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New school superintendent eager to begin work

Date: 8/2/2011

Aug. 3, 2011

By Debbie Gardner

Assistant Editor

WESTFIELD — Westfield Public School’s new Superintendent Dr. Suzanne Scallion told Reminder Publications that her relocation earlier this summer from Napa Valley, Calif., to Western Massachusetts was very much like coming home.

“I spent a good portion of my career on Cape Cod and was a principal in Northampton for six years before moving to California for the past three,” Scallion said.

Noting the flurry of rebuilding and revitalization going on throughout Westfied, Scallion called her new hometown “a very dynamic community” with “great vision and a deep commitment” to its residents.

She said that commitment is something she’s already seen reflected in the enthusiasm and dedication of the School Department personnel she’s met since taking over as the city’s school superintendent on July 1.

“You have an outstanding group of principals and a happy, cohesive central office staff,” she said, adding that it’s been “a joy” to start learning about Westfield’s schools and programs as she’s visited each facility and met with its principal during the past few weeks.

“I’m very impressed with all the things that are happening in Westfield,” she added.

Noting that she’s eager to get out to meet teachers and parents when the school year officially begins a few weeks hence, Scallion emphasized that her first year will be one very much dedicated getting to know her new school system.

“The most important part of my work this year is to listen and to witness all the great work that is already in place,” she said. “This is a very talented teaching team.”

She also has two goals for the 2011-12 school year. The first is to begin examining Westfield’s current curriculum in light of the new common core education standards that are being put into place nationally.

Explaining that the common core is essentially “a list of what students are to know and be able to do at each grade level,” Scallion said it is important for Westfield to begin the process of evaluating its curriculum in light of these standards and begin phasing in any necessary adjustments.

Her second goal is to ensure teachers have an opportunity for expanded professional development “to be certain our students are getting what they need to be citizens in the 21st century.”

She said that after looking over the results of a teacher poll on professional development that was taken last spring, she was pleased to see that they were asking for training in the same areas she is hoping to stress.

Among the areas she said will be important in providing a 21st century education for Westfield students are the fostering of higher-level thinking skills, employing a differentiated approach to reaching various learning styles in each classroom, the developmentally appropriate integration of technology into classrooms and the implementation of project-based learning that integrate skills from several disciplines into lessons.

“I think we learn best when there is a context [for the information],” Scallion said.

As for her own professional development, Scallion said she was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in a superintendent introduction program at the Massachusetts Superintendent’s Conference, which took place July 11 to 15.

“There are 64 new superintendents at the helm this year,” Scallion said. “It was very worthwhile. We covered some of the new legislative initiatives, including the new ‘[teacher] evaluation system, received a legal update and had the opportunity to network.”

She added that she was “humbled and honored and excited” to be a part of the many changes taking place in Westfield at this time.



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