Patrick C. Daly, Superintendent

School Start Times

One of the most pressing concerns for the well being of our students is the lack of sleep that many of our teenagers are receiving. The National Sleep Foundation has recently presented information following a two-year world-class study that our teenagers need between 8 and 10 hours of sleep per night. Studies have shown that, on average, teenagers receive about 7.5 hours each night.

The reasons for these sleep needs are rooted in biology. According to the coalition group School Start Later (http://www.startschoollater.net):

Sleep research shows that adolescents have a different—and later—sleep cycle than younger children and adults. This is not a matter of habit, lifestyle, or stubbornness. It’s a matter of biology and natural circadian rhythms. The hormones that regulate sleep make it difficult for a typical teenager to fall asleep until after 11 pm and to wake up and be alert before around 8 am. Making them get up as early as 5:30 a.m. to catch the bus – right when they are in the deepest part of their sleep cycle - robs them of the deep sleep they need to grow and learn.

There are many possible implications for students who do not receive the proper amount of sleep. According to the School Start Later site:

Lack of sleep has serious repercussions on teenagers’ physical, mental and emotional health. Sleep deprivation among teens is linked to depression, anxiety, susceptibility to illness and injury, irritability, car accidents, stunted growth, and even obesity and diabetes. Researchers found that sleep deprivation in adolescents leads to increases in so-called risky behaviors, including substance abuse, suicide ideation, suicide attempts and suicide. Sleep deprivation also lowers impulse control and reaction times (important for those driving). Student athletes who do not get at least 8 hours of sleep per night are at greater risk of sports-related injuries – 2.3 times higher risk for each additional grade in school. Lack of consistent sleep also negatively affects students’ ability to think and learn.

Our district has been exploring this topic in several ways. Our Superintendent, Jon Bernard, has led the way in the Cape Ann League by hosting several conversational meetings with other district Superintendents about the possibility of changing the school start times. There are many logistical considerations involved with a change of the school start times that would impact busing, athletic and extra-curricular activities, and other events in the communities. These meetings and conversations are the first step in exploring the possibilities for adjusting school start times.

Our social and emotional committee P.A.U.S.E. (Public Awareness and Understanding of Social Education) and our Wellness committee has also been exploring this topic in greater detail over the past several months. One team focused on the topic of sleep and has been lead by parent member Marci Bailey, Middle School Principal Cathy O’Connell, and Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Cynthia Conant. I have also had the pleasure of working closely with this group to develop a survey that was shared with high school students in the spring of 2016.

This survey contained questions about the sleep habits, stress-levels, and well-being of our high school students. The results of the survey have been collected and analyzed by our team and we will be sharing the data with the high school faculty, students, and school committee in the near future. We believe there are many things that each member of our school community (teachers, parents, students, administrators) can do to help our students and we hope that our presentation will advance that conversation among all stakeholders.

In addition, we will be forming a School Start Times committee to look specifically at the benefits and concerns generated by adjusting the school start times. Many of the logistical obstacles, including after-school jobs and child-care, need to be considered. There are several districts who have overcome these challenges and we will be looking to those case-studies as we explore the best decision for North Reading.

More specific information about the school start times committee will be forthcoming, however if you have interest in participating please contact me via email at pdaly@nrpsk12.org at any time.

Educator Effectiveness

One of the aspects of my role as Assistant Superintendent is overseeing what the Department of Education refers to as Educator Effectiveness. This includes everything from educator licensure, to mentoring, to educator evaluation and professional development. There have been many great achievements in North Reading during the 2015-16 school year in these areas that I am am happy to share with the community.

Licensure

All of the educators in North Reading are highly qualified and have content area licenses in their primary area of teaching. Educators work diligently to maintain their licenses by participating in workshops, taking courses, and working to develop curriculum. There have been great

many efforts made at the state level to simplify and clarify the process for educators to obtain and maintain licensure. Our office also maintains a database, called My Learning Plan (MLP), that tracks all of the professional development activities of the educators in the district. Through an approval process the MLP database helps us to provide equity in the opportunities for all staff in North Reading and to maintain the highest levels of professional development for those working with our students.

Mentoring

Of the many aspects of the North Reading programs that I take pride in our mentoring program nears the top of my list. With the guidance of our mentor coordinators, Beth Leavitt, Gina Sacco, and Jessie O’Brien, our program has grown and evolved each year. Teachers new to North Reading are paired with a trained mentor educator in their first year and participate in a two-day orientation program followed by a year-long series of workshops and seminars. In addition, the mentors visit the classrooms of the mentees to provide formative feedback, conduct conferences and check-ins, and help the new educators acclimate to North Reading and, in some cases, the profession.

In 2016-17 we will continue to improve our program by providing additional support to our new teachers in the years beyond their first year and updating our mentor seminars to include school safety, educator evaluation, licensure, and more.

Educator Evaluation

North Reading is finishing its third full year of the new educator evaluation system. Over the past few years we have been learning and growing as a district as we have come to understand the new rubrics and how they help us to identify targets for growth for all educators and administrators. We have worked to develop SMART goals that are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, rigorous, results-oriented, timed and tracked. During these last weeks in May and June educators are busy preparing their binders of evidence to share with evaluators who provide feedback to the eductor on his or her growth cycle. This process, along with a continuous cycle of classroom visits for mini-observations, allows for the educators to receive on-going feedback and provides multiple opportunities for reflection and growth during the process.

Professional Development

This year the educators in North Reading have participated in a great deal of professional development opportunities. Very specific training related to school safety, content area standards, and instruction have all been a part of the offerings during 2015-16. Teachers in the areas of Art, Performing Arts, Health, Wellness, Library/Media and Digital Learning participated in the Northeast Professional Educators’ Network (NPEN) and received content areas professional development. We introduced three North Reading University courses for in-district professional development in the areas of technology and digital learning, special education, and sheltered English immersion. In addition, teachers took many courses offered through partnerships with the Salem Collaborative, SEEM Collaborative, and Primary Source. Nearly our entire administrative team took part in a multi-week Sheltered English Immersion course for Administrators, a course similar to the full graduate level course taken by many of our teachers.

There were also many afternoons led by our curriculum leaders in each content area that allowed the teachers time to collaborate and explore our new Mathematics, English Language Arts and Literacy, and Science, Technology, and Engineering standards and discuss best practices in instruction. The 2016-17 school year will see the continuation of all of these best practices in professional development.

The examples above highlight some of the many areas that the educators in North Reading are supported as professionals who are on a continuous cycle of improvement. Many of our veteran educators are mentors or take the lead as curriculum leaders, team leaders, or facilitators of professional development. We are very proud of the great work going on in our district and of the educators who lead, partake, and reflect upon these many opportunities for growth.

Mathematics Family Nights

If you’ve been on social media lately you’ve probably seen posts from parents who are frustrated while helping their children with their mathematics homework. It appears that there is a “new way” of doing math that is different from the “old way” that many parents learned when they were in school. In reality, the changes are not as extreme as is often portrayed but it is still important that we take time to learn together as a community about some new approaches and how this is helping our students to learn.

On the evenings of April 27th, May 25th and June 16th from 5:30pm-6:30pm our goal is to have a series of Mathematics Family Nights for parents to learn more about the shifts in teaching of Mathematics, the reasons for these shifts, and most importantly, how understanding these shifts will help us to better support our students.

These workshops will take place at North Reading High School and will feature classroom teachers and Title 1 Math support teachers at all levels (elementary, middle, and high school). Parents will be able to sign up for and attend sessions at the level(s) of their choosing.

The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics offers some wonderful supports for educators and families in order to understand new or unfamiliar mathematics concepts. A series of videos, available here: http://bit.ly/1CWNyRh provide insgihts into many topics that are very important including:

Building Conceptual Understanding for Mathematics

The world that our students will be entering for college and careers will require a very different set of mathematical skills for a greater number of students than was ever required in the past. A deeper, conceptual understanding of mathematics is required in order for students to progress to higher levels of mathematics. In North Reading, our educators are preparing students to think in many ways and to foster this conceptual understanding so that the traditional mathematics concepts of higher level mathematics will be more accessible to a greater number of students than ever before. The careers that await our students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics certainly will require this greater level of comfort and enjoyment of mathematics that these new approaches strive to build.

Please join us on any or all of the family mathematics nights to learn more. Please use this sign-up link in order for us to best prepare for our audience on each evening: http://bit.ly/1UwgbS8. More information will also be coming soon through our outreach emails. We look forward to seeing you and learning more together as a community of support for our students.

Introducing MCAS 2.0

On November 17, 2015 the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education made the decision to support the recommendation of the Commissioner of Education to move forward with a next generation MCAS test for all students, MCAS 2.0.

For the past two years Massachusetts has been “test-driving” a new assessment called PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) which measures student performance on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). These are the standards on which Massachusetts modeled its 2011 Frameworks in Mathematics and English Language Arts.

This next-generation assessment allows the state to retain control over the content of the questions and many elements of the test while also utilizing much of the PARCC tool that a Massachusetts team of PARCC fellows helped to build.

The decision calls for online testing for all students in 2019 with a plan to help schools and districts improve their technology infrastructure in the meantime. In order to best prepare for the next generation assessment, which is still in development, many districts in Massachusetts will be taking the PARCC assessment in 2016 for grades 3-8. Schools will be able to choose computer- or paper-based assessment for the format of the test.

So what does this mean for North Reading?

● Having experienced PARCC in 2014 and 2015, North Reading students and educators are better prepared for the PARCC in 2016 and the style of the next generation MCAS in the future as all indications that this assessment will resemble PARCC in many ways.

● Computer-based testing is challenging in that it is an entirely new mode of test-taking for many students. As we transition to all students using computers in 2019 we should understand the significance of this variable for students.

● Students in grades 3-8 in North Reading will take PARCC for ELA and Mathematics. Grade 10 students will take MCAS in the spring of 2016.

● Science in grades 5, 8, and high school will also still be MCAS

● Students taking the Alternative MCAS (MCAS Alt.) and the ACCESS test for English Language Learners will continue to take those assessments

● Districts and schools taking PARCC 3-8 will be “held harmless” in terms of accountability during this time of transition. This means that a level one school will remain level one and that a level two school can only move up.

● Low participation rates can negatively impact a school’s accountability level (example: move down from level one to level two if participation rates are too low)

North Reading educators in grades 3-9 will continue to look at data from the 2015 PARCC assessment in order to better understand the needs of our students and also the effectiveness of our curriculum. As PARCC is a developing assessment there are many improvements that are still needed in order to make that assessment, or a next generation MCAS, meaningful for our students, teachers, and the entire school community. Our district will continue to collect feedback from all stakeholders in order to have a voice in the conversation about the development of state assessments in order to create the best possible outcome for our students.

Up-to-date information about student assessments can always be found on our district website http://www.north-reading.k12.ma.us/ on the Assistant Superintendent’s page.

Welcome to the 2015-16 School Year

As we head into the 2015-16 School Year we are excited about the many new changes that await our students and staff. Many initiatives, new hires, and our new and improved buildings have increased our capacity for digital learning and technology throughout the district.

One of the most exciting changes for this school year is the addition of Digital Learning Specialists and Digital Learning Paraprofessionals at each elementary school. Middle school and high school students and educators will also continue to have the support of a Middle School/High School Digital Learning Specialist and all schools will benefit from a district-wide K-12 Specialist.

Our Digital Learning Team will be providing students and teachers with support in their classrooms with new and emerging technologies as well as offering students a state-of-the-art curriculum in Digital Learning, Digital Citizenship, and Computer Science/Robotics.

Many of our schools have received additional carts of mobile devices this year and several classrooms have been outfitted with SMARTboards for the first time. There is increased wireless access in all of the school buildings and our Digital Learning team will be present in each school to support the integration of this new technology for student use.

You may also have noticed that we have updated our email addresses to the @nrpsk12.org domain. We encourage everyone to begin using the new addresses but will continue to support the old domain as we transition. This new address should prove to be easier for students and parents and more efficient than our previous domain and we look forward to this change.

We are also pleased to announce that a new North Reading Public Schools website will be launching in the coming days. Our hope is that you find our website a useful place for the latest news and information and that it serves as a resource for providing connections to student work and achievements. With links to the great photographs and videos, artwork, athletic accomplishments, extra-curricular activities, student projects, and more this new website will surely be the go-to place for connecting with the North Reading Public Schools.

Information on the site is communicated through mega-menus and easy to navigate links. Of note:

--The "Families" menu includes information that is most pertinent to families and the school community

--Links to the district Twitter and (new!) Facebook page are embedded

--Expanding upon the school calendar link allows you to download our calendar to ical

--The Quick Links tab provides links to important information on our site as well as related sites

In the coming weeks each of the websites for our five schools will also be transitioning to the new format. We thank you in advance for your patience as we transition and look forward to improved communication that this new tool will provide.

Finally, the North Reading Public Schools continues to have a presence on social media, with our schools and administrators using Twitter accounts to communicate important information to the school community. We have also recently created a Facebook page as well as another means of communication and look forward to posting information throughout the school year.

Together, all of the initiatives and advances related to technology and digital learning will continue to support and improve the learning experience for our students. We look forward to the new school year and all of the many changes and opportunities ahead.

Parent Tips for the Common Core Mathematics

Many have likely witnessed the extensive media coverage over the past several months about the Common Core Standards and the assessments that have been designed to measure those standards. From trusted news sources to blog posts to viral videos on Facebook it is clear that there are many questions about the new standards that have left many parents wondering why there seems to be a “new way” and an “old way” to solve mathematics problems.

In fact, these “new ways” have been around for quite some time. It’s important for us to distinguish between a new way of teaching and learning and a poorly worded worksheet that has gone viral on the internet.

This article will help to frame some of the thinking behind the changes represented in the new 2011 standards and provide some helpful resources to parents to work with their students at home.

PhotoMath (https://photomath.net)

This smartphone application, available in the Apple, Windows, Amazon and Android Stores, has been a revelation for us in recent weeks since a professional development provider shared this application with our teachers. According to the application’s website this app provides “instant results” as “PhotoMath reads and solves mathematical problems by using the camera of your mobile device in real time. It makes math easy and simple by educating users how to solve math problems.” By simply scanning your phone’s camera over any printed mathematical equation the application instantly solves the problem and with the push of a simple button the app completes a step-by-step “human like” problem solving of even the most complicated algebraic equations. And, as the website states, they are “constantly adding new.”

The takeaway for teachers and parents could be the realization that classwork and homework needs to be assigned in a completely different way. Much in the same way the calculator allowed us to arrive at the answer and the focus shifted for decades to making sure that you “show your steps,” we now need to think about the fact that a new technology provides the students with both the answer and the steps.

If this is true, then what does this mean for the student? The argument is similar to those from History class. If a student can easily google facts and dates then the shift in instruction needs to move from memorizing facts and dates to guiding the student to be an evaluator and thinker. The student needs to recognize which facts can be verified and determine the reliability of the sources. The mathematics student needs to become a mathematical thinker. It is no longer sufficient to just solve the problem and show the steps. The student must be able to explain and understand how she arrived at that solution.

PhotoMath has many great possibilities and could be very helpful for parents assisting students with their home assignments.

Massachusetts 2011 Frameworks

With the publication of the 2011 Massachusetts frameworks for Mathematics the state provided educators with the Common Core standards and added additional standards adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in December 2010. Many of the additional standards in Massachusetts are pre-kindergarten standards that were developed collaboratively by early childhood educators from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Department of Early Education and Care, and early childhood specialists from across the state. According to the frameworks, “these pre-kindergarten standards lay a strong, logical foundation for the kindergarten standards.”

Any parent or educator who has questions about the new standards should first read through the 2011 Frameworks. We have incorporated much of the information about the new standards into parent presentations and previous articles and shows on public access television because it is critical that all members of the school community understand the guiding principles and standards for mathematical practice that are now embedded along with the grade level standards for all students.

All current Massachusetts frameworks are available here: http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html

Additional Resources

For more parent information about the common core we recommend the site Achieve the Core (http://achievethecore.org). This site provides information for educators, administrators, parents, and students about the shifts in the standards and some of the research behind the decisions for these shifts.

Finally, a website that is designed to help parents to understand the grade level expectations is Milestones (http://www.greatschools.org/gk/milestones/). According to the site, Milestones is a “free online collection of videos aimed at helping parents understand grade-level expectations in grades K-5. Milestones show students demonstrating what success looks like in reading, writing and math, grade by grade.”

We hope that these tools and sources of information will assist parents in working with students to better understand the key shifts in grade level expectations for mathematics.

Providing a Safe and Supportive Environment for our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ) Students

The mission of the North Reading Public Schools includes the charge to “provide a safe, supportive, and contemporary learning environment” for all of our students. Recent updates to the Student Anti-discrimination Law that now include gender identity have led us to update our policies and practices in order to ensure that all students continue to be safe and supported.

In recent years our district has taken many proactive steps including creating a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Club at the high school, providing professional development for educators, and addressing the concerns for the safety and well-being of our LGBTQ students through updates to our Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan.

Our P.A.U.S.E. group (Public Awareness and Understanding of Social Education) has been at the forefront of exploring the recommendations of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and how best to introduce these recommendations in our schools.

According to the Department and Elementary and Secondary Education release:

Massachusetts has been, and continues to be a leader nationally in creating
policies and practices to support LGBTQ students. Since 1993,the partnership
between the Department and the Commission has resulted in groundbreaking
and innovative work. The Department remains unique in housing a statewide,
state-supported Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ Students and GSA Leadership
Council. The recommendations proposed in this document continue this
pioneering work.

On May 6, 2015 in the Distance Learning Lab at North Reading High School we will providing an opportunity for parents and the community to learn more about this topic. Our guest presenter will be Jeff Perrotti, the Director of the Massachusetts Safe Schools Program for LGBTQ students, which is a joint initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Massachusetts Commission on LGBTQ Youth. He is the co-author, with Kim Westheimer, of the book When the Drama Club is Not Enough. Jeff has led countless workshops with students, staff, administrators, and has worked closely with our P.A.U.S.E. group and presented to North Reading educators during our February 6, 2015 Professional Development day.

Our hope is that many parents and educators join us on the evening of May 6th at 6:30pm to learn more about gender identity and to hear from Jeff Perrotti and his guest presenters who have truly made a difference in North Reading through their very well-received prior workshops and presentations.