Some notes/observations of the Conner’s visit:
1) Conner’s is celebrating it’s 100 year anniversary this year and is in wonderful shape. I found the building to be clean, clear of debris, bright, full of student work on the walls and a place that felt warm. Security was obvious and present.
2) I was shown around by the principal to a majority of the classrooms. Of special note was the rooms and how they were decorated. Very alive and with many stimuli. Well kept and orderly and with instruction going on at many levels (centers seem to be a big part of early instruction).
3) Students and teachers wore red, white and blue today in honor of 9/11 and opening announcement had a moment of silence for those who were loss. A touching moment to be sure. One wonders what does 9/11 mean to these young students which raises some interesting curricula and instructional issues.
4) Primary grades seem to be especially strong.
5) Students seemed VERY well behaved, polite and respectful given they had never seen me before.
6) Technology is present throughout the building although need to explore more specifically how it is being utilized and maintained. There is both a computer room as well as computers in most rooms.
7) There seems to be some wonderful services at the school, including child study team, clinician, IB and G&T. Clearly, there are resources and expertise at Conner’s.
8) Wonderful and thoughtful conversation for ½ hour with Principal Erbe toward the end of my visit after she showed me around the building and introduced me to everyone. Some concerns or needs arouse which include:
a) there are presently 3 cafeteria workers, my sense is that there is a perception that there might be a need for additional people.
b) the need for a guidance person was discussed. The principal seems supportive of this notion.
c) There was agreement that we need some curricula alignment in the district
9) Had a nice end of the morning conversation with Ms. Dominique where we discussed IB plans and need for other people to join her in assuring commitment and investment in the IB program which now seems to be at a district wide implementation stage. Currently, things are too focused around 1 person for the success of a program that potentially impacts over 550 students. It is a testament to Ms. Dominique’s commitment but not a healthy situation for the district to have 1 person be so pivotal without additional committed staff and/or mentoring of others.
Connor's is a clean, well light, open and bright atmosphere. It really is a beautiful building and much work has gone into making the place an exciting school.
This blog will provide a forum for those interested in Dr. Petrosino's perspective on education at the local, state and national levels. At all times, the basic premise is that the role of leadership is to create more leaders, not more followers.
Recent Pageviews
Search This Blog
Recommended Web Sites
Blog Archive
About Me
- Dr. Anthony Petrosino
- Hoboken, NJ
- Dr. Petrosino is a graduate of Columbia University's Teachers College (MA, 1990) and received his PhD from Vanderbilt University (1998). He completed a post-doc at the University of Wisconsin where he was a member of the National Center for Improving Student Learning and Achievement in Mathematics and Science (NCISLA). In 1999 he accepted a Professorship at the University of Texas and received tenure in 2004. He holds the Elizabeth G. Gibb Endowed Fellowship in Mathematics Education. Dr. Petrosino has published over 20 peer reviewed journal articles, made over 100 national and international conference presentations and has supervised a dozen doctoral dissertations. He has received over 30 million dollars in grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education and the McDonnel Foundation for Cognitive Studies. He is a founding professor of the nationally recognized UTeach Natural Sciences preservice teacher education program. From July 2007 to August 2009 he served as the Assistant to the Superintendent in the Hoboken School District.
Internet Copyright Notice & Guidelines
This website and its content is copyright of Dr. Anthony Petrosino - © Dr. Anthony Petrosino 2021. All rights reserved.
Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:
· you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only
· you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material
You may not, except with my express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.
DISCLAIMER
This is a moderated blog. Comments should be respectful and pertain to the topic posted. Blog moderators reserve the right to remove any comment determined not in keeping with these guidelines.
Posts made on or before August 31, 2009 were uploaded when this site was known as "The Hoboken Curriculum Project." At that time, the site operated with the knowledge and awareness of the Hoboken School Board. However the content and opinions posted may or may not have represented their views personally or collectively, nor did it attempt to represent the official viewpoint of Hoboken School District administrators or employees.
Posts uploaded on or after September 1, 2009 are simply the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of Dr. Anthony Petrosino, and do not reflect the opinion or position of any educational boards or institutions of which I am associated or affiliated.
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by Dr. Anthony Petrosino and while I attempt to keep the information up to date and correct, I make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will I be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Dr. Anthony Petrosino. I have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, Dr. Anthony Petrosino takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond his control.