Grafton Middle School highlights behavior gains, expanded clubs and an applied-learning grant

Chris Darcheski, principal at Grafton Middle School, told the School Committee that the school has focused recent work on behavior and attendance and has moved toward restorative approaches to reduce repeat incidents. “The restorative approach is really where we where we're heading,” Darcheski said. “What we want is for students to understand what their behavior was, why did they do that, and how are we gonna now repair it so it doesn't happen again?”

Darcheski said the school developed a behavior matrix with staff to clarify expectations and follow-up, and that counseling and related-services staff are routinely involved when behaviors require support. “I will bring in the counselors. I will bring in the student I work with miss Michelle Narducci all the time when we're talking about students that she works with,” he said.

Attendance and early-year trends: the principal shared attendance data for the first half of the school year and said trends are improving but remain a concern. He said the data were shown as a percentage of the school year and that categories reflect percentages of days missed. The school’s enrollment fluctuates “around 500-ish, give or take,” Darcheski said; the presentation used an approximate enrollment range of 475–500.

Student supports and programs: Darcheski and assistant principal Christine Martelio outlined tiered supports including Lighthouse (tier 3 services and transition supports), a student-support program with individualized counseling and behavior interventions, and the PAL Academy life-skills classroom led by a dedicated teacher and paraeducator team. “The goal is always to empower those students to overcome whatever challenges they have,” Darcheski said of Lighthouse and student-support work.

Beyond the classroom: the school described a broad roster of clubs and activities — jazz band, select chorus, math team, coding, Dungeons & Dragons, GSA and more — plus traditions such as a winter ball and an 8th-grade Washington, D.C., trip. The principal said the DC trip this year includes about 180 students and “a little over 20 adults,” and that parent volunteers have raised more than $9,000 in donations to underwrite scholarships; Darcheski said the program has provided roughly seven-and-a-half full scholarships so far.

Applied learning and curriculum: Grafton Middle has adopted Wit & Wisdom for ELA and Illustrative Mathematics for math, the presentation said. The social-studies program is piloting the Democratic Knowledge Project (DKP) in 8th grade to tie civic learning to an extended action project; the civics MCAS performance task was discussed as part of preparation. The school also said it had been awarded an Applied Learning Leadership Discovery Grant from the 1.8 Foundation to support site visits and a multi-year vision for applied learning.

Special education and CPAC tie-in: Darcheski invited CPAC officers, who were present earlier in the meeting, and praised integrated co-teaching, small-group classes and pullout supports. He said inclusion remains a priority and noted the school’s aim to provide the least restrictive environment appropriate to each student’s needs.

Athletics and unified programming: the school reported expanded Unified Athletics at the middle level (bocce and strength/conditioning) and positive team results across fall and winter sports. Darcheski said some recent teams have gone undefeated in their Swickle League divisions and that new uniform funding had supported several programs.

Why it matters: the presentation provided the School Committee with evidence of the school’s shift to restorative practice, progress on attendance and an applied-learning strategy that aims to connect classroom learning to real-world application. Several committee members offered operational questions about transportation and transition planning with the high school and elementary feeder schools.

Next steps: the school will continue applied-learning work tied to the grant, expand unified athletics offerings, and share attendance data for continued monitoring. Darcheski also said the school will continue to refine its use of STAR benchmarking and small-group supports to reduce test anxiety and support students during MCAS administration.