Pierce Middle School leaders highlight culture-building, new transition plans and instructional priorities

Pierce Middle School leaders reviewed a multi-year school improvement plan and described steps they are taking to strengthen school culture, teaching and the transition from elementary to middle school.

The Pierce presentation emphasized three priorities for the 2024–25 school year: high-quality instructional practices, getting to know students through a data lens, and establishing systems and structures that support students’ transition to middle school. “We are a school. That’s what we are. We’re here for teaching and learning,” Pierce principal Roger said. He described four “high-leverage moves” staff agreed every classroom should show: clear learning objectives, predictable routines, varied instructional practices and regular use of data and feedback.

Leaders described work to build a stronger data culture. Pierce staff use Performance Matters (the district’s PowerSchool data tool) and teacher-level MCAS trend analysis to identify students who need targeted support and to share effective practices across teachers. The presentation said some teachers are already using growth-percentile analysis to set targeted student growth goals.

Enrollment and staffing remain concerns. Principal Roger told the committee Pierce has about 1,006 students this year and that the building was not designed for current enrollment. The school secured a fourth teacher team for sixth grade for FY25, he said, but additional FY26 requests for 2.0 FTE exploratory teachers and 2.0 FTE instructional assistants were unlikely to be funded. He warned that specialized classes such as STEM, art, music and drama are operating with 28–30 students and that those class sizes strain both program quality and staff.

To improve equity of access to transition supports, Pierce leaders announced a change to the “Welcome to Middle School” summer camp. Rather than a fee-based summer camp that historically reached about 80% of students, Pierce will pilot a two-day, in-school transition program for incoming sixth-graders during regular school days in June. The change is intended to reach students who previously could not attend the summer program; it will be led by sixth-grade teachers in sixth-grade classrooms and will be offered while eighth-graders are on class trips. Roger said site council, the DEIB committee and sixth-grade staff endorsed the shift.

The principal and school committee members also highlighted expanded efforts around school values, community meetings that recognize student behavior aligned to those values, the six-day rotating schedule and seminar classes for sixth graders designed to teach executive functioning and belonging. Committee members praised Pierce’s progress toward a more positive school climate and expressed support for continuing to advocate for staffing to reduce class size in exploratory classes.

The presentation closed by reiterating the school’s focus on academic rigor, continued culture work, and an ongoing need to align staffing to enrollment as the district proceeds through the MSBA (school building) process.