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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
There’s no doubt that Westwood Public Schools provide all students with a quality education. With highly qualified and passionate faculty and staff, the school system has helped strengthen the community through knowledge, dedication, and teamwork.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has named Westwood High School as a commended school for high achievement and high progress.
As the DESE has only recognized six other high schools for such achievements, the commendation is one that the community should be especially proud of.
“It takes a team approach between the school administration, school committee, teachers and parents to build such strong academic programs as we have in Westwood,” said Tony Mullin, a member of the school committee and a Westwood parent. “Every year the school administration and school committee work together to set district goals to focus on areas of improvement for the district.”
Those district goals become the foundation for Westwood schools’ School Improvement Plans, which often aim to close the proficiency gap, so that all Westwood students receive a high education and outstanding opportunities.
While the DESE factored in MCAS score reports to name the commended schools, Westwood High School Principal Sean Bevan doesn’t ask his faculty to “teach to the test.”
“We don't spend a lot of time preparing our students to be successful on any single standardized test,” he said. “Instead, we have high standards of what students should know and be able to do. And, since the MCAS measures students' understanding in these areas, their scores reflect a high degree of mastery.
“Even though we have confidence that all students are prepared for the test just by working each day here with high quality teachers, we do take the step of identifying students who may struggle on the test and work individually with them to ensure that they master the key content and skills on each exam,” Bevan continued. “We find that students respond well to these targeted interventions.”
What makes Westwood High School so special, though, isn’t the high scores on standardized tests. It’s the combination of classes that develop and enhance students’ knowledge and skills that make them so successful.
“We believe in a well-rounded education and we believe that our schools in Westwood need to prepare our students for life, not just college,” said Mullin, as he described the town’s amazing performing and visual arts courses – ones that aren’t measured on the MCAS, but have a massive impact on students. “These classes enable our students to become aware of the creative process, participate in the performing arts and learn about themselves through the arts.”
“As happy as I am with our success on standardized exams, I get more excited when I see them doing innovative and engaging things here each day. The students' experience in most classes is much different than the kind learning that is measured on bubble sheets,” said Principal Bevan. “The hands-on and collaborative experiences in each of those lessons are as valuable - or more so - than what is measured by standardized tests. I am confident that lessons like these prepare our kids to be critical thinkers and will contribute to their success at college and in the workplace.”
