Host families are needed for the international exchange students who will be attending Springfield High School next fall through PAX, the Program of Academic Exchange. This is a great opportunity to learn first-hand about another culture and to share your life with a student who is eager to discover life in America. PAX students do not need a separate bedroom, as long as you can provide a bed in a room with a host sibling and a place to study. They have spending money of their own for personal expenses and separate medical insurance.

PAX students come from over 70 different countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. A PAX coordinator can help select a boy or girl whose interests match those of your family. To learn more, contact Ann Newsmith at 802-257-4710, exchangevt@gmail.com or visit www.pax.org.

During the January 2013 meeting of the Commission of Public Secondary Schools, part of NEASC (New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges), Springfield High School was commended for our work on our Mission and Student Expectations.  We had been placed "on warning" for Mission after the 2010 NEASC visit.  Since the initial report came back in the Fall of 2010, a team of teachers and administrators at SHS have been working on addressing the recommendations made by that report.  We are very pleased with our progress thus far, and being removed from the "warning" is a sure step in the right direction.  Here is a quick snapshot of the some of the work we have done:

Our New Mission: Springfield High School students will prepare for postsecondary learning through achieving fluency in the essential skills of reading, communication, collaboration, and reasoning.  Successful SHS graduates will be capable, respectful, responsible citizens of the community in which they live.

Our Learning Expectations:

Academic:

• A graduate of SHS reads a diverse selection of complex written materials critically.  

• A graduate of SHS communicates by producing writing that is clear, coherent, purposeful, well-supported and effective in addressing its audience.

• A graduate of SHS communicates by deciphering meaning through effective listening and by presenting complex information, ideas, and evidence through speaking or performing.

• A graduate of SHS communicates by analyzing, comprehending, and creating complex visual materials to examine and convey complex ideas and information.

• A graduate of SHS collaborates to answer questions, build understanding, and solve problems.

• A graduate of SHS reasons abstractly and quantitatively, thinks critically, and perseveres to solve problems.

Civic:

• A graduate of SHS is a responsible, informed and participatory citizen in his or her community.  

Social:

• A graduate of SHS shows respect for self and others, and makes mature decisions about his or her physical and mental well-being.

The staff and administration at SHS are very proud of the accomplishments of our junior class.  The recent NECAP test results have shown a marked improvement, both for this year's results compared with the past several, but also for this cohort compared with their 8th grade scores.

Our Reading scores have improved from 65% proficient to 74% proficient, achieving the state average for the first time.  Our Math scores have narrowed the gap with the state average (38%) from 24% last year to 33% this year.  Similarly, our Writing scores have also closed the gap on the state average (47%) from last year at 38% to this year at 44%.  

These results are in part due to the hard work that our staff has done through the training received from the Pennsylvania Literacy Network (PLN).  This program has brought two consecutive years of training to SHS teachers in a teaching framework which utilizes a focus on reading and writing in all content areas.

Congrats to the greater SHS community - we look forward to continuing the upward trajectory of our scores!

On November 8, 2012 Springfield High School’s physical education teachers,  Todd Aiken, Joy Benson and Joseph Brown, literacy coach David Cohn and health teacher Krystina Fernandez traveled to Stowe, Vermont to give a presentation on “Literacy In Physical Education” at  the Vermont Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Annual Conference.  Springfield is one of a few high schools in Vermont that requires reading and writing as a part of their physical education curriculum.  For the past two years the high school’s staff has spent its in-service focused on training from The Penn Literacy Network (a subsidiary of the University of Pennsylvania).  The hope is that by including literacy in all subject areas, it will help our students to improve upon their reading and writing skills as well as their test scores.  Many thanks to the PE/Health staff (and Mr. Cohn) for their efforts in both making this initiative happen in SHS classes, but also for sharing their experience with their colleagues across the state of Vermont!