Skip To Main Content

Superintendent

Jen Parson
 

Dear Plainville Families,

It is with great enthusiasm that I can assure you that we are ready for the 2026-2027 school year to begin! And if I put on my parent hat, I’m guessing that many of you are ready as well!

The year ahead: This year, we will be focusing on enhancing the good work that our educators, administrators and all support staff have readily embraced over the past several years. We have been closely following our road map (otherwise known as the District’s Strategic Plan) since its introduction in 2024, taking it one (or sometimes several!) step at a time. Our plan encompasses five different areas: Teaching & Learning, Tiers of Support for Students, Climate/Culture/Well-Being, Professional Development, and District Operations.

While you will be hearing about much of this work from communications you receive from principals, teachers, and me, I’d like to preview some of the big endeavors we’ll be undertaking this year, all of which are connected to work that has been ongoing in one way or another over the past several years:

  • Targeted pilot of UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) phonics program at Jackson School
  • Continued implementation of EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy Instruction) as a Tier II and Tier III intervention for students who will benefit from a speech to print approach to phonics
  • District-wide adoption of the thinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) writing approach at both schools (following last year’s pilot)
  • Professional learning sessions at Jackson School for more refined use of our core English Language Arts program (Wit and Wisdom)
  • Professional learning sessions at the Wood School to support the implementation of the Investigating History Curriculum in grades 3 & 4 and to continue the second year of  implementation at grades 5 & 6 (grant funded)
  • Professional support for Wood School teachers as they pilot additional Project Lead the Way science units (grant funded)
  • Districtwide adoption of a 3 X yearly math screener to supplement our current math assessments
  • Continued focus on the importance of promoting high learning expectations and access to high quality curriculum for all students
  • Districtwide adoption of a new social/emotional learning curriculum, Character Strong, which offers refreshed lessons for all classrooms and provides more in depth supports to assist our counselors with their work (grant funded)
  • Use of our updated and state-aligned PE/Health instruction
  • A new partnership with Boston Children’s Hospital (DESE grant funded) to help us ensure that we are mindful of “the whole child” and to help us grow our repertoire of strategies for helping all students succeed through our Tiered System of Supports
  • Maintaining and further exploring our ability to build successful relationships with students and families as a means of ensuring positive engagement and a climate of inclusion and belonging
  • Next steps with our roof project, which is currently in the MSBA (Massachusetts School Building Authority) process

These focus areas and undertakings are rooted in the familiar, and they offer us next steps that allow us to expand our reach in so many ways that will benefit our students and our entire school community.

Commendations: As we make our way into the new school year, I’d like to commend all of our faculty and staff members who worked tirelessly throughout the summer. Our Extended School Year Team, Summer Exploration Educators, and our Food Services Team provided essential programs and services. Our partners at the YMCA, the Greater Attleboro Council for Children and Champions offered programs that assisted with childcare, with enrichment programs, and summer meals. Our custodians were here every day preparing for a new and shiny start to the year, and our 12-month support staff, technology team, and administrative team were ever-present. There is an extraordinary amount of work required to close one school year and to prepare for the next, and the work ethic and accomplishments of our Plainville team are second to none. 

Partnerships for school safety: As we open the school year, please do not be surprised to see the presence of our school resource officers, especially during arrival and dismissal times. We look forward to our continued partnership with our town’s first responders as we continue to promote the importance of safety within our school community. 

I look forward to seeing many of you at the activities and events scheduled for the upcoming days and weeks. While it is true that our schools have been busy since our last day last June, there is nothing like the business of having our most important stakeholders–our students–right where they belong in our schools and in their classroom communities!

Truly,

Jennifer Parson, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools