Northbridge superintendent details mid‑year progress on student engagement, curriculum and safety

Superintendent Melissa told the Northbridge School Committee at its February 2025 meeting that the district has advanced several mid‑year priorities tied to its three‑year strategic plan, including a districtwide "portrait of a graduate" and educator, learning walks, student advisory councils and reestablishing school‑level data teams.

The update summarized work intended to increase student engagement and voice, align expectations across schools under the RAMS framework (resilient, adaptable, mindful, supportive), expand student‑centered curriculum materials and reintroduce COVID‑era cleaning and mitigation practices in response to elevated illness at Northbridge Elementary School (NES).

Why it matters: the superintendent framed the initiatives as steps to raise student engagement and better match instruction to student interests amid staffing shortages and a tight budget season that the district said will require difficult choices. The committee heard both curriculum and safety updates and discussed taking capital‑funding requests to the spring town meeting.

In the presentation, the superintendent described how each school created a version of the portrait of a graduate appropriate to its levels and how staff were trained on learning walks to observe whether professional development is being applied in classrooms. NES staff have conducted multiple learning walks and begun a literacy learning hub and other supports; middle and high school programs have started student advisory councils and other engagement activities, though participation at the high school has been limited so far, the superintendent said.

The district also plans to reestablish school‑based data teams and to use those teams to track progress toward building action plan goals. The superintendent said the district has restarted conversations about transition plans between grade bands (elementary→middle; eighth→ninth) in response to family feedback and is planning a high‑school career fair and expanded internship/high‑school credit opportunities for advanced eighth‑grade students.

On curriculum and instruction, the superintendent cited a student survey showing that 35.3% of elementary students and 38.9% of high‑school students reported that teachers met most or all of their individual learning needs midyear. The leadership team set a goal to raise that share to at least 50% by year end and said ongoing professional development on student‑centered pedagogy, collaborative work and interest‑based materials is directed at that target. She noted that some students do prefer more traditional direct‑instruction approaches and that voice‑and‑choice strategies must be taught and scaffolded so collaboration is effective.

Health and safety were singled out as immediate operational concerns. The superintendent said NES had a day recently with about 40 students absent — roughly 15% of the school’s population — and that facilities staff will reimplement selected COVID‑era cleaning protocols (misters and more frequent cleaning of high‑touch surfaces). The district also plans to purchase tablets to run existing misting equipment. The superintendent said district custodial staff and teachers were being asked to prioritize surface cleaning during high‑illness periods.

The district safety team has been reconstituted and completed a one‑hour webinar and a recommended course from the Department of Homeland Security; the superintendent said the district had received roughly 15‑page assessments from homeland security and will review them at a Feb. 25 district safety meeting to identify low‑cost, short‑term improvements and longer‑term capital needs.

Budget and staffing matters were raised throughout the report. The superintendent said budget negotiations with the NTA and IAs were ongoing, that staff shortages and absences complicate instructional change, and that the district’s leadership time is heavily tied to budget work. She also said she will take a refresher SEI (Sheltered English Instruction) course to support English Learner instruction and that she is participating in regional superintendent groups and state committees, including a statewide "graduation think tank" tasked with exploring alternatives to MCAS for competency determinations.

The superintendent closed by highlighting instructional coaches, building‑level examples of student recognition, and district events scheduled for spring (Celebration of Learning, Evening of the Arts, staff awards). She said the district will resurvey students at the end of the year to measure progress against the engagement goal.

The committee engaged in follow‑up discussion about the midyear survey results, the need for explicit instruction in collaborative practices beginning in elementary grades, and the value of more frequent (“dipstick”) student feedback during the year rather than only end‑of‑year surveys.

The superintendent’s full presentation and supporting materials were not provided in the meeting record.