School Improvement Plans

The 2023 - 2025 District and School Improvement Plan frames the District’s strategic improvement efforts and is the product of consultation and collaboration with hundreds of stakeholders throughout the community.

The District’s strategic improvement goals focus broadly on increasing academic achievement for all students and creating safe, inclusive learning environments for all children, families, faculty, and staff. As we collectively gain distance from the pandemic, it is critical that the District re-establish key targets for learning and development, establish baseline data for future target setting, and ensure that all strategic initiatives support progress towards established performance targets.

The 2023 - 2025 District and School Improvement Plan was approved by the Dedham School Committee on June 7, 2023

District Improvement Goals

GOAL #1: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

By June of 2025, 80% of students in grades 3-8 will meet or exceed expectations on the spring 2025 ELA MCAS test.
By June of 2025, 80% of students in grades 3-8 will meet or exceed expectations on the spring 2025 Mathematics MCAS test.
By June of 2025, 80% of students in grades 5 & 8 will meet or exceed expectations on the spring 2025 Science MCAS test.
By June of 2025, 80% of K-12 English Learners (ELs) will be making progress towards individual SGPA targets established by DESE as measured by annual ACCESS testing.
By June of 2024, the District will reduce the number of students identified for special education by 3%.

GOAL #2: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

GOAL #3: Management and Operations

By June of 2025, 100% of employees will have articulated job descriptions and associated performance evaluation instruments.
By June of 2025, 100% of capital repair and improvement projects will have articulated and predictable development, management, and tracking mechanisms.
By June of 2025, the District will have clearly articulated, broadly understood, and 100% implemented enhanced safety and security procedures throughout the district.

Strategic Initiatives

To ensure progress towards the District’s improvement goals, the District Leadership Team has established the following strategic initiatives for the 2023 - 2025 strategic improvement plan.

To ensure progress towards the District’s improvement goals, building Principals and local School Councils have established the following strategic initiatives for the 2023 - 2025 strategic improvement plan.

District Initiatives

Strategic Focus #1: High Quality Instructional Materials

Office of Teaching & Learning
Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

The District will focus strategic efforts on reviewing the PK-12 “scope and sequence” for curriculum to ensure that it is implemented with fidelity and aligned with Massachusetts Frameworks as well as evidence-based practices to improve learning outcomes for students as measured by universal screening(s) and curriculum-based measures.

Strategic Focus #2: Continued Implementation of Dyslexia Legislation

Offices of Teaching & Learning - and - Student Services
Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

The District will have a clear MTSS model with systems and structures, such as district and building level data teams, for identifying students at risk for dyslexia, effectively monitoring progress, and utilizing assessments to provide targeted interventions to students. By June 2025, we expect a significant reduction in the number of students identified for targeted intervention as well overall improvements in students’ literacy outcomes, as measured by the mCLASS DIBELS 8 assessment.

Strategic Focus #3: Enhance Existing Literacy Intervention Model

Offices of Teaching & Learning - and - Student Services
Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

The District will improve upon existing systems for tiered instructional supports and develop a menu of literacy interventions, with specific entrance criteria in order to assist faculty in matching learners to the most effective, targeted intervention(s) that will help them reach grade level benchmarks. By June 2025, all students in Grade 3 will read with proficiency as measured by universal benchmarks for literacy.

Strategic Focus #4: Equity and Overidentification

Office of Student Services
Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

By June 2025 the District will have established practices for specific strategies to combat overidentification and disproportionality including co-teaching, an established MTSS model, diagnostic protocols for assessments, and specific eligibility procedures aligned with IDEA. The District will have a clear system for identifying students at risk, for monitoring progress, and for targeting the right interventions. District data teams will be able to zoom out and look at district-level data and actively disaggregate that data by subgroup to inform the application of resources

Strategic Focus #5: Systems of Care for Mental and Behavioral Health

Office of Student Services
Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

The District will have a clearly articulated system of care for students grades K-12. The system will include universal screening, progress monitoring, case coordination, discipline alternatives, threat assessment protocols, MH curricula, and applied wrap around services.

Strategic Focus #6: Student Services Department

Office of Student Services
Goal: Management & Operations

By June 2023 the Student Services office will have well defined roles and responsibilities as well as in-house and automated systems to support established practices for data tracking, financial tracking, grant management, financial and data modeling, compliance, reporting, and the efficient management of day to day operations.

Strategic Focus #7: Safety and Security Processes and Procedures

Office of Finance & Operations
Goal: Management & Operations

Strategic Focus #8: Articulated Job Descriptions and Evaluation Instruments for all Employees

Office of Finance & Operations
Goal: Management & Operations

Strategic Focus #9: Enhanced Processes and Procedures for Facilities Operations

Office of Finance & Operations
Goal: Management & Operations

The district will develop processes and skills in the operations of the facilities operations of the schools, focusing on data-based capital project development driven by industry standards, and on establishing a well defined management and supervisory structure for the execution of the schools operations.

Strategic Focus #10: Improved Human Resources Processes and Procedures for Onboarding New Employees

Office of Finance & Operations
Goal: Management & Operations

Assess and improve current human resources process in the district with focus on employee hiring through onboarding, a focus on documentation creation and retention in district human resources operations, and the implementation of a time off database that will provide employees with real time balances.

Strategic Focus #11: Sustainable, Clear, and Streamlined District Budget

Office of Finance & Operations
Goal: Management & Operations

Creation of sustainable district budgets focusing on smart spending initiatives that balance supporting student success with providing manageable increases to the taxpayer. Sustainable budgets that continue to support student success with a balance for the taxpayer that allows larger school department initiatives.

ECEC

Strategic Focus #1: Integrated, Play-Based Units of Study Across Content Areas

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

By 2025, the ECEC preschool and kindergarten curriculas will provide increased opportunities for integrating subject areas across current units of instruction that incorporate more purposeful play in order to allow students to make more meaningful connections in their learning at a developmentally appropriate level. Expansion of the very successful STREAMing concept that has been implemented should be occurring throughout the building.

Strategic Focus #2: Social and Emotional Intervention Pathways

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

In order to truly understand the social/emotional development of our students, we must engage in additional professional development, collaborative conversations, and strategic planning around learning more about the effects of trauma and culture on student development and behaviors. Taking steps to further our knowledge of trauma informed practices and diversity, equity, inclusion and justice will allow our staff and families to more fully embrace the root causes of the effects on student learning and childhood development.

Strategic Focus #3: Enhancing Teaching, Learning, and Belonging through Family Engagement

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

The ECEC will coordinate and integrate family and community engagement programs and activities through a variety of planned events throughout the school year. These programs will focus on family and student differences and similarities along with emphasis on academic, social, and emotional learning for all community members.

Avery

Strategic Focus #1: Student Wellness/Emotional Health

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Avery School staff and families will use trauma-informed strategies to engage with our students and support them throughout the school day, as well as in their homes. SEL lessons will be taught weekly in each classroom with mental health clinicians working alongside classroom teachers. Avery staffing will support these goals and reflect the needs of the students housed at Avery School.

Strategic Focus #2: Academic Excellence

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

In partnership with the District, the Avery team will evaluate its literacy and numeracy curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices to ensure that students have a cohesive, challenging, and engaging differentiated curriculum that helps all learners thrive. The Avery Master Schedule and staffing will support a learning environment in which students are getting the tools they need to access curriculum and grow academically. This will be evidenced by performance on universal screening assessments.

Strategic Focus #3: Community Engagement

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Avery School’s percentage of chronic absenteeism will decrease by at least 3 percentage points each year of this plan, resulting in a chronic absenteeism rate of under 10% by the end of the 2025-2026 School Year. Families will feel more engaged with Avery Elementary School through a more strategic and timely newsletter sent to families, as well as a website that engages families more so that they can “see into Avery School” to see what their students are doing. More families will see an importance of having their students attend school more regularly, as they will be more intune with what goes on day-to-day.

Greenlodge

Strategic Focus #1: Academic Excellence

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

Throughout the course of the 2023-2025 school years, Greenlodge school will continue to improve upon differentiation of skills for students who have lagging skills as well as for students who can benefit from enrichment activities. Over the course of the next three years, the Greenlodge School would like to take measures to increase differentiated opportunities for students to receive further intervention with skills and concepts that are challenging to them, while also pushing those students who are working at or above grade level in any given subject area.

Strategic Focus #2: Student Wellness/Emotional Health

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Throughout the course of the 2023-2025 school years, Greenlodge school will work to develop instructional practices and strategies around social emotional learning to provide students with a wide range of S/E skills to address social and emotional needs as they arise (stress, anxiety, depression, relationship building). Greenlodge school would like to continue with its initiative on supporting the growth and development of students with their social and emotional skills. The school would like to target this intervention on a class by class basis as well as targeting whole school instruction and support.

Strategic Focus #3: Family/Community Engagement

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

The Greenlodge School will increase its overall communication with families as it relates to events and activities happening throughout the building, common language to be shared between home and school and a stronger connection between what happens during the school day and our students' experiences outside of the school building.

Oakdale

Strategic Focus #1: Student Wellness/Emotional Health

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Oakdale strives to create a safe and welcoming learning environment for all learners. Oakdale will embed consistent social emotional health and wellness practices into every classroom as part of Tier 1 instruction and classroom management to support all students. Evidence of impact on student wellness will be collected through faculty and student surveys ( internal and district wide).

Strategic Focus #2: Academic Excellence

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

In partnership with the district, the Oakdale team will evaluate its literacy and numeracy curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices to ensure that students have a cohesive, challenging, and engaging differentiated curriculum that helps all learners thrive. This will be evidenced by performance on universal screening assessments.

Strategic Focus #3: Community Engagement

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Engage the community throughout all components of The Oakdale Building Project, ensuring that the greater Oakdale Community has access to and support throughout all phases of the project. Through community engagement, the finalized Oakdale project will culminate in a positive experience for all community members, with a special focus on the students.

Riverdale

Strategic Focus #1: Academic Excellence

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

High academic achievement for all students to their potential as measured by students learning, data, and outcomes.

Strategic Focus #2: Social and Emotional Learning including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Meet the social and emotional needs of our students and to increase staff knowledge and implementation of culturally proficient instruction.

Strategic Focus #3: Community Engagement

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Engage all parents and caregivers so they are active participants in their child’s learning.

DMS

Strategic Focus #1: Writing

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

By June of 2025 DMS will:
(a) improve clarity and idea development in student writing.
(b) use content area standards to establish clear expectations for quantity and quality of writing in all subject areas.
(c) implement professional development around writing and literacy strategies, which all teachers will incorporate into their practice.
(d) develop and utilize a common rubric that will allow teachers to clearly understand and monitor student progress in writing.

Strategic Focus #2: Data-Driven Supports and Intervention

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

By June of 2025 DMS will:
(a) utilize data to inform action steps related to academic achievement, behavioral trends, and social emotional support needs.
(b) develop and grow our intervention system to support academic needs.
(c) analyze discipline data to inform additional behavioral supports and alternatives to suspensions.
(d) utilize global emotional and behavioral health indicators to strengthen and develop therapeutic supports and programming.
(e) develop and implement professional development to support SEL standards for all teachers.

DHS

Strategic Focus #1: Evaluation of Alternatives to CP2 Level Courses

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

Develop shared expectations from English 4 teachers regarding skills
Develop CP level English 4 elective courses polling teachers and students
Provide PD time to develop curriculum, and common planning
Implement courses and provide common planning
Review data quarterly
Review yearly data and using to inform action plan to develop additional CP learning opportunities

Strategic Focus #2: Defining and Enhancing Rigor in All Content Areas

Goal: Academic Achievement, Excellence, and Rigor

As part of the NEASC Self-Reflection process, evaluate current expectations and beliefs regarding rigor/academic excellence
Review/Analyze MCAS data; identify areas for growth
Develop classroom expectations, assessment practices, student groupings, curriculum, courses

Strategic Focus #3: Trauma Informed Practice

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Introductory training conducted by Lesley University for teachers and para’s responsible for students in TBL program and CP2 courses.
Specific classroom management and teaching strategies PD. Data Collection: grades, attendance, classroom behavior
Ongoing Lesley University consultation. Data Collection: grades, attendance, classroom behavior

Strategic Focus #4: Creating Inclusive, Representative Spaces through Diversity Speaker Series

Goal: Culture, Climate, and Belonging

Guest Speakers reflective of the diverse DHS community identified.
Speakers identified present at DHS through a variety of methods in order to reach the most students. Sessions with speakers are opt in for students.
Assess feedback of speakers. Identify needs for 24/25 school year. Establish list of speakers for 24/25 school year.