“I’m going to be honest, I think there’s a lot to be proud of, knowing what we have all gone through the last two and a half years. What we’re hearing from the state is that a lot of the trends we’re seeing are consistent from district to district. We saw some of that here. But honestly, overall, we feel that our students, our staff members and our family just did such a tremendous job in terms of keeping teaching and learning moving forward. So I truly thank them for their efforts during obviously very challenging times.”
Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson offered those remarks at the beginning of the Marion School Committee’s December 7 public meeting before turning the floor over to Sippican Elementary School Assistant Principal Peter Crisafulli, who presented a detailed coverage of the last round of MCAS scores for the district and the state.
The percentage of Sippican students exceeding expectations in the English Language Arts section of the MCAS has risen from 8% to 11% over the past two years. The percentage of students meeting expectations has remained steadily above state levels, with 39% of district students fitting into this category, compared to 35% of Massachusetts students overall.
In Math, 8% of students in the Marion district exceed expectations, compared to 6% of students in the state; 45% of Marion students met expectations compared to 33% of students in the state. For science, 19% of Marion students are exceeding expectations compared to 7% in the state, and 41% of Marion students are meeting expectations compared to 36% in the state.
“Again, if you look at some of these pieces of the curriculum,” Crisafulli read an example from a slide detailing the educational requirements measured by the MCAS, “‘Describe the transfer of energy and regular pattern of motion that occurs as a way of travel.’ I can’t, our students can.” The gathered committee members chuckled in agreement. “We’re going to identify both the areas of strength and concern for all our curriculum: (English Language Arts), Math, and Science.”
Crisafulli reminded those present that this was the first ever “normal” school year for some of the students, and absolutely all of them had been impacted by the ongoing pandemic.
“This is the first normal year for our Grade Three students, just in general, and we’re always looking at the data to look at areas of gaps and where we can close some of those gaps. And just overall, we’re really proud of our students and our teachers and educators moving forward,” he said.
There followed a further breakdown of MCAS results for the various Sippican school grades in relation to the state percentiles. This data, as well as the PowerPoint it was presented in, is available through the ORR district website.
Further committee discussion included a new police initiative regarding the implementation of a “satellite office” in the Sippican Elementary School. “Beginning December 7, a space inside Sippican School will be designated as a Marion Police satellite office, and moving forward, on-duty Marion police officers will be able to make use of the space for administrative police purposes.”
He read a prepared statement made by the ORR administration: “At this time, the officers who use the satellite office will not serve as school resource officers, nor will they be involved in day-to-day school operations, activities or discipline.”
Sippican Elementary School Principal Marla Sirois welcomed new staff member Darby Nolet in her report. “Ms. Nolet has joined the team as a paraprofessional. She is primarily working in Grade 6 for the remainder of the school year.” Sirois also mentioned that there would be a hat, mitten and toy drive to be donated to Gifts to Give this holiday season.
There were no public comments either in person or via remote access and so the meeting adjourned quietly and without fanfare.
The next Marion School Committee meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 11, at 6:30 pm accessible in person at 16 Spring Street and via Zoom. The next Joint School Committee meeting will be held Thursday, January 19, at 6:30 pm, in person at 133 Marion Road and via Zoom.
Marion School Committee
By Jack MC Staier