Team Derby News

No matter how long ago, or recent it was, every teacher will always remember their first classroom, their first students, their first grade-level partners, and their first, "First Day of School." This year Derby Public Schools welcomes 3 beginning teachers to the profession and to the Derby Family. They have a big year ahead of them and it is up to all of us to support, encourage and learn from them as they begin their first year of teaching! Congratulations, Rachel Fogarty (Art Teacher at DHS), Gabrielle Ciotto, (Italian Teacher at DMS) and Adam Baker (School Counselor at DMS)! We are so happy for you and glad you are starting you career as part of the Derby Family!

Derby also welcomes several talented teachers and staff to our schools who have a wide range of experience and expertise in their field. We look forward to the contributions they will make and the role they will play in making DPS an outstanding place to work and learn! Please join us in welcoming:

• Ana Svetz, Pre-K Teacher at Little Raiders University
  
• Brianne Cronk, Grade 4 Teacher at Bradley
• Stacy Mullenax, Grade 5 Teacher at Irving
• James Piazza, History Teacher at Derby HS
• Scott Carroll, Paraeducator at Little Raiders University
  
• Kaitlyn Lajoie, Paraeducator at Irving
• Jordyn DiMartino, Paraeducator at Derby MS
• Jeannette Brito, Paraeducator at Irving

Our leadership team welcomes some new members, and others who are in new roles this year, too! Please join us in welcoming Aimee Misset, Rachael Caggiano and Ray Coplin to their exciting new appointments! Our other outstanding school leaders include: Mario Ciccarini, Principal at Bradley School, Marty Pascale, Principal at Derby High School, Marc Russo, Dean of Students at Derby Middle School, Shelley Sheridan, Director of Special Education, and Alison Conway, Director of Early Childhood.

Visit any school or office in Derby, and you will quickly meet many talented professionals who have spent a great deal of time working for Derby Public Schools, serving our students, families, and schools----- often times, from one generation to the next! We are stronger because of their commitment, stability, and attitude of being "all in" for our district! Derby is a community filled with pride and traditions! We would like to extend an extra special recognition to all of our employees who have planted deep roots in this great city and thank them for their years of service!

Jim Gildea, Board of Education Chairman shared the following sentiments about our veteran employees: "The Derby Board of Education recognizes that what makes our schools the special places they are is the amazing group of employees who walk through our doors each and every day. We also understand just how lucky we are for our special loyal employees who are reaching meaningful years of service milestones. This is not something we take for granted. We are grateful for your contributions and loyalty."

To celebrate these employee's years of service and date of hire, a special recognition event has been planned on October 2 at 6:30 PM at Derby Middle School during our Board of Education Meeting. We welcome and encourage all Derby PS staff to join the honorees for this special celebration of service.

• Walter "Buster" Jadach, Head Wrestling Coach, DHS
  
• Dave Wrigley, Sr., Lead Custodian, DMS
• Dan Landino, Speech, Irving/Bradley
• Michele Black, Gr K Teacher, Bradley
• Dina Gotowala, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
• Cathy Pomeroy, Reading Coach, Bradley
• Bonnie Tillotson, Paraeducator, Irving

• Deborah Piscioneri, Office Clerk, Derby High School
• Rosann Lizza, Pareducator, Derby High School
• Joseph DiMartino, Head Softball Coach, DHS
• Jeffrey Collins, Asst. Football Coach, DHS
• Nichole Green, Art Teacher, Bradley
• Mary Jane Libretti, Paraeducator, DHS
• Cindy Klabonski, Gr 5 Teacher, Bradley
• Francie Mengold, Nurse, Bradley
• Matt Bradshaw, History Teacher, DHS
• Dave Chevarella, Mathematics Teacher, DHS
• Barbara Sobolisky, Gr K Teacher, Irving
• Mary Jane Tokash, Special Education Teacher, Irving
• Deb Zaleha, Reading Specialist, Bradley
• Jennifer Andrews, Gr 6 Reading Teacher, Derby Middle
• Keely Edwards, Reading Specialist, Irving School
• Alicia Olenoski, Gr 3 Teacher, Bradley School
• Alicia Sill, Gr K Teacher, Bradley School
• Cindy Mairano, Paraeducator, Bradley School
  
• Marylou Minolaio, Administrative Asst., DMS
  
• Jennifer Garofalo, Gr 1 Teacher, Bradley School

• Joyce Dobek, Paraeducator, Bradley School
  

• Giana Harrington, Italian, Derby High School
  

• Aracelis Cortes, ESL Teacher, Irving/Bradley
  

• Tom Fulton, Gr 8 Science Teacher, Derby Middle School
  
• Lauren Yagovane, Paraeducator, Derby Middle School
  
• Ryan Adams, Mathematics Teacher, Derby High School
  

• Kelly Breault, Administrative Assistant, Bradley School

• George French, Head Football Coach, DHS
  

• Joe Dryer, Gr 6 Math Teacher, Derby Middle
  

• Todd Kozey, Custodian, Derby Middle School
  

• Mary Livoti, Paraeducator, Bradley School
  

• Pam Stoll, Paraeducator, Irving School
  

• Martin Pascale Jr, Principal, Derby High School
  

• Mario Ciccarini, Principal, Bradley School
• Lydia Altamirano, ESL Tutor, Irving School
  

• Michelle Peluso, Special Education Teacher, Derby Middle
  

• Elaine Levi, Paraeducator, Little Raiders
  

• Holly Orazietti, Administrative Assistant, Irving School
• Missy Calvert, Paraeducator, Irving School
  

• Stephanie Melendez, Paraeducator, Irving School
  

• Alicia Proscino, Paraeducator, Bradley School
• Taeshonda Harding, Asst. Girls Soccer Coach, DHS
• Carmine D'Onfrio, IT/Technology DPS
• Stacey Tuhey, Paraeducator, Bradley
• Stephan DeGennaro, Tutor, DHS

This year, Derby Public Schools will have an intentional focus on improving student attendance and reducing chronic absenteeism.

Chronic absenteeism is defined as missing 10% or more of the school year for any reason. It “counts” all absences, whether excused or unexcused, including medical, religious, court appointments, suspension, etc because the focus is on missed teaching/learning.

• In 2017-18, 150 Derby students in Grades K-12 were considered chronically absent.
  

September is designated as National Attendance Awareness Month aimed at building lifelong habits to attend school regularly.

Absences are often tied to chronic health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and oral and mental health issues.

Other barriers include, lack of a nearby school bus, a safe route to school, clean/appropriate clothing, before/after school care, disengagement, or food insecurity make it difficult to go to school every day.

• Missing just 2 days of school per month adds up to chronic absenteeism.

The great news is that chronic absenteeism in Derby has decreased steadily over the past 3 years from 16.7% in 2014-2015, to 11.45% in 2017-2018. (Down 5.25%). However, the state’s target for school/district chronic absenteeism is 5%. Derby’s individual school’s chronic absenteeism rates ranged from 2.85% - 27.27%.

Early interventions with a caring school adult makes a tremendous difference. There are many strategies we will use to address chronic absenteeism. To make this work, we need every adult in our district to commit to 3 things:

• Recognize that ATTENDANCE MATTERS!
  
• Build strong relationships with students and families
• Take accurate, daily attendance and enter it in Power School

We are asking teachers to be intentional about taking attendance every day/every period as part of your opening class routines. When there are inaccuracies in our attendance reporting, it makes it difficult to provide early outreach and support to children and families, and distorts our attendance data.

We need this to be a non-negotiable part of our every day practice. If you need assistance with attendance reporting, please see your school's Attendance Coordinator. Below are the overarching strategies we will use to combat chronic absenteeism.

by: Kosta Myzithras, Director of Technology

Student Accounts

• Each and every student in Grades 1 through 12 automatically have accounts opened upon registering with the district. This is a nightly routine that is triggered by the information in PowerSchool.
  

What is my student’s account or email address?

With the exception of current Grade 11 & 12 students, and the rare duplicate name, every new and current student account follows the following format:

• lastname(last two digits of studentnumber)@students.derbyps.org
  

Example:

Valerie Frizzle Student Number ( aka Lunch Code) 123456

My student’s email address is frizzle56@students.derbyps.org

What is my student's password?

We encourage our students to maintain their own private password. In a perfect world our students would remember their passwords but this often does not happen. For our young novice technology students in Grades 1-5, we have reset their passwords back to their default password. As for our brand new students they follow the default password rule.

What is the default password?

The default password follows the following format:

• Capital First Initial Capital Last Initial Student Number !
  

Example:

Valerie Frizzle Student Number ( aka Lunch Code) 123456

Default password = VF123456!

Can my student change their password?

Every student in the district is encouraged to change their password and make it unique. We also encourage them not to share passwords. Same rules apply to staff, no sharing passwords!

From any Chromebook in the district students can change their passwords by going to the password reset portal. Prior to logging into the Chromebook on the bottom right corner of the screen click “Apps” then password reset portal and follow the instruction on the screen.

This can also be done on any PC for staff and students. From a district PC you must log in the press ‘Alt’ ‘Ctrl’ ‘Del’ then select change password and follow the prompts on the screen.

If you have done all above and all fails please place a School Dude Ticket with the students full name.

This newsletter will be distributed through email to all Derby Public Schools staff twice per month. The content will focus primarily on teaching and learning. It will be filled with articles, tips, and links to videos focusing effective practice: (classroom management, differentiated instruction, small group instruction, protocols for student engagement, formative assessment, etc). The goal of this publication is to focus our professional learning and generate dialogue among teachers/staff, and across schools. Here's to a great school year!

Jennifer M. Olson

Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Email: jolson@derbyps.org
Website: https://www.derbyps.org
Location: 35 5th Street, Derby, CT, USA
Phone: 203-736-5027
Twitter: @twitter_DPS_Curriculum