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Superintendent outlines back-to-school priorities as enrollment falls by 175
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Mark Sippel reported a strong start to the school year, the hiring of more than 55 new educators and curricular expansions, and said district enrollment is down 175 students with 112 still in the registration pipeline; officials emphasized the Oct. 1 census for state Chapter 70 funding.
Superintendent Dr. Sippel updated the Malden School Committee on the district’s back-to-school status at the Sept. 8 meeting, saying the year opened successfully with more than 55 new educators and the addition of over 25 new credit-bearing classes at Malden High School.
The report said the district has filled classroom positions early, reduced directed-study sections and expanded offerings in fine arts, world languages, ESL and special education so students have full credit-bearing schedules. Dr. Sippel also said the district had added an Honors credit option in middle school for advanced learners.
Dr. Sippel reported a net decline of 175 enrolled students compared with last year and said 112 students are in the registration pipeline awaiting vaccinations, tests or paperwork. He emphasized the district’s effort to have all students counted on Oct. 1 because Chapter 70 funding from the state is tied to that enrollment number.
Asked by Committee member Ms. Hortie why enrollment dropped, Dr. Sippel said it is early in the year and staff are reviewing the factors, including household moves and students not yet showing up. Committee member Mr. Gray asked for future updates and statistics on the Advanced Learners honors implementation.
The superintendent described the district’s new ParentSquare communications platform as a tool to reach families in more than 30 languages and said 45% of caregivers have registered accounts. "Even if a parent is not registered for an account they are still receiving alerts via whatever contact information we have for them," Dr. Sippel said, adding that unregistered caregivers cannot yet set message preferences.
Tess Meagher, the district’s Communications Coordinator, said the platform will deliver urgent alerts by all channels and use "smart alerts" that send a text first and call only if a landline is detected; she added that daily attendance is drawn from first period, while period attendance is gathered at 2:25 p.m.
On academic priorities, Dr. Sippel said K–8 work will focus on literacy and foundational math while the high school will continue literacy and numeracy supports, catch-up English courses and additional strategies. Under the new contract the schedule now includes an "extension" period that adds 40 minutes of instructional time every eight days; attendance will be taken during that period.
The committee did not take formal action on these items; members requested follow-up reports on enrollment trends, period-attendance tracking and outcomes for the advanced-learners changes. The superintendent said staff will continue outreach to families to finalize registrations and return with updated data in coming meetings.
