By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD – Superintendent Doug Lyons outlined goals for the district and himself at last week’s School Committee meeting.
“We’re trying to make the goals align with our intentions for what it takes for students to perform at a high level,” he said. “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish,” which related to a slide in a PowerPoint presentation graphing student achievement as a result of implementing school improvement plans, teacher professional practice goals and student learning goals.
The first of three district goals is “Quality Teaching.”
“In alignment with Massachusetts Standard II: Teaching All Students, the district will enhance instructional practices to ensure that all learners, including multilingual learners, students with disabilities, academically advanced students and those from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, receive high-quality, inclusive, and appropriately challenging instruction,” it reads. “The district will focus on aligned professional development, curriculum, and instruction visits, and the newly adopted state model for supervision and evaluation to provide targeted feedback aligned with Standard II,” much of which was included in School Improvement Plans presented by the school principals at the School Committee meeting Sept. 9.
“I think the focus on classroom walkthroughs and common planning time to discuss instructional practices will help improve student outcomes,” School Committee chairman Kevin Fontanella said.
Action Steps include ensuring district-wide adoption of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) evaluation framework; providing training and resources to administrators and evaluators to ensure consistent, high-quality implementation; monitoring implementation through the Supervision and Evaluation Committee; distributing and adhering to the Annual Curriculum and Instruction Calendars by sharing finalized curriculum and instruction calendars with all staff at the start of the academic year and aligning instructional planning and professional development to calendar timelines and conduct regular curriculum and instruction visits and classroom observations outlined in School Improvement Plans by establishing a schedule for frequent curriculum and instruction visits across all grade levels and subject areas; facilitating district Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) meetings with a focus on feedback and systems improvement; leading monthly ILT meetings to analyze supervision and evaluation data, ensuring alignment with district priorities and using ILT as a platform to refine feedback, share best practices and strengthen leadership capacity.”
A second District Goal is using “rich and challenging Curriculum.”
“The District will strengthen the implementation of a rich and challenging curriculum by promoting best instructional practices, analyzing student data and supporting teachers in making informed instructional adjustments to improve student outcomes,” it reads.
Action Steps include establishing and launching the Elementary Curriculum Leaders Team by identifying and appointing teacher leaders across grade levels and content areas; defining team goals to support curriculum implementation, instructional consistency, and peer collaboration facilitating regular meetings to analyze student work, review curriculum pacing, and align instructional practices; developing a Guide Science Unit across grade levels by continuing to develop science units aligned with state standards and focused on the recommendations of the curriculum review-inquiry-based learning, hands-on investigations, and formative assessment practices; piloting new units with ongoing feedback cycles to ensure effectiveness and relevance; overseeing Social Studies Curriculum Reviews by leading a structured curriculum review process that includes standards alignment, resource evaluation, and stakeholder input; developing recommendations for updates or revisions based on findings; ensuring implementation support through professional development and pacing guidance; coordinating and supporting the Open Architects Platform Implementation by providing training and for staff to effectively utilize Open Architects for curriculum mapping and resource alignment and structuring and leading data meetings to inform instruction scheduling and facilitating regular data meetings focused on student performance, growth, and needs and continuing to use assessment data to inform instructional decisions and intervention.
District Goal 3 is Individualized Student Learning. “The District will provide individualized student support by strengthening intervention practices, implementing consistent progress monitoring, and effectively utilizing resources and schedules to support learning opportunities tailored to our students’ specific needs.”
Action Steps include continuing program development by building on existing initiatives to expand and refine special education programs, services and instructional supports; incorporating evidence-based strategies to improve student outcomes across all grade levels; having the Assistant Director of Special Education collaborate closely with the Special Education Director to align goals and coordinate implementation of special education initiatives; provide ongoing feedback and recommendations to ensure effective program delivery; refining Special Education leadership Structure by having the new Special Education Coordinator role focus specifically on elementary-level needs; empowering elementary Assistant Principals to serve as instructional leaders with an emphasis on supporting inclusive practices; expanding Targeted Intervention Programs by implementing and enhancing What I Need (WIN) interventions in grades K-8, focused on math and literacy skills; strengthening math and literacy skill development programs at the High School with specialized support; continue supporting Wakefield Academy Boost Programs and monitoring and responding to student survey data by continuing to analyze student survey data related to school climate and sense of belonging and using findings to inform ongoing adjustments to inclusive practices, student support services, and overall school culture.
There are three Superintendent Goals, which Lyons said can be used as reference points before his evaluation. The first is to prioritize standards using data-based instructional practices that engage and meet the diverse needs of all students to promote academic, social, emotional and equitable outcomes for students.
Action Steps include implementing and monitoring standards-based instruction and to ensure all classrooms use high-quality, standards-aligned curriculum, and assessments; conducting regular curriculum walks with curriculum coordinators and school leaders, to recognize and provide targeted feedback to strengthen instructional practices that improve student outcomes; differentiate and personalize learning b providing professional learning and coaching that help teachers design lessons responsive to students’ varied learning profiles, languages, and cultural backgrounds; emphasizing inclusive grouping and scheduling practices and strategies that ensure every student can access and demonstrate mastery of grade-level standards integrating belonging and inclusive practices by embedding social-emotional learning, culturally responsive pedagogy and community-building routines into daily instruction and measuring progress through student surveys and classroom observations focused on belonging and inclusion to ensure all students feel seen, valued and supported.
The second Superintendent Goal is to collaborate with town leadership and the Finance and Facilities Subcommittee to develop a comprehensive, sustainable plan to build a new accessible high school, secure accreditation and assess the staffing and class size needs. Lyons feels this is important given uncertainties about state and federal aid. “We may be facing some challenging fiscal times,” he said.
Action Steps include strengthening collaborative planning by establishing a regular meeting schedule and shared communication with the new Town Administrator and the Finance and Facilities Subcommittee to ensure transparency, alignment and joint problem-solving throughout the budget process; developing and monitoring the High School Building Plan by working collaboratively with town officials and community stakeholders to communicate on the timeline and move to the new high school, while ensuring the project remains on budget, on schedule, and aligned with long-term district goals and align staffing, class size and accreditation goals by conducting a districtwide review of staffing patterns and class size targets in preparation for the Fiscal 2027 budget that supports both instructional quality and fiscal responsibility.
Superintendent Goal 3 is to refine and create comprehensive and efficient systems of communication to engage and support all members of the school community as measured by clear expectations about the importance of urgent, clear and compassionate communication from administrators, teachers and all other staff members; analyzing current use and research more effective digital platforms for communication and assessing student needs in regard to counseling and student services to identify ways for improved outreach and implementation of support services.
Action Steps include strengthening instructional communication by collaborating with teachers, counselors, and instructional leaders to ensure clear, timely communication about curriculum, assessment expectations, and student progress; using multiple channels to support student learning and engagement, consistent with DESE Standard II indicators on supporting effective instruction; enhancing counseling and support communication by developing structured systems for counselors and support staff to communicate with families and students about social-emotional and academic needs, interventions, and progress, ensuring that all communications promote student well-being and equitable outcomes; measuring and reflecting on student outcomes by regularly analyzing student performance and engagement data to evaluate the effectiveness of communication systems and using findings to adjust messaging, guidance and instructional supports, ensuring continuous improvement in academic, social-emotional and equitable outcomes.
“The curriculum work that’s been done and shown here is leading to better outcomes for our students,” Fontanella said.