Principal Updates School Committee on Cummings School Initiatives

By Adam Swift

Arthur T. Cummings Elementary School Principal Andrea O’Leary updated the School Committee on curriculum initiatives, facility upgrades, and testing results at its most recent meeting last week.

“We are currently on year two of the Illustrative Math program,” said O’Leary. “It’s a new program that focuses on student-led problem solving and fostering productive struggle.”

O’Leary said the program was a big shift for students and teachers in the first year, with a focus on the teacher being more of a facilitator than standing in front of the classroom lecturing or running through problems.

“There is a structure to how it’s done and students productively struggle; you talk to them and give them some conversation pieces with time to work on them, and then time to partner, share, and discuss and then do some activities together,” said O’Leary.

Toward the end of the lesson, there is a cooldown period where the class does a song or other activity together, and the teacher can gauge what information from the lesson the students understand.

Initially, O’Leary said Illustrative Math was difficult to get off the ground, but that teachers came around to seeing how students worked through the math problems was eye opening and productive.

Year two of the program has seen some modifications and tweaks that have made it easier to teach and more productive, O’Leary said.

In conjunction with Illustrative Math, O’Leary said the school is also in the second year of using the Zearn online math program, which explains math through pictures, visual models, and real life examples.

Other programs the school is using in its curriculum include Lexia and PowerUp for literacy and grammar.

The school is also in the process of selecting a new English Language Arts core curriculum that will focus on providing a hands-on approach, O’Leary said.

“In social studies, we received a primary source grant,” said O’Leary. “We looked through a list of the primary source activities and supplemental materials they offered and at each grade level at the beginning of the year, I asked each grade level to pick one unit to supplement what they are already doing.”

There is also a field trip component to the grant, and the school is looking to supplement the learning with some field trips.

“I think that in all of our curriculum areas, we are moving forward and we are trying new and innovative things,” said O’Leary.

Some recent facilities upgrades include a new playground communication board in the playground that allows students to tap on the board and communicate with another student in the school. Two new basketball hoops have also been installed outside, one in the front circle and one in the back playground area.

Inside the school, O’Leary said the rugs have been replaced at two of the entranceways, and added that the school is working on door repairs and some security updates.

O’Leary discussed parent communications about student progress, noting there are two parent conference times each year, as well as report cards going out three times per year.

Data from the fall also shows that reading and match scores are going up in almost all areas, O’Leary said.