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As an incoming parent I would want to know what the school feels they are all about. What’s the mission, the vision, the goals? Or more simply put, what’s in it for my child and family as we attend this school? The formal statements of mission and goals are on our website (www.warwickschools.org). I can give you the rumors, the 411 and the word on the street about this school and what we actually intend.

I have a reputation for being demanding of those who work with me. I expect them to do their best and to make a personal commitment to this work. Not everyone in my 13 year tenure has appreciated this and might have moved on to other opportunities. I approach my position from a business model, not assuming you had to send your child to Winman, rather that you chose to lend us your child for two years. I think about the public’s perception of us a lot and preach that to the faculty. I accept my position as someone under greater scrutiny than folks in other professions and remind the faculty that they too, like it or not, are subject to the same expectations from the public they serve.

There is also a feeling that any teacher who comes out of Winman is very knowledgeable about educational issues. I have heard that from colleagues that have inherited some of the department heads we’ve trained here and have gone on. Directors like to have Winman teachers on district committees for the same reason. We spend our monthly faculty meetings learning and the teams spend a portion of their time analyzing test scores and strategizing what methodology works best with particular learning modalities. They participate in looking at student work using protocols from the Annenberg Institute to refine lessons. We’ll be doing much more with assessment models as the year progresses because that’s the next bee in my bonnet. Formative assessment should be used more for diagnosing if the students “got it” and inform teachers of what more needs to be done before the unit is concluded. Summative assessment- projects, quizzes and tests are the stuff that should comprise a child’s final grade.

We absorb all the data that pours into us and try to be certain that there is value added to each child during their time here. We have a big job: educating them socially, emotionally and academically. The first two of those are usually only observable but the last is certainly measurable. Our NECAP scores are very decent. We are the second highest scoring school in the entire urban ring category and we are looking to dethrone number one- a Cranston school.

For several years we have pursued literacy as our way to bump those NECAP scores. We have national winners in world languages and history and that all goes back to thoughtful professionals doing their best.

I wish I could promise that there will be perfection in your association with Winman JHS but I know better. We can’t make everyone happy all the time but our focus is always on the bigger picture and the long view.  Short term disappointments can shape the future adult. Missing a deadline or doing a detention and having to live with the consequences, we hope, produces a more thoughtful person when similar circumstances arise. Should the feeling be that your experience or your child’s is less than you’d prefer; I hope you’ll give me a chance to discuss the matter. Although we might not always agree, we can have a polite conversation and explore each other’s rationale. I am much easier to contact via e-mail (since I am not always in the office) and open to your input about what should or should not be a part of our program.

My partner, Mrs. Pelletier, deals solely with student safety and I am certain you’ll be satisfied with your conversations with her. She is a sincere, compassionate disciplinarian. She does need your cooperation in that she needs accurate information in a timely manner. Her technique is to address each issue with justice and respect. Hopefully as you speak of us after your two year stint, this picture of what we try to be about will be an accurate one in your minds as well.

 

 

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