Please join us in congratulating Stephanie Shoemaker, Educational Administrative Coordinator/Special Education Secretary, our Barrett Support Employee of the Year 2011-2012.

Since 1997, Mrs. Quinzio has served the Barrett community in an exceptional manner. She exemplifies professionalism, inspires children to excel, promotes a collegial atmosphere, and gives tirelessly to colleagues, students, and parents to meet these goals.

The work Mrs. Quinzio has accomplished with her students and colleagues is an example for others in her profession. She strives so that each student in her class has developed an enthusiasm for learning and a strong understanding of the curriculum. Mrs. Quinzio strives to design, implement, and assess meaningful results from each unit of study and then modify and refine her instruction to provide long-term core understanding year after year. Mrs. Quinzio collaborates well with her team to plan for more creative instruction and address the diverse learning styles and challenges of her class. She provides a highly structured learning environment, consistently expresses high expectations, and employs a variety of creative resources. She meets regularly with grade level team members, content teams, and specialists to ensure vertical integration of content and successful results from her students.

Congratulations Mrs. Quinzio!

Barrett’s Project Interaction to Receive Human Rights Award

Barrett Elementary School’s Project Interaction will receive the James B. Hunter Human Rights Award. The award is being given to recognize the school’s work to help bridge the gap between cultures by facilitating family involvement and communication. Barrett will be recognized at a ceremony on Thu, Dec. 9.

The award, given by the Arlington County Human Rights Commission, recognizes sustained commitment and outstanding achievement in the area of human rights made in Arlington by an individual, community group, nonprofit organization or business.

“We are honored that Barrett's Project Interaction will be one of the recipients of the James B. Hunter Human Rights Award this year,” said Principal Terry Bratt. “As a young teacher in the Arlington Public Schools, I remember how hard Jim Hunter worked to make Arlington County a place where all newcomers felt welcomed and valued for their many contributions. At Barrett, we strive to make sure that all of our families are included and have the tools necessary to support the educational needs of their children.”

Project Interaction, which began in 1995, is an innovative, instructional project at Barrett that supports the learning environment for all students by using two main components: family involvement and communications art.

Project Interaction provides opportunities for families from diverse backgrounds to become engaged in their children’s learning.Family members contribute their time and talents to the school while developing their capacity to navigate the school system.The project seeks to prepare parents and guardians to advocate effectively for their child’s education.

The program also builds a welcoming, respectful and inclusive learning community by creating activities that affirm student cultures, value diversity and support cultural competence.

Through Project Interaction, a number of videos featuring children and teachers have been produced to increase appreciation and awareness about diversity and different racial and cultural experiences.

The award was named in honor of former Arlington County Board Member James B. Hunter who spent years in public service working on behalf of individuals with little access to government.

To learn more about Barrett’s Project Interaction, click here.

For more information, call 703-228-6004.

 We’re proud of the accomplishments of our students and staff. Here are some of their accomplishments.

 Congratulations to Elsabe Dixon, one of Barrett's very talented art teachers. She will have her Reading Silk work installed for viewing at the Torpedo Factory beginning July 5th.

You can read the news article regarding the installation http://www.alexandrianews.org/2010/06/installation-features-hundreds-of-spinning-silkworms-and-spun-silk-forms/

Also checkout the Reading Silk website.

K.W. Barrett's Math Coach, Mrs. Abdeljawad, was recently honored at a luncheon recognizing Math Specialists that participated in a research study. The research study proved that math specialists in a school do have a positive impact on instruction. The certificate was presented to Mrs. Abdeljawad by Patricia Wright, Superintendent of Public Instruction for the Commonwealth of Virginia.