Part Two: Agawam Public Schools release educational strategic plan

May 20, 2019 | Stephanie Trombley
stephanie@thereminder.com

AGAWAM – Last week, Reminder Publishing ran a story that highlighted the first objective and a portion of the second objective of the Agawam Public Schools strategic plan in an effort to break down the plan for residents and parents. This week’s Part 2 will break down the remaining priorities of the second objective and the full third objective.

The Agawam Public School system has been meeting with students, the City Council, parents, administrators and the School Committee over the last few years to collaborate on a strategic plan, a document outlining the focus of faculty for best education practices and areas of focus.

The first objective, Cognitive Engagement, places focus on developing a learning community that will promote cognitive engagement for students. The second objective, Student Supports, seeks to build and maintain a safe and secure community for students that promotes their overall well-being.

The following is a summarized version of the remaining priorities under Student Supports and the priorities under the third objective, Integrating Technology.

Objective 2: Student Supports: Build and maintain a safe and secure community to promote social, emotional and physical well-being of all students and staff.

The second half of the priorities under Student Supports are as follows:
• Establish a system of safety procedures and initiatives with continued assessment of the processes already in place.
• Address the range of social/emotional and academic needs of our students by improving our current system’s comprehensive multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) Pre-K-12.
• Re-evaluate support systems for students by implementing necessary staffing needs.
• Improve communication outreach and engagement with the community.
• Continue to examine and improve English Language supports inside and outside of the schools.
• Recognize and celebrate staff.

Agawam Public Schools has increased its focus on safety procedures. For example, Superintendent Steven Lemanski visited the High School of Commerce, located in Springfield, in 2018 to observe safety procedures at the schools such as the use of metal detectors. While metal detectors are an ongoing discussion among the Agawam School Committee, the topic has been of focus.

“We are currently looking at it and asking, ‘are there ways to harden our schools?’ We are looking at things like improved cameras. The schools already have key FOBS that are used by faculty to get in the doors,” Lemanski said.

Agawam Public Schools has also implemented ALICE active shooter training in schools. ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) is a safety training that is utilized nationwide.

Through hosting ALICE training sessions after school for parents, Lemanski said that it has helped improve communication and engagement with the community outside of the schools.

Agawam Public Schools has also hosted informational presentations in conjunction with Shane’s Foundation to provide parents with information on a variety of topics. On March 7, an event was hosted at the Agawam Junior High School that educated parents on managing children’s social media and technology. The event included the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office and their Student Advisory Board. On May 2, the school hosted “The Teen Brain and Risk Taking,” presented by Dr. Ruth Potee, Board Certified Family and Addiction Medicine Physician and Chair of the Healthcare Solutions Opioid Task Force of Franklin County.

A final event in the series will be hosted at the Agawam Junior High School Auditorium on June 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Shane’s Foundation will present “Rebound: The Chris Herren Story” with former NBA player Chris Herren, who is helping families to fight addiction.

The three events are in an effort to educate parents on important topics such as social media and addiction outside of the classroom.

Lemanski explained that Agawam Public Schools has also begun to implement social media in an effort to reach the public. “We’ve increased our presence on Facebook and Twitter. We’re increasing what we’re doing. We’re trying to reach out so [the public] understands more. City Councilors have more information and the School Committee is very well informed,” Lemanski said.

Lemanski continued, “It’s important that people can see what’s going on in our schools.”

With the implementation of an English Learner Parent Advisory Council, the Agawam Public Schools has also increased focus on improving English Language supports. The English Learner Parent Advisory Council encourages parents and guardians of English Language Learners to attend meetings to express concerns as well as discuss the English Language Learners program among peers.

Objective 3: Integrating Technology: Foster a technology rich environment where staff and students develop transferable digital literacy skills.

The priorities under Integrating Technology are as follows:
• Promote STEAM skills and learning opportunities for students Pre K-12.
• Assess and expand technology professional development opportunities for all staff.
• Encourage Peer-to-Peer collaboration to expand the working technology knowledge of all staff.
• Continue to examine social media trends to address concerns in a timely fashion.
• Promote college and career readiness by building the Digital Literacy Curriculum Pre K-12 and integrating 21st century skills.
• Continue meeting with the District Wide Technology Committee to determine future technology needs within the district.

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) studies are an important focus of Agawam Public Schools, according to Lemanski. “These skills are growing in schools. I went to a Robotics competition recently and they created a robot to code to solve a Rubix cube in 90 seconds or less. It was amazing,” Lemanski shared.

As students approach STEAM programs, Agawam Public Schools hope to improve labs and classrooms. “The New England Association of Schools and Colleges will be looking at the high school’s curriculum and building in the future. We will look at rooms that need improvement. The current science wing was built in the 1960s,” Lemanski said.

With the increase of technology utilization by youth, Lemanski shared that a focus would be to make sure all staff is well-versed on technology.

“We’ve done a great job of putting technology in the hands of kids. We need our staff to be on it. How do we help our students?,” Lemanski said.

Agawam Public Schools will continue to evaluate ways in which the changing world of technology can be utilized in the schools. For example, the schools recently began utilizing virtual reality devices to learn about subjects such as science and historical places.

Lemanski shared that Agawam Public Schools updates will always be shared with the community. “It’s important that people can see what’s going on in our schools,” Lemanski said.

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