Easton Public Schools

*MEDIA ADVISORY* Easton Residents Invited to Attend Community Forums on Proposed Elementary School Building Project

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Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-742-3922
Email: [email protected]

Easton Residents Invited to Attend Community Forums on Proposed Elementary School Building Project

Forums to be Held on March 6, April 11

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral and Jane Martin, Chair of the School Planning Committee and School Committee member, are inviting residents to attend two upcoming community forums regarding the proposed Early Elementary School Building Project.

“We hope to have a large turnout so that residents can get important updates about the project and ask any questions they may have,” Superintendent Cabral said. “Keeping residents informed about where the process stands and getting input from community members is a vital aspect of this project.”

WHEN:

Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, April 11, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

WHERE:

  • March 6 – Richardson Olmsted School cafeteria, 101 Lothrop St., Easton
  • April 11 – Oliver Ames High School cafeteria, 100 Lothrop St., Easton

WHAT:

Easton residents, parents and community stakeholders are invited to attend the upcoming Community Visioning Forums for the Easton Early Elementary School Project.

The forums are centered on the current Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) building project in Easton.

Those who attend will receive updates on the progress of the project, feedback on the work that has been done to date and input into the design development. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions and an overview of the next steps of the process will be discussed.

The MSBA works with communities to create affordable, sustainable and energy-efficient schools by helping to reduce the local tax burden needed to fund school building projects. In 2017, the MSBA allowed Easton to consider two design enrollment options and two site options for the Easton Early Elementary School Project.

The design options are a Center School Project, which will meet the educational needs of the projected Center School enrollment population, and a District-Wide Project, which will meet the educational needs of the projected town-wide pre-K through grade 2 enrollment population. Two potential building sites have been identified at the current Center School site and the current Parkview School site.

A feasibility study is currently underway to help determine the best course of action for the Town and to decide which project (Center School or District-Wide) would be most beneficial for the Town and the District.

For a more in-depth look at the overall project and a timeline of the process, please visit the project website here.

To view the most recent Fact Sheet about the project click here.

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Easton Public Schools Partners with YMCA to Teach Students Water Safety

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Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Monday, Feb. 11, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Easton Public Schools Partners with YMCA to Teach Students Water Safety

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to announce that all Easton Public School second grade students will have the opportunity to learn essential water safety skills this year through the district’s ‘WaterWise’ program with the Old Colony YMCA.

The district’s partnership with the YMCA on the ‘WaterWise’ program began with a pilot of the course that was offered during the 2016 to 2017 school year, where two classes of second grade students from the Center School learned water safety techniques.

During the 2017 to 2018 school year, the program was opened to every second grade student in the district. This year, approximately 220 second graders will complete the program, and attend a weekly class at the YMCA for five weeks.

“It’s crucial for children to learn how to be safe in and around water,” Superintendent Cabral said. “We are so elated to partner with the Old Colony YMCA to teach students these skills. It’s our hope that through this program, many generations of students will learn water safety lessons that will serve them for years to come.”

According to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths in children between the ages of one and 14.

Serah Selmon, executive director of the Old Colony YMCA, said the goal of the WaterWise program is to “drown proof” the community.

“Living in the Bay State, we (both organizations) knew we had a responsibility to keep our community safe,” Selmon said. “Any opportunity to give a child new skills, new lifelong fitness opportunities, better ensure safety and increase access to even more caring adult role models, is a win.”

Students in the program are taught to never get in the water unless they have clearly asked permission from a responsible adult. The course also teaches children “Swim-Float-Swim,” a safety technique where a child will swim, rest, and continue swimming when ready, should they find themselves in a position where they cannot touch the bottom of a body of water with their feet. Additionally, the course teaches students not to enter the water if someone else is in trouble, but instead to throw a floating object or reach out to the person in need of help while lying flat on their stomachs.

The WaterWise program also teaches students boat safety basics, including the importance of wearing a life-jacket.

The YMCA partners with Easton Public Schools in several other ways as well, including the before and after school programs run by the YMCA that are held at all Easton Public Elementary schools.

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Easton Public Schools Google Innovator Develops Teacher Technology Platform

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Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Suzana Somers, director of instructional technology at Easton Public Schools, presents a ‘spark’ pertaining to storytelling and data to the LAX18 Innovators cohorts. Somers was accepted into the Google for Education Certified Innovator program in May 2018. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public Schools)

Easton Public Schools Google Innovator Develops Teacher Technology Platform

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to announce that Suzana Somers, director of instructional technology at Easton Public Schools, is developing a platform to connect teachers to useful technology through the Google for Education Certified Innovator program.

Somers was accepted into the Google Innovator program in May 2018.

The program annually accepts 175 educators from around the world who are put into five separate cohorts. Educators in the program attend a three day ‘Innovation Academy,’ and for the following year they develop solutions to a problem in education. Throughout the 12 months innovators work on their solutions, they are supported by mentors, training opportunities, and each other.

Somers applied to the program with the hope of finding an effective way to connect teachers to useful technology to enhance their lessons. She said teachers often feel bogged down by the expansive amount of technology available, and as the director of instructional technology, she wanted a way to make that technology more accessible and easy to distribute to teachers.

“Despite the huge potential of digital technology in the classroom, the impact on education has been slow moving,” Somers said. “So my problem was, how do we utilize the technology available to enhance great teaching?”

“I work with teachers to help them use technology in a purposeful way,” she added. “I’m not trying to increase screen time for the sake of putting a computer in front of a child. When we put technology in front of a student, it needs to drastically enhance something that wouldn’t be possible without it in the learning experience of the child.”

Somers has not officially named her platform and plans to have a soft launch of her project this spring. She currently calls the platform “Project Campfire.”

“I’m building a coaching platform that focuses on targeting support to teachers based on what they use and what their comfort level is,” Somers said. “Easton has over 300 teachers. I can’t meet with every teacher monthly, but if I could better send information to them on training videos or technology tips, I can make sure they’re getting the resources they need and that truly enhance their lessons.”

“Suzana has identified a problem that impacts many school districts, and she’s found a way to make the technology out there digestible and manageable for teachers,” Cabral said. “Her project will allow educators to pinpoint the right technology for their classes, and to strengthen their lessons as a result.”

This June, Somers will also present at a global International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference in Philadelphia along with Maura Richards, an Easton Middle School English teacher.

The two educators will give a presentation titled, “Extending Reality into ELA: Experimental Learning with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).”

“A lot of people use AR and VR for students to consume content,” Somers said. “We will be using it for kids to create content, and whenever they consume content, really making sure it is enhancing the lesson at hand and engaging students in a different way.”

For updates on project Campfire, visit ,www.campfireedu.com/. To learn more about the ISTE conference, see www.iste.org/.

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Somers gives a presentation to her peers in the LAX18 cohort of Google for Education Certified Innovators. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public Schools)
Easton Public School’s Director of Instructional Technology Suzana Somers is one of 35 members of the LAX18 cohort of Google for Education Certified Innovators. Somers attended a three day ‘Innovation Academy’ through the Google for Education Certified Innovator program in California in the summer of 2018. (Courtesy Photo Easton Public Schools)

Easton School District Seeking Parents Interested in Joining New Superintendent’s Advisory Council

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Easton Public Schools
Dr. Lisha Cabral, Superintendent
50 Oliver St.
North Easton, MA 02356

For Immediate Release

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

Easton School District Seeking Parents Interested in Joining New Superintendent’s Advisory Council

EASTON — Superintendent Lisha Cabral is pleased to announce that the Easton Public School District is seeking parents who are interested in joining the new Superintendent’s Advisory Council.

The District is in the process of forming a committee comprised of students, parents, community members, a school committee member and a member of the town’s human rights committee.

Once formed, the committee will draft and distribute a student survey to help guide their purview and will work on long-term, lasting initiatives to ensure that students’ needs are being met inside and outside of the classroom.

Parents who have interest in joining the council should contact the District’s Administrative Assistant Lynn Souza by email at [email protected]easton.k12.ma.us or by calling 508-230-3200, Ext. 201.

It should be noted that there are two spaces on the committee for parents – one to represent parents with kids in grades Pre-K-5 and the other to represent parents with students in grades 6-12.

Because of the limited number of spaces on the council, the two parents will be randomly selected by a lottery and will be notified thereafter of their selection by Superintendent Cabral. Parents who are not selected but would still like to be involved are welcome to share their suggestions and questions by contacting Lynn Souza.

“We are hopeful that parents are interested in joining this group, as we greatly value their input and believe they can provide a vital perspective,” Superintendent Cabral said. “The formation of this council is meant to increase communication with all stakeholders in the district around important issues regarding equity, inclusiveness and the long-term goals of our education system.”

In addition, as part of increasing and improving communication district-wide, Superintendent Cabral did the first of a monthly drop-in session earlier this month during lunch at Oliver Ames High School, in order to speak directly with students. Similar sessions are being scheduled at Easton Middle School.

Once a month Superintendent Cabral will make herself available in a room near the cafeteria at the two schools and kids at lunch can come and talk to her about their questions and concerns.

 

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