New Growth at Lilja Elementary

The Lilja Elementary School is growing and changing with a new principal, a new playground, and recently built modular buildings to accomodate the influx of kindergarteners.
Principal Anne Carothers comes to Natick from the Lexington Public Schools where she was the principal of Diamond Middle School. She has taught grades one through four and holds Master’s degrees in Elementary Education and School Counseling. She has worked as a teacher, instructional coach and building administrator in urban and suburban districts.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Natick community as the principal of Lilja,” said Carothers. “I believe wholeheartedly that schools should support the ‘whole child,’ helping children grow cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically. Natick clearly believes in this approach.” Another area in which Carothers feels aligned with and supported by the Natick community is in her emphasis on adaptability to a rapidly changing world. For example, in “integrating technology and teaching children how to use it effectively.  It also means recognizing that in today’s world excellent preparation goes beyond acquiring basic skills and content knowledge.  We consciously work to develop critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative communication skills.”
This dynamic adaptability is necessary not only for the students but for everyone working to accomodate Natick’s student body, which is growing faster than the children themselves.
Lilja received many new kindergarteners from streets formerly designated as Bennett-Hemenway districts. Modular buildings were erected at Lilja this summer in the space where the old playground was removed, and an additional kindergarten teacher will allow for smaller class sizes.
Construction on the new playground is progressing steadily, scheduled to open at the start of school, August 30. One set of playground equipment is intended for younger children and a larger area is for older children. The details in the playspaces were selected with the assistance of recent fourth grade students whose preferences were elicited via survey.
“Lilja is a wonderful school,” says Carothers. “I hope we will continue to be a place where children and families feel welcome and appreciated.” If the democratic process exhibited by the playground design is an indication, Lilja will also be a place where children and families are not only welcome but will be heard and encouraged to be agents of their own opportunities in this transforming world.