Strategic Plan Status Report 2025-2026

Curriculum: 

Examine Structures of Coherence, Horizontal, and Vertical Alignment

• Continue to refine as  curriculum cycles evolve in conjunction with academic subjects

Ongoing

Director of Teaching Learning and Technology (TLT), Curriculum Coordinators, and Principals

• Elementary Curriculum Committees established and met
• Instructional Leadership Team Meetings focused on vertical alignment and horizontal coherence
• Leadership team walkthroughs leveraged common look-fors aligned with UDL and best practice
• All schools conducted learning walks 
• Peer observations completed at both elementary schools
• K-12 Literacy:
  • Focus on writing coherence K-5 during Elementary Early Release Days
  • ELA department adjusted grammar expectations grades 6 - 8 to better align to state standards.  
  • Examined writing approach 6-12 and prioritized areas for increased vertical alignment and coherence
  • High School English department to increase cohesion, horizontal alignment and increase common assessments with a focus on 9th and 10th grade classes.
• Reviewed pacing guides for middle school exploratory classes to ensure they aligned with standards and counterparts on grade level teams.

Curriculum-related technology

• Identify, monitor, and evaluate assessment tools used 

1-2

Director of TLT

• Identified and inventoried curriculum-related technology, with the intent to evaluate current assessment tools
• Conducted survey to better understand app usage and value
• Launched a digital literacy tool to make appropriate modifications to lessons, assignments and assessments to meet individual student needs at the middle school

Assessment and Grading

• Define, communicate, integrate, and implement Tier 1, 2, and 3 instruction and support at all levels

1-4

Dir. of TLT, Dir. of Student Services (SS), building principals, coordinators at all levels

• Norwell Tiered Systems of Support (NTSS) was a recurring topic on leadership team, student support team, elementary instructional leadership team, and high school faculty meetings, elementary Tier II, faculty, and data meetings, and middle school grade-level teams
• Completed the American Institutes for Research Integrated Multi-Tiered Fidelity Rubric as a leadership team; principals completed the rubric with each respective faculty
• Established NTSS committees at the middle and high school to define current practices, resources, and interventions
  • Middle School: revised NTSS document, surveyed staff, received feedback, reviewed at staff meetings and grade level meetings to align procedural understanding and support.
  • High School: NTSS committee met regularly to identify tier 1, 2 and 3 instructions for both academic and social emotional support. Updates were provided at faculty meetings and teachers had the opportunity to provide feedback. 

• Review Common Assessments options and implementation

• K-5 and 6-12 options

1-3

Dir. of TLT, building principals, coordinators at all levels

• Elementary screeners and diagnostics analyzed for tiered intervention;  K-3 Fundations unit tests
• Created and updated common assessment to ensure vertical alignment by subject; 6- 12 coordinators oversaw and utilized data to inform instruction 

Student Well-Being/Social Emotional Support

• Establish communications and procedures to inform teachers about  specific student needs 
• Review and articulate current NTSS systems at each level  
• Identify gaps and opportunities for data collection, interventions, and training for all staff
• Recommend evidence-based interventions

1-3

Directors of SS, TLT, support services staff

• Established NTSS committees at each level to define current practices, resources, and interventions
• NTSS was a recurring topic on leadership team, student support team, elementary instructional leadership team, and high school faculty meetings, elementary Tier II, faculty, and data meetings, and middle school grade-level teams
• Draft document articulating Tier I/II/III systems at each level, to be public-facing and to be shared in the fall of 2026
• Implemented K-5 SEL Curriculum (Second Step)
• Reviewed data from Fastbridge and MCAS at all team level meetings, as well as social emotional data (Panorama, MySAEBRS, VOCAL).
• Staff Meetings 2025-2026 at Vinal with focus on Office Referral Forms
• School Improvement Plan at Cole with focus on SEL and student behavior in 2026-2027
• NMS – Revised NTSS document, surveyed staff, received feedback, reviewed at staff meetings and grade level meetings.  
• Reviewed data from Fastbridge and MCAS at all team level meetings, as well as social emotional data (Panorama, MySAEBRS, VOCAL).  Utilizing the NTSS document as a guide to create student plans and support.
• Established a new Child Study Team (CST) referral process at the high school
• Initiated the RULER Study: Yale Department of Emotional Intelligence. 

Student

Technology Wellness

• Do a Screen Time Audit at each level (Elementary, Middle, High)

• Create a committee to gather data
• Develop a system to assess how much time students are spending on screens by subject
• Communicate results to pertinent stakeholders

1-3

Central Office administrator,

principal from each level, teacher representation

• Completed Screen Time Audits at all schools. Data gathered was analyzed to ensure the intentional, meaningful use of screens in the classroom. 
• Pilot a management platform that monitors usage by application

• Monitor and evaluate digital education apps for efficacy, usage, and student privacy

1-3

Director of TLT

• Established an inventory of current apps, platforms, and assessments
• Pilot a management platform that monitors screentime use by application and has a repository of data privacy agreements (DPA)
• Researched and identified the Student Data Privacy Alliance, engaged in initial discussion about their services

Planning/Scheduling

• Develop a task team to review start times and bus schedule options in order to:

• unify MS and HS Meeting time after school
• Streamline PD scheduled hours on Half Day PD days

1-4

Dir. of Operations, Finance, and Technology (OFT),

Principals all levels

• Created a process to address this with plans to continue the work in the future
• Investigated professional development schedule throughout the year, dependent on school start schedules

Portrait of a Student Graduate/Learner

• Create a committee to consider what this looks like for NPS

• Schedule meetings
• Actualize the “portrait”

1-5

Leadership Team, Coordinators, and teachers at all levels

• Renamed Portrait of a Student to Vision of a Learner
• Developed a process and structure to engage stakeholders in developing a Vision of a Learner, including representatives from elementary, middle, and high school. Timeline of implementation established for 26-27 school year
• Representatives from the leadership team attended a training on developing a Vision of a Learner
• Multiple high school faculty participated in the DESE MyCAP conference, related to DESE Vision of a Learner goal

Time on Learning

• Form a teacher committee from all levels to identify events that may impact classroom learning time; 
• Make recommendations to building principals for review and possible adjustments

1-2

Teacher Committee

• NHS Faculty Senate reviewed and made recommendations to administrative team as it relates to schedules, special events and time on learning
• Adjusted beginning-of-year activities schoolwide assemblies as well as student leadership opportunities 

Professional Development

• Establish a standing committee to determine the specific roll out of PD topics on a yearly basis

1-5

Dir. of TLT, building admin, teacher representatives from all building levels

• All teachers invited to participate in the district’s Professional Development Committee (PDC).
• PDC conducted an annual needs assessment and reported findings back to all faculty and staff. 
• The districtwide professional development initiative focused upon the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for all district staff. Four half days devoted to all faculty training by LessonCast, a nationally recognized UDL professional developer. 
• Teachers were given time to enhance lessons and units, collaborate with one another, and share how implementation was working in their classrooms.
• Initial plans were developed to show how UDL strengthens the Tier I aspect of our Norwell Tiered System of Support (NTSS). For more information please visit the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines™ version 3.0.
• The high school organized a teacher-led professional development session on artificial intelligence (AI). 

Facilities

• New High School

• Complete Module 1 MSBA
• Complete Feasibility Study
• Make recommendations to Town for approval

1-4

School Building Committee

• Module 1 complete. Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has been approved. 
• The feasibility study phase has now begun with the Owners Project Manager (OPM) Request for Services (RFS) process.

• Furniture cycle

• All district furniture was updated in 2000-2002
• Create a cycle to address outdated furniture

1-5

Dir. of OFT

Principals

• An article was approved in the May ‘25 town meeting to start the furniture cycle. 
• Budget lines for instructional equipment were increased to facilitate the cycle moving forward.
• Elementary purchased additional bookshelves and classroom furniture as needed
• Norwell Middle School ordered additional student desks and chairs to accommodate enrollment increase (class of 2032)