John
Paterson School, serving Pre-kindergarten through fourth grade students, is
located on a beautiful setting in the southwest section of Newington. With a
population of over 500 students, John Paterson School has maintained its
traditional charm while meeting the expectations and demands of a 21st century
education. We are characterized by a strong sense of community and high
expectations in all that we do.
The
primary purpose of John Paterson School is to provide learning experiences that
support, challenge and inspire our students to meet or exceed academic, social
and physical standards. It is our goal
to accomplish this in a caring and collaborative environment – involving staff,
students, parents and community partnerships.
We are committed to the belief that ALL children are capable of
attaining high levels of educational achievement in preparation for productive,
rewarding lives and responsible citizenship.
We are
committed to small class sizes (an average of 20 students to each teacher), challenging
expectations and quality support services, which all lead to high student
achievement. Our students consistently exceed the state goal scores in reading,
writing and mathematics, as measured by the Connecticut Mastery Test. As a
result of student and teacher effort, academic support programs and an
outstanding partnership with parents, our students continuously achieve at high
levels.
Parent-teacher
collaboration is at the heart of John Paterson's success. Parents support our
school library media center, publishing center, and classrooms. We have an
active Parent-Teacher Organization
(PTO), which in recent years has provided a new play structure for the school
playground, stage curtains, a new sound system in our multi-purpose gymnasium, an
interactive digital whiteboard (SMART Board) and projector system in our Music
Room, and a yearly series of cultural arts programs for our students, including
visiting authors and illustrators such as David Adler, Steven Kellogg, and
Patricia Polacco.
