LYNN — Lynn Classical High School is in the midst of implementing its state-required “turnaround plan,” but a recent report shows the school has already made improvements in its classroom experience since last year.
The “Schoolwide Instructional Observational Report” was based on a targeted site visit conducted last month by four certified observers from the American Institutes for Research (AIR).
Classical was rated on four major components of the classroom experience: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, Instructional Support, and Student Engagement, which was based on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) for the secondary grades.
The report shows the school made improvements in all four categories over a site visit conducted in the 2018-19 school year, based on the average scores from the 34 classrooms observed.
“This report offers a snapshot of the forward progress Lynn Classical is making,” said Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “Clearly evident … is the fact that there was improvement in every domain on the last progress monitoring visit. Classical is improving.”
Classical ranks in the “middle range” for each category based on a 1-7 scale, performing highest on classroom organization, which includes behavior management, productivity and negative climate; and lowest on instructional support, which includes content understanding, analysis and inquiry, and instructional dialogue.
The observers praised Classical for having a positive climate in the classroom, which includes well-behaved, respectful and productive students. However, the observers commented that student engagement was mixed across classrooms and the opportunities for students to engage in higher order thinking or cognitively challenging tasks are inconsistent within and across classrooms.
The observations are part of Classical’s school improvement planning process. A grant the school received to support turnaround planning last year provides funding for third-party progress monitoring.
Lynn Classical was required to develop a turnaround plan, submitted last June, because the school has been identified as “requiring assistance,” from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
The school is among the lowest 10 percent of performing schools in the state based on its 2019 accountability results, which evaluates schools on criteria that includes MCAS scores, high school completion, progress toward English language proficiency and chronic absenteeism.
Classical was also identified for its low performance among economically disadvantaged students, English Language Learners (ELLs), former ELLs, and students with high needs.
Tutwiler said Classical’s turnaround plan outlined the development of an instructional leadership team, which consists of teachers and administrators who meet bi-weekly with an aim of improving classroom instructional practices.
“Ultimately there is an effort to ensure that lessons meet the depth of the instructional standard and exemplify academic demand,” said Tutwiler. “From a research standpoint, the quality and rigor of instruction is at the core of any improvement initiative.”
The plan also includes an effort to increase and expand access to early college courses, increase professional development, and improve the school’s culture and climate by increasing mental health support.
For the latter, the school has implemented Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition (BRYT), which helps students transition back into their classes after a hospitalization for a mental disorder.The plan calls for the implementation of the YouthHarbors program, which aims to support homeless students, who are at a high risk of dropping out of high school, by providing assistance with food and housing, Tutwiler said.
Every turnaround plan calls for “specific, quantifiable outcomes,” said Tutwiler, noting that the state expects schools that submit a plan will see improvements in its accountability results, such as increased graduation rates, advanced coursework completion and achievement, and decreased dropout and chronic absenteeism rates.
Two other schools that have been identified as requiring assistance, Washington S.T.E.M. Elementary School and Thurgood Marshall Middle School are developing turnaround plans. Washington is among the lowest performing 10 percent of schools and Thurgood Marshall was identified for its low Asian subgroup performance.
