Published in the August 5, 2016 edition

By JESSICA VALERIANI

MELROSE – Superintendent Cyndy Taymore presented the new School Improvement Plan to the school board on Tuesday, July 26.

The new plan is focused on increasing individualization. “We’re at a point where we can begin to individualize more,” said Taymore.

Taymore has been asking the schools to get more specific in their data so it is evident where she needs to dig in and do important work.

For the elementary schools, there will be a larger focus on both social-emotional learning and working with ELL families.

“[The new plan] really engages the community and analysis much more than the current model does,” said Taymore. “It does a lot more surveys and focus groups and allows for much more feedback from the community to utilize in making decisions about what the plan should look like.”

The layout of the plan for the elementary schools will be the same as the current Horace Mann plan, which is a two-year plan.

There is a lot more work to be done for the middle school and quite a few steps to take. Administrators have been very upfront about the difficulty they are having with special education kids in math and English. They are looking to improve the instruction overall with the use of data and technology and expand the practices that have been working well in past years, such as literature circles and reciprocal teachings.

The middle school is also very focused on science next year and taking a whole new approach to science instruction. They also plan to continue to develop best practices in SEL, including restorative justice and ADL’s project impact.

“The high school represents more than anybody input from the parent population,” said Taymore. The parents are comfortable where academics are going and there are no new academic goals in the plan. “Everything is focused on other matters and giving students new opportunities,” said Taymore.

The goals for the high school focus on better communication, giving more community voice in discussion and improving social-emotional learning.

The next School Committee meeting will be held on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. in City Hall.