BACK TO SCHOOL 2011: Lincoln School

Before the school year even started, the had something to celebrate: Based on last year's MCAS scores, the school met federal progress benchmarks for all students in all subgroups, in both English-Language Arts and math—something that hasn't happened since 2007.

The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires schools to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which uses standardized test scores to measure students' progress towards meeting the federal goal of having all students test as proficient in reading and math by 2014.

Principal Brent Conway said that based on the school's preliminary MCAS results, the school made AYP and had positive gains in its Composite Performance Index (CPI)—which measures students progress towards proficiency—on the MCAS in all grades in every category.

In particular, Conway said, the school saw gains in special education, with more than a 10-point CPI increase in English-Language Arts and more than an eight-point increase in math.

"I think a lot of the work we’ve done over the last three to four years, the practice of inclusionary support—the co-teaching model that we use—we knew that when we initially did it, some kids would actually struggle a little bit more than they were," Conway said, "because they had been out of the classroom for two to three years receiving their instruction and we were putting them back in.

"We were supporting them, but there was going to be a gap that needed to be filled, and it was going to take a little bit of time, and there was going to be a professional gap as well from the teachers," he continued. "They have learned and figured out how to make it work and we’re closing the performance gap for students at this point, which is good. That’s exciting news."

Because the school has to make AYP for two years in a row to removed from "improvement status," and because the Lincoln School receives Title I funds, the Lincoln will still have to offer school choice and supplemental education services this year, as well as meet all the paperwork and communication requirements, such as a letter that goes home to parents notifying them of the school choice option of having their child attend a different school.

"But the letter reads very differently this year," Conway said, smiling.

SMART Board training, science kits and a remodeled math curriculum.

Along with the SMART Board interactive whiteboards that were installed in every elementary classroom across the city this summer, the city spent $100,000 on a two-year contracted technology integrator for the school district. That integrator, Mark Kelsey, ran a series of training sessions for Melrose teachers this summer, hosted at the Lincoln School, Conway said.

Conway also highlighted the full implementation of the FOSS science kits in elementary classrooms across the district this year, and a reworked and remodeled math curriculum that aligns to the .

"It's still the same math book, but we've had to re-sequence some of the different elements in each grade—things we were starting to look at anyways," he said. "Then the Common Core gave us a good framework to do that work in. So when you put those together (SMART Boards, science kits and math curriculum), you’re really looking at a lot of initiatives around STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics."

21st century skills: not just technology-related

Conway said those STEM initiatives and the inquiry-based, hands-on involvement of the interactive whiteboards and FOSS science kits ties in with the 21st century skills that emphasize higher-order thinking skills and problem solving, rather than memorizing a set of facts and being able to repeat them.

"People mistake 21st century skills as technology and it’s not," he said. "Twenty-first century skills are much more about developing thinkers who are able to utilize the technology tools that are available to advance different projects, to answer questions, to be inquiry-based in their methods."

Literacy also takes on a different meaning these days, Conway said, as schools strive to teach children to be digitally literate. For example, he pointed out how"we can't write five paragraph emails anymore—people don't read them." Instead, people look for bullet points, short pieces of information, and links to outside information. Kids are digesting information more and more in that manner, Conway said, and that fast pace requires students to learn how to adapt quickly and think on their feet.

"It’s our job at the elementary level to prepare them to be 21st century thinkers and be able to adapt," he said. "We can’t teach them the technology. Because we’re never going to keep up with the technology. You need to teach them to have the thinking skills so they can learn the technology on their own.

"Our teachers will be a step ahead of the kids with the SMART Boards—until about November," he added, laughing. "And that’s OK, that’s what’s cool. The teachers will know something, bring the kids to it, so they’ll be a step ahead and the moment they bring the kids to it, the kids will jump ahead of them when it comes to technology."