Hoosac Valley Regional committee hears third-grade demo, reviews unified school improvement plans

At its Nov. 18 meeting, the Hoosac Valley Regional School Committee heard a third-grade demonstration of a responsive classroom "morning meeting" and reviewed districtwide School Improvement Plans that prioritize instruction, social-emotional learning and access for students with disabilities.

Kristen Palatt introduced the Spotlight on Applied Learning and said staff from individual schools had been invited "to highlight great work happening." Teachers Christine Kirchner and Kim Trimarchi described the morning meeting routine; the presenters said, "The morning meeting takes about 15–20 minutes and the whole school does it at the same time," and third graders modeled the activity for committee members.

The committee then reviewed three districtwide SIP priorities. Priority 1 aims to raise academic achievement and ensure consistent end-of-year benchmarks, with an explicit target tied to MCAS achievement and year-end growth measures and drivers including the Hoosac playbook, Portrait of a Learner and applied-learning practices. Presenters said these items were aligned through an equity lens.

Priority 2 focuses on social-emotional learning and student behavior. Administrators described plans for tiered instruction, advisory/crew structures and reset supports. Middle-school staff described the "RESET" room as one classroom serving students in short sessions; JJ Choquette said it averages about "one class, an average of 15–30 students per day." Vice Chair Erin Milne urged clearer equity metrics, recommending the plan track equity gaps year over year rather than rely on raw counts of individual students, and she asked that referral data be tracked in PowerSchool for trend analysis. Board member Fred Lora pressed whether behavioral data are captured consistently year to year; presenters said data systems have been refined recently but that the public perceives gaps, a concern he said should inform budget planning.

Priority 3 addresses implementation of a new IEP model intended to bring students and caregivers more fully into goal-setting. Presenters said walkthroughs and staff surveys will measure staff efficacy; they provided rough counts for students with IEPs: approximately 80 at the high school, low 70s at the middle school, 90–95 in grades K–5 and more than 100 in preschool. Presenters said the district is working with Buzz Education and DESE-aligned processes to support Tier 1 instruction and accommodations.

The School Improvement Plans were presented for committee review; no formal vote on the SIPs was recorded at the meeting. The committee will continue to use the plans to guide instruction and student-support work in the coming year.