Election season is in full swing, both outside the school and at Wolcott.  As our candidates for student government delivered their campaign speeches, several recurrent themes emerged: the importance of responsive leadership, open collaboration with teachers, strong listening skills and desirable snacks in the vending machines.  Coincidentally, these priorities relate to an issue of paramount importance to me -- building a positive school culture with a community of students and adults whose relationships with each other are grounded in trust, collaboration, integrity and good cheer.

Whether gleaned from campaign speeches, Fireside Chats or faculty meetings, it is clear that all of us at Wolcott - students, faculty, administration, parents and guardians - share the same aspirations for a strong and positive school culture. In order to achieve this goal, I am constantly reminded that we need to be attentive to needs both great and small.  We must expand on the idea of responsive leadership as well as meet the concrete need for readily available, teenage-friendly after school snacks.

Opportunities for active learning also contribute to building a positive school culture. At Wolcott, these opportunities abound. On any given day, American History students may be debating whether Christopher Columbus should be tried for exploitation of the indigenous people, English 3 students may be debriefing about a performance of Native Son at the Court Theater, or Advanced Spanish students may be walking across the street to read to a bi-lingual kindergarten class at our neighboring Talcott Elementary. Students thrive when they are exposed to a variety of dynamic learning experiences. Spend time at Wolcott and you will come to the exact same conclusion. 

Quite often, parents and guardians report to me that their students are succeeding at Wolcott in ways they have not experienced in the past.  Students who were reluctant to take academic risks are now active participants in class. Students who were inclined to stay in the audience are approaching the podium to deliver speeches. I attribute these changes to the commitment we have all made to Wolcott and to fostering its supportive and welcoming environment. A special congratulations to all Wolcott students and faculty for a great start to this academic year!