MCAS scores at Silver Lake Regional High School declined again in English language arts, math, and science, administrators told the Silver Lake Regional School Committee on Oct. 22. High School Principal Michaela Gill said the school is closer to state intervention than is comfortable. The response includes Laker Block tutoring, earlier attendance outreach and testing students with proctors they know.
The high school is not in needs-assistance status, administrators said, but its accountability percentile has slipped as scores fell across all three subjects. The 2026 high school math result matched the state average of 44%. Statewide, ELA and science results also declined and high school math stayed mostly flat, administrators said. Chair Gordon Laws estimated the high school ELA decline at roughly 30% over four years. Mark Helisek said the number of students not meeting expectations in ELA and math had grown more than 400%.
Principal Gill said the plan was presented to staff about a month ago. It includes small-group tutoring during Laker Block for grade 9 and 10 students tracking below expectations, MCAS item analysis in every core department, moving freshmen from physics to biology, with students sitting the biology MCAS by 2028, a weekly attendance committee that contacts families once a student reaches five absences, and testing students in familiar classrooms with at least one proctor who has taught them.
The school also earned zero of four accountability points for advanced coursework. Gill traced that to miscoded courses and said the coding has been corrected. The principal said teachers are now expected to state lesson objectives and criteria for success, and that teachers who do not will be addressed through evaluations.
Members disagreed about what is driving the decline. Laws cited experience leading curriculum development at Western Governors University and Coursera and argued that a learner’s context drives far more of the outcome than curriculum or teachers. Superintendent Proulx responded that teacher effectiveness and curriculum alignment are the main levers in public education. She also cautioned against letting predictive indicators limit what is expected of students. Earlier, the superintendent had said the district cannot blame COVID or technology, since other high schools continue to improve.
Other members urged studying comparable districts that outperform Silver Lake and turning the school’s athletic pride toward the test. A district administrator said there is no MCAS opt-out. She warned that a lower accountability status could require the district to reserve $15,000 to $20,000 of special education grant money for state-directed uses.
Harrison spoke for the student council. He said the National Honor Society chapter’s 142 members have made improving scores a main goal this year, and that students believe the scores reflect the loss of incentives such as the graduation requirement. Principal Gill said the chapter is also considering a bylaw change to require passing MCAS scores.
The middle school held at an accountability percentile of 46 and does not require assistance or intervention. Dan Correia, a math coordinator, said the share of grade 7 students meeting or exceeding expectations rose from 47% to 48%, and the share exceeding doubled to 12%. Nicole Afanasiw, an ELA coordinator, said the middle school is in the first year of a new curriculum.
The meeting also brought a budget warning. The district’s server cluster, which runs PowerSchool, phones, the intercom and PA system, and HVAC controls, loses manufacturer support in March 2027. Steve Pellowe, Director of Technology, said a replacement quoted at $57,000 last December now costs $212,000 for identical hardware. A second quote rose from $52,000 to $132,000. He said contingency plans can keep critical services running if replacement slips past March, but the system must be replaced no later than FY28.
Committee member Mark Guidoboni said this year’s one funded capital item, an HVAC unit, will take nearly all of the available capital money, and that no town meeting is scheduled before spring.
The committee did not vote on the SLEA and SLAA contracts listed on the agenda. Both are agreements in principle while attorneys finish the language, and both still require further votes.