The principals of the district’s schools looked back on the school year and discussed their plans for the next year at a School Committee meeting.
Summer Street Elementary Principal Karen Cronin said that she was very appreciative of the schools’ staff because “they don’t do what is easy, they do what is best for the kids.”
Cronin added that while the year was unexpectedly challenging, it was also unexpectedly rewarding.
“We’re in the middle of interviewing for new teachers at Summer Street,” she added.
According to Cronin, the school’s main focus is implementing a multi-tiered system of support. While it was introduced this year, Cronin said Summer Street will be able to “dig in more with it” next year, as “the level” of both staff and students has increased because of the system.
Cronin said that the school also implemented a standards-based report card for the first time. She emphasized that report cards are beneficial for parents and families because they get information on their child’s progress through them.
Another goal throughout the district this year, Cronin said, is to further develop social-emotional learning (SEL) for future growth. She said it was found that some of the students didn’t have those fundamental skills, so teachers had to teach empathy, sharing, and other skills.
Huckleberry Hill Elementary School Principal Melissa Wyland said that the district is coming up with a plan on how to give teachers more time, while trusting teachers’ judgement on how many sessions of SEL are needed in a week.
Lynnfield Middle School Principal Stephen Ralston said that the biggest change of this year’s plan was starting world languages earlier. Ralston said that the school needs more language teachers to “beef up” eighth grade in preparation for high school.
Lynnfield High School Principal Patricia Puglisi said that going forward, the school will focus on working groups, promoting problem-solving and communication skills, and updating the school’s outdated handbook to a progressive student disciplinary code.
School Committee member Jamie Hayman thanked the principals and the school’s staff for implementing these changes without disrupting academic learning.
Interim Superintendent Thomas Geary called the four principals’ work this year “superhuman.”
