Doolittle School

Demonstrating respect is very important to Doolittle School. Every day at Doolittle School, fifth grade teacher Mrs. Tracey Ajello and her students focus on showing respect to others. This is accomplished by including in their vocabulary such words as “patience,” “respect,” and “fairness.” The class also writes poems and performs skits about respect in Doolittle’s town meetings and its morning television show.

Mrs. Ajello and her students play an important role at Doolittle School. Last fall six students from Mrs. Ajello’s class participated in the Building Ethical Communities Through Service-Learning workshop at Quinnipiac College. At the workshop they learned leadership skills and planned service-learning projects. One of the service-learning projects that the students implemented this year included Magical Mailbox. In this program, students are encouraged to submit great writing or artwork, and Mrs. Ajello’s students are responsible for finding an audience to share student successes. Another project that the students spearheaded was improving Doolittle’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is an integral part of Doolittle School’s writing curriculum. One of the goals of The Editorial Board is to share all students’ creative voices through writing at Town Meetings or through contests. The Editorial Board displays students’ framed writing in a showcase. We applaud Mrs. Ajello and her fifth-grade class for their efforts to put “ethics in action.”