I’ve just completed my first week at Trident, and thought I would
take a moment to let you know what we’re up to over the next few weeks.
The faculty have been dropping by to tell me about their
plans for the coming year and they are excited! A group will be working with me, beginning
this week, to review curriculum and recommend changes. This very important work is our first step in
a full scale review of curriculum, assessment, and evaluation and will be the
focus of our opening faculty meeting.
Dr. Elizabeth Johnen, an expert in both curriculum and learning
differences, will be with us leading sessions and reviewing the results of our
studies.
We are working on a new process for student conferences, one
that is designed to be more informative for parents and sets goals for student
progress throughout the year. You should
expect to have a clear outline of curriculum goals for your child’s year,
anticipated challenges, strategies for success and measurement milestones. This
new process will begin with the first parent conference of the year, which will
be held on October 25 and 26, 2012.
I am also focusing on less-academic initiatives like how we will
creatively address the physical activity needs of our students. We are looking
to develop a new program that will allow our students to sample various
activities and possibly partner with students in other programs. Expect more on that project shortly. We will
also look to recreate the community service program and to establish other
partnerships that expand our students’ world beyond Trident’s walls. Finally,
we’re reworking the website content to focus on our expertise in
Orton-Gillingham practice, teaching philosophy, and student success.
Throughout the summer I will continue to update you on our
progress. Please know that my door is
always open, and I welcome your ideas.
Have a wonderful, safe summer, and I look forward to meeting you all in
late August.
