PERFORMANCE REPORT 2024:
Progress on the District’s Strategic Priorities in the 2023-2024 School Year
(PRINT VERSION available at this link)
Dear Neighbors, Friends, & Families:
In the 2023-2024 school year, how did the Needham Public Schools provide our students with what they needed to learn, grow, and achieve? This report highlights the programs and resources provided by district administrators, faculty, and staff and supported by our School Committee, our families, the Town of Needham and its residents. Together, we set high expectations, listened carefully to suggestions and concerns, and made significant progress toward our vision – the Portrait of a Needham Graduate.
The 2024 Performance Report focuses on each of the district’s strategic priorities to celebrate students’ accomplishments and to recognize opportunities and challenges.
Priority 1 - Students are drivers of their own learning: Whether it was increasing access to advanced coursework to close equity gaps, supporting students with voice and choice in Math classes, continuing to assess K-5 Literacy and our Math curriculum to better meet the needs of students developmentally, or expanding student efficacy and leadership skills within the History curriculum for grades 3 to 7, the district prioritized the work of enabling students to become the drivers of their own learning.
Priority 2 - Students experience integrative learning: With expansion of Interdisciplinary Learning, development of our SELMH Framework (Social Emotional Learning & Mental Health), plus training provided in Restorative Practices and Responsive Classroom, the district took big steps forward in combining various teaching practices into a cohesive approach to improve each student’s learning experience.
Priority 3 - Students learn and grow within adaptable environments: By adapting schedules and structures to promote individual students’ learning objectives, by increasing opportunities for internships and alternative paths post high school such as trades or military, and by strengthening partnerships with local colleges, the district made student learning accessible beyond the traditional classroom.
Priority 4 - Infrastructure supports needs of all students: Thanks to the Town’s approval of the FY25 Budget including School-Town IT consolidation and our acceptance into eligibility for the MA School Building Authority program for Pollard, the district is funded for carrying out the next steps in our plans. Additionally, the district made significant progress in fully staffing key positions to support students and launching the initial phase of a comprehensive professional learning program aligned with the FY24 Strategic Plan.
Special feature - Equity Update: The Let’s Get REAL information (Race, Equity, Access, Leadership) included in this year’s Performance Report acknowledges inequities and efforts to overcome obstacles along with progress in six goal areas that address equity in our schools.
The 2023-2024 school year presented us with challenging but joyful work that will continue as we prepare each student for their future. We thank you for your ongoing support and welcome any questions or feedback on the district’s plans and progress.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Lee, Chair of the School Committee
Daniel E. Gutekanst, Superintendent of Schools
Priority 1: All Students Are Drivers of Their Own Learning
District Priority 1 focuses on strategies for student choice and independent learning; student efficacy, leadership, and voice; as well as content and skills for academic growth.
Building Thinking Classrooms
In the 2023-2024 school year, there were K to 12 teachers who supported their students in becoming “drivers of their own learning” by piloting the research-based instructional practices from Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics. A thinking classroom looks different from a traditional classroom. Students work in groups rather than individually; they often stand rather than sit. Since students learn differently, at different speeds, and have different mental constructs of the same content, the classroom is filled with asynchronous activity – customized for each student’s particular pace of learning. In addition, students learn to look at the work of their peers and to mobilize that knowledge to keep themselves thinking when they are stuck and need a push or when they are done and need a new task. As drivers of their own learning, students identify what they know and what they have yet to learn which results in more active participation in their learning and potential improvement on tests.
Visual Art Advanced Portfolios
Forty-five students in the NHS Fine and Performing Arts Department demonstrated their ability to drive their own learning by submitting visual art portfolios to the College Board for the Advanced Placement Art and Design exam, or completing full Accelerated portfolios for submission to their teachers. These portfolios represent countless hours of student work showing everyone, including themselves, what they are capable of.
Investigating History
Already implemented for grade 5 and piloted in grades 3 and 4, the new social studies curriculum is expanding student efficacy and leadership through the design principles of Investigating History. This standards-aligned curriculum is transforming social studies to better inform, engage, and empower students. They learn to ask their own questions about historical events; make sense of images, texts, and artifacts from the past; and connect their learning to real-life issues and current events. The curriculum fully supports our Portrait of a Needham Graduate in these three ways. The inquiry-based learning promotes creative thinking and problem solving. Student communication and collaboration skills are reinforced. Culturally affirming pedagogy and diverse perspectives foster our students to become socially and culturally responsive contributors.
Assessing K-5 Literacy and Our Math Curriculum
School Leaders this past year focused time and energy on improving coherence within our educational programs and schools. The work involved the use of data to inform instruction and curriculum development. Two important examples of this work are summarized below.
- Literacy for students in grades K to 5: While continuing to deliver the best possible instruction for all our students, the district is in the process of reviewing our elementary schools’ reading and writing units of study. Data shows us that opportunity gaps exist for some student subgroups and this needs to be addressed. At the same time, local, state and national debates regarding literacy instruction have our attention. To ensure that all students reach high levels of literacy and become proficient readers, writers, and communicators, the district is looking at new programs and aligning assessment, curriculum, and instruction with current neuroscience and culturally responsive practices. We are engaging in rigorous reflection and analysis of materials and pedagogy. Having narrowed down a long list of viable programs for intensive review, we are continuing to pilot the most promising programs in the 2024-2025 school year.
- Illustrative Math Curriculum: The new Illustrative Math elementary curriculum is being rolled out with fidelity. Teachers are adopting instructional routines and engagement strategies designed for various learning profiles. In addition, teachers are providing students with manipulatives and math visual aids that help more students access the math and drive their own learning. With a growth mindset, students learn from their mistakes and revise their thinking. What is most important is that teachers are adjusting instruction based on students’ individual needs informed by the curriculum’s embedded assessments.
Priority 2: All Students Experience Integrative Learning
District Priority 2 focuses on embedding interdisciplinary learning, Portrait competencies, technology, inclusive practices, social-emotional learning, and equity into all curriculum and instructional practices.
Interdisciplinary Learning at the Middle School
Literacy for Learning is a project-based, interdisciplinary program that all 6th grade students completed during one trimester. The program supported High Rock students in exploring a combination of new content areas as well as skills aligned with the Portrait of A Needham Graduate competencies. The students’ learning experiences included: inventing a product, forming a company, branding, analyzing sales data, preparing strategic plans, advertising, conducting scientific research, determining company valuations, pitching an investment opportunity, and integrating strategies and content from their nonfiction reading into coherent presentations. The students were energized and fully engaged in making connections between content areas and developing a deeper understanding of the world around them.
Social Emotional Learning and Mental Health (SELMH) Framework
The SELMH Framework, developed by the district’s SEL and Mental Health Committee, provides direction on how to implement evidence-based practices that are universally designed, developmentally responsive, trauma-informed, and equity-focused. This framework will guide decisions about how to best address all students’ academic, social, emotional, mental, and behavioral health needs.
Recognizing that students’ needs vary and can fluctuate at certain times throughout the school year, the SELMH Framework is designed to provide a continuum of supports, services, and practices which are conceptualized across three levels or “tiers” of increasing intensity. Movement across the three tiers is fluid and is not determined or defined by specific designations, such as diagnosed disabilities. Rather, movement is supported by data from universal screeners, diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring, and how a student responds to one level of intervention.
Restorative Practices
In the 2023-2024 school year, the district moved forward with our commitment to Restorative Practices -- an approach that focuses on developing safe and supportive communities through building, maintaining, and repairing relationships among community members. With funding from the Needham Education Foundation and professional learning programs from Suffolk University’s Center for Restorative Justice, the district was able to provide training to build staff awareness and understanding of restorative practices at the elementary level and the next stages of implementation at Pollard Middle School and Needham High.
Our goal for Restorative Practices is to foster healthy dialogue and increase mutual understanding and empathy among students and staff. We believe this will lead to an overall sense of connection and increase each person’s capacity to handle conflict in a way that promotes growth and repairs relationships. Restorative practices, along with social emotional learning and culturally responsive teaching, have the shared purpose of creating the conditions for learning for all students.
Measuring Student Well-Being and Chronic Absenteeism
In a pilot with all students in grades 3 to 5, surveys were administered last January and again at the end of the school year to begin to measure individual students' self-reported social emotional learning and mental health. It will be possible to view reports on the student’s growth over time as the survey is administered each year. Another SELMH measure that the district follows is the percentage of our students who have had chronic absences - defined as more than 18 days absent in a school year - which increased for most student subgroups in the 2021-2022 school year, but is decreasing in recent years. There is a need for strong collaboration across English Language Education, Special Education, Counseling, and Nursing departments to support students and families struggling with chronic absenteeism.
Priority 3: All Students Learn & Grow Within Adaptable Environments
District Priority 3 focuses on environments that foster collaboration and innovation, schedules and spaces that promote learning, and opportunities beyond the classroom, within the community, and in partnership with families.
Community Support for Civics Lessons
A student-led political advocacy project is a requirement in high school. Our students often collaborate with the Needham League of Women Voters to access advocacy strategies and resources about current issues. The students decide whether the issue needs a grassroots campaign to spread information or a lobbyist approach. This year 45 community advisors including members of the Town Select Board, community advocacy groups, Town Meeting members and State Representatives listened to student proposals and challenged them to defend their ideas. With community support, our students were well prepared to advocate for legislation pending on Beacon Hill.
Alternative Career Paths
Graduation from Needham High School is considered a launchpad for our students. In addition to college options,
our students are provided programs and resources to consider alternative career paths post high school in a skilled trade, vocational career, military service, or as a paraprofessional. There are internships that provide exposure to different types of job opportunities in a variety of potential fields. One such grant-funded opportunity was the Class of 2024 Educator Pathway, a school-based internship that attracted a diverse and talented group of NHS students who worked as aides in the five elementary schools to learn firsthand the tasks and responsibilities of the teaching profession.
Scheduling Systems and Structures
Sometimes referred to as WIN Blocks (“What I Need”) or X-Blocks, the district is implementing tiered systems of support to promote individual students’ learning objectives. This adaptation is designed to provide all students with time within the school schedule to work on academic and/or social emotional growth. When students need more support, this block of time allows for more focused instruction. It also allows for preassessments of next units and, based on the results, extra support is given to students in areas in which they struggle. Not only is the kindergarten to grade 12 classroom teacher involved during these blocks, it is an all-hands-on-deck approach sometimes involving special education teachers, reading specialists, math coaches, counselors, and others.
Community Engagement
Piloted at the Eliot School in the 2023-2024 school year, Talking Points is a text-based communication system for sending reminders, events, school cancellations, and other important news to families. The text messages were translated automatically into a family’s native language and each family could communicate directly with the office or classroom teacher. We are measuring to what extent this parent-friendly and culturally responsive system increased family engagement since our goal is to provide communication that supports all of our families. In addition, planning continued for a community engagement program based in the renovated Emery Grover Administration Building. This program will provide greater support for families who are newcomers to Needham, English Language Learners and/or homeless.
District Survey Results 2024
Needham Public Schools administers an annual district-wide survey of families because we recognize the importance of family partnership and feedback. For the 2024 data gathering conducted last May, we continued to measure progress using research validated survey questions that align with the strategic priorities. We heard from 880 parents/guardians of our students in grades Pre-K to 12 and their responses are helping shape our future plans. At the same time, we surveyed students in grades 3 to 12 and our instructional staff. The perspective of all stakeholders is critical to our understanding of the 2024 District Survey Results, indicating where we have strengths and where there are areas needing our attention.
There are a couple of important survey measures tied to the Strategic Plan. The top-line result on Anti-Racist Practice for the 2024 survey is relatively the same as the data from the past three years for all stakeholders. Subgroup data will provide a more in-depth understanding of issues to be addressed. For survey items on Portrait competencies, we have been monitoring this measure since 2020. Although no significant change in the 78% favorability or grade 3-5 students in the 2024 survey, the overall favorability for grade 6 to 12 students was 51% in 2020 and increased year-over-year to 73% for 2024. Responses in 2024 from both teachers and parents/ guardians, though lower favorability than students’ responses, improved 5% since 2022.
Priority 4: Infrastructure Supports Needs of All Students
This District Priority 4 checklist summarizes key investments and long-term commitments including our Funding Plans, Facilities, Professional Learning, and Staffing.
FY2025 BUDGET OF $97,517,926
The School Operating Budget for FY2025 was approved with a 5.8% increase over the previous year’s budget. It will provide the resources to maintain the current level of service to Needham students, fund existing contractual obligations, provide funds to meet increasing Special Education needs and enrollment growth, and implement the District’s Portrait of a Needham Graduate Strategic Plan. The details of the FY25 Budget are available on the district website.
AUDITORIUM UPGRADES
Town meeting appropriated $344,558 for School Auditorium improvements at Newman, Pollard, and the High School. These upgrades will be completed over the next two years to enhance the experience for students and performers.
NEEDHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION
NEF generously supported the district’s equity-centered professional learning with a grant of $156,580. This funding made possible a 3-prong approach: First, a Leadership Academy for Educational Equity, Understanding, and Organizational Transformation from William James College for 60 members of the district leadership team. Second, professional development for teachers with Cornelius Minor focusing on practicing equitable and student-centered instructional strategies. Third, training for implementing Restorative Practices in schools through building, maintaining, and repairing relationships among community members.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CONSOLIDATION
Town Meeting voted to appropriate $593,643 to consolidate Town and School Information Technology functions. The Town hired a consultant who recommended unifying under the purview of NPS and the School Committee to provide greater cohesion, efficiency, collaboration, strategic planning, and policy implementation, as well as increased investment in infrastructure and cybersecurity.
POLLARD RENOVATION/ADDITION PROJECT
The MA School Building Authority agreed to partner with the district on this Grade 6 to 8 building project, which could lead to reimbursements of 20-25% of the total costs. The Town appropriated $2,750,000 required for the feasibility study as a next step.
EMERY GROVER ADMIN BUILDING RENOVATION
This active construction project, a comprehensive renovation of an historic structure, continues to progress with an anticipated reopening of the Administration Building to the public in the Fall.
HUMAN RESOURCES
In the 2023-2024 school year, the district made significant progress in fully staffing key positions to support our students. Staff retention was 90.8% which is slightly higher than similar communities in Massachusetts. The initial phase of the district’s cohesive professional learning program was launched with plans for rolling out targeted and
data-informed learning programs for all staff over the next three years.
Equity Update
The district’s REAL Coalition has 55 participants representing administrators, staff, students, families, and community members who are tasked with spreading the word about the district’s equity work. The REAL Coalition emphasizes the importance of student voice and is learning to model skills taught in the NHS course “Courageous Conversations On Race.” Meeting three times in the 2023-2024 school year, the participants addressed challenges; deepened their understanding of issues related to race, equity, access, and leadership; and checked in on district progress in six goal areas. With these goals in mind, the district is committed to embedding equity in what we do every day and for the long term.
PROGRESS ON 6 GOAL AREAS IN SUPPORT OF EQUITY
1. Policies and Practices
New guidance is included within the Student Handbook that explains how the district will be responsive to acts of bias or discrimination, both holding students accountable for behavior that is injurious to others and supporting their individual growth and learning. In addition, a revised Memorandum of Understanding details the role of the Needham Police and School Resource Officers (SRO) in our schools, allowing us to prioritize student safety. Also in the 2023-2024 school year, the district fully funded summer programs and transportation for at-risk students. For the Middle School Genders & Sexualities Alliance (student club), the district provided a safe space for students and a stipend for their Club Advisor.
2. Curriculum and Instruction
The district continues to work on strengthening equity practices in curriculum development and implementation. We are monitoring the percent of 11th & 12th graders in Advanced Courses and identifying disproportionality that needs to be addressed.
A mentorship program, designed to disrupt or reduce unconscious bias, is providing a transformative leadership opportunity for our high school students. "Mentors Like Me" partners student mentors from the Castle Program and Black Student Union with Pollard students so they can discuss shared experiences, particularly in relation to race.
Amid world conflict, families expressed concern about antisemitism and Islamophobia. Consistent with State Curriculum Frameworks in Social Studies and English Language Arts, the district continues to provide strong curriculum-based programs that provide developmentally appropriate instruction on religions in grades 7-12.
3. Professional Learning
In the 2023-2024 school year, professional learning focused on equity, with an emphasis on universally designed and culturally responsive teaching practices. Sixty District Leaders engaged in a semester-long Equity Centered Leadership course offered by William James College. Over 20 staff were trained in restorative justice and practices. Dozens of staff continued to take courses on equity, inclusion and anti-racist practices through the IDEAS Initiative. Instructional coaches provided support through an equity lens.
4. Hiring and Employment Practices
All students deserve equitable access to diverse and qualified educators and school leaders. A robust recruitment strategy is in place to diversify our staff which resulted in an increase in the number of staff of color in the 2023-2024 school year, up from 10.5% in the previous year to 11.9%. We continued to partner with the Town in our retention efforts, co-hosting the affinity group “Stronger Together” for BIPOC Staff, and a new affinity group for LGBTQ staff was launched.
5. Culture and Climate
We continued to assess culture and climate and address the need for all students to feel a sense of belonging in school. School-based restorative practices were piloted to create a culture of connectivity where all members of the school community feel valued. The district participated in the Needham Resilience Network to advocate on behalf of the schools and build connections among community groups. In addition, the district sponsored a Community Conversations on Race with a focus on learning from NHS student leaders. The increase in school community multicultural events, Unified Sports, Student Unions, clubs like SAFE (Students Advocating for Equity), and programs like Pollard’s Students Take Action Day directly address the need to strengthen our school cultures and ensure the climate empowers learners.
6. Communication and Community Engagement
The communication hub for the ongoing equity work is on the district website. Reach out to the REAL Steering Committee with questions and feedback. Members of the REAL Coalition partner with METCO, SEPAC, ELPAC, Needham Human Rights Committee, among other dedicated and caring community supporters.
What’s Next for REAL?
There were times over the past school year that some students didn’t feel they belonged because of their race, their learning style, their religion or sexual orientation. Sometimes their classmates were mean to them and the adults in our schools may not have responded as fully or as quickly as we should have. We recognize the need for continuous improvement. In particular, we will work on policies and practices that have a positive impact on students’ day-to-day experiences and develop systems that support consistent implementation and ongoing measurement of equitable learning. With the REAL Coalition as our ambassadors, we will spread the word about the district’s equity work.
Opportunities and Challenges
2024-2025 Actions
We take great pride in all that was accomplished in the 2023-2024 school year. We worked toward building
coherence through district-wide actions and targeted, data-informed professional learning. We prepared our students for next school year; and yet each of the post-pandemic years has presented its unique challenges
and has required us to study our practice to accelerate, deepen, and enhance student learning. Our educators
continue to work collaboratively to fulfill the vision of a Portrait of A Needham Graduate.
In support of the district’s strategic plan, the School Committee approved 2024-2025 Actions that will focus on the following opportunities and challenges, among others, that lie ahead. We will:
- Ensure the Portrait of A Needham Graduate competencies are well articulated and understood among students, staff, and families.
- Address disproportionality in learning for student subgroups so that the educational experience for every student is fair, equitable, and inclusive.
- Support the social, emotional, and mental health needs of our students with plans and practices informed by data and addressing disproportionate impacts on students, including around discipline and attendance.
- Increase parent, family, and community outreach and engagement through the use of technology and in-person meetings and conversations.
- Move forward on next steps in the renovation/addition project for a grade 6 to 8 Pollard School building.
- Increase the diversity of the staff who support our students.
Strategic Plan for 2025-2026 and Beyond
Since we are reaching the end of the district’s Portrait Strategic Plan for FY20-FY25, we must begin the process of developing the strategic plan for the 2025-2026 school year and beyond. We will invite representatives from our stakeholder groups (students, educators, parents, business and civic leaders, and higher education) to contribute to the process. This group of 50 or more participants will learn about future trends from experts in the field and consider to what extent the district’s current priorities and strategic objectives need to be refreshed or abandoned, and what needs to be added. We still will be guided by our Portrait vision as we incorporate findings and recommendations of the planning group in light of future trends and the pace of change. It is an exciting process and it is so important to pause and reflect on what our students need for their future.
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS
This Performance Report summarizes the progress made in the 2023-2024 school year on district priorities. For more information, please refer to the School Improvement Plans. Each School Council, comprised of the principal and representative parents, teachers, and a community member, updates their school’s plan annually and presents it to the School Committee.