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08/20/2019 02:30 PMThe new school year for Westbrook Public Schools, whose first day is Wednesday, Aug. 28, will see a number of new staff members, including Leslie Carson in the new position of career/college readiness coordinator at Westbrook High School (WHS).
The position was one that Superintendent of Schools Patricia A. Ciccone had been working on getting funded, emphasizing the need for students to be “engaged in learning about careers,” develop skills essential to their future, and affect their decisions about college.
“We all would like our children to do better than we did,” she said, but it’s important for parents to understand that “there are many different ways to get there.”
The program will impact how Westbrook schools prepare students academically, she explained, and will be a “real signature program” for the district.
“I’ve never been more excited about anything,” she said. “Westbrook will have one of the best career/college readiness programs in the state. This will have far-reaching effects for the town.”
More New Hires
Additional appointments include Kathleen Burke, a speech and language pathologist, who will work with children in grades two through 12 at all three schools.
New at WHS are Meta Wallace in science and Alexandra Wilson in math. The district, along with many other districts across the state, continues to look for a high-school physics teacher.
In addition, WHS welcomes a new guidance counselor, Sarah Cunningham.
Middle school students will also have a new science teacher, Kristin Magnano.
At Daisy Ingraham Elementary School, MaryJo Noonan, a long-time 3rd-grade teacher, is transitioning into a resource position to assist English language learners, a population that continues to grow, Ciccone said. Noonan, who is a certified bilingual professional, had expressed interest in the position. Lynne Fischer has been hired to teach 3rd grade.
Vanessa Federico is a new reading resource teacher who is prepared to work with children who speak other languages at home—she is a certified TESOL, teacher of English as a second language. Stephanie Merriman, who had filled in for a kindergarten teacher on maternity leave, has been hired to replace a kindergarten teacher who retired; Abigail Rice is a new 1st-grade teacher; and Michelle Tomek was hired for pre-K.
Ciccone was happy to report that as of this year, Westbrook will have a universal pre-K program.
“Every four-year-old in this town has a full day of pre-K,” she said. This is “incredibly important to children’s development and incredibly important to families.”
Many parents, she pointed out, commute to other towns for work, so a full-day pre-K program is an enormous help to them.
In addition, the district is trying its best to accommodate as many three-year-olds with special needs as possible to “get them started in pre-K,” she said. “We are trying to get them services as early as possible.”
Children with language development issues do well, Ciccone said, when placed in classrooms with peers identified as typical learners, as the youngest children learn language from those around them.
There is currently a waiting list of three-year-olds, who are being evaluated for placement in these classrooms. The classes are filling up, Ciccone said, and the number in each class should be kept small to allow for individualized attention.
Facilities
“We’ve done very well with our projects this summer,” said Ciccone, pointing out that “there were no glitches.”
At all three schools, “[n]ew generators with alternative fuel sources have been placed in the ground,” said Ciccone, and deep cleaning is near completion.
At WHS, the parking lots have been re-lined, the auditorium has been refurbished, and all doors have been replaced with security doors, complete with windows. The tennis courts, which are open to the public on most weekends, have been fully refurbished and resurfaced, making them “as close as we could get to brand-new courts,” she said. In addition, damaged pavement in front of the school has been replaced with a grassy area and the playing fields have undergone annual maintenance.
“We have one of the best soccer fields in New England,” said Ciccone, whose office windows overlook the field. “This is one of the few remaining natural grass soccer fields.”
The field is also used for field hockey.
Ciccone enjoys having an office at the high school, making her a familiar presence to students. She makes regular visits to all the schools, including Daisy Ingraham.
“Even the little ones know who I am,” she said. “They call me the Super Nintendo.”
Upcoming Important Dates
Tuesday, Aug. 27
9 to 10:15 a.m.
Kindergarten Orientation
10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Pre-K Orientation
Wednesday, Aug. 28
First Day of School
Monday, Sept. 2
Labor Day–Schools Closed