Hanover superintendent says district is on track on five midyear goals; highlights literacy, IEP rollout and DESE corrective actions

Superintendent Farren told the Hanover School Committee at its Feb. 28 meeting that the district is making steady progress on five goals approved in the fall, and that administrators are focused on sustaining long-range funding projections while rolling out new literacy and special education practices.

Farren opened a midyear check-in on the goals and called the progress "on track," noting the district has developed five-year projections and presented them publicly to the advisory committee and other groups. "I feel very good saying they're all on track," a district leader said during the presentation.

Why this matters: The five-year funding strategy is intended to smooth budget planning beyond the next fiscal year and to account for variables such as collective bargaining and transportation. The literacy and special-education initiatives address classroom instruction, staff training and state-mandated monitoring, all of which affect classroom supports and services.

Details on the goals

- Funding (Goal 1): Staff reported a collaborative five-year funding document that will remain a live, adjustable plan as budget drivers change. The advisory committee (ADCOM) voted Feb. 21 to support the district's override budget proposal, which district staff cited as an important benchmark in the planning work.

- Literacy (Goal 2): District staff said the implementation and monitoring phase is underway. K'1 teachers completed IMSE Orton-Gillingham training, consultants from Landmark and the MGH Well Collaborative provided targeted professional development, and consultant Adam Hickey has visited multiple schools. The district's midyear survey found 85% of responding teachers rated the curriculum implementation "effective or extremely effective," and 65% of a small cohort of middle school students reported they felt they had improved in writing.

- IEP process (Goal 3): Following a DESE train-the-trainer event, staff reported multiple professional development sessions and a plan to create a digital portfolio of materials and samples so educators can reference the new IEP format. The district said it will provide all-staff training before the next school year and offer parent sessions with CPAC over the spring and summer to help families understand the new document.

- Tier-Focused Monitoring: The district said it is in a corrective action phase after a DESE site visit and has submitted an action plan that is pending DESE approval. The plan identifies areas to address, including updates to bullying-prevention training, revised withdrawal and diploma-exit procedures, restraint-related training and a more inclusive curriculum-review process involving multiple stakeholders.

- Student advisory council and student voice: The district has formed a student advisory council at the high school with nine student members who are already engaging at the state level. Committee members described homework expectations and student feedback about assignment design as topics the council and staff will continue to study.

What's next: District staff said they will continue to refine the five-year projections, complete the remaining professional development and await DESE approval of the corrective-action plan; when approved, the district plans to make the TFM action plan public and communicate next steps to families.