The Derby school system’s leaders switched jobs Tuesday in an effort to generate ideas and to get a deeper look at what’s happening inside each building.
Derby High School Principal Martin Pascale switched places with Irving School Principal Jennifer Olson for a day.
Derby Middle School Principal William Vitelli switched places with Bradley School Principal Mario Ciccarini for a day.
Irving and Bradley are the city’s elementary schools.
The “Big Switch” gave Pascale a look at Irving’s “Walking School Bus.”
The high poverty elementary school has been aggressively combating student absenteeism.
“The Walking School Bus” is part of that effort. It launched in September.
Two Irving staffers — Kristina Ciotto and attendance coordinator Maria Bowers — walk through downtown Derby and personally knock on 22 doors to make sure the students are coming to school.
Then they all walk to Irving together.
Pascale accompanied Bowers and Ciotto Tuesday morning.
“You can’t get any more invested in students then by walking to school with them,” Pascale said of the Irving effort.
Pascale said this year Derby High School has seen a steep increase in new students. Kids moving into and out of Derby is a constant challenge for educators, especially this year.
“We’ve had 57 new kids in the high school since August. That’s the highest number we’ve seen in years. We have 360 kids in the high school, so it’s almost one-sixth of the population,” Pascale said.
With so many new kids to absorb into the school, Pascale said he’s looking for more ways to reach out to the new families. Irving School is known for its outreach efforts, something that could help in the high school, Pascale said.
“We’re all getting a great perspective. I think some great ideas will come out of this,” Pascale said.
Over at the high school on Chatfield Street, Olson said she was impressed by the community vibe present within the Derby High School hallways. The teachers had displays outside their classrooms explaining a little about themselves, Olson said.
“Educators get ideas from other educators,” Olson said. “There is a very strong, positive culture here.”
Olson was also impressed with the online learning and advances in technology happening at high school.
Across the street Ciccarini was running Derby Middle School while Vitelli held down the fort at Bradley across town on David Humphreys Road.
Middle school didn’t exactly blow Ciccarini’s mind. He taught on the middle school level for 13 years.
“We always talk to our teachers about having a different perspective. For me it’s a chance to talk to the middle school teachers to find out what the middle school needs from the elementary school,” Ciccarini said.
At the Bradley School, Vitelli spent the morning visiting classrooms and talking to teachers.
A Bradley student stopped him in the hallway to let him know he has a sibling at the middle school.
He was impressed at the organization of the Bradley teachers and staffers.
“The teachers have a routine, so for me it’s easy,” Vitelli said.
