Canton Public Schools: September 23 School Committee Meeting Recap: District Goals, MCAS Results, Student Recognitions

Press release from Canton Public Schools:

Leah Comins

October 1, 2021

CANTON — Interim Superintendent Derek Folan would like to share with the school community several notable updates and information provided at the September 23 Canton School Committee meeting.

A recording of the full meeting can be viewed here.

Additional meeting materials, including the Interim Superintendent’s Report and all documents shared at the meeting are available here.

Interim Superintendent Derek Folan shared with the committee his Entry Plans and Goals for the coming year, which came out of the three-year New Superintendent Induction Program that he has undertaken. The NSIP provides a firm foundation for new superintendents to perform with greater skill, savvy and success. NSIP is a collaboration between the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS).

Interim Superintendent Folan’s objective for the Entry Plan is to review important educational documents, meet with numerous stakeholders within the district, conduct surveys, and collect data so that he can fully understand where the Canton Public Schools is as a district in a comprehensive manner.

The Entry Plan consists of three phases:

• Phase I: Listening, Learning and Observing. This includes meetings with students and families, holding focus groups, conducting classroom visits, sending out surveys, and more.
• Phase II: Analyzing and Synthesizing Data, and Sharing Feedback and Findings. This includes data analysis from prior surveys and public forums, and presenting findings to the school community.
• Phase III: Alignment with District Goals and Key Actions, Budgetary Matters, and Mission, Vision, Core Values.

District goals includes the following:

• Develop and implement systems, committees and teams to effectively monitor and achieve the District Goals and Key Actions to improve student achievement
• Develop and implement an enhanced District Communication Plan to maximize all modes of communication to engage the public, inform the community, and celebrate District achievements and excellence
• Participate in the New Superintendent Induction Program to develop skills in strategy development, data analysis, and instructional leadership by actively engaging in the first year of the program

Through the program, Interim Superintendent Folan was paired with a coach, Dr. Mary Bourque, who he has been meeting with regularly through his participation in the program. Dr. Bourque, who was present for the September 23 meeting and spoke highly of not only Interim Superintendent Folan but also the greater Canton community, serves all students in the Commonwealth through her current position as MASS Director of Government Affairs.

On September 21, DESE released statewide MCAS test results from the spring 2021 exam. Results show that many more students had gaps in their knowledge of math and, to a lesser extent, English language arts, compared to students in the same grades before the COVID-19 pandemic. Results also show that fewer students meet or exceed grade level expectations.

The state did not administer MCAS tests in spring 2020, near the start of the pandemic, so the most recent year to compare with this year’s scores is 2019.

CPS principals and administrators are in the process of evaluating results from students and will report back to the school community at a later date.

Families will receive their child’s MCAS scores in the second week of October. Families of students who were in grades 3-8 in the spring should keep in mind that those students were given shorter than usual tests, which can cause individual student performance to vary more than usual as compared to previous years. These variations even out as groups of students are aggregated, but the difference is worth keeping in mind when viewing individual results. Families should also remember that MCAS results are only one measure of their child’s growth and achievement.

Due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, and following a vote by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in June, DESE is not issuing new accountability determinations for districts and schools this year.

For more information about MCAS results, click here. For more information on Canton-specific MCAS information, including Grade 11 and 12 MCAS retake dates and benchmark assessment information, click here.

• Hannah Wang
• Suraj Ramanathan
• Joshua Ribisi-Chan
• Madeline Pushard

This press release was produced by Canton Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.