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Fairmount students, principal present school improvement work on ELA, peer observations and inclusion
Summary
Students and Principal Lisa Nefradas presented Fairmount School initiatives including peer classroom observations for ELA instruction, a home‑to‑school connection newsletter, expanded student leadership and inclusive clubs.
Students from Fairmount School and Principal Lisa Nefradas gave the board a spotlight presentation on Monday highlighting the school's leadership programs, instructional priorities and family engagement.
Student council officers introduced themselves and described fall, winter and spring service projects including collection drives and a spring partnership with the Ronald McDonald House. PTA president Mike Smetana and other volunteers also summarized fundraising and community events that support school activities.
Principal Nefradas outlined several instructional and school‑improvement efforts. Among items she described: a colleague collaboration initiative that provides peer observations focused on ELA instruction (teachers observe and are observed during 30‑minute classroom visits, followed by reflections); a weekly newsletter that links classroom learning to home activities; and a student ambassador leadership program for sixth graders that gives older students mentoring and safety‑patrol style opportunities.
Nefradas also highlighted inclusive extracurricular clubs such as Braille and Beyond and a sign‑language club and said the school is tracking growth and achievement data that show improvement in targeted areas such as foundational literacy (K–2) and comprehension (grades 3–6). She credited instructional leadership teams (ILTs) and classroom staff for planning and implementing the work.
Why it matters: The presentation shows how one elementary building is using peer collaboration, family engagement and student leadership to target literacy and social‑emotional goals and to leverage volunteer and PTA support.
Ending: The board thanked Fairmount students and staff; student council members received recognition and gifts before the board proceeded to other agenda items.
