Page 159 - Microsoft Word - Annual Report 2016

Outsourcing of the School Nutrition Program (Year Two)
This school year, the three TTU elementary school districts are in year two of a three year contract with
Whitsons Culinary Group for our school nutrition management services. Our goal is to increase the
percentage of participation in the program by students and staff. One of the primary concerns for Boxford
is a school nutrition program that is fiscally solvent and does not require general fund subsidization. We
also want a program that gets students excited about school lunch by delivering fresh produce, in-house
(or scratch cooking), and integration with the educational culture of the elementary schools.

Christopher Braden is our Food Service Director. Whitsons and Mr. Braden provide the district’s nutrition
program with services in management, marketing, professional development, procurement, and
accounting. These services are integrated with our existing employees that work in our kitchens.

It has been our understanding and expectation that we will need three years with this service to determine
if the management service is advantageous to the District.

Financial Management Software
In FY2017 we will be transitioning to new accounting software (Infinite Visions) replacing our Excel
spreadsheets. We have been training and planning the implementation since July 2016 with a plan to “go
live” during the 2016-2017 school year.

We are fortunate to have this project funded by the Community Compact Grant. This is a competitive
grant offered by the state to help towns improve efficiency and cost saving through regional partnerships
and endeavors.

Special Education

With the overall goal of providing all students an educational environment that supports and allows them
to reach their full potential, the Student Services Department continues to solidify and grow the service
delivery model that is in place in each of our buildings. This includes extensive professional development,
increased behavioral and social/emotional support for students, and program development based on the
best practices for students with low incidence disabilities. Over the course of the past several years, the
district has been able to support students with a range of needs by adapting and developing programming.
As of December 1, 2016, there were 149 students in the Boxford Elementary Schools, grades Pre-
Kindergarten through grade 6 identified as eligible for special education; this represents a 19 student
st
increase. Over the past 4 years, our Dec. 1 special education headcount has been between 128-149; the 4
years prior to 2013, the headcount was between 135-150.
We are excited as a district to bring to the schools a new tool that has been created by the Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education around inclusive practices for all students. The Educator
Effectiveness Guidebook for Inclusive Practice has been developed for school districts based on research
indicating the many benefits of structuring inclusive opportunities for all students. While reviewing areas
such as special education practices, inclusion, identification and services delivery for students with
disabilities, Massachusetts contracted with Thomas Hehir and Associates to gather and review data
around best practices. One of the key findings of this reports was that “Students with disabilities who had
full inclusion placements appeared to outperform similar students who were not included to the same
extent in general education with their non-disabled peers” (Hehir & Associates, 2014). Specifically,
students with full inclusion programs demonstrated higher MCAS scores, a higher probability of