Botelle students continue to test well, and be well…
By Ejay Lockwood

The Federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires a statewide
school accountability system. Each school district must prepare and
disseminate annual accountability reports. In Connecticut, school districts
must present the performance of students in mathematics, reading, and
writing (popularly known as the “three R’s”) on the Connecticut Mastery
Test (CMT), and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) as
well as providing information on teachers based on the federal definition of
“highly qualified” teachers.
The state is required to determine if every district is making Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) toward reaching the 2014 goal of having 100 percent
of its student population scoring at or above the Proficient level in
mathematics and reading. The results for the 2007/2008 school year were
recently received by Botelle school.
Connecticut AYP goal for Math: 82%. Botelle scored 98.7%, as compared
to the State average of 90%. The AYP goal for Reading: 79%. Botelle
scored 92.3%, as compared to the State average of 81%. Connecticut
“Additional Academic Indicator” for Writing: 70% at or above Basic.
Botelle met or exceeded this Writing target as well. Additionally, all 12-plus
full-time teachers at Botelle were identified as “highly qualified.”
With all of this good (yet, rather dry) news (congratulations Botelle
administration, staff, and students) it might be tempting to think that if a
school tests well then all is well. Yet there are critics of NCLB and the
standardized tests that feed into it. For example, a recent article in the
Washington Post had this to say: “The law passed with broad bipartisan
support, but people on both sides of the aisle have soured on it, complaining
about the quality of tests, the "pass-fail" system of judging schools and a
focus on reading and math that some say neglects history, the arts and
music.”

Peter Michelson, the new principal at Botelle, acknowledges the importance
of academics as any school’s main function, but also stresses the importance
of educating the “whole child.” “We always expect children to treat each
other and the adults in the school with respect. We work to teach the
children personal responsibility for their work as well as their school
materials. By the time children reach the sixth grade, we expect that they can
be given a multi-step, long-term assignment with a due date and have all of
the assignment completed on time. Reaching this point begins in the pre-
school when we give the children a direction and expect them to follow it.
While the content of the assignment is the main focus of the lessons in the
classroom, the student’s ability to complete work independently is also a key
skill.”
With the focus on academics supported by this culture of respect and
responsibility, the Botelle students can move into other areas of interest,
Michelson adds: “We also provide wonderful opportunities for our children
in the arts. Our students spend time in visual art and vocal music classes
every week. Our amazing PTO brings in outside artists to teach and entertain
our students. Norfolk’s connection to the Yale music program is another
example of the arts coming to our school.”
Additionally, the teachers continually look for opportunities to teach the
children to care about the earth, both through example and direct instruction.
“Each day we inform our students of the amount of energy that we have
created through our new solar panels. We also recycle in their classrooms
and the cafeteria” Micheleson adds.
“All adults at Botelle are teachers. They take pride not only in the academic
lessons that they teach but also in making our students the best people that
they can be,” Micheleson concludes.”