Vol. 3, No.2 A PUBLICATION OF W ORCESTER P UBLIC S CHOOLS Winter 2008 INSIDE THE WINTER 2 EDITION Perfection Twins score 800 on math SAT BY MEAGHAN CASEY Achieving the coveted 800 on a portion of the SATs is a rare accomplishment. Achieving the score alongside your twin is perfection squared. Twin brothers, Soaib Rashid and Sabbir Rashid, seniors at South High Community School, each earned a perfect score of 800 on the mathematics Learning after the bell portion of the SATs. Soaib earned 800 on the first attempt Worcester schools offer when he took the test in May. Sabbir first scored 770 and Twins Soaib, expanded-day program reached 800 in October. left, and Page 3 “We went into it saying, ‘OK, you get an 800, I’ll get an Sabbir 800,’” said Sabbir. “I guess we were pretty confident.” Rashid “After the first time, we were like, ‘Sabbir’s due next,’” both scored said Soaib. 800 on the Aware of their innate ability to succeed in math, the twins math SAT. See PERFECTION Page 12 DeDeggrreesees ofof difdifficultyficulty Getting a Head Start Worcester’s youngest get Teacher makes ready for kindergarten Pages 8-9 remarkable turnaround BY CAITLIN BOWLER Ten years ago, Andrea Safford was at a crossroads. A junior in high school and an expectant mother, overwhelmed, she was on the verge of dropping out when staff at the In the business Comprehensive Skills Center (now 99 reasons for the Gerald Creamer Center or GCC) WPS to be grateful convinced her to return to school and Page 11 finish her high school degree. Safford, 26 and a lifelong Spanish speaker, graduated from the GCC in 1999 and is now a successful and highly involved teacher of English as a Second Language at South High School — where she began her high See SAFFORD Page 12 South High ESL teacher Andrea Safford, front, and students, from Pedal power left, Bryan Saldivar, Beatriz Matos South High alum and Cristian Matos display her four diplomas, from South High finds success in cycling School through her master's Page 16 degree. PHOTO: REBA SALDANHA 2 —The Worcester Educator Winter 2008 City of Worcester 2007 WPS grads accepted to top colleges Konstantina B. Lukes Mayor Members of the Brandeis University Franklin Pierce College Northeastern University Agriculture Worcester Public Schools Bridgewater State College Full Sail College, Florida Oakwood College Stonehill College Worcester School Brigham Young University George Washington University Pace University Suffolk University Committee Class of 2007 received Brown University Harrington College Parsons College Syracuse University Konstantina B. Lukes acceptances from top Bryant University Hesser College Penn State University Temple University Chair colleges and universities Bunker Hill Community College Hofstra University Plymouth State University Tufts University Brigham Young University Howard University Portland State Community Coll. UMass Amherst Brian A. O’Connell, Esq., throughout the country. Congratulations to those California Community College Johnson & Wales Post University UMass Boston Vice Chair City University of New York Keene State College Providence College UMass Dartmouth students and their families. Robert Bogigian Clark Atlanta University Lasell College Purdue University UMass Lowell The following is a list of John L. Foley Clark University Lesley University Quinnipiac University Universal Technical Institute Dorothy Hargrove schools to which 2007 Colby College Lincoln Technical Institute Quinsigamond Community University of Bridgeport John Monfredo WPS graduates were Colby-Sawyer College Lincoln University College University of Colorado Mary A. Mullaney accepted: College of the Holy Cross Livingston College Regent College University of Connecticut Concordia University Macintosh College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute University of Florida Published by: Adirondack Community Cornell University Marymount College Rhode Island College University of Hawaii Worcester Public Schools College Curry College MassArt Rhode Island Community Coll. University of Maine Dr. James A. Caradonio Alfred Community College Dartmouth College Mass. Bay Community College Rhodes College University of Maryland Superintendent Alvemia College Dean College Mass. College of Liberal Arts Rochester Institute of University of Puerto Rico American International College Dickinson College Mass. College of Pharmacy Technology University of Southern Maine Submit stories to: Dubuque University McGill University Roger Williams University University of South Florida Joan M. Fitton, Manager Anna Maria College East LA Community College Merrimack College Rose State College University of Southern Vermont Governmental Relations and Arcadia College Eastern Nazarene College Messiah College Roxbury Community College University of Tampa Elementary Initiatives Art Institute of Atlanta Worcester Public Schools Assumption College Elmira College Mitchell College Salem State College University of Texas 20 Irving St. Atlantic Union College Elms College Morgan State University Salter School University of Vermont Worcester, MA 01609 Bates College Emerson College Mt. Holyoke College Salve Regina College Vassar College Tel: 508-799-3110 Bay Path College Emmanuel College Mt. Ida College Skidmore College Wentworth Institute Fax: 508-799-8158 Bay State College Fashion Institute of Technology Mt.Wachusett Community Coll. Smith College Western New England College [email protected] Becker College Fisher College New England Institute of Art Southern Connecticut Univ. Westfield State College Produced by: Benjamin Franklin Fitchburg State College New England Tech St. Anselm College Wheaton College GRANT COMMUNICATIONS Bentley College Florida A & M University New Hampshire Tech.College St. John University Wheelock College CONSULTING GROUP Berklee College of Music Fordham University New Horizon Technical St. Michael’s College Worcester Polytechnic Institute Boston ! New York Boston College Forsyth Tech Community Coll. Newbury College State University of New York Worcester State College 781-598-8200 Boston University Framingham State College Nichols College Stockbridge College of Yale University [email protected] WPS joins districts throughout nation to build better leaders in the classroom BY MEAGHAN CASEY Teitel. “Often, those groups have a common interest but also a In Worcester, school officials believe in teamwork. lot of diverse issues that show up in terms of the regulatory “Together Everyone Achieves More.” side and accountability.” Now, the city's educators are applying that model at the The WPS became involved with the program in July when national level. its eight-member team, led by Superintendent Dr. James Joining other districts from Massachusetts, Ohio, Kentucky Caradonio, attended a week-long training at Harvard. and Oregon, the Worcester Public Schools (WPS) has become “We were really thrilled to work with Worcester,” said involved in Harvard University’s Executive Leadership Teitel. “Our goal is to work with the large urbans and we saw Program for Educators (ExEL). The program, which began in it as a good opportunity to extend and deepen and help 2006, is a multi-year collaborative effort of the Harvard continue the improvement work that is already being done in Business School, the Harvard Graduate School of Education the WPS.” and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. It aims to The Worcester team joined representatives from Boston, help district and state superintendents and their teams bring Springfield and Chelsea and three urban districts from high quality teaching and learning to scale. The program is Oregon. In the summer of 2006, the first cohort of districts funded in part by Intel Corporation. from Ohio and Kentucky joined the program. Teitel says he “All three of the Harvard schools have had programs run expects to be adding two more states in the next year. through them that have worked with urban districts to try to Each of the districts will be involved in ExEL for three improve conditions in those districts around teaching and years. They will benefit from on-line learning and support, learning,” said Dr. Lee Teitel, director of ExEL. “So it's a and an experienced coach who will provide regular on-site Burncoat students help ring in 2008 collaboration of those schools on one hand — bringing a lot visits and telephone communication. One of the tasks that of rich, different ideas to the case — and the urban school participants take on is learning how to use the Public Students who participated in the Puppeteer Club have districts and the state departments of education on the other.” Education Leadership Program (PELP) Coherence been part of an exciting and unique enrichment activity. ExEL is designed to establish a consensus on what high- Framework. Designed for school systems with at least 30,000 They designed and created a variety of puppets that quality teaching and learning is; align ideas at all levels of the enrolled students, PELP was established to help leaders drive were used in the First Night Worcester celebration. organization; and assess progress through ongoing diagnostics. improved performance. The teams will also participate in and Some of the tropical creations that were produced by The program also calls to improve the relationships within help plan a state network that meets regularly to exchange using paper-maché and other everyday objects including each state between and among districts. ideas and share approaches and best practices. “Our goal is to first and foremost help the districts and state “In three years,