WESTFIELD — The Westfield Board of Education (BOE) discussed its intentions to revise and update the district’s curriculum during its Tuesday night regular meeting.
Kristen Sonnek-Schmelz, who chairs the BOE’s Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee, said that the Westfield district’s School Improvement Panel (ScIP) met June 10 to begin reviewing a series of curriculum documents that will be up for first reading at the Tuesday, June 25 board meeting.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Programs Matthew Bolton, Ed.D., provided an overview of the district’s new Understanding By Design (UBD) model for future curriculums. He reviewed the overarching principles of the curriculum model.
“This new model will focus on the development of student understanding, the acquisition of key transferable skills and aims to provide students with opportunities to apply their learning in authentic ways,” Ms. Sonnek-Schmelz said. “This model will create new documents that can be a useful resource to teachers and a communication tool for students’ families.”
The board will be ready to present the first draft of its curriculum documents at the June 25 regular meeting; however, it will take years before this model is fully implemented and completed.
After Dr. Bolton’s presentation, the committee reviewed new curriculum documents from K-8 language arts and eighth-grade social studies. The committee will meet on Monday, June 17, to review new mathematics, technology and computer-science curriculums.
BOE President Robert Benacchio announced that a new administrative expansion that came from the approval of the 2024-2025 budget is the addition of a second student services supervisor, Kathleen Nesheiwat, who will serve as supervisor of elementary student support services, Pre-K to 5. Alex Linden, who currently serves as PreK-12 supervisor of special education, will now be the supervisor of secondary student support services, 6-12.
“I look forward to partnering with the school district to create strong systems of support at the elementary level to allow our children to thrive,” Ms. Nesheiwat said.
According to Superintendent Raymond González, Ed.D., there has not been another meeting of the referendum advisory committee, which consists of 60 Westfield residents including school administrators, board members, teachers, staff, taxpayers and parents from the Westfield community, since the board met last month. The committee will meet again on June 17. The referendum proposal will occur next April.
In regards to the referendum, Dr. González shared that an email has been sent out to the school community, including staff and students in grades 9 to 12, inviting them to engage in a “thought exchange.” The question posed to the community was “What are some of the things you would most like to see in the facilities referendum in order to support the success of our students?” As of Tuesday night’s meeting, Dr. González said, more than 950 participants had already opted in to the survey.
The board also will consider amendments to the district’s existing Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying policy that would incorporate new provisions surrounding Artificial Intelligence.
Board member Charles Gelinas requested more details about how Artificial Intelligence can play into cyberbullying and asked that the topic be broached at future board meetings.
Maria Martinez, a paraprofessional at Westfield High School, has been named the 2024 Weyman Steengrafe Fellow, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Westfield. Ms. Martinez is commended as “a devoted educator who exhibits a genuine interest in student success,” and who encourages students to “reach their fullest academic potential while boosting their self esteem.”
Branice Moore, a fourth-grade teacher at McKinley Elementary School, has been named the 2024 Charles Philhower Fellow, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Westfield. Ms. Moore is described as “a fantastic role model” and “outstanding educator” who “is able to explain and demonstrate concepts in a variety of ways for a variety of different learners and learning styles.”
The BOE also celebrated the three Westfield High School students who were named as National Merit Scholars: Jacob Blaustein, Yenjay Hu and Tage Mehta. The students were each awarded a $2,500 scholarship by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which examined the students’ academic record and the students’ essay, along with demonstrated leadership and contributions to school and community activities.
The Westfield High School Theatre Department also was celebrated at the meeting, for having received the “Outstanding Acting Ensemble in an Elevated Language Play,” and Westfield High School student Keira Redmond being awarded “Outstanding Achievement by a Student Lighting Technician” at the Montclair State University Foxy Awards for the high school’s Fall 2023 production of Antigone.
