• Shawsheen Valley Technical High School

    2024 District Report Card Letter to Families

    Friday, February 28, 2025

     

    Dear Shawsheen Tech Families:

    Every year, each public school and school district in Massachusetts receives a report card. Just as your child’s report card shows how they are doing in different subjects, the school’s report card is designed to show families how our school is doing in different areas. A link to our school’s report card is available at SVTHS 2024 District Report Card.

    The report card includes multiple measures of a school’s performance – more than just MCAS scores. It represents a new way of looking at school performance, by providing information on student achievement, teacher qualifications, student learning opportunities, and more. Report cards are designed to be useful tools for everyone connected to our school. Families can use the information to have meaningful conversations with us about what the school is doing well and where there is room for improvement. Community and education leaders can use the information to better understand how to support students and our school.

    You will notice on our report card that we are doing well and surpassing state averages in a number of areas, including but not limited to: ELA MCAS Growth & Achievement, Mathematics MCAS Growth & Achievement, Science MCAS Achievement, chronic absenteeism rate, graduation & extended engagement rates, student attendance rate, and MCAS participation rates. In addition to surpassing state averages in these areas, there were a number of areas where we continued to show improvement over our performance as compared to our 2023 report card. This includes us earning ratings of: exceeded targets for ELA MCAS Growth both overall and for all student subgroups; High typical growth for Mathematics MCAS Growth both overall and for all student subgroups; exceeded target overall for chronic absenteeism, with all student subgroups either meeting or exceeding targets; and exceeded targets for four-year graduation and extended engagement rates both overall and for all student subgroups. We also saw notable improvements in some areas for two student subgroups, as follows: the four-year graduation rate and chronic absenteeism rate for Low Income students declined on our 2023 report card and improved to exceeded targets on our 2024 report card; and the ELA, Mathematics, and Science MCAS Achievement for Student with Disabilities declined, improved below target, and declined (respectively) on our 2023 report card and improved to improved below target, exceeded target, and met target (respectively) on our 2024 report card.

    We are also working to improve in priority areas where we still see room for growth to meet the high standards we set at Shawsheen Tech. This includes areas where we have shown improvement since our 2023 report card, but are still behind state averages, such as MassCore completion and access to advanced coursework. It also includes areas where we are surpassing state averages, but did not meet our performance targets for 2024, such as ELA, Mathematics, and Science MCAS Achievement. We will also continue to target areas of need where performance for student subgroups does not match their peers. This includes the annual dropout rate for Hispanic/Latino students, which exceeded target in 2023 but declined in 2024; and MCAS Achievement for both Low Income students and White students which declined in 2024.

    Finally, since your child attends a school that receives federal Title I funds, you also have the right to request the following information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers:

      • Whether your child’s teacher is licensed in the grade levels and subject areas they teach,
      • Whether your child’s teacher is teaching under an emergency license or waiver,
      • The college degree and major of your child’s teacher, and
      • Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

    If you have questions about our school’s report card, would like to become involved in school improvement activities, or would like to request information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teacher, please contact Diane Cedorchuk, Principal’s Assistant, at dcedorchuk@shawtech.org. We encourage you to become involved in helping us improve our school. We see parents as critical partners in the success of our students and school, and we are grateful for your continued support. To see our district’s report card or to search for other schools’ report cards, visit https://reportcards.doe.mass.edu/.

    Sincerely,

    Jessica Cook

    Principal

    (she/her/hers)

    jcook@shawtech.org

    978-671-3640

    978-671-3637