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Norfolk County Agricultural High School Awarded 2007 Compass School Award

NORFOLK COUNTY AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL
400 Main Street
Walpole, Massachusetts 02081
MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: COMPASS SCHOOL AWARD
We have been notified by the Commissioner of Education, David Driscoll, that our school
has been named a 2007 Commonwealth Compass School. The award is based on our
“students’ performance and improvement on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment
System in 2006.” The letter includes specific reasons for the award. Our school “boasts a
Composite Performance Index (CPI) above the state average in both ELA and mathematics.
Additionally, the percentage of students performing in the Proficient and Advanced
categories has increased substantially in the last four years, by ten or more percentage points
in Cycle III and Cycle IV, and five or more percentage points from Cycle II to Cycle III in
both subject areas.”
The Commissioner commends us for our hard work and applauds the improvements in
student achievement.
The 38 Compass Schools will be honored at a celebration on February 5, 2007 at the State
House, and the school will be awarded $2500.00 to help us sustain improvement efforts.
This makes the third honor in as many years:
• Vanguard School, 2005
• High Schools That Work Gold Award, 2006
• Compass School, 2007
We are both very proud of the work and commitment that have made this honor possible.
Teachers in the classroom, counselors, nurse, and support from forepersons, office staff,
administrators and the Board of Trustees, along with the never ending effort to provide a
safe, secure and comfortable learning environment, are surely the reason we have advanced.
The commitment of parents and students is another big part of our success.
Congratulations to everyone!


Norfolk County Agricultural High School Designated 2005
Vanguard Model School

As part of its statewide initiative to highlight exceptional progress made to raise academicstandards in the public schools, Mass Insight Education and Research Institute has named Norfolk County Agricultural High School a 2005 Vanguard Model School.

Norfolk County Agricultural HS is one of 11 schools named this year, and one of 39 model schools or districts to be recognized since Mass Insight Education launched its Building Blocks Initiative for Standards-Based Reform in 2001. All of the 2005 Vanguard models were honored at Mass Insight’s Fifth Annual Building on Success Conference, held June 6 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Boston. Attended by more than 500 educational, civic and business leaders in the state, it is one of the most significant educational leadership conferences in Massachusetts. Assistant Secretary Raymond Simon, who directs elementary and secondary education programs for the U.S. Department of Education, was the featured speaker. Superintendent-Director Angela Avery, Principal Gail Murphy and Joanne Smith and John Willliamson, teachers, presented successful strategies in a workshop session. NCAHS Trustee and Commissioner Peter Collins was at the conference to accept the award.

“The Building Blocks Initiative addresses one of public education’s greatest challenges: how to learn from some of the best work being done to improve schools so that students in communities throughout the state can benefit from that work,” said Mass Insight Education Executive Director Andrew Calkins. “We congratulate all of these model schools and look forward to helping other schools build on their success.”

“Norfolk County has used its expertise in applied learning to enrich its academic curriculum and reinforce its drive for higher student performance in math and English Language Arts. It has integrated the principles of applied, authentic learning with the school’s academic goals. Norfolk County is unusual among its peer vocational schools, as its students attend both academic and vocational classes every day,” continued Calkins. He noted that curriculum alignment, schedule changes, student success plans, common planning time and a lesson study initiative – among other reforms – have all played a role in making the integrated approach work successfully for Norfolk students. “In addition, the school employs a team teaching model using a learning specialist and a nationally board certified math teacher to offer individual instruction and project- based learning for at-risk students. Ninety nine percent of all Norfolk County students pass the MCAS math test prior to graduation and 71 percent matriculate to a continuing education program,” Calkins added.