By Michael Coughlin Jr.
During the Revere School Committee’s regular meeting last week, Superintendent Dianne Kelly provided some new information concerning Rumney Marsh Academy (RMA), which was found to need assistance or intervention.
Last month, the Revere Journal reported on a school committee meeting which discussed MCAS scores and accountability data and revealed that RMA needed assistance or intervention since it ranked in the bottom 10% in performance of middle schools in the state and had low student performance in two groups: white students and students with disabilities.
At last week’s meeting, Kelly said there had been three visits with the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE).
Kelly spoke about two of those visits at last week’s committee meeting. First, there was a Zoom meeting to discuss what was already in place at the school and what may have to change. After that, there was a site visit, during which a tour of the school was given, data was collected, and discussions were held on what was seen.
In talking more about the site visit, Kelly noted that the information gleaned from that and focus groups is being used to identify goals RMA will concentrate on for the rest of the year to improve achievement.
“A lot of it is focused around literacy goals and making sure that literacy is integral to all of the classroom work that’s happening at the Rumney Marsh and also making sure that we’re holding high expectations and high standards for all kids in all classrooms at all times,” said Kelly.
While the goal identification process is ongoing, Kelly mentioned that DESE representatives will observe and collect information every two weeks.
“They’re very much serving as partners to the Rumney Marsh team and not so much as instructors. They recognize the teachers and the staff at the Rumney have a skillset and an expertise already. It’s about amplifying the things that are working well and making sure they have time to share those things with each other,” said Kelly.
“That’s been going very well. I know the team at DESE is happy with the level of participation and feels like people are open-minded and receptive to the ideas of change.”
Following Kelly’s brief update, there was only one comment from a school committee member. Specifically, Stacey Bronsdon-Rizzo echoed Kelly’s point that she heard there has been a collaborative effort between DESE and the RMA team, calling it “very productive” and “very helpful.”
For those interested in viewing the school committee meeting in its entirety, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IuKsMK9DKk&t=2s.
