The Stoneham Scholar

Dear Stoneham Families and Caregivers,

We are thrilled to invite you to learn more about the incredible teaching and learning taking place across the Stoneham Public Schools! Every day, our school leaders and educators are working tirelessly to ensure that our classrooms are places where strong instructional practices and up-to-date curriculum come together to inspire student growth and success.

To keep you connected to this important work, we’re excited to launch a new monthly newsletter dedicated to celebrating teaching and learning across our district, PreK–12. Each issue will shine a light on the amazing things happening in our schools—showcasing classroom innovations, sharing important updates, and highlighting the ways our educators are helping students thrive academically and personally.

Our goal is to offer you a window into the meaningful learning experiences that define Stoneham Public Schools—where curiosity, creativity, and collaboration are at the heart of all we do. We look forward to sharing these stories with you and celebrating the continued progress of our students, staff, and community.

We hope you enjoy seeing the work of our schools turned inside out!

Warm regards,

Dr. Kathryn Castonguay

Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning

We are excited to announce two preschool pilots happening this year, made possible through our PRISM I grant. Our dedicated staff will be engaged in a formal pilot process, carefully vetting two different curricula to enhance our preschool program. Under the guidance of Director Danielle Tucker, the team is committed to providing a strong, developmentally appropriate learning experience for our youngest learners.

Additionally, the preschool recently hosted its first Parent University session this week. If you're interested in attending future sessions, please keep an eye out for information sent through the SELC family newsletter. We look forward to a wonderful year of growth and learning!

We are excited to share that this school year, Stoneham Public Schools is launching a new High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) curriculum—Fishtank Literacy—across grades K–8. This initiative is made possible by funding through PRISM I grant funding and also through the state curriculum earmarks received last fiscal year--a big heartfelt thank you to Senator Lewis and Representative Day for securing those earmarks!

This represents a critical and very important step forward in strengthening literacy instruction for all students and ensuring that every learner develops the skills, strategies, and knowledge needed to become a confident reader and writer. Fishtank Literacy is a knowledge-based curriculum, designed to build students’ background knowledge and vocabulary through rich, meaningful texts. Students explore engaging topics in science, social studies, and the arts while developing the foundational skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. This approach supports deeper understanding and critical thinking, helping students connect what they read to the world around them.

At the elementary level, Fishtank Literacy is integrated into our structured literacy block, which includes all aspects of literacy instruction—phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing—and is now in its second year of implementation. Our teachers continue to deepen their expertise with the curriculum, refining instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

At the middle school, we are just beginning this journey, with teachers in their first year of learning and implementing the curriculum. This first year is focused on professional learning, collaboration, and exploring how the curriculum supports students in strengthening reading and writing across content areas.

Our educators are committed to ensuring that every student receives strong, consistent, and engaging literacy instruction. As students and teachers dive into new texts and discussions, you can expect to see increased curiosity, confidence, and connection in their learning.

We look forward to partnering with you as we continue to strengthen literacy instruction and open new doors for our students through reading and writing.

Stoneham Public Schools is proud to continue its partnership with the One8 Foundation through the Applied Learning and Leadership Initiative (ALLI). This innovative program is made possible through grant funding from the One8 Foundation. It supports the expansion of applied learning—hands-on, project-based learning experiences that connect classroom instruction to real-world problem-solving and collaboration.

Building on the success of the continued work at Central Middle School, we are thrilled that this initiative is now expanding to include Stoneham High School. Through the support of One8, educators are engaging in professional learning, curriculum development, and classroom implementation that encourage students to think critically, design creatively, and apply their knowledge in authentic ways.

Applied learning experiences through ALLI help students see the relevance of what they are learning and build essential skills such as teamwork, communication, and perseverance. This partnership is helping to shape learning environments where students are inspired to explore, innovate, and lead.

We look forward to sharing more stories of how applied learning is coming to life in Stoneham classrooms throughout the year.

Stoneham High School educators have been hard at work this fall mapping out their courses through a Universally Designed for Learning (UDL) lens, ensuring that instruction is accessible, engaging, and challenging for all students. By intentionally planning for learner variability, they are building lessons that provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression—empowering every student to find success. This thoughtful curriculum work reflects the district’s ongoing commitment to inclusive, student-centered learning.

Last school year, several of Stoneham’s special education teachers participated in intensive training in the Orton-Gillingham approach, a highly respected, research-based method for teaching reading to students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. This training was also made possible through federal grants received last school year. Through this professional learning experience, teachers deepened their understanding of structured literacy practices, gaining tools to deliver explicit, multisensory instruction tailored to individual student needs. This investment has strengthened Stoneham’s capacity to provide targeted reading intervention and ensure that all learners—especially those who struggle with decoding and fluency—receive high-quality, evidence-based instruction that supports their growth and confidence as readers.

The Orton-Gillingham approach is a structured literacy framework grounded in decades of research on how the brain learns to read. It is explicit, systematic, and multisensory, supporting students in developing phonological awareness, decoding, and encoding skills. Originally designed for learners with dyslexia, Orton-Gillingham benefits all students by providing clear, cumulative instruction that builds strong foundational literacy and empowers educators to meet diverse learning needs.

This school year, Stoneham Public Schools is excited to introduce grant funded new K–12 English Language Learner (ELL) curricula—National Geographic Learning and Vista—designed to support our multilingual learners with high-quality, engaging instruction. These programs provide a consistent framework and progression across grade levels, ensuring that students experience a smooth, connected pathway as they develop their English language skills. With rich, real-world content and visuals from National Geographic and structured language development support from Vista, our multilingual learners will build proficiency, confidence, and a deeper understanding of the world around them—all while receiving instruction that is aligned, coherent, and responsive to their needs.

We’re excited to share that this year, Stoneham Public Schools is launching a new Health Curriculum Pilot Program for all 4th grade students across the district! Health education will be woven into one Physical Education class each month, taught by our dedicated PE teachers. We’ll be using the Michigan Model for Health, a highly regarded, evidence-based curriculum designed to help students build lifelong healthy habits. Lessons are developmentally appropriate and aligned with both state and national health education standards.

Stoneham Public Schools recently held our first two Professional Development (PD) Days of the school year, and both were energizing and inspiring opportunities for our educators to learn and grow together. Teachers and administrators across all grade levels came together to collaborate, share ideas, and explore new strategies to support student learning and engagement.

Professional Development Days are an important part of how we continue to grow as a district. These days are designed to give educators the time and space to learn with and from one another—strengthening instructional practices, building connections, and exploring innovative approaches that directly benefit students in the classroom.

We are deeply grateful to the teachers and administrators who led sessions and shared their expertise. Their leadership helps ensure that our professional learning remains meaningful, relevant, and focused on the needs of our students.

As we move through the year, this ongoing collaborative learning will continue to enhance teaching and learning across our schools—helping every student in Stoneham reach their fullest potential.

There was high energy and excitement for learning across every space on Friday! While we weren’t able to capture it all on camera, here are a few snapshots and examples of the amazing learning happening throughout the day.

Stoneham Public Schools is excited to announce that we have been awarded the English Learner Education Support grant (Fund Code 181). This competitive grant program, aligned with the DESE Educational Vision, is designed to support districts with English learners in implementing innovative ELE programs, while also fostering a more culturally and linguistically diverse workforce.

As part of the grant, we are able to develop and enrich high-quality ESL curriculum aligned to WIDA Standards and the MA Frameworks. With this funding, Stoneham has purchased new curriculum resources from Vista and National Geographic to strengthen instruction and better meet the needs of our multilingual learners.

A heartfelt thank you goes to Stephanie Mihos, who wrote the grant in collaboration with two neighboring districts. Her efforts made this opportunity possible, and we look forward to the positive impact these materials will have in classrooms across the district.

Stoneham Public Schools was awarded a MyCAP (My Career and Academic Plan) Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education last school year, supporting our efforts to guide students in setting goals, exploring career pathways, and preparing for life beyond high school. A big thank you goes to Sarah Auger, Briana Henderson, and Nicole Dillon for writing the grant for both last year and this year, and to Nikki Clark for joining the team this year to help expand the application to include both the middle school and the high school. Their dedication ensures that even more of our students will benefit from the MyCAP program.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), under the state’s Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3 initiative, offers multi-year grants called PRISM (Partnership for Reading Success) to help school districts improve literacy instruction through evidence-based materials, assessment, coaching, and system supports. Mass.gov+2Massachusetts DESE+2

• PRISM I focuses on early literacy (grades PreK–3). It supports districts and their partner preschools to sustain culturally and linguistically responsive, evidence-based practices in early literacy, to build capacity via coaching, technical assistance, screening tools, and instructional planning. Stoneham Public Schools is among the districts awarded PRISM I funds. This is a five year grant for our district!

• PRISM III targets literacy improvements in grades 4-12. We received this grant for the middle school. These grants help districts evaluate, select, purchase, or deepen implementation of high-quality instructional materials, along with leadership coaching, professional learning, and structural supports (such as establishing curriculum councils).

In short, Stoneham is benefiting from both PRISM I (earlier grades) and PRISM III (upper grades) grants: the district is receiving state support to strengthen its literacy systems at multiple levels, from early reading foundational skills through later grades, in order to improve equity and outcomes across student groups.