November 2014

In This IssueDistrict and School News .......2-3

Recognition and Honors ............ 4

Events and Updates.................5-8

Executive Director’s ReportAttachment G A MONTHLY UPDATE BY THE CAPITOL REGION EDUCATION COUNCIL

Executive Director’s MessageBruce E. Douglas, Ph.D.

seek to confirm and affirm. Because our minds are fast,

efficient seekers and processors of validating and confirming

information, we often overlook or ignore information that

goes against what we already believe. Moreover, we have

a strong ego defense system that defends and protects our

existing views of ourselves. These biases are part of our

humanness. But in order to learn, we have to sense, attend to,

process, and make meaning from anomalies, contradictions,

surprising results, and failures that don’t fit with what we

think we know.”—Edward D. Hess,

“Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization”

“The human mind has evolved to be

efficient, which is not

necessarily what is desired

to promote the learning of new

ideas or the fostering of

innovation or constant

improvement. We naturally

SIMSBURY — Students with disabilities are gaining friendships and learning life skills by partnering with non-disabled peers in a new Unified Wellness course at Simsbury High School.

Much like the Unified Sports and Unified Theater programs offered at the school, the elective Unified Wellness class introduced this school year promotes inclusion. In addition, the combined physical education and health class teaches students life skills and healthy habits.

Jane Langlais, the physical education teacher behind Unified Wellness, said students with disabilities can typically integrate easily into physical education classes but are less comfortable in health classes.

“It’s the health component and the higher academic topics like sex ed and drugs that just might not be developmentally appropriate,” she said. “So the health component was the driving force behind the class.”

Instead, the class focuses on developing life skills and building relationships between the disabled students, referred to athletes in the class, and their non-disabled peers, called partners. For example, the athletes participated in a letter-writing lesson at the start of the year.

“We hand-wrote letters and sent them out to other students, inviting them to join the class because when we first started, we only had three partners,” Langlais said. “And we were so excited because now they’re doing life skills — they need to learn how to address an envelope and write a letter.”

Now with 12 athletes and 10 partners, and the help of special education teachers Alaina Haley and Matt Spector, Langlais said she has seen students coming out of their shells. “To see the kids’ personalities that I didn’t know they had — it’s a very different version of them,” Langlais said. “They’re just comfortable.”

Haley has seen the program build confidence in some of her special education students. “I had a few students who refused to take PE and now this is their favorite class,” said Haley, who is also involved in the school’s Unified Theater program. “The weight room is no longer that feared room, it’s a very inclusive room.”

Haley explained that most of the students have a form of autism or other intellectual disability, and range from high- to low-functioning.

In a recent class, the feeling of inclusion was evident as groups of three students rotated through the weight room, practicing exercises such as planks and pull-ups.

Rayon Christie was paired with athlete Cameron Armstrong, who said he has formed many friendships in the class and looks forward to seeing these

friends around school.

“I believe that every high school should have a class like this,” Armstrong said. “It helps the students come together.”

Senior Mackenzie Gemme, who plans to pursue a degree in special education, said she has learned how to deal with the emotional ups and downs that many students with behavioral challenges experience. “A lot of times they put pressure on themselves and you have to learn how to calm them down and keep them motivated.”

Partner Emily Cole, who has participated in programs such as Best Buddies and Unified Theater, said she really got to know athlete Nicole Havighorst through the class. Last week the pair was discussing plans to attend an upcoming football game together.

Spector said many of the student partners have set an example that he hopes others will follow. “I did adapted PE [in high school], which is why I’m doing this now. That’s what inspired me to go into my career.”

Langlais hopes to see similar programs adopted by other schools because the class has provided students with beneficial skills and and has strengthened the anti-bullying culture at the school.

“This is real life for the partners and the athletes,” Langlais said. “We’re teaching tolerance, patience, people skills, and how to treat people. Now these kids have more allies to stick up for them.”

Source- Hartford Courant article by Jessica Moore

2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014

District and School NewsUnified Wellness Helps Simsbury Students Flourish in the Classroom

Photo credit: David Butler II, The Hartford Courant

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014 3

Students Study Nature at Southington’s Camp SloperSOUTHINGTON — A container filled with mud and slime from the pond at Camp Sloper sat in the center of a table surrounded by five Kelley School fourth-graders Tuesday.

Suddenly, the muck began to wiggle.

Oh, there he is!” student Eli Culotta said. “He’s moving!”

The students used an iPad with a microscope attached to it to get a better look. After a few minutes, the students lost sight of the mysterious pond creature.

“If we find another bug we should take a video,” Eli said.

Students were in the new Myers Family Nature Center at the YMCA’s Camp Sloper as part of a program for all fourth-graders.

The new center is equipped with technology to help students experiment. Microscopes, projectors, iPads, and more were available.

Students were able to explore the pond, the wetlands and the forest at the camp. Assistant Camp Director Shane Altwies led the students in a discussion about the pond. Students referenced a document with a list and photos of insects and other creatures that might be in the pond.

Altwies projected photos and videos the students had taken on a screen. He noticed something moving through the mud in one of the videos.

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t even know we got that,” said student Seth Lespier.

The Nature Center was paid for with contributions from the community,

including $20,000 from the Southington Education Foundation and $5,000 from Home Depot. The YMCA contributed $25,000 from its camp improvement fund.

A walk on the camp’s Wetland Boardwalk led students to a sinkhole. Before they arrived, students learned about wetlands and animals they might find there.

Suddenly, the muck began

to wiggle.

After about 20 minutes of walking, Tom Sangeloty, the environmental education staff member, showed students the sinkhole. He explained how a sinkhole is formed and that they can be very

dangerous. A stick was in the center of the sinkhole.

“Take a guess at how deep you think this sinkhole is,” Sangeloty said.

He started to pull the stick out slowly.

“Wow,” one said. “That’s deep,” chimed in another.

The hole was nearly six feet deep.

Steve Silva, the team program director, took the students on a walk in the forest. Before going on the Orange Trail, Silva asked students to write down their observations as they walked.

“I found a bug,” said Ashlee Zawada, a fourth-grader.

“Take a look up in the trees.” Silva said. “Is there anything that you can see?”Source- The Record-Journal article by Farrah Duffany

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4 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014

The email arrived in CREC Soundbridge Director Elizabeth Cole’s inbox two years ago. It was from a former student, asking her if she would visit the SADA Educational Center in Kuwait City as an invited guest.

The SADA Educational Center is a center that helps preschool students with hearing loss in Kuwait City, and Cole, who had never been to Kuwait, eventually accepted the invitation. She made the long trip overseas last month.

“I really had no expectations,” Cole said during a recent television interview about her trip. “I was really not at all sure what it would be like.”

During her visit, Cole observed programs at the SADA Educational Center. She also spoke with center staff, answered questions, and made recommendations to SADA management. She said she was impressed by the center’s quiet facility and its equipment, but noted that it lacked experts that could help make the center better.

Cole intends to maintain a relationship with the SADA Educational Center and says she will look for future opportunities that would allow CREC and the center to collaborate.

The SADA Educational Center’s invitation to Cole shows that she is considered a well-respected expert in her field.

Prior to arriving at CREC nearly two decades ago, Cole was a professor at McGill University in Canada. It was there that she met the student that invited her to Kuwait.

Cole is also an author of a popular textbook on hearing loss.

Recognition and Honors

Masonry Construction recently named the CREC Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy’s building project the best institutional construction project completed this year. Masonry Construction’s Project of the Year contest “exemplifies mason contractors’ contributions, including: helping architects and engineers create the best masonry has to offer; exceptional problem solving and teamwork; painstaking restoration and repair work; and environmentally friendly construction.” CREC’s project, along with projects that were signaled out in five other award categories, will be honored at a ceremony in 2015.The CREC Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy is located in New Britain. It was designed by Antinozzi Associates Architects and built by Acranom Masonry. The 146,000 square-foot building features curved radial walls.

CREC Photo: CREC Soundbridge Director Elizabeth Cole poses for a picture with staff at the SADA Educational Center in Kuwait.

Soundbridge Director Goes to Kuwait to Share Her Expertise

CREC Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy Construction Project Wins Award

Actor Carl Li Plays Gang Member in Major Film Debut In “Revenge of the Green Dragons,” CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts graduate Carl Li makes his major film debut when he portrays a violent gang member named Chicken Wing. The film, which is produced by Martin Scorsese, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and debuted on October 24 in select theaters throughout the country. It also stars actor Justin Chon, who appeared in “Twilight,” and Harry Shum Jr., who is best known for his role on “Glee.”“Revenge of the Green Dragons” is based on the true story of Chinese brothers who immigrate to the United States in search of the American dream. Instead, they are drawn into a war between rival New York gangs.Li graduated from the CREC Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in the mid-1990s. He earned a bachelor’s degree in acting from UConn. In addition to acting, Li recently produced the newest album for Late Cambrian, an indie rock band, and he was also senior editor for “A Love Story for Witches” by Jaysen Headley.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014 5

In October, the Harlem Globetrotters visited both the CREC Reggio Magnet School for the Arts in Avon and the CREC University of Hartford Magnet School in West Hartford to talk about bullying.

The Globetrotters’ 40-minute program is titled, “The ABCs of Bullying Prevention,” and it targets children ages 6 through 12. The Globetrotters designed the program in coordination with the National Campaign to Stop Violence.

In addition to learning about bullying, students also learned a few ball-handling moves. At the end of the program, they received a certificate of completion.

The Globetrotters intend to bring “The ABCs of Bullying Prevention” program to nearly 400 schools and youth centers as part of its 2015 world tour, which was launched to celebrate the team’s 89th consecutive year.

The Harlem Globetrotters Teach Bullying Prevention

CREC Photo: Students at two CREC magnet schools talk about bullying—and basketball—with the Harlem Globetrotters.

Events and Updates

Running Around RentschlerStudents at CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School participated in the Hartford Marathon Foundation’s FitKids event on October 7.

The event was held at Rentschler Field in East Hartford and included a mile run. It was the culmination of a five-week, goal-oriented running program.

During the program, students ran together before, during, or after school to accumulate 12 miles, or 25 miles. On October 7, students representing middle schools throughout Connecticut joined together to run one final mile—the mile needed to complete the distance equivalent to a marathon or half marathon.

The goal of the FitKids program is to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle in middle school students, and about 2,700 students from 27 different schools, including CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School, participated.

In addition to running, CREC students shared information about recycling and composting at the October event and manned compost bins. The school’s student council president, Griffin Bryan, led the crowd in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

CREC Photos: CREC Two Rivers Magnet Middle School students participate in the Hartford Marathon Foundation’s FitKids event in East Hartford.

6 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014

Events and Updates (continued)

Thanks to Whole Foods Market, food, toiletry, and household items are now available at no cost to students at the CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris Center and CREC’s Two Rivers Magnet School.

The items will help students meet their needs during times when they are not at school, such as on weekends and during school vacations.

Goods will be delivered to both schools monthly, and employees from Whole Foods Market arrived at the schools to deliver the first batch of items in mid-October.

CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris Center staff members say there is a definite need for this type of service. For the past several years, staff members have offered clothing; shoes; books; holiday food baskets; and other items to students, clients, and families.

“They’re fed breakfast and lunch here,” said Deanna Gonzalez of the students. “This is for them to take home, especially on weekends.”

Gonzalez is an administrative assistant for the CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris Center’s educational academies and programs, and she helped to organize the new initiative.

To access the new pantry, students, families, and clients will be identified as being in need and will be able to select items from the pantry by making prearranged appointments.

Whole Foods Market Partners With CREC

CREC Photo: Whole Foods Market is partnering with the CREC John J. Allison, Jr. Polaris Center and CREC Two Rivers Magnet School.

CREC Metropolitan Learning Center Celebrates the Hispanic HeritageThe CREC Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and International Studies held its third annual Hispanic Heritage Festival on October 23.

The event featured student and professional performers and authentic Latino food provided by several local vendors. Bloomfield Mayor Sydney T. Schulman delivered the event’s keynote address.

At the CREC Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and International Studies, 16 percent of the school’s 735 students are Hispanic. The school educates students in grades six through 12.

The Hispanic Heritage Festival was open to students, family members, and the public.

CREC Family Resource Center Holds Workshop for ParentsOn October 8, the CREC Family Resource Center held a workshop called “Back to School for Parents.”

At the event, the CREC Family Resource Center distributed 25 backpacks and binders. The binders contained information that will help parents during the school year, including information about transportation; special education services; PowerSchool and Schoology; and community resources. Parents also received a detailed school calendar; organizational tools; a lunch bag; and a water bottle.

The resource center will hold a second workshop for parents on November 19. That workshop will focus on the importance of family unity. It will also focus on how families can enjoy the holidays.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014 7

CREC Student-Athletes Give Back

CREC Photos: CREC’s sports teams help their local communities by volunteering their time and by raising money for worthwhile causes.

Administrators, teachers, and support staff from eight Open Choice districts attended an Open Choice Early Beginnings Dine & Discuss event on October 15 to discuss how to improve the preschool through third grade experience for African Americans, Latinos, and low-income children and their families. Leading the discussion were guest speakers Sharon Ritchie and Adam Holland, of the FirstSchool Initiative at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, and their presentation was titled, “Opportunities and Challenges: Urban Students in Suburban Schools.” During their presentation, Ritchie and Holland shared research that promotes two strategies as ways to support the development of all learners, including the most at-risk students. They encouraged the development of oral language skills and said that educators should always maintain high expectations. Throughout the event, participants shared ideas and learned how small changes can have a big impact on student success. The following school districts were represented on October 15: Avon; East Granby; East Windsor; Ellington; Glastonbury; Granby; Simsbury; and West Hartford.

Open Choice Districts Discuss Educating Urban Students in Suburban Schools

CREC Photo: Eight school districts meet for an Open Choice Early Beginnings Dine & Discuss event

8 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT – November 2014

Events and Updates (continued)

On October 15, high school students in the Open Choice program and their parents attended a workshop on college readiness.

“Straight Talk: College and Me” was sponsored by the Hartford Region Open Choice Program, and Richard Serrano, CREC Magnet Schools’ college readiness specialist, was the featured speaker.

Serrano spoke about identifying colleges and universities, submitting applications, searching for scholarships,

and applying for financial aid. He also spoke briefly about post-high school special education and higher education opportunities.

Attendees said the breakdown of information was easy to follow during the informative workshop, and parents left the workshop feeling empowered to communicate with their children and schools about the college planning process.

Another workshop about financial aid and scholarships will be held in the spring.

Take Your Test at CREC Need to take an online test? Do it at CREC.

CREC’s Division of Community Education is now an authorized Pearson Vue testing center, and it can offer more than 300 online tests, including the GED exam and industry certification exams.

The division’s testing center is located in the computer center at CREC Coltsville, 34 Sequassen Street in Hartford, and it is open on Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Computers were purchased specifically for testing purposes, and the center began offering the GED exam in June and other exams in early October.

The tests that are offered represent more than 80 sponsors, including Adobe, Cisco Systems, and Symantec, and the center is open to anyone who wants to take an online test offered by Pearson Vue. This includes Transition to Employment classes and outside agencies.

Individuals register for their respective exams online and should choose the CREC site when selecting a testing location.

To take the GED test at the new testing center, test takers are only charged the cost of the test. For all other exams, individuals are charged the cost of the test plus a $40 site fee.

Through Junior Achievement, third-grade students at Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School recently had the opportunity to learn from University of Hartford student-athletes.

Members of the women’s basketball team visited the school to foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills. They served as role models for CREC students.

Junior Achievement is a world-wide program, and more than 33,000 students at more than 150 schools in New England participate. The program uses experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential.

“The power of authentic learning is maximized when students have the opportunity to work with role models from their own communities,” said Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School Principal Ryan Donlon. “Our partnerships with Junior Achievement and the University of Hartford women’s basketball team allow our students

to explore real world topics under the guidance of real world role models who demonstrate for our students what they can achieve through hard work, determination, and resilience.”

CREC Photo: The CREC Soundbridge Early Learning Center held its annual Fall Festival on October 25. Nearly 100 families and staff members attended.

Celebrating Fall at Soundbridge

Open Choice Students Learn More About the College Process

University of Hartford Basketball Visits Glastonbury-East Hartford Magnet School