Wareham Public Schools administrators delivered an overview of last year’s school improvement outcomes and goals for 2025–26 at the Nov. 20 school committee meeting.

Middle school principal Sarah Russo described collaborative work on writing and math goals, saying, “This plan has been a collaborative effort,” and reported grade‑level growth on writing and a 19% increase in one grade’s math constructed‑response scores. Middle school staff said they used DESE scoring workshops, common rubrics, and IXL and NWEA data to redesign intervention blocks and strengthen writing instruction.

At Wareham High School, principal Scott Pellow and department leaders outlined a centralized curriculum inventory and new electives students requested — including ASL, Unified PE and an EMT course. They emphasized use of common assessments and a reworked Viking block to deliver individualized supports. Pellow highlighted attendance and discipline strategies, noting a pass program that sent 21 students to a partner program last year and had a recidivism rate under 5 percent.

Elementary leaders described expanding literacy interventions and student writing portfolios, piloting grade‑level ‘boost’ groups for targeted instruction, and implementing Number Corners and ST Math to boost numeracy. The elementary team reported a 92.8% attendance rate last year and outlined tiered communications for families to reduce chronic absenteeism.

Throughout presentations, committee members pressed for clearer baseline and result figures (actual pre‑ and post‑goal numbers) and requested that survey and progress data be included in future reports. Leaders committed to sharing more detailed MCAS/NWEA crosswalks, survey results and class‑level data with the committee.

Next steps: the committee approved the strategic plan presentations by voice vote and staff will provide more detailed data and supporting documents to the committee and the public.