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Date: 1/18/2023
CHICOPEE – Kevin A. Dupont Memorial Middle School Principal Jonathan Endelos, Edward Bellamy Middle School Principal William Holt and Chicopee Academy Principal John Leonard showcased a State of Schools presentation for the School Committee during their Jan. 4 meeting.
The trio highlighted a slideshow presentation that discussed the school district’s middle school population of over 700 students.
Endelos said a major focus of his before entering the 2022-2023 school year was addressing school culture. He and staff created a positive behavior enforcement system entitled SOAR, which stands for safe, organized, accepting and respectful.
“It’s a token economy system we put in place over the summer time to help reinforce positive choices and positive decisions … The district has supported this initiative since day one,” said Endelos.
The SOAR system looks to help address issues tied to conduct, academics and attendance. Endelos noted that improving attendance figures is especially important as numbers waned during the coronavirus pandemic.
“That’s one of our goals – to improve student attendance,” said Endelos.
Endelos and Holt also focused on mending learning gaps in their respective schools. The two schools created a master schedule change that now gives students extra classroom time tied to math and writing. Endelos described the change as an innovative way to reinforce critical education concepts.
“We can’t keep doing the same things every year and expect different results. We have to look at our master schedule as how we are allocating our time,” said Endelos.
The schedule change divides mathematics standards within the two learning periods, with the second class focused on geometry and statistics related curriculum. For writing, teachers are utilizing the Empowering Writers program with the extra class period to help boost literacy and writing skills.
Endelos said the schedule change has displayed positive results so far as the extra time helps reinforce curriculum.
“It gives teachers more time to divide and spend more time on each topic to get deeper and try to address learning gaps,” said Endelos.
In addition, Holt discussed a new Bellamy program entitled Smartpass that works to keep account for when students are out of the classroom. The principal stressed that keeping students in class had developed into a notable concern with the school.
“We noticed that there are quiet a few times we noticed the same students out of class, or that students would be out frequently during class,” said Holt.
The Smartpass monitors when students leave class, where they are in the schools and how long they are absent from class. Holt said the program has helped enforce accountability in student attendance.
“We’ve seen some nice success with it … there are not as many students who are out frequently,” said Holt.
Leonard also discussed changes within Chicopee Academy. Before entering the school year, Leonard said he worked to improve the school’s environment.
“[We’re] trying to make the academy a home, trying to make where it’s not a job to come to, where it’s not a punishment for students to come to school every day. We tried to come up with different ways to make students and staff feel good about the building,” said Leonard.
Leonard said he was able to reincorporate several programs that proved beneficial before the coronavirus pandemic. The principal shared that the school’s “Attendance Breakfast” helps celebrate students who missed one day or less during a month of school.
“I’ll cook them breakfast with the help of some staff members … What I love about it is the kids sit at the tables, they chitchat but most importantly, when they leave to go to their first period class, every single child comes and thanks me,” said Leonard.
Leonard also highlighted after school programs that help build positive school culture. A program such as edgenuity focuses on gaining additional classroom knowledge on technology programs, while sports and other activities have also experienced positive attendance.
“That’s growing, I think that’s a very good thing that we’re doing,” said Leonard.
Additionally, Leonard emphasized the importance of reinforcing the positive impact of Chicopee Academy on students. He said students have shown a willingness to get more involved within the school’s efforts.
“We’re trying to really build up the building, because I really believe when you have good culture … the students are going to be better behaved and have better attitude,” said Leonard.
Ward 5 School Committee member Grace Schofield praised the school leadership for cultivating a positive environment within their schools.
“I wanted to commend all three of you for the initiatives you’ve taken to create a climate and culture where children want to be. We all know how challenging that is even prior to COVID-19,” said Schofield.
When asked about concerns, Endelos said staffing is one of the central issues that Dupont Middle School and other schools continue to face. Still, Endelos praised Chicopee Public Schools leadership for implementing new staff positions to assist with gaps created during the coronavirus pandemic. He also spotlighted his current staff as adept educators who help address staffing shortages.
“We have staff members rolling the sleeves up and doing the work every single day,” said Endelos.
The School Committee will conduct interviews with superintendent candidates on Jan. 23, 24 and 25 at 6:30 p.m.