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Ashland middle school shifts to grade‑specific core schedule to target widening learning gaps
Summary
Ashland Public Schools principals and teachers outlined a planned middle school schedule change that would replace the daily "discovery" block with grade‑specific core classes and create daily intervention time to address growing reading and math gaps among students.
Erin LaChapelle, principal of the Ashland middle school, told the Ashland School Committee on Feb. 12 that the district is developing a new grade‑specific schedule for the 2025–26 school year intended to close reading and math achievement gaps that grow between sixth and eighth grade.
LaChapelle said the existing six‑day rotation includes seven blocks — mostly 45 minutes each with a 60‑minute lunch block — and a daily “discovery” period that staff reported is used inconsistently. “The effectiveness of it for sure is not there every day, and it is a 45 minute block every day in every kid's schedule,” LaChapelle said, summarizing feedback from teachers.
The proposed model replaces the discovery block with grade‑specific core instruction: sixth grade would split ELA into separate reading and writing blocks; seventh grade would receive an engineering‑focused course to pull STEM standards out of the unified‑arts wheel; and eighth grade would have a team‑based…
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