The North Reading School Committee voted unanimously to approve three elementary school improvement plans for 2025–26 after hearings from each school’s leadership on student performance, interventions and equity initiatives.

Julie Fahey, representing the Little School, summarized last year’s highlights and the school’s plans to continue multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) and "win block" intervention periods for kindergarten through fifth grade. Fahey said the school’s accountability rating rose from 96% to 98% in the prior academic year and that, by I‑Ready measures, 76% of students in grades 2–5 met typical annual growth in reading while 57% met typical annual growth in math; more than half of students reached a higher “stretch” growth benchmark in each subject. She also noted VOCAL survey results showing current fifth graders reported feeling safe and respected, and that the school will continue to embed diversity, equity and inclusion work alongside a character-development program.

Hood School leaders reported a 95% state accountability score and described work expanding MTSS and a schoolwide behavior framework, plus pilot restorative practices and family traditions surveys for inclusive classroom practices. The presentation included grade-level I‑Ready and MCAS-linked growth breakdowns: for example, grade 3 ELA showed 88% at grade-level expectations and grade 5 reported 91% at grade level in ELA on the diagnostic used by the district. Speaker notes acknowledged a challenging assessment period for one cohort that staff said likely affected some grade‑level data.

The Bachelor School presentation highlighted the new Bulldog core values (Respect, Responsibility, Relationships), a state accountability percentile near the 99th, and the district’s "super stretch" recognition on I‑Ready measures. Leaders described plans to strengthen tier‑2 instruction, fully implement evidence‑based interventions for reading and math, pilot peer observation/coaching, and intentionally embed character development into school traditions.

Committee members pressed each presenter on implementation details. On Title I support for math interventions at the Little School, Fahey said the school will shift Title I intervention hours to begin in January to allow larger, more frequent intervention blocks rather than infrequent sessions. On restorative practices at Hood School, staff described initial training and emphasized the need for consistent, schoolwide practices and family communication to explain how restorative responses work.

The committee approved each plan by voice vote. The motions were recorded as unanimous: Little School (4–0), Hood School (4–0) and Bachelor School (4–0).

School officials and committee members said they will monitor the early‑year implementation data and return updates as part of the district’s ongoing oversight of interventions and curriculum rollouts.