|
February Principal Update
By: John Burkholder, Principal
Each year at this time I begin to look for green shoots that will eventually become flowers in the outdoor garden near our upper breezeway. This garden is well sheltered from the winter winds, receives lots of sun throughout the day, and is warmed by the heated utility room directly beneath it. Believe it or not, despite the recent cold, those green shoots have made their appearance. Just goes to show that in the right conditions, amazing things can take place.
This year at Hamilton Middle we have introduced some new assessments in the area of reading, looking to build the right conditions for reading success for all Hamilton students. These assessments are quick for any individual student, and help us to understand better where students are in their progression toward becoming proficient adult readers. Looking at the results of these ongoing assessments, we find that many of our students are highly proficient readers, but at the same time there are clearly different needs for different students. To meet these needs, our ELA teachers have been working to add small group instruction to their classrooms, providing tailored small group guidance to students on skills that are critical to reading success: phonics, vocabulary development, fluency, and higher levels of comprehension. Our relatively new repertoire of assessments are helping us to create the ideal environment for all students to grow as readers. For all students the ideal conditions will continue to be access to grade level and higher reading through daily classroom instruction, while at the same time providing all students with opportunities for strategic small group instructional support targeting fundamental and next step reading skills.
This period of time between early spring and the end of the school year is the time of greatest growth and we look forward to helping all our students meet their goals across all curricular areas. Thank you for your ongoing support of Hamilton Middle!
| 
