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Unified arts, world-language PD and a jump in Holliston's Seal of Biliteracy earn committee praise
Summary
Holliston Public Schools curriculum coordinator for Unified Arts, Ida Pappas, told the school committee on May 1 that the district has expanded discipline-specific professional development, revised world-language maps and dramatically increased Seal of Biliteracy participation.
Holliston Public Schools curriculum coordinator for Unified Arts, Ida Pappas, told the school committee on May 1 that the district has expanded discipline-specific professional development, revised world-language maps and dramatically increased Seal of Biliteracy participation.
Pappas said the district partnered with regional presenters and neighboring districts to provide election-day professional development for world language, wellness, visual and performing arts, and library staff. She said 16 districts and about 125 teachers attended a high-profile world-language workshop the district hosted.
On biliteracy testing, Pappas said the district had 83 test takers this year and 30 juniors and seniors earned the Massachusetts Seal of Biliteracy; scores from exchange students may raise that total after retakes. She said the district used an external language test platform (previously STAMP; this year the district used a platform staff called "Apple" in the presentation) and that juniors had retake opportunities.
Pappas also previewed a planned academic landing page to centralize discipline resources and describe course proficiency levels from K'12, saying the page will help parents who have children in multiple grades find continuity across programs. She described outreach from other immersion and language programs seeking to observe Holliston's French-immersion approach.
On arts and wellness, Pappas highlighted the district's first multi-district PD day (held on an election day) featuring national presenters for assessment in the arts and updated wellness standards, with 39 participants from several districts in arts and 39 in wellness sessions. She said visual and performing arts teachers are developing rubrics as part of Stage 2 curriculum work.
Ending: The committee praised the increased professional development and biliteracy participation and asked staff to return with the landing page and materials for public display before the fall rollout.
