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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS To the Inhabitants of the Town of Abington: I am pleased to submit my fourteenth annual report as your Superintendent of Schools. Once again, it has been a busy and productive year for the Abington Public School District. Education Reform and School Improvement Our school district's improvement efforts continue to be driven by the many mandates and high standards established by the landmark Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993. In particular, the annual development of individual school improvement plans, the K-12 revision of curriculum in all disciplines and its alignment to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, recertification of all professional staff, the establishment of high performance standards for teaching and administrative personnel and the administration of eight cycles of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment Test (MCAS) have all contributed to a steady improvement in student achievement and the maintenance of safe and productive climates in each of our schools. At the federal level, No Child Left Behind, the 2002 elementary and secondary education law, calls for increased accountability through annual student, school and district assessments; distribution of district and school report cards and expectations that all teachers are "highly qualified." School councils in each of our six schools continue to make progress in achieving the goals contained in their school improvement plans. These goals continue to focus on promoting learning environments which are academically challenging, supportive, attractive and safe for both students and staff. Highlights of the 2005-2006 plans include: a high school focus on implementing techniques and strategies that will improve students' ability to demonstrate higher level thinking skills to reason, problem solve, synthesize and connect within and across disciplines; an increase in the availability and the appropriate use of technology in the daily teaching and learning activities at the Frolio Junior High School; and at the elementary level, improved students' mastery of number facts, authentic problem-solving skills and the ability to express mathematical understanding. A special thanks to school council members for their time and service to our district. The Education Reform Act of 1993 mandated the development of Curriculum Frameworks for seven discipline areas. Those disciplines are Mathematics, Science and Technology/Engineering, History and Social Science, English Language Arts, World Languages, the Arts and Health. These frameworks articulate a vision of learning, teaching and student assessment in each discipline, as well as learning standards that outline the specifics of what Massachusetts students are expected to know and be able to do at the various levels of their schooling. These documents continue to be used to provide direction to the ongoing curriculum revision being conducted by local curriculum study and writing teams in conjunction with Abington's Cycle II Five-Year Curriculum Review and Update Plan. During the 2005-2006 school year, curriculum efforts are focused on the review and update of curriculum in science and engineering/technology (3-12), history and social science (prek-6), guidance (7-12) and French (7-12). In 2001 the Massachusetts Department of Education issued technology benchmark standards for all school districts to meet by the year 2003. These benchmark standards clearly define what PreK-12 students should know and be able to do in order to use technology for learning. The standards also prescribe the type and amount of technology our students should have access to in classrooms, libraries and computer laboratory settings. The $150,000.00 appropriated at the November 7. 2005 Abington Special Town Meeting for our school district's Technology Plan has provided badly needed funds to replace outdated computers and software in the high school's multi-media laboratory (25) and library (30) and in the junior high school's library (25). In addition computers were purchased for Early Childhood Center classrooms (30) and for the Special Education Department (6). We are grateful to the citizens of Abington for their support in this area. These remain busy, challenging and exciting times for education in Massachusetts and Abington. Successful implementation of the provisions of the Education Reform Act of 1993, No Child Left Behind and local initiatives related to Abington's Vision 2008 Goals and our Five-Year Curriculum Review and Update and Technology Plans continue to require not only the attention and assistance of the entire school community but also appropriate levels of financial support. However, an annual per pupil expenditure which continues to lag far behind both the statewide average and averages expended by communities with similar economic and demographic profiles as Abington and the many challenges presented to students and teachers as the result of the use of inadequate and out-dated school facilities hinder efforts to meet our school district's mission of "providing all students with challenging educational experiences necessary to reach their potential and become informed, responsible citizens. Personnel Changes As a result of retirements, a large number of resignations and the restoration of a few positions cut in 2003-2004, the beginning of a new school year in August 2005 brought with it the hiring of over thirty (30) new employees to work in the Abington Public Schools. There are eight important changes to the administrative staff and structure for the 2005-2006 school year. Mr. A. S., Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance, retired at the end of August after 26 years of dedicated service to the students and staff of the Abington Public Schools. Mr. P. S., Principal of the Frolio Junior High School, was promoted to replace Mr. A. S.. Ms. J. H. S., Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services, resigned effective November 30, 2005 to accept the position of Executive Director of the North River Collaborative. All of us associated with the Abington Public Schools appreciate the 11 years of quality service J. gave to our school district. Mrs. K. D., Principal of Abington High School, has replaced Ms. S. Ms. T. S., Assistant Principal of Abington High School, was promoted to the position of Principal in November. Mr. P. J., former Headmaster at Taunton High School, is the new Assistant Principal at Abington High School. Ms. F. M., a former assistant principal in the Stoughton Public Schools, replaced P.S. as the Principal of the Frolio Junior High School. Mr. J. S., a familiar face to Abington children, returned as the Principal of the North Elementary School. Once again, the Computer/Technology Department was restructured, and S. R., Computer/Technology Administrator, has been joined by new hire A. H., the Computer and Network Support Technician. |
| School Superintendent - 2005 Annual Report Education Reform and School Improvement and Pesonnel Changes |
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