The Latest School Committee Highlights 8-28-2023 Meeting
On August 28, 2023, the School Committee met for its regular meeting and voted to approve updates to the elementary handbook, the middle school handbook, the high school handbook, the athletic handbook, and the policy IKF Graduation Requirements for the 2023-2024 school year. The Graduation Requirements policy is now in alignment with the high school handbook.
The Committee also voted to approve updates to Policy BDFA School Councils. Some key additions to this policy in alignment with regulations and DESE guidance are as follows:
- The school principal serves as the co-chair of the council & the second co-chair will be elected annually by the council members at its first meeting of the school.
- The recognized local parent/teacher organization will hold annual elections by the end of the first term each year to select parent members.
- The school council shall meet at least four times during the school year.
- All school council meetings shall conform to the Open Meeting Law.
Capital Projects Update
Superintendent Burkhead thanked our many town and school employees including our custodial and facilities departments and the town DPW who have worked hard to make so many projects happen this summer. Superintendent Burkhead also thanked the school committee, the town administrator, our finance director, the capital planning committee, and the community for continuing to support capital projects which directly improve the quality of education we provide our students. He introduced our Director of Business & Finance, Tom Raab, to share the many capital items that have been completed over the summer in preparation for the new school year. These projects include:
- Speed humps and new parking lines completed at the Gates/High School campus
- New roof and gutters completed at Jenkins
- New classroom floors at Wampatuck
- Repaved parking lots and sidewalks at Wampatuck
- New Hallway floors at Scituate High School
- Sealed roof at Scituate High School
Advanced Placement Summary
Assistant Superintendent Driscoll shared an overview of Scituate High School's Advanced Placement results from the spring 2023 exams. Scituate High School will be going into their third year of partnership with Mass Insight an organization focused on supporting schools with professional development, regional Saturday support sessions, and formal practice exams to:
- Increase Participation
- Increase Performance
- Increase College Success
Scituate High School is continuously moving forward to expand access to rigorous coursework and saw a significant jump in students taking advantage of Advanced Placement courses during the 2023-2024 school year. It is notable that even with increased participation, the percentage of AP students earning at least one 3 or better remained steady at 78%. Math continues to be an area of focus for improvement in student achievement and expanded participation. Expanding participation in World Languages and Fine Arts is also a focus area for this year.
Notable Advanced Placement Achievements
- AP Environmental Science students dropped average achievement by nearly .5 of a point (3.25 to 2.81) but increased enrollment from 4 students (FY22) to 52 students (FY23) and is anticipating 99 students in the fall of 2024.
- AP Computer Science A students' average score of 4 is the highest average in at least five years.
- AP Human Geography students earned an average score of 3.53 in its first year being offered at SHS and is anticipating doubling enrollment in the fall of 2024 to about 60 students.
- AP English Literature and Composition students eared the highest average (3.48) in at least 5 years other than the 2020 take home exam (3.58)
- AP Spanish Language & Culture students' average score (3.9) exceeds state (3.59) and global averages (3.58)
For more information, please review the slides below.
Resource Links
To view the full School Committee meeting please visit the Scituate Community Television (SCTV) YouTube Channel.
SPS School Committee: Members, policies and procedures and future meeting dates with agendas are posted as they become available.
Get notified when news, events and important alerts are published. Download Scituate Public Schools mobile app for parents and caregivers. From your mobile device, download it here:
