The School Committee met last Tuesday to hear Fiscal Year 26 budget status updates from Superintendent Tom Geary, as well as to vote on three outstanding resolutions, including one that replaces the MCAS graduation requirement, which was removed by a state ballot question last year.
The first resolution was to enact the new Competency Determination policy in the wake of Massachusetts removing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) as a graduation requirement. Beginning with the class of 2027, the State now requires that Towns determine competency in the subjects previously covered by the MCAS — English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science — as well as U.S. History.
The next resolution was to enact the Middle School Pathway Exploration (MSPE) Policy, another new State requirement. School systems must now ensure that middle school students are adequately informed of opportunities to pursue Career Technical Education (CTE) — for instance, vocational or technical school — at the secondary education level as an alternative to traditional high school.
The MSPE Policy outlines how Lynnfield Public Schools will collaborate with Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School to present students with information and educational materials as well as opportunities to visit and tour the school if they so choose.
The third resolution was to allow the Lynnfield High School Music Department to take students on a trip to Nashville, Tenn., to learn about the city’s famous music industry and perform at various functions while there.
All three resolutions were voted on and approved unanimously.
School Committee Chair Kristen Elworthy described the budget status update as “all in all, a standard update, and there were no flags presented by (Geary) at this point in time.” As Geary pointed out, the school year is only just beginning, so there is not much to report on.
