Justifiable pride was the overall tone of the school achievement reports that principals Josh Myler and Scott Hoffman presented at the School Committee meeting this week. While both principals pointed out their schools’ high scores on standardized tests, they also highlighted the social, athletic, and artistic activities in which their students participated.
Myler, principal of Hildreth Elementary School, began by talking about the food drive for Loaves & Fishes that students held, the Veterans Day breakfast at the school, and the movie night that raised funds for charity. He pointed out that nearly two-thirds of fifth-graders take part in band, with lots of help from adult volunteers. HES students also have a school newspaper (Husky Headlines), a chorus, a ukulele club, a chess club, and many more opportunities to explore their special interests.
Turning to academics, Myler said Hildreth fifth-graders were second-highest in the state in the English language arts section of the 2019 MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System), and fifth-highest in science.
Myler credited the HES Readers and Writers Workshop with raising English language arts test scores. He also emphasized the strength of the school’s intervention program in helping students who had difficulty in a subject, as evidenced by the very low number of students who scored in the “not meeting expectations” category on the MCAS tests.
As for future plans, Myler said his goal is to make HES more inclusive for all students. For example, he said, his team is trying to bring some students back to the district by training people here to meet those students’ needs, rather than sending them elsewhere.
Bromfield Principal Hoffman led off with the Bromfield School’s high academic ranking by national and state measures: a gold medal recipient in U.S. News & World Report’s ratings and fourth place in Boston magazine’s ranking of public high schools in the greater Boston area. This year Bromfield’s 10th-graders tied for fourth statewide in the math MCAS and placed first in the state in the English language arts MCAS. Hoffman reported that Bromfield students also score well above the state average on the SATs and Advanced Placement exams.
Student School Committee representative Taylor Caroom said the MCAS tests were not particularly stressful because their regular classes prepared students well, without much need for special reviews or extra study.
Hoffman agreed, saying, “If we teach to the standards, we don’t need to make MCAS this big stress ball.”
Addressing the need for balance between academics and other interests, Hoffman said participation in band, chorus, theater, and art is high at Bromfield. In addition, more than 250 students took part in sports this fall, he said, and a growing number sign up for courses such as yoga and personal fitness.
Looking ahead, Hoffman said he and the teachers at Bromfield will work on helping students achieve balance to reduce stress, and he mentioned the recent “homework-free” Thanksgiving break as a step in this direction.
