Superintendent's Message
Dear Wilbur and McMahon School Community,
It is an honor to be a part of educating and nurturing Little Compton's most precious resource — our children, as they grow and develop into their best and highest selves.
As your school superintendent, I am committed to building on and advancing the academic rigor, curriculum relevance, and healthy relationships that Wilbur McMahon School is known for. This work requires the participation of the entire school community as, together, we live our shared commitment to educational excellence. What does educational excellence actually look like? Well, I see it as an active process that prioritizes school Safety, student Engagement, and student Achievement. As Little Compton is a town surrounded by the sea, I have come to call our shared mission to further advance Wilbur McMahon School our "SEA of objectives."
Please link to SY 2020 to 2022 Successes : my staff and I compiled an updated, post-pandemic (COVID is now in a state of endemicity) list of the numerous safety, engagement, and achievement initiatives and accomplishments of the past few years. None of it would be possible without your participation.
In partnership,
Dr. Laurie Dias-Mitchell
Contact
I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.
401.592.0363
SUPERINTENDENT GOALS 2022-23
SAFETY
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Follow CDC and RIDOH guidelines to promote the health and safety of all students and staff.
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Continue to implement safety recommendations of the Safety Subcommittee as adopted by the School Committee.
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Develop/implement a 5-year plan for capital improvements ($50K grant/$4.5 million in projects).
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Ensure the most efficient utilization of human resources to promote campus safety (i.e. Front-Office workflows, Frontline, PayChex, Aspen Logistics module, Aspen “Alerts”).
BUDGET
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Create and monitor a budget that is closely-aligned with school and district goals.
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Attend all town board meetings related to the budget process (i.e. Budget Committee, Town Council).
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Generate the annual LCSD Budget Message for Financial Town Meeting.
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Research and pursue grant opportunities when applicable.
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Write/monitor all federal grants.
SCHOOL CULTURE
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Review existing policies, procedures, and programming with an emphasis on continuing to improve and/or increase the following:
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Equity for all students by facilitating and inspiring students engaged in-person learning as well as learning in remote and socially-distanced classroom environments
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Parental involvement and whole-school initiatives that include the intercultural development of students and staff
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Social Emotional Learning programs that proactively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion while also developing children’s skills for recognizing and managing emotions, empathy, positive relationships, and problem solving (i.e. Restorative Practices, Open Circle, Choose Love/Advisory)
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Employee Wellness/ Employee Assistance Programming (i.e. AllOne Health employee assistance program and The Trust’s Health Matters Program, Headspace)
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CURRICULUM & ASSESSMENT
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Support the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program and continue teacher training.
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Collaborate with Wilbur McMahon School’s administration/ILT to monitor statewide testing and identify curriculum gaps related to the district’s performance.
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Explore best practices in all instructional areas, including ways to leverage resources (including IT) to enhance student learning.
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Promote differentiated instructional practices for students in PK-8 with an emphasis on student engagement and achievement by leveraging the following:
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Stations/learning centers in classrooms where students spend time doing specific tasks. Each center has a different task or goal and students may rotate through some or all of the stations during the lesson. Stations allow for student-centered and differentiated learning and also engage students in cooperative learning.
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i-Ready online interim assessment module and instruction module (when appropriate) which provides all students with a path to proficiency and growth in reading and mathematics
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Enrichment opportunities within and outside of the school
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Xello (grades 6-8) which builds self-knowledge, personalized learning plans, and critical life skills
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IXL for adaptive skills across the content areas designed to support and challenge every learner
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Kiddom helps schools and districts close achievement gaps with high-quality digital curriculum on a flexible platform for teaching and learning, in any environment
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Zearn for math which builds “on-ramps” to grade-level (K-5) content and remediation support into all parts of students’ core instructional learning to further differentiate instruction and meet student needs
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Generation Genius lessons are such that they resonate with more students, as they target visual, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic senses, instead of only one
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Explore is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes.
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HMH Online brings together on-demand professional development, students' assessment data, and relevant practice and instruction.
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Thinklink (FOSS/SEPUP Lab Aids)
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Scholastic Super Science, Scholastic Story Works, Scholastic News
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5. Collaborate with Wilbur McMahon School administration/ILT to review curriculum annually, working to align with Portsmouth as appropriate.
POLICY & PROCEDURE
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Collaborate with the Policy Sub Committee to update the policy manual.
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Monitor the Wilbur McMahon School Improvement Plan process.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
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Support timely communication between staff/administration and students/parents/community (i.e. ParentSquare).
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Establish and promote good governance and chain of command (i.e. BoardDocs).
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Administer Surveys or otherwise gather data to include any of the following groups:
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Current Little Compton high school students attending Portsmouth at the end of freshman year (Freshman Academic Admin)
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In-district families who choose to leave WMS (Counselor/Social Worker)
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Out-of-district tuition families who choose to leave WMS (Counselor/Social Worker)
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Collaborate with members of the community and organizations who want to be involved in the school and look for opportunities for community support.
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Collaborate with stakeholders to implement a marketing/awareness campaign to increase enrollment of non-resident students.