Welcome to the Norton School Committee
Site!
Dear Norton Resident,
(originally written January 2006, edited as needed)
Welcome to the Norton School Committee web
site. This site was developed to improve communication to the public and provide a single source of
information about topics that fall under the
domain of the school committee. There are links
and downloads on the right side of this letter
that we hope you will find useful.
As previous chairman of the committee, I would like to
share some of my thoughts regarding our school system.
It is with great excitement and optimism that I write
to you regarding the direction of the Norton Public Schools. I am more
positive about the future of our educational services than I have been in
recent history. A lot of this is credited to the leadership of our
system, increased parental involvement, and philosophy that our student’s
education is paramount to their future and that of society in general.
First of all, our Superintendent, Dr. Patricia Ansay is doing an excellent job aligning our resources towards
improving student achievement. I have complete confidence that necessary
enhancements are being made that will ensure continuous improvements in
all areas of learning. Dr. Ansay is innovative and resourceful with her
approach to solving problems. She’s an intelligent administrator with
strong knowledge in curriculum and instruction, which has complemented
greatly the efforts of our curriculum coordinator, Mrs. Berdos. Her good
judgment, honest and earnest approach to town issues, and insight to
parental concerns have benefited the school district immensely.
Arguably, the highlight of our school system
of recent
has been the Norton High School. Under the leadership of Mr. Dewar
along with a talented staff, and a motivated and talented
student body, this is an exciting time for our High School. All of this
is best depicted in a recent article written in the student
newspaper. The school pride and student morale has taken a sharp
turn in the right direction over the past two years.
Last year's MCAS results placed
Norton High School as the13th most improved district in the state with our
Math
scores. Also, the Taunton Gazette placed Norton High School #1 in
English/Language Arts ranking among that paper’s geographic coverage of 23
communities. Those results were maintained this year. This validates that Norton High School is teaching
well what is required by the state curriculum frameworks and students are
learning. Our graduates are getting
acceptances from the colleges
of their choice, scholarships, and accolades for their
achievement. To
help communicate the benefits and strengths of Norton
High School, open houses have been held for parents of incoming freshman.
We have received the formal report (67
pages) from the New England
Accreditation of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Improvements
are required in the areas of the facility,
professional development and local funding. Click
here to view a bullet point summary. The NEASC committee
complimented our dedicated and talented staff and wonderful students.
We have received the official accreditation status. Norton High
School has been re-accredited, but placed on "Warning" status for Curriculum, Assessment and
Community Resources. Most of the deficiencies have been fixed or are
being worked on. Those related to the facility itself have been
expressed in a
letter of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for
consideration for a state grant.
Course offerings are continually evaluated for relevance and interest, and
new electives are being added. We could not be more satisfied with
Norton High School. It is clearly the academic flagship of our
school system (course additions).
The Athletic Complex Committee h
as
been spearheading the fundraising and construction of new fields
surrounding the High School. New baseball and softball fields have
been constructed with full irrigation. Lights have been added to the football/soccer field.
We have constructed a brick park to
act as a continuous fundraiser. More than 200 engraved bricks have
been sold with many more available.
Please click to
download a brochure and order form and become a permanent contributor
to our athletic complex.
One area of weakness in our school system is our MCAS
scores, which are intended to reflect how well our students perform
against the state curriculum frameworks. We have been plagued by poor
scores in math in the middle grades for several years. A lot of work has
been done this year to turn this deficiency around. The principals in
collaboration with site councils, Dr. Ansay, Mrs.Berdos, department heads
and teachers have been developing improvement plans to address this
problem. Recently, the school committee received presentations from each
of the principals as they explained their MCAS analysis, findings and
action plans to improve.
Click here for minutes of this meeting.
On a positive
note, English and language arts scores continue to be the
strength of our system. In general, the 3rd grade reading
scores are at state average levels, Yelle School is about 10% below state
average in all tested areas (Math, English, Science), and the Middle
School is 10% below the state average in Math and slightly above in
English/Language Arts. A town such as Norton should be expected to
perform well above state average, as do similar towns such as Easton,
Mansfield and Foxboro (Norton is about 15% below those towns). The School System is acutely aware of our deficiencies in our
state’s standardized test scores and is working immediately and
assertively in fixing this problem. One innovative improvement plan involves
implementing grade 6-12 Academic Coordinators for each primary subject
matter (formally High School department heads) to
work with middle school staff to create continuity of curriculum and
instruction (vertical articulation).
Professional development has also been increased to ensure that the best teaching strategies and practices are
being used (horizontal articulation). We’ve increased the instructional
time for math in 7th grade by 50% for all students, and 9th
grade by 80% for Algebra I and II classes. We are on the right track
toward continuous improvement on all MCAS scores. All textbooks have
been updated and the associated curriculum changes and professional
development completed. Textbook purchases have been funded through
energy savings.
MCAS scores, an objective measure of how our schools perform, are
an ongoing focus for the school committee and administration.
Budget planning is critical to ensure educational
services are not only maintained, but that we have the funds to implement
our improvement plans to ensure future success of our students. Generally
speaking, public school budgets require between a 5-7% annual increase to
properly fund the increases in costs and maintain current services. Exorbitant costs brought on by
special education requirements, increased utilities, growing enrollment, and performance
expectations necessitate the need for additional funds. An increase in operating budget below this range inevitably causes
a reduction in direct services to regular students, since fixed costs and
those driven by mandates must be funded.
The
school district has applied for and received numerous grants to supplement
our budget and offset unexpected emergency expenses. Dr. Ansay has
recently secured a grant to fund two - full day Kindergarten classes in
the amount of $60,000. The costs to
repair/replace the electrical feed into the Solmonese school ($37,000),
technology (electronic white boards), a Gifted/Talented grant for the
Yelle school ($25,000) and unusual special education
administrative expenses are examples of funding sources recently obtained
outside of our operation budget through the pursuit of grants. Through a
new energy conservation program, we have taken measures to ensure
increases in heat and electricity are minimized. Since the inception
we have avoided $360,000 (or about 18%) in weather-adjusted utility costs through this conservation
program. We have funded many
facility improvements (painting, floor/ceiling tiles, roofs, window
replacements) prudently through the local bidding process and by utilizing
internal resources.
Click here to read about the student grant writing team.
School committee members are involved in many
subcommittees to ensure that proper planning, direction and
improvements are occurring outside of the normal activities of the school
committee. We are actively involved in the town budget planning process,
athletic complex committee, district technology plan, capital improvement
committee, school building committee, site councils and parent advisory
boards.
There is a lot going on in the Norton Public Schools,
and the school committee is very involved in the strategic planning
process and setting the expectations and philosophy. We expect
excellence. I am confident in the direction and leadership. I am
optimistic that with financial support from the
citizens of Norton, that the necessary improvements will occur in our areas of weakness
and we will build upon our strengths. All aspects of the system are
coming in alignment with the primary goal of improving student achievement
and ensuring a positive educational experience for you and your child.
As we talk about the school system I would be remiss in not thanking the
classroom teachers that make effective learning fun and enjoyable each
day.
Sincerely,
Kevin O’Neil
Norton School Committee
