[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6356552,"mediaKeyId","2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439","parentId",2216326,"title","District outlines elementary master‑plan committee and submits capital priority list for town review","audioSeconds",224,"startMs",4813000,"endMs",5037000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439&start=4813&end=5037","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439/thumbnail_4813000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6356552/Massachusetts/District-outlines-elementary-masterplan-committee-and-submits-capital-priority-list-for-town-review","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6356552-eca129116a340803762f19d9a3a1c994/orig.mp4?Expires=1770968878&Signature=QWCDOSg-FxZk2OYg-Bp3-r3bWEvw9yTZBByEy2ZDJKe2cpXvu8G0WQrknlAfPL5RcJa5nzelG9bauI5-huR1QPi22EV4RWuTNYy~t6kmNZzrBJyVI2bZR4eXVKHWYSLjqWgjdhnqMsQe4UPb~bxwujkkyzJuA5vncL1k3WyuvpbZ8zB2tvhsuwjzJlsBKJsofeYcii8dkreF19U8gCDSaj-GFMb-UsFBbB5zinZGYGvxZhvkOLCtJcC1zsatA4R6McCmBfeNrAzHCkE2KPRHTm4Gn8iOqePIRcIcrFdcp~ZFMpoMA5~tU5COucjAtpIaLE8huMpdRSFr~-RXYzCP~Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Sharon Public Schools, MA","date","2025-01-22T00:00:00Z","article","Sharon Public Schools on Thursday updated the School Committee on an elementary facilities master plan, the formation of a master‑plan committee to review options, and a prioritized capital request the district will send to town capital review.

In July 2023 the district engaged Flansburg Architects to evaluate elementary facilities; the firm’s final report, delivered in November 2024, compiled enrollment projections, existing condition summaries, and design and repair options. School leaders said the report included 5 sections: enrollments and design options, existing conditions, enrollment projections, five‑ and ten‑year space needs and repair recommendations.

The committee approved membership for a new elementary master‑plan committee that will immediately begin reviewing Flansburg’s options. The committee will include district administrators, elementary principals, representatives from the PTOs, a School Committee representative, the facilities director, a representative of the Sharon Teachers Association, the town administrator and public safety staff. The school administration said the committee’s first meeting will take place the week of March 4, 2025.

Superintendent‑level staff told the committee the district does not plan to file a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in the current cycle (which opened in January and closes in April). Instead, district leaders said they will use the master‑plan committee process to refine short‑ and long‑term options and gather broader community input.

On capital priorities, the district presented a ranked list of requests for the town’s capital outlay process. Town staff told the committee that, based on current estimates and typical funding availability, items ranked 1–23 have the best chance of funding and items 24–30 are less likely to be funded in the coming cycle. The ranking exercise led the district to defer some nonurgent maintenance and to place special‑education bus replacement and other items on multi‑year replacement cycles rather than request full funding immediately.

The committee voted to approve the prioritized capital request list for transmission to the town capital outlay committee. Town staff recommended one approach for a large item tied to elementary space (Heights construction costs): the town administrator advised holding a free‑cash appropriation that would be released only if enrollment projections confirm the additional space need, rather than borrowing for a project the district cannot yet confirm.

Committee members asked for the safety and security study (a $20,000 evaluation) to be noted as a planning step that will identify recommended infrastructure changes—panic‑button rollout and other measures—that the district would fund in subsequent capital cycles if the study recommends them.

Votes at the meeting:
- Motion to approve the prioritized capital project list and forward it to the town capital outlay committee: approved by roll call (unanimous yes).","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Sharon School Committee, 1/22/25","oneSentenceSummary","Sharon Public Schools presented an elementary facilities master‑plan update and a prioritized capital request list to the School Committee; administrators said they will form a master‑plan committee and are not submitting an MSBA Statement of Interest this cycle.","taxTitle","Sharon Public Schools, School Boards, Massachusetts","taxId",71268,"location","Massachusetts","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6356562,"Sharon schools recommend CKLA after multi‑month elementary ELA pilot",2097,1454000,3551000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439&start=1454&end=3551","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439/thumbnail_1454000.jpg","/articles/6356562/Massachusetts/Sharon-schools-recommend-CKLA-after-multimonth-elementary-ELA-pilot","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6356562-d676e8885a83fdea41465c70348bc000/orig.mp4?Expires=1770968878&Signature=LCz8JwfpEeGVZ53wOxmQlKt2FICUIQRsAiUsh-rcenh4loCAzbt85ytfkwQbnEcwDEq0SlvFt4qeH39RDoIbjasZEL-zlLv8A4ibLgDpF-1t63wzbDUBIubIoaUlsZS~iGFgAdd~PPISgt~NGdn8kxIn3cOOE4KUjbwKk1y3AYjvawrAwwt3IAaodPqhe~wv3MLPvyu8tzvQ1O6MPJl8UZ0Lb9x53YqxHI2KhABumWHBAmAY5d1b2XW3lhAUqgHW-ySYIKpGCbD~OtXD96-0nQJH03gcTiyQIey5FHk-AkYc26L77pUTrY5R2-2eCHpMrzTnVKrBdxV~3DqGkKdRiQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sharon Public Schools officials recommended adopting Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) as the district’s elementary English language arts curriculum following a multi‑year review and fall 2024 pilot, administrators said Thursday.

District leaders told the School Committee they chose CKLA after a committee of teachers and administrators piloted three programs—CKLA, Wit & Wisdom and MyView—collected classroom, family and student feedback and visited neighboring districts using the two finalist programs. Administrators said CKLA scored higher across user‑experience, pacing, and engagement metrics and that the program meets state curriculum standards and contains supports for students with disabilities and English learners.

The presentation traced the review to a 2017 curriculum adoption and three goals the district set for new materials: alignment to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, use of empirically validated reading instruction (including phonics and phonemic awareness), and built‑in supports for culturally responsive instruction, English learners and students with special needs. Sarah Klim, elementary curriculum coordinator, and Dr. Jocelyn (presenting for Superintendent Patel) described the committee process, teacher training, classroom walkthroughs and stakeholder surveys that led to the recommendation.

Pilot results cited by administrators showed: 83% of CKLA pilot teachers rated student engagement as “high,” compared with 33% for Wit & Wisdom; parent and student surveys favored CKLA on multiple measures; and kindergarten classrooms piloting CKLA reported earlier decoding progress. The district said CKLA’s skills component uses a sound‑based approach and includes decodable readers aligned to skills instruction; CKLA’s knowledge units are designed to build background across grades.

Administrators noted CKLA is published by Amplify and that the series earned “meets or exceeds expectations” ratings from external reviewers such as EdReports and the Reading League curriculum navigation materials, which the presentation said contributed to confidence in the choice. Staff also noted Amplify will publish a third edition this summer; Sharon’s pilot used second‑edition materials and the district plans to order third‑edition materials when available.

Superintendent‑level staff described implementation next steps: continued piloting for the remainder of the school year, staff professional development sessions this spring, training for instructional assistants and full district implementation scheduled for September 2025. The district said it will send a letter to families, add website updates and offer additional family information sessions by grade band.

Questions from committee members focused on cost comparisons, assessment alignment and screening tools. Administrators said the district will continue to use STAR 360 as its approved universal screener this year to meet state early‑literacy screening regulations, and that cost differences between purchasing CKLA and purchasing a combination of Wit & Wisdom plus separate foundational skills materials (e.g., Foundations and Heggerty) were “very comparable” when all parts were included.

Committee members and pilot teachers who spoke during the meeting praised the pilot work and teacher engagement. No formal adoption vote occurred at the January 22 meeting; the presentation was a recommendation and described planned training and family outreach ahead of full implementation in September.

The committee asked administrators to provide final cost and training schedules as implementation details are finalized.

Implementation details and next steps include continued pilot through spring 2025, district training days for teachers and instructional assistants, family outreach sessions, and full implementation for the K–5 academic year beginning September 2025.","Sharon Public Schools officials recommended adopting Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) as the district’s elementary English language arts curriculum following a multi‑year review and fall 2024 pilot, administrators said Thursday.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6356557,"School committee narrows 2025–26 calendars; two options sent to teachers’ association for review",2913,5587000,8500000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439&start=5587&end=8500","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439/thumbnail_5587000.jpg","/articles/6356557/Massachusetts/School-committee-narrows-202526-calendars-two-options-sent-to-teachers-association-for-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6356557-4c10c89a5fcfaf33c228ac1207303979/orig.mp4?Expires=1770968878&Signature=ohq4MIRqkeWu03UAwBHsX2IMfo7Q3KdKBr~DTjkvrbSUGUZ1ameGAtwCJO88qiDVcDK1p8r1Au-2BWAAb23TjsE7vLoj8eHWsjuYZtR3v8X0FprGFEjkm5Ydv~zSkn4pWHXElJb20bLEaphRwmT3aIo1UVDTdaViB73dX~8pWLUFSj5e8EegxvZNzrYP5spsNoFrCevcUlf1PAJ1jLxj63s~RpVvDxvElP-wD5n8z4UrHa3oJSA0EhTOdqJUbjrM2zQ3~2VJpMKE~sW7Spiq3JmgssLf794mCpOCmg9eyGSvMZgseBvnZpW4U38yZw9Ig70tUgSZPshrmQt1ENKJSg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Sharon School Committee voted Thursday to forward two proposed 2025–26 school calendars to the Sharon Teachers Association for review after a lengthy discussion of student and staff absence data and community input.

School Committee members said they wanted the district to start the school year before Labor Day and address family requests to add Monday, Jan. 2, 2026, as a no‑school day. The committee then debated whether to restore the second day of Rosh Hashanah as a full no‑school day and whether the day before Thanksgiving should be a half day or a full day.

After discussion, the committee approved two calendar options to send to the teachers’ association: (1) calendar option 2 — Jan. 2 off, second day of Rosh Hashanah off, and a half‑day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (last day of school would fall on June 16, 2026); and (2) a calendar including Jan. 2, the second day of Rosh Hashanah and the full day before Thanksgiving (pushing the potential last day to June 17, 2026). The committee chair said it wanted teachers to review both options and return feedback quickly.

Calendar subcommittee members reported the attendance data that framed the discussion. They said Rosh Hashanah day two showed elevated student absences comparable to other days tied to vacations, while the day before Thanksgiving and the Thursday at the end of school break also had high absence rates. School staff and the teachers’ union described surveys showing strong teacher support for everyone—including staff and students—starting before Labor Day and prioritized requests for Jan. 2 and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as days off.

The committee discussed the role of half‑day schedules. Administrators and committee members explained that half days are sometimes used to limit instructional loss while still recognizing families’ needs to observe religious or cultural holidays; the state counts a half day as a full attendance day for calendar calculations, which affects the school‑year end date.

Several committee members asked that calendar materials avoid taking positions on politically contested holiday names (for example, listing the October federal holiday without choosing between “Columbus Day” and “Indigenous Peoples’ Day”) so the committee could focus on attendance and operations.

Votes at the meeting:
- Motion to present calendar option 2 (Jan. 2 off; Rosh Hashanah day 2 off; half‑day the Wednesday before Thanksgiving): approved by roll call (4 yes, 3 no). Yes: Julie Rowe (chair), Alan, Adam, Avi. No: Dan, Jeremy, Shauna.
- Motion to present a calendar with Jan. 2 and the full day before Thanksgiving but not the second day of Rosh Hashanah (a separate proposal): defeated in a roll‑call vote. (Vote recorded at the meeting: 2 yes, 5 no.)
- Motion to present a “deluxe” option (Jan. 2; Rosh Hashanah day 2; full day before Thanksgiving; last day of school up to June 17): approved by roll call (4 yes, 3 no). Yes: Julie Rowe (chair), Alan, Adam, Avi. No: Dan, Jeremy, Shauna.

The committee instructed administration to forward the two approved calendars to the Sharon Teachers Association for rapid feedback and to return to the committee with any union responses. The committee said it planned to finalize the calendar promptly to meet downstream scheduling and childcare needs.

Public comment before the vote included several speakers who raised religious‑ and gender‑related concerns; administrators and committee members said the calendar decision would be driven by attendance data and operational impact rather than questions of celebration or political preference.","The Sharon School Committee voted Thursday to forward two proposed 2025–26 school calendars to the Sharon Teachers Association for review after a lengthy discussion of attendance data and community input.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6356547,"Sharon High to draft local competency determination after state’s ballot change to MCAS graduation rule",340,5056000,5396000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439&start=5056&end=5396","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2216326-71387bb75bf03464bd9f333c96525439/thumbnail_5056000.jpg","/articles/6356547/Massachusetts/Sharon-High-to-draft-local-competency-determination-after-states-ballot-change-to-MCAS-graduation-rule","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6356547-8fbadca517ff49f58fcf23744285c5e0/orig.mp4?Expires=1770968879&Signature=jl0oJ7nJhGtH2FE79Q~KUMeXpm5IPEN6NWX3IpxEGTA5OJi9DT4z8uOA97N6UMppiPqOvnoUlmwiX8cOpNwJlDqYQSHBLIacPajQMMclA6mcfaGFyXRN-HIFwZqxqKBPWajs1WUhMMjslb~TaS5lOOnWgg92e46u6-I~~9x4ksoPL2wlh5sf-rcC2l4MJlwWEvOCUnLthVuEkdTc5NpPtJF-7vyFIBPSl1Dn0IMkcu5i-I9uKwbWHPwx8eQjKQ~6UJnuDYs6DLeC6s3IQ0sgaLhGFXpX3wmrEzX93XRdbZ2ttMzd557lkvM5JOrETNWJQi5wAgKt16FKz7A5hKLp~g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Sharon High School administrators told the School Committee Thursday they will present a proposed local competency determination in response to a change in state diploma rules that moves the competency decision from the state MCAS pass/fail threshold to local school districts.

Christine Keenan, high‑school administrator, explained that the November ballot question removed the statewide requirement that students pass specific MCAS tests to earn a diploma and directed districts to define competency locally. Keenan said the high school’s recommended competency determination is aligned with practices already used at comparable regional high schools: successful completion of English 9 and 10 (or equivalent), successful completion of algebra and geometry (or equivalent) and successful completion of a high‑school science course (biology, chemistry or physics).

Administrators told the committee they used peer district examples (King Philip, Norwood, Hopkinton, Franklin and Canton) to shape a proposal and that the school will include the term “or equivalent” to accommodate students who transfer from other states or alternative programs with different course titles but substantially similar standards.

Keenan said the committee will be asked to vote to approve a competency determination at its Feb. 26, 2025 meeting in line with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidance. The district’s program of studies and local graduation requirements will also inform the competency determination and the district will conduct outreach to students and families as scheduling for 2025–26 proceeds.

Committee members asked whether “equivalent” referred to course content or course title; administrators said the district intends the equivalent language to allow content‑equivalent courses to qualify for competency even if they use alternate titles (for example, a student returning from an out‑of‑state placement). Keenan said that district staff examined the senior class of 2025 transcript patterns and outplaced students to ensure proposed wording would not create undue barriers to graduation.

The Committee did not vote on a competency determination on Jan. 22; administration said a formal vote would be scheduled for Feb. 26 with supporting guidance and templates consistent with DESE direction.","Following a statewide ballot change to MCAS graduation rules, Sharon High School administrators proposed a local competency determination that would require English 9 and 10 (or equivalent), algebra and geometry (or equivalent) and a high‑school science (biology/chemistry/physics). The School Committee is scheduled to vote on the competency","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

District outlines elementary master‑plan committee and submits capital priority list for town review

Sharon schools recommend CKLA after multi‑month elementary ELA pilot

School committee narrows 2025–26 calendars; two options sent to teachers’ association for review

Sharon High to draft local competency determination after state’s ballot change to MCAS graduation rule