Education News From Northeastern Connecticut volume 32, number 3
www.eastconn.org
March 2012
Homework? Reading? No Problem! Windham Students Learn, Have Fun
EVC student Nick Cellucci, right, gets hands-on work experience with help from David Rose, owner of the Columbia automotive shop where Cellucci loves learning and is an exemplary intern.
Day Treatment Programs Boost Academics, Vocational Options
A youngster attending EASTCONN’s Windham Heights afterschool program gets some special one-on-one homework help from Jason Diaz, a Windham High School senior, who’s on staff.
Killingly’s Nick Cellucci, a junior at EASTCONN’s Educational and Vocational Center (EVC) in Columbia, can hardly wait to get to his internship each week at Rose Brothers Garage, where he has worked since last fall. “I like it here a lot,” said Cellucci, “and I really like coming to work. It makes me see the life I want to have. I want to work as hard as I can and learn more and more.” David Rose, owner of the Columbia automotive shop, said he has had other high-school-age interns in the past, but Cellucci is his first EASTCONN EVC intern and Cellucci’s eagerness and aptitude have made him an especially ideal worker. “Nick’s doing a great job,” said Rose, as Cellucci assisted him with a car. “He’s very enthusiastic, which is rare. He likes to learn and does anything required. He’s got a great attitude.” Tammy Cellucci, Nick’s mother, is happy with her son’s success at EVC. “He’s done a complete turnaround,” she said. He has good grades and he really likes to go to school now.” Cellucci, who is transported several days a week to his internship by his EVC job coach, is just one of nearly twodozen successful high-school-age students benefitting from local-business internships through EASTCONN’s EVC in Columbia, and Northeast Regional Program (NRP) in Putnam.
Wintry weather recently prevented 55 youngsters at the Windham Heights after-school program from playing outside, which could have caused a chaotic scene inside. Instead, children could be found contentedly reading to themselves or aloud, or working on homework with tutors and teachers, and the air was humming with the sound of happy voices. “I am reading!” declared one little girl, who was torn between finishing Dr. Seuss’ One fish two fish red fish blue fish and beginning the book No, David! About half the students read, while the other half diligently completed homework assignments in a room filled with desks, tables and computers. Helping every student were Windham teachers, college-age volunteers or program staff. Now in its fourth year and funded by the state, the Windham Heights after-school program, Community Arts Connection, is made possible through a partnership among Windham Public Schools and EASTCONN, as well as the Willimantic Library Service Center, UConn student volunteers, UConn Big Buddies, and staff from Windham Heights Learning Center. Monday through Friday, students in grades K-8, who live at Windham Heights, get off the bus and walk across their parking lot to the after-school program at Windham Heights
See DAY TREATMENT PROGRAMS, page 2
See HOMEWORK, back page
Free Workshops To Help Districts Implement Student Success Plans
View the EASTCONN Calendar at www.eastconn.org and Click on “Workshops, Events & Classes”
In collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education, EASTCONN will offer a series of free workshops designed to help school districts implement their Student Success Plans by July 1, 2012. “These workshops are intended to help northeastern Connecticut school districts get ready to roll out their Student Success Plans,” said EASTCONN’s Jim Huggins, Director of Teaching, Learning and Technology. “Going forward, all students in grades 6 through 12 must create a Student Success Plan that promotes college and career readiness by addressing their academic development, college and career aspirations, and social, emotional and physical development,” Huggins said. The EASTCONN workshops are intended to inform district teams about the CSDE’s vision for the Student Success Plan initiative; to enable educators to review and practice using various technology tools to both collect and store student data for the Student Success Plans, including demonstrations of Naviance, Excel, Career Cruising and others; to help teacher-advisors run an effective Student Success Plan advisory session over time; and to provide strategies to help facilitate communication between the school and community, including promoting student-ownership of the new initiative. Workshops, from 3:30-6:30 p.m., are scheduled for March 26, April 30, April 10, and May 24, 2012, at EASTCONN’s Conference Center, 376 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton. To learn more, contact EASTCONN’s Cyndi Wells at 860-455-1572, or reach her via e-mail at cwells@eastconn.org.
DAY TREATMENT PROGRAMS, from page 1 EVC and NRP, which both provide educational and daytreatment programs, serve northeastern Connecticut youngsters, grades K-12, who have social, emotional and behavioral issues. The sister programs provide students with a rigorous, integrated, individualized curriculum; high-schoolers also have a variety of well-organized, paid, vocational opportunities. “These paid jobs and internships build confidence in our students, as well as creating a work history, creating a network, and building situations where they can move into paid, real employment after they graduate,” said Steve Dyer, Vocational Coordinator for both EVC and NRP. EVC and NRP apply intensive case management to every student, enabling staff to coordinate with and link to other community service providers, who assist students and families. “We connect with families to provide them with resources, support, education and help them with basic needs,” said NRP Director Denise Resonina, who also oversees EVC. Staff at both programs regularly volunteer to visit and assist students and families, long after the school day has ended, she said. EVC and NRP are currently enrolled to capacity, with 24 and 36 students, respectively. “What sets EVC and NRP apart is that we develop a thorough understanding of individual students, and look at them not just in the context of school, but in the context of their whole environment so they can achieve a high level of success,” said Heather Cymbala, who is the Intake and Programming Coordinator for both EVC and NRP. Jacqueline Middleton, Director of Student Services for Columbia Public Schools, agrees. This year, Columbia has two students at EVC, one in elementary school, the other in high school. Middleton said both students are doing extremely well. “It was nice to see that our students are doing rigorous academics, as well as getting other support…along with clinical and vocational components,” said Middleton. “What has been very important for our students is that the [EASTCONN EVC] program is really individualized for our students’ needs. “The school itself offers a great atmosphere,” Middleton continued. “It’s clean, it’s bright, it has classrooms with windows…it’s a nice setting, which is more conducive to learning and similar to our students’ home schools. There’s a nice feel to it. It helps with our students’ feeling of belonging, to their sense of community.” Middleton also said she appreciates that Resonina and Cymbala “strive to return the students to their home schools, if appropriate, which is unusual.” “We are building community at both EVC and NRP,” said Resonina. “There is an electricity in the air — just pure, positive energy. Students and staff are excited about what we’re doing in Putnam and Columbia, and it shows when you walk in the door.” Learn more. Contact Denise Resonina at 860-963-3328 or at dresonina@eastconn.org; or, Heather Cymbala at 860-2284317 or at hcymbala@eastconn.org.
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Numerous EASTCONN publications have earned recognition in the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) 2011 Awards of Excellence for Educational Communications contest. CABE First Vice-President Richard Murray (far right) recently traveled to Hampton to present the awards to EASTCONN. EASTCONN Connections Writer/Editor: Teddie Sleight ~ tsleight@eastconn.org Assistant: Cindy Laurendeau ~ claurendeau@eastconn.org Communications Department Dotty Budnick, Director ~ dbudnick@eastconn.org EASTCONN Administration Paula M. Colen, Executive Director EASTCONN, 376 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton, CT 06247, 860-455-0707 FAX: 860-455-0691
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EASTCONN Professional Notes
EASTCONN Joins Blogging World
In February, EASTCONN’s Teacher Education and Mentoring (TEAM) Director of Training Nancy Celentano and TEAM Field Staff Representative Grace Levin joined other Regional Educational Service Center Field Staff colleagues and ConnectiNancy Celentano cut State Department of Education TEAM consultants at the New Teacher Center Symposium on Teacher Induction in San Jose, Calif., to present a session on TEAM, Connecticut’s induction program for beginning teachers. Educators from across the country were eager to learn more about TEAM, and the session had to be rescheduled to a larger room to accommodate the audience. Grace Levin
This winter, EASTCONN joined the blogging world. Next time you visit www.eastconn.org, look for our “Education Today” blog to find interesting conversations with EASTCONN educators as they chat about a wide variety of current, education-related topics and new developments. “Education Today” can be found on the front page of EASTCONN’s Web site. “We’re extremely pleased to be able to offer yet another venue for conversations and collaborations, a practice that northeastern Connecticut educators have engaged in for many years,” said Dotty Budnick, EASTCONN’s Director of Marketing and Communications. “Throughout the year, our blog will feature different agency educators,” she said. “We hope that outside educators, parents, and those simply interested in education, will visit “Education Today” regularly, and spark some interesting exchanges.” The first “Education Today” blog, written by EASTCONN Director of Planning and Development Maureen Crowley, is titled “Teaching Matters, Using Exemplars. . .and The Power of Positive Deviance for Changing Practices.” Crowley will periodically share perspectives on her extensive readings and research related to current education issues, best practice, and philosophical conundrums that merit discussion. Another featured blogger will be EASTCONN Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Accreditation, Toni Ryan, Ed.D. Ryan’s current blog, titled “Inspiring Improvement,” considers the complex issues surrounding NEASC-CPSS accreditation. She will blog on each of the NEASC-CPSS standards. Carol L. Magliocco, Ph.D., ATP, PT, Assistive Technology and Related Services Coordinator for EASTCONN, is also in the blogging lineup. She will discuss the latest news in developments and devices for assistive technology and related services. “More blogs with different EASTCONN experts will follow in the coming weeks and months,” said Budnick. For more information, contact Dotty Budnick at 860-4550707, or via e-mail at dbudnick@eastconn.org. b b b
EASTCONN’s Director of Early Childhood Initiatives Elizabeth Aschenbrenner has been appointed to the Connecticut Legislature’s English Language Learners Task Force. The 25-member task force, made up of legislators and educators, will work to improve the way Connecticut educates its Elizabeth Aschenbrenner English Language Learners. State Rep. Susan Johnson, D-Windham, and state Rep. Andres Ayala, Jr., D-Bridgeport, are co-chairs of the committee. A new collection of poetry, Necessary Silence, by EASTCONN Interdistrict staff member Lisa C. Taylor will be published by Arlen House/Syracuse University Press. Taylor’s book will be released in both Ireland and the United States. Lisa C. Taylor
EASTCONN Adult Services Director Richard Tariff and Adult Services Site Coordinator Phyllis Bonneau presented this March at the CAACE (Connecticut Adult and Continuing Education) Conference in Groton. Tariff, who is also President of Richard Tariff CAACE, facilitated a pre-conference workshop in collaboration with Rina Bakalar, Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Competitiveness; the workshop addressed leading Adult Education into the future. Tariff also led a panel with three other Adult Education program directors. EASTCONN’s Bonneau joined collaborating Phyllis Bonneau partners of AHEC (Area Health Education Center), Sarah Borys and Lillian Rogers, to present on AHEC’s successful collaboration with EASTCONN Adult Services.
Free American History Program On Post-WWII International Relations
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Educators from northeastern Connecticut are invited to a free EASTCONN Teaching American History program on 20th-century international relations, post-World War II. The program will take place Monday, May 14, 2012, from 4:00-6:30 p.m., at EASTCONN’s Conference and Meeting Center, 376 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton. The guest speaker will be Clark University History Professor Douglas Little, Ph.D., who specializes in American diplomatic history. Douglas Little Learn more at www.clarku.edu. Clark University is located in Worcester, Mass. To learn more about the free Teaching American History program, contact EASTCONN’s Dan Coughlin at 860-4551511, or at dcoughlin@eastconn.org.
Students Take Charge at Big School Climate Conference
implement school climate plans. Tregoning said she had been working with Bibeau at Ellis Technical High School, which has been doing a “wonderful job” with its school climate plan. “It’s just so exciting,” Tregoning said. “The students are really coming up with great ideas. We [the Governor’s Prevention Partnership] try to help schools develop and build capacity so they can create positive school climate in individual school communities.” Every school in Connecticut was required by law to submit a school climate plan to the state by January 1, 2012. For more information about customized School Climate activities and planning, contact EASTCONN’s Interdistrict Grant Manager Nancy Vitale at 860-455-1568, or reach her at nvitale@eastconn.org. b b b
ACT Student Video Among Top 10 in Statewide DMV Contest
Students from nine Connecticut high schools met to start creating positive school climate plans for their home high schools. Above, student participants shake hands during a team-building exercise.
Eager voices, serious faces and thoughtful conversation filled a conference room in Hampton, as 150 students from nine Connecticut high schools met to discuss the importance of positive school climate and the ways in which individual students can effect permanent social change in their home high schools. “School climate is about giving students a voice,” said H.H. Ellis Technical School’s social worker, Jessica Bibeau, who helped organize and coordinate The Mosaic School Climate Conference held at EASTCONN’s Conference Center in late February. “We all need to confront issues in our schools and they’re not always pretty,” Bibeau told students. “We are here to identify school problems, work on finding solutions and create specific action plans that you can use in your specific schools.” The conference was made possible by EASTCONN’s statefunded Interdistrict Grant, Mosaic, which brings students together from different schools to improve their understanding of diversity, while also boosting their academics. Students shared examples of social problems that exist at their hometown high schools, identifying problems like discrimination, racism, sexual harassment, cliques, bullying, cyberbullying, religious and ethnic intolerance, social hostility, homophobia, violence, language barriers and more. “We have some serious work to do,” Bibeau told students, before organizing them into smaller break-out sessions, so they could brainstorm issues of concern and, later, solutions. At the end of the conference, students collaborated on creating a mission statement and action plan that they could present to hometown district administrators and their peers. High schools represented at the conference included Coventry, Hampton (Parish Hill), Manchester and Windham, as well as technical high schools, including Cheney (Manchester), Ellis (Killingly), Norwich, A. I. Prince (Hartford) and Windham. Lisa Tregoning, a representative of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, attended the Climate Conference, taking note of what students and teachers said. The Prevention Partnership is a public, non-profit organization aimed at helping districts Continued next column
A screen shot, above, depicts a scene from the ACT student video, which earned a Top-10 ranking in the 2012 DMV video contest.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other teen driving safety advocates have ranked an ACT student video among the Top 10 in a statewide 2012 Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles teen safe-driving video contest. This is the DMV video contest’s fourth year and also the fourth consecutive year that an ACT student video entry has made the DMV’s Top 10 list of finalists. ACT (Arts at the Capitol Theater) is EASTCONN’s arts magnet high school in Willimantic. Each year, the DMV contest asks Connecticut’s highschool-age students to create a public service video depicting issues around teen safe driving. This year, the DMV contest drew 103 entries. Five winners will be announced in April. ACT students who made the DMV video “Life on the Line” are Jess Haney, Marlborough; Leah Broadwell, East Hampton; Kristen Corriveau, Storrs; and Jackie Smith, Plainfield. See the entries at www.youtube.com/teensafedriving12. Top 10 high schools include ACT, Willimantic; Coginchaug High School, Durham; Daniel Hand High School, Madison; Darien High School; East Haven High School; Hall High School, West Hartford (3 ranking videos); Manchester High School; and Norwich Free Academy. To learn more about ACT, contact ACT Principal Tracy Goodell-Pelletier at 860-465-5636 or tpelletier@eastconn.org. 4
Summer Employment Program Prepares Youth for Future Jobs
ern Connecticut’s youth continue to face an uphill battle to find a job because of stiff competition from many adults competing for the same jobs. We continue efforts with the Legislature and foundations to reach a goal of providing 450 Eastern Connecticut youth with jobs this summer.” Wells said the regional Youth Employment Program takes income-eligible students with little work experience, and helps them become college and career-ready by offering them a developmental guidance program. “We offer preparation classes in work readiness, work maturity, application and job-interviewing skills, career decision-making, interpersonal and basic skills, and lessons around current and future labor market trends, to name a few,” she said. Through a second, longer-term, year-round youth employment program, EASTCONN case managers, employment specialists and tutors also offer intensive academics, skillsbuilding and work-related classes for high school students in the Windham, Plainfield and Killingly public schools. “The program also emphasizes the critical importance of finishing high school,” Wells said. Michelle Landry, the co-chair of EWIB’s Youth Council, and Career Development Programs Manager at L&M Hospital in New London, also spoke recently at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on the importance of Summer Youth Programs. “Youth need the opportunity to work in a field and see if it is something they would like to pursue,” Landry said. “These entry job experiences also underscore the importance of schoolwork, so students can continue on their career paths.” This summer, eligible eastern Connecticut youth will be able to apply for jobs and internships at Windham Hospital, Backus Hospital, L&M Hospital in New London, Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), Three Rivers Community College, WalMart, pet stores, town libraries, office buildings and recreation departments, as well as human service agencies and nursing homes across the region. Recruitment efforts are underway to find other internship sites for the region’s summer Youth Employment Program. For more information, contact EASTCONN’s Cyndi Wells at 860-455-0707, or at cwells@eastconn.org.
Thanks to the regional Youth Employment Program last summer, this young man interned at the Putnam Public Library, gaining valuable experience in library science and working with the public.
EASTCONN and its regional partners are gearing up once again to employ hundreds of income-eligible eastern Connecticut youth this summer, after preparing them for paid jobs and internships that may help them find future employment. “It’s an important regional initiative because employment for youth is on the decline, particularly here in Connecticut,” said Cyndi Wells, EASTCONN’s Youth Employment Coordinator for In-School Youth. This summer, EASTCONN’s Youth Employment Program will employ up to 450 teens, ages 14 to 21, across eastern Connecticut, according to Wells, who said she and other staff are in the process now of interviewing potential student candidates, discerning their aptitudes and employment interests, and then helping them find the perfect summer job or internship. Students get preliminary work-skills instruction, including online, job-specific training that helps them succeed in their summer placements “Thanks to the Summer Youth Program, I have a job now working with kids, being a tutor, a mentor and a friend,” said Jason Diaz, a senior at Windham High School, as he spoke to legislators recently during Youth Employment Day in Hartford. Diaz urged lawmakers to continue funding Youth Programs. “I feel like I’m making a difference...this experience is something I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Diaz, who also works at the EASTCONN Windham Heights after-school program. [Editor’s Note: See “Homework?” story, page 1.] The Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board (EWIB) partners with the Department of Children and Families and the Connecticut Women’s Educational and Legal Fund (CWEALF) to fund the EASTCONN Summer Youth Program for income-eligible youth throughout eastern Connecticut. EASTCONN also partners with Norwich Human Services and New London Youth Affairs. “Although we’re hoping to see an eastern Connecticut economy that shows signs of sustained job growth during 2012,” said EWIB Executive Director John Beauregard, “east-
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National Honor Society Inductees at ACT
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Recently inducted into the National Honor Society were students who attend ACT (Arts at the Capitol Theater), EASTCONN’s arts magnet high school in Willimantic. Here, they paused for a quick photo in the school lobby. Front row, left to right: Riley Smith, Plainfield; Michela Purdon; Putnam; Alyssa Rametta, Coventry; Amber Jackson, Ashford; Kristen Kompare, Lisbon. Back row: Austin Giroux, Andover; Gabrielle Brown, Griswold; Sadie Hopkins, Putnam; Brittney Austin, Coventry; Benjamin Hoff, Colchester; Ariana Farnsworth, Colchester.
HOMEWORK, from page 1 Learning Center. Students participate in activities related to language arts, math, science, health, sports, gardening, team-building and safe climate, puppetry, music, art, dance and drama, and photography, among other subjects.
Windham Center School teacher Stacy Baratz, far right, helps with homework and language arts skills at the after-school program.
“As much as I teach the kids, they teach me,” said Windham Heights Learning Center staff member Jason Diaz, who is also a senior at Windham High School. “Here, kids can grow, they can be themselves, and they are learning that education is first… and it’s also fun. I just wish I had a place like this when I was a kid.” Program numbers have increased from 40 students last year to as many as 60 each day, and family participation has tripled. “The after-school program provides a great asset for the
kids, and for parents who are working, because it’s a safe, organized place for kids to do homework, read, experience new things, and play games together,” said Mercedes Arroyo, the Windham Learning Center’s Resident Service Coordinator. “A lot of the kids here have language barriers and technology challenges,” she said. Younger children who live at Windham Heights, which is an apartment complex outside of Willimantic, attend Windham Center School, which serves grades K-4. A number of the school’s teachers are also tutors at the after-school program, among them, Stacy Baratz, a first-grade teacher, who works closely with small groups of first- and second-graders. Baratz said that two of her regular-classroom students are among her Windham Heights after-school participants, and she has seen “significant growth” in their reading skills. “I love the kids,” said Baratz. “They run right up to you. It’s rewarding to know that they are excited about learning.” Every Friday, UConn’s Big Buddies program transports small groups of students to UConn, where youngsters participate in planned activities, allowing them to become familiar with the campus, as well as the idea of attending college one day. Teachers and staff also work with students on Saturdays. Because youngsters at the after-school program take part in many different types of creative and engaging activities, they may not realize that their afternoons are actually highly structured. Every month’s activities, including the books students read, are closely organized around a unique, monthly theme. The Willimantic Library Service Center researches and then delivers books related to each theme. The Learning Center is also currently organizing its own lending library. A crucial part of the program’s success is building relationships with Windham Heights students and their families, who are invited to participate in three to four activities each month, including field trips to performances and museums, said EASTCONN’s Matthew Weathers, a professional puppeteer, who generates the monthly themes and helps coordinate the after-school program. To learn more about the Windham Heights after-school program, contact EASTCONN’s Interdistrict Grants Manager Nancy Vitale at 860-455-1568, or at nvitale@eastconn.org. b b b
CTAA’s Aladdin Jr. Has Successful Run
EASTCONN’s Capitol Theater Arts Academy (CTAA) production of Disney’s Aladdin Jr., shown above, had a successful run this winter, involving students from across northeastern Connecticut. CTAA, EASTCONN’s community arts program, provides after-school classes and summer programming in the arts for grades 4-12. Learn more at 860-465-5636 x1023 or at www.eastconn.org/ctaa.
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