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Somers highlights global citizenship, world-language and digital-literacy work in mid‑year report
Summary
District directors presented the global‑citizenship component of the Forward and Excellence mid‑year report, describing classroom projects, the IB middle years authorization, world language pilots, digital‑citizenship work and interim assessment results (STAR).
Liz Turner, director of learning — elementary, and Tara Kearns, director of learning — secondary, presented the Somers Central School District’s mid‑year Forward and Excellence report on global citizenship at the board’s March 11 workshop.
The presentation described classroom and extracurricular work the district says develops “global citizenship,” including community projects, Veterans Day and food‑drive service, international‑baccalaureate alignment at Somers High School, new world‑language exposure in Primrose (Spanish for K–2) and expanded language specials for grades 3–5, and digital‑citizenship instruction tied to New York State computer‑science and digital‑fluency standards. District leaders also said teachers are using partnerships with BOCES and external consultants for curriculum alignment and professional learning.
Why it matters: district leaders said these initiatives connect to the state’s Portrait of a Graduate and to local SMART goals for K–8 reading and math. The presentation linked classroom projects to civic engagement examples — a student community project that helped install a sidewalk and crosswalk with the Somers Town Council and other middle‑school projects — and previewed a community project showcase scheduled for May 15 at Somers Middle School from 6 to 7 p.m.
On assessments and academic progress, the district reported interim STAR assessment results for selected exit grades. District figures presented at the meeting included: 86% of second graders at Primrose meeting or exceeding the STAR reading benchmark, 81% at Somers Intermediate School, and 79% at eighth grade; second‑grade STAR math results were 82% at Primrose, with 85% at fifth grade and 84% at eighth grade. Presenters explained STAR is a nationally normed, adaptive assessment and said the STAR results are used because state assessments have opt‑outs; the presenters said roughly 25% of middle school students opt out of state testing in recent years, a rate they characterized as declining. The presenters also said internal measures such as DIBELS, IXL diagnostics and curriculum‑embedded assessments supplement STAR data.
District staff described curriculum and instructional supports tied to the SMART goals: continued rollout of the WIT & WISDOM ELA materials (with company on‑site support), investments in decodable readers and phonics monitoring, work with PLC Associates in Literacy, and a K–12 math visioning committee to align math work across grades. The district said it is preparing additional opportunities for students to publicly present senior projects in June and to expand Tusker 102 sophomore projects in the coming year.
Board members asked for follow‑up materials, including more localized benchmarking data against New York State peers and supplemental information for parents about WIT & WISDOM and digital‑citizenship curricula. Presenters said they will bring materials to future meetings and make sample lesson materials available for board review.
The presentation concluded with district staff noting that the Forward and Excellence series will continue with fiscal stewardship in April and family and community engagement in May.
