New Bedford School Committee Inaugurates Academic Achievement Subcommittee

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The New Bedford School Committee is launching its Academic Achievement Subcommittee and a new reference tool to support families in their effort to engage in deeper discussions around district performance.

The NBPS Academic Achievement Public Dashboard will equip families with key information on how the school system is performing. The dashboard is a project of the NBPS Academic Achievement Subcommittee, which is comprised of Mayor Jon Mitchell and School Committee members, Bruce J. Oliveira and Joaquim “Jack” Livramento.

Mayor Mitchell stated, “The purpose of the Academic Achievement Subcommittee is to establish a platform in which school performance data that goes beyond the high-level information normally presented at the full School Committee hearings can be discussed, analyzed, and tracked according to the district’s annual goals. We believe it will enhance the public’s understanding of the work of the school system, and the opportunities it offers the City’s children.”

Noting the dashboard’s easy-to-use format, Superintendent Thomas Anderson stated, “Parents will be able to easily check the district’s benchmarks for progress through graphics. The dashboard is organized by elementary, middle, and high school levels that display comparative bar charts for a snapshot of progress. The creation of this tool, similar to the NBPS COVID tracker used during the pandemic, will provide the public with a wider lens on our district data points aligned with our strategic plan.”

“The Academic Achievement Subcommittee and Public Dashboard are groundbreaking efforts by a Mayor and Superintendent to provide the public with a deeper understanding about the student outcomes that are most important for academic success,” says Andrew Wolk, founder of Finding Common Purpose, the organization that developed the public dashboard. The organization was recommended after a consultation with former Massachusetts Secretary of Education and current Harvard professor, Paul Reville.

“I salute Mayor Mitchell and Superintendent Anderson for their courage in setting clear goals and providing a mechanism to report to the public on progress,” said Reville.

The dashboard features metrics that are aligned with the Superintendent’s annual goals. At the Elementary level, the dashboard data begins with Kindergarten Early Literacy benchmarks, quantified by Star Assessments. Preparing students to read is one of the primary responsibilities of school systems, and this early literacy assessment helps gauge where students are in the early grades. NBPS uses this data to establish action plans to best support student progress on a positive trajectory as they become highly literate.

Reading English Proficiency is documented in part by Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results in Third Grade. The third grade marks the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Students who are proficient in reading at the end of third grade will be best set up for success in all subject areas as they move through school. To increase the number of students who are proficient at the end of third grade, NBPS provides additional literacy development resources to early elementary classrooms.

At the Middle School level, a key benchmark is the Sixth Grade Math Student Growth Percentile (MCAS). As most students make the transition from elementary school to middle school, math concepts get more complex. High levels of growth in 6th grade can be used as an indicator for students who are prepared to engage with these math concepts and those in science and technology. Acceleration is the focus of the new math curriculum the district is adopting.

Another important indicator at this level is chronic absenteeism – when a student has missed 10% of the school year at any point in time – schools implement attendance strategies to identify the root cause of the absences and encourage students to attend school every day.

At the High School level, English Language Arts (ELA) 9 Pass Rates (Gradebooks) is an important ELA benchmark. Students who are highly successful in their first year of high school English are more likely to participate in advanced coursework, like AP classes, in English, Social Studies/History, and the Arts later in high school.

In math, the Algebra I Pass Rate (Gradebooks) is a key benchmark. Students who are highly successful in their first year of high school Math are more likely to participate in advanced coursework, like AP classes, in Math, Technology, and the Sciences later in high school.

“These indicators and more are covered on the Academic Achievement Public Dashboard. It is our hope that parents will refer to it regularly as a tool to inform their questions about their child’s education,” Mayor Mitchell added.

The first meeting of the Academic Achievement Subcommittee will take place on Wednesday, April 5, 6:30 p.m. at the Paul Rodrigues Administration Building. The public may view the meeting via Zoom: Meeting ID: 833 8264 2295, Passcode: 614559.

A link to the NBPS Academic Achievement Public Dashboard will be available on www.newbedfordschools.org.

About Michael Silvia

Served 20 years in the United States Air Force. Owner of New Bedford Guide.

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