From the very first day of school, HPS principals and their teams have been working diligently to implement strong systems for culture, instruction, and operations to ensure a highly successful school year.
Each school follows a first quarter “playbook” to support a strong start, with high-impact practices identified each week across four domains: teacher skills, foundations of weekly data meetings, student culture, and school-wide systems.
As part of those efforts, Executive Director of School Leadership Sarita Graveline and Assistant Superintendent Jackie Glasheen are visiting all schools to support principals and their teams as they begin to implement the playbook.
“This early in the school year, a lot of the focus is on routines. For example, teachers are working to develop essential routines in the classroom, such as giving clear instructions when distributing and collecting work, and also while students are in the hallways between classes and at dismissal,” said Ms. Glasheen. “Investing now in these routines will help ensure our classrooms run effectively and will allow us to prioritize time on learning in the long run because students know what is expected of them.”
Establishing routines early on is one important component of a strong start to the school year, but there’s more to it, as well.
“It’s also critical that teachers work to establish a positive student culture, which includes such steps as greeting students by name and connecting what students are learning to topics that interest them,” added Ms. Graveline. “Building strong relationships at the start of the school year helps set the foundation for a students feeling a sense of belonging and well-being, which is a key focus area for Holyoke this year.”
Staff at Lawrence Elementary have found the playbook—and the coaching they are receiving from their supervisors—helpful as they strive to start the school year off well.
“The playbook names our focus each week,” said Lawrence Elementary Principal Katie Bourque. “Everyone in our building is thinking about the focus and working on it together.”
The playbook is one of many ways HPS strives to live out its instructional vision (English, Spanish) of providing engaging, rigorous instruction that meets diverse needs, fosters a love for learning, and prepares students for future success.