Lenox releases school improvement plans

LENOX – The administration teams at Morris Elementary School and Lenox Memorial Middle and High School have unveiled their plans for improving their schools.

At a recent meeting of the Lenox School Committee, administrators from both schools presented their school improvement plans, which include SMART (Specific/Strategic, Measurable/Monitored, Action-Oriented/Agreed Upon, Realistic/Results-Oriented, Timed/Tracked) goals.

At LMMHS, the three goals are: completing a five-year progress report for NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges), reducing student office referrals by 10 percent by increasing positive school culture and training the faculty to use SMART goals.

At Morris, the four goals are: improving the educational performance of high-needs students, improving all students’ abilities in writing, developing student wellness and increasing positive school culture.

MCAS presentation

Superintendent Edward W. Costa II and the school administrators also gave a presentation on the district’s MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) results.

Lenox is one of the best performers in Berkshire County, with LMMHS deemed a “Level 1” school under the state’s progress and performance index (PPI) and Morris at Level 2. (Level 1 is the highest ranking, Level 5 the lowest.)

“I really believe this time next year you’ll see both of our schools at Level 1,” Dr. Costa said.

Strategic planning update

School Committee Members Michael F. Moran and Jo Anne Magee are moving forward with making a strategic plan for Lenox Public Schools. They plan to have more information determining the scope and size of a subcommittee by the Nov. 19 school committee meeting.

At the Oct. 22 meeting, the strategic planning goal was formally moved from Superintendent Costa’s list to a goal for the school committee.

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on October 25, 2012. Filed under Education News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry