CREC Aerospace School Launch a Success: Curriculum Night Attracts Crowd

Tuesday night, families trickled into the gym of the new CREC Academy of Aerospace & Engineering in Rocky Hill. Families were invited to a special Curriculum Night, hosted by staff and administration at the school to share plans for the upcoming school year. The packed room was evidence of the excitement and energy about the new school, which opened its doors for the first time in a temporary facility, a retrofitted office building on Brook Street in Rocky Hill.

The evening began in the gymnasium where parents heard about the school curriculum, specials, and the STEM theme, including an overview of how the school will implement the Common Core State Standards. Parents were then invited to visit classrooms, where they were able to meet with teachers, see their child’s spaces, learn the classroom routine, and observe some of the things their children have been working on.

 “When you peak into classrooms, students are already engaged in learning,” said Gayle Hills, Principal of the Academy. “Although we have only been open for a month, we are already running like a school that has been established for years.”

Teachers echoed the whirlwind of excitement during those first days. “We came together to make it happen,” said Dave Lazicki, the gym teacher at the Academy. “It feels like we have been a team much longer than a couple months,” Lazicki said of the staff at the school.  

A portion of the staff had previously worked for other CREC school programs, although most were new to the district. “CREC had a great reputation,” said Sarah Mangiafico, Literacy Coach in her first year with CREC. “I had attended workshops at CREC, and I knew CREC as being the place with all the information.” Despite being new to the district, she was confident that the CREC team would be able to pull the school together and deliver a high quality product to families.

Parents expressed great satisfaction as well. “My son loves it,” shared Sherrita Davis of Tariffville. Her son Rajon just turned 3 and is in a preschool classroom. “They have a great team. The environment is comfortable.” Davis was familiar with CREC. Her older son attends the CREC International Magnet School in East Hartford. She drives to Rocky Hill every day to drop off Rajon. “It is worth it,” she said.

The school’s theme is the STEM disciplines, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Even the school’s youngest learners are already being exposed to STEM vocabulary and equipment. “STEM is integrated across the curriculum thanks to the hard work of all the teachers,” explained the school’s STEM Coach, Dr. Jan Mooney-Frank. “We are lucky to have the tools and technology to allow for STEM learning throughout the school.” Each classroom has its own cart of iPads, a Smart Board, and other laptop and STEM technology.

Cromwell residents Anna and Mike Morgan submitted a lottery application for their daughter Jillian in May. They were hopeful, but didn’t expect her to be accepted into the PreK program. “We were so excited when she was selected. Last year she was at a daycare, and they were good, but we were really looking for something more,” said Anna Morgan. “She is thriving. We have noticed a huge increase in her vocabulary, and we can tell she is learning lots of new things. She’s very happy here. We have only positive things to say about our experience thus far. We look forward to seeing her thrive in a more academic focused setting.”

The Academy of Aerospace & Engineering Elementary School was a planned expansion of CREC’s 6-12 grade school by the same name. The elementary school currently enrolls 221 students in PreK age 3, PreK age 4, and Kindergarten classrooms. Over the course of the next five years, the school will expand to include Grades 1 through 5. At the end of 5th grade, students at the school will be given a pathway to the middle and high school portions of the Academy, whose permanent facility is currently under construction in Windsor.

The school sees the importance of building lasting connections with the pioneer families who took a leap of faith when joining a school in its first years of operation. The school sends a letter home to parents weekly, with photos of each child, information about what the students did that week, and updates about what is planned for the following week. The school is also planning a series of events to keep families involved, including STEM night in November, when families and students will further explore the school’s theme.

The CREC Academy of Aerospace and Engineering is open to students in PreK through Grade 12. For more information, visit www.crecschools.org