By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Administrative Leadership Team (ALT) gave an overview of the initiatives undertaken in the 2022-2023 school improvement plans during a recent School Committee meeting.
Similar to previous years, the school improvement plans were connected to the district’s strategic plan. Administrators and educators from all four schools worked on each plan’s initiatives during professional development days as well as during school days.
The ALT will be unveiling the 2023-2024 improvement plans during a School Committee meeting this fall.
Elementary schools
The improvement plans for Huckleberry Hill School and Summer Street School included two different initiatives.
Summer Street School Principal Karen Cronin said the elementary schools implemented the “What I Need” (WIN) block this year. She said the intervention block was designed to provide students with additional academic support.
“We built a schedule and delivered this instruction three days a week,” said Cronin. “It’s data-driven. We used the Renaissance Star assessment tools as well as tools the teachers already have. We would come together in data team meetings, which were previously called assessment meetings. The teachers, curriculum directors, literacy specialists and principals would analyze the results that were in front of us to see where is the next place for us to go. It was a learning year for us, and the learning curve was rapid. We asked them to do things that they hadn’t been asked to do before. They did an amazing job, and there is a lot of enthusiasm about it that we can sustain.”
Huckleberry Hill School Principal Melissa Wyland agreed.
“We are so proud of the teachers,” said Wyland. “This was a huge ask. It was scary at first for the staff, but everyone is really proud of the work. It is really making a difference for our students. That is the most important thing.”
School Committeeman Phil McQueen said the WIN blocks are “a great example of equity in action.”
“Students are getting what they need and it’s based on data,” said McQueen. “This is a model of how education should be in this town, state and country. It’s what everybody should be doing.”
Wyland also noted that the elementary schools implemented new K-4 literacy curriculum resources and students. She said the elementary schools used Wilson Language Training Corporation’s Fundations program and Wit and Wisdom’s language comprehension program in order to help students improve their reading, writing and vocabulary skills.
“It allows the students to build their skills and knowledge with every lesson,” said Wyland. “It is equitable across the board for all learners.”
Lynnfield Middle School
Principal Stephen Ralston said Lynnfield Middle School teachers began implementing a new multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) this past academic year.
Ralston said LMS will be following in the elementary schools’ footsteps by implementing intervention blocks.
“The elementary schools are ahead of us as far as implementing the intervention blocks,” said Ralston. “That is going to be a major focus next year. Our grade 5 team did a phenomenal job piloting an intervention schedule. We are going to be trying out lots of different things because what might work in one grade might not work in another. I am envisioning some substantial changes as we work through that.”
Ralston said the middle school also worked to “incorporate more student choice and voice in curriculum, instruction and assessment” as outlined in the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) curriculum framework.
The LMS principal said educators worked on both initiatives during professional development days, grade level meetings and department meetings. He said educators and staff members worked to build relationships with students to support students academically and socially-emotionally.
LMS Assistant Principal Jeremy Greenwood said the COVID-19 pandemic impacted a number of students’ “soft skills.”
“Person-to-person interactions was significantly impacted during the pandemic,” said Greenwood. “We are making our way back toward recovering that.”
Lynnfield High School
Assistant Principal Brian Bates said the improvement plan for Lynnfield High School entailed implementing the second year of the Vision of the Graduate initiative that is now being required by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
Bates recalled that NEASC will be making its decennial visit to the high school for LHS’ reaccreditation this fall. The high school was previously reaccredited in 2011.
“I remember sitting here last year and talking about how much of an undertaking the Vision of the Graduate was going to be,” said Bates. “That was an understatement, but I am happy to say we are in a decent place thanks to our wonderful staff and, most importantly, our students.”
Bates said the members of the LHS Class of 2023 who served as Compass advisors worked with freshmen to get the initiative rolling. He said the high school revised the Vision of the Graduate’s performance standards to make sure they include “equity, diversity and social-emotional growth for all students.”
“We were able to introduce LHS Vision of the Graduate to our freshmen at the beginning the school year,” said Bates. “We went over what their responsibilities are and what was the new high school requirement.”
Bates said teachers helped freshmen create a Google Site webpage as part of their portfolio defense. He said students are using the portfolios to archive evidence from their four years of high school. The students will use the evidence they collected in the portfolios to demonstrate they are proficient with the Vision of the Graduate’s focus areas.
“Our freshmen created that portfolio,” said Bates. “That was the easy part. The difficult part has been the evidence piece. That is where we noticed the ninth-graders struggled. We have some learners who are very black and white, and they just want us to tell them what to put in. That is not what this is all about. This is about students coming up with their ideas about how they have improved throughout their four years of high school.”
Bates met with Compass groups to discuss collecting the evidence. He said there were juniors and seniors who shared with freshmen “what they would include as evidence from both in the classroom as well as outside of school.”
“The goal for next year is to introduce it to the incoming ninth-graders and continue working with the tenth-graders,” said Bates.
In response to a question from McQueen, Bates said it will take time to get students familiarized with the Vision of the Graduate requirement.
“It’s something new,” said Bates. “It’s being able to think outside of the box, and being able to come up with creative ways with the evidence piece. We have students who do an enormous amount of work outside of school whether it’s with church groups, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, athletics and traveling. All of this stuff ties in with Vision of the Graduate. It ties in with the five skill areas and helps them make connections between with what they are learning in school and how they are contributing to society. When you are looking at the Civics Actions Projects that we are doing and the internships that we are doing, I think students will eventually make the connection between that work and the Vision of the Graduate.”
LHS Principal Bob Cleary thanked Bates and the high school’s faculty for getting the Vision of a Graduate initiative off the ground last year.
SC praises principals
After the four principals gave an overview of the school improvement plans, School Committee member Jamie Hayman thanked the Administrative Leadership Team for their hard work during the 2022-2023 academic year.
“I am just in awe of what you guys have accomplished this year,” said Hayman. “Change is hard, and we are talking about new assessments, new curriculum and we have a student information system. It takes time to implement these things. We have kids in different situations that we couldn’t have anticipated coming out of the pandemic. This has been a hard year, and I just want to thank you guys for constantly stepping up, leading our teachers and leading our students. I am very, very proud of the leadership that is on display here.”
School Committee Vice Chair Stacy Dahlstedt agreed.
“I want to thank you for everything you do on a day-to-day basis,” said Dahlstedt.