Holliston elementary principals outline MTSS goals as chronic absenteeism falls

Holliston Public Schools elementary leaders presented school-level goals and benchmark data on Oct. 23 as part of the district's continuing push to expand multi-tiered systems of support, or MTSS, for academics and social-emotional learning.

The presentation, given by Placentino and Miller leaders and attended by the School Committee, emphasized clearer communication with families, measurable action steps from student success team meetings and use of progress-monitoring tools in reading and math. "We changed the name...from student assistance team to student success team because we really want every child...to be successful," said Jamie Sweeney, Placentino principal.

Why it matters: Committee members were shown data the schools said will be used to target instruction and interventions. Presenters tied improving Tier 1 instruction and increased progress monitoring to goals for 80 percent of students to be at or above grade level by the end of the year and for all students to show at least one level of growth.

Attendance and engagement were a central focus. A staff member reporting attendance data said chronic absenteeism measured at the October 15 benchmark had fallen compared with prior years: "we're at 6.5 percent for chronic absenteeism," the presenter said, and noted the figure reflects district monitoring at a consistent date for multi-year comparison. Presenters described steps that contributed to the change: monthly family attendance reports, weekly staff sync meetings that include counselors and psychologists, and a pilot automated parent contact for tardies that showed a marked drop in late arrivals.

Academic priorities described included algebraic thinking and number sense in early grades and informational-text comprehension in reading. At Placentino, presenters said diagnostic data from i-Ready and DIBELS would direct small-group instruction and flexible groupings during the district's "WIN" (What I Need) block. "We're focusing on using data and evidence practices to meet every learner where they are," Sweeney said.

Presenters also addressed multilingual learners and students with disabilities as priority subgroups. The district reported targeted success plans for 19 multilingual learners who showed no growth on state access tests and said it had already increased ESL staffing from 1.0 to 1.5 full-time equivalent to expand services.

Committee members asked how classroom teachers use diagnostic groupings for planning; presenters said i-Ready can produce classroom grouping suggestions and that MyPath (i-Ready's individualized online instruction) is being used during WIN time, selected instruction blocks, and, for fifth grade, sometimes at home when Chromebooks go home. "We encourage students to use MyPath 30 minutes per week in each content area," a district presenter said. The group also described ongoing professional development tied to implementation of the Eureka math curriculum and to embedding social-emotional lessons through RULER and PBIS/CARE structures.

Next steps: Schools said they will monitor progress frequently (progress-monitoring every 2–4 weeks for some interventions), convene student-success reviews with measurable action steps, and provide a midyear and end-of-year report back to the committee.