News & Notes

Thanks from Ruth Charney

When NEFC co-founder Ruth Sidney Charney retired last fall after twenty-five years of service, NEFC invited teachers to send notes and other expressions of how the Responsive Classroom approach has touched their lives or the lives of the children they teach. These were compiled for presentation to Ruth to honor her lifelong dedication to children and teachers. Following is a letter from Ruth thanking all those who sent remembrances.

Dearest Colleagues.

Thank you, thank you for your wonderful memories, artifacts, pictures, stories and (thank goodness) jokes. I allow myself frequent short voyages into the collection. I get to smile, to well up a bit (or a lot), to almost wish I were back in the classroom and to feel that fuzzy warmth of knowing you are there creating those “habits of goodness.” It is the perfect gift for one, such as myself, who loves to read, to read alone, and sometimes to share a little “bring and brag” with company. I hope at some point you can all see the magnificent “box” that contains these treasures and enjoy the feast of all of our accomplishments.

                        With love and gratitude, Ruth

New Hampshire Teacher Wins NEFC Scholarship

This past July, Maureen Desrosiers, a second grade teacher from Lamprey River Elementary School in Raymond, New Hampshire, attended a Responsive Classroom II week-long institute—for free. Maureen was the first winner of the Ruth Sidney Charney scholarship, established to honor the recently retired Northeast Foundation for Children co-founder and author of Teaching Children to Care.

Maureen credits the Responsive Classroom approach with transforming her classroom from “teacher nurturing students, which was often exhilarating but exhausting, to students teaching and nurturing each other.” As she refines and deepens her Responsive Classroom practice, Maureen especially looks forward to learning more about Academic Choice.

Each year, one teacher ready for advanced Responsive Classroom training will be chosen by lottery from the pool of applicants to receive the Ruth Sidney Charney scholarship. Information on how to apply is available each spring at www.responsiveclassroom.org.

NEFC Book Wins Award

NEFC has won an Independent Publisher Book Award, also known as an IPPY, for Creating a Safe and Friendly School. Published in 2006, the book offers seventeen articles on how elementary educators have helped children manage their behavior outside classrooms—on buses and playgrounds and in hallways, bathrooms, lunchrooms, and other school spaces.

The IPPY Award recognizes independent, university, small press, and self publishers, who compete from all over the United States, Canada, and many other countries. Entered along with some 3,400 other books in sixty-five categories, Safe and Friendly earned a silver medal in the Education/Academic/Teaching category. NEFC has earned past IPPY honors for Classroom Spaces That Work (winner), The First Six Weeks of School (finalist), and Boys and Girls Together (finalist).

Massachusetts School Raises Test Scores, Wins State Recognition

Four Corners Elementary School in Greenfield, Massachusetts, earned recognition as a Commonwealth Compass School—one of only thirty-eight across the entire state in 2007. Principal Gail Healy notes that several years of hard work by staff and students preceded the gains in standardized test scores that led to the award. According to Gail, the Responsive Classroom approach played a significant role in the school’s success. “We have a Responsive Classroom community of adults,” says Healy, “who trust and work well with each other.”

The Compass award recognizes Four Corners’ success in raising performance levels for a student population that is 49% disadvantaged. Scores on standardized tests went up for two consecutive years, exceeding the state’s “adequate yearly progress” benchmark in both years. For 2005/6, scores were up 16.7 points in math and 9.7 points in language arts.

In February, school representatives traveled to Boston for a celebratory lunch with governor Deval Patrick and received a $2,500 grant to help sustain their improvement efforts. In the following months, Four Corners staff participated in educational conferences at which they shared their ideas for school improvement.

Mauricio Barberi Joins NEFC Board

Mauricio Barberi, senior vice president of marketing at Mobius, Inc., a company that provides enterprise archiving and records management software, joined the NEFC Board of Directors this spring. With a strong background in marketing and finance, Mauricio brings further diversity to the range of expertise represented on the Board. Mauricio had been considering ways that he might use his skills in service to education and is “thrilled with the opportunity to contribute to an organization with such an important mission.”

“Mauricio’s strong business background, along with his enthusiasm and commitment to education, make him a wonderful addition to the board,” says NEFC executive director Roxann Kriete. “We look forward to the contributions his experience and talents will enable him to make.”

Three New Staff Members

NEFC welcomed three new staff members this spring: Arlenin Perez Dushku, director of Administration and Finance (center in photo), oversees NEFC’s human resources, business, finance, plant and property, and technology areas. Before joining NEFC, Arlenin served as acting director of Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools in Washington, DC.

Allison Evans, administrative assistant in Research and Service Design (left in photo), helps with communications regarding Responsive Classroom school services and provides other administrative support. Allison brings former experience as a guidance counselor and early intervention worker.

Lindsey VanIderstine, financial assistant in Administration and Finance (right in photo), works as part of a team to make sure that all of NEFC’s financial practices and procedures are well implemented. Lindsey recently completed her associate’s degree in accounting and comes with experience in customer service.

More than 2,000 Educators Attend Responsive Classroom Institutes

This summer, 2,200 educators attended the 2007 Responsive Classroom week-long institutes offered in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Participants from as far away as Alaska, Israel, and China deepened their Responsive Classroom knowledge in RC I (comprehensive overview of Responsive Classroom principles and practices), RC II (more intensive look at key practices and classroom problem solving), LIT (applying Responsive Classroom strategies to literacy teaching), and PEI (applying Responsive Classroom strategies to the playground and PE settings).