Plymouth Middle Schools Focus on Student Engagement and Academic Growth
Principals share improvement plans highlighting collaborative teaching, PBIS models, and strategies to boost student achievement
PLYMOUTH - March 17 - Plymouth middle school principals present detailed plans to enhance student engagement and academic achievement during the March 17 School Committee meeting, emphasizing collaborative teaching models and positive behavior initiatives.
Plymouth Community Intermediate School (PCIS) Principal Brian Palladino and Plymouth South Middle School (PSMS) Interim Principal Erica Barrett outlined their school improvement plans, highlighting efforts to create supportive learning environments and boost student performance.
"I think there are MCAS tests that are important that give us information, but that's two weeks out of your school year. There's 180 days of great things happening in schools," Palladino says. "If we can get teachers the support and the collaborative nature of what we do, everything else is going to fall into place."
Palladino, who presented the final year of PCIS's current improvement plan, emphasizes the school's focus on collaborative teaching practices and student growth metrics. The school implements regular "walkabouts" where administrators and teachers observe classrooms to share best practices.
"I've been in over 150 classrooms throughout the years, looking at teaching and learning, and then providing feedback to help teachers progress," Palladino explains.
PCIS data shows student growth percentiles increasing as students progress through middle school, with 61 percent showing moderate to high growth by eighth grade in mathematics.
The school's Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) model rewards students for positive behaviors, attendance, and academic achievement. Students earn points toward rewards including pizza parties and special privileges.
"We've had 6,075 random acts of kindness happen in the building," Palladino notes, describing how the program encourages positive student interactions.
Barrett, presenting the first year of PSMS's improvement plan, outlines similar initiatives focused on student engagement, academic achievement, and family involvement.
"We are focusing on similar things that PCIS has. We are doing the curriculum walks," Barrett says. "I think our students are participating, but how we move them to that investing and that driving, I've been trying to find videos with no luck."
Barrett describes the school's newly implemented PBIS model, which rewards students for attendance, behavior, citizenship, and academic performance. The school also plans to introduce end-of-year awards ceremonies recognizing both academic and social-emotional achievements.
"I'm looking at trying to motivate students to see why they need to succeed, what is important about middle school," Barrett explains. "I find middle school students to be the most difficult to motivate because they're not seeing the reason yet."
School Committee member Katherine Jackson praises the engagement levels she observes at PCIS.
"I can see the level of engagement is much different than when I was in school," Jackson says. "You can see people talking and being excited. My daughter comes home talking about math and how excited she is about some of the projects that they're working on."
Committee member Christina Bryant adds that PCIS "really set my child up for success transitioning into high school" by creating a supportive community environment.
Superintendent Chris Campbell commends both principals for their leadership styles.
"We're looking at community. We're looking at connectedness. We're looking at opportunities for kids," Campbell says. "We're looking at creating systems to make kids feel safe, to support them, and to promote a certain kind of community within the school."
In other business, the School Committee:
* Welcomed exchange students from Xi'an Gaoxin No. 1 High School in China, who shared their experiences attending Plymouth schools
* Approved an international trip to Seville, Spain for Plymouth North High School students in 2026
* Heard from a parent praising PCIS staff for their support of his daughter following her experience in an active shooter situation in Dallas, Texas
* Received updates from student representatives about academic and extracurricular achievements at both high schools
* Acknowledged three retiring staff members with a combined 64 years of service to the district
Campbell also reports on a recent visit from Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler to Manomet Elementary School and Plymouth South High School.
"It was a great visit, really showcasing the work of our students and our staff," Campbell says. "The secretary stayed with us from 9:30 in the morning until almost 2 o'clock in the afternoon."
Campbell notes that Tutwiler is currently serving as both Secretary of Education and Interim Commissioner of Education following the departure of Interim Commissioner Russell Johnson, who is taking a superintendent position in Pennsylvania.