Going Places with Dina Guzzardo
The way we educate our children has dramatically changed over the past couple of months and many schools have taken the distance, or virtual, learning approach to ensure their students do not fall behind. With no real indication as to when things will return to normal, schools are having to come up with creative ways to ensure their students are still engaged and progressing with their learning. One school that has been going above and beyond to provide the best for their students is the award-winning Principle Academy Charter (PAC) school in Atlantic County.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a charter school is, it is essentially a public school, but without the ties to the state or school district that a traditional public school has. They set their own rules, or ‘charter’, and they are held accountable to it. They are still open to all children, must participate in state testing and federal accountability programs, do not require an entrance exam, and cannot charge tuition fees. Principle Academy Charter has a S.T.E.A.M approach where they focus on science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. This focus has been a huge pull factor influencing many parent’s decision to send their kids to PAC as many colleges value an education that focuses on these subjects.
As schools have been closed for the past couple of months, Principle Academy Charter has been practical in continuing the education of their students through virtual learning. I am sure many of you are experiencing this at home with your children. Daily zoom classes and helping with homework to ensure your kids do not fall behind with their classwork. It has become a familiar feat in most households across the country. The focus of PAC’s approach has been to maintain normality. Peter Caporilli, who is the Founder and CEO of PAC’s management company Polymath Achievement Charters LLC, said “We want the at home experience for PAC students to be as ‘normal’ as possible, so in every case we will try to do at home exactly what we do when we are in our school building.”
The school is determined to maintain routine in their student’s life, so each day is run as a typical school day. Every day, they produce, edit and distribute their morning announcements via video, and later in the day they send out their school newsletter, the Griffin Growler. The morning announcements include weather, health tips from the school nurse, a lesson on Principles from their Chief School Administrator, singing and dancing, art lessons and much more. The rest of the day progresses like a regular school day with 45-minute classes and an hour lunch break. They are even continuing certain programs such as their “Family Support Specialist” team where 10 staff members take responsibility for about 50 students to support them with matters such as attendance, study habits, internet and resource needs, food service, and much more.
It is admirable to see everything the school is doing to ensure their students can continue their learning from home with a sense of normality so that the transition was as easy as possible.
Additionally, to achieve this “normal”, the school has a series of daily zoom classes and google classrooms, in which they held practice sessions before this crisis to ensure each student knew how to use the software. Prior to the Governor’s announcement to close all schools, PAC took a proactive approach by devising a COVID-19 plan which included surveying all of the parents to see who had access to a computer or internet, and who needed extra support. Any student without access to a computer or the internet was issued a free Chromebook and access to an internet hotspot. This really is a testament to the commitment that PAC is making to ensure their students are able to continue their education despite the current situation, and despite any other barriers they may be facing.
Like most schools, there have been hurdles that PAC has had to overcome. One being the possibility of a low attendance rating as the students may struggle to adjust to this new way of learning. However, PAC has seen average daily absent rates of less than 4%, even lower than their usual 8-9%. This goes to show that the extra measures PAC have put in place are really paying off and students are responding to it.
If you are wondering what it is like to be a teacher at PAC, well just ask art teacher, Mrs. Mooney. In the most recent newsletter, she spoke about what it was like as a teacher at PAC compared to her previous experience in traditional public schools, ‘I started teaching at PAC this year after 12 years of teaching in public and private schools. The way the staff embraced me really made me feel so welcome and like family. Our dedicated staff truly goes above and beyond for our students and it’s an honor to be part of this team.’ She has also been proactive with her distance learning approach by giving students some art related activities to do so they can their creative juices flowing and all within the confines of their own home.
Similarly, the parents cannot recommend the school enough, with many of them praising the school for their response to the pandemic. “One thing I noticed is PAC teachers are really helping each other get through this. And not just to get through but pushing each other to stretch our learning by transitioning out of our comfortable situation to new and exciting modes of teaching!” said one grateful parent. Another could not be happier with how things have gone, “I really want to thank you all for the way that the school is helping us to overcome this situation. God bless you all and hopefully we can see each other soon. Samarah really enjoys her online classes. Ms Doring and Ms. Loo are doing an EXCELLENT job. I couldn’t ask for more. I am so glad that we are part of this school.” A school that can excel when faced with adversities such as this needs to be recognized and praised for what they are doing.
The feedback from parents has been readily welcomed by the school and it is inspiring them to continue their great work, “The parents have been amazingly supportive of this process. It’s encouraging to hear them speak when they are reporting that they are excited we are maintaining our programs and truly care about their children and families.” said Caporilli. As for the future of PAC? Well, the school is determined to be the top ranked charter school in America, and they believe that their response to this crisis has proven that they are more than capable of doing so. “This experience has shown us that the future is now and that PAC is truly on the road to becoming the best charter school in America. It has also shown that we are on the forefront in terms of creating a digital learning environment and that we will take on any challenge head on, and that we will succeed.” explained Caporilli.
If you are interested in enrolling your child at PAC for the 2020/2021, simply head over to their website and submit an application form, https://principleacademycharter.org/enroll/. With so many positive testimonials, enabling your child to be educated and nurtured by PAC’s outstanding members of staff may just be one of the best decisions you make for your children’s education.
Dina Guzzardo is the President and Executive Promoter of Dina Media Group LLC. Dina Media Group is an innovative cutting edge event production and marketing company that produces and promotes large events as well as a talent agency that manages some incredible talent.www.dinamediagroup.com
