Hingham School Committee Approves Superintendent's Performance Goals, Reviews Student Progress Data
Mid-year assessment shows significant growth in reading and math skills across all grade levels
HINGHAM - February 24 - The Hingham School Committee unanimously approves Superintendent Katie Roberts' performance goals for the 2024-2025 school year, which include refining human resources and payroll processes to promote efficient onboarding and accurate payroll processing.
Roberts presents the additional goal to address standard two, which focuses on management and operations, explaining it will involve "conducting an audit of the interface between our human resource functions and payroll functions."
"As part of that we'll be really clearly articulating the roles of HR and payroll and again getting at that interface between the two functions and looking to maximize our use of some of the digital systems that we do have in existence," Roberts says.
The goal also includes providing additional professional development for payroll personnel and identifying short-term and longer-term goals to promote continuous improvement in this area.
The committee also receives a comprehensive presentation on mid-year Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) data, revealing significant growth in reading and math skills across all grade levels in Hingham Public Schools.
Erica Pollard, Interim Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction, expresses her impressions of the MTSS structures in place.
"I have been so impressed with the structures that are in place and what I'm seeing happen in a really, really individualized way to support kids," Pollard says.
The MTSS system allows educators to identify and address the strengths and needs of all students through data-driven decision-making, progress monitoring, and evidence-based supports and strategies.
For reading in grades K through 2, data from Acadience shows more than 80% of kindergartners placing at or above benchmark, almost three-quarters of first graders at or above benchmark, and 80% of second graders at or above benchmark.
Pollard notes that these results are particularly impressive because "the benchmark moves and there are more tests involved at the middle of the year than at the beginning of the year."
For grades 3 through 5, I-ready data shows all general education and special education cohorts have already exceeded the end of year expectations for typical annual growth by the midpoint of this year.
In math, all grade levels except kindergarten are exceeding expectations for their typical annual growth. Notably, special education students in grades 1, 2, and 5 are exceeding expectations for typical annual growth at a higher rate than their general education peers.
"We're really making progress towards closing any of those gaps that exist," Pollard says.
Committee member Kerry Ni expresses enthusiasm about the progress of special education students.
"I love the same slide that Erica does that shows the progress towards the annual growth and wherever the special education students are outpacing their peers. Like, that's how you close the gap," Ni says.
Tim Miller-Dempsey, who previously reviewed the data in the educational programming subcommittee, notes the importance of having timely information.
"I think one point that's really important is... it gives us information and enough time for us to be responsive throughout the year if something's not going right, if these numbers slip," Miller-Dempsey says.
Committee members raise questions about how the planned reduction in interventionist positions from 16 to 12 might impact student progress. Roberts assures the committee that they have longitudinal data for comparison.
"This is probably some of the most valuable data that we have for evaluating things like changes to a program and so on because we have the longitudinal data beginning with that COVID, pre-COVID year and continuing post-COVID," Roberts says.
She also emphasizes that despite the reduction, each elementary school will still have six dedicated MTSS staff, including two reading specialists, a math specialist, and three interventionists.
Michelle Ayer highlights the importance of addressing the needs of all students.
"It's not, it's not leaves most of the children, don't leave most of the children behind, right? It is leave no child behind. So you really are trying to, the goal here is to bring all the students up," Ayer says.
In other business, the committee approves temporary signage for the dock at Hingham High School. The sign, which will be three feet by 10 feet, requires school committee approval due to the inclusion of the builder's name, a commercial entity.
The committee also declares several mathematics curriculum books as surplus, including some dating back to 1982.
The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for March 10, where members will likely vote on part of the budget, if not the entire budget.