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Date: 8/23/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Since becoming West Springfield’s new superintendent of schools May 1, Stefania Raschilla has been busy working to implement several changes for the 2023-24 school year.
One of her most significant decisions will impact English language learners. In recent years, all elementary-aged English language learner students, no matter where in town they lived, were bused to Coburn School. Now, ELL students within the boundaries served by Fausey School and Tatham School will attend the same schools as their neighbors. This includes kindergartners, who will go to John Ashley Kindergarten.
Raschilla said ELL students from the Memorial and Mittineague neighborhoods will continue to attend Coburn, as neither school has room to accommodate additional students, and Mittineague may close in the near future.
“We wanted to see what the Student Population Projection Committee recommends this fall to make the determination about Mittineague,” said Raschilla.
Created last spring, the committee will evaluate projected enrollment of students and review the capacity of current schools.
The superintendent said there was “positive feedback” from families of ELL students about the change, as “the families and their kids are happy to be back in their neighborhood schools.”
Another major change for 2023-24 involves preschoolers. Rachilla said using a grant that pays for two teachers and two paraprofessionals, the district is opening two full-day pre-K classrooms for 4-year-olds at John Ashley, to serve all areas of the town. It will be run on a pilot basis for 36 children this school year.
“Parents were asked to sign up for the lottery if they were interested, and there was much more interest than spots available,” said Raschilla. “This shows an interest in the community and we hope to build on this program next year. We will look for additional funds to support these two classes, and hopefully add more, based on the community need.”
By starting while school was still in session last spring, Raschilla was able to visit classrooms to see how teachers work with students, attend school events and talk with administrators, students and parents. She also met with town councilors about the final School Department budget.
Additionally, an improved professional development plan is now in place for educators and administrators. It’s based on data that had been collected and was reviewed by the superintendent before moving into the new school year.
Raschilla, formerly chief instructional officer in Springfield’s public schools for six years, worked with the West Springfield School Committee and the School Department to plan and purchase necessary materials for this school year using remaining federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. ESSER, a grant program approved by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, must be spent by the end of 2024.
“All of this would have been impossible if I had started July 1,” said Raschilla. “Meeting with teachers, administrators and community leaders, I was able to listen to their needs and discuss what solutions could be short-term and what concerns needed to be addressed in the long term.”
A key issue Raschilla plans to focus on during the upcoming school year is helping students be successful in school and after they graduate.
“Time on learning is very important and we should utilize every minute we have — teaching from the time students enter the school to the time they leave.”
She said the other piece to improving student achievement is concentrating on essential skills, sometimes known as soft skills.
“These skills are necessary to be successful in and out of school. Students need to communicate well, be creative, curious and know how to think critically. They also need to problem solve and cooperate as a team to complete tasks,” she said.
Raschilla is following through on another issue she identified as a priority: developing a strategic plan. The district will work with Attuned Education Partners, a New Jersey-based education consulting firm, to write a five-year strategic plan. The cost to create this plan is being funded through a grant from a Boston-based philanthropy, the Barr Foundation.
Although it won’t be ready until spring, work on the plan will involve participation and feedback from students, parents, educators, administrators and community members throughout this school year.
“There will be surveys, in-person focus groups and classroom visits in each school. This will help us narrow and plan out our priorities for the next five years,” said Raschilla.
She will share the overall timeline with all West Springfield Public Schools staff at a convocation on Aug. 28. Students in grades 1-12 return to classes Aug. 31.
Raschilla plans to address other issues she learned about because of the jump start she got on the new school year. One involves having a team at the high school review the current cellphone use policy for students. She said other districts that have changed policies regarding cellphones have seen an increase in student engagement during classes.
The superintendent also has concerns about the times buses arrive at some schools to drop off and pick up students.
“Students shouldn’t be missing school time due to buses that are late,” Raschilla said. “During the next year, we will look at arrival and dismissal times to make sure there is enough time for buses to complete their routes.”
The superintendent said district staff have been meeting with the Lower Pioneer Valley Consortium, which provides the bus service, to discuss possible solutions.
Raschilla said the district is considering a new curriculum in math and English at the middle school level. The new curriculum would be aligned to state level standards, be engaging for students and support teachers’ need to differentiate for students with disabilities and English learner needs.
The district also has taken advantage of two grants through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education related to civics and history, A Civics Teaching and Learning grant will support teaching civics in any grade level. The Investigating History grant is designed to be fully aligned with the Massachusetts 2018 history and social science framework by engaging students with content, practice and literacy standards through an inquiry-based approach.
Raschilla succeeded interim School Superintendent Vito Perrone after she spent 24 years working in Springfield in a variety of teaching and administrative positions. An East Longmeadow native, she now lives in Longmeadow. Perrone remains on staff in West Springfield as the assistant superintendent.