Lynn Public School District Demographics 2014-15

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently published the 2014-15 demographic reports for public school districts in the state. Per the DESE data, there are 14,871 students enrolled in the Lynn Public School district (which does not include those enrolled in charter school) as of October 1, 2014. This is an increase of 493 from October 1, 2013. In terms of the race/ethnicity, the breakdown is as follows (the numbers in parentheses represent the percent change from school year 2013-14):

• African American/Black: 10.7% (-0.3)
• Asian: 9.2% (-0.6)
• Hispanic/Latino: 56.4% (+1.9)
• Native American: 0.3% (0)
• White: 19.6% (-1.3)
• Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic: 3.7% (0)

In terms of special populations, LPS is comprised of a significant number of students who speak English as a second language as well as low income students.

• First Language not English: 54.1% (+0.1)
• English Language Learner: 18.8% (+1)
• Special Education: 15.4% (-0.4)

Additionally, the Lynn Public School district's student population is 53% male and 47% female.

Below is a breakdown of the special populations listed above by individual school. The plus or minus numbers in the 'Total Enrollment' column is the change from 2013-14.

Key
FLnE = First Language not English
ELL = English Language Learner

	FLnE*	ELL*	Special Education	Total Enrollment
Aborn	25.2%	6.6%	7%	258 (+10)
Brickett	42.6%	13.7%	5.5%	291 (-11)
Callahan	36.3%	9.7%	17.3%	496 (+5)
Cobbet	69.9%	38.5%	10.9%	595 (+1)
Connery	72.2%	32.8%	6.5%	611 (+29)
Drewicz	64%	30.9%	12.1%	511  (+53)
Early Childhood Ctr	44.4%	29.7%	15.7%	286 (0)
Fallon	25%	2.5%	97.5%	40 (-8)
Ford	64.1%	27.6%	5.7%	526 (+19)
Harrington	65.1%	32.3%	12.7%	656 (+33)
Hood	46%	18.1%	7.3%	454 (+15)
Ingalls	58.1%	30.1%	10.3%	738 (+5)
Lincoln-Thomson	33.6%	13%	6.2%	292 (+26)
Lynn Woods	6%	0.5%	17.9%	168 (-7)
Sewell Anderson	31%	12.5%	20.9%	297 (+8)
Shoemaker	19.1%	2.7%	28.5%	298 (+3)
Sisson	26.4%	6.4%	13%	454 (+2)
Tracy	67%	34.7%	4.5%	403 (+11)
Washington	57.6%	28.7%	10.7%	450 (+93)
Breed	61.1%	10.4%	18.7%	1,197 (-23)
Marshall	64.6%	16.6%	18.5%	1,001 (+44)
Pickering	33.4%	1.5%	20.1%	647 (+1)
Lynn Classical	58.5%	15.9%	14.7%	1,611 (+113)
Lynn English	58.2%	18.1%	12.4%	1,616 (+5)
Lynn Tech	61.4%	14.3%	27%	855 (+105)
Fecteau-Leary	40.3%	0.8%	41.2%	119 (-38)

 


All Data Taken from: www.doe.mass.edu

Lynn School Finance FY15

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently released preliminary fiscal year 2015 (FY15) school finance information. Lynn's information is as follows for FY15: 

 

The difference between the city's foundation budget and required net school spending amounts was discussed here. As of this most recent report, public education in Lynn is underfunded by $11,264,249 (required net school spending minus budgeted amount); this figure is 1.2% over the state's threshold for the incurring penalties which include the loss of state (Chapter 70) aid. In order to at least meet the 95% figure which would allow the city to avoid financial penalties, the city would have to add an additional $1,741,612.80  to the school budget based on these most recent figures.

You may also be interested in: 

• Lynn School Finance FY13 & FY14
• Lynn School Finance Comparison FY13 & FY14 
• UPDATED: Lynn School Finance FY13 & FY14
• Thoughts on the Lynn City Council Net School Spending Vote

Source: Chapter 70 District Profiles; http://www.doe.mass.edu/finance/chapter70/

Lynn MCAS Results: Marshall Middle School

As a member of the Thurgood Marshall Middle School Council during the last two school years, I have been able to see how hard the teachers and school administration there are working to improve instruction and student outcomes. In previous years, the school reported lower test scores when compared to the other middle schools in Lynn. On the 2014 MCAS exam, Marshall did see some improvement particularly in math and science, two subjects that they had been an area for concern. 

	ELA	Math	Science
6	46 (+2)	38 (+14)	N/A
7	48 (+3)	18 (+4)	N/A
8	53 (+6)	22 (+6)	23 (+19)
ALL	49 (+3)	26 (+8)	23 (+19)

On the 8th grade science exam, Marshall's proficiency rate increases 19 points, from 4% in 2013 to 23% in 2014. Additionally, Marshall had 2% of 8th grade students receive an Advanced score in science, up from 0 the previous year. In math, Marshall's proficiency rate increased 8 points from 2013; the percentage of students receiving an Advanced score in math was a little more than double that of the year before. On the flip side, the percentage of students receiving a Warning/Failing score in each subject decreased significantly:

Another metric used to measure student performance is the Cumulative Performance Index (CPI). CPIs are a measure of the extent to which students are progressing toward 100% proficiency in ELA or math; the goal is a CPI of 100 which is the equivalent of all students having achieved proficiency (an advanced or proficient score) on the exam. More specifically, each student participating in the MCAS is given a score based on well they perform on the MCAS which is later averaged among the district, school or subgroup to determine the CPI. Possible scores are 0 (Warning/Failing - Low), 25 (Warning/Failing - High), 50 (Needs Improvement - Low), 75 (Needs Improvement - High), and 100 (Proficient or Advanced). 

Below are Marshall's CPI numbers for math and science.

In 2014, the state mandated CPI target for Marshall in math was 66.5; the actual CPI was 58.9.  The target science CPI was 62.3; the actual CPI 61.9 which the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) considered 'On Target.' A few subgroups were also considered 'On Target' in science; these included High Needs and Low Income. African American and Hispanic/Latino students were 'Above Target' in science. Marshall's 2014 science CPI was 20.3 points higher than its CPI in 2013.

A third metric is the Student Growth Percentile (SGP). Per the DESE, the SGP at individual level " measures student progress by comparing one student's progress to the progress of other students with similar MCAS performance histories. For example, a student with an SGP of 15 in 7th grade English Language Arts (ELA) progressed as much or better than 15% of his or her peers with similar MCAS histories from 6th to 7th grade ELA. At the aggregate level, the SGP is the median student growth percentile for the subgroup, school or district. The 6 year goal is an SGP of 51.

 

Marshall's ELA Student Growth Percentile this year was 47 while the math SGP was 42 (up from 26 in 2013). The largest SGP subgroup change in math was among white students who went from 18 in 2013 to 47 in 2014; seven of the eight subgroups with math SGPs reported for Marshall saw double digit increases in growth.

Overall, Marshall moved from the 3rd to the 4th Percentile relative to other schools serving similar grades. 

Citation: www.doe.mass.edu