Superintendent's Update - September 20, 2013
Post date: Sep 20, 2013 8:31:30 PM
2013 MCAS Results Released
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the students, their parents, the faculty and staff for the impressive state assessment results again this year. The overall performance on the state assessment (MCAS) is quite positive. We are very proud of all our Lunenburg students and most appreciative of the adults - teachers, parents/guardians, support personnel and administrators - who engage, support and challenge them each and every day. At the tenth grade level, 97% of students are proficient or higher in English language arts and science, and 96% are proficient or higher in mathematics! Students also posted strong performance at the 8th grade in English language arts with 83% of students advanced or proficient. In mathematics, 80% of students at grades 3 and 6 scored advanced or proficient. The faculties in every school will continue to analyze results in order to adjust curriculum and instruction to align with the common core of learning outcomes measured by the state assessment.
The District, Turkey Hill Middle School, and Lunenburg High School accountability ratings are Level 2, indicating that we did not meet gap narrowing goals. The goal or target is a rating of 75. Turkey Hill received a rating of 73 and Lunenburg High School a rating of 74. The District’s rating, which includes the performance of students educated both in and outside the District, was 61. We were encouraged to see that we had met target for the low income sub-group and will continue to work toward meeting the target for other sub-groups.
The individual student reports arrived in my office today. These will be distributed to the buildings and sent home with students next week. Additional information can be found at http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/mcas/achievement_level.aspx?linkid=32&orgcode=01620000&orgtypecode=5&.
Open Houses 2013:
The final open house for the 2013-14 school year was held at Lunenburg High School last night. I want to thank the teachers and building administrators for providing parents/guardians the opportunity to visit classrooms and learn about grade and class expectations, routines and procedures. I heard from many parents/guardians that the open houses are helpful and informative to them in supporting their children’s learning at home. It is always positive to see so many parents/guardians in attendance.
Proposed MS/HS Building Project:
The next meeting of the School Building Committee will be Monday, September 30, 2013, 7:00 p.m., at Town Hall. This will be a televised meeting and the committee will be discussing the most recent MSBA submittal and cost estimates. It was exciting to be able to speak with so many parents/guardians about the project during the open houses. To stay informed about the project:
Bookmark the website:
https://sites.google.com/a/lunenburgschools.net/school-building-project/
Follow it on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MSHSBldgProject.
Like it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MSHSBldgProject.
Email the School Building Committee: buildingproject@lunenburgonline.com.
Call Mary Landi in the Office of the Superintendent at: 978-582-4100, Ext. 211.
NO SCHOOL September 25, 2013:
Just a reminder that there is no school this Wednesday, September 25, 2013 as this is a full-day professional development day for faculty and staff. We have a district-wide convocation that morning from 8 - 9 a.m. at the high school where all faculty and staff will have an opportunity to receive an update on the proposed building project and receive training on Section 504 of the Civil Rights Act. Teachers and specialists will receive training on the Educator Evaluation Model and work on their self-assessment and SMART goals. Other employee groups will be engaged in professional development relevant to their position/role.
PTO Meeting, Monday, September 23, 2013:
The first meeting of the PTO is scheduled for Monday at 7:00 p.m. in room #13 of the Thomas C. Passios Building. A presentation on the proposed MS/HS building project will be presented. For more information about the Lunenburg PTO see http://www.lunenburgpto.org/. We encourage all parents to be part of this valuable organization that does so much to support the students and schools.
Enrollment:
As of September 18, 2013 there were 1592 students enrolled in the District and 1565 attending one of our three schools. Twenty-seven (27) students attend schools outside the District or in the case of preschool students receive services but are not enrolled in a preschool classroom. Included in the total number of students attending are 50 students who are residents of another community and attend district schools under the School Choice program or Shirley non-resident agreement. Please see the attached file for enrollment numbers by grade.