Accreditation, ASPEN, discussed at November CEAB meeting

This month's meeting of the Cranston Education Advisory Board continued to feature Cranston's three high schools, with Principal Sean Kelly starting with an overview of the goings on at Cranston East, followed by Dutemple Principal Kim Magnelli providing a hands-on ASPEN computer training for parents of CPS students.

Teachers, administrators and students use ASPEN to manage work assignments, grading, and other pertinent information such as: student progress towards graduation, upcoming events for clubs and activities, and student attendance.

“Cranston High School East is the best high school in Cranston," he said. "We are the original Cranston High School, here since 1891” said Kelly. He spoke of the strong sense of tradition present in his school's community and how he and his staff encourage their students to hold up the school's tradition and to leave a legacy. “We tell them to be a Thunderbolt, to be a proud, active member of society as a well-educated high school student.”

Kelly said the school has 1600 students, and 145 faculty and staff. “The students enjoy coming here, and that is what we try to foster here,” he said.

The school is in the midst of the accreditation process, and Kelly provided an overview. “We are undergoing the self-study portion of it now; a process in which we look at our instruction, our assessment, our facilities and the standards put forward by the association as to what a good school looks like, a good positive high school and are we doing that,” he said. “On March 12, a team of 16 will visit our school. They will look at the self study, look at what we do every day. They will shadow the kids. It's essentially a means of pulling the building apart and putting it back together, looking at every aspect of it and validating what's in our self study versus what's really happening here and see if it's the same. They'll make recommendations and commendations as to what we do well and what we can do better.”

Kelly also talked about the inclusive, diverse community that is Cranston East, and the importance of making sure everyone at the school respects everyone else.

“We are 42 percent white, 36 percent Hispanic, and we move down from there, with a wide variety of diversity here, including in race, religion and sexual orientation,” Kelly said. “Our students get into some of the best schools and colleges in the country, including Brown, Yale, and Georgetown. We have graduated students who have gone on to be US Senators and Representatives, State Senators and Representatives, justices, plumbers, teachers, school committee members, doctors, lawyers, and members of the CIA. Our students are fantastic, our kids are fantastic, and that's what we do. We are the best high school in the state of Rhode Island.”

When asked how students who do not reside in the Cranston East residential area could attend East, Principal Kelly cited their JROTC program as the solution.

“Our JROTC program is the pride of our school it's one of the top school programs in the nation,” he said. “Last year our program scored 97 out of 100, when an average score is in the 70s range. You don't need to join the military if you are in JROTC. It's a leadership building program, a citizenship program.”

Following the hands-on computer training provided by Principal Magnelli, Joseph Rotz, the Executive Director of Educational Programs and Services gave a brief overview of some of the new US Department of Education's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) guidelines which he said give schools flexibility around state assessments and the labeling of schools.

“We are talking about meaningful consultation, getting more information and feedback from parents and trying to have real-time communication,” Rotz said. “Once ESSA came out, the state updated its secondary regulations and those were approved in October. They go into effect in July 2017 and include new graduation requirements which affect the new students coming into high school.”

He discussed some of the new terms and ways of scoring, as well as some of the new assessments in place.

“Students at the secondary level now need to be provided with proficiency scores, so they will get a numerical grade and then a proficiency score which will show that through the coursework we offer, the students are proficient in the standards,” he said.

He noted that the progress towards proficiency is another report built into the ASPEN system, showing that progress in each subject area.

“We are trying to dissect all of that information, make it user-friendly, and to be transparent," Rotz said. "It's another way for you to see what's going on and it opens up the lines of communication, bringing everyone up to speed.”

School Committee Member Jeff Gale briefly spoke about the scheduling discussions currently taking place. They may lead to changes in the future. “The intent is to look at the students' day at the high school and the middle school levels and look at their class day schedules," he said. "They are looking to see if there are changes to be made for students that would make things more efficient. Decisions are far off, but they may be coming down the pike.”

The next meeting of the CEAB will take place on January 9, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will continue CEAB's focus on the Cranston High Schools and will be held at the New England Laborers Construction Career Academy, which is Cranston's third high school, a charter school located at 4 Sharpe Drive. For more information about CEAB and the upcoming scheduled meetings, visit their page on the Cranston Public Schools website at http://www.cpsed.net/index.php/parent-and-community-resouces/ceab.