Quincy School Committee: Teaching & Learning Subcommittee Meeting - December 8, 2025

001I'd like to call the teaching and learning subcommittee meeting to order. At this time, we will turn it over to our principal, uh, Janice Loftess, to give her school improvement plan that we can check off. >> Thank you. Just make sure you microphone. >> Y. >> Well, good evening members of school committee, Superintendent Mulvy, Assistant Superintendent Perkins, and the entire leadership team. I'm Janet Loftess, and I'm happy to be here to share all the wonderful things that go on at Lincoln Hancock, and to discuss areas where we can improve our practice. I know you have a busy night, so for the sake of time, I'm diving right in. Lincoln Hancock is a school where all the data in the world does not begin to scratch the surface of giving an accurate portrayal of what it's

002like to be a member of the pride. I could not be more proud of the work that gets done at our school. Our students know they're cared for, they're loved, and they will be successful. Our staff is doing an unbelievable job this year keeping the tone positive and supportive for our children and for each other, which sometimes is most important. Each year as we look at data, one of the most consistent findings is that our strength is in our growth. No matter the assessment, the beginning of year to end of year data is outstanding. I'm grateful to the entire staff and our building for meeting our children right where they are and for facilitating the amount of growth we see. Our MCCAST accountability rating for this year remains substantial progress towards goals. Over the past

003four years, we've gone from a rating of 49% to 67% and I'm very proud of that. On MCCAST, our ELA mean growth improved 53.2% this past year. Our math mean growth improved to 66.8% this year. The one area we will need to focus on is our English language learners, which is reflected in our ELA goal. We're continuing to make strides with our attendance. Postcoid, we were at 23.8% 8% of our students listed as chronically absent. Four years later, we're down to 18%. I'm holding my ground at 9% as our goal. I think we can do it. Our MAP growth continues to be an area we celebrate at Lincoln Hancock. Our growth has continued to surpass the norms projected at each grade level from fall to spring. In regards to last year's goals, I'm continuing to

004look at our data through a multi-year lens in order to find trends and to be able to accurately reflect on some of the systematic changes we've made such as scheduling and flexible grouping. We met almost every goal we set in last year's SIP and will continue to monitor MAP results in grades three to four for math, ELA, and science and have raised our growth targets to align with the trends we've observed. and we are maintaining our focus on individual growth projection goals, an approach that produced positive outcomes last year. Additionally, we'll continue to include an ELA M-class goal in K to2, but we are shifting it to focus on the correct letter sound subcategory instead of looking at the composite scores. We want to encourage a year-long effort to purposefully focus on this foundational skill

005of reading development in the lower grades to help increase achievement in the years to come, especially for our English language learners. As an example, last fall only 28% of all kindergarters were at or above the beginning of your benchmark in letter sound subcategory. By the end of the year, 68% of those kids were at benchmark. And looking at our kindergarten eelss, 5% of our e kindergarters were at that benchmark in the fall. By the end of the year, they were at 47%. We make great progress, but from where we start, there's a lot to cover. While our academic achievement is always the forefront of our goals, we are going to continue to prioritize our fourth goal, which is the social emotional learning goal. As a staff, we are continuing to enhance the quality of our

006outreach reach and partnerships with our students families. This improvement in communication will be monitored through the use of two family feedback surveys given in the beginning and end of the school year. What we have all come to agree upon is that SEAL does not happen effectively as an independent entity. our PBIS system, restorative justice program, and the new Colonel's program. They all work together within the school building to create a safe and supportive culture. We're excited to have this new colonel's program in our school and our workg groupoup team is thrilled to collaborate with the consultants in order to build this program up in our school. There is such a need for traumainformed teaching and supports and I have no doubt we will find this new program very beneficial as we embed it into our

007practice. We'll continue to focus on utilizing the tracking of our purple paws and office referrals as well as the vocal data. I'm currently working with my school council on how to help incoming new families feel more in the know when they join our community. I would be remiss if I did not mention how integral my student support team is, which includes my assistant principal, Miss Roy, and my guidance and nur nursing staff. The amount of support they provide behind the scenes is second to none and would be lost without them and all their hard work. It's because of them we'll be able to reach our seal goal. Like I mentioned in past years, Lincoln Hancock is challenging. It's a monster of a building. From its physical size, no doors or real walls. It's something. Our

008high needs and low income percentages continue to remain high, which brings a lot of extra challenges for our children to have to work through before they can even access curriculum. I need to stop and specifically thank the superintendent's leadership team for their support this past fall. They have not hesitated to consult and meet and assist where it's been needed, and it's been beyond appreciated. Lincoln Hancock's a school that offers so much. Our parent teacher committee continues to support our school and neighborhood through many free events. Our trunk or treat was outstanding again this year. And I know our multicultural night pot lock will again be something the entire community will show up for. This year our extended ed programs have taken off in a way I haven't seen in years. Our teachers really stepped up

009to enhance our students experiences with this enrichment. The past two months, we offered 14 before or after school clubs in grades 2 to four, which service just about 200 of our kids, which is outstanding. I'll end with a quote from one of our teacher appreciation shoutouts from last year. I had asked parents to fill out a form if they wanted to shout out a compliment that would be shared for our staff. I was overwhelmed with the responses and was able to fill 68 slides worth of quotes from parents. But my favorite one was from a second grade parent. It's simple and it sums up everything we would hope a parent would feel. Dear LH teachers, you truly care about your students and are making a huge impact. We are a team. My children love going

010to school. Thank you. I want to thank you for the chance to share our successes, our areas of improvement, and to show what it means to be the pride of Lincoln. I'm happy to answer any and all specific questions about our SIP from here. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thanks, >> Mrs. Hubley. >> Thank you. Thank you so much for your presentation. >> Y um I loved your your goals are great and your action steps were really good. Um, especially love the under your seal goals the uh uh role model of the month and the peer buddy groups. That's great to have in there. Appreciate that. >> Um and um all of our facilities needs are going to go into the facility subcommittee. But I wanted to specifically point out um any safe the

011new elevator is that like it's it's in the works. Um, I know that the the leadership team and everyone that needs to know about it knew about it last year. It is in working condition right now, but it is something that just is old and uh the parts uh they'll just need to work on. Yeah, >> I can give you I can give you >> just want to make sure it's not like a safety issue that it's not usable, >> right? Um, so the um that elevator was installed in the 1970s. Unfortunately, they don't make any parts for it anymore. Okay. So, it will have to be completely replaced and Paul Hines is working on >> Okay. So, he has >> that procurement. He knows about it and it's in the works. >> Okay. And

012the gymnasium roof leaks. Um, is that becoming a safety issue at this point or is that just a >> It's, you know, depending on how serious you are at basketball, there's some dead spots on the floor. Um, but I know that Paul Hines and and a team are working on that, too. It's just the solar panels are above the leak. So, >> okay. I just want to know like at what level we're at with it. So that's why I just want to make sure >> Paul Hines is aware of that as well and >> okay >> he's doing his best to >> uh fix it the solar panels as principal loft has indicated do um complicate things but uh he's working on trying to resolve that issue with the uh plumbing expert that works for

013the city. >> Okay, great. And um back to the the chronic absenteeism in the school. Um, now this has been something that is I would go back. Historically, it's been somewhat of an issue on especially on the half days. Um, are you seeing a different reason for the absenteeism now or is it pretty much level the same reasons that you had been hearing for? >> I would say it's leveled. um Wednesdays, the half days, you know, it some people in our community if they don't drive um and they're not within the the bus um you know distance um may hesitate if the weather is bad. Uh that's kind of the trend that we see. Uh not a huge trend um but that is one of the things that we've noticed but it's getting so much

014better. >> Okay, great. Thank you so much for >> Mrs. Proteios. >> Thank you, >> Mrs. Loftess. Um, so I definitely the thing that stuck out the most to me was just the steady improvements and increases in just um pretty much across the board for you guys and I I love that. um you know, you don't expect, you know, black and white overnight and you're just the steady progress is fantastic and it's just um and you can see the pride the pride in your pride um coming through in the in the plan. So, I appreciate that. Um uh I like also in your goals that uh you have the the RIT increases, but you also have that uh individual growth projection um goal kind of in there as well. I really like that piece as

015I think Dr. Perkins pointed out. that's how we're going to kind of keep getting ahead is to kind of push the envelope on those goals, the projections. So, I appreciate you your attention to those and focusing on those. Um the extended day, I'm so glad that we have 200 kids um in there. Do do you have any opportunities or any plans to have any opportunities for like K grade one, anything like that or I guess grade one? >> Yeah, so we did this last year and it seemed to work out really nice. Uh the first session we did the older kids uh two to four. Um, our second session will be focused. They'll still be two to four clubs um because we have a lot that the kids love, but we'll shift down now. The

016kids are acclimated. Their stamina is a little bit higher for a long day. Um, so the next session will be geared more towards K to 2. >> Okay, that's great. I didn't see that in there. So, I'm I'm glad that those are going to be incorporated. That's great. Um, just wanted to ask you on your reach program. Um, it looked like you only have nine kids in the reach program there. Is that it's like an 8% inclusion rate? I think when we were hoping for kind of planning reach I think we're hoping for up to 20% um of kiddos to be in there. Is there were kiddos opting out or was it just >> No, I thought we were I could be absolutely wrong in saying this. I thought we were at about 10% and

017right now my fourth grade is at about 94 95 students. Okay. >> Um I could be wrong with that percentage but >> I could be I could be wrong is I I could >> I think when it was pulled there might have been like some moveouts too. Gotcha. Okay. That's great. And we did add one in um because of a move out and that was really appreciated that we were able to have that flexibility. >> Okay, that's great. Um and uh the last thing I have on here, family feedback surveys. I'm really glad about that that you know it gets that data that you're sometimes it's difficult to get. Um like you say the reasonings on the attendance for the half days, different things like that, you can get that info. So I'm so glad

018you're doing that. And then Chromebooks, um again with the Chromebooks, uh we had heard in the IT program improvement plan that we seem to have plenty of them. So, um, having it be a need for them. Um, and there's a number of them that mention Chromebooks. If we can kind of shuffle some over to them. >> Yeah, it's the K to 2 primarily, um, because of the StMath and the other things that are on the computers. So, the issue isn't just the Chromebooks, it's also the charging of the Chromebooks because >> we don't want cords like running AC across classrooms. So, we really potentially should look at like carts and things like that because these aren't kids who are going to take them home, right? So, it would be better if we So, we're working

019with it on the best way to accommodate that. Um, but I think the it's the Chromebooks, yes, but it's also the charging of them because they don't have the plugs though. These classrooms were not built like, you know, like in some of our newer buildings with plugs everywhere. So, >> um, you know, so that so it's just a little bit of a work in progress. >> No, that's great. That'll save time that I won't mention on every single one that mentions Chromebooks. You know, I have the concern when I see it. If if we need them and we seem to have plenty, let's get them where they need to be. So, >> we'll be working on it. >> Thank you. >> That's it. Thank you. >> I have just a couple of questions. I I

020have to agree. I think that uh you know, you are a building is a beast. You have a crowd in there and um very very probably the most diverse school in our city and um you're just doing such a great job all of you there. So, I'm so I'm so proud of that. I had a couple of questions just because I didn't quite understand them. What is a VISTA assessment? It's the new curriculum uh that our e um students across elementary have. Um part of the new curriculum is that they do have assessments embedded for beginning of the excuse me, middle and end of year. Um where you can look at progress monitor. It also helps level the students for what units and skills they're ready for. Um which is a little bit more accurate

021than the access scores from the prior January. Um so, you know, it's new. We're working it out, seeing, you know, systematically how it's going to go. >> And my other question is, um, how do students access Lexi at home? >> We hope if they have it, they are able to access it if they have Chromebooks if they have devices. Um, we do the majority of StMath Lexia um, in school. Um, I, as a parent, I have my child brings a Chromebook home. Um, he's in first grade and it makes me crazy to be honest. I don't want that. Um, so it's interesting. I know right now my teachers solely leave it within the classroom embedded within the day. Um, so that everyone has equal access. Actually, tomorrow night at or Wednesday night, we're giving golden

022tickets for St Math for children that have earned to do it at home if they want to because we really have kept it at school to be able to monitor and support. >> Yep. Yep. And I love the fact that you're differentiating homework and math. I think that's incredible. And it's so important to be able to move kids along who are ready to be moved along and also support kids who because sometimes that math homework comes home for some kids and it's like really? >> Yeah, >> I could do this in my sleep, >> right? >> So, I'm so I was thrilled to see that. I love the shout outs and I love the family survey as well. Uh the staff culture committee, you know, not too many people think about that, but that's really

023important. It really is important. I mean, we're >> having way more of an impact than I would have realized to be honest. >> It's great. It really is. class size is wonderful. Your map growth data is wonderful. So you you guys are doing a terrific job down there and difficult situation besides the building the crowd but great job. So I'll take entertain a motion to accept Mr. Bolie seconded by Mrs. Hubley. All in favor? >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you everyone. I appreciate it. >> Thank you. Oh, right on time. >> Good evening, Miss McNeel. So good to see you. Nice to see you, too. >> And you can start right away. >> All right. With your plan. >> Well, first of all, thank you for your time. I'm glad to be here

024this evening and so proud to be the principal of Parker School and present our school improvement plan to you this evening. When preparing for this presentation, I again thought of our motto. Be kind. Be responsible. Be the best you can be. The choice is yours. This motto is shared quite loudly by our students at every assembly. First, be kind. Being kind helps students both be a friend and make friends at Parker. This was emphasized at a recent assembly where first graders sang a song about gratitude. Quinsey Public Schools is celebrating a month of gratitude, and I certainly am grateful. Grateful for the teachers, children, and families of Parker. Kindness is the culture at Parker. Because of this, students are engaged with their friends and teachers, and families are engaged with Parker School. Family engagement activities

025include popsicles on the playground, trunk or treat, and we're looking forward to Cocoa Craft on Friday. Other family engagement activities include our Lun Lunar New Year celebration, and our family literacy night. Because of our culture of kindness, there's a strong sense of community and students are engaged beyond the school day. We're fortunate to offer many Beyond the School Day clubs, including peer leaders, Rum Run Club, STEM club, drama club, homework club, Lego robotics. Run club was a very popular fall activity. As a culminating activity, approximately 40 members of the Parker community, students, teachers, and families completed competed in the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center 5K that was held at Mry Mount Park. Although I didn't run, I was an enthusiastic fan and everyone had a great time. Next, be responsible. Parker students are very responsible and

026they take pride in their learning. We have very high standards for our students at Parker, but those high standards are balanced with a very high degree of support. There's a safety net for students in need of intervention. Intervention groups are small, flexible, and data-driven. Our ILT process allows teams of teachers to work together to identify ste students in need of support and plan appropriate intervention through the support of the superintendent and his leadership team and this school committee. We're fortunate to have an extensive support system for Parker students. This allows our students to be responsible and achieve their very best. Intervention at Parker includes two literacy teachers, a part-time math interventionist and the support of four ELEL teachers. Additionally, we have two guidance counselors supporting the social and emotional needs of our students. Parker students

027are responsible and through your support, they have the support they need to achieve their best. Lastly, be the best you can be. The choice is yours. This means Parker students are taught the skills and knowledge they need to be successful and are given the support they need to achieve their very best. This is absolutely true at Parker. Parker is fortunate to have a great team of highly qualified and caring teachers who give their very best. Be the best you can be means teachers have the support they need to do their best to teach the students. This means partnering with parents to support students and engage families in their children's education. This means celebrating the rich culture, traditions, and diversity of Parker. Be the best you can be also means committing to continuous improvement. And that's

028why we're here tonight presenting our school improvement plan and committing to goals and action steps that will bring about lasting improvement. Our students will shout our motto and I agree with them. Parker students are kind, they are responsible and they are the best. I am grateful and proud to be their principal and to share our school improvement plan with you this evening. Assessment results provide a snapshot of student performance during the spring of 2025 and show there's work to be done. While some grade levels show progress, other grade levels show gaps in skills that are addressed through our action steps in the area of ELA. Some grade levels show progress and other grade levels show some gaps in foundational skills that need to be addressed. 27% of third graders are meeting or exceeding expectations. This

029is below the state average and does represent a decline. 38% of fourth graders are meeting or exceeding expectation. And this is comparable to the state average. 47% of fifth graders are meeting or exceeding ex expectations. And this is above the state average by 9%. In the area of mathematics, 45% of third graders are meeting or exceeding expectation. And this is comparable to the state average. 49% of fourth graders are meeting or exceeding expectation. And again, this is above the state average. and 65% of fifth graders are meeting or exceeding expectations and represents a significant increase of 32% when compared to 2024 results. In the area of science, 57% of fifth graders are meeting or exceeding expectations and this reflects a 13% increase when compared to 2024 results. Our goals and action steps at Parker are

030a real team effort. Teachers work in teams to analy an analyze data and differentiate instruction. Looking ahead, Parker teachers will continue to support students academic, social, and emotional growth. As we work towards this, specific focus will be given to how we can provide intervention to accelerate student learning. This is especially true for our high needs population, including English language learners. We have proposed ambitious goals using MCCAST, MAP, and Dibbles to document student progress. Parker teacher teams have developed action steps to meet these goals, and there is an emphasis on writing across the curriculum. Highlights of our action step include the ELA goal being supported across all subject areas. Other action steps include differentiated reading instruction targeted across all grade levels and again an emphasis on writing to improve students ability to write across genre and

031across the curriculum. Our math goal emphasizes geometry, measurement, and data. As teachers continue to implement a core resource, it's important to collaborate and examine pacing to ensure sufficient instructional time is devoted to these topics. Students will continue to use math journals and emphasize writing about multiple ways to solve a problem. Teachers at all grade levels will continue to use datadriven, flexible, and differentiated groups to support students. Additionally, we are fortunate to work with a math inter interventionist to support our students. The science goal is supported by integrating inquirybased hands-on activities in the area of social and emotional learning. We will we are implementing kernels which teachers are very excited about. Also our work with the trauma sensitive schools and continuing implementation of restorative circles and community circles. SEAL supports for our students include continued implementation

032of PBIS, guidance lessons, check-in, checkout, etc. To conclude, Parker School has wonderful students, supportive families, and caring teachers. It is a vibrant school community, and I am grateful and proud to be the principal. Thank you for your continued support. Be kind, be responsible, be the best you can be. Thank you, >> Mr. Boli. >> I had I had the pleasure of uh working with Margaret for several years at Mry Mountain. I know how hard she works and uh the results of your data increasing throughout throughout the um the curriculum is is u impressive. >> Oh, thank you. >> And I know that's direct result of your hard work. Well, >> no, it's a team, but thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you, Principal McNeil. This is um this was a great plan to read and

033I know from being in your building, it wasn't a surprise, but um just what came across to me was just that especially from the vocal data just how happy and safe your kiddos felt there. Um and it's just it's always such a happy building when you walk in and um it's just it you can feel the love in the building. So, it's you're doing a great job there. Um and thank you also for coming back this week. I know last week you were slated to come, so thank you for making yourself available this week as well. Um, I really appreciated the in-depth look at your data. You had a really deep dive in your data reflection. Um, just not like met not met on your goals, but just um, compared to state uh, across cohorts.

034You looked at it in a multitude of different ways and you didn't sugarcoat it. It was just these are the gaps, these are what we need to work on, these are our strengths and you had, you know, some of each, but some really great uh, achievements and really great successes. So, um, I appreciate that. I really like knowing, you know, exactly what's going on. So, that's fantastic. Um, and I have no doubt that with that deep deep dive that you you have a plan and the plan sounds great and the action steps look solid. So, um, I appreciate this the uh, focus on the subgroups in your goals, the high needs and the EL kind of bringing that to the forefront there. Um, so I'm excited to see what you have for next year and

035how that works out. Um, and I just wanted to ask about >> I just wanted to ask about my only question was on the extended day programs for younger students. I didn't see any listed in here. Do you have anything for the the younger kiddos? >> We definitely have more for older grades for sure. Um, and I think we ha start with a clear plan for the older not start with but definitely have a clearer plan for the older grades. They ha they are oftentimes able to transition home from school independently without a ride etc. But we'll definitely have more coming. I know last year we had a second grade Aaron Nunan led an Irish step dance troop that was very well attended. They'll come. They're just not there yet. >> All right, that sounds

036great. Thank you. Just I appreciate it very much. >> I just have a couple of questions. Thank you very much. Your accountability data is great. It really is great and I agree with Miss Pertios. The way you looked at your data is great and I love the fact that you're just not saying one map goal that you're really looking at dibbles and map and MCCAST and and really drilling down into what skills the students need. So I I really appreciated that. I have a couple of concerns. Class size >> class, we are busy. We're growing for sure. Um and I think we had some enrollments that we weren't expecting. um through the support. We have an additional kindergarten class that was started after the school year because we had a few more kiddos than we

037were expecting. We first grade are a little big, but we also have again through your support, thank you, the support of a um someone hired to reduce the instructional grouping size. So, not another classroom. We don't have room even if I wanted to open a classroom. Um we're busting at the same >> in the room helping you. Yeah, to um pull out small groups in ELA and math and that's been helpful >> because it is I mean 24 kids in the first grade is definitely not something we want to see, but I'm glad you're getting the support you need and did recognize it too. Um my other question was and this is really for the superintendent. Um why aren't the high school carpentry students finishing that shed for them? It's been on their list for

038years. >> We have we have carpentry students at both schools. If your shed hasn't been finished in two years, I mean, we should ask them. >> We can certainly do that. >> I would like to entertain a motion to accept this school improvement plan by Mrs. Hubbley, second by Mr. Begley. All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> That's okay. All right. Good evening everybody. >> Good evening. You can start. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Dion. >> Thank you all for the opportunity to present to you tonight. I'm so excited to share all the wonderful things happening at Bernazani this year. I would like to start with a story from a longtime Bernazani parent and current Bernazani PTO treasurer. Um I share this story because um you were kind

039enough to honor the longevity of our principles at the last meeting and I appreciate that as my 20th year uh begins and as you know I've loved every moment of my time here in Quinsey public schools. Uh, the biggest benefit of being a long-standing principal is the relationships that are built with the families in the neighborhood. I appreciate the relationships I've made through the years, and I love having my office right on Furnish Brook Parkway because the middle school kids will always stop by my window in the afternoon. I can hear what's going on in their lives as they progress through the grades. Anyway, anyway, I got a text from this parent and she showed me her six-year-old kindergarten daughter's birthday board that she was posting on Facebook. the uh quote from her daughter was

040written on the board and it said, "I like to hang out with the principal of my school. He is my friend." And uh it's made me so happy because that's pretty much exactly what I'm going for uh over there at Bernazani. And uh you know, creating a space for the kids at Bernazani to come to school and feel loved and safe and supported. Uh of course, the mom got a hundred messages on Facebook asking if hanging out with the principal was a good thing. Uh but she assured them it was. It's in the classroom, playground, and lunchroom, not in my office. Uh, so now on to the improvement plan. Uh, let's start at the beginning on page five, please, and I'll walk you through some of the data. We once again used Edwin report 301

041as an indicator for our strengths and weaknesses. This report shows us how many percentage points we are ahead of or behind the state for each standard. If we're lagging behind the state, we consider it a weakness, obviously, and if we're ahead of the state, we consider it a strength. and then we can improve from there. I've highlighted areas in which we are well above the state for your perusal and the data reflection. Excuse me. Something I wanted to point out as you flip through the pages is the fact that we have many areas to celebrate across all grade levels and subjects. And I'm so proud of each of our teachers at Barnesani. I want to be sure I emphasize that tonight for them. At this point, if you could please turn to page 10, I

042will share our goals reflection. I am happy to report that we made progress on all of our goals in ELA. However, in grades 3 through 5, we did not meet the goals that we set for ourselves. And um this year, we are breaking it out for each individual grade level instead of uh clumping them like we have in the past. And that way we enable our teachers at each grade level to focus um on their own goal. In the area of math, we did exceed every goal that we set. And last year, we adjusted our goals in math because we exceeded them so greatly. So, we set our bar higher. Uh, seeing that we still exceeded those goals made us very proud in the area of math. We did decrease uh slightly in MCCAST and

043the uh our plan reflects our goals to get back to where we were. Um those dips in MCCAST are harder to track than mapped because it's different cohorts of students. Um but it's something we want to be proud of and we love setting goals to to achieve them. So moving on to page 12, you'll find our vocal survey results. I did want to share some of our higher percentage categories with you tonight. Uh teachers at my school accept me for who I am. My teachers care about me as a person. My teachers are proud of me when I work hard in school. Adults working at this school treat all students with respect. I get the chance to take part in school events. My teachers will explain things in different ways until I understand. And that

044speaks volumes about the amazing staff at Bernazani. An area of weakness that we discussed was not feeling safe sharing my feelings in class. We're hoping that with the addition of kernels, we will see this percentage rise. Uh we want students to be safe sharing their feelings during open parachute and community circles. And the question again came up again with the um you know I read books that with characters that look like me and again same thing 50/50. We did this enormous uh project about getting EDI books into the classrooms with the PTO and we did a book a month per grade level. They certainly have the books in front of them. Um, and I think we go back to the wording of the question, but that was another another weakness. Now, on page 14, you'll

045see the beginning of our goals section. Uh, after having omitted MCCAST from our goal statements two years ago, we decided to continue this and use exclusively MAP data for our achievement data. This allows us to track the same group of students over time uh, instead of the cohorts. Our academic goals continue to be rigorous, especially this year in light of our tremendous growth in math last year. At this point, I would like to speak a little bit about our social emotional goal on page 20. I can't tell you how impressed I am with the new Colonel's program and the staff that came with it through the grant. I've met numerous times with both Sarah and Meg and they've been incredibly responsive to me and our teachers. We've met to make a plan on how to

046implement the program over the summer. We met during citywide professional development and we've also met to support an individual teacher who is learning to support the indiv individual needs of a trauma-sensitive student. Uh they've been nothing short of amazing and very helpful with their expertise in trauma-sensitive schools. I greatly appreciate this program being implemented in QPS and our social emotional goal reflects that. On page 24, we've outlined our professional development plan, which focuses mainly on the two curricula, illustrative math and core knowledge language arts or CQLA. We also allowed time for continuous training in SAV realize for our science teachers because that was a dip on MCCAST as well. We are continuing our shift in our principal PD days and that is to dedicate the last half hour to our staff meeting in teams. We

047have three teachers per grade level and three teams. So, one teacher from each grade level is on the EDI team, one is on the social emotional learning team, and one is on the community events team, which allows us to work on school spirit activities. And that also works in tandem with our flourishing PTO. Next, if you could please turn to page 26, I want to highlight our extended day offerings. Last year, we greatly increased our before and after school offerings, and we continued this as a staff, and I'm proud to present this newer, wider variety of offerings to our students this year. Our students genuinely love these clubs, and they're so happy to stay an extra hour at their school. If you could now turn to page 28, I want to highlight some of the

048incredible community building activities that occur at Bernazani. These are the activities that provide our students with memories that will last for their lifetime. And these are the activities that build the wonderful community that we have in the Bernazani neighborhood. We have an online school store that has literally hundreds of options for swag. Each Wednesday is bear Wednesday and everyone can be seen decked out in their Bernazani gear. We have parent nights out at local restaurants where parents get to go socialize and network and make closer connections with each other. We had our third annual haunted hallway this year which was a blast. We have our upcoming shops at Winter Wonderland where our students can purchase affordable presents for their families. We are in the middle of our giving tree season where we sponsor needy families

049with holiday gifts and decorations. We have an upcoming spirit week before the holiday break. We have dedicated PTO money for booking visiting authors and artists which is a tradition that predates my time here at Bernazani. Uh we have an upcoming second annual multicultural night. The first one was great. A career fair where uh family members can come and talk about their careers and the kids can circulate and also various fundraisers. We have our annual Bernazani's Got Talent talent show in the spring. Our annual Bernazani Red Sox night at Fenway Park. All of this culminates with our promotion ceremony for fifth graders on the last day of school. We have a very active social calendar here at Bernazani, but I am so proud of the sense of community that we foster throughout each of these events

050and traditions. I truly appreciate the tireless work that our PTO does for both the students and uh staff of Bernazani. I also appreciate their input and work in creating this document. Uh their support and dedication is greatly appreciated. Uh in conclusion, I want to express my utmost respect and admiration for the staff at Bernazani. I've always said that the most important decision a principal has to make is who is standing in front of the students every day. Our staff not only has the best interest of each student at heart emotionally, but they also plan so carefully each and every day to ensure the academic success of every child who comes through our doors. And when I say staff, I mean everyone, including the cafeteria staff and custodians. Uh the school would not enjoy the same

051reputation and success without all of them. And my deepest thanks go to my entire staff. I also want to thank our students. Uh being greeted by hugs each morning as I stand outside with the kiddos is something that not many people get to start their day with uh in their job. I truly appreciate spending my days with the wonderful children of the Bernazani neighborhood. These kids are what makes our school great and my most important thanks go to them. Uh finally, I want to take my last moment here tonight to thank Mr. Gutro and Miss Lebo uh for their leadership and support of our school system during my time here at Bernazani. I truly appreciate your connections to burn to Bernazani, both of you, and your support of me both personally and professionally throughout the

052years. Uh, thank you so much for all you've done for Quinsey Public Schools. Thank you so much for your attention at this point. I welcome any questions that you have. >> Thank you, Mrs. Hub. >> Um, I do want to point out page 42 where you have my teachers are proud of me when I work hard in school, fifth grade 100%. And that's something I would totally highlight. That's impressive. >> Thank you. Um, I love your um your extended day offerings. The magnificent math club stood straight out to me. That sounds that sounds great. You have a lot of great great titles for your for your clubs that are great. Um, I would like to was there no kindergarten clubs? They can't do they don't have any. >> It was it was harder for us

053to find was you have to find the teacher to find the niche. You know what I mean? Uh, and kindergarten is a grade that not everybody wants to teach. Um but but we will we'll try to work on that in the spring. We did map it all out this year, but it is hard to find the kindergarten. >> Okay. And I also want to say too that um the question about the I read books in the class that include people who are similar. I have discovered over the years of this question coming up that the only way this is ever going to be fixed is if every school has autobiographies in the classroom. The kids write themselves and and have their own book. And Johnny Smith has a book about Johnny Smith that is about

054Johnny Smith for Johnny Smith to therefore then check yes on this question because it ain't happening. It just it just isn't gonna. So don't beat yourself up with I love that you're trying. I love that your school is making a huge effort on this. I think that's wonderful. You can't go wrong with putting more books in the in schools that are diverse and and and cover every aspect of everybody. But you're never going to fix this unless, like I said, Johnny Smith is only going to check that box if it's about him. That's my opinion on this question. So, hate to see everybody I hate to see the principles come in and really >> I know >> put themselves down on this because I they're you're all trying. You're all trying. You've been trying for

055years. It's just I just don't see it happening. >> And the books are there. >> Yeah, they are. And everybody's trying really hard and I just don't see it happening. But um thank you so much. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Mr. room. >> Thank you. Um, Peter, first thank you for your 20 years and congratulations for your 20 years serving the families of uh, Bernazani or Furnisburg school as I refer to it because uh, I I went there when I was a kid and I will say that um, you know, when when I went to Furnisburg Bernazani that I can still name every teacher that I had at every grade level and you have brought that same culture when you talk about the most important job that you could do is hiring. ing the

056people that are in front of the students and and I remember and it's the same culture today as I feel like it was when I was there and that's a tribute to you and your leadership and I appreciate it and it you know the vocal data speaks volumes about that and and I pay attention to the to the vocal data. I think it's really important, but you've also been very adaptable, I think, over the years and and uh pretty pragmatic in how you do it and and just the time when I was a ward counselor to to the time sitting on the school committee working with you has been nothing but a pleasure. So, I appreciate it. >> Thank you so much, Doug. Thank you, >> Miss Bios. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Dion.

057Um vocal data is amazing. Um, you know, definitely the uh number of opportunities that families have to get in, engage with the school, and be part of the community there is excellent. I mean, there's just so many ways that they can get in and be part of the community. So, that's fantastic. You guys do a great job on that. Um, I did like seeing the number of extended day programs you guys have. Um, my kind of questions or comments or maybe suggestions might be more on the goal side of things than the vocal side of things. Um, no science goal. Did was there a reasoning behind not including a science go? >> I did. I I spoke with Dr. Perkins about that as well only because we'd seen so much growth 19 years of growth

058and this was the first dip. So I felt like we weren't really doing anything wrong. But with that being said, we did carve out time for PD so that those three teachers can meet together and plan. Um but I just see it I see I see it as a dip, not as a trend. You know what I mean? We've been so successful in science through the years. >> Okay, that's we haven't changed the staff. So yeah. >> No, for sure. I definitely starting at 69% last year and going to 53. I mean 69% is extremely high. Um so definitely I just wasn't sure kind of where you know what you I assumed you had addressed it in some other way. So I just wanted to ask about that. Um >> the math goal. Um it

059seemed like you kind of crushed those numbers this year. Um can you tell me what brought you to not want to increase those math goal numbers? >> Yeah, we elevated them last year. Um, and then we did we did crush them, but we but we we jumped up. I I think we we did elevate a bit from last year. No, >> we >> just maybe even higher than what you had because it seemed like um your goals would have been below uh it seems like this year's goals uh 14 points for grade two, 13 for three and four, and 10 for five where you had a 19, 18, and 13 point jump. Um it just seemed like maybe they could have, you know. >> Yeah, we talked to the team. We just wanted to make

060them attainable, but also >> Okay. >> Yeah, we were doing well. So, >> all right. I just thought I'd ask a little bit more about that one. Um and then I just uh maybe next year just maybe a little more specific on the goals. Um I feel like there are sometimes we see these plans and every every school is a little bit different so it's not universal but sometimes we'll see things like picking out like you know fractions in math or some or ge whatever something in the map that um you guys seem to be struggling with kind of year-over-year and sort of addressing that one issue or maybe even the um individual growth projection goals something like that incorporating those in there instead of just a straight rate point increase. I just love to

061see that. Just to see a little bit deeper data and try to get those because you get great results, but even kind of going deeper on that would be fantastic. Absolutely. Thank you. I appreciate that feedback. >> All right. Thank you so much, Mr. G. >> I just want to say one more thing. I I noticed in your um activities and engagement, the 20th annual Jane Ferrell Smith ball game. She was my sixth grade teacher. She and she is still a dynamo. She is doing great things. So, um, I mean, again, that's the the culture you keep and you look back and and, uh, and you honor the folks that served before. So, >> Yeah. I can't believe it's been 20 years. >> Yeah. >> She was your sixth grade teacher. >> She was. >>

062My kids had >> Yeah. She was there forever. Yeah. >> And she was young then. >> My kids had her. What was she like 10 when you had her? >> So, I have a couple of questions. um really your vocal data and the comm the community feeling in the school is incredible. The the traditions that have been going on like that and the new things that are added um are just amazing. Um it really is an amazing community. I'm I'm also concerned about the goal statements. Um I'm concerned about the science. I understand what you said to Mrs. Purios, but if that's just a momentary dip or if it's not next year, you're going to be in >> We have to address it. Yes. Yeah. I mean, we're addressing it now, but we'll include it.

063>> Okay. Um, I I would like to have seen more data on the goals, too. I I think that the the map data is is good, but we're learning that through all of these things that the MAP data can be great because you could be starting here and doing really well, but just getting to here, but if your MCCAST scores are not showing a related uh increase, your growth in ELA was very low last year >> across the board with all population. So, I just think I would have liked to have seen a little more rigor in the goals and than we did this year. But except for that, uh you Oh, I love the diversity in your reach program, too. It's probably the most diverse reach program in the city. So, really, it's great

064to see that because that was our hope when we put reach in place that we'd get more more diverse folks there. I'll entertain a motion to accept this by Mrs. Hubble, seconded by Mr. Pole. All in favor? I >> Thank you. Good evening, Mr. Hennessy. Thank you so much for joining us. May you may begin. >> Good evening. I'm Jim Hennessy, the proud principal of the Wallston Elementary School, and I'm excited to be here to share the incredible work happening in our school, to celebrate our students and staff, and to present the 2526 school improvement plan. Before I dive in, I wanted to say a thank you to you and all the members of the school committee, Superintendent Mulvy, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Perkins, and members of the SLT. Your commitment to Quinsey's children, your steady

065support, your willingness to listen, and your investment in our schools makes all the difference. On behalf of the Wall School community, thank you for believing in what our students can accomplish. Of course, none of this happens without our amazing staff. Every single day, Wall teachers show up with energy, compassion, and high expectations. They not only challenge our students, but they support them. They create an environment where students want to learn. and I am I am grateful to work alongside them. And our students, they are the heart of Walston School. Their curiosity, their enthusiasm, and their kindness inspire us. We love watching them walk through the doors each day, ready to grow and learn. And finally, our parents and guardians continue to be true partners. Our PTO is strong, creative, and community centered. From the fun

066run to the trunk or treat to family bingo night and so many more event events, families bring a special spirit to Wallist that makes our community shine. We are enjoying their year-long theme this year rooted in community growing together. Looking back, it has been a year of exceptional growth. Last year, we set high goals in ELA, math, science, and social emotional learning. Tonight, I am thrilled to share that Wallist not only met our goals, we exceeded every single one. Our Massachusetts DZ accountability rating has climbed to an impressive 89% up from 85% last year and 83% the year before. In the area of MCCAST achievements, our MCCAST scores continue be to be a point of pride. In ELA, 65% of our students met or exceeded expectation compared to the state average of 42. That's an

0678% jump from last year and a 12% gain over two years. In math, 70% met or exceeded expectation compared to the state average of 44. And in science, 68% met or exceeded expectations with a state average of 46. These results tell a clear story. Wallist students are thriving academically and outperforming the state at every grade level and in every tested area. Our MAP growth is even more exciting. In ELA, every grade grade grade exceeded their targets with double-digit gains in several grades. In math, students surpassed expectations with increases of 17 to 24 RIT points, far beyond our goals. In science, grades four and five exceeded their growth targets as well. We also reduced the number of students in K and one needing intensive reading support by 23%, more than double our goal. In the in

068review of our vocal survey results, Wallist school climate score is 60, well above the state score of 50. We also exceeded the state in engagement, safety, and environment. Our students told us that they see our school as a place that is safe and welcoming. This steady year-over-year growth is a testament to our students hard work, our staff's dedication, and our community's unwavering support. Looking ahead, I'd like to share our 2526 school improvement plan. Our plan for the coming year continues our commitment to excellence, equity, and being a positive learning environment. It reflects deep data analysis, targeted goals, and ongoing collaboration with staff, family, and students. Our English language arts goal is simply to build strong readers and writers. We will achieve this by focusing on strengthening foundational literacy in K&1 with a goal of lowering

069intensive need readers by another 10%. Increasing our MAP RIT growth in grades 2 to 5 and bumping achievement by 2% in MCCAST. We will be deepening writing instruction across all our teams using CLA and the writing revolution. Every grade level has a thoughtful targeted plan that ensures all readers grow and all writers shine. Our mathematics goal is to build confident and creative problem solvers. In math, we are aiming high, a 10-point rit increase across grades two to five. And we have a powerful plan to get there. Our priorities include strong commitment to illustrative math across all grades, daily math talks, hands-on center, hands hand on hands-on centers, and real world projects. Increased use of manipulatives and visual supports. collaboration with our math interventionist to provide meaningful small groupoup support and encouraging flexible thinking and multiple

070strategies truly building mathematical confidence. Our message to our students, you don't just do math, you are mathematicians in science and engineering. We want more hands-on discovery. We want science to continue to be a vibrant part of learning at Wallist. This year, students will engage in hands-on activities such as planting gardens, STEM Fridays, and weekly experiments. We'll use science notebooks to deepen inquiry and scientific thinking. We'll be strengthening writing in science through claim, evidence, and reasoning routines. We'll also be participating in signature wall projects like the animal fair, engineering projects, and the biome fair. We want students to see themselves as scientists, engineers, and problem solvers. And our plan supports that vision in the area of social emotional learning, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We want to be a community that cares. One of the things that

071makes Wall such a special place is our commitment to building a community where every student belongs, every voice matters, and every child feels seen. This year, we will hold weekly community circles, open parachute lessons. We look forward to introducing the kernels and exciting toolkit that reinforces positive behavior. We'll expand our family communication through Seesaw class dojo and talking points. We'll offer SEAL groups, check-ins, leadership opportunities, and kindness focused extended day programs. And of course, participate in the district's attendance matter campaign with a renewed focus on celebrating strong attendance. Together, these efforts will help create a school environment where students feel safe, supported, and empowered. Together, we are building a brighter future, literally and figuratively. Last year, our theme was born, team Wall-E, building a brighting brighter future. It was such a hit that we're going

072to continue with this year. Students wore hard hats. They took team photos and learned the meaning behind our monthly traits. The first letters of each of our traits even spell out an important message that is core to our school identity. We before me. Just like the teams of workers who came together to prepare our building last summer, our staff, our students, and families are working together to build something meaningful, a brighter future for every child who walks through our doors. In closing, Walston School is a place filled with enthusiasm, pride, hard work, and heart. Our achievement data is strong. Our growth is exceptional. Our school climate is positive. And our students are thriving. Thank you for the honor of sharing our plan with you and for your continued support. We look forward to another successful

073year. And as always, we welcome your feedback. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mrs. Kah. >> Do they have to go first? Okay. You sure? Um, congratulations. great work, you know, and it feels good when you get to probably for you to get to put this together and really see the work that you've been doing, you know, and the results. Um my I have one I'm looking at the PTO um money that's raised, which is phenomenal. Um is there a I don't know when I used to um work at one of the schools and PTO money has to be spent within that year, is that still a rule? like do you have to if you raise money in this school year, do you have to spend it within the year? Okay, because that was something that

074was was um that we used to have to do. But let me ask what do you do with that money? Where what what do we do? How how do you determine how it's spent with the PTO in your school? Can you have do you have any examples of how you've had this um contribute to to the school? >> Sure. I mean, it's a team effort. We have a very large PTO. M we get together and we discuss the priorities for the year. Um and then one of the their whole theme is about building community. So all of their events, nobody gets charged for anything. Everything is covered. Um we just want to do all of our events we uh we just want it to be open. We don't want any obstacles for anyone to come.

075Um so no one is paying for any of that. Um field trips are super supportive of all of our field trips. Um just classroom needs, events, people that come into our building. um like just like the Chinese New Year celebration, we had a dragon, all the different events that we have. Um they're just pretty they're so generous and they I feel like we all have a common mission which has been so fun and you know it's been a great team to work with year over year each year student parents graduate and new ones come on but it's been that like also Miss Hubley you know how it was. Um it's just been an awesome it's an awesome group of people. Um I feel like they're a working team. Um and wherever they wherever there's a

076need they just step up. >> Yeah. And and you give them as a as the principal maybe some ideas of where you might have need in the building as well. Anything extra that you would want that you would ask them to support. >> Of course. >> Is that correct? >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Um so that that's good. Um and I think that was my only question. Uh I did have something else but I can't think foggy today. Um but okay. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, my other thing was, can we get take some of that money to build a closet for the oven and the refrigerator enrichment? >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, >> Mrs. Hub. >> Thank you. Actually, on that point, I think you have a 14 person PTO this year,

077if I correct, I've been to a PTO meeting and it was literally three tables set up. It looked like you were at a wedding and this was the head table and you like waiting for a cheers kind of a thing. But yeah, I believe it's like 14 people in their PTO this year. >> Um, so uh page 48, the teacher support helps students who come to class upset 100% fourth graders agreed that that was that's impressive. That's very impressive to see that. I love seeing the 100% because I mean they all they all disagreed on something which is in insane and in its own. Um so what was I going to point out too? See um on the facilities uh another thing student desks and chairs are they broken or do we not have enough

078for students that we have in the building? >> Uh we have ample. We just I feel like they may become dated and we've been pretty fortunate like every now and then we'll get a classroom set. So, I'd love to be able to keep that, you know, keep in the rotation because some of them have been there for a while. >> Okay. So, they just need to be replaced. Yes. Okay. Right. And I love your goals. Congratulations on your progress. Um and I also love your um action steps. I think that very thoughtful um very thoughtful put through through all the action steps you have in your goals. And I love that you have a science, technology, and engineering goal. That's that's wonderful. So, thank you for this and thank you for the presentation. >> Appreciate

079it. >> Thank you, Mrs. Hublin. Mr. you got drum >> the um Jim like like I said to Peter um Quinsey is fortunate to have leaders like you and he and and a lot of the principles that we have that are extraordinary that have had so much time in the same building and know the parents and know the students and know the building and um and what you did on the across the board achievement and growth and assessment data is astonishing. It It is phenomenal. It It was super impressive, you know, and I can see the pride you have in sharing that with us this year. So, I want to congratulate you on that because those are great numbers across the board and um you know, as always, your vocal data is great, your community

080engagement is great. Um, and I think it's because you have you two have an exceptional team and are a great leader and have an incredible culture at Wallist and you know uh I'm winding down my time on the school committee, but uh you're a shining star that makes QPS so good. So, thank you. >> Appreciate that. Thank you. It's a great team and I thank you for everything, >> Miss Burios. >> Thank you so much, Mr. Hennessy for uh for the plan. As um M scale said, congratulations. It's a great plan. Um lots of great information, a lot of success going on in your building. Um for sure the vocal data, I just wanted to point out a few things. Just not only do the kids is it it's clear that the kids are safe

081and happy, but um that peer-to-peer interaction, you have really high numbers on that, which um isn't, you know, it it's been kind of up and down and kind of a struggle in some of the schools. So, um, knowing that the the kiddos are getting along with each other and feeling respected by each other, um, is huge. So, I think that's that just says the culture and the climate in your building. So, uh, that's fantastic. Um, and the one, uh, question that always, um, I always feel the most is in my school groups of students tease or pick on one student. And I, that question kills me because I want that to be 100%. No one agrees with that. It's totally not right. But the numbers that you have that 88.1% in grade four and 83.3%

082in grade five disagree with that. Um meaning that you know that's not really happening at your school. Students aren't seeing that. It's just phenomenal because I don't want anyone to ever any child to ever feel ganged up on or and it's very difficult at that age to not feel that way sometimes. So it's great. The numbers that you have there are fantastic. Um I had a couple questions um on the social emotional goal. The goal number four you have um three opportunities three plus opportunities. Is that per day per week? What what was the time frame of them? >> Um I don't know why I write that like that is because I feel like we do all of them that we write. So I don't know why I >> Yeah. Okay. So there's just ongoing

083opport. But um yeah, I don't know why I do that, but we most everything that's on there is what happens. >> Okay. I just wasn't sure if it was just you're shooting for having three kind of opportunities for kids a day. That felt very aggressive. It felt like a lot, but you know, maybe so because the students are feeling so supported. So I was just kind of more curious on that one. Um, and then on your goals, obviously, um, because you've done so great academically, now I'm going to, uh, now I'm going to scratch that a little more and say, um, so it feels perhaps especially in ELA, uh, where you saw an 11% increase, another 11%, seven and 6% increases in ELA, having a 3% kind of increase across or 8% for grade 2

084and a 3% for grades 3 to five. It felt like maybe they could have been a little stronger there. Did you >> It was How do you feel about that? >> It was a conversation. I feel like they've had such positive and the growth has been so great and we've kind of kept it at that. Obviously the goal is to exceed that each year. >> Um but I left it up to the teams and that's what I felt they felt comfortable with. Okay. And so that's what we left it at, but obviously I'm hoping to come back here next year and say we exceeded them again. >> Yeah. No, that's a perfect answer. I mean, as long as the team feels comfortable with that, that's fine. I just wasn't sure if you know I always

085like you know really aggressive goals like even if you don't meet it they're really great but I you know I just like to see us pushing it if we can just you know to get everything we can out of our students because they they can they can get there. We we see it. So um and I love the action steps. You had a lot of new things in your action steps. A lot of new action steps on everything which I thought was fantastic that you're continuing to grow. Um and then I just wanted to ask about the security cameras. Um, can you just talk a little bit more about that was in your facilities needs I believe or um security cameras needed to be updated. Are they not functioning? Are they do you need additional

086ones? What's happening there? >> Yes, >> both. Okay. So, we're kind of at a safety >> concern. I think it's been noted. It's a place. >> Great. And you need some printer ink. That feels like something we could do. Maybe we can get you some color printer ink. Um, feels like a pretty We have a generous PTO. So I felt better. >> Well, there you go. The PTO. Yes. The 14 the 14 PTO members could maybe help with that, but also I think we could as well. >> So, thank you very much. I appreciate it >> very much. >> Um, so I too want to say your your data is incredible. It really is incredible. The fact that you're the 89th percentile is amazing. Really is amazing. And it's something all of you should be

087proud of. the community. Uh, and I live in the neighborhood, so I know how people feel about the school very strongly. And I see those kiddos walking down the street every day happy as can be going to to your school. I loved the fact that you picked areas of focus for your goals because when your scores are that high, you really have to look at what's missing and you looked like you really drilled down to that in all of those goals to find an area of focus by grade level. So I that's amazing to me. It really is. So, you're now working on individual student stuff as opposed to can I make this school any better? I I'm I'm just so proud of you and so grateful for you to be here doing that uh

088and doing such a great job. >> Appreciate it. Thank you for saying that. >> So, I will entertain a motion to accept by Miss Regali, second by Mrs. Hubli. All in favor? >> I thank you so much. Keep up the good work. >> Thank you. Good evening. >> Good evening. >> Thank you so much for joining us. >> Thank you. Thank you for your time tonight and thank you for your review of our the school improvement plan for Athetherton. How the staff and I are really proud of the work that is reflected in the school improvement plan, the analysis and reflection of last year's goals as well as the action steps towards the goals for this school year. It's hard to believe that we are already a third of the way through this school year

089and we're off to a terrific start. I added some pictures um under each of our goals this year, pictures that are showing that our action steps are fully implemented and well on their way. Um we continue to use McLass and MAP as a measure for our academic goals. These screeners and assessments are really consistent. They're reliable. They provide um data very quickly which makes them practical and um easy for our teams to work with. We also have found that MAP is a really good predictor of MCCAST proficiency. I have I always show a visual. um they really help us progress monitor and adjust our instruction. Um these class or grade level folders that some of you have seen me show before are just a visual representation of the charts. Sure. the charts that you see

090in our school improvement plan of working to um increase proficiency and just next month, believe it or not, we will be doing our middle of the year benchmarks where, you know, we hope to physically be moving these students, you know, from the lower percentiles to raise their proficiency andor maintain their proficiency. Many action steps. We do these um for each class, each grade level. action steps that we put toward these to increase our proficiency include um data team meetings, mini ILT meetings where students staff can meet on students that are maybe not making adequate progress as we would expect, intentional planning in our um schedules using a designated wind block at grades 2, three, four, and five. um what I need also um explicit curricular engagement with our families, sharing information with our families consistently

091on what their students are learning in the classroom and how they can help. For our social emotional goal, we chose to build action steps this year around the work we are doing with the select schools project. Our trauma-sensitive schools task force team at the school has already had time to start reviewing the um survey given earlier this fall as well as the springs grade four and five vocal survey from DC and helped build and implement important action steps to continue to ensure all of our students, our staff and families feel they belong at Athetherton how action steps such as our grade level community meetings, community circles for students and staff, our partnership with raising multicultural kids for grade four and five in our March Madness bracket of books in our school assemblies. All ways we

092are intentionally working to make sure all students cultures, backgrounds, experiences and abilities are celebrated. That students continue to love to come to school each day. That they matter. Then they will engage more. they will come more and they will exceed. I am prepared to answer any questions or share more information on any of the data um in the school improvement plan or answer any other questions you may have. >> Thank you. Any questions anyone else? >> Thank you. Um it did show the uh the improvement plan, the school improvement plan did show a lot of uh improvement. I think I think on the um the MCCAST data uh from last year there were a couple uh really low numbers that last year made me very uncomfortable that this year it it was a marked improvement

093on on both of those. I know it's a different cohort of kiddos, but still the action steps you put in place to address that seem to be working. Um so that's fantastic. So I want to congratulate you on that. Um I just the thing that I noticed the most probably about yours um your plan was the difference between the vocal data between the fifth grade and the fourth grade. And I didn't know if you noted that or as a team if you guys had talked about that. Um you know nothing like super drastic but there was just kind of a difference in you know the uh the way students felt about each other. the students respect each other in my school and students get along with each other seem to be a little bit different

094on the grade levels and I just didn't know if you had had any conversations about that or if you had noted that at all. >> Uh we noted that as well. Grade four grade five was a little bit lower than the fourth grade reports. Um I think we have over the last two years we've made some nice um uh staffing shifts and um you know different um student support that you know maybe have you know contributed to that. Um there were a couple across the board grade four and five um from last year to this year that we did see some nice improvements with. Um, for example, when I need help, my teachers use my interest to help me. That was raised considerably at both grade four and five. Um, this one as well. Um,

095both grade four and five. In school, I learned how to manage and control my feelings when I'm upset. Last year, grade four and five was about 80% and this year closer to 95, which I think speak to some of the action steps that we've been really putting in about using our community circles and um showing you really great books where they're seeing characters, you know, that really persevere and work through um challenges and we do a lot with that. >> Okay. So, we're happy to see these are impacting the students as they're reporting. Um, and we'll continue to work on that. >> That's great. Um, and science, did you feel like you needed a science goal? You didn't feel like you we asked Mr. Dion, so I felt I had to ask you to >>

096and I knew you were going to ask me that. So, I've we've always had a science goal. So we talked as a school we as we also collaborated with principles you know that we don't technically need to have four goals you know we always had a reading math social emotional and science so we decided you know even though we're going to continue to work on science you know these action steps are kind of embedded there's a lot of them in um at the end of the school improvement plan things that we're doing um we just decided to really focus on the reading math and social emotional as far as our our goals and our improvement plan. Okay. But doing nothing differently than with our science instruction. >> Okay. Yeah. I mean, I did see an

097improvement in the MCCAST and obviously MAP, you're still growing as well. I just we're still a little below the state um kind of in that MCCAST score. So, just Yeah, I definitely wouldn't lose sight of that, but um as long as you're working on it and still have a plan for that and focus on it, then that's great. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Anyone else? >> I have a I do have one. I'm looking at the at at all of the schools when in this uh vocal um data >> and one of the questions that I think is interesting is that um the one about um when I am home I like to learn more about things that we are not learning in school. I think your school the kids really get

098it. that means that they have to do more homework when they're home because all the other K all the other schools seem to have been like half yes I like to half I don't and and here you have 72% do not want to do learn at home so that question to me is interesting because I I I try to think like what are kids thinking when they read that >> do they think that they just go and learn on their own and you know go and find some materials or read something and look something up online or is it homework? What's the intent of that question? Do we know? >> It's a terrible question. I think it's we talked about it for years. >> I think it's what you said first. I think it's that

099they that they see the connection to real world or real life, right? And that they want to continue learning about whatever the topic is that it sparks an interest and that then they would want to continue learning about it on their own at home. But I do think, you know, the reality is fourth and fifth graders >> play soccer. >> That's not really how we think or Legos, you know. >> I think I'd like to see a question asking the kids, what do you think this question means? >> And and see what they and see what they come up with. You know, >> um >> there's a couple of questions in that survey that are useless. >> There's a lot of questions that we don't we always talk about this every year, but I'm looking

100at that one and your school was the was the most concrete in the 72% and as opposed to some of the other schools. But but thank you for everything that you're doing too. Thank you. >> So um I would have liked to see a little more on the MCCAST and your goals because your growth is so low in MCCAST. So your correlation is not necessarily the the MAP scores are not actually improving your MCAST scores. It doesn't appear to be because your growth has been low um in both ELA and math. I don't know how it is in science on the MCCAST, but um but that so I would have liked to say something more about that, but um I think the rest of your stuff is great. Class size is great. I'm concerned about

101the radi radiator covers. Is that a safety issue? I mean, are those hot radiators available for kids to lean against touch? >> Uh we are working on, you know, it it it never really has become an issue, but maybe that we've had new boilers put in in the last couple years. the radiators can get hot. So, um, that's actually a work in progress and we're pretty much almost all finished with the cars. >> Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. That was my main concern. So, >> I make a motion. I will entertain a motion by Mr. McGlin to approve. Seconded by Mrs. Hubley. All in favor? >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Mr. Silia, >> good evening. >> All set. Well, I want to start by thanking uh Mayor Ko, the Superintendent Malvy,

102Dr. Perkins, um the leadership time team behind me and this body for all your support as we undoubtedly approach some exciting times in the Squanum School community. This year, the appreciation feels extra meaningful as we began the school year by transitioning into temporary learning spaces and modular classrooms. This was a major undertaking, one that required flexibility, teamwork, and patience from every corner of the Squanum community. And I am proud to say our staff, our students, and our families met this challenge head on with positivity and flexibility. From packing and relocating an entire school over the summer to learning new routines and opening our doors for a successful first day of school, the Squantum community demonstrated what it truly means to work together and support each other during this time of change. We also benefited some

103from some outstanding teamwork led by the mayor, the superintendent's leadership team, Paul Hines and his staff, our teachers, our custodians, as well as the construction team made up of PCA 360, Ara Street, and Lee Kennedy. The collaboration and coordination was outstanding, and we cannot say thank you enough for all the work in a short amount of time that led to a very successful opening of this school year. Despite these changes to our school, we have kept a clear focus on teaching, learning, and academics. The school improvement plan before you reflects that commitment. This year's plan continues to prioritize academic rigor with focus goals and action steps in ELA, math, science, and social emotional learning. We are also following the district's lead with the attendance matters campaign and working very hard to improve the overall attendance

104of all our students. We are excited to share some positive data points and trends we observed from last year's school data. Miss Healey, Squanum School's assistant principal and grade four math math focus teacher will take you through some highlights. In ELA, students in grades 2 to 5 achieved MAP Rick growth of 15, 12, six, and five points, meeting or exceeding our grade level targets. Our students also outperform the state on the ELA MCCAST tests in multiple areas, including our focus areas of constructed responses and essay questions. This is a direct reflection of our teachers commitment to CKLA, our professional development efforts, and focused writing instruction across the curriculum at each of our grade levels. In math, we observe some of our highest levels of MAP growth since beginning the assessment several years back. Grade two,

105an increase of 20 RIP points. Grade three, 23 RIP points. grade four, 17 RIP points, and 16 RIP points in grade 5. This is exceptional growth, and it represents the entire school's commitment to illustrative math, improved pacing, better use of classroom manipulatives, and our now fully implemented STM math program. And for the record, we reached our 80% puzzle progress goal schoolwide last year, and helped the infamous Penguin Gigi get back home. In science, we also met our goal by not only improving math science scores, but seeing an significant eight-point increase in the percent of possible points on the grade 5 MCCAST compared to the previous year. Our teachers at every grade level continue to strengthen hands-on science experiment experiments, STEM challenges, and CKLA knowledge units that support science vocabulary and comprehension. And attendance does matter.

106We have worked to make improving attendance a priority and we are happy to share that we made significant gains in this area. Our chronically absent rate decreased from 11.2% to 9.7% with several subgroups meeting or exceeding their targets. And finally, we are very proud of our vocal survey results from last year as they were among the strongest we've seen in recent years. Students in grades four and five scored 70 in overall school climate, 20 points above last year, 67 in engagement, above the state average, 66 in safety climate, also above the state, and 72 in environmental climate, one of our highest scores to date. >> This tells us that even during a year of transition, our students feel safe. They feel heard, valued, and supported. In that regard, we also wanted to share that this

107year's plan continues to elevate social emotional learning and inclusivity through the implementation of the new Colonel's SEAL curriculum focused on trauma sensitive schools. We introduced the raising multi multicultural kids program to our grades four and five students. We continue to have monthly PBIS assemblies highlighting character traits and celebrating students. And we have a community and belonging team that continues to plan outstanding schoolwide celebrations and events. And of course, our student council continues to shine, leading our community service projects, organizing schoolwide initiatives, and strengthening our commitment to kindness, safety, respect, responsibility, and not forgetting to be awesome. We have also maintained strong communication and family involvement. and and we hope this was on full display at the beginning of this school year as we work to communicate and overcommunicate the many many changes related to our

108temporary conditions. We continue to be proud of our schoolwide newsletters and communications using the small platform, a supportive PTO that always supports our students, staff and families, our open house, our math night, our veterans day efforts, unity day, read across America and much much more. enrichments, enrichment programs, and engaging afterchool clubs from the new girls on the run program to robotics, MCCAST support, and an upcoming breakfast club focused on improving attendance and physical activity. Our concerts, our ceremonies, cultural celebrations, and more with a with more with, excuse me, with a focus on maintaining all these programs during the construction phase of the new school project. All these outcomes reflect the dedication of our teachers, our interventionists, our support staff, and the incredible collaboration of our school-based teams. They also reflect the perseverance of our students

109who are showing us every day that learning can happen anywhere, whether in a traditional classroom or a modular building. We want to say thank you to our inc the entire Squantum staff including our teachers, our paraprofessionals, custodians, clerical staff, specialist, interventionist and and cafeteria staff. Your professionalism, creativity, and kindness continue to shine through even as we navigate new learning spaces and routines. We also want to thank our amazing students for their enthusiasm and their adaptability. They have embraced this year's changes with curiosity and pride. and to our families. Your partnership, your trust, and your ongoing support have been critical to making this transition a smooth and successful one to start the school year. This is an exciting chapter for Squanum School. As we watch the new building rise, we are reminded that while our physical

110space is changing, our values, our pride, and our shared commitment to students remains as strong as ever. We are honored to present this school improvement plan and look forward to continuing to work together to support the success and well-being of all our students. And who knows, this plan may end up in a time capsule and read to the Squantum community 100 or 150 years from now. Thank you for your time and we certainly welcome your feedback and any questions you may have. >> Thank you, >> Mrs. Bios. >> Thank you. Thank you. Um, thank you to you both. Um, just the conditions that, you know, you've had to kind of go through this year since the last time you were here before us and just, um, the way it's been navigated. I was very anxious

111about how it was all going to go. And, um, you guys have taken it all in stride with positivity and, um, it seems like cleanness of communication. Families seem clear on what's happening, what's going on. Your vocal data is amazing. So, I mean, it's it's getting through even with all the chaos that, you know, you may feel uh that you're going through, but um you guys are really holding it together, and we thank you for that because it could really be um quite a mess, um otherwise. So, thank you for keeping it all together and leading the team through this. Uh and it's going to be great um once, you know, once all the construction's done and everything. And I'm excited for you when that happens. But, um and it was a great plan. Like

112I say, the vocal data is great. the fourth grade, there were like 100%s everywhere. I don't know how you got that many kids to agree on anything, but 100% all over the board on those vocal questions, which is great. Um, it just really shows how how great the culture is there. So, thank you for that. Um, I'm going to go back to front, I guess, this time. So, your class size, you have a couple classes that are 24. Um, that makes me a little anxious. Do you want to talk a little bit about um how you're managing that? Is that problematic having those high classes? >> I I you know, it's it's grade five. Um we we have two classes in grade five. Um I we have a great teaching team in that staff. Um

113we were able to get the um math support teacher in there as well and and we spread it out and and given both grade five classrooms are in the modular classrooms, I'm okay with the physical space and and the the teachers have been great. >> Okay. So that's working out. Okay. Okay. um the extended day programs. Um I only saw one offering for K to uh K to2 the STM math. Um is there anything else? And but then also kind of in the the narrative portion a in a different place there was um box kickball running pickle ball is that um is that for grace K to2? I didn't see that in the list of opportunities. So I didn't know if that was exhaustive. Is there anything for K to 2? I guess >> there.

114So it fluctuates based on staffing. there there will be an SD math program again. Okay. Um we do do some physical programs in the spring. We usually let our K and and our one students because they're younger transition the first part of the year and then we offer some and then there's some programs um we have that new girls on the run program but we're going to start according our PTO is very supportive. We're going to do a boys on the run program but we open that up to everyone and then it's based on if they if students want to join. >> Okay that's great. So there is something for them. Yes. Okay, that's great. Thank you. Um >> what is your I so I see that your attendance um data is great. I think

115uh your absenteeism data uh is great um and it went down this year to 9.7, but you have it as a goal again. What's your new goal? If 9.7 seems great, but are you shooting for a number? Well, we're we're following the district's lead with the attendance matters and and we're just all over that and and I think it's an effort to we benefited a lot last year and and I think a lot of the school culture and climate which I've always been proud of because I'm surrounded by a great staff and teachers and families in the community, but it was a bit sentimental last year in packing. Um so with attendance, we wanted to give kids a reason to come to school. We were talking about the proud history and the tradition of school

116and and then com combine that with following the district's lead with attendance matters. We thought that that would be a nice goal that we partnered with some of the seal goals uh you know the colonel's program in the implement implementation of the RMK. >> Right. Right. Yeah. I guess I >> if it's going to be an official goal. Yeah. It's just it's hard to kind of measure it if there's no you know how do how do we know if we met that goal if we're just saying we're gonna we're just gonna focus on you know what I'm saying? like if if you need to have it as a goal, then I think maybe specifying kind of what you want to get to would be helpful. Or if you're just happy to kind of keep that

117as something you want to work on, maybe it doesn't need to be an official goal, that type of thing. That's sort of where I'm kind of going with that question or that line of thought um on there. But because I think you're doing great on the attendance um especially through all the chaos. So um I think that's fantastic. Um math math map goal. Um, I was just looking at the, um, you kind of similar to Wallist, um, you sort of kicked the your your own goals butt last year and the math map goals. So, um I was curious as to why perhaps you didn't feel that you should have higher um math map goals this year. Like I as um your assistant principal described 20 23 17 points higher and your new goals are 14,

11812, 8, and 8. They just >> Yeah, I think similar to some of my colleagues in their response, we we really do, especially as part of the assessment day and the assessment day cycle, we put it in the hands of the teachers to make some some of the decisions on that. I I certainly see your point. Um, we shifted our our goal writing this year to be inclusive from K all the way to five. Um, so, you know, with K, we're doing an ST K and one and ST math portion of that. and and then we gave um the staff some liberties to set the goal, but it's certainly point taken. >> Yeah. No, I definitely see that I in your goals having both the dibbles and different ways of assessing not just the map

119the map. Um so I appreciate that as well. Um yeah, I always like to see aggressive goals. Um or even just the um the individual uh growth projection goals if that's a way to get to it as well. That might be a little bit different for you. It's a different way of looking at it to sort of get those to be a little bit further because your kiddos are are getting there. They're achieving that. So, I want to take advantage of that. Um, and I just wanted to ask you one last thing. How is gym working out? Um, I know that that was kind of the thing that we hadn't quite figured out with uh the way this year was going to work. How has Jim >> I'll tell Well, a couple It's a two-part

120answer. We've benefited from some great weather. Yeah. >> Um, and then that space um has developed into a better space than I think anyone imagined. >> Um, it's a lot bigger. um it's appropriate and there's acoustical panels that surround um the perimeter of around those classrooms and in the space. So, it's it's worked out great and and thanks to to all of your efforts um combined SLT in the committee, our class sizes are low enough that we've able to been we've been able to kind of manage classes in that space. >> Okay. So, >> and Brian Miller deserves a lot of credit for that. He's >> Oh, for sure. There's a whole team uh working on that. I know. Um, but they are able to move enough, especially with the really cold weather that's happening

121now. I just want to make sure the kiddos are getting some movement time. >> Yeah, we we had a conversation the other day that we we're going to line the floor with a pickle ball court and do some other things to enhance the space, anticipating uh the winter weather, but it's it's worked out really great. That's good to hear. Thank you very much. >> Yeah, >> thank you, Mr. >> Um, so Mr. Sylvia, yeah, the vocal data is the best I've ever seen. We're proud of it >> in any of our schools. You should be proud of it, especially during a year of kind of disruption. So, managing to make sure the building still felt that welcoming and um supported is a pretty amazing feat for your staff. So, I appreciate all their work and

122your work. And I will ex entertain a motion to accept by Mrs. Hubbley, seconded by Mr. Bgoli. All in favor? >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Are you too mine? Feel free to pull back. >> Hi, Miss Dusty. You guys can take over. >> Okay. Good evening. Thank you for having us tonight. We're very excited to be here and we thank you for your ongoing support as I um continue my 19th year at Monontlair. Um it continues to be my honor and pleasure to serve such an amazing school committee and school community. Um tonight I have with me my assistant principal, Mary Hurley. I thank her for joining me tonight. We both appreciate the opportunity to share our school improvement plan with you. For us, this is more than just reviewing numbers. It's

123a chance to celebrate what we see in our school every single day. The energy, growth, and heart our students bring into the building. It's incredible to witness, and we don't take the privilege of doing this work for granted. To start, we'd like to highlight some of the academic growth we have seen this year because our students work incredibly hard and it truly shows. Early lit early literacy was a major focus for us this year and our students really rose to the challenge. In kindergarten, students below benchmark decreased from 67% at the start of the year to just 17% by June. And in grade one, students at or above benchmark grew from 71% to 87%. And the above benchmark group increased from 42% to 65%. These aren't just numbers. They represent children discovering that they are

124readers and that they can be successful. Watching that confidence grow has been one of the best parts of our year. >> As that early literacy foundation strengthens, we're seeing the impact carry right up into the upper grades. Our MCCAST and MAP data this year shows constant and in many cases exceptional performance across grades three to five. In third grade math, 57% of our students were meeting or exceeding expectations, which was 13% above the state average. In fourth grade ELA, 55% of our students were meeting or exceeding, which is 14% higher than the state, and only 8% were not meeting expectations as compared to 19% statewide. Additionally, in fourth grade, 75% of our students were meeting or exceeding um expectations, which was 32% higher than the state, and only 3% were not meeting expectations, which was

125um compared to 17% of the state. Additionally, fifth grade science, 63% of our students were meeting or exceeding expectations, which was 17% above the state's average of 46%. As we celebrate these impressive academic achievements, it's also important to remember that our school success isn't measured by just test scores. Equally important is the vibrant, inclusive community we are building. One that celebrates and honors the many cultures, languages, and traditions represented by all of our students and families. An event that brings this spirit to life at Monontlair is our multicultural celebration. A true testament to the diversity and richness in our school community. Our students and families represent over 28 different languages and countless cultural traditions. The celebration is one of the most well- attended events of the year, bringing together students, families, and staff to share

126performances, food, art, stories, lots of laughter, and lots of learning about our families. It's more than just an event. It reflects our values of respect, inclusion, and in pride of who we are. Seeing our students explore and celebrate each other's cultures is inspiring. It streng strengthens their sense of belonging and helps build a school community where every child feels valued and recognized. At the multicultural fair, we dove into new experience experiences. We tried flavorful Haitian food that surprised our taste buds. enjoyed watching Irish step dancing, learned to use chopsticks, practiced balancing a Vietnamese bamboo dragonfly on the end of our fingers, and ended the day with a beautiful henned design on our hands. At the end of the evening, we were all smiling from the wonderful cultures that we got to experience. When we talk

127about community, one of the things we're most proud of this year is the sense of belonging our students feel. Our student council helped lead the way in that work. They organized unity day, promoting kindness and inclusion. They ran helping hands at Thanksgiving to celebrate students good deeds, send messages of kindness, and provide tips on how to be a good classmate. These visual displays celebrate positive behavior, reinforce our shared values, and serve as daily reminders of the caring environment that we strive to create. Of course, we can't talk about our school culture without highlighting some of the moments that make our community so special. For example, our staff first fifth grade student turkey bowl that's become a tradition at Monontlair School. It's an event full of laughter friendly most of the time competition and hometown pride

128since so many of our teachers attended Quinsey schools and we end up doing Quinsey verse North Quinzy with our teachers um because so many of our students go on to become teachers here in Quinsey public schools and we've been around long enough that some of our students that we had as teachers are now back teaching in our building. So it's great to see full circle. It's so much fun. Um, beyond the touchdowns and cheers at this um, annual event, what truly matters is the event represents um, how our students are seeing their teachers. They're being they're models for our our children. They're seeing the teachers encourage each other, model teamwork, have fun together, and most importantly, it's making school a place where students want to be. It's a place where students want to come every

129day. These relationships built through both playful competition and everyday interactions create an environment where students feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. I see it in classrooms every day. Recently, in an e classroom, a student very excitedly exclaimed, "I saw his voice." This was in response to a new student, brand new to our school, brand new to the country, who um confidently answered a question for the very first time. Um, so it's showing how our students are becoming empowered learners and how they celebrate each other's success. Um, it's also the same excitement when a classmate arrives to school early in the early in the morning on a fire engine thanks to the Quinsey Fire Department as a reward for a recent school fundraiser, which is another example of the whole school community coming together in

130enjoy and in celebration. It's moments like these, big and small, that capture the heart of our school. A place where learning, community, and pure excitement, can truly coexist. Feeling connected in these ways also supports another area where we've worked hard, attendance. This year, our overall chronic absenteeism remains steady at 5.2%. But we saw significant improvement with our lowest performing subgroup, dropping from 6.9% to 3.7%. Our attendance team fosters a strong community of caring and belonging for all students. The team meets monthly, but support happens daily through collaboration across various staff roles. For example, our office secretary calls families with warm, proactive communication, such as notifying parents when a student is eligible for the a bus. The school nurse checks in with students who have been absent, offering health-based support and reassurance. Our guidance staff provides

131emotional day-to-day support to help students feel connected and ready to learn. Even former former teachers frequently volunteer to serve as trusted check-ins or mentors for students who need an extra connection. Students will proudly visit the office to share sticker charts and attendance rewards, reinforcing motivation and celebration. This collective team-based approach sets a positive tone and strengthens a schoolwide culture where every student feels seen, supported, and valued. All of this academic growth, new initiatives, stronger culture, better attendance, and celebrating our diversity speaks to how deeply our community cares about its children. And in closing, we want to offer a heartfelt thank you to all of our community members. to the school committee, thank you for your guidance and ongoing support. To the superintendent, um, Superintendent Movie, Dr. Dr. Perkins, and the entire superintendent's leadership team, thank

132you for believing in our work and walking alongside with us. To our Montlair staff, the absolute best staff around, their creativity, dedication, and heart show in every single thing they do every single day. And that's from our teachers to our cafeteria to our custodians and everybody in between. I don't possibly want to name everybody because I certainly don't want to forget anybody. Um, but it's truly a team effort and I am blessed with the absolute best team around our families and our PTO members. Thank you for your trust. We always tell them, "Thank you so much for trusting us with your children. It's a true privilege for us to be able to work with their children every single day." And of course, most importantly, our students, their curiosity, kindness, determination, and humor inspire us every

133day. We are truly privileged to do this work. We thank you um for supporting our school and to help ensure that every child has a chance to learn, grow, and shine. So, thank you for your time and we welcome your feedback and questions. >> I said I'll say something. >> Okay. >> Um congratulations. I I I love your school. I've only been there and the last time I was there, you had beautiful landscaping outside and >> the students do that. I can't we can't take credit for that. >> Oh my god. Well, I thought Oh, I I was giving credit to um the building department in the park department. Well, I take that back. >> That's one of our clubs actually and um we probably have in a week between 40 and 50 students Tuesdays

134and Thursdays um that take a lot of pride in doing that and they even come um over the summer months to water it and take care of it. >> They do a great job. >> They do a lovely job. They really do. It's beautiful. Um I think you know the three words that you said seen, supportive, supported, and valued. And that really I think is one of the keys to having success in a building because you know kids and adults, we all want to feel like someone is paying attention to us and and is there for us and and pays attention to what they're doing, good and bad. Sometimes, you know, maybe bad behavior is because they're looking for that attention as well. But um I I love those three when you when you said

135that because I think that is a reflection of why you would have success in your building. So thank you for doing that. Thank you, >> Mr. Gro. >> The um you know, I I've always believed that our neighborhoods are defined by our elementary schools. I think people associate with the elementary schools. And earlier tonight, we had a a couple of principles here that are as long tenur as you are. and I gave them a shout out and you equally um Renee deserve a shout out for your long tenure and and the work that you've put in for the city of Quinsey and QPS and the Montlair community. I think that the length of that tenure matters to the parents, to the students, to the neighborhood, you know, has has um and the culture that you've

136created there is incredible. And you know, you two come every year and you adapt and you bring changes and and you know, there are traditions like the May festival which I think is phenomenal and you know brings everybody in the Montlair community together and um this is just a unique opportunity for us to hear the good work that you do. But I I see it and I've seen it for 20 years and uh keep up the good work. Thank you. >> Thank you. Thank you very much for both of you for being here. Um, I love that every school, uh, every principal has said that they have the best staff and the best families and the best students. And I love that because we up here have the best. I mean, that's how you know

137that we have 19 buildings that think that, you know, they have the best. So that we have all the best in all of our 19 schools. So, thank you um for that and thank you to your staff and all your families and students. Um, great uh great growth. There's a lot of great growth in here. The dibbles data was fantastic. Um the vocal data was great. Absenteeism is off the charts great. Again, the the lowest performing students having an impact in that as well is huge. Um so that's hard work put into that and making those families understand that it's important to be there. So thank you for doing that outreach and that hard work on that. Um the accountability data was great. Your um math and science MCCAST data was phenomenal. It's, you know,

138the MCCAST is where are always like, well, it's MCCAST and the map's good, though. But I mean, you guys are really on the MCAST are really crushing it. So, great work. Um, because that's not easy to do. So, um, excellent there. Um, so just a lot of good things there. Um, and a lot of great growth. Uh, I saw that you had security cameras on your, um, facilities needs and that's been carried over since last year. Um, do you want to discuss that at all if the need for it or where you need those? So I think um just trying to keep up with the technology and just to improve it a bit. Um we always look and say the most important thing is that we have a safe building. So that's just one area

139that we look and say how can we improve it a bit more. Yeah. >> Um so that's certainly why that's on there. We did have an addition of a um storage shed that's outside um which we're very grateful for, but that is impeding one of our cameras to one of our main entrances. So that was one of the um areas that we would like to see addressed. >> Okay. I'd love to see us work on that and make that a priority on especially for a main entrance like that. Um, and your May festival, as Mr. Gutcher said, is amazing and those raffles are like >> totally like any nothing I've seen before. So, I'm looking forward to that and thank you very close to that by >> Oh my gosh. Is it the 90th year

140or something? Yes. >> Is it Is it the 90th this year? >> Yes, it will be. I >> I can't even believe it. It's It's crazy that something's gone on that long. So, congratulations and thank you. >> Thank you. your kids come from far away some I mean like far away >> we have students that are up behind home people in that area >> and they're still feeling >> like they're belong there like they are part of the neighborhood your extended day offerings are phenomenal they really are and your community and they the family engagement stuff is wonderful and it's I mean I've been to my kids all went there. So, we the May festival for a million years and it's still going and it's wonderful and I I just think it's a great little

141place. Everything everything about your plan. I loved your goals. I really did love your goals. You were really focused on your on your goals this year and the dibbles as Mrs. Bertio said from last year were phenomenal. Great extended day offering great class size. Looks like a great place to me. Still remains a great place. >> Yes. >> So, I'll entertain a motion to accept by Mrs. Hubley, seconded by Mr. goalie. All in favor? >> Thank you so much for coming in. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you, staff. >> Thank you. You may start. >> Okay. Good evening everyone. I'm members of school committee. Mayor Ko, Superintendent Malvy, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Perkins. It's my pleasure to be here to present to you on behalf of the Snug Harbor Community School the 2526 school

142improvement plan. And with me tonight is Snug Harbor's assistant principal Diane Babcock. We are proud to be here to represent Snug Harbor. From our amazing preK students to our awesome fifth graders, families and staff work together to make each day a great experience and a successful day for our students. And this extends beyond academics to ensuring that our students feel safe and welcome at Snug. It's an incredible and amazing staff that is dedicated to providing the best possible experience for all of our students. At Snug, we strive to offer a variety of afterchool programs to meet the interests of our students. to highlight a few. Every fall 60 students participate in snug soccer and many family members come and watch and cheer on the students. This year we added indoor basketball for our third graders.

143And another after school we have this year is movement and mindfulness where several of our care students stay and engage in motor movements and mindfulness techniques. The last event I would like to highlight is our third cozy up with a good book night which this year will be in January. And last year's was another great success. Uh Mrs. Babcock will highlight some other of our afterchool programs. And the last event I'd like to highlight is Snug Harbor's traditional Memorial Day ceremony that we hold each year honoring the six Germantown heroes. So when reflecting on last year's data, we acknowled we acknowledge that we're not where we would like to be on MCCAST. However, we do believe that we our school has put together a plan that will get Snug Harbor to our goal. This year,

144we have determined that our focus will continue to be on identifying specific skills of individual students that need to be developed in both ELA and math. After a thorough analysis of our MAP and MCCAST data, no single area stood out above any other. For this reason, we are continuing our practice from last year of developing differentiated targets for our students based on their MAP results from fall. And this is reflected in our goals on pages 16 through 27. I'm excited to highlight the growth that our students experienced in the in grade in all grades and subjects last year. On map ELA testing from fall to spring, our students have shown growth meeting or exceeding the projected RIT growth levels in these grades. On page six, in grades two and three, we were close to our

145projected writ with within one point. And in grades four and five, our students exceeded the projected growth target. On MCCAST on page 41, our third grade did see a decline in the percentage of students who scored in the meeting or exceeding categories. We have put in several action steps in our goals to address this drop off. In grade four, we saw an increase from 20 to 31% and in grade 5, we saw an increase from 20 to 22% of students scoring in these meeting and exceeding categories. In mathematics on page 41, our students saw growth on MCCAST and MAP testing. On MCCAST, our third graders again saw a decline in meeting or exceeding categories. And we have con put in several action steps to address in our goals to address this drop off. In grade

146four, we saw an increase from 31 to 36% and in grade 5, we saw an increase from 11 to 23% in the meeting and exceeding categories. In grades two through five of MAP testing in math, we on page 42, we exceeded our projected growth scores. Grades 2 through four saw growth of 15 or higher RIT points, and grade five saw over 10 writ points of growth. And in science on page 42, our students showed growth in grades four and five on the MAP assessment. In both grades, we met our goal from last year's school improvement plan. In fourth grade, we saw 13 points of growth, and in grade five, we saw seven points of growth. And on MCCAST in page 41, our fifth graders increased the percentage of students in the meeting or exceeding category

147from 22 to 31%. And another area that I'd like to highlight on page 8 is the growth our CARES students had on the ALT MCCAST and ELA and math. 60% of students received a rating of progressing. And this progress is due to the hard work of the CARES team and their students. Diane will now review our ELA goals from last year. Good evening and thank you for giving me the opportunity to reflect on the incredible work done by our students and staff over the past year. Tonight I will begin our goal reflection in the area of English language arts. Our first goal centered on our kindergarten and grade 1 students through analysis using MClass data. Grade 1 met the target with 100% of students demonstrating at least 10 points on the nonsense word fluency and

148correct letter sound subtest. In kindergarten, 20 of 22 students have met this goal, falling slightly short of the target. Both grades, however, demonstrated substantial growth and the percentage of students meeting or exceeding grade level benchmark. In fact, 64% of our kindergartens had met it and or rather fell in the met or exceeding benchmark and 60% of our grade one students fell in the meeting or exceeding category by the end of the year. Our next goal focuses on our grades 2 through 5. This goal includes two measures, one MCCAST and one MAP assessment. When reflecting on our MCCAST in ELA, we did fall short of the mark. However, when looking at the school growth dist distribution chart, we see that 53% or 82 out of 155 students had made moderate to high growth on ELA. Furthermore,

149based on our 2425 map results, we did in fact meet our schoolwide goal. 60 out of 152 students or 39.4% 4% moved to the next highest percentile percentile band slightly exceeding our target. We're pleased with the growth demonstrated across our classrooms and the progress made towards our target. Specific grade level progress is highlighted on page 11. This grade level data analysis and enables us to identify target groups and make instructional shifts that directly addressed student need. Finally, when reflecting on our LDC students and their 2425 MClass results, we identified several encouraging areas of progress. Half of the students increased their correct letter sounds from the beginning of the year to the end, and 36% demonstrated growth in the non-sensory fluency subtest. These results provide valuable insight and affirm the need to continue strengthening our instructional

150practices particularly in the area of funological awareness where targets we targeted shifts can further accelerate student growth. Scott will now go over math and science goals. In our math goal on page 12, we did exceed our MAP goal in all grade levels with the exception of grade three who nonetheless saw 24% of students move up at least one percentile band on MAP. While we did not meet our MCCAST part of the goal, we did note some encouraging progress as the percent percentage of students who were in the meeting or exceeding category increased by 3% schoolwide. And in our science goal on page 42, we showed growth in grades four and five on MAP, exceeding our MAP goal by at least two RIT points in each grade. Diane will now reflect on our SEAL goal. >>

151Our 2425 social and emotional learning initiative has proven successful once again. The consistent focus on SEAL through monthly lessons equip students with essential tools to strengthen their emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and overall well-being. It is clear that this work has had a positive impact on our students. Beyond our SEAL efforts, we continue to prioritize reducing chronic absenteeism. Unfortunately, we did experience a setback in those results with our overall rate increasing by 5.6% percentage points. However, there were encouraging signs of progress, particularly for our lowest performing subgroup, which saw a decrease of 2.3 percentage points compared to 2024. And then finally, the three dimensions of the school climate um that we were able to use through the vocal survey. In the area of engagement, students in grade four and five reported feeling recognized, cared for, and

152supported by our snug staff. Notably, 91% of fourth graders and 92% of fifth graders indicated that their teachers accept them for who they are. In the area of safety, a strong majority of fourth graders, 90% reported that teachers support or help students who come to class upset. However, there are aspects of safety that require additional attention. Only 44% of fourth graders and 58% of fifth graders shared that they feel safe expressing their feelings in the classroom. We hope that continued emphasis on community circles and social and emotional lessons will help students feel more comfortable sharing their emotions in a supportive environment. And speaking of environment, this dimension of the vocal survey reflects a strong and positive school culture. An impressive 95% of fourth graders and 90% of fifth graders reported that their teachers are proud

153of them when they work hard. And an area of growth for many, as I've heard pre previous schools say, is that students motivation to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Only 41% of fourth graders and 32% of fifth graders expressed interest in learning more about school topics at home. strength strengthening our family and home connections will be essential to improving student engagement in this area and then the new school improvement plan for 2526. >> So when developing our goals for this year, our staff analyzed MCCAST and MAP and MClass data which was then used to develop our goals and action steps that will continue our students growth while addressing the areas of need. As you will see in our ELA and math goals for grades two through five, we have decided to continue our focus

154on increasing students percentile level on the MAP assessment. The decision to concentrate on increasing percentile levels is grounded in the understanding that targeted growth on MAP alone does not guarantee the same level of growth on MCCAST. By focusing on increasing students percentile rank to the next level, we aim to ensure that their learning progress is not just maintained but also accelerated with the intention of ultimately improving both their MAP and MCCAST performance. And Diane will go over our ELA goals for this coming year. >> So tonight I will highlight ELA. We do have a variety of U measures that we'd use because it reflects the cohorts of students that we have in front of us. More specifically, on page 16, students in kindergarten and grade 1 will show evidence of achievement in dibbles using the

155nonsense word fluency and correct letter sound as measured by an increase of 50 points, excuse me, not 50, 15 points for 80% of the students tested in these categories. On page n 19, you will find the ELA goal for grades two to five. Throughout this year, we will continue to focus on both MCCAST and MAP growth assessment data to moni monitor and support students. More specifically, we'll work to increase the percentage of students in the partially meeting and exceeding expectations categories five by 5% on the spring 26 MCCAST. Similarly, when reflecting on the MAP assessment, our goal for spring 2026 is that 35% of the students scoring within the red, the orange, yellow, or green percentile bands on the fall 25 map assessment will demonstrate growth by advancing to the next percentile band. And finally,

156on page 22, within our LDC program or language development program, our goal is that by spring of 2026, 50% of our students will demonstrate growth in phonics skills by increasing their phonic quick phonics screener score by five or more accurate responses measured when compared to fall and spring. These goals will be supported through targeted action steps that strengthen foundational reading instruction through CKLA skills, CK CKLA coaching, and Orton Gillingham practices. Additionally, throughout the school year, we will continue to integrate high impact instructional strategies from the writing pathway platform, the writing revolution platform to further enhance learning. And then sprinkled throughout each of these ELA goals will be our care specific action steps. Our care students engage with the learning standard in a different way through a variety of entry points. And now Scott will go

157over math and science. >> As with our ELA goal, we have a two-part math goal again this year. And the first part is to decrease the percentage of our students who are in the needs improvement category by 5%. For MCCAST, we will be looking at year-over-year comparisons for grades 3 through 5. However, we will also be looking at the cohort growth for grades four and five to ensure that our students continue to make positive progress as they move up the grade levels. The second part of our goal is to increase the percentage of students who move from one percentile band to the next highest percentile band in on math. Professional development led by Molly Voki. Continued IM implementation in math intervention is providing targeted instruction to students are some of the action steps for this

158year. In science on page 27, our goal is to increase our MAP RIT scores in grades four and five. Based on the high RIT growth in science last year, we have set our goal high, aiming for 14 points of growth in grade four and eight points of growth in grade five. And we will continue to use the Pearson Elevate Science and Realized Science online programs in grades three through five. And in all grades, teachers will continue the process of aligning the science content with the units of study that are in CKLA. And then Diane will go over our SEAL goal for >> one more goal, we promise. Our social and emotional goal continues to center on supporting students beyond the parameters of academics. During the 2526 school year, we will continue to implement at least

159one SEAL lesson per month in every classroom. This year, we also began our partnership with the Select School Project, an initiative that will help Snug develop more traumainformed practices. One component of this work includes implementing SEAL kernels, which is a set of activities and routines designed to strengthen a child's social and emotional and academic development. Additionally, we will continue our collaboration with raising multicultural kids. and we are excited to have received a grant that will allow author and illustrator Ruth Chan to visit our school and share her latest book, Unrooted. The second portion of our goal, we'll continue our work on combating chronic absenteeism. More specifically, during the 2526 school year, we will work to decrease the number of students who fall into this category by five points. We will continue implementing our core attendance

160interventions including regular meetings with our attendance supervisor, increased communication with families, ongoing collaboration with Broad Meadows, but we will also remain committed to initiatives such as assemblies, bulletin boards, monthly raffles, and new this year, I was going to bring it, but it was a heavy lift, is our golden shoes trophy. Um, this award will be presented to the classroom demonstrating the most improved attendance. And finally, we developed a parent attendance barrier survey to better understand the challenges that may prevent families from getting their child to school consistently. And throughout the school year, we will work to promote these same elements in our extended ed programs. We will have targeted small groupoup academic intervention programs such as Wharton Gillingham, pragmatics groups, science groups, student leadership opportunities, and our highly sought-after athletic programs like snug soccer and

161snug basketball. Family engagement remains a core pillar at Snug Harper. Over the last two years, we have strengthened our PTO partnership and expanded our meaningful family events and initiatives. Over the summer, our dedicated PTO members enhanced our outdoor space with new painted recess games, including Foursquare and tic-tac-toe. We recently secured funding for two new sensory paths in our CARES wing, and in our preschooling. And throughout the year, we will continue to offer exciting and meaningful family engagement opportunities such as haunted hallways, literacy night, and our second annual multicultural night. As we introduce this new plan to you, our school community, we know the work does not end here. There is still much to be done and this administrative team remains fully committed to our school, our staff, and most importantly, our Snuggies. Together, we will

162continue to support, nurture, and ensure the success and well-being of every child in our care. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for Mr. Maldi, Dr. Perkins, Mr. Morani, and the superintendent leadership team for their unwavering support. We are equally grateful to the school committee. And a special thank you to Mrs. Lebo and Mr. Gutro. And thank you for your commitment and service to the students and staff of the Quinsey Public Schools. We wish you the best and we are so proud to be a part of this village. and we welcome any questions or any feedback. Um, so all of our facilities needs will go into the facilities subcommittee, but I wanted to say um the additional card reader at the end of the east wing blue hallway and the three shades at the

163gymna at the gymnasium sound like they >> could we get a status on those? They sound like they've been on for a while and they should be Okay, that just sounds like a safety kind of a thing and and >> Okay, thank you. >> Um, I love your Memorial Day ceremony. That is one love going to that. You've had that for many years and it's fabulous. I can't say enough about it and it's it's heartwarming. The kids do an awesome job with their readings and their singing and they they are phenomenal and I love that you're honor honoring um six families. I think that's that's great that it's it is it's a very touching event that you guys do every year. Um the PTO, do you have a full board this year? >> We have

164the uh most of the positions are filled. The only positions that we do not have filled this year is a secretary. >> Okay, that's great. That's >> often our secretary comes to the PTO meeting. So, it's helpful. >> Yeah. Okay, great. Thank you. Um I love your family engagement. I think that's great. And um it had me at the beginning when you were talking about that you have um 200 students participate in your afterchool activities. That's phenomenal. That is so great. I love hearing that. Um that's amazing. And I also loved reading about um that you have the partnership with Quincy Asian resources now with the grow program and that's going to be amazing too. So thank you so much for your uh presentation and um yeah this is wonderful. Thank you so much. Thank

165you. >> Thank you. both for being here. Um, uh, as Mrs. Hubley said, the Memorial Day celebration is just so touching and it's fantastic to, um, I've been so proud to go and, uh, and just be there for that and and I hope the kids feel it. It's a, it's a little more p in a personal way, um, because of the readings and the songs they're doing and different things. So, um, it's it's fantastic. So, I just wanted to start with that. Um, in the sensory path, did I just see a social media photo of of one of the students just trying it out today? So I'm super excited. >> Probably we actually had two staff members that came in over the weekend and installed it this weekend. So yes. >> Yeah. So that's great.

166So it's another connection to our social media. You guys are doing a great job connecting what we're doing here. So um thank you for that. Um quick question on you guys had great class sizes. You know the um the MCAST there's some some growth on the MCAST but it looks rough but you have 50% specialed students in your building. And I think that we need to remember that that you know in your goals you're very um uh purposeful in trying to have that it be a personal growth. It's you know moving the that percentage to the next band of um achievement. And I think that that's fantastic. It's a really great way um to to kind of manage the population you have and still show growth and try to get the best out of those

167kids. So I appreciate the way you've looked at that data and the way you've kind of applied it to your goals which I thought was really smart. Um the thing that I wanted to ask probably the most about though was um your vocal data. Um so and I want to start with goal goal number six. You have um one SEAL lesson one once a month. Do you feel like that's enough? Um with the challenging kind of vocal data that I was seeing in there. Do you do you feel like that's enough? Do you want to talk a little bit about how you landed at that? >> Well, that is the minimum expectation that we have of our staff. most staff members would do do at least once a week if not more frequently. Our guidance

168team goes in and supports them as well with that. Um so when we look at that we're really looking at classroom teachers doing those lessons and not necessarily in counting the guidance support that also go in there and do some of the lessons that they do whether it's open parachute or some of the other lessons that we have used. So that's where the once a month comes from but we definitely do more than that. >> Gotcha. Thank you. Right. And thank you for that clarification that we don't want it to be a heavier lift for the the educator, the classroom teachers, but also I feel like that those efforts are what's going to hopefully help improve that vocal data. Um it was just, you know, it's the the the ones that concern me like um

169Mrs. Kale and Mrs. Lebo mentioned, there's a lot of these questions that, you know, they're they're difficult to even understand if the kid knows what they're answering to be honest. But a lot of these, you know, students respect each other. In my school, you know, there's 54 and 48%. I mean that's that's difficult if kids half the kids don't feel that they're uh the other students are respecting each other or them. Um that's that's pretty tough and um you know students at my school get along well with each other. That's about 50/50ish too. Uh you know so those those are kind of the things where um you know I'm happy to be at our school 69 67. I I I'd love to see that go higher. I know it's a great building. I know kids

170like to be there. I mean I've been there. I've seen the excitement. I've seen them enjoy being there. So, um, I just love to see that those the kernels and those open parachute lessons, the things that we have in place, I'd love to see that help that and help that community. >> Absolutely. As would we, our kids do, as you said, they do love to be there. We would certainly love to have that reflected in the data. >> Yeah. >> Um, and yes, we will certainly look at that and work to increase make sure that we are doing more of those kernels and >> yeah, >> on a much more consistent regular basis and I I can promise you it's more than once a month that we are doing them. and we will make sure

171that we are meeting that goal. >> That's great. Thank you. And I'm not going to check a number. I just Yeah. I'm just saying I'm just You're welcome to come in. I'm hopeful that those efforts are just going to help you um be able to see it on there. And I love that the parent survey on attendance barriers, understanding the barriers. That's really helpful. Um so I appreciate you guys reaching out to families for that. >> Yeah, we haven't sent it home yet. We're still refining it. We want to run it by Dr. Perkins before we do send it out. But yeah, that we we're trying to address that those needs so that we can see what we can do to support our families to get their kids to school every day, >> right? And

172again, 50% of your population is special education and you know, that comes with its own challenges as well as far as attendance and different things as well. So, you're dealing with a lot and you're managing really well. Um, and uh just great job. Thank you. >> Yep. Yes. >> Yeah. It depends. Yeah, it depends. Everybody has their >> Everybody has their story. So, um you know, we work um I have monthly the team has monthly meetings with school this the attendance supervisor. We have guidance there. We have weekly stu student support meetings. Um, so yes, I could probably tell you the the sort of story or the narrative for each student. So it really depends. There's no um solid demographic that, you know, consistently misses school. Um, you know, but that's our that's sort of

173our our hope having the survey to have, you know, understand better like how can we help as a community get your your student to school? you know, is it, you know, trying to, you know, get a walking club going in the mornings or, you know, some way that we can encourage, um, you know, parents to, um, bring their kids to school. Is it, you know, do they need after school options? You know, again, that's something that we want to know. So, we're hopeful that once we um put the survey out that we'll have a better understanding of of why um and then we can support from after the we understand the why. in 50% of your kids are bust into your building, right? >> Most most of our special ed students are busy. >> Um

174yes, the citywide programs are bus, but some of our students um on IEPs are students that you know what we would refer to um within the community. So, um it it it really does um depend and and and some days, you know, we have students that have um have challenges and they don't sleep at night and so, you know, whether they're, you know, over stimulated at night and then the parents keep them home because they're, you know, they're not ready for school, they can't access. So, it's those little things that we want to know and we want to be able to support them whe whether the reason is not sleeping or transportation. And I think the quarry partnership and the stop and shop food grant is going to help with that too because 70% of

175your students are low income and so those are other barriers of getting to school. Absolutely. >> You know, there can be so many barriers for those kids to get there. So it'll be great to find out if we can >> drill down on that and maybe add some supports around what's what's going >> um because the um the absenteeism I mean you can't get better scores if the kids are not in front of you, you know. >> Agreed. So it's that's got to be the thing that we we focus on the most. >> Mrs. K, >> how how do you well I think two things. One, how are things going so far this year in terms of the attendance rate in compar? >> We've seen an improvement so far this year. Um our numbers are

176lower than they were last year. We are of course working to make sure that trajectory continues that way and we don't see an uptick with the upcoming winter and cold and flu season. So >> that's a different and that's a different thing. Um and also from my um experience and what I see doing a survey with families, how do we encourage them to take the survey and respond to >> That's a good question. >> You know, um probably the kids that are coming to school, their parents are going to do it, right? >> Um you know, what do what are we doing? Are we doing anything to try and really encourage them to to respond? Well, as we said, we haven't sent it home yet because we're still refining it and we need would like

177Dr. Perus to look it over first, but once we do that, we will send it out in electronically. Um, we will probably also send it home a paper version home because while we love s'mores in the electronic version for so many reasons, not the least of which is the translation ability. We also know that not everybody checks their email or responds that way. and having the paper version we hope will also it will create a little bit more work if we have to input the the answers but it will be well well worth it if we can get a higher level of responses. So, we're going to try both strategies. >> Tech technologically with emails, do we see what who who opens their emails and who doesn't? >> Um, you know, >> we we can

178see I'm not 100% sure that I can when when I send out a like my newsletters and whatnot, I can see how many people have opened them, but not necessarily who. I don't know if that's a capability of the platform that I'm not aware of, but I definitely know. We don't. Yeah, because I know I've I've, you know, in my in some of the work that I've done, we've been able to do that >> so that you can see, okay, we have these parents, they opened it and then they didn't. So then you can resend to them and get them to kind of take >> you can do you can set a read receipt, but the parent would have to acknowledge it, >> right? >> So they may they may or may not. But I

179think like >> I would suggest that you know maybe we look at some prizes that go along with like gift cards. you know, we have a great partnership. You have a great partnership with um Granite, right? And I'm sure that they would give us some gift cards, things like that. I think any kind of incentive you can add into a survey makes it much more likely. >> Also, combining it with um a parent night, so you have them there, they're a captive audience. And the snug parents do come, you know, like the like they have their kindergarten days a couple times a year. It's packed. They the parents do come. they are very active and very involved in the community. And so I think tying like trying some of those kinds of things could help.

180>> Maybe and maybe you do something like an incentive for the kids. >> So like the student will go home and say, "Mom, you have to do that survey because I can get into a raffle for, you know, whatever." >> Yeah, we could we could get some really good prizes. >> Yeah. >> Okay, that's my question. Thank you. Thank you for everything. Thank you. >> I have one other question just because I don't I don't know what this is. in your school needs. You say you need additional wat. >> That's the Wyatt. >> It's an assessment. >> It's a It's a special education assessment. Happy to report we've ordered it. So, merry Christmas. >> Thank you. Happy holidays. >> Merry Christmas. >> Motion to accept >> by Mrs. Hubley, second by Mr. Begley. All in

181favor? >> I. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you all. Happy holidays. Take care of us. >> Thank you. He's taking such good care of those kids. >> Take a break. >> We're going to take a two-minute break. and invite our colleagues from Clifton Marshall to present their plan. >> Thank you so much. Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to present the 202526 Clifford Marshall School Improvement Plan. Justine Sullivan, our assistant principal, and I are honored to represent our school community. At Clifford Marshall, we are fortunate to belong to a wonderfully diverse and close-knit school that reflects the many cultures, languages, and backgrounds that make our community so vibrant. What makes our school especially remarkable is not only this diversity, but the way our community comes together with genuine care and unity.

182Whether it's a community circle, a family event, or a collaboration between teachers, there's a sense of belonging that grounds our work and strengthens our capacity to help every child thrive. This year, our school improvement plan is guided by one central theme: connections. We believe that meaningful relationships between students, families, colleagues, and content are the foundation of both academic and social success. Our plan reflects this belief across academics, social emotional learning, and family engagement. It builds on the strengths that already define Clifford Marshall and outlines the steps that we will take to deepen those connections so that every student continues to learn, grow, and feel at home in our school. Over the past year, our data reflects steady and meaningful academic growth across subjects. In ELA, early grades showed strong foundational progress with 71% of K

183to2 students meeting or exceeding benchmark expectations and continued reductions in those identified as well below. MAP reading growth averaged 11.6 RIP points and MCCAST ELA scores improved for the third straight year, outperforming the state, especially in writing and constructed responses. Math gains were particularly notable. Students in grades two through four grew an incredible average of 19.3 points on math and on MCCAST math. Student growth percentile increased significantly from 31.6 to 46.9. Fourth graders also excelled in science, placing in the 70th percentile for MAP growth. While academic progress is strong, attendance remains a key improvement with chronic absenteeism rising slightly to 11.8% 8% and requiring a focused attention moving forward. Our vocal survey data highlights one of our greatest strengths. Students overwhelmingly feel seen, valued, and supported at Clifford Marshall. These results affirm strong, caring relationships

184our staff builds each day. Relationships that help students feel safe, connected, and ready to learn. The data also points to areas for continued growth. Only 54% of students reported reading books featuring characters similar to themselves. These guide this guides are ongoing efforts to expand access to diverse literature through curriculum enhancements, media center updates, and grant funded experiences such as this year's Wondermore author visit by author Jason Chin. We are also going to add a share a story aspect to our annual international night. Reflecting on all of this data helps us understand both our progress and our opportunities for growth leading directly into our goals for the coming year. Our math goal is for 85% of students to meet their STM math puzzle goal and for all students to ench a achieve 19 RIP points of

185growth on math assessments. StMath has helped our students build deep conceptual understanding through solving puzzles that allow students to see and experience math problems before the concepts are attached to language. This program connects powerfully with illustrative mathematics because it also centers around conceptual understanding and problem based learning. When we connect StMath's visual puzzle-based learning with IM's discussion-driven routines, students develop the flexible conceptual understanding that leads to lasting mathematical success. As we look at language arts, we have set two goals in order to reflect the learning of all of our grade levels. Our early literacy goal is to reduce by 15% the number of students requiring intensive support in foundational reading skills, ensuring a strong start for every emerging reader. To build confident, capable readers and writers, we must provide a solid foundation. And we'll do

186so by meeting each students individual needs through more targeted and responsive phonics instruction. We will also expand the use of highquality decodable texts for our beginning readers, giving them more meaningful opportunities to practice and apply these developing skills. In grades two to four, our goal is for students to achieve an average of 12 writ points of growth on MAP reading with 68% of students exceeding their individual growth projections. To reach this target, we will deepen comprehension by strengthening vocabulary instruction and enriching CKLA unit celebrations to reinforce key concepts and knowledge. We will explicitly support students in making meaningful connections between texts, content, and their own experiences to strengthen understanding and retention. We'll also expand access to diverse highquality supplemental texts that reflect students identities and interests, increasing engagement and supporting more rigorous reading development. Our

187fourth goal is to deepen social emotional learning and strengthen our overall school climate by implementing the colonel's curriculum and providing sustained trauma-sensitive professional development. Teachers have begun this work by assessing the specific needs of their classrooms and selecting targeted colonel's lessons. aligned to those needs. We will further enhance this effort by increasing the use of community circles to promote belonging and connection and by expanding tier 2 and three social emotional supports to ensure that students receive individualized care. This fall, our schools set a clear priority to reduce chronic absenteeism. We all know attendance matters. We also know that every family's situation is unique and that solutions come when we create a space to listen, understand, and connect. To support this work, we began reaching out to families using our family liaison then and the translator

188line as needed. We scheduled individual meetings. During these conversations, we shared their child's benchmark data, explain how absences impact learning, and provide personalized strategies to improve attendance. Since holding these meetings in early November, each student we met with has improved their attendance percentage and three students have come off the list entirely. By working together with families and making connections, we will continue to work to improve attendance. With all these goals in mind, we have added additional con common planning times for teachers. Our staff will use this time along with professional development afternoons to engage in targeted professional development focused on STMath, kernels, trauma-sensitive practices, and curriculum reflection. Family engagement remains a hallmark of our community with events such as literacy week, international night, math mania, PTO meetings, and grade level celebrations that foster strong partnerships

189between home and school. Extended day offerings will continue to provide students with academic support and enrichment with clubs such as St Math Sessions, Morning Movers, and the very popular Pokemon Club. In all aspects of our plan, we return to the same core belief. Connection drives learning. By strengthening our relationships with students, families, each other, and our academic work, we're building a school where every child feels safe, supported, and capable of thriving. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and for your support of Clifford Marshall's students, staff, and families. We welcome any questions and feedback you may have. Thank you. Mrs. >> Thank you. And and I'm looking at at at your report here. Um you have a really diverse population even with some of the attendance issues. Um you've met your goals and you did a

190great job and um so congratulations on that and and it looks great and keep doing this beautiful work. So thank you. >> Thank you. This is pretty. >> Hey guys. Um, so on page three here, I uh I just want to read this sentence here. We can better understand their stories, respond with empathy, and cultivate a school environment that nurtures both academic and emotional growth. And I just couldn't I read that and I'm like, that's what Marshall is. It's just 100% that. Um, it's just uh And also just another quick little tidbit. Um, so my oldest is a senior now and um, she was filling out the Marshall scholarship form um, for as a Marshall alumni and one of the questions on the form was um, what impact did Marshall have? Something to that effect

191and immediately Cass said, "Marshall made me love learning and it was just instantaneous. It just came out for as much as she has struggled with every college application and answer. That was the easiest thing that she could have answered. And it was just it's 100% it has not changed the the people in that building. Every single one um loves the kiddos and I just can't say enough good things about it. And you know how much of a tough critic I am. So for me to say that for sure you guys are doing awesome. Um meeting all last year's goals were great. Um, I really really liked that I kind of did the math on your MAP scores from fall to spring for all your grade levels and then I compared it to your RIT uh

192increases that you're hoping for this year and your your goals are aggressive and I love that. I don't I don't like safe goals. I love ambitious goals. So having a 19 point um for math, a 12 point for um for uh reading for ELA and also um kind of tying it to those uh personalized growth individual growth targets sort of um kind of makes it individual as well. So kind of really focusing on that was fantastic. So I'm super proud that you guys are are pushing the envelope on that because those kiddos can achieve it and you definitely know how to get it out of them. So good job there. Um, the sensory room. I saw that in the online video. Uh, I saw that. I was curious as to what that was like and

193then here there it was online where you showed us what that sensory room looked like. So, uh, and I think that's so needed um for the number of kiddos that would hang out in your office. Um, you know, having a tough time. I think that's much needed and that's such a smart um, decision to have that that space there. And I know it's hard to find a space in there. So, that was really good. Um, goal number three. Uh so that included the growth targets for the individual personalized kind of increase. Now what about for math 2? Why were there no increases to the um what's it called? The individual growth projection goals uh for math as well as in the ELA goal. I think because we tied in ST math. So, we already had

194sort of a two-part goal and so we wanted to increase the puzzles um significantly actually from last year in order to fully fully implement STMath. So, along with that, we didn't want to just drop an an a map goal. So, we just thought we would streamline and stick with like an aggressive RIT. Yeah, that's perfect. I was just curious. Um I think that the absenteeism, you guys seem to be on it, but it's actually not super terrible anyway. And I think the dip that you saw in it, you know, it could be a lot of related to what was going on in the world and families were a little scared to come to school uh back in the spring. So that probably didn't help your numbers at all. And that's understandable, I think. Um obviously

195you have awesome family events and um just from being there, it's just the community is really great and you guys always welcome that and value the parents. Um good class sizes, great vocal data. So awesome job. We miss it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Yes. So, I don't really have any comments or questions. I think your accountability data and math in the LA is very good. Um the absenteeism, I love what you're doing. I hope that's maybe that's going to be the solution for all of us, but that is such a real positive thing that you're actually taking those steps and and reaching out to the families and finding out how we can support them because it is a great place. It's always been a great place. It's always been

196a loving place, a place that kids wanted to be, teachers wanted to be. So, I think if we can just figure that out, we'll be fine. >> So, I'm going to entertain a motion to accept by Mr. Begali, second by Mrs. Hubby. All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you so much. Good. How are you? >> We have to make sure that we don't get killed by data. She's data queen. She knows more about the data than almost anybody else. >> Synthesiz. >> Go right ahead. Give us your plan. >> Thank you. Good evening, members of our school committee. Superintendent Mauvi, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Perkins, and the entire Superintendent's leadership team. It is such an honor to present to you tonight. Here with me is our assistant principal, Mrs. Kathy

197Deo, and together we will present to you our school improvement plan for the 2025 2026 school year. The plan before you is a product of thorough analysis conducted collaboratively by our entire Beachwood null community. Beginning schoolwide with our educational staff on assessment day one, all educators met in mixed teams to dive deep into our data from various lenses. Grade level and vertical content teams later rejoined to draft datainformed action steps. Community feedback was also invited during presentations at our November PTO meeting and school council meetings as well as utilizing our S'more platform. We are proud to share our true community plan with rigorous goals that are specific and measurable for the upcoming school year and target the actionable areas of improvement our community has identified. The Beachwood community is a special community to be a

198part of. Our students come to school each day eager to learn, celebrate one another's cultures, and contribute to a joyful, inclusive environment. We are deeply appreciative of our supportive families and community who partner with us to make BKS a place where every child can thrive. Our educators are the heart of this success. They bring a shared commitment to high academic expectations, deep care for their students, and invaluable years of experience that inspire excellence across our classrooms. Their dedication and collaboration make Beachwood Null not just a school, but a vibrant learning community. It is with great pleasure to share that Beachwood Null Elementary School received the status as a school of recognition. This status was awarded for 86% of progress toward improvement targets amounting to the 81st percentile in the Commonwealth. This achievement is attributed to

199no indicator across all subjects and subgroups for both achievement and growth resulting in a decline measure on the official accountability report. We are so incredibly proud of this accomplishment as a school community which reflects the hard work of our students and the unwavering dedication of our staff. Our science achievement continues at an outstanding level. On the spring MCCAST, Beachwanol fifth graders remarkably achieved the 92nd percentile in the state of Massachusetts. We are proud of this accomplishment annually and will continue to prioritize maintaining this historic high achievement across MCCAST and MAP assessments. Our first school improvement goal is designed to continue to directly target the writing domain. Our goal to increase by 10% in each grade level set last year was rigorous and was exceeded in grades four and five. In grade three, we also made

200significant progress with an increase of 7%. Our teams have identified this as our continuous focus and will target this with explicit cumulative action steps from dictation and simple sentences in kindergarten to writing well-developed multiparagraph essays in grade five. Beyond this targeted goal, it is evident our data supports that significant literacy and reading progress is consistently made from kindergarten to grade 5 each school year. Most significantly, this includes grade 1 students growing from 38% of students at well below or below benchmark in the fall to only 17% by the spring. This accounts for an astonishing 56% of students above benchmark at the end of first grade. On MCCAST, our student achievement increased to a three-year high of the 63rd percentile. This achievement resulted in us exceeding targets set by the Department of Education and achieving four

201accountability points across the subgroups of all students. Growth, lowest performing students and high needs populations. Students also achieved above the state across all question types and domains. Mathematics achievement continues to grow at Beachwood Null as well. We exceeded beyond the significant improvements made in the year prior, increasing to the 76th percentile. Across all question types, Beachwood null students in grades 3 through 5 outperformed the state rates for standard domains. measurement and data was a consistent domain of strength across the three grade levels with a rate above 60%. From this data, we designed our mathematics goal to continue to grow in the statewide achievement by focusing on the identified domains of geometry in grades three and four and number and operation fractions, specifically mixed numbers multiplied by a whole in grade 5. On an individual level,

202high achievement and growth amounted to 69% of students meeting or exceeding their individual growth measures across all tested grade levels on the MAP assessment. Our fall to spring growth is a highlight, including an increase of 23 points for grade 2 students. Last year, we designed our third goal to target our English language progression rate. When this rate fell in comparison to previous years, we made significant progress towards this goal of 10% raising over 4% to 70% of progress towards attaining English language proficiency. We will continue to prioritize increasing this rate by a measure of 5% mirroring the district to continue progressing towards our previous achievements. For the Betwood vocal data, an extremely positive trend shines through with an overall theme of students feeling respected by adults at our school. This is supported by a remarkable

203100% of fourth graders reporting, "My teachers care about me as a person. My teachers help me succeed with my schoolwork when I need help." Additionally, over 90% of these students reported, "Teachers at this school accept me for who I am." We are extremely proud of this achievement. Our students feel valued, supported, and encouraged by the adults in our school community. These results reflect the collective efforts of our staff to foster authentic relationships, provide individualized academic support, and create an inclusive environment where every student feels seen and celebrated. The vocal results also provide strategic areas of action for us at Beachwood Null in this coming school year. Respect is the foundation of our beliefs at Beachwood Null. Students begin each day by reciting our PBIS pledge to respect ourselves, others, and property on our morning announcements.

204Our fourth and final goal is to continue to target the specific standard of students respecting each other. We are excited to strengthen this work in partnership with select schools and the colonel's program led by our trauma sensitive schools work group. Student attendance continues to be a focus for the state of Massachusetts and the Quinsey public schools. We are proud to share that Beachwood Null maintained our high achievement with a chronic absenteeism rate of only 2%. Placing us within the 90 percentile of attendance measures among students statewide. This is attributed to a true collaborative collaborative effort across our teams. Our data team is focusing on daily student attendance and targeting on-time arrivals with our be on time shine initiative where students are celebrated for arriving on time and starting their academic day with success from the

205very first bell. Chronic absenteeism data in Aspen is reviewed frequently through our nurse and main offices so we can work directly with students and their families on an individualized basis, enlisting the help of our attendance and resource officers if needed. We also prioritize communication and transparency by highlighting the Quinsey Public Schools attendance policies in our SM'more newsletter and proudly celebrating the district-wide attendance matters campaign. Meeting the diverse needs of our students academically, socially, and behaviorally remain central to our continuous improvement efforts. Our physical education pro program expanded its focus on gross motor skill development for our youngest learners, ensuring all students receive support in building coordination and confidence through purposeful movement. And in partnership with our occupational therapy interventionists, grade 1 students are participating in a new handy helpers extended day offering designed to reinforce

206fine motor skills, independence, and collaboration through structured hands-on tasks and new traditions for our families to share into with our guidance counselor and media teacher launching the Beachwood Book Club, an extended day program that welcomes both students and their families to celebrate reading together. To promote a positive school culture and shared accountability for behavior, our PBIS team has revitalized monthly assemblies with a dual approach, alternating between schoolwide gatherings and classroombased celebrations. This model allows for deeper classroom discussions about the expected behaviors while also nurturing a sense of belonging through collective celebration. This year's assemblies have been strategically aligned to focus areas across the school such as highlighting respect for others in the cafeteria with assemblies taking place during lunchtime. We are also launching a PBIS respect chain initiative for the month of December. Right now

207when students show respect for respectful actions towards one another, they will display it on a link to form a paper chain. As this visual representation grows and spreads down our hallway this month, it will be a symbol of collective strength and our shared commitment of fostering a safe, respectful, and caring learning community. In closing, we present to you our Beachwood Null School improvement plan with great pride as well as gratitude for your continued support. Thank you, school committee, for your extraordinary dedication in supporting the students of the Quinsey Public Schools. We welcome your feedback and questions. >> Mrs. Thank you. Thank you so much for the presentation. I love your goals. Everything looks great. Um your focal vocal data is amazing. It's really really great. Um did want to add the u additional crossing support

208along Feno Street near Perry Road. I think this is a >> an ask you had before. You're still asking. Um, any gotten any better? It's gotten worse. >> It has. The and the city has been tremendous in their support with that. We've gotten new signs. Um, they've been they've paved arrows in our, um, drop off area. So, there have been improvements made. It's just a very large intersection as you know. Um, and so, you know, there is still some concern there. Um, but in collaboration with the city and the superintendent's leadership team, some strides have been made. >> Okay. Do we know if the police department has been out to evaluate the area? They have looked at it. Um it's really going to be up to the chief to assign additional staff. So >> Okay.

209But he is aware he's aware of our ask for it. >> Okay. >> Additional stepware. >> Is there a crosswalk there? um at that location >> there is one across Perry and that becomes part of it is that from Perry you have to come all the way to where the crossing guard is and some try to cross there and then some families are doing U-turns there and it just because of the foot traffic and the um the car traffic it just becomes a little bit of a safety concern >> it's a it's spread out >> resource down there >> they have been yes the city's been assigning Mhm. >> Okay. All right. >> Additional staff >> and we appreciate all the support that the city's offered us. It's it's helped greatly. >> And I also

210see that the basketball court sunken in at the railing post and has cracked. Um that's also an ongoing. So >> it hasn't gotten worse, but it is it is still there. It's just from when the basketball court was originally replaced a few years ago. >> Okay. Can we make sure >> it's on the list? Yes. >> And that is that outside >> Yeah. the basketball court. >> Okay. And the repair to the front flag pole. Um is that I'm assuming >> that was new from last year. >> Yeah. >> Okay. So that's not like a safety concern yet. It's just a concern. >> It's just there. Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you very much. >> Of course, >> Mr. Groom. >> Thank you. Um excellent plan. Uh great goals. I um and phenomenal data. The data

211looks good. You should both be proud. Um you know uh many many years ago my my kids went there and so um I have a lot of allegiance to being a BKS um family and and uh you know I mean the what did you say the absenteeism that that number is astonishing but it doesn't when you walk in the doors there it doesn't surprise me because people want to be there. Um, and the vibe and the PTO has always been amazing and uh I mean it's just I mean we have so many amazing neighborhood schools, but this is BKS is the identity to that neighborhood and uh continues to serve so many families so well. You know, I was the ward council there for a while and I'm thinking of Perry Road and I don't

212remember anybody asking for crossing assistance back in the day, but it's always just chaos at pickup and drop off. But um yeah, so I was I was trying to envision what what what what what's changed, you know, nothing I don't think anything has changed down there, but you could see the kids wanting to cross right to Perry before that and all of that, but um but no, uh great school. Um and you're the the leadership that both of you are providing is terrific. And I I saw on the front of your plan >> five superstar >> stone >> educators that are incredible people that have given so much to that community and QPS and they deserve the shout out and I'm glad you put them on the cover. >> Thank you. >> This is very

213>> Thank you. Thank you both for being here. Thank you for the plan. It's um it's fantastic really. uh just the uh the MCCAST data. I mean, first of all, the fact that you're a I mean, obviously you're a data you came from the data background. Um I love da I love charts. I love graphs. I like paragraphs, too. But I love charts and graphs. And I could see this in like 50 different ways. And also, you saw it in 50 different ways. Do you know what I mean? You you really got deep into what needed to be done. And I like how because your achievement's so high, you didn't just kind of say, "Well, we're just going to go, you know, x number of writ points. You got into the into the, you know,

214you picked different things out. You picked geometry." And um even on your vocal data, picking a specific question, students respect each other in my school, which is super important. Um and even though you had a good baseline number, just trying to push that and and achieve a difference in a specific um area. I think because you've achieved overall, you can kind of get in there and and pick and choose kind of the things that you want to bring up. So, I thought that was fantastic. Um, and that came from that deep dive into the data. So, thank you for for doing that, but I'm not surprised. Um, but it's just it's great. Um, great class sizes. Congratulations on the school of recognition um accomplishment. It's just it's it's really really great. Um, I had another

215question. your your chronic absenteeism actually went it actually went the other way to get to 2%. 2% is like last year it was.7 which I don't even I I I don't even know how that's possible but it went from 7 to two. So you're doing phenomenal. Don't take that as any kind of oh gosh we really need to circle back on that. You're doing great on that. Like Mr. Guter said everyone wants to be there. So, um that's really great and thank you for pushing for um safety on um drop off and pick up on that and thank you for coming back this week. I know you were scheduled for last week, so thank you for clearing your schedule for tonight. >> Thank you. Appreciate it. >> Thank you very much. It's an incredible incredible

216uh recognition and welld deserved. And please thank all of your staff for us. I I can't get over the the science mcast. I mean 70% meeting or exceeding 70 who's teaching science there. >> It's a vertical team. U Mrs. Karen Kellaher is fifth grade. Um and then we have Laura Malke and Erin Garry in grades three and four and it's tremendous. And it starts from kindergarten up. Yeah. >> Amazing. I've never seen anything like that. 72%. >> It's remarkable. Thank you. >> Wonderful. Really is wonderful. So congratulations to all of you. Your plan is wonderful. Your school is wonderful. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. We appreciate your whole staff. So, thank you. >> Oh, she takes one. >> Thank you. And I just want to say I I love that your community representative

217is Dr. Yakubian. So, also shout out to Dr. It was his honor to be a part of it. Thank you. >> Motion to accept by Mr. Polei, second by Mrs. Hubley. All in favor? I >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Thank you. Last but not least, >> last but certainly not least, thank you so much for waiting. >> Oh, thank you for having me. Good evening. >> Are we all ready? Oh, yeah. Okay. Um, it's a privilege to present the Marry Mount School Improvement Plan for this school year. I would like to thank the school committee, Mayor Ko, Superintendent Mulby, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Perkins, as well as the SLT for their constant support throughout the year. I would also like to thank the students, the staff, the PTO, the school council, and the families at

218Marry Mount. It's a truly wonderful place to be every day. There is a strong sense of community and a commitment to supporting the whole child. Through our extensive extended day offerings and family engagement, the school fosters an environment where students feel known, supported, and inspired to explore their interests. Students have opportunities to pursue hands-on learning in areas such as steam, Lego robotics, crazy8s math, and coding while also exploring artistic and social interests through creative kids, the marry mount musical, the stitch squad, and walking club. Some programs are designed for multiple grade levels, encouraging cross age collaboration, and strengthen strengthening relationships among students. Equally central to the school's positive climate is our strong partnership with families. Our comm our communication is proactive and consistent with year-long newsletters and reminders shared through S'more and school messenger to

219ensure families feel informed and connected. The school and PTO work together to host various events throughout the school year from the kindergarten popsicle social, trunk or treat, the fun run and international night that bring our families together strengthen our community ties and celebrate diversity. Events like the Veterans Day assembly, winter concert, heroes in history, spring musical showcase, and the grade five promotion honor tradition and student work and progress, further contributing to a sense of pride and belonging. As a school, we've had the opportunity to reflect, grow, and set clear goals for the school year. With guidance from the district, Mr. Rogan and I worked closely with our staff to create this plan. It is grounded in the belief that our students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally when provided with strong instruction, targeted support, and

220an inclusive school environment. I feel it's important for me to highlight the strong progress our students made last year. Our early literacy and math growth were excellent. Student exceeded MAP national norms in reading, math, and science. Our students outperformed the state with their MCCAST performance in nearly every subject and grade. Our English language learners showed exceptional progress meeting growth targets and we also exceeded our target for chronic absenteeism. These results reflect the hard work of our students, the dedication of our staff, and our strong partnership with families. This year, our school improvement plan again centers on the key areas of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social emotional learning. In English language arts, our goal is to ensure that students demonstrate measurable growth in reading and achievement gains in writing. In mathematics, our focus is

221on deepening conceptual understanding and problem solving skills. In science, we are committed to expanding curiosity and inquiry based learning. And in social emotional learning, we are excited to implement kernels, a program designed to support and strengthen students social skills for learning and life. Weekly kernel lessons in every classroom will provide opportunities for students to build self-awareness, empathy, and resilience. Skills that are foundational to both personal well-being and academic success. We've really leaned into the Colonel's program this year already, and we have intentionally carved out time to focus on social skills. This week, for example, the entire school is focusing on different ways to solve conflict. So, not only are teachers scheduling time for lessons, so are our specialists and our interventionists. We're also highlighting key points of the lessons on morning announcements. All ways to

222help students become more skilled in recognizing feelings and dealing with conflict. Our action steps are specific and manageable. A meaningful shift we've made this year is by organizing targeted action steps by grade level and by intervention rather than schoolwide. By creating action steps for each grade, we're able to be more intentional and more responsive to our students needs. Kindergarten students do not exactly need what fifth grade students need and fifth grade students do not exactly need what second grade students need. Our plan addresses that in reality. This shift also strengthens our culture of collaboration. This approach reinforces our commitment to high expectations. By naming targeted steps for each grade, we are setting a clear standard. Every student can grow and every grade level has a path towards stronger outcomes. I'm confident that this plan will

223help us build stronger students and thinkers and a stronger school community. Thank you for your time and commitment to our school community and I welcome any questions. >> Thank you. Any questions, >> Mrs. Fios? Like we saved you till last. We had you come back. We have to give you some feedback. I think you're doing fantastic. The plan is great. Um your your achievement is great. Um I even think uh again you fall into the you're doing so great. So now, um, looking at your goals versus how you achieved, especially in math, um, I think that your goals could have even been a little more aggressive on that math. So I I'd like to see I always like to see like really aggressive goals, but I think that's um, I assume you worked with the

224team similar to some other >> We worked with the team. We also use the the norms that the MAP has established. So we we try to target those those goals using those norms to meet them or be a little bit above them, but listening into the other presentations, I had a feeling that I was I knew that you were going to say we played it safe. Yeah, >> I always um I I'm never going to uh slap a hand for trying to be aggressive on that, but I think um but the achievement's there. Do you know what I mean? So I think that's great. And again kind of or using those um that line again that individual growth projection goals that might be another way of getting to that too because you do have such

225high achievement that it's hard. I think you're breaking it down by grade level is one way of kind of getting in there but once you hit that high level it >> you know it's it's makes it more difficult to kind of keep going with that. So um but I think overall your uh your vocal data was fantastic. You know 100% of the kids thought um teachers care about me as a person. and they're proud of me when I work hard and they support me even when my work isn't the best. Having 100%. >> We were really happy with with those results. >> Yeah. No, um obviously you have a great staff, you have a great, you know, group of educators. Fantastic work there. Um and you know, your chronic absenteeism, again, similar um to BKS

226went up, but it went from 3.3 to 5.1, which is still phenomenal. So, great job there. Um can I ask a little bit about the security cameras that you put on your facility needs? just one in the back of the back of the school. >> Okay, >> that was the one that I believe we have. Um we don't have any in the back of the school. We often find that the um we have our outdoor classroom. So that's just a concern that we would like to keep an extra eye on that space >> for sure. Yeah. No, I think that's that's valid. Um and we can work on that in the facility subcommittee. Um yeah, I think that's great. it. Um, it looks fantastic and overall the kids look happy and safe and uh they're

227doing great. So, great job. Thank you for your leadership. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, your vocal survey was amazing. It really was amazing. Um, it is a great community, a great school. The school is such a big part of that community. I had the pleasure of attending the fun run. I didn't think it was much fun. It was freezing up. They were having fun, but it was freezing. Absolutely freezing. And they still had fun and they still ran like crazy. So, I know that was a great big fundraiser and a fun fundraiser for you guys and it went very very well. It was >> but what a community. What a community really. It's wonderful and the school just being the center of it is is great. So, thank you very much for all you do

228and all your staff do for those families. >> Thank you. >> And I would entertain a motion by Mr. Woody to accept the plan. Seconded by Mrs. Hley. All in favor? I >> thank you so much for coming in. >> Thank you. All right. Thank you. Motion to adjurnn. >> Thanks everybody.