Fall River School Committee last night voted to support a resolution to remove the MCAS graduation requirement and ask the state legislature to pass the “Thrive Act” to allow local districts to determine graduation requirements and provide better assessment of student achievement.
The proposal was put forth by leadership within the Fall River Educators’ Association. During a presentation before the committee, Jenna Viera, special education team leader at Durfee and the Medeiros Resiliency Preparatory School, pointed out data on how special needs students in the district often fall short of the MCAS requirements despite their high level of participation.
Durfee Algebra teacher Josh Lopater said the Thrive Act will allow districts to assess students based on a broad set of standards, not just one test.
The committee voted 6-1 to support the resolution. Member Kevin Aguiar was the lone dissenting vote. He feels the district needs to provide more data to prove that eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement is in the best interest of city students.
Committee member Sara Rodrigues said eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement would allow the district the flexibility to determine the educational readiness of high school graduates.
The school committee also passed the school department budget for FY 2025 and a timeline that will determine the hiring of a new superintendent of schools. Current superintendent Maria Pontes is retiring on June 30. School committee chair Mayor Paul Coogan also assigned a local committee to screen candidates interested in serving as the city’s next superintendent.
Video courtesy Fall River Educational Television
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