Newington Celebrates Blue Ribbon Award to Reynolds
NEWINGTON - Jeremy Visone admits that the Blue Ribbon award was new territory for him when he took a phone call from the Connecticut Department of Education in his former Anna Reynolds Elementary School office back last winter.

       The then-principal found out that day that Anna Reynolds had been nominated by the state to receive a national award for high performing-schools.

       â€"The state picks you-you don’t go to them,” said Visone, who is now a professor at Central Connecticut State University. â€"I kind of got this random call in January. I had no idea really what it was.”

       But as it turns out, for Anna Reynolds, it wasn’t the first time-the school was a Blue Ribbon recipient back in the mid-nineties.

       Visone gladly accepted the nomination, but the work was just beginning.

       For the next two months, Visone and school staff worked to assemble application material covering everything from curriculum, professional development, and intervention, to parent communication and â€"school environment”.

       â€"We had to look at many different facets of what we do,” Visone said. â€"We had to write essays on all this stuff.”

       Fast forward to November 8. Visone, current Anna Reynolds Principal Jason Smith, and Superintendent Bill Collins are in Washington D.C. to accept the award for the second time. Anna Reynolds is one of three schools in the state to join a list of over 300 winners nationally.

       â€"For most staff, this is the first time, so it’s very exciting-I’m happy for them,” Visone said over the phone. â€"This really belongs to the whole town-we work together on everything.”

       â€"It really was a testament to [the staff and students’] hard work,” Smith said during a phone conversation. â€"This really is a very high distinction.”

       Schools are rated on a measurement known as an Accountability Index, which takes into account everything from standardized test scores, to student attendance and physical fitness achievements.

       Reynolds scored a 95.64 when last year’s index was taken, according to Smith.

       The school’s selection can be attributed to a wide scope of factors, but staff collaboration and professional development, along with Reynolds’ â€"whole child” approach must have stood out, Visone said.

       â€"I don’t think the [approach] is unique to Anna Reynolds, but it’s something we did very well,” he said.

       Other notable learning initiatives included writing contests, and a school-wide common math problem that was posed during each trimester, Visone said.

       â€"It really got our kids thinking and learning to persevere when something seemed difficult-to look for new strategies when things don’t work,” he said.

       It’ll be at least another five years before Reynolds can repeat again-the competition rules disqualify winners for that timeframe, but Smith intends to continue with what he says has been working.

       â€"We’re going to carry through with the goals we have in place-improving our literacy and our numeracy and focusing on professional development,” Smith said.

      
STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA   |  Dec 01 2016  |  COMMENTS?