is for

Anthony

RODRIGUEZ

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

1 YEAR TERM

Tori Todd – In support of Anthony Rodriguez for School Committee

To the Town of Dedham –

Recently the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released their “Student Outcome Comparison Tool,” with data pages for each district in the state comparing MCAS achievement data - as well as other important metrics such as chronic absenteeism, 9th grade pass rates, dropout rates, and out-of-school suspension rates - to the “all students” state average. The database offers this data disaggregated by multiple demographics, including grade level, race, and income level. What the data shows for Dedham is that despite the general town opinion that our schools are good schools, staffed with excellent teachers, our schools are failing our most vulnerable populations. I will break down the data below, but you can also explore the database yourself at this address: https://www.doe.mass.edu/soa/resources.html (scroll down to click “Student Outcome Comparison Tool”).

The tool color codes areas in dark red to signify a significant disparity from the state average. Dedham is dark red for chronic absenteeism of Low-Income Students and Hispanic/Latino students, with 40% of these demographic groups respectively being chronically absent. Dedham is dark red for the percentage of 9th graders passing the grade (state average = 77.4% passing) in the demographics of English Learners (66.7% passing), Students With Disabilities (our lowest, and the biggest disparity, at 54.5% passing), African-American/Black Students (66.7% passing), and students who identify as Multi-Race (66.7% passing). Our dropout rates for Low-Income Students and Students With Disabilities are dark red, at 3% respectively (compared to 0% for other demographics). We are also dark red for MCAS achievement for Students With Disabilities in both ELA and Math in 8th grade, with only 2% achieving “meeting or exceeding” scores in ELA (state average = 43%) and only 7% in Math (state average = 48%). For all of these categories – chronic absenteeism, suspensions, 9th grade pass rates, and MCAS achievement, we are dark or light red (meaning we are below the state “all students” average) for all demographic groups except white students. For white students, we are meeting or exceeding the “all students” state averages in all reported categories. This data undeniably shows significant inequities in our district. These inequities must be immediately addressed.

Let me be clear - none of these data indicate anything negative about the individual students or faculty at our schools, or about any demographic groups. These inequities are not the fault of our students. But this data does indicate that the way our school system was designed and currently operates is not serving our current students. This challenge is not unique to Dedham; all American public schools face this challenge. It is a problem, though, that resistance to change is stopping our town from better serving our students. We cannot continue to allow our schools to serve some and not all.

My professional work centers around school belonging, and student agency/engagement. There is a huge body of research and knowledge that demonstrates the link between student engagement and achievement, and students’ feelings of belonging at school (with “belonging” meaning one feels like a valued and included member of the school community). What Dedham’s data indicates - particularly the chronic absenteeism rates - is that our schools are not currently welcoming and inclusive spaces for all students. We have to create physical spaces, and a district culture, in our public schools that make all members of our school community feel welcomed, valued, and included.

While I have no doubt that Dedham Public Schools employs exemplary teachers – and, in fact, the teacher evaluation data shows a majority of teachers are evaluated as “proficient” or above – our data leaves no question that while we are serving some students, we are not serving all students. It is no surprise to me that Students With Disabilities are currently the group with the most significant gaps, as most of our school buildings have crumbling infrastructure that is inaccessible. We clearly have work to do in our teaching methods, culture, climate, infrastructure, and student supports to fix such clear and glaring disparities.

In April the town will hold an election for school committee. There are two candidates running for a 1-year school committee term - only one of these candidates, Anthony Rodriguez, understands and prioritizes fixing the current inequities impacting Dedham Public Schools. Anthony’s platform focuses on making our schools more inclusive, improving our building infrastructure, and putting Dedham back on the map as a competitive district in Massachusetts. This town has spent too much time believing that Dedham schools are fine as they are and don’t need to change. The data disagrees. We have the chance as a town to make changes that enhance the educational experience for all of our students. Anthony Rodriguez is the candidate who will help get us there. Anthony has my vote. I hope you will give him yours as well.

Tori Todd