State of the Schools and a Movie, Too

Audience members might have wondered why a clip from the 1995 movie Apollo 13 was being shown at last week's State of the Schools presentation, but the 10-minute shot, which illustrated how a team of nearly desperate astronauts worked with what it had on board its spaceship in order to save its own lives, made sense.

It told the story of teamwork from the ground and in the air, of doing more with less, and of thinking outside the box-all points that Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Forcella drove home in his speech about the past and the future of Guilford Public Schools.

"It takes thinking differently instead of saying we have always done it this way," he said. "Let's take our resources and use them in the best way possible."

The current economic crisis has caused other school districts to postpone their plans to improve education, but not Guilford, he said.

"I am proud to say that due to the collaborative efforts of our Board of Education, staff members, students, parents, and community, our school system is continuing to flourish in terms of progress made toward our mission-increased student learning and achievement," he said.

Forcella spoke of some of the highlights of last year in the areas of technology, facilities, recycling, and recognition.

For example, 39 SMARTBoards were installed throughout the district, schools had new roofs and hot water tanks, and recycle bins were placed in all classrooms, work areas, and cafeterias.

Guilford High School (GHS) was named one of America's Best High Schools by US News and World Report, ranking among the top 400 high schools across the country.

Last year, 77 percent of Guilford high school students scored three or higher on Advanced Placement tests as compared to 76 percent the previous year. Scores of three or higher provide the opportunity to earn credit or advanced standing at most colleges and universities.

Also last year, 99 percent of Guilford High School seniors graduated; 95 percent went on to further their education.

In their SAT scores, Guilford students ranked higher than the state average and the national average in all three subjects and the high school had seven semifinalists (out of 16,000 nationwide) for the National Merit Scholarships.

For the future, the district is set to provide instruction and learning by way of literacy-focused instructional coaches who will provide daily professional feedback and training to kindergarten through 4th-grade teachers in their classrooms, said Forcella.

"Effort creates ability," he said. "It is up to us as instructors to provide the type of instruction to get the students motivated and engaged in learning."

In student achievement, Forcella outlined via chart how Guilford students rank among their peers. In the Connecticut Academic Performance Test, Guilford ranked in the top 10 percent of all schools in the state. The elementary Connecticut Mastery Test scores continue to be significantly higher than the state average in all areas-reading, writing, and math. Over the last three years, students at the Adams Middle School rank higher than the District Reference Group (towns comparable to Guilford) in all subjects. The Yankee Institute for Public Policy ranked Guilford 17th out of all Connecticut schools with regard to efficiency in educational spending.

"As compared to other towns, we do more with less," added Forcella.