Message from the Superintendent

 

 

Peter Schafer ~ Superintendent
Felicia Moschella, Ph.D. ~ Assistant Superintendent
James Robbins, Ed.D. ~ Director of Student Services
Chris Basta, Ed.D. ~ Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

Dear Green Wave, 

A new three-year Student Opportunity Act (SOA) Plan is due to DESE from districts that receive SOA funds by April 1st. Additionally, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has established a three-year improvement target for each district to include in their SOA plans that focuses on rapidly improving the performance of the “Lowest Performing Students” group. This group, by definition, includes the students who currently have the lowest academic performance, and therefore need the most significant levels of support to reduce the disparities between their performance and that of their peers (the purpose of SOA funding).

Our administrative team has drafted an SOA plan based on an internal analysis of our student achievement and attendance data. DESE’s 3-year improvement targets are included in our plan. Below are excerpts from the draft SOA plan. The full plan will be presented to the School Committee for approval at the March 26th meeting.

Analysis of District Data:

Based on the review of Abington Public Schools data, our Students with Disabilities (SWD) and English Learners (EL) are not demonstrating the same level of achievement as their peers, as measured by the MCAS test. Additionally, these sub-groups are disproportionately affected by chronic absenteeism.

During the past five years, the district has experienced a significant increase in the number of students in the subgroups SWS and EL.  Over the past five years, our SWD population has increased by 22% and the English Learner student population increased by 101%. In each of the identified sub-groups, students across all grade levels are scoring well below the district average in ELA, Math, and Science.

In addition, chronic absenteeism for our EL student population is above the district average. Our graduation rate for EL students is below the overall district rate. The graduation rate for SWD is below the overall district rate.

Therefore, this SOA plan will focus on supporting Abington's “Lowest Performing Students” – specifically Students with Disabilities and English Learners.

Outline of SOA Plan:

An analysis of triangulated district data indicates our approach as a district to reduce the gaps in achievement and attendance in our identified sub-groups needs to be multifaceted. We need to provide staff with professional development and support aimed at meeting the needs of and engaging all students. Our students, families, and community within these sub-groups need to feel connected to our schools and understand the implications of chronic absenteeism. As a district, we need to focus more of our work with vulnerable populations by using formative assessment data to inform instruction and intervention. Our Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) process needs to be updated and aligned to meet the needs of today’s student population. Our curriculum and instruction need to be relevant and responsive to our students culturally and linguistically.

Peter Schafer
Superintendent of Schools

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