When Gino Priolo was hired as the new principal for Tatem Elementary School in 2005, he knew it was going to be a transition. Coming from the Cherry Hill school district, Priolo was unsure about what it would be like to be in a district as small as Haddonfield. It didn’t take him long to figure it out.
“I scheduled my first meeting as a meet and greet,” Priolo said. “When I saw the number of RSVPs coming back, I started to get nervous because there was going to be like 60 people there. But, it was a relief when I began to meet the parents, who were all very friendly and supportive.”
That is one of the few aspects of the public schools that Priolo hasn’t seen change in his nine years in the district. Now, as the director of special education, Priolo has the opportunity to interview principals coming into the district and pass on the knowledge he has gained over his tenure.
“People assume it is very difficult to teach in Haddonfield because the district has had so much success,” he said. “Much the opposite, though. The parents and community are supportive of everything the teachers do, which makes it an easy place to work. I found that out during my time as principal, and now I try to pass that on to teachers coming into the district for the first time.”
But, while the people may still be the same, nearly everything else is different.
During his nine years as principal, technology and teaching methods have completely shifted the way the educational system works.
“When I got here in 2005, outside of the computer lab and a few desktop computers, there was very little technology,” Priolo said. “I remember how big of a deal it was when we discussed adding wireless capabilities because of security reasons. And now look at where the schools are.”
Priolo now sees a district that integrates technology into nearly every aspect of teaching.
“The technology is so fluid now, it allows us to do a lot more in the classroom,” he said. “But it’s done so much more than just help students. Over these last nine years, I’ve seen what it has meant for teachers, too.”
When Priolo came to the district in 2005, the only data that was collected and analyzed was standardized test scores. During his tenure in the district, though, they have implemented the collection of a lot more data that is used to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods.
“Initially, the teachers were very apprehensive about collecting a lot of data,” he said. “But, that data has allowed us to see the short-term effects of different modes of teaching. We are now able to evaluate the success of certain curriculum changes very quickly, and that has allowed us to adapt our teaching methods.”
One of the teaching methods Priolo has seen play a major part in the classroom over the last nine years is project-based learning.
Rather than traditional testing, Priolo now sees teachers challenging their students with critical thinking exercises, where students are forced to analyze, synthesize and generalize information to fit into the modern world.
“The types of assignments have changed drastically,” he said. “For example, our eighth graders were given an assignment this past year to fix a problem in the community by creating changes to the government using the Constitution as a backdrop. That is a far cry from the kinds of assignments we were giving to students in 2005.”
And as technology continues to evolve, Priolo sees more project-based learning in the future.
“I think we will see the critical thinking aspect of teaching continue to evolve and grow,” he said. “Students are going to be challenged to create real-world solutions to problems more and more. That is the future of education.”
