For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Melrose School District Receives Regional DESE Grant to Further SEEM Collaborative Work

MELROSE — Superintendent Cyndy Taymore is pleased to announce that Melrose Public Schools has received a portion of a nearly $90,000 grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to improve student learning through the SEEM Collaborative.

The SEEM Collaborative is a 10-member organization that formed in 1986 to provide quality education to school districts and strengthen existing school programs and services that would otherwise not be accessible or affordable to local districts on their own.

Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, Wilmington and Woburn applied for the DESE grant as a consortium, and will receive $88,900 to be allocated over a two-year period beginning in 2018.

The grant money will support each district’s work on improving inclusive practices. This includes providing identified teachers, administrators and members of child study teams with targeted professional development, coaching in Universal Design for Learning — a framework designed to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how we learn — and inclusive practices that support the achievement of all students.

“As the Melrose Public Schools strives to provide quality education for our students, it is imperative that our faculty continuously refine their skills for inclusive and engaging instructional practices that provide all students with opportunities to succeed,” Superintendent Taymore said. “We’re thankful that DESE awarded the SEEM Collaborative with this grant allocation so we can continue to provide the best services for all learners.”

Melrose Public Schools will also work to:
• Examine and question resource allocation in more depth, using data available in districts along with tools provided by DESE, particularly new Resource Allocation and District Action Reports.
• Make meaningful changes in resource allocation to support best practices and district improvement strategies.
• Measure the impact of resource shifts on the desired outcomes. Melrose schools will be paired with an action research consultant who will help gather data, measure impact and report results.

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