Everett reports gains on state accountability; district makes literacy, attendance priorities

At its Oct. 6 meeting, the Everett School Committee heard a detailed presentation on state accountability results from Dr. Adams and Superintendent William D. Hart that district leaders said show measurable gains and point to specific priorities for the coming year.

Dr. Adams told the committee the district—s weighted accountability rating rose to about 61% under the state's composite formula, a change she described as "substantial progress" for Everett Public Schools. "We were able to gather more points," Dr. Adams said, "which I'll show you in a minute, and our average annual rating went up to 61%." Superintendent Hart said, "We are seeing progress," while stressing the climb back to pre-pandemic levels remains a long-term effort.

The update covered three primary indicators district leaders said they would emphasize: achievement (MCAS scaled scores), student growth percentiles and chronic absenteeism. Dr. Adams highlighted improvements in several areas: strong gains in Grade 8 English language arts (an increase shown in the slides of roughly 10 percentage points), improved science scores at Grades 5 and 8, and measurable growth percentiles at the high school in both ELA and math. She said the district earned full points on the K— science indicator and made gains for the state—s "lowest-performing" student subgroup in several subjects.

At the same time, Dr. Adams identified writing as a clear area for focused work. After local teams reviewed student long-composition responses this summer, she said, the schools found students are "struggling with writing" and have made increasing frequency of writing plus consistent teacher feedback central priorities. "We want to increase the quantity. It's like a muscle," she said, describing plans to use professional learning time for teachers to analyze student work and calibrate feedback.

Attendance also factored centrally in the presentation. Dr. Adams reported that daily attendance is up and chronic absenteeism declined across several subgroups; she said some increases remain for students with disabilities and that principals are focusing early in the year on attendance interventions. She described a mix of practical strategies already deployed, including Title I before- and after-school tutoring (expanded this year from two cycles to three), the use of a "win block" for targeted in-school interventions, instructional coaching embedded in buildings, and increased social-emotional supports.

District leaders outlined next steps: roll out of additional cycles of Title I tutoring, continued implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) across grades and subjects, expanded professional learning communities (PLCs) for teachers to examine student work, specific attention to writing across disciplines, and school-level improvement plans that will be presented to the committee at the next meeting.

Superintendent Hart and Dr. Adams emphasized the data are one measure among many and repeatedly framed the work as ongoing and layered: "Sound educational planning precedes a rise in test scores," Hart said. Committee members asked for concrete examples of budgetary decisions that supported the gains and were told purchases of HQIM, added social workers and investments in coaching and attendance initiatives were examples of intentional budget choices tied to the results.

The presentation was an update only; no committee votes were required. Dr. Adams said school-level improvement plans will be presented at the committee's next meeting for further review and to link those plans to school and district leader evaluations.