Community Programs is excited to announce that we have recently opened our 7th Kids Stop / Breakfast Club location at the Anne Bradstreet Early Childhood Center and are fortunate to have the opportunity to provide the ABECC students with before- and after-school programming.  Also, keep an eye out for our Fall Excel Enrichment brochure which will be distributed via email on October 1, 2018. 

We have a wide variety of classes being offered district wide beginning the week of October 22, 2018.  Classes will include:  Minecraft, Hip Hop Dance, 

Lego Robotics, Global Child Spanish, Gym classes, Intro to Sewing, Arts and Crafts, Acting / Theater workshops, NA CAM Studio workshop, Taste Buds Test Kitchen, Driver Education, SAT Prep, and Pottery to name a few! 

A complete list of programs will be listed on the Community Programs Excel Enrichment page of the district website. You can register for courses online through our community pass system or in person in our office at 566 Main St., Central Administration Building. Please contact Community Programs at 978-794-3080 with any questions. 

There are many changes to the way MCAS data is reported this year.  The Massachusetts Department of Education uses the MCAS data in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science/Technology Engineering to inform schools and districts on their strengths and areas of growth.  At this point, the data can be used for planning purposes, and teachers are looking at the data and examining how they can improve their instruction for students. For example, our elementary teachers are looking at the ELA, Math, and Science Item Analysis data, the Massachusetts Standards and the current units of study in order to make the best decisions they can for students.   

Schools are measured in two main ways, Progress Toward Improving Targets and the Accountability Percentile.  The Progress Toward Improving Targets  

number is comprised of information concerning achievement, growth, English learner progress, and chronic absenteeism for our elementary and middle schools; and those measures, as well as advanced coursework completion, are included at the high school level.  All of these metrics are boiled down to a single number between 0 and 100. 

The second measure for schools is the Accountability Percentile.  An accountability percentile between 1 and 99 is reported for most schools. This number is an indication of a school's overall performance relative to other schools that serve similar grades and is calculated using data for all accountability indicators. School percentiles are not calculated for districts. MCAS results will be going home to parents on Friday, October 5.

For the fourth year in a row, students in grades 3 through 5 will be putting together jigsaw puzzles, completing dot-to-dots, playing charades and weighing Lego blocks all in the name of inclusion.

Understanding our Differences is a program that has taken off here in North Andover. It originated in Newton, MA 40 years ago. Created by parents of children with disabilities, over 30,000 elementary school students have been educated on learning disabilities, as well as physical and intellectual disabilities, autism, chronic medical conditions, deafness and hard of hearing. Through slideshows, videos, hands-on activities, and guest speakers living with the topics discussed, students learn what it is like every day for people with these disabilities.  

Over the years, it’s been shown that through this program, children learn to accept and feel comfortable around those with disabilities. One child said he didn’t know how to talk to a child with Down Syndrome, but after the program, he said, “I know to just walk up to them and say hi.” Another high school student who spoke about her learning disability to the younger students wrote her college application essay on the experience. She said it “forced her to come 

out of her comfort zone, and it was empowering.” Finally, a fifth grader wrote that the autism program made her “think about treating everyone with autism extra thoughtful...especially her brother who has autism.” This program is run by hundreds of volunteers that are made up of parents and school staff. Parents can have children in any school, in any grade, with or without a disability. No experience is necessary for volunteering, and a parent does not need to have a child in special education.  Training is online and very easy to view in about 20 minutes. It only takes about one hour in the morning at one of the elementary schools. Volunteers can help out as little as one morning per school year or at  all 30 programs.  

To find out more information, including UOD’s history as well as how to volunteer, please go to www.understandingourdifferences.org , www.northandoverpac.com , and to http://www.northandoverpublicschools.com/departments/student-services/special-education/understanding-our-differences .  

If you have any questions or to volunteer, please contact Maureen Ryan and Heidi Watters at UoDofNA@Gmail.com .