Page 255 - BOXFORD

well as students in Middleton and Topsfield) participated in the first year administration
of the PARCC online assessments in the spring of 2015.
Massachusetts is one of several states implementing PARCC in 2015. PARCC states
have committed to building a K-12 assessment system that:
Builds a pathway to college and career readiness for all students
Creates high-quality assessments that measure the full range of the Common Core State
Standards
Supports educators in the classroom
Makes better use of technology in assessments
Advances accountability at all levels
http://www.tritownschoolunion.com/district/news/boxford-nclbesea-school-district-
report-card
Technology Investment: 2015 has been the second year of a new approach to investing
in technology in the Boxford Schools. Prior to 2014, investments were made based on
run-fail-model requests, often by utilizing unplanned funding when it was available. This
resulted in a fleet of digital devices that was insufficient to meet demand, did not provide
consistently reliable devices, and resulted in underutilization of the fleet’s potential
because of that lack of reliability. The current approach utilizes the Omnibus Technology
Advisory Committee to provide guidance to the School Committee in taking inventory of
digital devices, making purchasing recommendations, recommending staffing changes,
and recommending policy changes to adequately manage the district’s approach to
technology. The result has been the treatment of technology as a utility across the district,
in that it is a regular expense and investment that needs to be maintained on a regular
basis in order to ensure the smooth operation of our increasingly technology-based
learning in the schools.
Internet connectivity: Minor expansion of the Wi-Fi network occurred in 2015 along
with regular monitoring of the usage of Internet bandwidth at both schools. The 100mbps
duplex fiber optic (steady state guaranteed) connection has been adequate for our
schools’ needs, as teachers and students have reported no connectivity problems, and
utilization of our digital devices continues to increase as the reliability of our fleet of
devices, technical support, and network infrastructure has improved.
DESE/Coordinated Program Review: Once every six years, the Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education is required to conduct an in depth review of every
school district in their program implementation and compliance with key regulations; for
Boxford, this monitoring review took place in December 2013. The Coordinated Program
Review focused on our district’s implementation of Special Education, Civil Rights, Title
I, and English Language Learner Education programs. The review involved hundreds of
hours of document preparation and submission to the DESE, student record reviews, and
interviews of staff, administrators, and parents (both through surveys and face to face
interviews.)

The Boxford Schools received the written report in the late spring of 2014 which noted
very few areas of rated as ‘Partially Implemented’ meaning the district was in full
compliance on most standards of regulatory compliance. The schools have posted the
report on its website and it is also posted on the DESE website.

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