New curriculum at Shelter Island School is student-centered

There have been ongoing honors coming to Shelter Island students whose educational experiences will hopefully continue to be enhanced by changes in the curriculum in consultation with Professional Development Coach Christina Lesh.

Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D., and Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Rylott have worked with Ms. Lesh to  develop a timeline that began in 2023 and is planned to continue at least to the end of this decade. It will not only demonstrate new ways of learning for students, but also new approaches to education for their teachers.

Implementation began in 2023 for teachers of kindergarten through grade 5, who started with a new approach to how English language arts is taught. In 2024, there were more students and math was added to the curriculum. This year saw the addition of science, and 2026 will see the addition of social studies.

What’s most significant is not just the subject matter, but the degree to which students are engaged to learn about subjects, think about them, write about them, and talk about them.

Ms. Lesh brings some 25 years of experience in education, teaching, working as a principal and now as a consultant. Superlatives came from Island School administrators and Board of Education members, for what they’ve witnessed since the project began. Ms. Lesh, in return, told the Board she is grateful to be partnering with Shelter Island.

At the Board of Education meeting March 10 with Ms. Lesh attending virtually, she explained the process of increased learning by students when they’re engaged in the process of talking about their changing perceptions.

Another lesson involves students in problem solving, engaging them to talk about how they solved the problem. Initially, they each do so, but when they partner with another student, with the pair talking about the different strategies each used to solve the problem, learning deepens.

Eventually, students are given a problem to solve and asked to support the thinking that went into the solution each reaches. They are encouraged to reflect on what they’ve learned and then apply the lessons to new problems.

For teachers, it’s not the traditional approach of creating a lesson plan and passing on information to students, but instead involving those students in the process of learning by doing — real involvement in how they come to understand a subject through their own problem-solving abilities.

In a sense, the methodology is what works for Shelter Island students, who tend to have close relationships with family members, teachers, administrators and adults in the community.

The instructional framework of the new curriculum is working, Mr. Doelger said. Skills being developed in the English language arts are being carried forward in math, Ms. Rylott said. It’s an end to students responding to “Yes and No questions,” but being taught to think and express themselves, Ms. Lesh said.