Perhaps the most practical part of Norwell’s strategic plan is that it introduces this focus to students early on in their education. It would be correct to say that much of the district’s success is due to its early childhood learning initiatives. The initiative has been an absolute strategic cornerstone that leverages community engagement and support. “Our town has a history of having local preschools that families go to for years, so we partner with them… we have an Early Childhood Coordinator in our district who observes and provides information and feedback to those community preschools,” explains the Director of Student Services, Ms. Suzan Theodorou. Although the district doesn’t have a full-time public preschool, its early learning initiatives are fully embedded in the Norwell preschool network, bringing a unique class experience that emphasizes socialization and play, following directions, establishing routines, and developing interpersonal skills. The district has equipped its elementary schools with reading, literacy, and math specialists who oversee most of the screening data and work with classroom teachers to analyze and act on the information they gather. Going even further, the district also has strong social and emotional support systems to facilitate its emphasis on social-emotional learning. “We make sure to have the right personnel to address the whole child. We have a psychologist at every building, a district social worker, a behavioral specialist, and in the last two years we’ve introduced an inclusion specialist,” Mr. Keegan explains. BALANCING EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE While extremely valuable, consistently creating such a comprehensive experience for students does not come without its challenges. However, the district has learned to leverage technology as a solution. 5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 NORWELL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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