she added, more parents than children chose sports as their preferred addition to the redesigned school day.

Here are some examples of new additions to the elementary school day:

u Sustainability. With the help of the town Department of Public Works, students will convert the school's former preschool playground into suitable habitats for birds and butterflies, and use the grounds for other environmental studies.

Recycling will be part of the sustainability focus and may eventually be integrated into math and art programs. Students will consider how the school recycles paper.

One project planned, in cooperation with Artspace, is for children to create artwork out of recyclable materials, inspired by the work of the late Greenfield artist Matthew Leighton.

u Community partners. The school will be teaming up with the Baystate Franklin Medical Center to create a ''walking club'' during part of the students' lunch and recess period. DiBella said the hospital will help by pedometers and posters.

''We're going to be looking at putting together walks for kids,'' she said.

Other partnerships include having representatives from The Recorder help fourth-graders put together a school newspaper, and having the town planner explain to second-graders how to make a town plan for a social studies segment.

''Right now, we're beating the ground to get community partners,'' she said.

When school begins Sept. 4, the new school day will start at 7:45 a.m. with a free breakfast for all 200 students and different guests. Some days, these guests might be Greenfield's senior citizens or Key Club members; other days, they might be ''breakfast buddies'' from the upper grades.

The day will continue with morning meetings, followed by English Language Arts, said DiBella.

''We've expanded English Language Arts a little, but the major core subjects will be done by 2 p.m. From 2 to 3:45 p.m. there is more focus on social studies, science and enrichment,'' she said.

In late morning, there will be instruction in art, music, technology and physical education -- electives that were already part of the school curriculum.

Also, the school will continue to keep its 21st Century after-school program going, with activities geared toward the end of the school day.

Kindergartners will have time to rest and for snacks at around 1:30 p.m, then go on to social studies. The older students will have healthy snacks in the afternoon, thanks to a federal grant obtained by Director of Nutritional Services Bernie Novak.

''We know this is going to be a learning year for us,'' said DiBella, noting that only one group of schools in Massachusetts ''has done this before -- and only for one year. ''

Beyond teaching core academics, many teachers have volunteered to teach subjects in which they have expertise, such as yoga or performing arts.

The 2006-07 school year was the first time any schools in Massachusetts became Expanded Learning Time schools, thanks to grant funding from the state Department of Education. DiBella said relatively few schools applied for the grant in its first two years, but that the list of schools applying to become an ELT school a year from now ''has grown astronomically.''

In some ways, Newton School has advantages over some of the schools that became ELT a year ago, because Newton already has block-scheduling for math and English. ''We already have that well established,'' she said. ''When we went to visit other schools, that was the thing they were struggling with.''

When asked about school bus transportation, DiBella said the district is still working to coordinate bus route changes, to accommodate the longer school days at Newton and the middle school, without costing the town more transportation money. She said she hopes to know how the routes will be organized ''by the first half of August.''

DiBella believes the school day reorganization will not only broaden students' education but may even strengthen their performance on the MCAS tests.

She said she received a flurry of questions about ELT from school parents in June, but few phone calls from parents since then.

When asked if many parents had concerns about their children's longer school day, she replied, ''So far, we've had very few hesitations.

''Some parents have activities set up for their kids at 3 p.m., so 3:45 (the new school closing time) is inconvenient. We know that. There are going to be some trade-offs for some people.

''But we know there are going to be many benefits.''

School parents with concerns may call the school at 772-1370.

You can reach Diane Broncaccio at: dbronc@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext. 277.

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Greenfield's interim superintendent
hits her stride

By DIANE BRONCACCIO Recorder Staff
Published: Tuesday, August 14, 2007

GREENFIELD -- New interim Superintendent Marcia K. Evans has a to-do list that's actually a long conference table filled with stacks of reports, forms, and other paperwork related to the tasks facing her in her first month on the job.

These works-in-progress include establishing bus schedules to accommodate the transfer of former Green River School students into other town elementary schools, and setting up early buses for the Newton and Greenfield Middle schools' longer new school days.

It includes school district hirings and contracts, more work on the budget and overseeing maintenance issues, making sure that everything is ready for the first day of school.

Hired in July, after school ended, Evans will be responsible for implementing all the plans that were put into place by the previous school administration: the new Expanded Learning Time programs, the middle school Grades 5 through 8 reconfiguration, the movement of Poet's Seat School students into the Green River School building, and the movement of the school district's administration into the high school building.

'Right now, I'm just trying to start in -- making sure all of this is ready for the year,' said Evans, whose first day on the job was Aug. 1. Her contract with the district runs through July 2008. A search for a permanent superintendent is expected to take place later in the school year.

Evans says being a school superintendent is always a challenging position. 'I've been in education a long time; and education has become very complex.'

Evans, of Barnard, Vt., has a master's and a doctorate degree of education from Boston University.

The former teacher and guidance counselor was assistant superintendent for curriculum of Nantucket Public Schools from 2000 to 2005, and served as a school principal for schools in Bethel and in Stockbridge, Vt., during the 1990s.

She is married with three children, all of whom are currently in college or graduate school.

Evans said education has become much more complicated than it was when she started teaching in 1970, in Lawrence, Mass.

'With No Child Left Behind, the reform legislation, and all the laws that have come down and change the requirements, it's very complex,' she said. 'In everything I do, I'm required to refer to policy manuals, handbooks, and state and federal law to make sure that the decisions we're making are accurate.'

'But above it all -- after all these years in education -- I'm tremendously enthusiastic about kids,' said Evans. 'Whenever I'm having a rough day, I go into a classroom with elementary kids. Because that's what it's all about. & Are they happy? Are they productive? (These things) are easy to forget.'

Evans is also enthused about Greenfield's participation in the state's Expanded Learning Time educational program, which she believes is where education is heading nationwide.

'Education has to mirror society, whether we like it or not,' she said. 'Our society has changed. She said the school where she worked in Stockbridge, from 1992 to 1994, went to a longer school day, to accommodate all the children who wanted to play soccer. Also a longer school day was set up in Nantucket, which was also successful, she said.

'An expanded day is where things are going,' she said.

Evans said she is looking forward to meeting school district staff members and school families as the new school year approaches.

She is also looking to relocate closer to her new school district. 'That's also on my to-do list,' she said.

You can reach Diane Broncaccio at: dbronc@recorder.com or (413) 7720261 Ext. 277.

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Penning their way to mindfulness

The Recorder
Thursday, July 5, 2007

By ARN ALBERTINI
Recorder Staff

Chinese writing a path to peace for middle-schoolers

GREENFIELD - "How about you do right side up and I'll do upside down," said Brianna Gates-Yobst of Greenfield to Steve Diamond of Hadley as she used a paintbrush to pen the Chinese character for "patience."

"We think 'patience' looks better and it's more complicated, she said on why they chose that word to draw.

At another table, Alyssa Lauden of Greenfield and Jacob Linnenan of Vermont worked with Roberta Monette of Northfield on the Chinese character for "peace."

Monette, an artist by trade, was teaching them how to make fan shapes, which framed the paper.

"Awesome," said Lauden, as she watched Monette swirl the brush. "I just liked it because it looks amazing."

For about a month and a half, Hadley artist Beth Epstein taught middle students in the Poet Seat School, a Greenfield School Department program for students with emotional disabilities, to make ink and write Chinese characters in calligraphy in a program called Dragon Arts. The walls of the classroom were covered with the products of their work, some simple black characters on white notebook paper and others gold, blue and red characters set off on a black background.

Dragon Arts was more than just art instruction. Each day, the class gathered in a circle and rang a bell, raising their hands as the bell rings and lowering them as the tone died down. The students went around the circle, each talking about how they tried to be peaceful.

"This method of making ink is thousands and thousands of years old," said Epstein.

"When we do this, it kind of connects us to thousands of years ago," she said.

The goal of the Poet Seat School, currently housed in modular buildings in the parking lot of Greenfield High School, is to teach students how to deal with their problems and then reintegrate them into a mainstream classroom, said Elizabeth Blumgarten, director of Poet Seat School.

"We're trying to teach them to deescalate themselves. We're trying to get them to anticipate what makes them upset.

"I've been working to instill a sense of mindfulness in them," she said, adding that the Dragon Arts program was the perfect fit. "It teaches kids how to help others."

Toward the end of the pro gram, the students taught senior citizens calligraphy. "Allowing them to teach to somebody else, that really makes them feel good about themselves," said Blumgarten.

Hopefully, Dragon Arts is the first of many projects where students are involved in the community, she said.

The program is made possible by a grant from the Greenfield Arts Council, which is a division of the Massachusetts Arts Council.

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The Green River Connection

Four Seasons at the River
Collaborative Mural: Newton Street 4th graders and Green River 5th graders

(text adapted from the
Summer '07 Artspace Newsletter)

Green River and Newton Elementary Schools and Artspace celebrated the end of the first year of The Green River Connection curriculum development program with a reception, art show and mural dedication on Wednesday, June 13, 5 to 7 p.m. at Artspace.

The mural which depicts the Green River at the Mill/River Streets dam will be a permanent fixture on the outside of the Artspace building. Students in the 4th grade at Newton and the 5th grade at Green River worked on the mural over the last 3 months with their art teachers Tina Clark and Jan Atamian. Classroom teachers Greg Isles and Rebecca Gutierrez were involved as well. The curriculum development project – to integrate the visual arts into the Atlantic Salmon Egg Rearing Project (ASERP)- has resulted in the development of a visual arts curriculum for art teachers and one for classroom teachers using the ASERP program. Jeanie Schermesser is the visual arts consultant for the project.

Mural Detail #1
Mural Detail 2