English Teachers See Improvement at MCS

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - English teachers recently told Middleburgh school board members that they are seeing an improvement across the grades.

Heather Guyer, the MCS ELA coordinator in the elementary school told board members in November that there has been continuous improvement in students' writing, reading, phonics, and spelling scores.

She noted that there is more reading intervention at the elementary school in kindergarten and first grade, second and third grades, and fourth through sixth grades. All grades are concentrating on phonics and comprehension.

Marissa Lombardo, the ELA coordinators for the secondary school, told school board members that there has been a lot of work on improving ELA curriculum in the school.

There are now curriculum-based measurements. In addition different subjects are collaborating on activities, reading, and writings using similar texts across the subjects.

Academic intervention services (AIS) is an important component of helping students in secondary school, she added.

Board member Pam Standhart asked the teachers where the students stand, noting that struggling readers have to be caught before the third grade.

The teachers said that the scores depend on the grades, but most are average and improving.

The scores are slightly down in kindergarten and first grade but improving, they added. Ms. Guyer noted that third graders are now concentrating on constructed responses mostly through themes. "Virtual field trips" at the school, such as using a large balloon for a globe, are helping to engage students in assemblies. The issues at the elementary school are not just occurring in Middleburgh, elementary Principal Amy Irwin noted.

The overall goal, said Superintendent Mark Place, is "always to get students to an area to excel." That involves "a lot of work."