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Ashland Middle and High school leaders present multi-year improvement plans; committee hears priorities
Summary
Principals from Ashland Middle School and Ashland High School outlined multi-year school improvement priorities including math alignment, grading consistency, restorative practices and expanded AP offerings; committee asked questions and offered support but did not take formal action.
Erin LaChapelle, Ashland Middle School principal, told the School Committee on July 11 that the middle school—s school improvement plan is "definitely a work in progress" and summarized priorities for the coming years.
LaChapelle highlighted planned changes to math placement and acceleration, including ongoing review of a cohort who opened CP2 geometry to freshmen and continued alignment with high school algebra sequences. "So we're looking at alignment of the math curriculum... and having some vertical discussions between the high school and the middle school," she said, noting the staffs efforts to identify and move students within the school year when appropriate.
The middle school plan also lists restorative practices and a revitalized PBIS (positive behavior interventions and supports) program as priorities; LaChapelle said staff want clearer, consistent steps for addressing infractions and more consistent incentives for positive behavior.
At the high school, a presenter summarized updates to the 2023—1026 improvement plan and said the district has been reviewing course weighting and its effect on student stress and post-secondary options. The high school plans to continue work on equity, curriculum alignment and career/college pathways; the presenter said the site council intends to examine pre- and post-evaluation measures for student growth across grades 9—12.
Both schools described social-emotional learning work. The high school reported completion of a JED (suicide prevention and mental-health) assessment with improvements on measures of connectivity and staff preparedness, and the middle school said it has been implementing workshops and playbook-style sessions to give students structured opportunities to discuss challenging topics.
The committee offered support and asked clarifying questions about scheduling, grading practices and next steps for vertical curriculum alignment. No committee votes or formal approvals were taken on improvement plans at the meeting; presenters said many items are ongoing and will return for future review.
The discussion closed with committee members thanking principals for the work and noting continued oversight through site councils and future reporting to the committee.
