SAUGUS — Principal Michael Mondello gave a presentation for the Veterans Early Learning Center (VELC) School Improvement Plan during Thursday night’s School Committee meeting.
“I want to thank the Committee for all of the support you’ve given us at the VELC over your tenure… Ms. (Emily) Puteri and I worked really hard over the summer and over the course of last year to really calibrate our leadership lens to identify school-based areas of focus for continued growth and development at the VELC,” Mondello said.
He said they’re excited about their goals, specifically the new instructional targets.
“We worked hard to create a meaningful plan that’s aligned to our school’s needs but also one that the staff is invested in,” he said.
The plan is aligned with the established District Improvement Plan, which focuses on the three main goals of growth, learning, and belonging.
“As it pertains to goal number one, which is growth, our focus is on improving teaching through observation and feedback,” Mondello said.
He continued that the hope is to create a culture of continuous improvement and high-quality teaching for all students.
“Our focus here is on growth and not evaluation. It’s really using classroom observations to support teachers and align school-wide instructional targets. We created a simple, consistent observational tool that focuses on three high-leveraged targets: language-rich classrooms, supporting multi-lingual learners, and high student engagement,” Mondello said.
In addition to feedback, observation data is used to identify school-wide trends for growth that are analyzed weekly and shared monthly at staff meetings.
Mondello also reported that the teachers felt the feedback was supportive of their personal growth and that “they’ve really welcomed the process.”
He then dove into goal two: belonging, which involved student and staff well-being and safety.
“This is actually a relentless pursuit. Something we work arduously on every day. Respect is an all-the-time thing for us, not a some-of-the-time thing. Every day we work hard to ensure all staff and students feel safe, supported, and valued from the time they enter the campus and the way we greet them to how we conduct ourselves in the hall and what our expectations are,” he said.
Mondello said they are continuously building a welcoming and inclusive culture.
“Staff are receiving training in culturally responsive and trauma-informed inclusive practices,” he said.
Mondello said students and staff have a voice and leadership opportunities, and they’re trying to build more opportunities this year.
“We continue to have clear expectations for behaviors and conduct, which are maintained through our core values and our crisis plan. We also create safe spaces around our school,” he said.
Committee Vice Chair Thomas Whittredge said, “I do want to comment about the belonging. Out of all your goals, for me, that’s probably the most personal and the most important one. You guys do an incredible job. Every year, you get more and more kids with different backgrounds and different cultures, and you guys really do a great job making everybody feel welcome there.”
Chair Vincent Serino said the school has done a great job with the culture.
“As it pertains to our last goal, goal number three surrounded around learning, this is specific to early literacy and targeted intervention,” Mondello said. “We know early literacy acquisition and student readiness is critical for future success, and our ability to provide early intervention is paramount for student success.”
He said that data is being used to identify students who need extra support and that the data cycle includes benchmark assessments and progress monitoring. He continued that teachers are receiving ongoing coaching and training in effective literacy practice.
“We’re really excited about this plan. We have close to about 50% of our teachers, our staff members, in their first two years of teaching. So, building that community, helping them understand… It’s really critical for our success,” Mondello said.
