Superintendent Pamela Lathrop and Assistant Superintendent Kristen Ando presented North Andover Public Schools' district improvement plan Sept. 25, emphasizing three cross‑district priorities for the coming year: adoption and implementation of high‑quality instructional materials (HQIM) where available, expansion and coherence of multi‑tiered systems of support (MTSS) for academic and social‑emotional learning, and a finance goal to provide transparent, regular budget reporting and to align the FY27 budget with strategic priorities.

Ando described HQIM as curricular materials vetted by third parties (EdReports and the Massachusetts Curate process) and recommended using vetted programs in grades where they are available; she said K–5 materials are broadly in place while choices for middle‑ and high‑school courses remain in development. Ando outlined implementation steps including professional development, pilot classrooms, and common assessments to measure program impact. She said MCAS results from 2024 informed the priorities and that the district seeks steady improvement in student achievement and growth measures.

On MTSS, Ando said the district intends to strengthen universal (tier‑1) instruction and add targeted (tier‑2) and intensive (tier‑3) interventions without removing students' access to grade‑level instruction. She described efforts to align schedules, provide intervention blocks (for example at elementary “student success” time) and expand coaching so teachers can deliver high‑quality instruction and targeted supports.

Lathrop tied the educational goals to budgeting and asked the school committee to begin drafting budget directives now so the central office can develop a FY27 budget aligned to those priorities. Committee members discussed the schedule for district directives, the availability of school improvement plans, and a desire to receive the school improvement plans and budget data before finalizing directives. The superintendent agreed to share school improvement plans with the committee the week after the meeting and recommended committee members submit directive ideas in advance for a structured October discussion. Committee leaders asked for monthly financial reporting and noted a separate memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the town requires specific financial reporting and obligations.