In Pittsfield, state education chief tracks student achievement

By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Posted: 04/03/2012 12:15:20 PM EDT

Updated: 04/03/2012 12:28:01 PM EDT

Tuesday April 3, 2012

PITTSFIELD -- State Education Secretary Paul Reville visited Pittsfield on Monday, the latest stop on his tour of schools located in Massachusetts' 24 "Gateway Cities."

Reville was invited by the city to visit Reid Middle School, where he was joined by Superintendent of Schools Howard "Jake" Eberwein III, state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, state representatives Tricia Farley-Bouvier and Paul W. Mark, and Pittsfield Mayor Daniel L. Bianchi.

Together, they discussed the five goals in Gov. Deval Patrick's Gateway Cities Education Agenda that have been identified to help close achievement gaps among students in the 24 targeted municipal urban areas.

The goals include:

-- Getting every child to read at a level of proficiency by third grade.

-- Providing every child, particularly students in poverty, with interventions that will reduce the risk factors challenging their education.

-- Providing academic and social support services for English language learners (ELL students) to help them better access an education.

-- Creating career and college readiness programs and employer partnerships with schools.

-- Creating a fund through public and private investment to promote research for and the development of 21st-century education strategies and applications.

"We tried to show the secretary our processes for closing achievement gaps and showcase ways in which we are preparing all students for success," said Reid Principal Morgan Williams in a written statement.

At Reid, Williams said Reville visited a team of seventh-grade teachers who work in all areas of the curriculum, including special education, to discuss best practice models, use of data to drive instruction, including ELL performance, and individual student achievement and growth protocols. Reville also reviewed and said he was impressed by the use of technology with instruction in the school.

In January, Patrick announced this agenda as well as a proposal for $10 million that would allow these initiatives to be invested into the fiscal 2013 budget.

Williams said that these strategies have yielded significant improvements at the school from increased student performance to a more positive school climate.

"We see deep problems in our achievement gaps. Not only is it our moral obligation to serve students better, but it's also in our economic interest," said Reville during a meeting later on Monday with The Eagle's editorial board.

He said that though the state has been focused on instructional changes since a sweeping education reform law was passed in 1993, the state lacked a strong plan for implementation.

"We need to see how programs can work together more collaboratively and effectively," he said.

Other areas of improvement Reville identified include providing more connections between schools; social services and homeless families; using metrics to track, analyze and replicate student successes; convening more employers to help a systemwide approach to supporting vocational education; and exposing students to career and college opportunities at an earlier age.