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Introduction

Definitions

The Data

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Contact Information

Introduction

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education collects information about schools and districts. Some of the information collected is published in the School and District Profiles. The information provides a snapshot of the educational picture in communities across the state.

Districts view, add, update and delete their own district and school information over the web to make sure that the information is as up-to-date and accurate as possible. In addition, the general public will be able to view Directory information about each school district in the state. Individuals can retrieve for themselves information such as school personnel, school programs (e.g. School Choice and TBE) and the location of specialized services such as Special Education Collaboratives, and Vocational Training Programs.

The list below provides an explanation of information presented in the Profiles.

Definitions

Organization Types

Approved Special Education SchoolsResponsible for providing an education for students with disabilities. A school district (LEA) may place a student in an out-of-state program if it believes that such program is the most appropriate for the student.
Charter SchoolSchools that are created by parents, teachers, businesses, and community leaders and have the freedom to organize their activities around a core mission, curriculum, or teaching method. Their autonomy gives them the freedom to create their own budgets and to hire and fire teachers and staff.
CollaborativeCollaboratives are formed through an agreement among two or more school committees to provide education for their member school systems. Agreements must be filed with the Commissioner of DOE. A Board representative of each member school committee manages them.
Collaborative ProgramsRegardless of the size of the individual collaborative, each school provides programs that its member districts demand.
Private SchoolA non-publicly funded school that provides educational services directly to attending students.
Public SchoolPublic schools are administered by a Public School District, and provide educational services directly to attending students. Expenses are paid by state appropriation.
Public School DistrictsAn administrative unit responsible for managing primary and secondary school services within a defined geographical boundary. There can be two types of School Districts, Operational and Non-Operational district, and expenses are paid by state appropriation.
Special Education AgencyNA

The Data

Directory Information

DOE Code:

The ESE Code, also referred to as the Organization Code, is an eight digit numeric code assigned by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to every organization listed in the Directory Profiles, including every district and school in the Commonwealth. For districts and schools, the first four digits represent the District Code and the last four digits represent the School Code. Thus the organization code "02660505" stands for "0266" (Sharon Public Schools) + "0505" (Sharon High). If a form requires the 8-digit ESE school code it is calling for the entire organization code.

Prior to the 2001 school year, organization codes contained six digits (three for the district and three for the school.) With the exception of some special needs schools, the eight digit codes are the same as the six digit codes with one zero added before the district code and another zero added before the school code. Thus, Sharon High's old six digit organizational code was 266505.

Please Note: The Department's Organization Code is not the same as the Institution codes assigned by the College board for SAT and AP results. Nor is it the same as the NCES code assigned to Massachusetts schools by the U.S. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Grades/Schools*: indicates the number and grade range of elementary, middle/junior high and high schools in the district, as well as the total number of schools in the district and the grade range of the school system. An elementary range beginning with "PK" indicates the district has pre-kindergarten. A high school range ending in "13" or "14" indicates the district has a post-graduate program. Kindergarten starting age indicates the age as of a particular date at which children are eligible to begin kindergarten.

Services:

  • Inter-district Choice: indicates whether students from other districts may enroll in the district through the state school choice program, which is voluntary and on a space-available basis.
  • Intra-district Choice: indicates whether the district has a school choice program within the school district for students who live in the district.
  • Vocational Education: indicates whether the district operates a Chapter 74 approved vocational education program.
  • Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE): indicates whether the district operates a TBE program. Under Massachusetts law, a district must provide a TBE program in a particular language if there are 20 or more limited English proficient students in that particular language group enrolled in the district. Limited English proficient students are students whose first language is not English and who cannot perform ordinary class work in English.
  • METCO: indicates whether the district participates in the state METCO program, which promotes voluntary desegregation by enrolling minority students from Boston and Springfield in suburban schools.

Relationships:

  • Member of Regional Districts*: for local school districts, indicates the name(s) of any academic and/or vocational regional district(s) of which the local school district is a member. For regional school districts, indicates the names of member local school districts. A regional school district provides educational services to more than one town.

* District level data only.

Enrollment

Enrollment by Grade
indicates the enrollment for grades Pre-kindergarten (PK), kindergarten through 12, post-graduate grades 13 and 14, and ungraded (u/g) students for the listed school year.

Race/Ethnicity
indicates the percent of enrollment by race/ethnicity for the listed school year. The reporting categories are those used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Selected Populations
indicates the percent of enrollment represented by students in special education programs*, students who are limited English proficient, and students eligible to receive free or reduced price lunch*. Data are for the listed school year.

Children Attending Public Schools*
indicates the percent of school-age children in a city or town attending public schools, for the listed school years.

* District level data only.

Test Results

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS):

  • Results for the listed year is displayed here
  • Select a 'Grade and Subject' to view test item analyisi data
  • Select the icon for a graphical display of MCAS results

SAT: The district or school's SAT results are displayed for the listed years.

People

A list of people who work in the organization. Each name is linked to contact information for the person.

Finance

Per Pupil Expenditures*: are calculated by dividing a district's operating costs by its average pupil membership. Operating costs include expenditures for administration, instruction, pupil services, transportation, plant maintenance, and fixed charges. These costs do not include capital outlay and long-term interest on school debt. Average pupil membership includes students who receive services in the district's schools, as well as students receiving home or hospital instruction. Data for regular education, special education, bilingual education and vocational education students are provided in addition to the total for all day programs, for the listed school years.

Teacher Salary*: total teaching salaries, divided by the number of full-time equivalent teachers, equals the average teacher salary.

Foundation Budget Spending Comparison*: The education reform act established a foundation budget for each school district. This budget represents the minimum level of spending needed to provide an adequate education for the district's students. The foundation budget is made up of 19 separate categories. The chart shows the district's actual spending in each category for the listed school year as a percentage of the district's foundation budget. If the percentage exceeds 100%, the district spent more in the category than suggested by the foundation budget. If the percentage is less than 100%, the district spent less. Significant variations between local spending and the foundation budget, or between local spending and the statewide averages, should be reviewed closely. In some cases, the differences may be due to unique circumstances and needs within the district. In other cases, the differences may suggest potential areas for review and improvement.

* District level data only.

Other Data

Dropout/Attendance Rates: indicates the percentage of students in grades 9-12 who dropped out of school between July 1 and June 30 prior to the listed year and who did not return to school by October 1. Dropouts are defined as students who leave school prior to graduation for reasons other than transfer to another school.

Attendance Rate: indicates the average percentage of enrolled students, (grade 1-12), present in school for the listed school year.

Student Exclusions: indicates the number of student exclusions that occurred during the listed school year. An exclusion is defined as the removal of a student for disciplinary purposes permanently, indefinitely or for more than ten consecutive school days.

Plans of High School Graduates: indicates the post-graduate intentions of students for the listed school year.

Technology: indicates the number of students for every one computer and the percent of classrooms with Internet access. Data are for the listed school year; "DNR" appears for schools and districts which did not yet report data.

Search

There are three ways to locate inforamtion in the Directory Profiles: Geographical Search, Organization Search and Person Search.

Geographical Search

Geographical Search helps you to locate organizations within the counties, cities and towns of Massachusetts

  • Use the map to select a county and view its cities and towns
  • Select a city or town to return a list of all organizations within that city/town

If your search is successful, the matching organizations names are displayed. Select an organization to view its profile page.

Organization Search

Organization Search helps you locate organizations by the organization type, the location of the organization, the name of organization, or any combination. For example, you can search for a Private School in Townsboro.

  • Search for an organization by selecting an organization type +/or location from the appropriate drop-down list
  • Optionally, you may enter a name, (or portion of a name) in the keyword text box
  • You may use Wildcard Characters to enhance your search
  • When you have finished selecting your search criteria, click the 'find organization' button

If your search is successful, the matching organizations names are displayed. Select an organization to view its profile page. If your search is unsuccessful, broaden your search by using less specific criteria.

About Locations

The 'location' drop-down box lists cities and towns in Massachusetts, in alphabetical order. You can use this field to find the location of schools in a specific city or town.

You will not be able use this field to find a school that does not reside within Massachusetts (such as a Special Educational facility operated in New York). You will have to use the 'organization type' field or search for the name of the school.

What should I enter in the Organization Name box?

You can search for an organization by typing its name (such as Townsboro High School) in the 'organization keyword' text box. If you are unsure how to spell a name, you can use Wildcard Characters.

Person Search

Person Search helps you find information about a person who is part of an organization. You can search for a person by last name, first name, function, organization, or any combination. For example, you can search for a Principal named Smith, if you do not remember the exact name of the school where Smith is the Principal.

  • Search for a person by entering first name, last name, +/or organization, in the fields provided
  • Optionally, you may search by function by select one or more functions from the 'function list'
  • You may use Wildcard Characters to enhance your search
  • When you have finished entering your search criteria, click the 'find person' button

If your search is successful, the matching names are displayed. Select a person to view his/her associated organizations. If your search is unsuccessful, broaden your search by using less specific criteria.

About Functions

You can search for a person using the function list. This field lists functions in an organization, such as School Teacher or District Transportation. Scroll through to see if a function in the list matches one of your search criteria.

You can include more than one function in your search. For example, to search for either the Principal or Assistant Principal of a school, select Principal and Assistant Principal from the Function list.

To select more than one function from the list box:

  1. Press and hold the ctrl key, (PC) or , (MAC) on your keyboard.
  2. Select the function(s) with your mouse
  3. Let go of the control key.
  4. Repeat this procedure for each function you want to select.

Search Tips: Using Wildcard Characters

Text in a search box is case insensitive.

Wildcards are special substitute characters. There are two wildcard characters: _ (underscore) and % (percent). You can use wildcard characters in the 'Last Name', 'First Name' and 'Organization Kayword' fields in a Person Search and in the 'Organization Keyword' field in an Organization Search.

Using wildcards can help you if you are not sure of spelling (e.g., Hanson, Hansen), but wildcard searches can also return too many matches.

The wildcard _ replaces any single character. The wildcard % replaces any number of characters.

The following table provides some examples of 'Last Name' searches, including examples using wildcards:

If you enter:You will match:
eNames that start with 'e' -- Evans, Eberhart, Ells
%eNames that include an e anywhere in the name (you will probably find too many matches)
_eNames that include an 'e' as the second character in the name -- Peters, Lewis
Hans_nHansen, Hanson
reNames that include 're' in anywhere in the name -- Reardon, Reid, Reily

Printing

To print, select the print icon in the tool bar of your browser.
Alternately, you can select 'print' from the file menu of your browser.

Contact Information

Phone: 1.781.338-DATA
email: data@doe.mass.edu

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