Wachusett News
Late Fall 2017
News from the Superintendent's Office
As the first quarter comes to a close, we continue to work toward finishing 2017 on a strong note. Teachers and students have settled into the rhythm of the school year, and the learning that has been occurring has been remarkable. I recently had the opportunity to visit Chocksett Middle School in Sterling where grade 7 ELA classes participated in a creative writing project. I was very impressed with the creativity, vocabulary, and writing skills of these students. I applaud their efforts, as well the stellar learning initiatives coming from the entire school district.
I am happy to report that the first Wachusett News digital newsletter was opened over 9,000 times in 311 locations across Massachusetts, the United States, and the globe. The large reach of our efforts indicates that networked communication is vital in unifying us at the local, state, national, and international level. Wachusett represents five towns, but our reach goes well beyond the boundaries of Central Massachusetts. Thank you for helping us make Wachusett strong.
Darryll McCall, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Wachusett Regional School District
Full STEAM Ahead at Thomas Prince
This year, the Thomas Prince Community has benefited from the generous gift of long time Princeton resident, Roger Vaughan. Mr. Vaughan's donation will help Thomas Prince and their Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) program develop into a more robust opportunity for staff and students. The donation will help to fund technology, a STEAM curriculum, professional development, and more. Over the next several years, the school will continue to benefit from the gift as robotics and programming are introduced.
PTAs Help Our Schools
Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) play a vital role in supporting schools in their curricular enrichment and co-curricular programing across the district. PTA fundraising efforts continue to benefit students and staff as a means of strengthening the community of each school. Superintendent McCall has had the opportunity to visit several PTAs over the past few weeks. He has appreciated the warm reception and the opportunity to discuss some of the issues facing individual schools and the district as a whole. His message has been to offer support and information for PTAs concerning how they can best support the students and staff of the WRSD. Contact your school to get involved with your local PTA.
State Auditor's Report on the Structure and Funding of Regional School Districts
The recommendations of this report, which include the 100% reimbursement for regional transportation, will help the Commonwealth determine how to best invest the funding available for education. The Wachusett Regional School District would benefit directly from such a proposal. Specifically, 100% reimbursement for regional transportation would have generated an additional $9 million for Wachusett over the past seven years for student learning, staffing, professional development, building maintenance and more.
A one page overview of the report is also available.
Next Generation MCAS scores released
Last week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released MCAS scores for all school districts across Massachusetts. This was the first year of the next-generation MCAS in grades 3-8, with 2017 to be used as a baseline year. Whereas previous iterations of the test have assigned accountability ratings, this year, all school districts and schools that administered the next-generation MCAS will not be assigned an accountability level. Across the state, the original MCAS test was administered at the high school level, and Wachusett Regional HIgh School remains a Level 2 school. The WRSD and all other schools, with the exception of the high school, do not have a level assigned for this year.
Another change for 2017 includes the score levels which fall into four categories: Exceeding Expectations, Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations, and Not Meeting Expectations. According to information provided by DESE, the new standards for Meeting Expectations are more rigorous than the standards for reaching the Proficient level on the original MCAS. As spring 2017 is a baseline year for the new test in grades 3-8, DESE advises that the most recent test scores should not be compared to previous years' scores.
The District is scheduled to receive hard copies of student scores, which will be sent out to families in early November.
As a means to further enhance communication within the WRSD, the Wachusett App compiles many of the important items related to the WRSD into one, convenient location. The app is available to download for free through the Apple App store or GooglePlay. The app has several components that will be helpful for students and families, including links to:
- the school calendar,
- athletic schedules for the high school,
- a staff directory by school with direct links to email,
- the mobile PowerSchool site,
- the superintendent’s blog,
- school lunch menus,
- school listings with phone numbers,
- a map that will provide directions to any school in the district,
- the WRSD bus provider, AA Transportation and,
- the WRSD website
District Website
Wachusett Regional School District
Website: www.wrsd.net
Location: 1745 Main St, Jefferson, MA, United States
Phone: 508-829-1670