Easton Public Schools
50 Oliver Street
North Easton, MA 02356
Phone: (508) 230-3200
Fax: (508) 238-3563
Mission Statement
All students have individual learning styles and learning profiles. We support the Instructional Support Team that connects special educators and regular educators. This process connects to eligibility determination and we believe it is an important educational obligation of regular and special educators. We believe that various evaluation procedures are necessary and must be consistent throughout the district. Students with disabilities when given a program of specialized instruction will meet their potential. We will work towards the understanding of respect, support, and appropriate education for all children with special needs in the community.
Easton Public Schools Philosophy Statement
Recognizing that each child is unique, the Easton Public Schools strives: to provide a coordinated and integrated instructional program; to nurture intellectual and academic capabilities; to promote physical development; to stimulate creativity and aesthetic awareness; to encourage participatory learning; to foster an understanding that learning is a lifelong process; and, to develop positive attitudes which can lead to being a responsible member of a global society. Utilizing a variety of instructional approaches, each individual is encouraged to maximize his or her potential and thus develop a positive sense of his or her own self worth.
Recognizing the changing structure of family and society, the Easton Public Schools accepts its responsibility to create a safe, nurturing educational environment. The school system views community support and involvement as an integral component of the educational process.
All curricula in the Easton Public Schools must demonstrate connections to the district’s Mission and Strategic Goals. In addition, curricula must be connected to the Mission Statement and the academic and social expectations as stated in School Improvement Plans, respective to the schools.
The philosophical base for curriculum has moved from a traditional, academic essentialist vision of teaching and learning to a more constructivist teaching and learning mode which supports standards driven curriculum and instruction. Active learning about who we are as a nation within the context of our global connections is vital to an in depth understanding and retention of a sometimes quite complex knowledge set.
The philosophy that all children can and will learn requires a learning environment that is enabling. This philosophy is the foundation of the state’s curriculum framework standards, the applications of which are assessed through the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). The state’s curriculum framework standards inform the goals for each area of content (knowledge, skills). One impact of standards driven curriculum and instruction is the movement toward greater use of data to inform instruction, and performance assessments, while sustaining some of the traditional assessments that provide connections across the curriculum. We strive to maintain both horizontal and vertical articulation through the work that creates curriculum guides for each curriculum discipline or area, and the implementation, and forms of evaluation of these curricula. A curriculum guide is a dynamic document not only because what is known is rapidly changing; but also because each teacher’s knowledge set has both great similarities and some differences. It is our responsibility as educators to incorporate changes as they become known and to update our current knowledge base. It is each teacher’s responsibility to use these guides as guides to his or her practice.
The development of curriculum is a process that involves and acknowledges the links between mission and strategic goals of the school system and those of the school (and the department at the Secondary level). While the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework Standards can drive curriculum design and delivery, the mission of the district, and the schools, is to design and deliver a broader based curriculum (using state framework standards as a guide). It is ultimately the delivered/taught curriculum, as designed by our professional teachers, that promotes and drives student learning. Curriculum and instruction, then, are recognized as partners in student learning.