CPS Superintendent Victoria Greer Highlights Goals for High-Needs Students in Upcoming Annual Plan

Superintendent Victoria L. Greer announced her drafted goals for the upcoming Superintendent’s Annual Plan, highlighting chronic student absenteeism, student success planning, and academic achievement at a School Committee meeting Tuesday night.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses a five-step cycle for continuous district improvement, where superintendents across the Commonwealth are instructed to evaluate their district yearly and respond to needs or shortcomings. Greer’s drafted proposals represent the second step in the process of “Analysis, Goal Setting, and Plan Development.”

In total, Greer presented five drafted goals for the School Committee’s review. These include “Chronic Absenteeism,” “Academic Achievement,” “Learning Walks,” “ELT Checks and Balances,” “Superintendent Family/Caregiver and Community Advisory Council,” and “Student Success Planning.”

School Committee member Alfred B. Fantini said Greer’s goals for the upcoming year are “similar to the goals we had this year,” specifically citing chronic absenteeism and academic achievement. He also noted, however, that the number of goals had decreased from the prior year’s annual report.

“Last year, there were goals regarding RSTA, assessable college, and career paths,” he said, referring to the Rindge School of Technical Arts. “So last year we had nine goals — so you’ve cut the goal back to five?”

Greer said she “overshot” the number of Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommended goals last year, and reduced the quantity this year as a “focused and intentional” effort to “move us forward.”

“It’s not really about the number of goals that you have — it’s about the depth of the goal, and what the actual work is, and what your action plans are, and how you’re moving the work, and are those goals aligned to get areas of greatest need,” she said. “Our data shows that academic achievement for our high-needs students and chronic absenteeism are still two areas of student improvement.”

Focusing on her student learning goal for academic achievement, Greer said this year’s plan differs from 2022 in that it specifically focuses on the achievement of high-needs students.

“The difference between the student learning goal around academics is last year, I did not focus on high-needs students — I just focused on overall performance,” she said. “This year, I’m focusing on high-needs students — the data is being measured on how we are actually addressing the achievement gap.”

Specifically, Greer’s goal regarding high-needs students promises that by June 2024, “high-needs students in grades 3-8 will exceed typical growth (100+) in Math and Reading as evidenced by the iReady Benchmark Assessments.”

School Committee member David J. Weinstein highlighted the specificity of the goal’s language, asking Greer if she has a “growth benchmark in mind for students who were not defined as high needs.”

In response, Greer said that while the district remains cognizant of the success of all students, her goal only includes high-needs students.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re not focusing on our students — it’s just that my particular goal isn’t focused on that,” she said.

Fantini also raised concerns that universal pre-K was no longer listed as a district goal for the upcoming annual plan, asking if the absence meant Greer was “assuming that that’s done”.

“No, we’re never done with universal preschool – there’s no way that I’d have a goal for everything I work on in the course of the day, even in the course of a week,” she said. “We launch it next year, so maybe in ’24-’25 — if I’m still superintendent — then that potentially could be a goal.”

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.