I would like to warmly welcome new and returning teachers and students to
Pelham Elementary School and Kindergarten. This year we are
excited to be opening our new kindergarten program located in the modular
building right behind Pelham Memorial School. In addition to our kindergarten
students the modular building will also be the home to
the Preschool program for 3 and 4 year old Pelham students with educational
disabilities. It is sure to be an exciting year with so many new students
and teachers.
As you may have heard we have been designated by the New Hampshire Department
of Education as a School in Need of Improvement in reading as a result of our
edcuationally disabled students not making the target score set by the
State. As a result at Pelham Elementary we will be offering teachers many
professional development opportunities to help these students meet the
state's target in reading. We are also joining in a collaboration with Tufts
University, Reading Consortium, to bring reading consultants into the
classroom to model and coach classroom teachers on researched-based reading
strategies. In addition, we have adopted a new reading series that will
replace our outdated series in grades Kindergarten through grade 2 for the
upcoming school year, with grades 3-5 to follow over the next two years. This
reading series is called Scott Foresman's Reading Streets. We are also
looking at our current schedule to see if there is additional time during the
day to offer reading support to struggling students. All parents will
receive a letter inviting them to attend parent nights throughout the school
year where we will offer strategies and suggestions in reading to parents
that can be reinforce at home.
Mathmatics remains at the forefront of instruction at PES. Math
Investigations continues to be the program used for K-3 students and Scott
Foresman in grades 4 and 5. A group of teachers from grades K-5 have been
trained this summer on math curriculum alignment and how to write common
assessments. They will be meeting during the school year to develop a
comprehensive mathmatics curriculum for grades K-5. In grade 5 students will
be ability grouped for their math instruction based on their 4th grade NECAP,
NWEA and teachers' recommendation. These groupings are flexible and students
will be frequently assessed to determine the best grouping placement.
The teachers and I look forward to speaking with you at our September open
house and again at your parent/teacher conference in November. Please don't
hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or concerns
throughout the year. Thank you for your continued support.
