Norwood Public School
SMILE/BSI
"You cannot teach anybody anything.
You can only help them discover it within themselves
Galileo
SMILE is an acronym for
Supplementary Math Instruction and
Literacy Education
and assists students in grades Kindergarten through grade 3.
BSI
or Basic Skills Instruction assists students in grades 4-6.
These programs are
supplements or extra classes
for regular education classroom students.
Contact Information:
It is best to contact Mrs. Jeanne Zanone
by email at zanone@nvnet.org for administrative questions
Visiting? The SMILE classroom is Room 8.
For all other questions, please contact your child's BSI/SMILE teacher.
As your child's first and most important teacher,
any insights you feel are important to us should be shared.
For the 2009-2010 school year, Mrs. Harriet Kaplan(Kaplan@nvnet.org) teaches BSI Language Arts for grades 3, 4, and 5. Mr. John Pontrella (Pontrella @nvnet.org) is the instructor for BSI Math in grades 4, 5 and 6. Mrs. Jeanne Zanone (zanone@nvnet.org) instructs BSI Literacy for grade 6. All BSI instructors are highly qualified to teach in their subject area.
Mrs. Jeanne Zanone (Zanone@nvnet.org) instructs SMILE classes in literacy for grades 2-4, and is the Coordinator for SMILE/BSI. Mrs. Zanone's professional education includes a Reading Specialist Certification. She also instructs grades 2-3 in math once per week.
Mrs. Rose Zara, a highly-qualified Certified Orton Gillingham instructor, teaches the SMILE Kindergarten and first grade population.
Please click on "Class Information" for additional information.
Why Does My Child Need Help?
The pace of education has quickened and expectations within our regional school district are high. Students qualifying for the program are generally of different intelligences and learning styles and are children who have not mastered key information. Grade level assessments from standardized tests scores, state test scores or main subject testing within the classroom may indicate that your child would benefit from supplemental assistance in literacy or math. To qualify for the program, a student's former or present year teacher would need to make a recommendation, along with other multiple measures that are explained in "Class Information."
For the initial years of elementary school, research indicates that early intervention aids significantly in building strong foundational skills in literacy and math.
State Mandates
Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 are required to take the State of New Jersey ASK (Assessment of Skills and Knowledge) tests starting in grade 3 and continuing through grade 8. It is our responsibility to prepare each student to the best of their ability for these state benchmark indicators. In addition, federal and state guidelines mandate that schools provide additional instruction as deemed necessary to those students at risk for failing the GEPA State test which is given in eighth grade. Recently the State of New Jersey announced even higher achievement expectations. Our regional high school, Northern Valley at Old Tappan, immediately places a student in the Basic Skills strand if they are partially proficient in any tested area. Therefore, students in SMILE work to review basic foundations of reading, writing and math. BSI students review
current level concepts while reviewing key lessons taught in previous grades when necessary. Special attention is given as much as possible to help with students' individual needs to give them every opportunity to succeed in future academics.
The Norwood Board of Education has approved the SMILE/BSI Program as a local effort to assist Regular Education classroom students showing need of additional help in literacy or math. If you would like a copy of the appropriate board meeting minutes passing approval of SMILE/BSI procedures, please contact Mrs. Zanone. The Department of Education, State of New Jersey, has praised NPS for our proactive interventions that provide support to the regular education student body.
Small Group Instruction
Concerning SMILE and BSI groupings, working within a small group setting is a gift to your son or daughter. It allows the teacher to focus in on what each student requires at his or her present level of skill to build a solid foundation. Presently the program runs on the philosophy of helping students gain confidence in areas of reading, writing or math that have been difficult for them, offer understanding and direction for higher-order thinking and problem solving strategies, and review test-taking strategies to help them succeed at a higher level when working independently.
Parents who envision this program as positive in-school assistance in a specific subject, understand our goal as instructors. We are here to offer supplemental help to boost a regular education student's performance and, more importantly, confidence.
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