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Date: 1/26/2022
HAMPDEN/WILBRAHAM – Director of Curriculum Lisa Curtain presented the results of the spring 2021 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test for grades three through five to the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) School Committee on Jan. 20.
Curtain reminded the committee that the 2020-2021 school year had been “unusual.” Students in third and fourth grade had never taken the MCAS, and it had been two years since fifth graders had taken it.
“It took longer to teach and longer to learn with a lot of effort,” Curtain said. With this in mind, adjustments were made to the MCAS, including an extended testing window, the option to test remotely and one session of testing instead of the usual two.
The results in the English Language Arts (ELA) assessment showed HWRSD students fared slightly higher than the state averages. With three categories of scoring, 58 percent of third graders were marked as meeting or exceeding expectations, 35 percent partially met expectations and 7 percent of students did not meet expectations. The district had 8 percent more students score in the highest category and did slightly better than the state averages in the other two categories.
A similar pattern was seen in the fourth- grade ELA results, with 57 percent of students meeting or exceeding expectations compared to an average of 49 percent statewide. Ten percent of fourth graders in HWRSD fell into the not meeting expectations category, 3 percent less than the average.
In fifth grade, 56 percent of HWRSD students met or exceeded expectation compared to 47 percent across the state. Just 4 percent of students were scored as not meeting expectations, compared to 10 percent as the state average.
The areas for growth identified by Curtain showed students have fallen behind in written language conventions, idea development and vocabulary. Despite this, students have kept up with identifying ideas and evidence and text structures.
Students did not do as well in the math assessments. Thirty-six percent of third graders met or exceeded expectations, just three points higher than the state average, while 46 percent partially met expectations and 18 percent did not meet expectations. The state averages for the lower two categories were 40 percent and 26 percent.
Similarly, 35 percent of fourth graders and 43 percent of fifth graders met or exceeded expectations compared to 33 percent at the state level for both grades. The percentage of fourth graders not meeting expectation was 15 percent to the state’s 24 percent and, for fifth graders, it was only 8 percent, rather than the 20 percent statewide.
The pattern shows that, while the number of students keeping up with expectations is close to state averages, more of HWRSD’s remaining students are making strides toward that goal than is seen across the state and fewer have been completely left behind.
Curtain identified fractions as both a challenge and a strength for all grades. She explained there are nine standards to meet for competency with fractions and students are mastering some, but not all. She also said computation is an issue at all three grade levels. On the other hand, students showed strength in measurement and geometry.
The final assessment, science and technology, is only administered to fifth graders. These results were similar to the math assessment, with 50 percent of HWRSD students meeting or exceeding expectations compared to 43 percent on average, and 11 percent did not meet expectations, against 19 percent across the state.
Year-over-year data shows a downward trend in MCAS scores from 2019 to 2021, the period during which in-person education was impacted.
Even though the district’s numbers are a little better than the state average, Curtain admitted, “It’s not where we want to be.” She laid out action steps to improve results in each knowledge area. Common steps to all subjects were focusing on core instruction and using more interventionists and specialists.
The district is also planning after-school literacy and math programs, five-day math acceleration academies to be run during February and April vacations, the use of education programs like Illustrative Mathematics, Patterns of Power and Project Lead the Way.
School Committee member William Bontempi told Curtain the same areas for improvement show up every year in the MCAS results and asked which action steps were new this year. Roughly half were. Curtain said the steps work as a whole to address the challenges. She agreed that many areas for improvement were consistent but said they had previously only been addressed at the school building level and not as a district. When asked how the School Committee can help, Curtain said professional learning and a highly rated, aligned curriculum would help.
School Committee member Patrick Kiernan suggested looking back at data from when the district was structured with neighborhood schools instead of the current grade configuration.
Director of Finance and Operations Aaron Osborne gave input on the results. “Fractions, decimals and percents are the game killer for every kid,” he said, reflecting on when he taught math. He added, “Create a culture in which teachers don’t feel so rushed,” and can take the time to make sure students understand the content. He also said revisiting content in later grades is okay.
Superintendent Albert Ganem Jr. agreed and mentioned a high-ranking school highlighted by the Boston Globe which, “allowed the teachers to teach and take things out and slow down or speed up,” instruction as needed. Curtain added students in the same grade have to know the same things, but teacher flexibility is also important.
Bontempi remarked, “Starting where we are, the chances of going up are good.”
Curtain will present to middle and high school MCAS results at the next School Committee meeting.
Grants
The district received three grants recently. One, for $180,000, will fund the math academies. The academies, located at Wilbraham Middle School, will be open to students by invite and are for grade three through grade 10. Students will receive intensive math instruction interspersed with periods of related arts.
The second grant, for $139,000, will be used for social-emotional support. This is the third grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) the district has received for this purpose.
The last grant provides $7,500 to help homeless youth.
“Hunger and homelessness are huge factors,” in education, Osborne said. “Students who don’t know where they’re sleeping tonight or who haven’t eaten since yesterday’s lunch, they’re not ready to learn.”
The district has started a pantry that contains clothes, food and cleaning supplies, among other items. So far, 125 families have used the pantry. It was noted that the Wilbraham Public Library also has a small pantry, and a partnership may be possible.
Preschool Controversy
Director of Student Services Gina Roy addressed concerns expressed on social media regarding the elimination of full-day preschool for students who do not have an individualized education program (IEP).
She explained preschool uses integrated classes, each with eight special education students and seven general education, or “peer” spots. The decision was made “for equity and programmatic reasons” to limit all non-intensive needs students to a half-day session. For intensive needs students, the other half of the day is spent in a sub-separate classroom to receive services not available in the integrated classes. She added that afternoon sessions in integrated classrooms are geared toward kindergarten readiness and the older students.
“We will be able to service more Hampden-Wilbraham students with half-day slots,” Roy said. The district has seen an influx of students, including those preschool-aged, with IEPs. By law, the district must provide them with access to preschool classes. Preschool is not mandatory for peer students.
During public comment, Craig Rivest, a parent and Hampden Board of Selectmen member, identified himself as the person who had begun the online conversation on the subject.
“We are completely failing children in our district,” Rivest declared. He said the upset around the elimination of full day peer preschool shows a “need and desire for more pre-K classes, district-wide.” He asked that the process be re-evaluated.
Bontempi recommended contacting the Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools (MARS) to see if the topic can be “rolled in” to the strategic plan talks. He noted that while preschool is not mandatory for peers, the demand exists. He suggested restructuring some of the school buildings to create space for more classes, but Ganem pointed out that preschool classrooms must be appropriate to their use and gave the size of bathroom sinks as an example.
Roy told the committee that the $3,000 annual fee for peer student pre-school service does not pay for the $120,000 in staffing costs, let alone other program expenses. Bontempi pointed to a “push” at the federal level for universal per-k and said there likely are grants for the program.
COVID-19 Update
Lead Nurse Kiara Fryer reported there have been 1,750 COVID-19 cases in Wilbraham and 501 cases in Hampden since the school year began Aug. 31.
The DESE is encouraging districts to enroll in a home kit program which will distribute biweekly tests to students and staff. HWRSD has already submitted an application for the kits. “If you have symptoms, test,” Ganem urged.
The kits, which come with two tests each, would replace the district’s contact tracing and test and stay program. Ganem pointed out that despite hundreds of students using the test and stay program, only five tested positive.
Bontempi said it was “gratifying” that DESE “knows in-school transmission is low.”
Kiernan asked Fryer how the change would impact the school nurse workload. She said it would be “substantially reduced without test and stay and contact tracing.
The school vaccination rates are at 66 percent at Minnechaug Regional High School, 59 percent at Wilbraham Middle School and 45 percent at Stony Hill School. Green Meadows, Soule Road and Mile Tree elementary schools are all at 37 percent vaccinated. Kiernan remarked none of them were close to the 80 percent required to go mask-less.
Retirement
Ganem announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2021-2022 school year in June. He called it a “difficult decision,” but in a letter he read to the committee, Ganem stated, “As someone who has always counseled others that ‘family comes first,’ I find myself needing to take my own advice.”
Serving as the leader of HWRSD has been “such a privilege,” he said. Ganem has been the district’s superintendent since July 2016 and has been an educator for more than 30 years.
Bontempi called Ganem’s tenure a “trial by fire,” while Kennedy described Ganem’s reason for leaving as “noble” and in keeping with “the family man we know him to be.”
The district will discuss the next steps in a superintendent search at its next meeting. Bontempi said the multi-step search is an “arduous process.” Kiernan pointed out there are many superintendent positions open throughout the state, which will result in a competitive search.