Superintendent's Blog
March 3, 2017
The Exeter-West
Greenwich School Committee approved the Superintendent's Recommended Budget for
the 2017-2018 school year at its last regularly scheduled meeting. Although
this year presented us with many challenges as we worked through the budget
development process (Most notably, the significant increase in health care
costs and addressing the continued trend of increased enrollment at our
elementary schools), we have worked hard to maintain quality educational
programming while also limiting, to the extent possible, the financial impact
on the taxpayers of our member towns. The all-day referendum (ADR) will be held
on April 10, 2017. Look for a mailing sent from the school department outlining
the details of the ADR.
As we begin to look
toward next school year, there are several new and/or exciting changes to
anticipate:
- Grade 2 will move from Wawaloam
to Metcalf Elementary School, changing Metcalf's configuration to a grades
2 through 6 school. This will address space and parking issues at Wawaloam
and allow us to expand the number of K-1 classrooms as enrollment
increases.
- New classrooms are budgeted for
kindergarten, Grade 3 and Grade 4 based on known enrollment. We are also
closely monitoring projections for Grade 1 as we could very well open up a
seventh grade 1 classroom next school year.
- Consistent with the goals set
out in our 5-year strategic plan, children at Metcalf in grades 2 through
6 will have a sixth "special" built into their rotation -
Spanish.
- Band and Chorus will continue
to be available to children during the school day at
Metcalf.
- Students in grade 8 will have
the option of selecting a year-long special in an area of particular
interest as they begin to think about pathways and opportunities in the
upcoming high school years. Year-long specials will include Spanish,
French, Technology or Art.
- At the Senior High School, we
are introducing a new AP offering in Biology. We have also worked out a
new scheduling plan for AP courses that adds more flexibility to students
and increases opportunities for them to engage in rigorous coursework.
- Additional student supports
will be in place at the Senior High School to address students' particular
academic needs as we continue to strive for graduation for all students in
EWG.
I am proud of the fact
that we maintained our focus on the goals set out in our strategic plan while
we worked to build a budget that required us to make some difficult decisions
in order to limit the overall operations increase.
Congratulations to the
SHS for the most recent report released by the Rhode Island Department of
Education on high school graduation rates. Our district improved from an 83%
graduation rate in 2015 to a 94% graduation rate in 2016. That is an amazing
accomplishment and we should all be VERY proud! The full report is available
for review by following the link below:
Students in Mrs.
Corcoran's classroom were recently filmed during a science lesson at Wawaloam
School. The video will be used for training purposes as the GEMS-Net consortium
continues to strive for excellence in science instruction across its member
districts. It is amazing to see first graders confidently communicate like
scientists and engage in deep learning about the content. Congratulations to
Mrs. Corcoran for the well-deserved recognition that once again puts our
district in the spotlight. View the entire video below to get a sense of what
science class looks like in our primary grades.