Hudson High School principal Jason Medeiros addresses graduates while wearing his own doctoral graduation gown that he never got to wear due to the pandemic disrupting plans.
HUDSON — The School Committee heard from Hudson High School Principal Jason Medeiros on Nov. 5 about the school improvement plan for the high school and the goals for specific curriculum work.
Medeiros shared four goals for the improvement plan at the high school and said that the goals were consistent across the five schools in the Hudson School District by design “with a few tweaks.”
“Essentially, we all have the same focus that we’re trying to push,” he said.
The first goal was to have educators develop success criteria based on established standards, curriculum and data. The idea was to have benchmarks for the students to meet each week and create a more consistent system with daily criteria for successful lessons.
School Committee Chair Steven Smith asked if there was a systematic way to track the results of meeting the criteria. Medeiros said it was more by way of observation of specific benchmarks.
The second goal was the incorporation of the Vision of a Graduate guidelines into the day to work with staff, students and the community. The intent for teachers to see the links and connections in the curriculum, as well as to develop communication strategies.
“Our goal at the end of the year is that educators can explain the elements of the Vision of a Graduate” and describe how they are practiced in the classroom, he said.
One example Medeiros gave was three different approaches to a math equation and comparing them in a way that allows students to think critically.
He said, “You have to take what you know, synthesize that information and come up with a solution.”
On Oct. 22, Assistant Superintendent Kathy Provost said a document for the Vision of the Graduate criteria was developed and published. She said they would explore what similar guidelines would look like at the middle and elementary schools.
Provost said, “I know the high school is putting an emphasis on really thinking about the Vision of a Graduate and connecting that to success criteria this year with the professional development.”
The third goal is to develop an early college program that will align with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, while making sure everyone has equal access to it.
Medeiros said it is a state program that targets “traditionally underserved student populations” in gaining access to postsecondary education. They have submitted grants for two different funding sources to see what the program could look like at the high school.
He said, “We have partnered with Worcester State [University] to help us kind of shape what that can be.”
The long-term goal is to apply for the final round of the grant applications by the end of the next school year, according to Medeiros. This year, they want to apply for planning funds toward the program and then for an official state designation for the program for 2026.
Medeiros said that in the second semester of this school year Worcester State will be giving them access to 25 seats within a college course to begin this work, which gives the students a feeling of what an early college course could be like.
The last and fourth goal would be to have a social-emotional learning (SEL) task force to create a model for programming. Every year, he said, they have been adjusting their SEL program to get student and staff feedback.
This year, students are getting lessons based on the SEL yearly survey or screener. These lessons go by grade level to fit the needs of the students.
“We are coming up with something that really is sustainable,” said Medeiros.
