Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the District Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Malden schools adopt 2024–25 calendar; district reports special‑education pilot and assessment updates
Summary
The School Committee unanimously approved the 2024–25 Malden Public Schools calendar, and Superintendent Noriega‑Murphy and staff described a pilot ACE special‑education curriculum, assessment results (DIBELS, i‑Ready, IXL) and other district programs and events.
The Malden School Committee on Feb. 5 unanimously adopted the district’s proposed 2024–25 calendar, shifting professional‑development early‑release days to Wednesdays to improve equity for some Early Learning Center students and scheduling Sept. 3, 2024, as a PD day because of elections.
Superintendent Noriega‑Murphy and district staff presented multiple district updates. Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Pam Macdonald and Special Education manager Stephanie Scalese outlined a pilot rollout of the ACE (Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia) curriculum for some special‑education students and said a parent portal for access is planned but not yet available. Staff said the curriculum is being piloted across a mixture of sub‑separate and partial‑inclusion settings and that data is recorded by educators and specialists to support functional behavioral assessments and behavior plans.
Data analyst Dr. Pam Stazesky, with directors Dr. Douglas Dias and Cara Hovhanessian, reviewed K‑8 growth indicators from DIBELS, i‑Ready and IXL. Presenters said IXL shows about 10% average monthly growth as a yearlong average, although staff cautioned that adaptive assessments and attendance patterns affect growth tracking and that multilingual learners’ progress can be harder to gauge on English‑language tests.
Committee members asked for additional breakdowns—by grade and program—on ACE participation and assessment results; staff said they can provide more detailed reports later. The calendar vote was moved by Ms. Spadafora, seconded by Mr. McCarthy, and passed unanimously.
