Home About Us Media Kit Subscriptions Links Forum
APPEARED IN


View All Articles

Download PDF

FAMOUS INTERVIEWS

Directories:

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS

HELP WANTED

Tutors

Workshops

Events

Sections:

Books

Camps & Sports

Careers

Children’s Corner

Collected Features

Colleges

Cover Stories

Distance Learning

Editorials

Famous Interviews

Homeschooling

Medical Update

Metro Beat

Movies & Theater

Museums

Music, Art & Dance

Special Education

Spotlight On Schools

Teachers of the Month

Technology

Archives:

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

1995-2000


MAY 2005

From the Principal’s Desk
Corinne Rello-Anselmi, PS 108, Bronx

When I became the Principal of PS 108 Philip J. Abinanti School eight years ago, we were making only moderate gains in literacy and were struggling to meet the needs of all of our students. We knew we could be better, but we were not looking for a short-term literacy program solution. We knew that implementing a comprehensive design was the only way to make real progress.

A strong believer in assessment-driven instruction, we began our work with Mondo’s BEL/Bookshop Program six years ago.  Professional development in assessment and comprehensive literacy instruction through this design model has helped focus our work as well as monitor our effectiveness. We implemented Mondo’s BEL l, a literacy program that went beyond the classroom by offering a long-term reform design with structures and strategies to strengthen all the elements critical to a school’s success from senior leadership to community collaboration.  The results were impressive by many standards. In 1999, 40.3 percent of our students were at or above grade literacy level. That number increased to 62.9 percent in 2004 —a dramatic increase of 22 percentage points.

The first step in implementation was leadership. I am fortunate to be working alongside talented administrators and teachers who are dedicated to providing our students with the type of education they deserve. Our instructional leaders believe that all students can make progress given sufficient support and that quality teaching makes the difference. We instituted a full-time literacy coach and provided all of our literacy teachers with the program materials.

The professional development aspect of the literacy program, held regularly both on-site and off, helped us bring the design elements together. Our staff leadership met on a weekly basis to openly discuss issues of concern. These weekly opportunities empowered the team at the highest levels. While the focus was on the literacy program, these open dialogues, in conjunction with the training sessions, helped us improve our approach in other subject areas and utilize our resources more efficiently. Over the years, PS 108 has had low teacher turnover rates and I believe a large part of this was due to the high level of support and empowerment our staff receives.

We made a relentless effort to tailor teaching to the needs of all students. We first assessed where our students were by pre-testing to establish starting points for instruction. Instructional strategies were linked to assessment data and the capabilities of the student. Teachers were trained to use this baseline data to focus instruction according to student needs. There was ongoing monitoring to track student progress as well as post-testing to measure our progress. Research-based, individualized instruction was key to student success because teachers were able to identify student need and adjust their focus accordingly.

Home, school and community partnerships are also lynchpins to our success. There is no one way to teach literacy and as our understandings deepen we are able to enrich our instruction through multiple resources.  As a school, we have reached out to parents, community leaders and other literacy programs in order to strengthen our instruction in reading and writing. The recent restructuring of the NYC School system, under the leadership of Chancellor Klein and Deputy Chancellor Farina, provided our school support for our literacy design and has allowed us to grow and deepen our commitment to our approach as it is in alignment with their bold vision for an improved NYC School system.

Corinne Rello-Anselmi has been at PS 108 for over 25 years, first joining the instructional staff in 1979 as a special education teacher. She became the assistant principal in 1989, overseeing all instruction and in 1996, she was appointed as the principal. PS 108 is located in Region Two in the Morris Park section of the Bronx.#

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

Name:

Email:
Show email
City:
State:

 


 

 

Education Update, Inc.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2009.