Welcome to the launch of the monthly 2024-2025 Teaching and Learning Newsletter! We are excited to share information from the following departments:

Each department works collaboratively to develop coherence in support of the District’s Instructional Priority; If student-centered educators utilize intentional lesson design that includes clear objectives, strategies, scaffolds, and extensions based on individual profiles of students (IEP needs, Language Proficiency levels, various data points) to provide access to grade-level Tier I instruction for all students, especially students who are dually identified, then students will be able to master priority grade-level literacy standards and communicate their progress and how their work supports their growth and achievement. An intentional focus on the priority and the named subgroups focuses efforts on closing the opportunity gap while providing high-quality instruction for all students.

The Holiday Season is upon us, and as we bring the 2024 year to an end, we take a look back at the incredible work of our FPS team. Our educators, department heads, school leaders, and staff have engaged in wonderful work to bring new curriculum into their teaching portfolio. As our district team has visited schools and classrooms, there is an air of excitement and engagement among students and staff focused on a variety of new materials. We recognize the effort it takes to implement new curriculum and thank you for your collaboration, planning, and reflection. This month's newsletter will showcase some of those efforts that are taking place across the district, and we look forward to more to come as the second half of the year unfolds.

The November election provided the opportunity for voters to decide whether MCAS testing should be used as a Competency Determination for graduation. The outcome of that vote was that MCAS will not be used as a competency determination for graduation. MCAS will still be a required assessment for all students as there is no opt out opportunity. The results will continue to be used in the calculation of accountability ratings for each school including proficiency levels, growth and participation. 

In terms of graduation, each graduating senior must meet competency determination and Framingham Public Schools’ course requirements as outlined in the Program of Studies for Framingham High School in order to be eligible for graduation. For those that have passed MCAS in English Language Arts, Math and Science in high school that competency determination has been met. For those that have not as of the November retest administration, the district will be reviewing each student’s records to determine if a comparable competency determination has been met through aligned coursework. The process to determine coursework that satisfies competency determination for those who have yet to meet a qualifying score on MCAS will begin when we return from break and will prioritize the members of the Class of 2025. We will share additional updates on this process when we return in January.  

We are applying through the Department of

Elementary and Secondary Education to add

Dual Language programs at Fuller and

Cameron!

All students in the Framingham Public Schools that are identified as English Learners/Emergent Bilingual will participate in the ACCESS tests from January 6 to February 14, 2025. 

Please review the Department of Multilingual Education Caregiver Smores by level below:

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has released the testing windows for the Spring 2025 MCAS Administration. The guidelines are below. Each of the respective schools in FPS are identifying the specific dates for testing in each grade and will release the schedules in the upcoming month.

Test Administration

ELA Session 1 March 25

ELA Session 2 March 26

Mathematics Session 1 May 20

Mathematics Session 2 May 21

Last date for all make-up testing  

ELA: April 3     Math: May 28

June 4 - High School Science Session 1

June 5 - High School Science Session 2

June 12 - Last date for all make-up testing

Grades 1-8: January 15 - February 14

Elefante Letrado → Portuguese Dual Language Programs 

February 1 - 7th, 2025

IStation → Spanish Dual Language Programs

February 1 - 7th, 2025

Since 2020, FHS has offered AP Research, the final course in the AP Capstone program, which begins with AP Seminar.  In AP Research, students design and carry out a year-long investigation in a discipline of their choice, during which they review the existing body of knowledge on the topic, determine a gap in the field, and gather and analyze original data to answer their research question.  FHS's current AP Research cohort recently successfully defended their research proposals before the FPS Internal Review Board to have their research plans approved for ethical compliance.  The current cohort's areas of research are wide ranging. They range from an inquiry into the effects of the rise in music streaming on listeners' social relationships with music, to an inquiry into the effects of imposter syndrome for first-generation Latinx college students on their academic performance. We are very proud of their work!

Please join the Elementary Sage Department at our second annual Puzzle Night.

Whether you’re a puzzle master or just want to try something new, come join us for a night of fun, laughter, and problem-solving. Bring an old puzzle to trade at our puzzle swap! We can’t wait to see you there!

Let’s puzzle together and make lasting family memories! 🌟

Over the course of the last two weeks our K - 5 educators have been engaging in backwards planning sessions in preparation for the upcoming module. This opportunity allowed them to work with their grade level team and spend some time talking to grade level counterparts across the district. There was an overwhelming response in our feedback that this time was incredibly valued in order to continue towards invested use of our HQIM. We thank everyone for the engagement and continued work to design engaging lessons anchored in standards high expectations fo learning.

Members of the Math Curriculum Council have been researching different HQIM Curriculum options to potentially pilot within our district. These dedicated members have also created a purposeful list of non-negotiables that must be present within our curriculum to best support all of the learners within FPS. This list includes: 

Our next meeting is January 6, 2025

Our middle school science teachers conducted a science program review last year and chose Open Sci Ed as our new curriculum! Open Sci Ed is different from traditional science. All lessons are standards-aligned and use strategies for how students learn science best: through hands-on investigations, open ended conversations, and anchored in phenomena. 

Our rollout of this new curriculum will be implemented over the next three years. During this school year, two units in grade 6, two units in grade 7, and 2 units will be taught. In 25/26. two more units will be added to each grade level, wrapping with the final 2 units being implemented in 26/27.

The middle level science department looks forward to teaching this high quality instructional material to our students and district! 

Our elementary schools have been busy with integrating engineering into their science classes! At Dunning elementary, they conducted a school wide engineering and design challenge of: “What tiny community structure can you create using only recyclable materials that fits on a 2’ by 2’ surface?” 

Great structures were created throughout all grades! We look forward to your next engineering project! 

In Harmony Grove, fourth grade student Flavia Azevedo, won a robot creation contest! Students were tasked with brainstorming how robots could solve a problem in the world. In coordination with Ms. Ferdinand, Harmony Grove’s art teacher, and Ms. Macena, Flavia was a winner in this contest sponsored by author Tricia Fuglestad. Congratulations! 

Building Thinking Classrooms continues to be a cohesive teaching strategy leveraging student voice, allows students a variety of methods to problem solve, and work in collaborative groups. Our elementary teachers continue to support student learning through language and content appropriate pedagogy that supports all learners.

Thank you! 

Elementary Semester 1:

August 28 - February 26

Families can expect report cards on February 7th, 2024

Educators the Grading Window is as follows:

Term 1: August 28 - December 2

Families can expect report cards on December 13th.

Quarter 2: November 7 - January 30

Jan 23, Jan 30, Feb 6

May 15, May 22, May 29

Thank you to Stapleton Art Teacher Robin Seeran for presenting a selection of Stapleton's Fall and Winter Artwork at the Saxonville Business Mixer and More! This was FPA's first collaborative community event, teaming up with Framingham organizations Open Spirit and Friends of Saxonville. It was a fun night where the community came together to get to know each other, learn about local businesses and events, and celebrate Stapleton Elementary's amazing student artwork!

A huge bravo to the following music teachers for beautifully executing their December concerts:

Matt Zettler- Put on a whole school K-4 concert at Harmony Grove with a huge family turn out! Students sang beautifully and it was wonderful to see the whole Harmony Grove community come together through music!

A big congratulations to Cameron Middle School's cast, crew, and staff, for their 4 amazing performances of Peter Pan Jr.! Thank you to Delaney Hollander, Chris Dupuis, Abi Varsos, Kyle Trumble, and Mariko Matsumura for all of their hard work, creativity, and dedication to this incredible production!

Mark your calendars for two exciting events on Friday January 10th! 

Department of Early Education (PreK) Team