A Look At Our Capital Improvement Projects (Video)

Here is an up close look at a few of our Capital Improvement Projects that were completed during the Summer of 2015. Thanks to BHS Principal Mark Sullivan and Athletic Director Shaun Hart for their help in completing this video. 

Spring Update From Burlington Public Schools

There are so many amazing things happening in our classrooms on a daily basis that it would be impossible to highlight all of them. However, we shared a quick video of some of the interesting things from around our district with School Committee at a recent meeting and you can see it for yourself below.



In addition, we recently opened our classroom doors to over 200 visiting educators during the New England 1:1 Summit. The feedback from our colleagues throughout the region was phenomenal! Check out a few of the responses below. (Click on the icon in the bottom right of the presentation to watch it in full screen mode)

Our Newest Blog And Other Ways To Follow Burlington Public Schools

We are excited to announce the creation of our district's newest blog - Burlington Public Schools Blog. The word "Blog" in the title is actually used as a verb to represent all of the active bloggers throughout our school district. This space will be utilized to share a blog post daily from one of our staff or student bloggers.

Here are a few other ways you can follow our district's learning journey:

Our new district Instagram account - We will routinely post photos from around the district here.

Our new district Twitter Account - @BurlMASchools - While many of our staff and administrators have been on Twitter for quite some time, we have not had a general account for the district aside from @BPSAlerts, which we reserve for emergencies, and @BPSEdtech, the Twitter account of our EdTech Team.

Finally, we don't want to forget our District's Facebook Page which is another great way to stay on top of the happenings in our school district.

Let us know if there are any other social media resources that you would like to see Burlington Public Schools access to share information!

Burlington PAC Open House Next Monday

Burlington Special Education PAC will be holding an Open House on Monday, January 7 from 7pm - 9pm in the BHS Library, where you will have the opportunity to consult with a wide variety of special education experts. These experts include Special Ed Attorney Lillian Wong, Neuropsychologist Kaaren Bekken, Special Ed Consultants Sue Terzakis and Melody Orfei and Marilyn Weber, Advocate/Transition Specialist. Dr. Conti, Superintendent and Louise D’Amato, Special Education Director will also be available to speak with parents. This is a unique opportunity to have your questions answered in a low-key, informal environment, and will prove useful for parents of general education students as well!  After brief introductions in the library, the professionals will be available for private, 1:1 consultations. Take advantage of this informal, free opportunity to meet highly qualified professionals.

Recently added expert: Joyce Gillis, Program Director for the Children’s Dyslexia Center- Boston North. The Children’s Dyslexia Center provides intensive tutoring for children with dyslexia using the Orton-Gillingham approach with the latest cutting edge research based methods.

For more info on this event or the Burlington PAC please emaildandmmccarron@hotmail.com or call 781-273-5663

October Principal Leadership Article On Technology Integration

Photo via NASSP.org

The October issue of Principal Leadership arrived in the mail this week and it featured a Question and Answer article with the 2012 NASSP Digital Principal Award Winners.  Thanks to NASSP for allowing an opportunity to share some of the wonderful things happening in Burlington.  My two biggest takeaways from this are:

1. I am extremely fortunate to work in a place that supports the integration of technology into our schools.
2. Building a personal learning network (PLN) has been and continues to be the most amazing learning experience. I owe endless gratitude to my PLN for making supporting my learning and helping me have experiences I never dreamed possible.

By the way, while bullet number-one above may depend on where you work, bullet number-two is available to anyone who wants to take advantage of the amazing resources that are available to all learners. 

A Peek At School and Classrooms Through Their Blogs

It is so great to be part of a school community where educators share so much about what is going on within their schools and classrooms. As an administrator, I am frustrated sometimes by the fact that it is impossible to get around and see firsthand all of the wonderful things happening in the Burlington Public School System each day.  But thanks to the growing number of teachers and administrators sharing on websites and blog, I am able to feel like I am in the loop even if I cannot be present to witness all of the neat things occurring in our district daily.

As I a parent, I can only wish that the school system that my children attend provided such wonderful access!

Anyway...Here is a glimpse at some of the things that I saw yesterday as I checked out some of our district's blogs.

From the Marshall Simonds Middle School Blog:
A peek inside our newly renovated middle school.


Tuesday, September 4th 2012 – the eagerly anticipated opening of the new addition and partially completed renovation of Marshall Simonds occurred. When you visit us you will understand why this construction project was well worth the wait. We are proud of the dedicated spirit of the teachers and staff who worked so hard to make the opening of the building and start to the 2012-2013 school year such a success.

Check out a few more pictures from MSMS last week below.










Parents please note our Back to School Nights have been scheduled:

Grade 6 – Tuesday, September 18th, 7pm

Grade 7 – Wednesday, September 19th, 7pm

Grade 8 – Monday, September 24th, 7pm
That evening will give you a chance to see all the changes at Marshall Simonds Middle School.

   From The Pine Glen Principal's Blog:
Hero Assembly 2012

Today (9/11/112) we had our Hero's Assembly at Pine Glen Elementary School.  On this day we say thank you to the police officers and firefighters in our community that help keep us safe.  We also say thank you to the brave men and women in our military forces that keep us safe.  In addition, we remember Lieutenant Commander Thomas McGuinness, an F-14 Fighter Pilot and alumni of Pine Glen Elementary School.  Thomas left our Pine Glen Community on September 11, 2001 when he was acting as the co-pilot of Flight 11. 

In the first picture above is our music teacher, Mrs. Agati, who can been seen directing students in the musical performances.  Other pictures include students holding flags of the different military branches (Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force, Cost Guard), students sitting at the assembly, and Burlington Public Safety Officials.  

My First Post On My New Blog - Let The Learning Continue

It seems like yesterday that I was introduced as the new Principal at BHS, but the reality of it is that five years have passed.  I have been doing a lot of reflecting on what has transpired over the last five years (both personally and professionally).

While five years seems like a very small amount of time, it is quite significant when I look at it with  the lens of a parent. (I have photos to prove it.)
My kids who were 1, 6, and 9 are now 6, 11, and 14. Even scarier is the fact that my oldest will be entering high school next year.

My Three Kids In 2007 

My Three Kids Now

Finishing my thoughts on my own kids is where my personal and professional thinking starts to collide. While five years is a short time for me at this point, it is a huge amount of time for my children (or anyone else's). The growth I have seen physically, emotionally, and intellectually has been amazing to witness. With this thought in mind, I am clearer than ever that we cannot afford to have this valuable time be wasted on meaningless activities. What my kids (and everyone else's) needs is different than what was needed in the past and it is more important than ever that we change the way we define learning in our schools.

Having said this, I am very excited to continue the discussions on learning in my new role as the Assistant Superintendent for Learning.  It is such a great time to be an educator and I couldn't be happier about the fact that I am continuing my career in Burlington.  I feel blessed to have found such a wonderfully supportive community to work in.   This is such a positive place to work as an educator thanks to the support that the town gives its schools and the wonderful students and staff that occupy our classrooms each day.  It is refreshing to be involved in daily discussions surrounding how we can improve learning environments for students and not sin our wheels with distracting discussions that take our focus away from students and learning.

So I am excited to continue my blogging at this new space, which I will use as a space to chronicle my own learning journey and also share the wonderful learning that is taking place throughout our school district. 

Here we go...