The October 7th School Committee meeting was dominated by a two-and-a-half hour presentation and discussion of substantial changes that Newton Public Schools (NPS) is implementing to Special Education (summarized on page 42 of the presentation). NPS Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Casey Ngo-Miller and NPS Director of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Dr. Maria Kolbe addressed the Committee on behalf of the Office of Student Services. The discussion generally consisted of three segments:
- A summary of existing NPS statistics for students with disabilities (SWDs), highlighting achievement gaps
- An explanation of the new trend of “anti-ableism” versus the previous “medical model” of treating disabilities, and how that will influence educator training and pedagogy in the future
- Elementary school curriculum changes, specifically new disabled-inclusive reading materials, being piloted at Angier Elementary School during the 2024-2025 school year.
Superintendent Nolin’s focus on MTSS — which provides focused intervention to students who are performing behind grade-level prior to those students receiving an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), and therefore affects both Special Educational and General Education — was present throughout the discussion. The presentation’s data included notable statistics, including:
- Over 2,100 NPS students (approximately 18% of the student population) are presently classified as SWDs.
- Newton’s high school college preparatory (CP) level classes are comprised of 60-70% SWDs depending on the grade and subject.
The School Committee members were largely complimentary towards the presenters, with question topics including:
- Whether special education aides are being asked to assume instructional duties they may not be trained for,
- The inherent tensions between the district moving toward an anti-ableism model and families who are more comfortable with traditional disability frameworks,
- The tradeoffs between mainstreaming disregulated students in a general education classroom and expected standards of student behavior,
- Amount of federal funding reimbursement for “equitable share,” whereby non-Newton residents who attend private school in Newton receive NPS special services, and
- The relatively large (approximately 30%) number of NPS students on IEPs who participate in the summer ESY program.
A detailed description of NPS special services programs is here.
Following the special education segment, the School Committee heard a presentation from NPS Director of Human Resources Dr. Joany Santa regarding 2024-2025 hiring and retention goals. The presentation focused heavily on racial issues such as supports and outreach for non-white educators, with links to examples of NPS building-level worksheets that calculate hiring quotas for minorities. Page 14 of the presentation showed the NPS staff population by race, which remains largely white.
The meeting replay is available on NewTV.