1996 Annual Report for The Proctor School

Northborough, MAssachusetts
Proctor School
December, 1996

Patricia Dingwall Principal

Proctor School is a newly renovated facility currently housing 363 Kindergarten through grade four students. We have fifteen regular education teachers as well as Art, Gym and Music teachers. Special education support staff provide in-class help for students whenever necessary. Two large purpose built rooms were added for Kindergarten students and rooms of similar size and design are used for Art and Music. The design of the building incorporates a separate cafeteria and gymnasium allowing for flexibility of scheduling and providing space for creative movement as well as the teaching of traditional skills for recreational and sporting activities. A stage in the cafeteria enables our students to share the joys of drama, music and movement before an audience of parents, teachers, peers and invited guests.

Our focus, this year, continues to be on the learning environment of our students. The faculty and staff are working hard to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Cognizant of the changes in education due to the Education Reform Act, teachers and support staff attend conferences and in-service presentations to further understand the implications of the curriculum frameworks. The district has established comprehensive teams to integrate teaching techniques and strategies across the disciplines. A strategic task force was assembled to provide our schools with specific goals to take us forward to the next century.

It is with these strategic goals in mind that the educators and parents of the Proctor School Council have decided to focus on four distinct areas for improvement within the school during the 1996-1997 school year. They are:

· The integration of technology across the curriculum.
· The creation of learning-centered classrooms.
· The promotion of writing across the disciplines.
· The support and maintenance of an environment that reflects diversity.

Towards the end of last year we were fortunate to officially open our new school Library. The intention is to make this media center the hub of learning for the school. It is run primarily by parent volunteers with input from our district Librarian. The Parent Teacher Organization generously supported this facility through extra funding this year.

Essentially a good teacher facilitates learning, shows enthusiasm for acquiring knowledge for the purpose of understanding and then allows students to develop at their own pace through practices that are developmentally appropriate. We view each child at Proctor as a unique person. Curriculum and instruction are designed to develop our children's self-esteem, sense of competence, and positive feelings towards learning.

The purpose of professional development is to create an environment that values and supports the ongoing education of all educators. Professional development therefore, is a process of continuous improvement. We are committed, in this district, to providing high quality professional development opportunities for our staff. During each of our two days devoted to continuing education, teachers and staff members were able to choose from over thirty different choices of full day or half day workshops. Teachers learned more about accessing the internet and team building, as well as how to guide children involvement through a variety of math and science projects, respond to their questions, challenge their thinking and enrich their learning.

Last year the students at Proctor were invited to write and then vote for a motto for the Proctor School. Our motto, "Proctor School, where learning is fun", exemplifies our commitment to furthering, in the best way possible, the education of those children left in our charge.

As always, children are at the heart of our teaching.