SUPPORT STAFF

Support staff include Title 1, Special Ed., Bilingual, School Nurse, Counselor, and Gifted Enrichment.

Back Row left to right: Ms. Segers (Sp. Ed.), Ms. Smith (Title 1 LA), Ms. Recken (Title 1 LA/Math), Ms. Leinberger (Sp. Ed. Student Teacher), Ms. Gauna (Indian Ed.), Ms. Gibeault (Title 1 LA)

Middle Row left to right: Ms. Sandys (Sp. Ed.), Ms. Dannenbring (Title 1 LA), Ms. Cheek (Sp. Ed.), Ms. Rodvik (Speech/Lang.)

Bottom Row left to right: Ms. Benedict (Sp. Ed.), Ms. Axtell (Title 1 FSSC), Ms. Martin (Title 1 Technology), and Ms. Kreis (Speech/Lang.)

Three years ago the frustration over the numerous pullouts by the many support programs in this school was the impetus that brought a group of teachers together to address more efficient ways to help kids. They wanted to avoid the fragmented, pullout model and use the time of both the teachers and the students more efficiently to make the desired academic gains. This group went to a class called "Community of Learners", submitted all the paper work to qualify North Star as a School Wide Title 1 school, and put together a five year plan to collaborate all the programs. The "Community of Learners" class was a state supported initiative to promote inclusion, collaboration, and professional development. Together they developed five goals to guide them over the next five years.

1. To increase literacy performance and attitudes in the areas of language arts and technology.

2. To consolidate the teaching staff and support services within the classroom, thus reducing the daily flow of individuals in and out of the room.

3. To increase collaboration and develop partnerships among staff members.

4. To increase family and community connections and involvement with the school.

5. To increase positive student recognition and decrease the numbers of detentions and suspensions.

To address the first three goals, at the beginning of the 1996-97 school year Title 1 and Special Ed. teachers pooled their resources and scheduled one teacher into each classroom for 1 1/2 hours each day to support language arts. The support teacher's role varies greatly according to the classroom teacher's needs, but there is a half hour planning time together once a week and the collaboration and planning begins there. In addition, Special Ed. aides and paid parent aides are scheduled into each classroom for additional time depending on the needs of the classroom. The testing, data collection, and instruction is delivered by the support teacher in the classroom. However, all certified Special Ed. students are case managed by one of the Special Ed. teachers. The gains in the students' academics were very apparent last year. They now have one other adult to bond with and work with every day instead of being pulled out by many adults. The block scheduling is making a tremendous difference as more quality teaching time is achieved per student. Therefore, you will notice that in each classroom's page, there is not only a teacher listed for the class, but a support specialist (a certified teacher) and one or more aides. As part of the first goal, Title 1 also hired a technology teacher to run a computer lab and troubleshoot technology problems in the building as well as work in one or two classrooms part of the day.

To address the fourth goal to increase family and community involvement, a reading room was set up where children could choose to read in their lunch recess time. Our Rotary business partner has donated books and volunteers to read with the children at lunch. This provides excellent role models, helps increase positive attitudes about reading, and encourages reading as a life long activity. Parent nights of various kinds are also being planned and implemented at least once or twice a semester. These include such things as community meals and entertainment coupled with a variety of workshops they can attend.

The fifth goal is being addressed this year as North Star has implemented a school wide "Project Achieve" discipline program to train the students in social skills and to retrain those who need disciplinary action. The number of detentions and suspensions is indeed dropping. While not perfect, we are proud of the improvements we see and are encouraged to continue striving toward our goals for kids.

to e-mail Special Ed. team click here to e-mail Title 1 team click here to return to top of page click here

to return to Home Page click here

The Bilingual staff includes from left to right Ms. Mangala, Mr. Quintero, Mr. Lang, Ms. Martinez, and Ms. Coker.

The Bilingual Education Program teaches English as a second language and other academic subjects to students who come from homes in which a language other than English is spoken. Currently, over 160 bilingual children who represent over 35 languages are being served at North Star Elementary by one Bilingual Resource Teacher and three Bilingual Tutors. The mission of the Bilingual Program is to provide all Limited English Proficient students (LEP) with a fair and equal opportunity for academic success and to provide bilingual students with a sense of cultural identity and continuity.

The Bilingual Program Model at North Star has two components:

1. Bilingual Learning Center which offers bilingual students intensive ESL instruction for up to three hours per day. Its purpose is to develop proficiency in English as a new language and sustain cognitive growth. As these bilingual students become more proficient in English, they are gradually mainstreamed into their homeroom classes. The Learning Center provides services to 32 students or 18% of the bilingual students at North Star.

2. Tutorial Program which provides individualized (one-on-one) and small group tutoring in ESL and other content areas for 136 students in our school.

The four members of the bilingual staff speak six different languages. Mr. Quintero speaks Spanish, Italian, and English; Ms. Mangala speaks Laotian, Thai, and English; Ms. Pennebaker speaks Spanish and English; and Ms. Coker speaks Japanese and English.

to e-mail Mr. Quintero click here to return to top of page click here

Mrs. Korevec, School Nurse

Mrs. Korevec is our full time school nurse. Everyone with aches, pains, or a need for TLC (tender loving care) comes to visit her. This is Ms. Korevec's ninth year at North Star, but she has been a nurse for twenty-three years.

to e-mail Mrs. Korevec clicks here to return to top of page click here

to return to Home Page click here

Ms. Comeau has been the Counselor at North Star School for eleven years. She received her BA degree in 1966 and taught 5th and 6th grade in California. She got her MEd degree in Counseling in Texas in 1972 and has worked as a counselor in Elementary, Junior High, and High School ever since that time.

For fun, Ms. Comeau likes to mush her team of sled dogs. She now has 14 dogs but had as many as 32 when she was training for long-distance races in 1993 and 94. She also loves hiking, backpacking, reading, canoeing, skijoring, foreign travel, and playing her violin.

Every student at North Star will see Ms. Comeau sometime during the school year because she goes to all of the classrooms to teach Classroom Guidance lessons. Many boys and girls see her individually or in small groups to help them work through problems that arise from time to time. She coordinates the Student Mediators and Peace Ambassadors groups, and can always be found greeting students in the upper-grade hall in the morning.

November will be a busy month for Ms. Comeau because this is the month for choosing and training all of the new Mediators and Peace Ambassadors.

to e-mail Ms. Comeau click here to return to the top of page click here

to return to the home page click here

Mark Larsen is the Gifted/Enrichment teacher for students at North Star as well as five other elementary schools. This is his eighth year teaching, and the second teaching gifted children, which he loves doing. Students are studying mysteries this year and are currently working on a forensic science unit that involves learning a lot of investigative techniques that will be applied to solve a crime!

to e-mail Mr. Larsen click here to return to top of page click here

to return to home page click here