LYNN — Sacred Heart School is rolling out some major changes, including transitioning to a dual language school, implementing a new model of study called STREAM, and becoming a pre-K to 5 school.
School officials hope the changes will attract more students and give pupils at Sacred Heart an advantage over their peers.
“This is a time of palpable excitement and change at Sacred Heart School,” wrote Father Brian Flynn, the pastor of Sacred Heart and St. Mary’s, and Sacred Heart Principal Mary DeAngelo in a letter home to parents.
“We understand these changes are dramatic, but we are committed to providing quality, Catholic education to our students, and we believe that by implementing these initiatives, we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that our children are able to develop their potential in all areas: mind, body and spirit,” the letter reads.
In the fall of 2019, Sacred Heart will become a pre-K to 5 school — it is currently a pre-K to 8. School officials hope students in grades 6 to 8 will move on to St. Mary’s to continue their Catholic education in the city. Those students will be directed to the Marian division at St. Mary’s.
Flynn said the change allows middle school students at Sacred Heart to take advantage of the new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) building being built at St. Mary’s.
In the 2019-2020 school year, Sacred Heart will implement a model of study called STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Art and Mathematics), a collaborative model that integrates all subject areas into the teaching process.
Flynn said the move also frees up classroom space as the school lines up to do learning in STREAM and the dual language. He said he anticipates the lower grades growing.
Sacred Heart began to transition to a dual-language school this fall, starting with pre-K and kindergarten classes. The transition will continue one year at a time in subsequent years. Research shows pre-K and kindergarten students will absorb a dual type of learning, Flynn said.
Dual language is a form of bilingual education in which students are taught literacy content in two languages. Flynn said classes will be taught in English and Spanish — mornings would be taught in one language and afternoons would be taught in another. He said when a child leaves Sacred Heart in fifth grade, that child will be able to speak both languages.
Students who graduate from Sacred Heart will be proficient in reading, writing and speaking in English and Spanish. Flynn said that will be a great advantage for those students as they move through the middle, high school, college education and when they move forward in the workforce.
Flynn sees the dual language as an opportunity for the Hispanic community, which often speaks the language at home, to formalize their reading and writing. For the English-speaking community, he said students would be able to learn that second language, including reading and writing, which will give them a leg up on their peers.
This year, Flynn said the school began having some afternoon clubs that incorporated the STREAM way of learning.
The change is also an effort to align Sacred Heart’s curriculum with St. Mary’s, Flynn said, because as St. Mary’s builds its STREAM program and STREAM education, students will be able to move on there with that learning, Flynn said.
For the 2018-2019 school year, the school will participate in the exploratory role of STREAM, where students will be provided with project-based learning opportunities that incorporate the subject areas and make learning more engaging. Teachers will be learning from their colleagues from around the Archdiocese and others on how to best implement STREAM into the daily academic life of students, the letter reads.
“We want them to be able to explore in all of those different curriculum areas and have that advantage over their peers,” said DeAngelo.
Flynn said for the past few years, school officials have been thinking about what Sacred Heart can do that’s different from other schools to attract more students and provide what the children of Lynn need.
“We’re very excited about (the changes) because we think it brings Sacred Heart to another level (with) improving Catholic education for our students, as well as those who may want to come to Lynn,” Flynn said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.
