HUNTINGTON — After a year of information gained from the Barr Foundation’s grant to the Gateway Regional School District, especially its support of trips to other school districts, Superintendent Kristen Smidy reflected recently on what the district has learned.
“Last year, the expectation was we would work all year to redesign the high school,” Smidy said. Now, the district has entered into a long-term partnership with the Barr Foundation and will receive another $400,000 over the next two years to spend more time on rethinking Gateway.
Smidy said Barr has opened Gateway staff’s eyes to new possibilities, especially after teams of teachers, administrators and some students visited innovative schools throughout the country.
For example, she has come to view state-sponsored Career Pathways as programs which are very prescriptive. Smidy said the state gives schools a directive they must follow for funding.
“I have felt, after experiencing other schools, that it takes the choice away from students and boxes them in. Barr offers ways to personalize opportunities that don’t match state pathways,” Smidy said.
Smidy said Gateway is already doing that. The water operator program, which allows internships for students in water departments in area towns, is one of Gateway’s most successful, and meets the goals the state is hoping it will, but is not state-sponsored or sanctioned.
“We’re doing our own thing,” Smidy said. She added that Gateway does have two state-recognized Chapter 74 vocational technical programs, welding and early childhood, both of which will continue to be supported by the school.
Smidy said she believes what is missing from the state is student input, something which Barr visits to other schools heavily depended on. She said teachers and staff that went on out-of-state school visits shadowed a Gateway student first.
“That’s what makes what we’re doing more special,” she said.
Smidy said Gateway received a check from the Barr Foundation for $230,000 for the coming year and will receive $170,000 for the following year. This year, the district plans to take every secondary student on a trip to visit high schools in Vermont, where she said schools are doing “awesome” work, such as interdisciplinary classes on sustainability. She said the schools in Vermont are very community-focused.
Some changes inspired by the visits are already taking effect. This year, Gateway Middle School and High School Principal William Sullivan is starting a pantry in partnership with the Huntington Food Pantry and the Village Closet, to be called a “Free and Sustainable Center.” Smidy said the room will be set up in the high school for students and community members to grab what they need, and will be run by Village Closet staff.
The elementary schools are planning beyond-the-classroom experiences, led by high school students and elementary teachers, which will kick off at the beginning of the school year. For example, Chester Elementary School is looking at trail renovation around the school, agriculture, and environmental threats through water and soil sampling. Smidy said Littleville is in the process of identifying its instructional focus.
“After seeing other schools, we’re giving students a lot more choice. The love of learning is evident in these other places. Because we’re small, we can personalize and we know every single kid. That is a luxury from my perspective,” Smidy said. She said this year’s preschool-to-grade 12 enrollment was at 731 at the start of the summer.
“We’re also preparing kids for jobs that don’t exist. Our job as educators is to bring joy to learning, let them explore, find their own interests,” she added.
A big change for Gateway this year is that it has increased to a seven-hour school day, adding 30 minutes at the high school level, and 40 minutes for elementary school students. The new hours for high school are 7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., and for elementary school from 8:35 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.
Smidy said the demand for longer lunch periods, increasing from 18 to 25 minutes, was one driving force. “It’s a big change for us,” she said. She noted some elementary families were concerned that their kids would be sitting for longer periods of time but the principals have committed to being more active and engaging.
Smidy said with funds running out from the federal ESSER program, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, money is tight, but she praised Assistant Superintendent Stephanie Fisk’s ability to manage resources, and said the school has been very successful with grants. She said a grant from the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative will enable Gateway to increase full-day preschool from four days to five days per week this year.
Other changes include a dedicated STEM — science, technology, engineering and math teacher — for Chester Elementary School, and a STREAM (STEM plus reading and art) teacher at Littleville Elementary School, using grant funds. These teachers will provide hands-on learning opportunities for students. Sullivan also hired a full-time wood shop teacher, she said.
Smidy said for her and the staff, school really starts the week of Aug. 19, with two days of leadership retreats scheduled along with new teacher orientation and mentor orientation, even though students don’t return until Aug. 29.
“We’ve hired a lot of great people,” Smidy said. She said in mid-August that principals were still interviewing candidates, adding, “I don’t know if I’m ever 100% ready. It’s going to be a big year for us. Things are coming to fruition, and we’re starting to develop new and innovative ways to engage kids.”
