St. Anthony’s Designated a “Star School” of Paterson Diocese
St. Anthony School, the Pre-K through Grade 8 Catholic School in Butler that for 127 years has been providing a quality faith-based education in the Franciscan tradition to children in Morris and Passaic Counties, has been named by the Diocese of Paterson as a Star School. For the upcoming school year, only three schools in the diocese have been accorded this designation.
The announcement was made during the Diocese’s Spring Principals’ Convocation held Wednesday, May 7 at Our Lady of the Valley School in Wayne.
The Paterson Diocese defines a Star School as a school on the "cutting edge." It promotes high student achievement and has an identifiable specialization that addresses the educational services and needs of students. The faculty is engaged in professional development. There is administrative and fiscal efficiency demonstrated in the educational program. Outstanding performance is measured in terms of student results and school accomplishments and parents, parish and the general community work collaboratively to achieve superior education.
For St. Anthony, that identifiable specialization is the incorporation of the theory of multiple intelligences throughout the educational program of the school. This theory, developed by internationally known psychologist and educator, Howard Gardner, recognizes that children learn in different ways. For example, a child’s visual, analytical, musical, interpersonal, mathematical, spatial or other aptitude generally sparks the initial interest in a topic or subject. The theory suggests that, rather than relying on a uniform curriculum, schools should offer "individual-centered education" with curriculum tailored to the needs of each child, including working to help students develop intelligences in which they are weaker, to achieve individual and overall class success.
In describing how the faculty and staff of St. Anthony incorporate the multiple intelligence theory into the regular school program, principal Felicia Goodness said: “Making sure that our students have the best possible chance to both gain knowledge and incorporate the higher eduational goals of synthesizing and evaluating information have been key elements in our approach. Since we began employing the multiple intelligence theory and differentiated learning techniques tailored to students and their needs, our standardized test scores have shown definitive increases. But more importantly, we see the excitement in their eyes, and the lightbulbs going on over their heads, every day. They want to come to St. Anthony’s to learn. They are enjoying it. And that’s what excellent education is all about.”
The Star School designation from the Diocese of Paterson is accompanied by a cash award of $1,000 which we use to continue to promote the program in our school.
