Patrick C. Daly, Superintendent

On Wednesday, January 21st at 6:30pm at the Batchelder School cafeteria and on Thursday, January 22nd, at 6:30pm  in the Distance Learning Lab at the North Reading High School we will present an informational forum for parents about next generation testing.   In 2015-16 Massachusetts districts had the choice to preview the PARCC assessment or to remain with MCAS for one more year.  In 2016 and beyond the state will either adopt PARCC or create a next-generation MCAS to replace the current system. As you are aware, North Reading is among the more than 50% of districts who are test-driving the PARCC assessment in the Spring of 2015.  This test will be computer-based at the Batchelder School for grades 3, 4, and 5 and paper-based at those grades at the Little and Hood schools for both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics.  The Middle School will utilize the PARCC assessment in grades 6-8 for ELA and Mathematics. At the high school, the 9th gra...

If you’ve been in or around the schools in North Reading lately you’ve likely seen many new and emerging technologies in the classrooms.  Through investments from the school department,large capital requests, the new building project, and the generous contributions from parent organizations we have increased the opportunities for digital learning in all of our buildings for the 2014-15 school year. At our elementary schools students continue to receive a technology-infused instructional approach from our educators who strive to engage students at the highest level.  Our Digital Learning Specialists collaborate with all educators on using iPads, Chromebooks, SMARTboards, and many other digital tools to enhance instruction.  One area of focus this year has been in developing a research project that utilizes age-appropriate databases for students in Kindergarten, first, and second grade to allow the students to explore topics in greater depth. Th...

Welcome Back from the Assistant Superintendent After having served the students and educators for these past five years I am honored to have been named the Assistant Superintendent of the North Reading Public Schools.   Although there are several aspects of my position that will remain the same there are also new areas of responsibility that I will be supporting for the 2014-15 school year.   Curriculum As a district we will continue to implement the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, including the new Common Core aligned frameworks for Mathematics and English Language Arts.  This year we will continue to explore the Next Generation Science Standards as well as review our standards in all content areas. Assessment All educators in North Reading are implementing common formative and summative assessments to facilitate conversations about student growth and to improve opportunities for student learning throughout the district. As North R...

Data, Big Data Everywhere I recently read a fascinating article that explored the data driven changes to the game of baseball. The convergence of the available cameras and technology and an increase in the amount of data that is collected on every play, every pitch, will forever change the sport.  This upcoming season, in some ballparks, 7 Terabytes of data will be collected every game that will allow both sabermetricians and fans at home to experience the game in a whole new way.  The data we’ve seen from the mound (speed, curve, and location of the pitch) on our television screens will now be extended to all areas of the field, leading to a very different experience for viewers of our national pastime. In the world of education there is also a focus on the collection and analysis of data in order to improve student achievement.  We are not at a loss to find places for data for student learning: MCAS and other standardized tests, common assessments (think mid-...