It is hard to believe that we have entered the second half of the school year. Our students and teachers continue to strive for academic excellence.

This year, Farmington School has upgraded technology in every classroom. Each classroom is equipped with an interactive Mimio board. The Mimio board makes learning more student-centered and fosters student collaboration and engagement. Schools and students benefit from collaborative group instruction, which encourages student participation and idea sharing, and supports the requirement of the Common Core State Standards for more student-centric learning environments.

In addition, in grades 3-5 each student has their own Chromebook to use during the school day. Chromebooks provide access to the web’s education and collaboration resources for our students. In grades 3-5 one way the students use the Chromebooks is to write summaries and essays using Google Docs. Teachers check students’ writing and even leave comments as students are working on their document. Teachers can even allow students to access each other’s documents during the editing and revision portions of the writing process. Farmington students love it!

Farmington has also purchased a new math computer program. Students and teachers started using the program in October. This program is created by Mind Research Institute. ST Math is game-based instructional software for K-5 and is designed to boost math comprehension and proficiency through visual learning. Students learn by watching, playing, making errors, and trying again. The teachers are amazed how students learn the connection between the program and their current curriculum. ST Math also frontloads math concepts taught later in the year.

Farmington is a great school, and I feel honored to work with our highly qualified staff, our wonderful students, and their families.

Principally Speaking is a monthly article, contributed by principals from Escalon Unified School District sites, throughout the school year. It is designed to update the community on school events and activities.