Preston Public Schools

WELCOME TO PRESTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS!

Our district, enrolling approximately 497 students, comprises Preston Veterans Memorial School (PK-5) and Preston Plains Middle School (6-8.) Upon completion of the eighth grade program, Preston students have the option of attending Norwich Free Academy, Ledyard High School, Ledyard Agri-Science High School, Grasso Vocational Technical High School or Norwich Vocational-Technical School.

As a school district, we are committed throughout our organization to ensuring that children receive an excellent education and enjoy their experience in Preston. Ideal teacher-student ratios in conjunction with a focused academic program with appropriate support services are designed to guarantee that every child has a successful experience.

We also place a great deal of emphasis on developing a strong school-home partnership. Parents are welcome in our schools and play an active role as evidenced by the presence of parent volunteers and two active parent-teacher organizations. In addition, a district-level parent advisory council meets with me monthly to identify concerns and address issues. Our efforts always pay dividends and complement my personal commitment to the 4 C’s – communication, coordination, cooperation and collaboration.

As the district’s superintendent, I am also conscious of the importance of creating goals that guide our efforts. Toward that end, the following goals for the 2008-09 school year were approved by the Preston Board of Education and provide a perspective on what we expect to accomplish this year:

SUPERINTENDENT’S GOALS
2008-2009

1. To develop new curricula guides for Board approval in social studies and world languages.

2. To complement the implementation of the standards based student report card in K-5 by piloting a comparable system in grade six and developing standards/benchmarks in the major academic disciplines for grades 7-8.

3. To heterogeneously group all grade six students for instructional purposes.

4. To complete and bring to the Board for its approval a new teacher/administrator evaluation tool for implementation no later than 2009-2010.

5. To improve student performances on the CMT’s (i.e., 80% at Goal/Advanced) by continuing to analyze the results of our students’ performance in order to drive instructional improvement.

6. To continue the process of integrating technology as a tool for instructional improvement and standardizing its availability to all students, K-8.

7. To continue to evaluate the delivery of special education services, including staffing levels, to ensure that eligible students receive the services they require in the most cost effective manner possible.

8. To assist the Board of Education in finalizing its review of the board’s Policy Manual.

9. To develop the Fiscal Year 2010 operating and capital budgets.

10. To increase student/staff participation in the district’s food services
program.

11. To incorporate television technologies available at both schools with
particular emphasis on the implementation of the TV Studio at PPMS.

12. To assess the instructional model in place at PPMS as further described
in the Board’s Superintendent Evaluation document (July 14, 2008).

13. To assess the school culture in Preston as further described in the
Board’s Superintendent Evaluation document (July 14, 2008).

In conclusion, I am delighted that you chose to visit our web page and take a tour. Upon completion of the tour, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would like further information about Preston Public Schools.