Florence M. Burd to undergo curriculum change

By Rose Sgarlato
ANDOVER — Under the leadership of principal Monica Heinze, Florence M. Burd Elementary School will undergo a major curriculum change in September.

The Andover Regional District is looking to restructure areas of study throughout all elementary grades.

As a result, the district recently hired Tara Rossi as Coordinator of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment for grades pre-kindergarten to eight. Rossi came from the Green Township School District where the new curriculum was utilized.

The language arts curriculum Kindergarten through four was rewritten and presented to the board on June 16. Heinze had first grade students participate in a demo lesson for the board that ultimately approved the change.

“We took a look at our english/language arts and math curriculum, and both were in dire need of revamping,” said Heinze, who just started her second year as principal.

After research including visiting other districts and hearing publishers’ presentations, Heinze along with her associates were sold on the balanced literary approach.

“Balanced literacy is taking a holistic approach to literacy by infusing multiple components into a system that nurtures the development of each individual learner,” Rossi said.

A “reading to learn” approach is how Heinze describes the new language arts program that will also lend itself to math, social studies and science.

The balanced literacy approach empowers students by teachers releasing control to them with mini-lessons and guided reading.

The instruction is turned over to the student by the teacher having the ability to put small groups of students together according to individual levels, Rossi said.

Training for teachers including refining their skills plays a major role in the process.

The teachers are excited and on board, said Rossi, and receiving professional development through book studies including showing them how to arrange their classrooms as well as demo lessons.

“Professional development needs to grow and is organic,” said Heinze. “Not all teachers are alike, and they have different strengths and weaknesses."

“Balanced learning puts learning back into hands of students based on their levels. They make their own decisions,” Rossi said.

The language arts model will incorporate new sources of technology and a more interactive approach. Readers and writers workshops are another part of the small group-learning angle.

“The students are making choices so it engages them teaching the whole, not just the middle,” Heinze said.

Heinze and Rossi believe this new methodology will teach children to be more independent thinkers and learners.

There were many options to choose from, but Heinze is confident that this is a strong model that will be the driving factor.

“In some ways it’s easier to buy one box fits all, but we want to create a more custom way of learning for Andover to fit students and teachers,” she said.

Recently, the district has experienced an increase of choice students coming in from other districts along with an increase in teacher applications that Rossi and Heinze believe reflects the overall goals.

“People know we are a forward-thinking district that is thinking outside the box,” Rossi said.