PEABODY — Center Elementary School was one of 57 schools across the Commonwealth to be named a School of Recognition, with the release of the 2024 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awards schools this recognition if they demonstrate progress toward annual accountability targets, with an emphasis on the performance of all students in the school and the school’s lowest performing students group.
Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala said this is only the third school he has worked with that has received this recognition. After looking through school records, he believes this is the first time a Peabody school has earned the recognition.
“I’m just so happy and proud of our teachers and students and all of the faculty, and happy for our families as well,” Dr. Vadala said. “It shows that their hard work and all the time and effort that they put in is really being recognized, and that’s a great sense of accomplishment.”
The MCAS scores were released to the public on Sept. 24, but he said he was given access to them on Sept. 21. “I was ecstatic,” he said.
Dr. Vadala said he called Principal Sara Almeida, who said she also received the email.
He said she told him she thought it was a scam email, but they then shared their excitement.
Almeida was the principal of Center Elementary for the past five years, but is now the principal at Brown Elementary School, because Center is closed this year for construction.
This recognition is “confirmation and validation of the work that we’ve been doing over the past five years,” Dr. Vadala said. The district has implemented new curriculums and invested in state-of-the-art curriculum materials to support teachers and provide them with training.
He said the district has also committed to small group instruction throughout all elementary schools, which allows teachers to work more closely with each student.
While this is a great accomplishment, Dr. Vadala said the work is not done.
“It helps to sort of recognize what we’ve done and where we’re going,” he said. “That, to me, is why I was so filled with pride, because it validates the work that the teachers and the leaders have done — and of course our kids and families… It shows that we should maintain this commitment.”
The district’s model of education begins with high expectations of staff and students, he said. It is supported with high-quality materials and provides teachers with professional development and support to best teach their students.
The MCAS results at the Center School are just one way the district measures success, he said.
Dr. Vadala said he sees more collaboration at all of the schools. He credits the teachers union for working with the School Committee, administration and Mayor Ted Bettencourt in fostering collaboration with the schools and incorporating collaborative learning in the teachers’ contracts.
He said it is “bittersweet” that Center’s school community is dispersed throughout the district during the school’s construction, but he hopes to celebrate with the teachers, staff, students and families in this accomplishment.
Almeida said this recognition is a “team effort” from everyone in the school because it reflects the lower chronic absenteeism numbers and measures the growth and progress from previous MCAS scores..
“I’m so proud of our whole community — our students, our colleagues, our families, just everybody who played a part in this success,” she said.
Almeida said she and her staff maximized the district’s instructional model and used their resources throughout the school year. She also credited the collaboration and small group learning as major parts toward this success.
While she said the district provides materials and resources for success, it comes down to the high-quality staff and professional development for the teachers.
“We feel really supported here,” Almeida said.
She said she hosted a Google Meet video call to bring together all of the staff and faculty from the school and share the news with them. They all shared in the excitement.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Almeida said. Center School’s recognition highlights the success of the district as a whole, especially beginning at the elementary schools.
“We’re on the right track. We’re doing great things,” she said. “We’re going to keep seeing the growth.”
