Kevin Case, the new superintendent at Botelle School, is chafing at the bit to get the school year started next Wednesday. “I am so excited to welcome back the staff and students,” he said.
Principal Lauren Valentino was also all smiles as well as she prepared to welcome back her charges. Over the summer, she and Case have been working to expand on Botelle’s educational endeavor to give student’s “ownership” over their educational goals.
“We want to personalize instruction for our students,” said Case. “We have 55 students this year and we will focus on the personal strengths and needs of each student.”
“We want the children to take ownership in setting their goals,” he said. “Sometimes students complete a task but don’t understand why it is important in their lives. We want them to understand why we are teaching them certain things and to set their own goals.”
Even young children can be engaged in this process. “Children in kindergarten, first and second grade can understand,” he asserted, “but you have to communicate it in language they understand. Every morning the teacher will have in front of them a target goal. For the younger set, it could be as simple as ‘today I will practice adding two digits.’”
Valentino said the program, “What I Need,” or “WIN,” is a continuation of one Botelle has been using. “We make all our decisions on research-based best practices,” she said. “The children work with the teachers to understand what they need to do to get to the next level.”
Case said he is also seeking to increase community involvement in the school. “Parent engagement is so important,” he said. “I am thinking of a mentoring program so people can come into the school, and the students have another person that they can work with and who they know cares about them.”
School supplies were donated by residents this summer for families in need and were collected at the Hub, Case said. They were distributed last week but the event was poorly attended and the supplies have been transferred to the school where parents may choose what they need.