Education Archives - Page 9 of 17

Natick MCAS scores released

September 22, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Half the battle with digesting MCAS scores is finding them on the Massachusetts Department of Education website. We’ve gotten that far, but haven’t had a chance yet to dive into the numbers.

The common headline about the standardized test scores is that they’ve fallen in many communities from 2019 to 2021, reflecting the results of trying to learn during the pandemic in remote and hybrid fashion (we’ve embedded the 2019 and 2021 Natick overall stats below, though note numerous cuts of the data can be viewed on the state site). Tests weren’t administered in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reported that 46% of students in grades 3-8 across the state scored “Meeting Expectations” or higher in English language arts in 2021, and 33% did so in math. Both of these represent a drop compared to 2019, when 52% scored at that level in English language arts and 49% did so in math.

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September 11, 2021 by Admin Leave a Comment

Purple and red flags bring awareness in Natick to opioid epidemic

September 10, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

If you’ve driven through Natick Center lately, you can’t miss them. Thousands of purple and red flags flap in the breeze, placed by volunteers on the lawn of the First Congregational Church earlier this month to honor the 2,104 lives lost to opioids in Massachusetts in 2021. Sadly, that number has not significantly budged from last year’s Massachusetts Department of Public Health tally of 2,015.

First Church Natick, opioid installation — First Church Natick, purple flag display.

The purple flags represent the number of Massachusetts residents who lost their life the prior year from an overdose. The red flags represent lives lost in any year to substance use and are meant to be personalized by those affected by opioid-related tragedy.

Although all the purple flags have already been placed, community members are encouraged to take a red flag from the available bin, personalize it with one of the black sharpies, also available in the bin, and place the flag with the others. Not comfortable with a public display of emotions that might come forward during this process? Take a red flag with you, personalize it at home, and bring it back later to add to the display.

The installation is sponsored by SOAR (Supporting Outreach and Addiction Recover) Natick. In addition to what has become an annual display, the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization awards grants to individuals working on their recovery; presents scholarships to graduating Natick High School seniors whose lives have been personally impacted by Substance Use Disorder and/or who plan to pursue the education, prevention, and treatment of addiction or a related field; presents community forums to share information on topics such as the new Metrowest “Rise On” Mobile Health Van; and more.

The flags are on the move as of Sept. 11 to a couple of hospitals, then to Natick High School.

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It’s back to school in Natick

September 2, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Students returned to Natick Public Schools for the start of the 2021-2022 school year on Thursday on a perfectly overcast and wet day that probably wasn’t going to be much fun at home anyway.

Parents and guardians got their feet and tires wet, figuring out the best and worst ways and time to get kids to school, with backups seen from Rte. 16 leading to Memorial Elementary School to war-torn Rte. 27 leading to Wilson Middle School and Ben-Hem Elementary School.

Students will truly get to ease their way back, with classes on Thursday and Friday, but then get to enjoy an extra long weekend extended by Labor Day on Monday and Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday.

The Natick Public School system has put its mask and testing protocols in place, with hopes that by the end of the school year things will loosen up.

memorial school opener — Memorial Elementary School opening day (photo courtesy of reader submission)

ben-hem opener — Ben-Hem gets things started

Natick Cooperative Playgroup was once our lifeline

September 2, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

We absolutely loved our years as members of Natick Cooperative Playgroup (NCP), a weekly lifeline and safe space where nobody judged us for the behavior of our semi-feral toddlers, or for our unwashed hair. The fact is, we forged lifelong friendships with other NCP parents as we swapped child-rearing tips and watched our kids thrive as they played alongside their peers.

To this day we still play a monthly Bunco game with a core group of moms we met there. Every month at Bunco we catch up with each other and get teary over how our little NCP graduates grew up into not-so-little high school seniors. The last of those NCP babies have just gone off to college. So if you’re on the fence about adding NCP to your busy life, I’d say go for it. Your busy life is about to get incredibly enriched.

Registration for the 2021-22 year of the Natick Cooperative Playgroup (NCP) is open. Playgroups are forming now for a September 8th kickoff.

Join the NCP at this link.