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Wakefield administrators outline school-improvement goals; emphasize instructional practice, common assessments and MTSS data work
Summary
Principals from Wakefield elementary, middle and high schools presented school improvement plans focused on instructional strategies, curriculum alignment, common assessments and a strengthened MTSS/SST process; the district plans to use OpenArchitects to centralize assessment data and help teams target interventions and acceleration.
Wakefield principals on Tuesday described a districtwide emphasis on instructional practice, common assessments and a more consistent multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) for individualized student learning, saying they will use new tools and structured time to align practice across buildings.
What administrators presented: Secondary and elementary leaders summarized three shared goals: 1) quality teaching focused on high-leverage instructional practices; 2) rich and challenging curriculum with common assessments to guide instruction; and 3) individualized student learning using MTSS structures and intervention blocks. Administrators said professional development will include topic-specific sessions (for example, supporting multilingual learners) followed by department-level planning and classroom-based coaching or instructional visits.
Data and tools: Administrators said the district will adopt the OpenArchitects platform to consolidate assessment results (I-Ready, DIBELS and other measures) into a single view so teams can more quickly identify student needs and group students for intervention or acceleration. They described plans to schedule regular grade-level or PLC time during the school day for data review and to refine referral and SST processes so supports are consistent across schools.
Student supports and SEL: The committee heard that schools are piloting an executive-functioning program (Level Up) in grades 7–8 and exploring how to better collect social-emotional data to inform interventions. School leaders said some screening tools and counselor-led in-class supports are in place at certain schools and that they are considering how to make such data more available alongside academic measures.
Public-health survey note: The student services subcommittee discussed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and community questions about its wording and purpose; administrators said the subcommittee may meet with the health department and other stakeholders ahead of the districtwide presentation of results to provide context on how the survey data are used.
Why it matters: Administrators said stronger common assessments, classroom visits and a centralized data platform are intended to help teachers better target instruction and to make referral decisions for supports more consistent across the district.
Ending: District leaders said they will release the professional-development calendar and continue reporting progress on MTSS and data integration at future meetings.
