Johnny Appleseed principals outline enrollment, programs and 2025'027 improvement goals

At the March 2 Leominster School Committee meeting, Johnny Appleseed Elementary Principal Bevon Tapley and Assistant Principal Katie Jingrass gave a detailed school overview, citing enrollment, programing, recent building work and a set of school-improvement goals for 2025'027.

The presentation said Johnny Appleseed currently enrolls about 685 students across kindergarten through fifth grade, with kindergarten at roughly 95 students and fourth grade near 125. School leaders described a student population that includes about 23% in special education programs, 17% English learners and 5% of students on Section 504 plans. Tapley and Jingrass said the school uses Wonders and Foundations for ELA, Illustrative Math for math and Mystery Science for science instruction.

"We will implement purposeful student engagement and structured student collaboration in all classrooms through the consistent use of the high-quality instructional material resources," Tapley said, summarizing one of the school's academic goals. The plan sets measurable strategies: teachers will use diagnostic data to inform planning, implement targeted supports during core and intervention blocks, and monitor progress through regular data cycles.

School leaders highlighted recent building projects that included replacing and resizing lockers and renovating a staff lounge. They also described special programming at the school: a life-skills developmental program (K'5) for students with cognitive disabilities and ABA classroom supports for early grades.

On academic indicators, Tapley reported winter benchmark results showing growth: "We now have 56% of our students at or above grade level in ELA and 42% at or above grade level in math," an increase she said represented about a 20% gain from the start of the school year. Administrators said most growth targets were met or exceeded in accountability data and that language-proficiency targets for English learners were largely met.

The presentation also reviewed the school's PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) program, branded as the "APPLES" code (Acceptance, Persistence, Patience, Leadership, Excellence, Safety). "We have apples tickets" for positive behaviors, Jingrass said, describing incentives such as VIP lunches and prize drawings. Attendance initiatives were emphasized: Tapley said more than 300 students recorded perfect attendance in February and the school randomly selected 20 students for monthly prizes as part of an incentive program.

Committee members asked several questions about instruction and the performance of a specific grade. On third grade, Tapley described the year as an "outlier," pointed to a challenging classroom makeup and said administrators had rebalanced groups, worked with guidance and the school psychologist, and were seeing fewer discipline incidents since adjustments were made.

Tapley and Jingrass closed by inviting more family and community participation on the school council and by noting upcoming events at the school including a citywide art exhibition and a musical-instrument dedication.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation; the report will feed into the district's ongoing school-improvement monitoring.