Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 2/9/2022
HAMPDEN/WILBRAHAM – Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) Director of Curriculum Lisa Curtin presented the test results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) for middle school students and those in 10th grade at Minnechaug Regional High School (MRHS).
Similar to the presentation of the elementary MCAS results, Curtin prefaced her slideshow by reminding the committee that 2020-2021 was an “unusual” year, with hybrid learning, new technology, social-emotional issues and a gap in carried over learning from the previous academic year.
District-wide, sixth-graders’ scores in English language arts (ELA) show that 60 percent met or exceeded expectations, significantly more than the statewide average of 47 percent. The portion of students not meeting expectations was 11 percent, half of the state’s average. The remaining students fell into the “partially meeting expectations” range.
ELA scores for seventh-graders showed fewer of them meeting or exceeding expectations, at 51 percent, and more of them partially meeting expectations. The percentage of students not meeting expectations was the same as it was for sixth grade. All of these scores outperformed the state averages.
While eighth-graders also outperformed the state’s numbers, it was by a smaller margin. Less than half of students, 45 percent, fell into the highest-scoring category. Nearly the same portion, 44 percent only partially met expectations, while 10 percent of them did not meet expectations.
The ELA area where middle school students excelled were in character and idea development, analyzing text for main ideas and writing conventions. On the other hand, students had difficulty with skills that included citing text evidence, comparing texts, analyzing poetry and developing composition.
Of the students who took the 2021 ELA assessment in the 10th grade, 69 percent were found to meet or exceed expectations, with 28 percent partially meeting expectations and just 3 percent not meeting them. The state’s numbers are slightly worse, with 64 percent meeting or exceeding and 9 percent failing to meet expectations.
The students assessed at MRHS demonstrated strength in poetry analysis, written conventions and character analysis, but had room for growth in idea development, identifying literary devices, inferring about characters and determining vocabulary meaning.
Comparisons between the 2018, 2019 and 2021 ELA scores show a marked decline in middle school scores, with the eighth grade demonstrating the largest decline in scores. A much smaller decline was seen in the year-over-year analysis of 10th grade scores.
Curtin, who was joined by MRHS Principal Steve Hale and Associate Principal Nicole Smith, Wilbraham Middle School Principal John Derosia and Assistant Principal Kathryn Manuel and Green Meadows School Principal Sharon Moberg, identified action steps to address areas of concern. These included focusing on core instruction, MCAS-specific tutoring, a collaboration between different subject matter and a Freshman Foundations course.
They also pointed to a downside of the computer-based MCAS tests versus the paper-based “legacy” tests. Smith said typing an essay in a small box on the screen is more difficult for some students. The school is providing scrap paper to help students organize their thoughts on essay questions.
Math MCAS
The MCAS math assessments scores were notably lower than the ELA scores among middle school grades. Forty-seven percent of sixth-graders met or exceeded expectations, compared to 34 percent for the state average. Just 8 percent failed to meet expectations. Nearly a quarter of sixth-graders across the state did not meet expectations.
A third of seventh-graders fell into the meets or exceeds category, fewer than the state’s average of 35 percent. Meanwhile, 9 percent did not meet expectations, half as many as the statewide average.
In the eighth grade, 36 percent of HWRSD students ranked in the top performance tier, while 32 percent of the state did. At the same time, 14 percent of students did not meet expectations, compared to 21 percent of the state.
Students grasped geometry, expressions and equations, functions and statistics, but fell short on ratios, inequalities and irrational numbers.
When compared to previous years’ results, there’s a decrease of about 10 to 15 percent in the number of students who performed at optimal levels, which could be attributed to the knowledge gap left by the lapse of in-person schooling early in the pandemic.
The data for seventh grade, however, shows that the percentage of seventh-graders meeting or exceeding expectations fell from 55 in 2018 to 44 in 2019, before the pandemic hit.
The results for the 10th grade math MCAS were significantly higher than for middle school. Sixty-eight percent, or two-thirds, of students met or exceeded expectations, while the state recorded an average of 52 percent. Six percent failed to meet expectations, half of the state’s numbers.
There are two geometry standards that need to be worked on by 10th-graders, while they showed an understanding of solving and graphing linear and quadratic equations as well as rational and irrational numbers.
Only two students failed the MCAS math exam. Hale said they will be given the chance to continually retake the test while receiving tutoring opportunities. He said definitively that they would be brought up to a passing grade before they are scheduled to graduate.
Hale defended the academic knowledge of the high school students by pointing out that MRHS students showed the highest improvement in math scores among schools in the same socio-economic cohort, despite the high school’s textbooks being from the 1990s.
All the school administrators spoke of the need for “vertically aligned” curriculum – learning that uses the same terminology and structures from K-12. “The need is there for connectivity across K-12,” said Derosia. To this end, the middle school is adopting Illustrative Math, a multi-year curriculum that will also be used in the elementary grades. Derosia said, “I’m really excited it’s going to be a wider approach.”
Curtin said the district is looking for a comparative program to Illustrative Math for the high school since the program is only designed for grades K-8.
Derosia added that teachers need training and professional learning. Hale agreed and spoke about the benefits Wednesday afternoons while learning was fully remote. Teachers were able to collaborate and work on issues as they arose. Ganem said the district “got a lot of pushback,” but it was a worthwhile use of the time. “Time is a very valuable commodity,” Hale told the committee.
Speaking of fully remote learning and its impact on the MCAS results, Manuel said one reason students performed better in the ELA tests may be the inherent difficulty of teaching math remotely, which she called, “night and day.” Derosia agreed and said some students had indicated they preferred in-person math. He said its instruction is more hands-on, especially when it comes to the use of manipulatives in helping make math tangible.
School Committee member Patrick Kiernan asked if the district has considered structuring algebra classes so that students have finished Algebra I and Algebra II by the end of eighth grade. Currently, students take half a year of Algebra I in the seventh grade and the second half in grade eight, leaving all of Algebra II for high school. The administrators had not considered that change and Hale told Kiernan breaking up algebra allowed teachers to not “rush through” the instruction. That said, Hale noted another class was being added to help low-performing math students.
When asked by Kiernan, Ganem explained that the district had no math interventionists at the elementary level and only one at WMS. Moberg explained that while the positions are posted there have been few qualified applicants.
“We recognize that math is an area of improvement,” in all grades, Ganem said. He encouraged families to take advantage of the Math Academies the district is hosting during February and March breaks. Curtin explained it would be five, seven-hour days with four hours of math, plus a related art, such as a science lab and a lunch break. The academy will be at WMS. Transportation is not provided by the district.
Test Differences
School Committee member Sean Kennedy noted the high schoolers fared better than the elementary and middle schoolers in the assessments. “You guys seem like you’ve done well by the students,” he said to Hale and Smith.
Kiernan pointed out the state’s averages for 10th grade are significantly higher than for younger students and that HWRSD’s figures reflected that. He asked if the 10th grade assessment is different. Hale said it was not the tests that change between grades, but the students.
“Developmentally, kids in eighth grade, they’re struggling with peers and mentally. By the time they get to 10th grade, there’s some maturity.”
Smith told Kiernan one difference between the middle school and high school tests was that only half of the test was administered to the middle school students, while the high school students took two sessions of the test.
Science, Technology and Engineering MCAS
The final category of MCAS tests, Science, Technology and Engineering (STE), were administered to grade eight. Forty-six percent of students in eighth grade met or exceeded expectations, with 8 percent not meeting expectations and the rest only partially meeting them. The district fared slightly better than the state, with 41 percent scoring in the highest category and 16 percent not meeting expectations.
For these students, earth science, ecology and evidence, reasoning and modeling were strengths, while understanding of kinetic energy, technology and engineering and science practice standards could use work.
As with the other subject matters, action steps around STE involve a renewed focus on core instruction, use on Project Lead the Way and an investment in specialists to help students struggling in the area.
Another step taken at Wilbraham Middle School is the inclusion of a STEM class in grade seven as of this academic year. To fit this into the schedule, the school is eliminating half a hear of Spanish instruction. While Derosia said he would “love” to have a full year of Spanish and a full year of STEM, “there are only so many hours in the day.”
Derosia floated the idea of making some of the STEM content into a related arts class but said students would miss out on another related art, since there is a limit on the number students can take. He said, “For some kids, [Physical education] is a lifeline.” Ganem agreed, “Some kids live for that arts period.”
Kennedy remarked, “What’s hindering us is the parameters, only so many teachers, only so many hours in the day.”
Staffing Issues Affect Budget
An increase in the need for long-term substitutes is expected to leave a deficit in the budget of up to $250,000 by the end of the school year, said Director of Finance and Operations Aaron Osborne. He pointed to staff who had put off surgeries through the pandemic as one of the major factors in the increase of long-term leaves. Osborne added there had been a “fair number of retirements,” as well.
Leaves due to COVID-19 are also affecting the budget. The state enacted the Temporary Emergency Paid Sick Leave program in May 2021, mandated employers compensate staff for leaves of absence related to COVID-19. While the state left an option for the length of leave to be determined for each person by the number of hours they work, the district made the decision to give staff a blanket five days’ leave. Osborne described this as “the right thing to do,” but also noted it made the process much simpler.
The law allows employers to file for reimbursement until April 1 or the exhaustion of $75 million of allocated funding. The district has been reimbursed for $17,378 and will be able to recoup some of the money for the COVID-19-related leave each month.
COVID-19
Nurse Care Coordinator Melissa Lonczak provided the School Committee with a health update. Between Jan 20 and Feb. 3, 116 positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the district.
Meanwhile, 881 students and 241 staff have opted into the at-home testing kits provided by the state. The kits provide an option for people with symptoms to test before coming to school and report any positive results to the school nurse. The program replaced the test and stay program in which close contacts were tested by the district before school for five consecutive days.
A vaccine clinic will take place on Feb. 13 at the Greenwood Center, 231 Maple St., Longmeadow. People over 5 years old are eligible for either vaccination against the flu or COVID-19. To schedule an appointment during the clinic, visit bit.ly/longmeadowvaccines.
Preschool
During the public comment period, Jeff Harrington expressed concern with the district’s decision to eliminate full-day preschool. He told the committee that half of a 3-year-old’s life has been spent in isolation and young children need the social opportunity provided by school. He asked for an “inquiry” into the impact this decision has on students. Harrington also said finding full-day accommodations with only five months until the end of the school year is “awkward” for parents.
Social Media
Toward the end of the meeting, Ganem addressed parents about the way social media is used to air grievances and concerns. “There’s a process in place,” he said, for parents to report issues, beginning with the teacher and principal and ending with the superintendent, and if needed, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Parents that take to social media and bypass the process are “causing a little bit of hysteria,” Ganem said. One such incident happened last month, when a Soule Road School parent posted a message on Facebook about a person with a gun outside the school. Ganem told Reminder Publishing the school was put in lockdown for hours as the district and the police investigated. Nothing was found.
Ganem said the district has administrative and legal resources that should be utilized in such situations.
School Committee member Bill Bontempi noted in some cases, parents are, “offering their case to the court of public opinion,” which is prevalent in the era of social media.
Kennedy suggested people turn to social media because they feel the school district is lax in getting back to them via proper channels. Ganem acknowledged there may be some truth to that, but said other issues are laid out on social media or brought to DESE before the school is even made aware.
Furthermore, he said, the community wants to know the details of incidents that involve confidential student or staff information. He said, “Not everyone’s going to get all the information.”