Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, October 11, 2019 ASKS | FROM PAGE 10 riculum coordinators under the supervision of the Director of Curriculum and Assessment to work with staff in aligning curriculum both (horizontally) all teachers across a grade level and subjects and (vertically) all grade levels from elementary to high school. • Strong supervision/ followup evaluation by coordinators to ensure that updated curriculum maps are used and ongoing efforts to regularly align curriculum vertically takes place. • Creation of Professional Development/ curriculum development meetings held regularly. • Increase/maintain writing across the curriculum efforts with specific attention to writing short answer/ 5 paragraph essay responses. Review essay writing curriculum at all grade levels. • Regularly scheduled practice MCAS test sessions for grades 2-10 using the computerized format. • Improve the quality of professional development offered based on teacher and administrator input. • Increased emphasis on data analysis of MCAS scores and other standardized tests given compared to stu• dents’ actual grades with emphasis on any disparities between the two. Investigate and perhaps pilot project-based personalized math problem-solving at elementary and middle levels. • Increase teaching of study skills across the curriculum with particular emphasis on test taking, organization, note taking, reading skills. • Continue work around the area of social/emotional learning. • Concerted effort to improve student attendance at all levels. • Continue the very difficult job of attempting to change the culture around the systemic problems in the Saugus Schools. Candidate Thomas R. Whittredge The MCAS scores district wide are disappointing, but the district continues to make small advances. Our own Lynnhurst Elementary has been recognized state wide for their high achievement. I think the most obvious thing we should do is find out what the Lynnhurst staff is doing differently and try emulating it throughout the district. The foundation is there, we need to give our teachers the tools they need to build off of it. Listening to the concerns and suggestions of our teachers will go a long way in figuring out the best way to help our students become successful. I appreciate you doing this for the candidates! School Committee Member Marc Charles Magliozzi My reaction to the recent MCAS results is as follows: I was made aware of the actual results through your article and the school rankings published by the Boston Globe. As a parent, I look forward to receiving the results of my children, which have not yet been made available. The results are alarming and I wish the state would tailor the way in which results are shared with parents and districts. The state publishing overall district grades/ranking prior to individual student scores being published causes concern in that without that information, we do not know how close we are to moving up to a meeting grade. That being said, I am not a fan of standardized testing but also realize that is what we are “measured” on. The results will allow us to be sure that we are teaching the standards as outlined by the state. I want to take the results of the individuals tested and compare them with the grades that they are receiving in class. We have begun using Star 360 which will contain that inforSchool Committee Member Marc Charles Magliozzi mation. This analysis will allow the teachers and administrators to be sure that the student is placed correctly in class in order to learn and retain information. Every child learns differently and this analysis will allow us to make sure that students are placed with similar learners and in the end, all will become better students. I want to continue to closely monitor the turn around plan at the Belmonte Middle School in order to continue the positive results we are seeing in the Elementary Schools. I also want to use the Lynnhurst as the benchmark for student achievement and share the best practices from that school with the other schools in the District. Candidate Ryan P. Fisher The first thing I did when the DESE released the MCAS results was to compare Saugus to Melrose, Wakefield, and Stoneham. Other communities may be more comparable to Saugus based on size and demographics, but students living three houses from Wakefield deserve the same education as the students living four houses down. I compared 7th and 10th grade results, and Saugus had the lowest percentage of students exceeding expectations in Math and English amongst those four communities and the state at large, and the highest percentage of students not meeting expectations. Lynnhurst was a bright spot, but it’s an alarming message elsewhere. Here’s the simple answer. The superintendent is responsible for improving academic achievement, and the school committee needs to advocate for all the resources and funding needed to implement his plan while at the same time holding him accountable for achieving those results. We need to analyze the data to identify student weaknesses and to bend the curriculum and classroom approach to address them, but the primary solution here is obvious: focus on teaching and learning. If the system supports teachers with team leaders, department heads and a uniform curriculum, students learning at different speeds won’t get an inconsistent education based around luck of the draw. With stability, uniformity, discipline and accountability for students as they learn, MCAS scores would rise. Candidate Thomas R. Whittredge Since my daughter isn’t old enough to be in the system, I rely on a lot of anecdotal evidence from stakeholders, and it points to a more complex problem. Due to a substitute shortage, teacher absences can leave students spinning their wheels in the cafeteria wasting what should be class time. High school parents talked to me about an extreme case where kids went nearly five months without a math teacher. Students taught themselves the material, passed tests by computer, and their grades were weighed in their favor due to the inconvenience. Parents weren’t kept in the loop, students didn’t want to tell first, and once parents intervened it still took weeks to get a permanent teacher into the classroom. Another parent told me that their sophomore was placed in freshman and junior classes due to scheduling issues and suffered crippling anxiety away from peers. That one change led to failing grades. Students talked about disruptive fights and the need for administrators to step up and be visible, especially now that custodians aren’t keeping an eye on hallways. They’re worried about safety and want to be reassured. In 2019, who wouldn’t be? When the town was caught up in the drama surrounding football coaches and custodial contracts, students were closer to it than anyone. How much learning happens in that kind of environment? All of these examples impact MCAS scores. Twenty years ago, there were 3,378 students enrolled in the Saugus school system. Last year, that number was 2,609. The number of students in the state declined by 1.2%. Saugus’s number dropped nearly 23%. That impacts MCAS scores, too. The biggest challenge facing education in Saugus, and MCAS scores, is the lack of transparency regarding the hidden problems we face. We can’t fix a problem we’re ignoring. Parents, students, teachers and support staff are the absolute best source for information about what is and is not working, and their input shouldn’t ASKS | SEE PAGE 13
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