LUDLOW — Mickey Buhl, director of operations and school business manager for the Ludlow School Department, presented the School Committee with a list of capital improvements for fiscal year 2026.
While still early in the budget process, Buhl said that based on the department’s capital improvement program, he expects to bring a request of $553,000 in capital projects.
Capital expenses are any items that cost more than $25,000. In FY26, Baird Middle School is scheduled to have its two roof-top HVAC units replaced, costing $101,000 each. Superintendent Frank Tiano said the HVAC units at the high school reached their “end of life” last year. This year, the units at the middle school were in the same position.
Ludlow High School requires a new fire panel this year. The cost is estimated at $175,000, although Buhl said the amount may change depending on the conditions and wiring.
For technology investments, the capital improvement program calls for the middle and high schools to receive classroom upgrades, such as projectors, and emergency power to the network closets. In the event of a power outage, Buhl explained, the generator will provide lights, but the network, including the phone system, will not be powered. He said the facilities personnel thought the closets were already connected to the generators. The technology improvements will run about $176,000.
While there are no requests for athletic improvements this year, Buhl and Tiano said the tennis courts need work.
Assessments
Curriculum Director Tara Brandt presented the School Committee with information about the School Department’s in-house assessments. Apart from the MCAS, students are assessed on their mathematics and literacy skills several times each year. All the assessments are used to help measure the need for support and measure academic achievement.
Dibels 8th Edition is a program administered to students in kindergarten through grade 5. Three times each year, the students work one-on-one with a teacher for 10-15 minutes, being assessed on their understanding of letter naming, phonemic awareness sight words, context and reading fluency. They are scored using a scale of above, at, below or well below benchmark. Brandt said that as students advance through elementary level grades, the percentage that score at or above benchmark increases.
The program allows educators to view scores year-over-year and in relation to the national average. This fall, 52.1% of students scored at or above benchmark, close to the national average of 53%. Last fall, 43.8% of students were at the same level, significantly lower than the 48% scored nationally. Harris Brook Elementary students outperformed East Street Elementary, with a score of 56% at or above benchmark as opposed to 44%.
Universal Screeners for Number Sense is a math basics assessment for students in kindergarten through grade 2. Like Dibels, UNSN is given three times yearly in a 15-minute, one-on-one, interview style. The assessment focuses on the concrete foundations that students will build upon in later grades. This is the schools’ first year using the assessment, which scores understanding on a scale of proficient, basic, below basic and well below basic. Brandt said that each grade displayed better understanding than the previous one, with kindergarteners averaging just under proficient, while the first and second grade showed an average in the proficient range. Harris Brook’s grade 2 students “hit it out of the park,” Brandt said.
The final assessment is the NWEA Map. Map is used to assess literacy skills in middle school and math skills for kindergarten through ninth grade. The test is computer-based and lasts for up to an hour, although it is shorter for the lower elementary grades. Like the others, it is taken three times each year to measure progress. In addition to identifying students who may need support, Map can identify learning gaps and predict later performance on standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT, and help provide personalized learning for students in kindergarten through grade 5. The Map also provides a “family report” to involve parents in their child’s academic progress.
School Committee member Jeffery Laing wondered if the poor performance of grade 3 on the Map may be related to COVID-19 school closure and remote learning period. The students were in preschool in spring of 2020. Brandt said that touching things, which is crucial to learning at young ages, was discouraged while that cohort of students was in kindergarten.
Committee member Jeff Stratton observed that students were spending less class time being tested than he had thought.
Committee member Amanda Codding noted that the one-on-one physical tests were absent after grade 5. Brandt said MCAS and other higher grade level tests are computer-based, and the assessment gives students experience with that method.
Special education
The School Committee approved the hire of April Rist as director of special education. Rist will replace Jean Fontaine, who is retiring in January 2025. Tiano explained the process of selecting someone for the role involved public outreach, with almost 100 parents and stakeholders sharing what they wanted to see in the next director of special education. From six applicants, the screening committee recommended two for interviews. Siano said Rist, who had experience in special education teaching and administration, as well as at the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, was “head and shoulders above” the other candidate.
Laing said he had heard positive feedback about Rist, while Codding said that she appreciated Rist’s variety of experience. School Committee Chair Sarah Bowler said she had attended a stakeholders’ meeting and said Rist’s background “struck a chord.”
Stratton asked about changes Rist would like to see in the schools. She responded that she would like to grow the multi-tiered systems of support. She said, “It’s a real passion of mine and something I have experience with that I can bring to the district.”