Thomas Ferenc
Principal
Phone: 802-875-2146
Fax: 802-875- 3183
Welcome to my web page-
It is at this site that I will regularly post information that I trust you will find useful. I will update information regularly and I encourage you to contact me with any questions you may have.
Biography:
I was born in Port Chester, New York and raised in a section of Greenwich, Connecticut called Chickahominy. I am a product of their public school system. Upon graduating from Greenwich High School, I attended Norwalk Community College and transferred to Southern Connecticut State College where I earned a BS in Biology. I earned my Masters Degree in Education from Antioch New England Graduate School and my Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership from Plymouth State University. I am certified as a classroom teacher, school Principal and district Superintendent in multiple states. I have been married to my lovely wife for 32 years. We have one son and two cats.
My Philosophy of Education:
What I Believe:
I believe in America's 200 year old experiment called public education.
I believe in equality and that each and every individual child should have access to an education.
I believe that Americans want opportunity, so they can become all they can be. We are a nation of achievers and we believe in the possibility of going to the White House from a log cabin.
Americans believe in excellence. We expect to be the very best at everything we do.
I believe that there is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals. I believe that each child deserves a personalized education plan. I believe in differentiating instruction to reach the full range of learners.
I believe in preparing our students to thrive in a global economy. To that end, I believe in the expansion and use of technology. I believe that children must be taught to learn and create, not just memorize and regurgitate.
I believe that children must be taught to be curious about the world and themselves.
I believe that children will achieve in direct proportion to the level of your expectations.
I believe that with good teachers anything is possible, even overcoming poverty.
I believe that all children must have access to the most rigorous curriculum possible.
I believe good teachers understand that it is relationships first, task second.
I believe in these truths because I am a product of them. Having been raised in a public housing project, I am living proof that education is the most valuable gift you can give yourself and the next generation of Americans. And I owe it all to one teacher who believed in me and changed my life.
Green Mountain Union High School is a comprehensive middle/high school dedicated to improving student learning.
At GMUHS, student/adult connections are very important. It's all about relationships. Relationships first, task second.
Every Friday we have a 30 minute common advisory period. Shown below is Mr. Ferenc in our very first activity period, a school-wide assembly to kick off the activity period for our school. A student shaves the Principal's head, in payment for a bet he lost to the Junior class. This year the Juniors improved their NECAP test scores a whopping 33% in Math (Best in State!), 27% in writing (3rd best improvement in State) and 22% in reading (5th best improvement in State).
Strategies used for improvement (beside head shaving) were; mining the data, itemized analysis of state reports, practice problems of the day, school-wide and consistent use of NECAP released tasks, and professional development focused on instructional practices.
Mr. Ferenc gets head shaved in school-wide assembly to celebrate NECAP results.
GREEN MOUNTAIN STUDENTS VISIT THE GRAND CANYON APRIL, 2008
At Green Mountain we believe in educating the whole student. To do so, we strive to meet our student learning expectations as well as our social and civic learning expectations in many ways. Along with with parents Richard Svec and Mark Curran, science teacher Dr. Rice, math teacher Julie Walton and I took our students to Flagstaff Arizona. From there we enjoyed the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, The Hoover Dam and other spots. Taking our students out of Vermont to experience the rich diversity our country has to offer, helps to prepare our young people for the future. Also, we got to know each other outside of the classroom. It was a wonderful learning experience. We will be visiting the Grand Canyon again next April vacation.
This April vacation, Dr. Rice, Mrs. Walton, Mr. Hill and I are taking a group of middle school and high school students to Washington DC. We will tour the city and all of the monuments we can, in a brief five days. Stay tuned for the posting of photos and a summary of our trip. Many thanks to Dr. Rice, Mr. Hill, and Julie Walton who give up their vacation time and took time away from their families to continue educating our students.
Smart is not something you are or you aren't. It is something you become by working hard.
Mr. Ferenc
ADVISORY PERIODS NOW IN PROCESS AT GMUHS.
Every Friday from 2-2:30pm, our school goes into advisory mode. Studies show that adult-student relationships are the key to student success. Students have selected advisories based on interests. Interests vary from yoga, to exercise, relaxation, study skills, cooking, comic book making and many, many more. The idea is to form relationships with students outside of the classroom. The reaction by students has been very positive. My advisory has shared that they enjoy the 'chill time away from academics' and that 'a break in the day is very civilized'. Personally, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to share 30 minutes each week with a group of our students. We will continue to research best practices and implement them when possible. A focus for school year 2009-2010 will be to implement a school-wide read, to address and improve the
climate and culture.
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Join The Parent's Group!!
The Parent's Group meets monthly and needs your participation. See their web-link for dates, times and agendas.
Topics discussed include, review of schedules, teacher and administration evaluations, levels and course offerings, care and maintenance of campus, on-line courses, middle school clubs, sports, drama and theatre and many more. Bring your topics of interest and we will be glad to discuss them.
Thank you for visiting my school website. As we are entering the 2009 summer vacation we will not be updating our sites until September, 2009. I want to thank our fine teachers and staff for their efforts this year. I also want to thank our school board for their guidance and direction. Our goal always is to improve student learning.
INFORMATION ON THE UPCOMING 2009-2010 SCHOOL YEAR:
*THE 1ST DAY OF SCHOOL IS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2009. Start time is 8am.
*7TH GRADE ORIENTATION IS MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2009 FROM 8-11:30AM
*PARENT'S NIGHT IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009 FROM 6-7:30PM.
*Always check the web-site for 'updated' dates and times, as things shift.
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GREEN MOUNTAIN STUDENTS VISIT WASHINGTON DC * APRIL 2009
We visited the nation's capitol during our spring break and had a wonderful time.
Green Mountain Students in front of the White House. The students were not only well behaved, but remarkably resilient. Our schedule was grueling, beginning early, walking for miles, and ending late. I am proud of our GM students ... they represented us well.
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