By Colleen Gundlach

Good things are happening on the hill in Winsted. Too often we read news accounts about schools that are failing to meet our children’s needs and about teachers who don’t care. We need to hear about the exceptional outcomes and imaginative, creative methods being employed to provide top-notch education to students, especially those in our town.
Norfolk’s high school students are attending a school that has been ranked as one of the best in Connecticut by the U.S. News & World Report. The silver ranking was given recently to Northwestern Regional #7, based on data analyzed by School Evaluation Services (SES), a research firm run by Standard & Poor’s. Criteria for the award included how well the school serves all of the students, state proficiency exam scores, and the number of students taking advanced placement and college-level classes. According to the SES Web site, 98.3% of the students at the school have reached proficiency in reading and 97.2% in mathematics. Under the guidance of Principal Wayne Conner and Superintendent Clint Montgomery, the school’s scores have risen steadily over the past two years.
This is the third year in a row that Northwestern has been recognized for its excellence. In 2008 and again in 2009 it has rank among the top high schools in the state by Connecticut Magazine. When asked in 2008 about this award, Conner commented that the school has been “getting better and better.” He apparently was correct, because the school continues to gain recognition and awards. Conner, who has been an educator at Regional for more than 25 years, seven as principal, has recently announced his intention to retire. We hope that his successor will have the same dedication and commitment to providing an atmosphere conducive to learning and growing academically as Connor has been able to achieve.
Northwestern is also taking the initiative in protecting the environment and in teaching students skills they will need in industries of the future. See Veronica Burns’ story on page _____ about the implementation of alternative energy at the school.
Creative ways to provide enrichment to the students of Regional are being pursued outside of the school as well. Representatives from each of the Regional district towns, led by Gregory Cantwell of Barkhamsted, have formed the Highlander Fund, an “effort to provide a stable source of funding for non-required school programs such as fine and performing arts, academics, clubs and other extra-curricular activities,” according to their Web site. It is an independent foundation that raises and disburses funds for educational opportunities. Joseph Veronesi is Norfolk’s representative to the group.
The Highlander Fund’s current project is to raise funds for permanent housing for an observatory recently donated to the school by a Norfolk couple. Since the telescope is sensitive to temperature, it has to be dismantled and taken outside each time the students use it. The fund hopes to not only raise money for the observatory facility, but also to provide grant funding as well. Their goal is for the building to include a retractable roof as well as weather instruments and a small classroom.
In the future, the Highlander Fund hopes to be able endow a robotics program. This course was proposed by the Board of Education recently but was a victim of budgetary cuts. The fund anticipates a one-time cost of $10,000 to implement the classes. This project is in the drawing-board stage right now, but the hope is that it will soon be a reality.
This group has taken very seriously its mission to provide educational opportunities above and beyond budgetary constraints and are looking for new ideas. Suggestions for future projects are welcome, by e-mail at cantwellgreg@yahoo.com. Donations may be sent to Highlander Fund, PO Box 898, Winsted.