Newington Schools Earn NEASC Accreditation
NEWINGTON - Newington Public Schools has garnered New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) accreditation, making it one of only three districts in the state to have all of its schools recognized under the designation.

       As Newington prepares to comply with education reform mandates, it is already scoring points in teacher collaboration and professional development, amongst other areas, principals from the elementary and middle schools said during presentations given at last Wednesday night’s Board of Education meeting, April 24.

       At Elizabeth Green Elementary, teachers are already utilizing a â€"train the trainer” approach to support and mentor fellow staff members and provide regular feedback, said Principal Jennifer Michno.

       â€"We are committed to developing significant levels of individualized reports--not just because it’s regulation, but because it’s good practice,” Michno said.

       At Ruth Chaffe Elementary, teachers have formalized meeting times that they utilize for comparing notes, but collaboration often stretches beyond that, according to Principal Rick DeBellis.

       â€"I know a lot of the teams get together on informal times, because there’s so much to do,” DeBellis said. â€"You’ll see teachers coming in early in the morning, and staying late.”

       Like other schools in the district, Ruth Chaffe strives to keep and consistently monitor data in order to assess student progress and pinpoint where intervention is needed, DeBellis said.

       Another area that the district is turning heads in is the implementation of technology. At Ruth Chaffe, for example, students complete in-class assignments on iPads while teachers are equipped with smart boards. The building is also WiFi enabled.

       â€"That’s definitely going to come into play later on, especially when we have online testing,” DeBellis said. â€"It would be very difficult to, one at a time, book a computer lab.”

       Teachers at Ruth Chaffe are putting the web to use by constructing their own personalized sites, DeBellis said.

       â€"Great way to communicate with parents,” he said. â€"They can put their calendars, their homework, projects they’ve done, [and] field trips.”

      
MORE NEWINGTON NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  May 01 2013  |  COMMENTS?