Good Morning, Burlington!

I got most of the way through the School Committee meeting from Tuesday but had to pause it. One reason I attended in the first place was to learn more about the departure of two district-level administrators, Assistant Superintendent, Patrick Larkin, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, Ray Porch, and learn the district’s plan to fill these positions and set new candidates up for success. There wasn’t much of a practical answer, but School Committee member Martha Simon reaffirmed the district’s commitment to DEI in schools. She and Carl Foss requested this be added to a future agenda, and I hope to see more discussion about it.

What I did hear about was the MCAS scores from last year.

MCAS is a standardized state test that students from 3-8th grade take as an accountability measure for the school and district. In each subject, students get a score of Not Meeting Expectations, Partially Meeting Expectations, Meeting Expectations, or Exceeding Expectations.

Burlington is above the state in most (all?) areas in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations, but in some places we are back to pre-pandemic scores and in some places we are still lagging. Certain subgroups are continuing to score lower than others, including Black and Latino minority groups and those classified as English learners. Also, while many students are making typical growth, the point was made that a student who is behind will stay behind, even if they make a year’s worth of growth each year.

I believe the Committee said they’d make the slides that were discussed available to parents, but the data are also available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.

Today in Burlington

Don’t forget that there’s an opening on the Library Board of Trustees! If you’re interested, see below and attend tonight’s meeting.

• 9:00 AM - Housing Authority meets to vote on a number of policies, procedures, and plans.

• 7:00 PM - Conservation Commission will discuss some projects, including rebuilding some bog bridges at Mary Cummings Park and installing some in the Fox Hill/Sawmill Brook area, among many others. (Join online)

• 7:00 PM - Library Trustees will have their regular meeting, during which hopefully some potential candidates to fill the open position on this Board will attend. Remember, this is a board that helps set the vision for the library and advocate for the institution both in the community and to local government. More information can be found here.

• Coming up in a few weeks, on November 6, is Shawsheen Tech’s Open House. I’ll say more in a future issue, but you can read more below. This is a great opportunity to see the value of hands-on vocational education.

  Shawsheen Valley Technical High School to Host Open House Sunday Nov. 6th

  Shawsheen will host its annual Community Open House on November 6, 2022, from 2-4pm. This event is open to anyone interested in learning about Shawsheen Valley Technical School District. Prospective students, alumni, community members, business partners, and family & friends, are all welcome to attend.

  Burlington Buzz

Sports

Past Scores

• Golf tied 36-36 against Reading yesterday.
• Boys’ Country won 26-30 against Wilmington yesterday, with Colin Irwin leading a Burlington 1-2-3. Girls lost 17-38.
• Our Varsity Field Hockey team lost against Stoneham 2-1, while the JV girls got their first win of the season at 3-0.

Today’s Schedule

• Volleyball is in Belmont today, with JVA/JVB playing at 4:15 and Varsity playing at 5:30.
• Soccer is against Stoneham today, with JV and Varsity girls playing on the road and JV/V boys playing at home; all games are at 4:15.

That’s it for me today. I hope you have a great one!

Nicci