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Public Schools & Districts

General

Contact Information:

Schools and Districts view, add, update and delete their own directory information to ensure that the information is as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

ESE Code: The eight-digit ESE Code following the school or district name is 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 ESE code "02660505" stands for "0266" (Sharon Public Schools) + "0505" (Sharon High).

The ESE Code is not the same as the Institution codes assigned by the College board for SAT and AP results or the NCES code assigned to Massachusetts schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

Organization Characteristics

Characteristics identify specific features or attributes of the selected organization including:

  • Chapter 74 Approved Program: A program that meets the definition of vocational technical education contained in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 74, Section 1 and approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education pursuant to c. 74 and the Vocational Technical Education Regulations 603 CMR 4.00. Programs include: Carpentry, Electricity, Metal Fabrication & Joining Technologies and Programming & Web Development.

  • Charter School Type:
    Commonwealth- A public school that is managed by a board of trustees and operates independently of any school committee under a five-year charter granted by the Board of Education. It has the freedom to organize around a core mission, curriculum, theme, and/or teaching method and to control its own budget and hire (and fire) teachers and staff. In return for this freedom, a charter school must attract students and produce positive results within five years or its charter will not be renewed.
    Horace Mann- Operates under the same set of rules as described above, with the following exceptions. First, a Horace Mann charter school must have its charter approved by the local school committee and the local teacher's union in addition to the Board of Education. Second, to the extent provided by their charters, Horace Mann charter schools may be exempt from certain provisions in local collective bargaining agreements. Third, employees of a Horace Mann charter school remain members of the local collective bargaining unit; continue to accrue seniority; and receive, at a minimum, the salary and benefits established by the local collective bargaining agreement.
     
  • District Operating Status:
    Non-Operating - A town that does not directly operate a school district. The town belongs to a regional school district or pays tuition for their students to attend another school district.
    Operating - A city/town that operates its own local school district. It may operate as its own district at some grades, and belong to a regional district or tuition out its students at other grades.
     
  • District Title I Status: A district that receives federal Title I funding.

  • District Type:
    Institutional School - State institutional schools that are administered by the ESE.
    County Agricultural - Agricultural school district that is administered by a board of trustees.
    Independent Public - This category includes Commonwealth Charter Schools, Horace Mann Charter Schools and the Massachusetts Academy of Mathematics and Science.
    Independent Vocational - Vocational school district that is administered by a board of trustees.
    Local School - District that is administered by a city or town school committee.
    Regional Academic - District that is administered by a regional school committee.
    Regional Vocational Tech - District that is administered by a regional vocational school committee.
     
  • Inter-District School Choice:
    Does Not Offer Choice - The local school committee has voted not to accept students from other communities under the School Choice regulations.
    Not Accepting New Enrollments - The school district participates in the School Choice program, but is not accepting new students at this time.
    Offers Choice - The school district is accepting students from other districts as defined under the School Choice regulations.
     
    Note: Inter-District School Choice is not related to NCLB School Choice, which applies only to schools receiving federal Title funds identified for improvement, corrective action or restructuring.
     
  • Out of State School (Only those out-of-state schools which MA students attend with public funds are listed.):
    Private School - a non-public school located outside of Massachusetts.
    Public School - a public school located outside of Massachusetts.
     
  • School Title I Status:
    Non-Title I School - School does not have a Title I program.
    Title I School (SW) - School has a Schoolwide Title I program.
    Title I School (TA) - School has a Targeted Assistance Title I program.
    Title I School (TAP) - School has a Targeted Assistance Title I program and is in the planning year to have a Schoolwide program
     
  • Special Education Approved: The school meets the requirements of 603 CMR 28.09, "Approval of Public and Private Day and Residential Special Education School Programs" AND 603 CMR 18.00, "Program and Safety Standards for Approved Public or Private Day and Residential Special Education School Programs."

  • Approved Special Education Programs Characteristics
    • Gender: Female, Male or Non-Binary
    • Program Minimum/Maximum Age: age range of students served
    • Needs Served: Disability Type(s) for example autism, developmental delay, physical
    • Number of Months: 10 month program, 11 month program, or 12 month program
    • Type: Day, Residential, or Summer


  • Alternative Education Characteristics
    • Grades Served - Grade levels that are served at the Alternative Education program or school.
    • Max Age - The maximum age of students permitted in the Alternative Education program or school.
    • Capacity - The maximum numbers of students the Alternative Education program or school can enroll at one time.
    • Waiting List - Indicates whether or not the Alternative Education program or school maintains a waiting list.
    • Eligibility - The types of student characteristics that the Alternative Education program or school serves.
      • Expelled - A student that received a disciplinary action imposed by school officials to permanently be removed from participation in all school activities. According to state law, no public school district in the Commonwealth is legally required to educate and expelled student.
      • Frequent truancy - A student that has recurrent unexcused absences, based on the local school district definition of what constitutes an unexcused absence.
      • Involved with DCF - A student that is served by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), this includes foster cae, adoption, adolescent services, and domestic violence services.
      • Involved with DYS - A student that is currently (or were recently) served by the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS), the juvenile justice agency of the Commonwealth. DYS involvement includes students that are placed at a DYS secure facility, as well as students that receive services through DYS and reside in the community.
      • Pregnant - A student that is pregnant.
      • Parenting - A student that has full or partial caretaking responsibilities for an infant or child.
      • Poor academic record - A student that is at-risk for not being promoted to the next grade level or is at-risk for not earning a high school diploma due to not meeting the school district academic promotion requirements.
      • Returned dropout - formerly out of school: A student that previously withdrew from school prior to earning a high school diploma, for reasons other than transfer to another school, that has re-enrolled in the school district.
      • Suspended - A student that received a disciplinary action imposed by school officials that removed the student from academic classes and placed him/her in a separate environment or outside of the school building. A student may receive either an in-school suspension or an out-of-school suspension.
    • Component - The types of services and activities that are available for students that are enrolled in the Alternative Education program or school
    • Hours - The times of day the Alternative Education program or school operates.

People

Names, phone and fax of individuals performing specific job function(s) in the selected organization.

Grades Offered:

For districts this section displays 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. Schools were assigned to one of the following three types based on these characteristics:

Elementary School

  1. grades starting at lowest levels, such as PK, KG or 01;
  2. grade span of successive grades, such as PK, KG, 01, 02, and 03; and
  3. grades ending at either grades 05, 06, 07 and/or 08.

Middle/Junior High School

  1. grades starting at either grades 04, 05, 06, 07 and/or 08;
  2. grade span may also include pre-kindergarten grade combined with middle/junior high school grades, for example, PK, 06-08;
  3. grades ending at or before grade 09; and
  4. school administered as a separate entity between the elementary and secondary levels.

Secondary High School

  • grades starting at either grades as 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, and/or 11;
  • grade span of successive grades, such as 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11 and 12;
  • grade span may also include pre-kindergarten grade combined with secondary grades, for example, PK, 09-12; and
  • ability to graduate students upon completion of final years of school work from grades 10,11 and/or 12.

Kindergarten starting age indicates the age as of a particular date at which children are eligible to begin kindergarten.

Relationships/Membership: (districts only)

  • Membership - Union: A "school union" is a group of school systems that are administered by one superintendent.
  • Grade Tuition Agreement: A town may tuition all their students in a particular grade span into another school system.
  • Membership - Academic Regional: A regional school district provides educational services to more than one town. For a city/town district, this lists the name(s) of any academic regional district(s) of which the local school district is a member. For an academic regional district, this lists the member cities and towns.
  • Membership - Vocational Regional: A regional school district provides educational services to more than one town. For a city/town district, this lists the name(s) of any vocational regional district(s) of which the local school district is a member. For a vocational regional district, this lists the member cities and towns.
  • Membership - Independent Vocational: An independent vocational district is administered by a board of trustees. For a city/town district, this lists the name(s) of any independent vocational district(s) of which the local school district is a member. For an independent vocational district, this lists the member cities and towns. Tuition is charged to out-of-town residents.
  • Membership - County Agricultural: A county agricultural district is administered by a board of trustees. For a city/town district, this lists the name(s) of any county agricultural district(s) of which the local school district is a member. For a county agricultural district, this lists the member cities and towns.
  • Membership - Collaboratives: Educational Collaboratives are formed through an agreement among two or more school committees to provide educational programs or services for their member school systems. For a district, this lists the name(s) of any collaboratives of which the district is a member. For a collaborative this lists the member districts.
  • Private Schools located in this city/town: Lists the private schools located in the city/town.

Student Restraint Report

State regulations broadly define restraint as restriction of students' freedom of movement. The definition does not include a brief physical contact to promote student safety or redirect or physical escort. For more information, please see 603 CMR 46.02.

The Student Restraint Report begins with the 2016-17 school year (July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017). (The reporting requirements were different prior to January 1, 2016, when the new restraint regulations went into effect.) The 2016-17 school year was the start of a new data collection system for this report.

Data in this report are suppressed (dash in the cells) when:

  • Fewer than 6 students were restrained.
  • The number of injuries to staff or students is between 1 and 5.

As ESE does not collect enrollment data for collaboratives or approved special education schools, blank cells appear in their enrollment column. Schools are not listed here if they or their district on their behalf certified to the Department that they did not have any restraints. District-level data are not available for this report at this time.

The schools listed in this report include public schools, public school collaboratives, and approved day and residential special education schools. These categories of schools serve different student populations, and some may have a significantly longer school year, which may account for differences in the data reported. Other factors that can lead to variation in restraint rates are age range and the health and safety needs of the students served. Because of these differences, the data reported do not support comparisons between schools.

More information is available in this memo. For background on the regulations that require this collection, see this question and answer guide. For information on how the data are submitted, please see our technical assistance page.

Restraint data are among the items the Department reviews in its monitoring of schools. The most recent program review and mid-cycle review reports for approved special education schools are posted at http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/psr/, and the most recent coordinated program reviews and mid-cycle reviews for public school districts are posted at http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/default.html.

School and District Profiles