1995 Town Report

Northborough, Massachusetts

Superintendent's Report

0 n behalf of Mr. James W. Baker, Chairman and School Committee Members, Mrs. Frank, Mr. MacLean, Ms, Marcello and Ms. Sharp, allow me to extend thanks to the Northborough School administrators, teachers, parents, children, elected officials of the town, and town employees for making 1995 an extraordinary year.

The Northborough School Committee has made a commitment to the following core values and as part of our strategic planning process adopted the mission statement below.

Core Values

That the Northborough public schools support a commitment to active

learning/a community of learners

That the Northborough public schools value respect for diversity and

dignity of the individual

That the Northborough public schools support a commitment to shared

problem solving/decision making

Mission Statement

Quality education prepares students to assume responsible adult roles as citizens, family members, workers, and lifelong learners by attending to their intellectual and developmental needs. Instructional excellence is central to quality education; however, quality education can be fully realized only with involvement of the family and community. Therefore, in conjunction with families and the community, the overriding mission of the Northborough Public Schools is to elevate all children to the highest level of academic achievement.

To this end, the District seeks to provide a broad range of quality educational programs in an environment where people are respected as individuals and embraced in their diversity. Further, it is recognized and understood that all are members of a "community of learners", a community which is distinguished by shared decision-making and its commitment to the following core principles of learning and teaching:

Access to learning should be equitable. All students should have access to high-quality and diverse learning experiences.

Learning should be active. Knowledge is gained through experience, and students should learn by doing - by being fully involved and engaged in meaningful tasks. Active learning helps students relate new material to previous knowledge, and to make dynamic, durable connections between school experiences and the real world.

Learning should be balanced. Learning and teaching should be organized around themes that can balance the nature of knowledge, the needs and interests of learners, and the nature of society and the world.

Teaching should connect disciplines. Teaching that briny together several subject areas, encouraging students to build a variety of information into a whole, can greatly enhance student learning.

Teaching should be diversified. Students' learning styles differ, and in order to reach them all, a variety of strategies - such as cooperative learning, problem solving and learning by inquiry - should be utilized.