Kalyn Sandia Choma, a junior in the UConn NEAG Program for Special Education was named a 2013 New England Scholar. She was selected because her grade point average was at least a 3.7 for the 2013 spring and fall semesters.

Twenty local early childhood education professionals received training on the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment on Feb. 20. The program was  hosted by Honey Bear Learning Center.

Programs represented were Franklin School Preschool, Stratford YMCA Preschool, Cheyenne’s Early Learning Center, Grace Childcare Center, St. James Preschool, and Honey Bear Learning Center. Donna Delohery of the Connecticut Accreditation Facilitation Project (AFP) Southwest Region was the training facilitator.

“Hosting this training was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with and form new relationships with fellow directors and educators of preschool programs in Stratford, said Honey Bear Director, Catherine Vanicky. “I am delighted that they could join us for this community experience, and we all are looking forward to future collaboration.”

According to Vanicky, the training supports a NAEYC Criterion which states: All teaching staff know and use ethical guidelines in their conduct as members of the early childhood profession. The NAEYC Code sets forth a framework of professional responsibilities for relationships with children, families, colleagues and the community.

During the presentation, Delohery stated to attendees, “A profession is guided by a code of ethics. Early childhood educators are guided by the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct. As we educate the youngest members of our community, we too are growing as adult learners. Through training workshops and pursuit of college degrees we work toward continuous quality improvement in early learning experiences.”

NAEYC recognizes that those who work with young children face many daily decisions that have moral and ethical implications. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education. The Statement of Commitment is a personal acknowledgment of an individual’s willingness to embrace the distinctive values and moral obligations of the field of early childhood care and education.

To find an NAEYC accredited program or for more information, visit NAEYC’s website www.NAEYC.org. The Accreditation Facilitation Project is an initiative of the Office of Early Childhood which provides training and support to early childhood programs throughout the state on best practices and the national standards of NAEYC.

Shakespeare Academy @ Stratford, a new summer theater program for college students, recently announced this week that the Mighty Quinn Foundation will provide two full scholarships and one partial scholarship for deserving students to attend the inaugural program this summer in Stratford.

Mighty Quinn Foundation is a Stratford-based 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to the enhancement of the educational and theatrical experiences of young adults. The awards will be known as the Quinn Rooney Shakespeare Scholarships.

Founded in 2012, the Mighty Quinn Foundation honors the passion for learning and love of theatre of Quinn Rooney, a lifelong Stratford resident who passed away from a rare form of brain cancer in June 2012 at the age of 19. In his memory, the Foundation provides scholarships and theatre study programs for high school and college students.

Chris Rooney, chair of the Mighty Quinn Foundation, and Sue Wright, the board president, stated that they are delighted that the Foundation will fund these scholarships in memory of their son Quinn.

“Quinn would have loved to attend a program like Shakespeare Academy @ Stratford and to meet the many talented teachers and students who will be gathered there this summer. He would have wanted us to help others to attend so they could enjoy the program as well.”

Shakespeare Academy @ Stratford will be six-week educational intensive on the grounds of the former American Shakespeare Festival Theater in Stratford. Students will take daily classes in Shakespeare performance and contemporary ensemble theater-making. The program will culminate in the production of two Shakespeare plays in repertory Cymbeline and Hamlet.

Applicants will be considered for a scholarship on a rolling basis. All college students, graduating high school seniors, and recent college graduates are welcome and encouraged to apply.

The final application deadline is April 23. For more information on Shakespeare Academy @ Stratford and scholarship application details, visit shakespeareacademystratford.org.

The Wilcoxson PTSA and The Shelton Sports Center are offering a fun family night for Wilcoxson families, friends, extended families and the greater Stratford community on Friday, March 28, from 5:30-8 p.m.

Attendees will receive a bracelet at The Shelton Sports Center which will allow those wearing the bracelets to participate as many times as they would like in golf, mini golf, fun bowl, batting cages, lazer tag (until 7 p.m.), and four tokens per person to use at the Game Zone.

This event is a fund-raiser for the Wilcoxson Elementary School PTSA to help fund activities and programs for the School.

Cost is $65 for a family of four or $20 per person.

For more information, contact Raquel Fetchin, Wilcoxson School PTSA president, Wilcoxsonptacopresidents@gmail.com.

University of New Haven: Matthew Blumstein, master of science, environmental science; McCarthy Breedy, master of science, industrial engineering.

Marquette University: Eric Takeda, bachelor of science in finance.

Centenary College: Brendan Williams, bachelor of science.

Rhode Island College: Michaela Kascak.

Berkeley College: Malyna Reid.

Siena College: Lindsay Rogers, psychology, president’s list; Marybeth Condon, liberal arts, dean’s list.

Wagner College: Lauryn B. Shirra.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Alexandra Hudak, mechanical engineering; Shaun Morrissey, civil engineering.

Franklin Pierce University: Haley Nelson, freshman.

Boston University: David Y. Jackson.

The Stratford public schools and Town of Stratford Community Services are sponsoring the annual Movin’ On Up for rising sixth grade students and their families. Students and families are invited to attend the event at the middle school they will attend in the fall 2014:

Wooster Middle School on Wednesday, April 2; and Flood Middle School on Tuesday, April 8.

Movin’ On Up explores the social and emotional transitions that occur when students make the move from elementary to middle school.

Both programs are 6:30-8 p.m. For more information and to register, contact Anna Gasinski by calling 203-385-4095, or by email agasinski@townofstratford.com.

Jennifer Therien received her associate’s degree in dental hygiene magna cum laude from the University of Bridgeport in May of 2013. She passed her boards and is a licensed dental hygienist.

She is in her first semester senior year at the University of Bridgeport pursuing a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene. She also was named to the president’s list honors, all but her first semester of freshman year.

Bunnell High School classes of 1974 and 1975 will hold a combined 40-year class reunion on Saturday, July 5, from 6 to 10 p.m., at the Riverview Bistro, Ferry Boulevard in Stratford.

For more information, contact Bob Cardellichio at Bunnell1975@aol.com.

Trumbull High School class of 1974 will celebrate their 40th reunion on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 7 to 11 p.m., at Molto Bene, 557 Wakelee Avenue, Ansonia.

For more information go to Trumbull High School Class of 74 Reunion Group on Facebook.

Notre Dame Girls High School, Class of 1969, formerly of Bridgeport, is planning its 45th reunion to be held on Sept. 27, 2014 at the Fairchild Wheeler Room at Vazzy’s at the Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course in Fairfield. Tickets are $50 per person.

If you are a classmate or have contact information for any other classmates, contact Linda Griffin Bayusik or Elaine Gaul Hyland at NDGirls1969@gmail.com.

Erin Milner earned high honors at Sacred Heart Academy.

“English is a great language, but it’s part of the problem.”

Words of wisdom from Margie Gillis , project director at the Haskins Literacy Initiative at Yale University , delivered earlier this month to a room of parents and educators at Royle School. Gillis’s visit was sponsored by the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee, and she spoke for roughly two hours about dyslexia being both a blessing and a curse.

As with any learning disability, teachers make the biggest difference with students and their ability to learn, Gillis said.

“They are the most important variable,” she said.

Gillis’s husband, daughter and son all have dyslexia, which is condition where a person has difficulty pulling apart the sounds of words. It is not an intellectual disability, and there is a growing amount of evidence showing the dyslexic mind has distinct advantages.

“This has nothing to do with intelligence,” Gillis said. “But when peers [learn to read] seemingly effortlessly, you start thinking, ‘There’s got to be something wrong with me and it must be that I’m dumb.’”

“Knowing and telling your children that your mind is different, it’s not bad or worse,” is crucial to maintaining their self-esteem and interest in learning, Gillis said.

Some of the difficulties that come with dyslexia remain with a person for life. Gillis’s husband, for example, is a terrible speller, especially with certain words, she said.

“You learn to read as a dyslexic,” she said. “It’s the spelling that’s a stickler.”

Gillis began her talk by noting that 95% of people can learn to read, and said “literacy is the language of opportunity.”

Conversely, illiteracy is directly related to anti-social behavior. Ten to 15% of children with serious reading problems will drop out of high school, and about half of youth with criminal records or with a history of substance abuse have reading problems, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Additionally, 70% of prisoners fall into the lowest two levels of reading proficiency. For those who are released from prison, recidivism rates vary widely between those who get help reading and those who do not. Inmates have a 16% chance of returning to prison if they receive literacy help, as opposed to 70% who receive no help.

While Gillis did not discuss this element, known as the schoolhouse-to-jailhouse pipeline, she mentioned that written language is not a biological function of our brain, which makes its very existence antithetical to human nature. Speech, by contrast, is a biological function.

“Written language is largely a cultural invention,” Gillis said, quoting her Haskins colleague Ken Pugh. “Moreover, spoken language is mastered naturally in almost all people, without direct instruction, but reading is difficult and reading failure occurs in large numbers of children across all written languages.”

Symptoms of dyslexia vary, but consist mostly of an inability to decode printed words [see chart at end of story for list of symptoms by age group].

The earliest warning signs involve preschool children who have difficulty learning numbers or letters, are prone to reversing words or forgetting colors or days of the week, and are slow with developing oral language skills. Dyslexia can be inherited, according to the National Institute of Health, and many cases of dyslexia are genetically determined, Gillis said.

Dyslexic brains also show different activation patterns when examined under an MRI scan.

In normal readers, the brain’s frontal lobe and temporoparietal junction are excited while reading a passage, but dyslexic readers have little to no activation in the temporoparietal region, which is partially responsible for collecting and processing visual information.

Gillis is quick to warn, however, that there is no single part of the brain responsible for dyslexic thinking patterns. She also said that it’s rare to find a case of “classic dyslexia,” where the person’s only disability is dyslexia. Many children who have dyslexia also have attention deficit hyperactive disorder, memory problems and language processing disorders.

Roughly 15 to 20% of Americans — up to 60 million people — have some form of dyslexia, according to research at the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity . Teaching dyslexic children can be difficult, but research from the National Reading Panel found that phonics instruction is more effective than other methods. Phonics is the use of the sounds of letters and combinations of letters to help with reading.

Gillis discussed a variety of teaching techniques to help children with dyslexia learn to read, such as picture sorts, “Blachman, Road to the Code,” Elkonin boxes, and the Lindamood phoneme sequencing program.

Parents and teachers should not encourage memorization of sight words, but should instead work on developing the student’s ability to read using “decodable text,” Gillis said. Accuracy should be a priority over speed, and educators should understand that oral reading is difficult for most students.

The reading expert, who also runs Literacy How and is a co-founder and current board president of Smart Kids with LD , noted that dyslexic people are often exceptional at spatial analysis, mechanical aptitude, creative problem-solving, visualization, artistic expression and athletics.

But she warned that sometimes schools misunderstand what dyslexia is. This is partially due to the inability of the state or federal governments to define dyslexia as an actual disorder. Federal and state legislation are pending to define dyslexia, spearheaded by the Bipartisan Congressional Dyslexia Caucus .

Because of this lack of a definition, there is also a lack of understanding, Gillis said. Sometimes a school will tell a parent to be patient and give the child time, which is often bad advice.

“If parents don’t feel it’s right, don’t let the teacher or administration tell you, ‘Don’t worry, give it some time,’” Gillis said. “That’s not right I tell parents you know your child better than anyone You have to say, ‘I know my child as a parent. Here, let me help you know my child better.’”

Gillis emphasized that working collaboratively as a team with parents and educators is crucial to ensuring all kids learn how to read.

More info: EmbracingDyslexia.com , DyslexicAdvantage.com , LiteracyHow.com , CAST.org , LearningOrally.org , BookShare.org , ReadEasy.si.edu

The fifth annual Sterling House Youth Character and Leadership Day, a program for students in grades 9 through 12 who will be actively engaged in skill development, will be Thursday, April 17, at Sterling House from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Advance registration is required by April 12.

The day will begin with a light breakfast during arrival. It will include development sessions from professionals including Wally Hauck of Optimum Leadership, Inc. Anita Taylor of Anita & Company LLC, and Daniel Blanchard, teaching consultant at UConn’s Writing Project and author of the Granddaddy Secrets series. We will also incorporate a pizza lunch break.

This is Blanchard’s fourth year speaking at Sterling House’s Youth Character and Leadership Day, and will be Hauck’s and Taylor’s fifth year presenting at the program. Blanchard has earned seven degrees, teaches social sciences at Connecticut’s largest inner city secondary school. Hauck holds a doctorate in organizational leadership and a master’s in business administration and has lead his firm, Optimum Leadership for over 17 years. Taylor is President and COO of her firm, Anita and Company and a long time volunteer with the Girl Scouts.

The development sessions will cover many interrelated aspects of Character and Leadership Education including Knowing Yourself and Trusting Yourself, Decision Making, Goal Setting, Time Management, Networking, Communication, Motivation, and the Benefits of Community Service. In addition to this event being a resume builder for students, leadership development skills also provide young adults with the necessary problem solving and communication skills needed in today’s work force.

For more information and to register, contact Bob Wargo at 203-378-2606 or rwargo@sterlinghousecc.org.

Even Fernandes, a seventh grader at St. Mark School in Stratford, is the winner of the 10th annual Matthew Chiappetta Memorial Scholarship award at Crystal Theatre in Norwalk. The winner receives a full year’s tuition to all Crystal Theatre camps and classes. Each runner-up receives free tuition to one Crystal camp or class.

The Matthew Chiappetta Scholarship is funded by donations from family and friends of the Chiappetta’s as well as the Shining Angel Bowl-a-thon which was held last month at the AMF Rip Van Winkle Lanes in Norwalk, CT. Matthew Chiappetta was a much-loved student at Crystal Theatre who participated in more than 25 productions in his short life. He passed away suddenly on March 6, 2004 and this scholarship was established in his memory.

Crystal Theatre Inc. is an independent, not-for-profit performing arts school founded by Cheryl and Alexandrea Kemeny, David Jackins and Mariner Pezza in 1987. Its mission is to train students in the techniques of musical theater, produce and promote original works and provide performance opportunities for those who might otherwise not have a chance to sing, dance and act on stage.

Each year the group teaches an average of 700 students ages four to 21 and has entertained more than 100,000 audience members by producing 15 to 20 shows annually. The material for all productions is written to fit the ability levels of the youngsters in each class and to allow them to explore different roles and to try on new personalities. During productions, each student has the opportunity to participate as both a principal player and in a supporting role.

Mayor John Harkins’ 2015 Town Budget Proposal includes a $2,306,499 increase for Stratford Public Schools, 2.4%, which covers the schools’ $1,235,735 requested increase for personnel benefits and the $1,070,764 requested for salary increases (union and non-union). This follows the BOE’s request for an overall increase of $5.2 million.

While the allocation of monies within the schools’ total budget is determined by the BOE and not the mayor, Schools’ Chief Operating Officer Clarence Zachery sees no increases in the mayor’s proposed budget for books and computers or for the contractual transportation expense increase.

Another increase that was not specifically provided by the mayor’s proposal is $771,000 for special education. The Stratford Public Schools’ special education program, which serves students with disabilities, was found to be lacking in many areas — including educational benefit for the students — according to a November 2013 report by an outside auditing company. (See The Star, Jan. 31, page 1.)
Undergoing an audit of special education was urged by the mayor’s office last year.

According to Zachery, the BOE will have to make cuts elsewhere in its budget in order to find additional monies for things like computers and special education, if the mayor’s budget is passed by the Town Council as proposed.

A presentation of real life stories and facts about underage drinking — Talk Early, Talk Often — will be held for all current Stratford high school freshmen and their families Tuesday, April 1, from 7-8 p.m., at Bunnell High School auditorium. All freshmen who attend will receive a homework pass and a chance to win door prizes.

This freshman forum is a community event sponsored by Stratford Partnerships For Success (PFS) Coalition, Stratford Youth and Family Advisory Board and Stratford Public Schools.

Childcare and transportation will be available for those attending the forum. Space in the childcare is limited so call 203-385-4095 to reserve your spot.

For more information and to register, contact Stratford High School main office at 203-385-4230 or Bunnell High School main office at 203-385-4250.

Unlike the Town Hall side of Stratford’s 2015 budget proposal, where scheduled wage increases for workers are public information on the town’s website (see The Star, March 20, page 1), the Board of Education is not revealing scheduled increases for non-union positions while the budget is pending approval.

BOE Chief Operating Officer Clarence Zachery said that until the schools receive an approved budget, monies for possible wage increases for non-union staff and union staff whose contracts are being negotiated are clustered into a contingency account.

Zachery said that a general number built into the BOE’s budget request for non-union wage increases is “either flat or 2% to 3%.”

Town Hall’s wage increases drew attention because some increases are between 8% and 25%. Those proposed increases will leave the salaries below some non-union positions in the schools central office.

Current salaries levels under the BOE budget include the superintendent at $185,000, executive assistant to the superintendent at $63,240, assistant superintendent at $140,084, and the chief operating officer at $140,000.

The director of technology receives $147,332, the director of pupil personnel services receives $147,332, and the director of personnel 150,000.

The personnel manager/consultant to the superintendent gets $120,000; the coordinator literacy, K-6, gets $99,114; the coordinator fine arts, physical education and health, K-12, receives $106,940.00; and a grants administrator is paid $81,375.

Town council members, state legislators, members of the Stratford Board of Education and the general public joined in a forum last Wednesday to discuss the impact of implementing Common Core standards in Stratford schools. Outdated technology, the impact on student achievement and teacher evaluations were key issues addressed.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative (Common Core) is a framework that aims to establish consistent education standards across the country and ensure that students are college- and workforce-ready. The U.S. education initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and has been adopted fully in 45 states.

Rep. Laura Hoydick (R-120) introduced forum participants, including Dr. Janet Robinson, school superintendent; State Sen. Kevin Kelly (R-21); Robert Chaloux, Board of Education vice chairman, and Joseph Gresko, a spokesperson for State Rep. Terry Backer (D-121). Ten people in total were in attendance. Robinson opened the forum with an overview of the Common Core in the district.

Testing and evaluating
Districts were given the option to take the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test this year or wait until next year, when all schools must administer the SBAC. Robinson explained that the Stratford district opted to participate this year despite the fact that “we will not get any diagnostic information back to say how our students are doing.” SBAC replaces the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT).

This year’s test is a “field test” for Stratford being used to help create norms, she said.

Robinson said that the new required teacher evaluation system is a “primary part of the stress” of implementing Common Core for several reasons. First, the new system requires, on average, five hours per teacher per evaluation. Additionally, the standards for the evaluation go beyond administrative observations and reports.

Forty-five percent of the evaluations is now based on student achievement, measured in part by SBAC and in part by a local test “of some type,” Robinson said.

Forty percent is based on administrative observations, with the balance from parent surveys and professional contributions.

“Stratford has always done a good job evaluating teachers. In the past, every teacher has been evaluated every year. But not all districts have been so diligent. … [The State Board of Education is] creating solutions because of worst case scenarios,” Robinson said.

The evaluations are an example of how the implementation of SBAC and Common Core standards are both “cumbersome” and costly, Robinson said. District teachers needed five days of additional training this year, with four additional days’ training for administrators.

Additionally, new curriculum needs to be written to create classroom learning to fit the Common Core framework, she said. “We pay for curriculum writing. We’ll be working over the summer to try to catch up. Are these things that could have been done better? [Common Core] has some benefits, but if I were queen of the world, I would have done it differently, said Stratford’s superintendent. “I would have gotten educators to make the framework, and I would have started at kindergarten … and integrated it gradually.”

Technology question
Concerns about the Stratford schools’ aging computer technology were a large part of the evening’s conversation. The SBAC test is administered via computer and takes between five and seven hours for each student to complete.

“We don’t know if our nine-year-old computers will run on it,” Robinson said. “You have to have everything up and running. We think we are going to crash.”

Stratford Board of Education Secretary Jancee Pust-Marcone said the cost to install wi-fi in the elementary schools, alone, is estimated at $250,000. There was some grant money made available for technology improvements “but it is not enough,” Pust-Marcone said.

Sen. Kelly said there is a wide gap between the cutting edge technology that the tests are built on and the technology he sees in many local school systems. “We are behind the eight-ball when it comes to technology,” Kelly said. “When you leave the public sector, you have smartphones and iPads, and you see what they can do. When you see what you have to work with in education, you ask, how are we going to bridge that gap?”

Councilwoman Stephanie Philips (D-2) suggested possible opportunities for partnering with AT&T, Verizon or utility companies to improve technology resources in a more affordable way. But, she said, it would likely only be cost effective on a state level, buying into negotiated contracts and providing allocations.
“We can begin discussions with companies we already do business with,” Philips said. “It would be difficult for Dr. Robinson herself to call up and get what she needs. It would take someone at the state level to have that kind of conversation.”

Members of the public questioned whether SBAC tests could be taken on pencil and paper, and Chaloux referenced SBAC results from the state of Kentucky, the first state to implement Common Core. In 2011-2012 school year in Kentucky, according to Education Week, the number of students that scored “proficient” or better in reading and math dropped by roughly a third or more in both elementary and middle schools when taking the SBAC.

“They had the same kind of results in New York,” Chaloux said.

The original idea
In answering a public question about how the mandate is funded and how State Board of Education decided to go forward with Common Core, Hoydick said that the State Board of Education passed the mandate for schools to take the SBAC in 2010. She said that though the state legislature votes for funding for the state board, the board sets policy.

“Though we fund, [Common Core] is not our policy,” Hoydick said. “I don’t want to say it’s not our fault, but it is out of our control. The bottom line is, however, this is about student achievement. I think the National Governor’s Association assessed and said, ‘These kids are not ready.’ That is how it started to be adopted.”
Hoydick said she felt that the underlying concept of assuring achievement and working toward equity was the right idea. “It is probably a good thing that all students have the same opportunities, but what about student achievement? I am really concerned about what are our next steps and how do we address it.”

Delay?
When questioned about Gov. Dannel Malloy’s recent statewide attempt to slow the implementation of the SBAC, Robinson said, “This is March. The train has left the station. I think we are looking at this field test as a freebie. If we don’t do well — if the system doesn’t do well — then it is proof that it isn’t working.”

Pust-Marcone said: “At the very least, we are going to get a lot of data about our technology needs.”

Robinson said that while the schools are working to implement these standards, she is working to implement a “proven” method for improving classroom performance that does not cost anything except “time and effort.” The technique involves administrators from across the schools examining — not evaluating — current classroom instruction in a variety of classes, laying out what they observe, and deciding what they can do to “ratchet it up.”

“We are going to have common agreement on good instruction practices. It will take us a couple years, but that is where we are headed,” Robinson said. “The Common Core is providing us with content. If you have quality content and that intersects with quality instruction, you will be successful. We have got to have good content and good instruction in every room. We will get there.”

Schools Superintendent Dr. Janet Robinson, center, makes opening remarks in a forum on Common Core implementation. Joseph Gresko, Robert Chaloux, Rep. Laura Hoydick, and Sen. Kevin Kelly also were panelists. Elizabeth G. Howard photo.

The Stratford Board of Education Early Learning Services offers special education preschool services for eligible Stratford children ages three through five, and one of the program’s highlights is Come Play With Us, at Second Hill Lane School.

Come Play With Us provides opportunities for the children to work and play with non-disabled children. This program provides developmentally appropriate preschool experiences for all. Parents will be responsible for transportation to and from the program.

For more information contact Early Learning Services at Second Hill Lane School, 203-381-2030.

St. James School will hold a summer camp for ages 3-4, July 7 through Aug. 1, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the school building.

Cost is $135 a week with a registration fee of $25.

For more information, call the school office at 203-375-5994 or visit stjamesstratford.org.

Stratford Public Schools is participating in Child Find — a project to identify young people with special education needs.

Federal and State regulations require that all disabled children be identified, located and evaluated from birth through age 21. In Connecticut, services are provided to qualified children who have attained the age of three.

Disabling conditions may include hearing, physical, neurological and visual impairments, specific learning disabilities, mental retardation, speech/language disorders, social/emotional disturbance, and specific health impairment.

For children from 0-5 years of age, contact the Early Learning Services at Second Hill Lane School, by calling 203-381-2030.

For children 5-21 years of age, the inquiries can be addressed to the principal of your neighborhood school.