Boston Public Schools officials on Oct. 29 presented progress on transformation schools and outlined next steps to accelerate improvement for schools that remain below state accountability targets.

Mike Sabin, the district's executive director for school and district transformation, told the committee that of the 41 transformation schools tracked in DESE accountability, 18 improved their accountability percentile in 2024-25, eight remained level and 15 declined. Six schools are expected to exit transformation this year: Chittick, Curley K-8, GRU, Holmes, the merged Sarah Roberts (Philbrick/Sumner) and Perkins. Sabin said this is the first recent year with formal exits, and he described statewide changes in MCAS scoring as one factor complicating high-school-level comparisons.

The presentation highlighted mixed results: English-learner access scores rose across ELD levels and high-school math growth was strong (75% of transformation high schools posted growth above the 50th percentile). Chronic absenteeism decreased at transformation schools overall, but an attendance gap remains compared with nontransformation schools and absenteeism is still a major contributor to low growth.

School leaders from TechBoston Academy and Dearborn STEM Academy presented school-level strategies. Pat Cleary of TechBoston described a daily intervention block, expanded AP and early-college course offerings (UMass dual-enrollment courses for freshmen) and strengthened coaching supports as drivers of improvement. Darlene Marcano of Dearborn highlighted a schoolwide focus on instruction, family engagement, attendance initiatives and targeted supports for multilingual learners; Dearborn reported daily attendance rising from 87.1% to 90.1% and chronic absenteeism declining from 45.4% to 33.2%.

Committee members pressed for more frequent interim data such as MAP testing alongside state results, and asked how the district will scale intensive tier-3 supports to untangle schools that have been in interventions for multiple years. Sabin and superintendents'office staff said they will prioritize tier-3 supports, coaching and targeted interventions, and will amplify visits to high-growth classrooms and schools to replicate successful practices.

Provenance: Presentation materials and school leaders' remarks appear in the meeting's transformation update segment and the appended stoplight and MCAS charts the presenters referenced.