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Somerville district to adopt corrective action plan after CUSAC review; special-education audit clears district
Summary
Superintendent Levisco told the board the district will submit a corrective action plan after two schools slightly exceeded chronic absenteeism thresholds in a CUSAC review; a separate special-education audit was passed with no indicators requiring follow-up.
Superintendent Levisco updated the Somerville Public School District Board of Education on May 13 about state and district audits, corrective action steps for attendance and ongoing curriculum work.
Levisco told the board that, following a CUSAC review, two schools — Vanderveer and the middle school — “did tick right above” the allowed threshold for chronic student absenteeism and the district has prepared a corrective action plan. He said the plan is intended to address the attendance rates that exceeded the threshold.
In the same update, Levisco announced the district’s special-education review “was passed … without any indicators that have to be addressed,” and he thanked the audit team by name: Lisa Mulhern, Michelle Turnbull, Sarah Ligori and Michelle Trainor. The superintendent said the district also underwent a broader curriculum audit; he described several steps already underway to address academic needs.
Those curriculum actions include: intervention teams meeting to adjust schedules and expand intervention opportunities at elementary and middle grades; work on high-school course options to support struggling students; implementation and monitoring of pacing guides; creation of a districtwide literacy-leaders team with grade-level cohorts; and continued SEI (Sheltered English Instruction) training. Levisco said roughly 90 staff members will receive SEI training to support English-language learners and students behind grade level, and ESL teams are examining intake and screening procedures for newcomers.
The superintendent also described efforts to align pacing guides across grades “to make sure that everything is covered for our students by the end of the school year” and said the curriculum work is led by Mary Kane. Levisco credited staff for the special-education audit result and noted that CUSAC findings require focused follow-up at the two schools identified.
The board did not vote on a new policy in this session; Levisco said corrective action work and curriculum adjustments will continue and be reported back to the board. He asked the public to consult the district calendar for upcoming events and thanked audit and curriculum staff for their work.
