Wayne Highlands School District

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SCHOOL SCENE

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A Look at Activities in the Wayne Highlands School District

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Creating an environment that rockets school district to the top STORY AND PHOTO BY KATHY DALEY

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ayne Highlands School District is all about energy, literally and figuratively. On July 18, the delighted District learned it had earned first place in a statewide energy conservation contest. “We were wildly impressed by the (Wayne Highland’s) Sustainability Club’s innovations in composting, greenhouse building and student-led behavior changes,” wrote Philadelphia-based Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy industries in Pennsylvania. The certificate and plaque were handsome but money talks, and the District additionally received the free assistance of an engineering firm to brainstorm further energy savings, noted Superintendent of Schools Greg Frigoletto. The KEEA’s education fund recognizes schools that work creatively to become energy efficient and that teach the vital importance of energy and the environment. One measure that caught the judges’ eyes at Wayne Highlands was a Rocket composter that makes usable compost out of food scraps. The school district had worked on the project along with the Wayne County Commissioners and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. A $50,000 grant paid for the composter. Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) submitted Wayne Highlands as a nominee in the KEEA contest. Today, kindergartners through 12th graders do their share in saving the environment as they separate lunchtime trash into bins for liquid waste, food waste, recyclables and waste for the landfill. Such recycling has decreased the amount of tonnage that goes to landfills by two-thirds. Moreover, says Assistant Superintendent Timothy Morgan, “Everyone in the District has picked their own spot to save energy”

Collaboration and communication are hallmarks of Wayne Highlands School District, says Superintendent of Schools Greg Frigoletto. The District consistently scores among high-achieving school districts in Pennsylvania.

by taking matters into their own hands and turning off unneeded lights for example, or shutting down computer printers when they’re not in use. Students learn conservation skills they will hold forever, said Frigoletto. “I love the idea that even kindergartners can become more conscious of conserving resources,” he said, “and that they might go home to say ‘hey, wait a second...’ when they see a way to conserve energy at home.”

Reaching for high standards Wayne Highlands continues to score awards for excellence. In June, the Scranton Times-Tribune announced that the District was among four in Northeast Pennsylvania to outperform 33 others on standardized exams and the SAT. A month earlier, in an annual report issued by the Pittsburgh Business Times, Wayne Highlands once again placed in the top 15 percent among

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500 districts for student academic achievement. Still, “this is just a snapshot,� said Frigoletto. “We are also concerned about the child holistically, about affording students a more comprehensive, well-rounded education, where they know they are cared about, where a student knows there is always someone to talk with.� Part of the success lies in robust teacher-student collaborations, and between adult-to-adult connections as well. For example, an “induction� program links new teachers with seasoned staff for two full years. Both observe each other in the classroom, sharing teaching strategies and providing regular feedback. “Equally important,� said Morgan, “is the informal mentoring that takes place all the time: with the neighbor [teacher] across the hall, with the department chair, with the assistant principal.� After all, said Morgan, “What is the purpose of education? It’s self betterment and personal growth in academics, in work, in our emotional lives. Here, students learn to grow emotionally and socially, they learn to be responsible and what it means to be polite and kind.� During this year's back-to-school staff conference, a video featured interviews with Wayne Highlands staff as they recalled their own unforgettable teachers. “Their best teachers, the most memorable, were teachers who were not only qualified and smart enough, but who were kind, who were there for them,� said Frigoletto. After all, declared the Superintendent, “In what other profession will you find that, every day, you can change a life? Nowhere but in education.�

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A Look at Activities in the Wayne Highlands S.D. Published by

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‘This is the guy that helps me’ Homegrown special ed teacher gets promoted STORY AND PHOTO BY KATHY DALEY

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plained Blaskiewicz. The Wayne County Office of Behavioral and Developmental Programs & Early Intervention is also involved in the project. District-wide, Wayne Highlands educates some 700 students with disabilities. Services run the gamut from basic learning support in the regular classroom to help for students who are seriously challenged physically. Blaskiewicz also interacts with the balance of the Wayne Highlands student population, he noted. He coaches high school soccer and track and serves as a class advisor for the junior class, “allowing me the chance to meet with the large mass of students in general.” Then there are the heart-warming encounters out in the wider community. “It’s funny how, as a teacher, you have this rock star quality when kids see you outside school,” he said. Often, the special ed students have a way of capturing the powerful relationship between student and teacher. “I'll be in Walmart, and there will be people running down the aisle to say hello,” said Blaskiewicz. “The student will tell the parent, ‘This is the guy that helps me!’”

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Patrick Blaskiewicz, who grew up in Honesdale, PA and graduated from the high school in 2007, serves as the new Assistant Director of Special Education with an office at Wayne Highlands Middle School.

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atrick Blaskiewicz always had a passion for helping students most in need, and a love of the community he grew up in. It all came together five years ago when Blaskiewicz “came home” to Honesdale, PA to teach special education in the Wayne Highlands School District. This year, he begins the school year in an administrative post, as Assistant Director of Special Education under Director Amanda Kerna. “I picked the perfect career for me,” said Blaskiewicz with a smile. “I consider myself in the next wave of alumni to continue what people have done here forever. Education in general has changed a lot, but here we just continue the tradition of high expectations and the caring piece that makes students want to achieve those high expectations.” Blaskiewicz graduated from Honesdale High in 2007. His undergraduate degree is from Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa., and his Masters in Administration is from the University of Scranton. He spent two years teaching fourth and fifth grade in Virginia Beach before hiring on at Honesdale High as special education teacher. Among his tasks this school year is a focus on “transitions” for special ed students 14 and over as they prepare for what happens after high school. Specifically, he’s involved in an exciting new program at Wayne Memorial Hospital entitled Project Search. The initiative provides real-life work experience with training in employability and independent-living skills for young people with significant disabilities. Seven individuals, all between the age of 18 and 21 who have completed high school graduation requirements, are learning work skills in food service, maintenance, hospitality and print shop. “Three school districts are involved: us, Wallenpaupack and Western Wayne, and we’re the host,” ex-

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Administrator takes on a new challenge with youngest students STORY AND PHOTO BY KATHY DALEY

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hen the job arose for principal at Stourbridge Primary Center for 400 kindergartners through second graders, Anthony Donnini felt a tug. “I loved my position as Assistant Special Education Director,” his last post at Wayne Highlands School District, he said. “But when this position at Stourbridge was announced, I felt a pull to be there for the younger students who need a good start to their education.” The early years from K-2 are essential in children’s future lives, he stressed. Apart from the all-important academic skills, “a lot of our focus is on developing student social interaction, rule following, how to conduct themselves in public, how to communicate with each other, manners.” Taking over for longtime Stourbridge principal Paula Brennan who retired, Donnini first worked on helping the school acclimate youngsters to their daily routines.

Along with his hard-working teachers and staff, new Principal Anthony Donnini commits himself to the all-important love of learning that grounds K-2 grades in their later lives.

“(The first week) we spent a lot of time on school tours, walking in hallways, lunch route and so on,” he said. “The older students usually begin academics rather quickly, as the kinder-

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garten students work on their routines.” Now, he’s committed to ensuring teachers not only teach the specifics in the curriculum but do so as to deeply

reach the youngest pupils. “Making it relevant is so important,” Donnini says, “making it so students are as excited as teachers light the flame for education. And we have to make sure that we’re looking at children’s developmental needs as well.” Academically, things have sped up over the years. “When we were kids, we used to color pictures. Now they are reading books,” he said. Donnini’s own undergraduate education was at East Stroudsburg University and he holds masters degrees from East Stroudsburg University and from Wilkes University in Wilkes Barre. “I chose education to make a difference in the lives of children,” he said. “And here, I’m incredibly lucky to have such a great staff in the building. It really is a whole group effort to ensure success for every student.” In a kindergarten class the other day, the principal couldn’t hide his delight at the children’s open faces and endearing ways. “They make us smile,” said the educator. “They make us happy.”

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With zest, experience, fervor, new teachers tell why they do it STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATHY DALEY

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drienne Borgia likes to recall the special education student who, after high school, developed a love of photography and posted on Instagram about Borgia: “You never knew the impact you had on me.� English and Latin teacher Dan Davidson starts the first day of school each year with an unforgettable quote from a German philosopher: “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.� Katlyn Beaton, a Spanish teacher, is amazed at the journey through 12 countries that has led her back to her roots: teaching at Honesdale High School, just down the road from her

birthplace in Hawley, PA. Borgia, Beaton and Davidson are among 12 new Wayne Highlands teachers this year, some brand new to the classroom and others new to Honesdale but not to classroom teaching. “This school district has a great reputation, not only in academics but as a whole,� said Borgia, who is in her seventh year of teaching special education. She left her job at Scranton High School, with its population of nearly 2,000, to teach at Honesdale High. “Wayne Highlands is known for its professionalism.� A co-teacher in a regular math classroom that includes a number of special education students, Borgia also supports a caseload of 25 kids.

That means shes the one in charge of overseeing the Individual Education Plans that spell out specific educational programs designed to address the children’s educational needs. “I love what I do,� Borgia said. “I love being able to give support to students so that they are able to do their best.� Dan Davidson also left a school district near Scranton to continue his 20-year career in teaching at Honesdale High this August. “I feel blessed and lucky to interact with kids, to play with ideas and words and to cultivate that sense of wonder in students,� said Davidson. In today’s world with its emphasis on digital technology, “we lose sight of the fundamental importance of language,� he said. “The power of language is so important. No matter

what your profession is, you are using language to communicate ideas.� Davidson, who is certified to teach Latin, English and history, now teaches sophomore English and Latin 1, 2 and 3. Latin, he notes, “helps students understand how language works, while expanding their vocabulary. It also gives students a good grounding in Greco-Roman culture, which is the basis of Western civilization.� A direct descendant of Latin is Spanish, “which is more than just a language,� said Hawley native Katlyn Beaton. “It's about learning the culture and the people. I love the language itself. It's phonetically beautiful, pleasing to the ear.� Beaton attended Wallenpaupack schools, where eventually she began

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considering medicine as a career. “No,” said her high school Spanish teacher Ellen Jagger. “You are destined to teach Spanish.” Beaton, who is a Spanish professor at Marywood University teaching Advanced Medical Spanish, earned her bachelors and master degrees from that Scranton college and went on to teach all levels of Spanish there. But first, during her own junior year, she studied in Valencia, Spain. Then she earned a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in the country of Andorra in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain. She travelled. Now, back home in northeastern Pennslvania, Beaton teaches Spanish I to 113 Honesdale High School students. “I hope I can inspire them to continue to study another language, to open a door in their lives, in their careers,” said Beaton. And, with a grin, she notes how glad she is to be back in the countryside of Honesdale-Hawley. “After being in 12 countries,” said the 26-year-old, “I've come full circle.”

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