Mass. should think outside the classroom and systematize student support: A Letter to the Editor from Dr. Mary Walsh

Mary Walsh, Executive Director of City Connects, had a letter to the editor published in the Boston Globe. Her letterresponds to an article about Massachusetts’ precarious place at the top of national education rankings.

In the initial piece, several solutions are discussed to reverse the downward trends for Massachusetts test scores and other academic metrics.

These solutions include new state graduation requirements, a state mandate on how reading is taught, a ban on cellphones in school, and further increases in state school aid.

Walsh’s response focused on the power of integrated student support. In the letter, she wrote:

Governor Maura Healey chose Dedham as the location to announce proposed new graduation requirements because of the city’s place in history as home to one of the first public schools in America.

Today Dedham is still carving a path for the Commonwealth. Its schools are implementing a cost-effective, evidence-based approach to student support that can reverse these negative trends and set the standard for the rest of the state, helping Massachusetts maintain its national leadership in education.

To improve student outcomes, schools must understand why students are struggling academically. They must look outside the classroom. A hungry student can’t learn. Housing insecurity, limited access to health care, and under-resourced community systems all create barriers to learning and achievement. These challenges affect attendance, focus, and academic performance.

Improving student outcomes means addressing these barriers as a complement to instructional improvement. That’s why Dedham has systematized its student support efforts, creating personalized plans designed to address each student’s strengths, needs, and interests with the help of existing school- and community-based resources.

Dedham is emblematic of schools across the Commonwealth engaged in efforts to reverse negative academic trends through student support. The school systems in Salem and Springfield reported that last school year, graduation rates were up and chronic absenteeism and dropout rates were down. Other districts, such as Mendon-Upton and Winthrop, participated in a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education program to develop similar approaches.

The key to better learning outcomes for students isn’t just new and improved ways to deliver instruction. If Massachusetts wants to continue leading the nation in education, it must reach outside the classroom to scale up student support.