Five Changes for South Windsor Schools on the First Day [Corrected]

Correction: There is no early release for Timothy Edwards Middle School. Patch apologizes for the confusion.

Happy first day of school, South Windsor!

Students may be eager for a bus stop reunion this morning or to find their new desks and start learning the lay of the land in their one-year-older classrooms.

But whether students are heading to a school that’s new or familiar, they will find things a little different this year. 

Specifically, there are five major changes in the district, according to a letter from South Windsor Superintendent Dr. Kate Carter.

Facilities Changes

The tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012 sparked safety and security audits in districts across the state, with both school staff and external experts making recommendations about how to make schools safer.

In South Windsor, those recommendations have been implemented and while some specifics have been withheld for safety’s sake, the district has shored up exterior access points to all elementary schools and installed additional security cameras. New locks were also placed on doors in all seven schools.

A new roof at Orchard Hill Elementary School, a partial new roof, new lockers and repaved parking lots at South Windsor High School will also greet students today. 

Common Core State Standards

New state standards of achievement, common to states across the country, are being implemented this year. The new standards are said to be rigorous, requiring skills and mastery of content that are somewhat different than what has been tested on the Connecticut Mastery Tests. Curriculum in South Windsor will continue to change this year in preparation for new assessments.

Teacher Evaluations

New assessments take effect this year for teachers. The assessments require teachers to set goals and reflect on teacher effectiveness in “student academic growth and development, teacher performance and practice, school-wide parent feedback, and whole-school student learning.”

Early Release Wednesdays

As a result of tight budgets and the high value of instructional time, professional development time is hard to come by. While some districts have reduced the time they provide professional development, South Windsor is this year making time for it by instituting early release Wednesdays. The early release days run from Sept. 11 through the December break and from April 30 through June 11. The release days apply just to the elementary schools. 

Full Day Kindergarten

Full day kindergarten is an exciting change in South Windsor this year. The change is planned to allow for more play time, more learning and preparation for the Common Core State Standards.