Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Middleborough school leaders present broad curriculum, data and staffing update; K–6 ELA pilot set to begin
Summary
District curriculum leaders told the school committee they are fully staffed for multilingual services, are piloting new K–6 ELA materials beginning April 28, and are rolling out a district data team and intervention supports aimed at improving literacy and early-grade outcomes.
The Middleborough School Committee heard an extensive curriculum-and-instruction briefing Thursday that set out staffing updates, grant-funded programs and a calendar of curriculum reviews and pilots.
Superintendent Lions introduced a curriculum team that outlined how state and federal grants fund K–3 literacy training, MTSS intervention blocks at Nichols Middle School and digital platforms. The superintendent said the district "is fully staffed I am so happy to say that" for multilingual-learner services and noted Title funding requires evidence that purchases and trainings produce measurable results.
Curriculum director Dr Michael maret and coordinators Lori LeBlanc and Kelly Stukenborg described several initiatives the district is pursuing. The presentation covered interventionists, instructional coaching, a newly formed Title-funded district data team and a foundational-literacy team focused on the science of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension).
Amy Anderson, an instructional coach who described her shift from classroom teaching, said coaching "is an access point for teachers; it's for them to reflect on practice, try something new but do it in a way that's free of a valuative structure." Presenters said coaches are non-evaluative supports intended to help teachers translate data into actionable classroom changes.
The committee was told the district is in phase one of a science curriculum review (inventorying materials, documenting labs and sequencing projects by grade) and plans to integrate a simulation platform called Gizmos for grades 3–12 ahead of a future MCAS science item format change. District staff also announced a K–6 English language arts pilot beginning April 28: two classroom teachers per grade will trial selected programs, receive training and report back by the end of the school year.
Leaders described multiple resources currently in use—literacy platforms (referred to in the presentation as Lexia/PowerUp), ST Math (expanding to kindergarten next year via grant funding) and newly purchased decodable texts and common novels for grades 6–10. Summer programming plans were previewed as July sessions with scholarship support and partnerships for full-day options.
Committee members pressed presenters on building-level implementation and teacher buy-in for the district data team, confidentiality and the mechanics of formative-assessment cycles. Presenters said they will roll out data practices through administrator training, build early-adopter building teams and provide legal or HR review when necessary.
The presentation closed with an invitation for staff and committee feedback on a multi-year cycle of curriculum reviews and next steps for piloting and monitoring materials.
