On September 25, 2023, Superintendent of Schools Steven A. Moccio presented the 2023-2024 School Improvement Plans to the Board of Education (BOE). The plan is based largely on the Strategic Educational Framework (SEF) and leadership retreats held over the summer. The district’s equity vision statement and mission statement play into the improvement plan, all of which build toward the “Portrait of the Graduate,” which ensures students have the skills to succeed after graduation.
Moccio discussed the three strategic imperatives of:
Organizational Health
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Professional Learning for All
Each of these is then broken down into three-year long-term strategies, which are further broken down into short-term actions to be completed throughout the school year.
Ultimately, the presentation (and, for that matter, the rest of the meeting) covered far more than we can fully summarize here, so we highly suggest watching the recording of the meeting here. And be sure to scroll through the screenshots of the presentation above.
Organizational Health
Moccio pointed out that there have been significant gains in the district’s evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) and math SAT scores. He also said that there are certain areas where Stafford is at the top of its District Reference Group (DRG) and that there is more to come on that at the October 23 meeting. He also teased the fact that Stafford is, at times, outperforming surrounding districts in other DRGs.
Among the issues being addressed by the Organizational health part of the plan is chronic absenteeism. To that end, BOE Chair Laura Lybarger asked about the pre-kindergarten contract that’s been implemented at West Stafford School.
West Stafford School (WSW) Principal Anna Guerriero-Gagnon reported that roughly 90% of the contracts had been signed, and that part of the contract requires families to maintain good attendance. Chronic absenteeism is one of the issues the district is trying to address, especially for the lower grades, under the theory that stopping chronic absenteeism early on will improve it in later grades. Pre-K students, who often haven’t been to school before, often get hit hard with illnesses (though illness is an excused absence).
Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
High on every school’s priority list is implementing data-driven decision-making across all departments and schools. Small-group instruction that takes students’ individual needs into account is also a high priority. BOE secretary Sara Kelley asked how the success of those groups is measured.
Principal Guerriero-Gagnon said her teams use progress monitoring, learning walks, and in-person observations. Stafford Elementary School (SES) Principal Mary Claire St. James said that 2A and 2B (from the presentation) are closely linked, as the data from progress monitoring informs the in-class strategy. ES Assistant Principal Sara Varga added the teachers share strategies that are working with one another in group settings.
Lybarger asked about the sixth-grade social and emotional learning (SEL) class. Stafford Middle School (SMS) Principal Tim Kinel explained that sixth graders take the SEL class to learn about executive functioning skills, empathy and kindness, and generally combatting intolerance (a concern that was raised by student feedback data). The middle school is also looking at adding a second page to report cards that rate students on 11 of the 18 Portrait of the Graduate criteria as well as “Safety, Ownership, Responsibility and Respect” or SORR, as it's known at SMS.
BOE member Eric Bushior asked what the schools’ target goals are. Stafford High School Principal Marco Pelliccia stated the high school’s goals are to improve their numbers within the Connecticut Accountability System. Principal St. James added that there are student achievement scores and percentages that play a role in the school’s goals. Principal Gagnon discussed the data that West Stafford School uses for its goals. Principal Kinel added that trend data plays a role as well.
Board member Aaron Hoffman stated he would like to see target data for academic achievement. Principal Pelliccia pointed out that the high school is not always able to report data from tests until later in the year and, therefore, isn’t able to share it with the board early in the school year. The superintendent added that the district is now focused on “rigorous goal setting” and the importance of following the same cohort of kids in their growth over the years.
Continuous Learning for All
Superintendent Moccio said there is a blending between 3A and 3B.
Kelley asked why there was a difference in the amount of learning walks for each school. Principal St. James said it largely comes down to logistics, but each educator is expected to participate at least once. Principal Pelliccia added that SHS has built the program over the years as teachers learned what to expect and that they are now looking for peer-to-peer feedback. Principal Kinel pointed out that middle school teachers participate in learning walks at the elementary and high schools to ensure they align.
Next, Bushior asked SES about the positive work environment result, which came in at around 55%, in the Stakeholder Feedback Survey. Principal St. James discussed communication and feedback as areas of growth for SES. She also discussed hosting an open-forum format meeting for staff to make it easier for staff to provide feedback on an ongoing basis.
Hoffman asked if the school does a mid-year analysis for the improvement plan. Principal St. James said that while there is no formal mid-year analysis, the schools circle back to the plan on a more ongoing basis throughout the year. Hoffman also asked for an end-of-year update on achievements as related to the improvement plans.
Toward the end of the meeting, Hoffman noted that the equity vision statement is about twice as long as the district mission statement. Saying he likes the first two sentences, he said the last sentence was a repetition of the first two sentences.
Hoffman also said that he gets calls about “polarising and divisive” terms that are used throughout the School Improvement Plan. He said he would like to “Staffordize” the language, specifically the words “equity” and “inclusivity.” For instance, he suggested changing the language on the Organizational Health slide from “Establishing educational policies and practices that value equity and inclusivity in opportunity for all members of the community” to “Educational policies and practices that forge an environment that promotes a sense of belonging for all members of the community.”
Lybarger said that by saying its “Staffordizing” the language suggests that the community is unable to understand the existing language. Hoffman again said the terms were polarizing. Moccio pointed out that the language deliberated on the language for over a year. When they look at the 2025-2028 SEF, they could reconsider if this is the template they want to move forward with, but cautioned against shying away from terms that people need a better understanding of.
Moccio pointed out that feedback given about specific curriculum that was presented to the board has been taken into account. He said, “I try to stay out of the middle of the politics because what I’m worried about getting the kids what they need, and that’s a proper education and skills so that they can be successful in the future.”
The conversation took a deeper dive into the terms. Lybarger used a common analogy to explain the difference between equity and equality, which is summed up in the graphic below:
In the context of education, equity means giving each student what they need to succeed — not necessarily the same thing as all the other students. For instance, students who are financially disadvantaged may get a waiver of transportation costs for sporting events or field trips. Students with a learning disability might get extra instruction or time to take a test.
The board approved the School Improvement unanimously. Each school’s individual School Improvement Plan is posted on its website.
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