School Committee Hears Update On FY20 Strategic Plan

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — At their recent meeting, the North Andover school committee heard updates from school district officials about the fiscal year 2020 strategic plan. Most of the deadlines are in 2020, but officials explained that a number of them have already been carried out. The plan has three overarching objectives: equity for all students, a consistent and rigorous curriculum and target professional practice.

Specific objectives include reducing class sizes, revising the five-year curriculum plan, and consistent professional development. The equity objective includes goals for specific subgroups, such as students on IEPs and English language learners. The full plan is available here and the committee's discussion is here.

Among the items that have already been achieved, the district brought in a motivational speaker to talk to the staff at the end of August, and will have another next month. Significant progress has been made at replacing technology — in grades 1-8, a district official said, there are now 1.3 students per device. And average class sizes have been reduced, from kindergarten to grade 8.

The committee also heard from Chris Nelson of North Andover Music Association, who told them that the town had been named one of the "best communities for music education."

The committee also did a first reading of a therapy dog policy. The superintendent Gregg Gilligan underscored that therapy dogs are different from service dogs, which serve a specific need. Therapy dogs are brought in during stressful times, such as after the gas explosions. The policy, which Gilligan said is "just to have a policy on the books," requires therapy dogs be certified and that the superintendent gives approval.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.