The 24 goals Herricks school Superintendent Fino Celano has set for his district cover everything from curriculum to record-keeping, but an emphasis on technology runs through all of them.
The district’s classrooms have made a good start at integrating technology into its curriculum, he told the Herricks Board of Education Wednesday night in his first goal-setting presentation as superintendent.
But, he said, he aims to expand the use of tools such as iPads and Chromebook laptops at all grade levels in an effort to maintain student engagement during class time.
“When I walk into a classroom, what I want to see is students thinking and doing, not just sitting, learning passively,” he said.
One of those new programs is Project Lead the Way, a science and technology curriculum that utilizes iPads as well as its own hands-on materials.
The district is one of the first to use the program in elementary schools, Celano said.
Some Herricks teachers have also started using a “flipped classroom” approach, he said, in which students watch prepared lessons at home and practice what they learn in class the next day.
Research has shown these hands-on techniques have been effective learning tools, Celano said.
With the expanded use of technology, he said, comes more in-depth training for teachers on how to use it and a commitment to its value.
“If [teachers] don’t know how to use the equipment and if they’re not encouraged to use the equipment, it’s not going to be used,” he said.
Another new program is a database called School Meter, which Celano said measures test results more narrowly and incisively.
School Meter can compare the district’s scores to other “top-achieving” Long Island districts, such as Jericho, Manhasset and Garden City.
This will be more helpful than other databases the district uses, Celano said, which creates comparisons to every district in the state.
School Meter is also more “user friendly” and will allow parents to look at its data, said Christine Finn, Herricks’ assistant superintendent for instruction.
She called it a “wonderful and different way to look at achievement” in the district.
Celano also said he wants the district to more fully use technologies that could streamline its administration.
It already owns software to handle job applications, track teacher attendance and archive evaluations, and Celano said its use could save the district money, balancing out any new spending on classroom technology.
Herricks school trustees members said they were pleased with Celano’s thoroughness in setting goals. It was consistent with the board’s goal of increasing transparency, board President Nancy Feinstein said.
Henry Zinetti, a resident living within the Herricks School District, said he thought Celano’s presentation followed the district’s four-year plan set by predecessor John Bierwirth.
“I think he needed to do something like this to keynote the beginning of his term as superintendent,” Zinetti said.
