East Hampton Public Schools

Superintendent’s Update Week of March 13, 2017

The vision of the East Hampton Public Schools - preparing and inspiring our students to be innovative, responsible, contributing members of an ever-changing global society.

The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

This Week in Our Schools

Monday, March 13 – Presentation of the Board of Education Budget to the Board of Finance in the Middle School Library, 6:00 PM. The Town and the Board of Education present their budgets. This is a great meeting to attend to hear information about both the school and the town budget as they are presented to the Board of Finance. Our schools really need you to be involved this year!

Monday-Friday, March 13-17 – Memorial School Book Fair. Times are as follows: Monday, 3/13 – 9:00 AM-7:00 PM (Extended hours during Evening Parent Conferences), Tuesday, 3/14 – 9:00 AM-4:00 PM, Wednesday, 3/`5 – 9:00 AM-3:00 PM, Thursday, 3/16 – 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, Friday, 3/17 – 9:00 AM-3:00 PM.

Monday-Friday, March 13-17 – Center School Book Fair. Times are as follows: Monday, 3/13 – 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, Tuesday, 3/14 – 8:00 AM-5:00 PM, Wednesday, 3/15 – 8:00 AM-8:00 PM, Thursday, 3/16 – 8:00 AM-4:00 PM, Friday, 3/17 - 8:00 AM-9:00 AM (one hour only) for last minute purchases.

Tuesday, March 14 – “Pi” Day (3.14). According to the website: www.piday.org (a great resource for classroom ideas), Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 (3.14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Channel your inner mathematician for the day!

Tuesday, March 14 – Memorial & Center School Early Release for Afternoon Parent Conferences.

Wednesday, March 15 – Nominations due for the East Hampton Paraeducator of the Year. Please take the time to nominate one of our Paraeducators for this recognition by clicking here. The East Hampton Paraeducator of the Year will represent our school district for recognition as the State of Connecticut Paraeducator of the Year.

Wednesday, March 15 – East Hampton High School Winter Athletic Awards. Dinner-6:00 PM, Awards-6:45 PM.

Thursday, March 16 – Superintendent’s Advisory Council at the Central Office, 9:00-10:15 AM. On the third Thursday of each month, the Superintendent holds a more formal “coffee and chat” meeting for parents and community members. Our agenda will follow up on the Budget presentation to the Board of Finance.

Thursday, March 16 – Memorial & Center School Early Release for Afternoon Parent Conferences.

Thursday, March 16 – East Hampton High School Building Committee Meeting in the East Hampton High School T-Bell, 5:30 PM.

Friday, March 17 – Saint Patrick’s Day

Friday, February 17 – Coffee with the Superintendent of Schools at 94 Main Street, 7:30 – 9:00 AM. Come in for some “Coffee and Chat.” Free coffee – free chat!

Friday, March 17 – Board of Finance Budget Workshop in the Library Community Room with the Board of Education, 4:00 – 6:00 PM. This meeting is a two-hour workshop on just the Board of Education budget. This is a great chance to learn more about the school budget and hear the initial impressions of the budget by the Board of Finance.

Friday-Saturday, March 17-18 – The Middle School Drama Club presents “Mulan – Jr.” Come and enjoy the spectacular talents of our middle school students. Show are at 7:00 PM on Friday and Saturday. In addition, there is a 2:00 PM show on Saturday!

Calendar

March/April 2017

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

12

Daylight Saving Time begins!

Memorial School &

Center School Book Fair Week

13 Go Green Week! For St. Patrick’s Day

and Recycling Awareness!

Presentation of Budget to Board of Finance

6:00 PM Middle School Library

14

Pi Day (3.14)

Memorial School

and Center School Early Release for

Conferences

15

Nominations due for

Paraeducator of the Year

High School Winter Sports Awards

16

Superintendent’s Advisory Council

94 Main St. 9:00 AM

Memorial School and Center School Early Release for

Conferences

High School Building Committee Meeting EHHS T-Bell, 5:30 PM

17

Coffee & Chat

w/Superintendent 94 Main St.

7:30-9:00 AM

Presentation of Budget to Board of Finance

4:00 PM Town Library

Middle School Drama Club

Mulan, Jr. – 7:00 PM

18

Middle School

Drama Club Mulan Jr. – Two Shows! 2:00 PM and

7:00 PM

19 20

Board of Education Meeting - EHHS T-Bell, 7:00 PM

21

The District Art Show &

Music Recital 5:00-6:30 PM High School

K-12 Artwork and Musical Ensembles from

all four schools!

22 23

March Madness District Faculty

Basketball Games School vs. School!

Park and Rec Bingo Night

Playground Fundraiser Memorial School

24

East Hampton Public Schools

Paraeducator Appreciation Day

25

26 27

PUBLIC HEARING School Budget Board of Finance

6:30 PM Middle School Library

28

Parents of Future

East Hampton Students Meeting

6:00 PM Memorial School

Childcare available!

29

Board of Finance Special Meeting

6:30 PM Middle School Library

30 31

Coffee & Chat

w/Superintendent 94 Main St.

7:30-9:00 AM

High School Music

Department CABARET, 6:30 PM

April 1

2 3

Board of Education Policy Subcommittee,

EHHS 6:00 PM

Board of Education Meeting - EHHS T-Bell, 7:00 PM

4 Music Boosters EHHS

T-Bell, 6:30 PM

5

Middle School

PTO Variety Show 6:30 PM

6

Elementary PTO

Pasta Dinner Memorial School

7 8

9 10 Spring Vacation

Week

11 12 13 14

Good Friday

15

Get your 2017 event on the Calendar sent to all East Hampton Public Schools teachers, staff, parents, and families! If you would like a school/community event listed please forward dates and information to Paul Smith: psmith@easthamptonct.org

Notes

East Hampton Board of Education Highlights (3/6/17)

East Hampton High School students were recognized by the Board of Education including Nicholas DeMore who was recognized for building a "Buddy Bench" for the Memorial School as his Eagle Scout Project. Jordan Zimmitti and Sarah Vickery were honored as the recipients of the National School Development Council Award for Academic Growth and Student Leadership.

The Board members were recognized and honored as March is National Boards of Education Appreciation Month. The Board was introduced to James Olsen who was recently hired through grant funding awarded to the town to be

the Youth Prevention Coordinator. You can contact him at any time: jolsen@easthamptonct.gov. The Board accepted a grant opportunity from the state for a full day Pre-School program. The “Smart Start” grant

allows school districts to offer full-day Pre-School (in addition to their half day integrated program) for children who qualify based on family income guidelines.

Help us “Go Green” during St. Patrick’s week! We’re Going Green! In addition to preparing for the fun of St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, March 17, we are

thinking “green” in the sense of making sure that our classrooms and our schools recycle appropriately! Get involved and in our recycling awareness this week – and Go Green!

Be part of East Hampton “March Madness!”

“March Madness” at East Hampton High School will take place on Thursday, March 23, 2:30-6:30 PM!

Come and watch your favorite Memorial and Middle School teachers paly against Center and High School teachers! Admission is $3.00 for students and $5.00 for adults. (Maximum of $10.00 per family). Refreshments (including pizza) will be available for purchase. There are also contests and giveaways. Proceeds benefit the East Hampton High School PTO Scholarship Fund.

2:30 PM Teachers vs. Unified Sports Team

3:30 PM High School & Middle School teachers vs. Grade 8 Students

4:30 PM High School & Center School teachers vs. Memorial & Middle School teachers

5:30 PM Teachers vs. Town Team

Why a 3.75% increase to the school budget? Why an additional $1.6 million contingency?

If there is any year for our staff and our parents to be highly informed on the school budget, this is definitely the year!

On Tuesday evening, February 28, the East Hampton Board of Education approved a budget increase of 3.75% with a $1.6 million contingency line item added to the budget. Below are two short answers to those two questions.

Why 3.75%? The Town Council, in their annual Budget Policy, asked the Superintendent and Town Manager to “minimalize new personnel.” This year’s budget contains no new positions. In fact, last year the budget cuts resulted in the loss of three teaching positions. This year’s budget restores one teaching position at Center School by moving a teaching position from Memorial to Center. In addition, the Town Council’s Budget Policy indicates that the school and

town should “limit budget increases to meet contractual obligations.” This year’s budget comes in less than contractual obligations. In order to cover contractual increases, other areas including supplies, equipment, and repairs continue to be cut in each building. This year, the school does face a higher than normal increase in insurance and that is one of the drivers in an increase of 3.75%. Any item that could be considered new are offset against known retirement savings.

Why a contingency line item of $1.6 million? The Governor’s Budget proposal that was made public in

February calls for cuts to East Hampton education funding in the amount of $1.6 million. An additional figure of $1.5 million is expected from the town as a “local contribution” to cover the Teachers’ Retirement funds that the state has underfunded for years.

There are those who have indicated that the Governor’s proposal is “dead on arrival” to the state legislature; however, there has been no news from the legislature whether a portion of the Governor’s cuts will survive and be included as cuts to town as part of the budget approved by the state legislature. There is currently no plan on how the legislature will fund the Education Cost Share grant to towns after the Governor “redistributed” the funds. And, there is not a guarantee that the state budget will be completed prior to July 1.

With all of those unknowns and an indication that Town could lose millions in education funding that would not be absorbed, but rather passed on the to the schools as cuts to be made, I have proposed the $1.6 million contingency be added in additional to the 3.75% increase. This contingency line item is a separate fund that is not being used to hire more teachers or add programming. Its sole purpose is to cover the school in case of devastating cuts by the state. It is likely that the Board of Finance and the Town Council will be leery about a contingency fund, but until we know more about what is happening at the state level, I will be urging the town to keep the funding available as no funding can be added to the school budget after March 1. I consider it to be irresponsible to present a budget to the Town without a contingency to protect our schools and our children from the damage that could be done to the East Hampton Public Schools should any aspect of the Governor’s Budget be implement.

Thoughts

Fight MATH stereotypes!

Every time you hear a student say, “I am not good at math,” I urge you to challenge that statement.

Math plays such an important role in the future of our children at a time when engineering, computer science, robotics, technology, and finance dominate the headlines as the careers with the brightest futures.

The article below takes the time to address several dominant myths about learning math. And, it’s clear to me that our students at an early age decide that they are either “good” or “bad” at math. With everything we do to create a growth mindset in our children, read the article and click the link below about Mathematical Mindsets – both offer good information for adults who may think they are not good at math!

https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/believe-brain-operates-differently/ When You Believe In Yourself, Your Brain Operates Differently.

Math Myths by Shelley Duboic in Peabody Reflector https://www.vanderbilt.edu/peabody-reflector/

Researchers debunk some common misperceptions.

In 1992, Mattel released a talking Barbie doll that among other statements told young girls, “Math class is tough.” There was a public outcry and the affronted purchasers were given the option to swap the doll for one sans the offending message. But the assumption that math is a mysterious and uniquely difficult subject that is accessible to some but not all learners lives on.

Math anxiety presents in early grades, often perpetuated by well-meaning parents and teachers harboring their own misconceptions about the subject. Math pedagogy is grounded in memorizing formulas, reciting times tables and making calculations based on a stringent set of rules. Young learners are quick to decide if they are good or bad at math, and are likely to retain that mathematical identity for the rest of their lives.

At Peabody, researchers are bringing a fresh perspective to the traditional understanding of math education. Through their work, they are finding that there are many ways math is learned and are developing innovative new ways to teach it. They believe that math is not an unyielding discipline, accessible to only a select few. And, they would argue, math is fun. Read on, as they deconstruct and dismantle some age-old myths about math.

MYTH: NOT EVERYONE IS CAPA BLE OF LEARNING MATH .

“Many people believe math is innate,” says Nicole Joseph, assistant professor of mathematics education. “They believe math is reserved for an elite group of students, and either you can do it or you can’t. People will say they are not a ‘math person,’ when they would never talk that way about not being able to read.”

Joseph spent 12 years in Seattle as a math teacher and an instructional coach to teachers. She says the myth that not everyone can learn math reflects society’s tendency to value learners who appear naturally adept at memorizing formulas and calculating quickly and accurately to the exclusion of others.

“Every student is capable of doing mathematics,” Joseph says. “But not every student learns the same way, and teachers have to put aside any preconceived notions and figure out how each student learns best.”

Fourth-grade teacher Julia Crownover has always been enthusiastic about math.

“Math is truly for everyone. Teachers just need to find creative ways to reach students,” she says. She uses traditional tools like worksheets and flash cards, but she also reaches out to students in ways that speak to them.

“Some students need a visual or tactile representation, some may thrive with the competition and challenge of a game, and some may benefit with putting math into real-life situations,” she says.

A Nashville native and avid Vanderbilt basketball fan, Crownover often uses sports to teach math concepts.

“I know a lot about the Vanderbilt players and the team,” she says. “When studying the concept of ‘mean,’ I will use a player’s shot record to teach students how to calculate a player’s average percentage points in a game.

“Often I see students who are overwhelmed by math or think it is too hard. But when a teacher really engages them and sparks their interest, every student can excel in math.”

Rogers Hall’s research confirms the effectiveness of using real-life scenarios.

“Since children learn almost continuously, there are many opportunities for getting interested in, learning and making things that involve mathematics,” says Hall, professor and chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning. “For example, if a student maintains her own bicycle, that might be an opportunity to talk about rational number concepts such as ratio and proportion.

“Other students may engage in crafts like knitting or weaving, which draw heavily on mathematics. Increasingly, teachers’ knowledge of how to teach math includes an understanding of how to use out-of-school experiences to support classroom teaching and learning.”

MYTH: MATH IS ONLY ABOUT M EMORIZATION.

For generations, teachers and parents have taught math in the same way they learned it, through memorization—facilitated by an abundance of flash cards and worksheets. Certainly, memorization is one component of math learning. But it’s not the whole story, says Bethany Rittle-Johnson, professor of psychology and human development.

“When students learn math primarily through memorization, they miss out on developing critical thinking skills that are vital to being successful in math later on,” she says. “Students need to have the ability to memorize a formula, but they also need the understanding of the concept behind it.”

For example, Rittle-Johnson explains that many students fail to understand the function of a very common symbol, the equals sign.

“Many textbooks don’t clearly define what the equals sign actually means,” she says. “Because of that, students adopt shortcuts such as adding all of the numbers together as soon as they see the symbol, rather than understanding what it really means, which is to have the same value at either side of the equation. It’s important to understand that before you move on to more complex math concepts.”

Rittle-Johnson is developing and testing an innovative toolkit for algebra teachers in a Massachusetts school district. Comparison and Explanation of Multiple Strategies gives students more than one strategy for solving a problem. Having more solving options helps students decide which one works best for them and to better understand how and why the strategies work.

“When students are stuck with only one way of solving, they are only memorizing and not developing critical thinking skills,” Rittle-Johnson said. “We are finding that students are having improved outcomes in fraction learning as a result of this new approach.”

MYTH: MATH ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE FUN.

Math isn’t always thought of as fun. But Lisa Fazio disagrees. She is studying how children can learn math through play, or more specifically a mobile app she designed and tested. Fazio says the first signs of frustration over math often appear when fractions are introduced in the lower grades.

“Kids develop this really strong understanding of whole numbers, and then we teach them fractions, and it blows up everything they have learned about how numbers behave,” says Fazio, professor of psychology and human development.

She has spent the last several years developing and testing a computer game for fourth- and fifth-graders called “Catch the Monster With Fractions.” In the game, players are given prompts to find a particular fraction on a number line. When they click in the correct location, a cartoon monster pops up, along with text that says, “You got me!” If they guess wrong, the monster pops up and says, “You missed!”

Fazio’s findings show that the students who played the game significantly improved their understanding of fractions compared to those who didn’t.

“They said they didn’t want to stop playing it because it didn’t feel like homework,” she says. “It was just fun.”

Melissa Gresalfi, associate professor of mathematics education, and Ilana Horn professor of teaching and learning, are also strong proponents of learning math through play. Last fall they earned a National Science Foundation grant to study a math-themed playground at the Minnesota State Fair called “Math On-A-Stick.”

Children were invited to engage in a variety of math-based activities and games, including folding paper hexaflexagons, creating symmetry and patterns with stones, tiles and blocks; and connecting tessellating tiles shaped like lizards and turtles. Participants wore Go-Pro video helmets so the researchers could see how they interacted with the games and for how long. Ultimately, the researchers will turn the data into play-based curricula math teachers can use in the classroom.

“Every day doesn’t have to be a playground,” Horn says, “but throughout the school year, kids do need spaces to have positive experiences while learning mathematical problem-solving. Kids have libraries to fall in love with literature,” she says. “Where do they have to fall in love with math?”

MYTH: MATH IS SOMETHING YO U DO ALONE.

“A big myth in mathematics is that it is an individual experience, not a social one,” says Luis Leyva, assistant professor of mathematics education. “In reality, building a social experience surrounding math can help propel students to learn and succeed in ways they wouldn’t on their own.”

Leyva has studied math experiences of underrepresented undergraduate students pursuing STEM majors and careers. He has found that math comprehension and a sense of belongingness in STEM improved greatly when they worked on assignments in groups rather than alone. Their learning was enhanced by the strong bonds they developed with the other students and teachers.

“Adding a social aspect to math is valuable because it validates the gendered and cultural identities each student brings to the class and allows teachers and classmates to engage with math while honoring and learning from each other’s differences,” Leyva says. “I would argue that to support students in math, particularly in marginalized communities, we need to not just think about the academic component, but the social component required to be successful.”

Nicole Joseph’s research supports the idea that students can benefit from learning math in a more social setting. Her research finds that black middle school girls prefer to collaborate on problems and work in groups and have better outcomes as a result. “If their process, or ‘way of knowing’ is not valued in the classroom, they feel that somehow the problem lies with them, not the teaching,” she says.

Joseph says that her math trajectory was built on collaboration. “I worked hard and I wanted to keep making those good grades in college, so I reached out to fellow students,” she said. “I went up to other students I didn’t know—mostly white students—and asked to study together. It was fun, and we all did better as a result.”

MYTH: PRESCHOOLERS ARE TOO YOUNG TO LEARN MATH.

Preschoolers are taught counting and recognizing numbers but often are thought to be too young to be exposed to more complex mathematical concepts.

Rittle-Johnson has conducted much research on the effects of introducing mathematical concepts to 3- and 4-year-olds. She has found that they are capable of engaging in pattern abstraction—identifying a pattern of colors or shapes and replicating that pattern with different colors or shapes. When they engage in patterning activities, their brains begin to build a foundation for later mathematical proficiency, she says.

“Pattern abstraction teaches the child to look for regularity, repetition and rules, which are critical components of mathematical reasoning,” Rittle-Johnson explains. “As they progress to more complicated patterning activities, their mathematical foundation continues to grow.”

She explains that early exposure to math concepts is not only positive, it’s necessary for a child’s later mathematical understanding.

“Numbers are important to learn in preschool, but that’s not where their math learning should end,” Rittle-Johnson said.

Encouraging problem-solving using math scenarios, such as how to distribute blocks evenly among classmates, is another way for preschoolers to begin understanding math concepts they’ll use later on.

“Young children are tremendously interested in learning about the world around them, and that world includes things that can be counted—but also shapes, patterns, and things that are measured,” says Dale Farran, Antonio M. and Anita S. Gotto Professor of Teaching and Learning. “It turns out that the broader a child’s math knowledge is, the more school success he or she has in the future. Early math skills are related to higher achievement not just in math but in literacy as well through at least the fifth grade.”

Farran is part of a consortium of researchers awarded a $5 million grant by the Heising-Simons Foundation to identify more effective teaching practices and promote math learning during the preschool years. One of her areas of study is an examination of the correlation between early mathematical learning and preschool executive function—the ability to pay attention, control impulses and manage behavior.

When preschoolers engage in early math learning, executive function skills tend to coexist, although researchers don’t yet know why.

“We are designing and testing a variety of mathematical activities to help understand this phenomenon,” Farran said. “It will be exciting to see how math competencies and executive function intersect and can be enhanced through high-quality early childhood education.”

MYTH: MATH IS FOR BOYS.

Math has a reputation for being a male endeavor. According to a Stanford University study, boys have outperformed girls in math on the SAT for the past 40 years. On the other hand, the study goes on to say that girls are more likely to

graduate at the top of their high-school class, go on to college and earn post-graduate degrees. Are these kinds of comparisons useful?

Not necessarily, according to Luis Leyva. The trouble with comparing outcomes based on sex is that it doesn’t paint a representative portrait of the gendered variation of mathematics achievement and participation within compared groups of individuals, he says. Much of how individuals behave, what they believe about themselves, and how they respond to math and the world around them is colored by the social construct of gender, not anatomy, he says.

In a forthcoming article in the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Leyva discusses how the “myth of male superiority” in mathematics assessments has motivated researchers to take a closer look at differential mathematics outcomes and experiences in relation to gender and its intersections with other social identities.

“Achievement is shaped by external influences, including social contexts and individual experiences,” Leyva says. “Much of the work on gender in mathematics education doesn’t address issues of intersectionality—how other dimensions of social identity like race or ethnicity, class and sexuality intersect with gender to shape varying forms of experience. If it did, that would allow for more nuanced understandings of mathematics achievement and participation.”

As math students progress to high school, college and careers in STEM, fewer and fewer females and students of color are present. Ebony McGee, a former engineer, has experienced this firsthand. “I was often one of the only black individuals in my workplace and one of only a few women,” she says. “Often we were treated like we were less capable than our peers. I hope that one day that myth will fade out, as people begin to see diversity as an asset, not a liability.” McGee, assistant professor of education, diversity and STEM education, serves as a mentor to students in underrepresented groups who are pursuing careers in STEM. She believes the common narrative about math careers is too limited.

“Math is often positioned as a means to make America the next superpower, but that message doesn’t resonate with students—women and other groups—who are good at math but also want to provide stability for their communities and their families,” McGee says. “There is so much more that math can do. Math knowledge can play a strong role in social justice, in terms of providing ways to understand structural inequities in our society. We need to change the way that math is marketed so that math careers will appeal to a broader range of students.”

Have a great week!

Paul Smith

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