41 Obery Street
THE EAGLE Plymouth North High School Plymouth, Massachusetts
October 2019
The second phase of the NEASC Accreditation process begins this week By Oliver Trask
For the last few years, Plymouth North High School has been preparing for the most important visit in a decade. The time has come for North to undergo accreditation, the process by which the school is examined and determined to be giving the students a sufficient education. An organization called NEASCCPSS, or the New England Association of Schools and Colleges Committee on Public Secondary Schools is in charge of this evaluation. “We are not here to inspect,” said Visiting Team Chair Kevin McNamara. Rather, they’re here to help North become the best it can at preparing students for their lives beyond North’s walls. The Visiting Team will outline areas where North can improve in phase three of the process. The first part, the self-reflective study, wrapped up this year in preparation for phase two, the on-site evaluation taking place this week. For the next few days, officials from NEASC will get a hands on experience with our school, determine its strengths and weaknesses, and the best way to go forward to make sure North excels under the set guidelines. The Visiting Team will put together a report outlining plans for multi-year, long term improvement. McNamara said he wants North to “feel like [they] can be open and honest,” so they can gain as much as they can. North Teachers Allison Pickens and Geoffery Anstatt are the Steering Committee Co-Chairs for the NEASC Accreditation Process. They were in charge of
managing all the steps of the self study and the visit itself. Pickens and Anstatt have been working on the self study for over two years now. “Most schools, they don’t necessarily take that long, but because we had a transition from one principal to another, we extended it so we would have time to do everything we needed to do,” said Anstatt. Principal Peter Parcellin joined the Plymouth North administrative team halfway through the preparations for the accreditation. Parcellin said, “At Taunton High School, where I was before, we had just completed the accreditation process, so I was able to see the completion of the cycle at my old school, and come in to the completion of a cycle here.” Every staff member in the school has played some hand in preparing for the Visiting Team’s arrival this week. “Our greatest resource has been the support of the administration. Everyone has been on board with viewing the
whole NEASC process as an opportunity for self reflection and growth, and as a positive thing,” said Pickens. “We’ve really benefited from having that as a school-wide attitude the last two and a half years.” “It’s been a lot of meetings, and a lot of constructive conversations about who we are as a school. Everyone was really open and honest and willing to participate throughout the whole process, and this made the self-study extremely valuable,” said Anstatt. There are three major themes that NEASC will be looking for in North’s evaluation. The first is the desire to see North fostering a culture of learning. “When I see all the success in the building, and I try to recognize that. I see that as us achieving our mission, and allowing [students] to thrive,” said Parcellin. The Visiting Team also want to see North show a growth mindset and a
willingness to improve in areas we might not yet hit the mark in. Joyce Edwards, Visiting Team Assistant Chair, said they want the report to feel “supportive and constructive.” The purpose of NEASC is to improve education across the board- not to tear down schools who fall short. Finally, they want North to be focused on the vision of the graduate, and what skills are given to kids to best prepare them for wherever life after high school could take them. “We’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about student work,” said Parcellin. “Talking about types of learning we want to have in classrooms, and talking about the different types of instruction we want to do.”
SEE NEASC PAGE 3
MCAS results show significant growth Plymouth North jumps from having an overall 14% of progress towards improvement to 58% By Meiling Xiong
Last year, students around the state took the Next-Gen MCAS which realigned the previous exam to fit a revised curriculum which measures readiness for success in college/careers after high school. Additionally, the assessment at the 10th grade level was given for the first time electronically on Chromebooks. In late September, results were made public and Plymouth North showed improvement overall based on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) accountability report. From each year’s MCAS results, the DESE accountability report measures
New in the District:
Dr. Gary Maestas announces his retirement and reflects on his time as Superintendent Page 3
each district and school’s performance against their improvement target. 2019’s accountability report shows a significant change from 2018 to 2019. “The big shift is that we went from declining or not meeting targets last year to meeting or exceeding most targets this year,” said Principal Mr. Peter Parcellin. Plymouth North jumped from having an overall 14% of progress towards improvement to 58% this year. Plymouth South also improved from 40% to 54%. Both high schools changed from “Partially Meeting Target” to “Moderate progress towards target.” Based on this report, progress and improvements made by both schools were obvious. “Our kids are working hard and doing great things. These reports reflect a more accurate picture of what they are doing,” said Mr. Parcellin. While accountability reports were
raised, independent student scores declined. “Compared to last year, scores in general were lower because the test was more difficult,” said Dr. Lisa White, Plymouth Public Schools’ English Language Arts Coordinator.
In an effort to match the state assessment with the raised standards of the curriculum, the 10th grade Next-Gen MCAS asked students to meet increased expectations.
In the Community:
Student Life:
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Learn about the renovation made to the planetarium in PCIS
Students learn how to improve their physical and mental health
SEE MCAS PAGE 8