The Student Opportunity Act calls for every district and charter school in the Commonwealth to develop 3-year plans that identify key disparities in student learning opportunities and outcomes for the student groups they serve and describe how they will utilize evidence-based approaches and strategies to address those disparities. Plans covering the years FY25–FY27 were due to DESE on April 1, 2024. The SOA legislation requires DESE to post districts’ SOA plans on its website; individual districts are also required to post their plans on their district web sites.
Closing Persistent Opportunity and Achievement Gaps at SHS
In Salem, we are committed to elevating the experiences of our multilingual learners (MLs) and students with disabilities (SWDs). In 2020, we had 499 MLs, and today we have 763, which is 264 more students and a 53% increase in ML enrollment overall. Currently, we have 1091 students with an IEP which is an increase of 49 students over last year. In 2021, we had 162 requests for initial referrals, and each year since, the annual total has been close to 300.
In Salem Public Schools, we celebrate diversity and embrace the gifts, talents and funds of knowledge that each student brings with them to the learning experience. In order to ensure that all of our students’ needs are being met, we are relentlessly committed to ensuring that our core values of Equity, Belonging and Opportunity are experienced by each and every student, particularly those who have historically been underserved. To this end, we are focused on the following evidence-based programs in our SOA plan because we believe these approaches will ensure that all students have exemplary experiences and achieve at high levels.
Access to high-quality instructional materials that include strategic and thoughtful scaffolds for multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
The goal of this initiative is to ensure that all teachers have access to high quality instructional materials that are scaffolded to meet the needs of diverse learners and provide regular access to grade-level content. We expect that this work will ensure that our classrooms are inclusive, and we expect that this will have a positive, gap-closing impact on learning outcomes for multilingual learners and students with disabilities.
Expansion of and access to high-quality PreK
In 2021-22 we added 4 PreK classrooms in SPS and in 2024-25 will be adding a dual language PreK classroom. Our focus has been not only on expanding access to seats, but also we are intent on improving quality. We have added curriculum, benchmark assessments and coaching as levers in this work while expanding our reach to five community-based early learning organizations. We believe getting our youngest learners off to an excellent start will have a long-term positive impact on short-term outcomes and their life trajectories.
Effective programming for multilingual learners
Our multilingual learner enrollment has grown significantly over the past few years which heightens the urgency around ensuring that instruction in every classroom is sheltered to support access and entry into the learning. We are doing targeted professional development for educators in order to build the skills necessary for planning and delivering accessible learning experiences for MLs. In addition to this capacity building work, we are conducting targeted walkthroughs to monitor implementation, as well as doing other systemic work such as planning for a dual language PreK class and breaking down barriers to advanced math coursework for diverse learners. The goal here is to support all multilingual learners in meeting their full potential by creating welcoming learning spaces where they can thrive and meet their college and career goals.
Support for effective teaming practices (data informed instruction–DII)
Our work in this area has been on building a data informed culture where we are closely monitoring the impact that instruction has on student learning and planning for targeted reteaching where gaps exist. This work entails professional learning and coaching around data-informed practices and systems building such as the development of district common assessments and supporting tools. The goal is to interrupt learning gaps and address them in real-time.
Discussion Questions
- To what extent will implementation of these three initiatives help close achievement and opportunity gaps at Salem High School?
- What ideas do you have to help ensure that these programs achieve their stated goals?
- What barriers or concerns should SPS/SHS keep in mind?
- What other ideas do you have to help close achievement gaps at SHS?