LYNN — Superintendent of Schools Dr. Evonne Alvarez provided a review of the district’s improvement over the past year to the school committee at its meeting on Thursday.
Dr. Alvarez said the district is evaluating and developing operational efficiency — what the district needs to properly support its teachers and leaders.
“We trust our teachers as professionals and we know that the resources that they have is the vehicle to teach the standard,” she said. “What do they need as far as staff development is concerned?”
In terms of parent and community engagement, she said the district has increased the number of professional translators who can communicate with parents, particularly in regards to legal documents.
Dr. Alvarez also said they submitted an application to the Magnet Schools Assistance Program Grant which would support building out the design of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math academy to Classical and English High Schools.
“We’re really looking at how we can bring high technology and artificial intelligence into our classrooms,” she added.
Dr. Alvarez said the special education team took IEP compliance from 67% in August 2023 to 96% in May.
Another feat was the school committee approved 10 policy changes in the past year, which she said was a “hefty task, but necessary because some of those policies had been hindering progress for some students.”
She particularly highlighted how the committee approved the removal of a policy which lowered a student’s grade to a D- if they received a certain number of absences.
Alvarez also highlighted a protective sweeps policy implemented in the last year, which allows administrators to conduct random searches of students.
“I have seen the difference between the tone and behavior of our students,” she said. “They are expecting of themselves. Nothing but excellence. And those students who are making mistakes, they are using restorative practices, using outside services and going through all the steps they need to be supported.”
Alvarez said the district had 53 openings for student-facing teachers since the beginning of the school year, but that it has been 96% staffed. She added the district has increased the number of professionals of color in its staff by 3%.
Mayor Jared Nicholson said the committee will have until Oct. 1 to evaluate Alvarez based on the goals it set last year. The committee will vote on an official evaluation at its Oct. 10 meeting.
The committee also voted 7-1 to approve a dual language report card for 4th grade, with member Lorraine Gately being the opposing vote.
The dual language report card would present the standards-based evaluations in both Spanish and English.
“The report card functions in being able to communicate with families how students are performing in the classroom,” Deputy Superintendent Molly Cohen said.
