Kinsella Elementary School
When Principal Pam Alvarado came to the Kinsella Elementary School in Hartford, Connecticut four years ago it was one of the lowest performing schools in the district, plagued by complaints of unruly children and chaos in the halls and classrooms. Today, parents flock to the Richard J. Kinsella Community Magnet School of the Arts to put their child's name on a waiting list for attendance at the revitalized school.
Alvarado's plan to weave the arts into the school's curriculum has done wonders for the morale of both students and teachers, offering new and fun ways to teach and learn, as well as new ways for students to express and feel good about themselves. The idea is that this revived interest in learning will ultimately lead to improved test scores as well.
The next major initiative at the Kinsella School is focused more directly on meeting the educational needs of those students deemed at highest risk failing or falling through the cracks. The PEAC Program is about developing the whole student (PEAC stands for Parental Involvement, Etiquette Enrichment, Academic Enrichment, and Character Development). The Northeast Utilities Foundation provided the Kinsella School with a half-million dollar grant to cover the costs of this comprehensive program, which includes: four reading tutors from AmeriCorps, who provide these children with weekly one-on-one tutoring sessions; a Literacy Club run by AmeriCorp members and Kinsella faculty, which meets after school three days per week; a Family Outreach Specialist, who is in direct contact with families and coordinates enrichment programs such as Common Sense Parenting and Money Matters; and a Mentoring Program, which pairs these children with CL&P staff members, for 45-60 minute weekly sessions. The CL&P mentors work with these kids to reinforce all aspects of the PEAC initiative, helping them learn through playing games, reading together and building relationships.
"The children who are involved in this program, the ones who could so easily have fallen through the cracks, are now succeeding," said Alvarado. "Over 50 percent of the kids actually surpass their grade level in reading, and are moving forward in school."
