Page 254 - BOXFORD

Committee weighed several options before voting to approve the addition of a 6th
Kindergarten classroom, while examining the recently passed budget for tradeoffs to pay
for it. The School Committee was able to delay the funding of some school expenses,
then requested and received approval for additional funding from the town at Fall Town
Meeting. Spofford Pond School maintained five sections for grade three, and six sections
for grades four, five and six. This enabled us to absorb new students and maintain desired
teacher-student ratios.
Professional Development Grant: Both schools received a professional development
funding from BEST and PTO to support teachers in the study of “Effective Use of
Teacher Language”. The total amount received from these two organizations was
$15,391.55. Teachers began working with consultant Mike Anderson to study this topic
using the following two books: The Power of Our Words by Paula Denton and Mindset
by Carol Dweck.
STEM Initiative: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), was successfully
incorporated into the curriculum in 2014-2015, as a specialist program at both Cole and
Spofford. The STEM program aims to expose children to these fields early in their
education, in order to lay the groundwork for understanding and appreciation for the
scientific approach and to ensure that the next generation remain and produce leaders in
these fields. The program, which is largely project-based, teaches the Engineering Design
iterative method for developing and optimizing design and engineering solutions to real
world problems. The STEM program is customized to specific grades, and offered to all
Kindergarten through sixth graders. Dr. Rains’ STEM Blog at Spofford Pond can be
accessed at https://spoffordstem.wordpress.com/. Ms. Wainwright’s Blog at the Harry
Lee Cole School can be accessed at http://hlcole.blogspot.com/.
Foreign Language Update: After moving the foreign language class into a before-school
and after-school instruction, along with offering it as fee-based starting 2014-15, we have
been able to provide a significantly more comprehensive program and offer multiple
(Spanish, Chinese, French) language instruction. The program, now in its 2nd year, is
run by an organization called Global Child. Enrollment has been strong, as has
satisfaction with the level of instruction.
DESE Level 1 Status: For the third consecutive year based on The Partnership for
Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) and MCAS testing results, the
Boxford School District achieved Level 1 status with the Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education. Level 1 status indicates that Boxford is a top-
performing district, resulting in the lowest level of state intervention with regard to
operational oversight and planning. This classification will continue to provide our
teachers and leadership team with the opportunity to focus more on student achievement
and less on bureaucracy.
PARCC: The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
(PARCC) is a multi-state consortium working together to develop a common set of K-12
assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and
careers. These new K-12 assessments will build a pathway to college and career readiness
by the end of high school, mark students' progress toward this goal beginning in grade 3,
and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student
support. In spring 2015, 54 percent of districts in Massachusetts administered PARCC
tests to students in grades 3-8. Students at the Spofford Pond School in Grades 3-6 (as

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