===PAGE 1=== Additional Town Revenue Spending Plan Location Item Cost Funding Source Primary School 1.0 Reading Specialist $103,722 Health Insurance Savings FY27 THES 1.0 Reading Specialist $103,722 November TM LHS .5 Assistant Principal $90,450 November TM Primary School 52 Ignite Seats $129,458 November TM LHS .4 Music Teacher $26,370 November TM Rationales Primary School Reading Specialist Currently, our K-2 class sizes are approaching thirty students. Research consistently shows that the optimal class size for maximizing foundational literacy and math skills in early primary grades (K-3) is no larger than 18 students. In classrooms of thirty, the variance in reading abilities is vast. For general education teachers, it becomes mathematically impossible to provide the individualized, one-on-one attention and frequent feedback that young, developing readers require. Consequently, students with early foundational gaps, particularly in phonemic awareness and decoding, are at high risk of falling behind because their specific needs cannot be fully addressed during whole-group instruction. Adding a dedicated Reading Teacher is a critical structural adjustment necessary to counteract the adverse effects of large class sizes. Research highlights several distinct advantages to this approach: ● Research demonstrates that a child's brain is far more receptive to reading instruction in the early years. Catching and addressing reading difficulties in K-2 is significantly easier and more effective than attempting remediation in upper elementary or middle school. Strong intervention in these primary grades changes a child’s entire academic trajectory. ● Studies indicate that students receiving reading interventions in small, targeted groups consistently outperform struggling readers who only receive whole-class instruction. A Reading Specialist can pull small groups (Tier 2 and Tier 3) to deliver explicit, systematic ===PAGE 2=== phonics instruction, ensuring higher learning gains through focused dosage and increased engagement that is impossible to hide from in a small setting. ● Specialized literacy professionals have the advanced training required to administer diagnostic assessments ,such as DIBELS, pinpoint exact skill gaps, and continuously monitor progress. This targeted approach prevents over-teaching skills students already know and focuses intensely on the specific orthographic or phonological barriers holding them back. While we cannot immediately reduce general classroom ratios to the ideal number of 18, we can provide the targeted support our students need. A dedicated K-2 Reading Specialist is not just a supplementary role; it is a necessary investment. By implementing evidence-based, small-group interventions, we can attempt to close early learning gaps and relieve the instructional burden on our general education teachers. THES Reading Specialist As students enter grades 3-5, academic demands shift dramatically. Students encounter increasingly complex texts in all subject areas, including science, social studies, and math, and are expected to independently comprehend this dense material. Research widely documents the "fourth-grade slump," a period where students lacking foundational reading fluency and vocabulary rapidly fall behind their peers when faced with this heightened rigor. At THES, this challenge is compounded by class sizes approaching thirty students. In an upper- elementary classroom of thirty, the variance in reading proficiency is incredibly vast—often spanning multiple grade levels. For a general education teacher, providing the intensive, differentiated instruction required to close these gaps while managing a large cohort is mathematically and structurally prohibitive. Without targeted intervention, struggling readers in grades 3-5 risk permanent academic marginalization. To address the challenges of large class sizes and complex upper-elementary literacy demands, THES requires the clinical expertise of a certified Reading Specialist. A dedicated specialist provides the essential, evidence-based interventions that cannot be delivered during whole-group instruction in a class of thirty. ● A specialist is trained to administer advanced diagnostic assessments to identify the root causes of reading struggles (e.g., deficits in advanced phonics, multisyllabic decoding, morphology, or complex comprehension). They provide intense, Tier 2 and Tier 3 small- group instruction tailored to these specific deficits. ● By remediating these targeted skills, the specialist ensures that students can access the rigorous grade-level content being taught in their general education classrooms. Without ===PAGE 3=== this bridge, students who struggle with reading effectively lose access to instruction in science, history, and word-problem-based mathematics. ● A Reading Specialist also serves as a critical resource for general education teachers. They can help classroom teachers interpret reading data and implement whole-class scaffolding strategies to better support the diverse reading levels within a class of thirty. A class size of thirty in grades 3-5 presents significant barriers to individualized reading instruction, but it is a barrier we can mitigate. By investing in a dedicated Reading Specialist, we provide a critical safety net for our most vulnerable learners. This expert instruction will help support THES students to have the reading comprehension skills necessary to access complex text. .5 Assistant Principal There is a need to transition the High School Assistant Principal position from a 0.5 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) to a 1.0 FTE. This investment is essential to ensure a safe, supportive, and effective learning environment for our students and staff, addressing immediate challenges in school climate, student behavior, and administrative capacity. Recruiting highly qualified administrative candidates for a part-time (0.5 FTE) position is inherently difficult.Experienced and highly effective administrators typically seek full-time employment for career stability and benefits. A 0.5 FTE position significantly limits our ability to attract and retain top-tier talent, often leading to high turnover in a role that requires consistency. Converting this role to a 1.0 FTE ensures we can recruit from a robust pool of dedicated professionals committed to the long-term success of our high school, fostering stability in our leadership team. Recent data indicates a direct correlation between administrative staffing levels and staff morale.Our High School Climate and Culture Survey demonstrated that staff feel significantly less supported without a full-time Assistant Principal present. A 0.5 FTE limits the Assistant Principal’s ability to be a consistent, visible, and proactive presence in the building. A full-time administrator is necessary to provide timely responses to staff needs, offer consistent coaching, and maintain the strong, supportive culture necessary for effective teaching and learning. The reduction in support structures has directly impacted student behavior and well-being. We have observed a marked increase in student behavioral issues. This correlates directly with the minimal support we are currently able to provide. The loss of crucial support systems, such as our Bridge program, has exacerbated these issues, leaving a gap in services for our most vulnerable students. A 1.0 FTE Assistant Principal is vital to implementing proactive behavioral interventions, managing disciplinary issues effectively, and ensuring that students receive the timely support they need to succeed academically and socially. A part-time administrator can ===PAGE 4=== only offer reactive, triage-level support rather than the comprehensive, preventative strategies our students require. 52 Ignite Tutoring Seats Primary The consensus among early literacy researchers is unequivocal: if students do not achieve reading proficiency by the end of first grade, the likelihood of them catching up diminishes significantly. A 2025 study from the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University (CRRE) highlights this urgency, finding that 88% of students who are not reading at benchmark by the end of first grade remain behind a year later; only 1 in 8 catch up without intensive, targeted intervention. Conversely, the same study found that when students received effective early intervention and exited first grade on benchmark, 85% maintained their reading proficiency through the end of second grade without further intervention. This demonstrates that K-2 is not just a time for foundational learning; it is the critical window where educational gaps are either closed permanently or allowed to widen. Ignite is built upon the proven framework of high-dosage, near-peer tutoring. Research consistently identifies high-dosage tutoring, defined as small group or 1:1 instruction, occurring at least three times a week for 30 minutes, or daily for 15 minutes, embedded within the school day as one of the most effective strategies for learning acceleration. ● The Johns Hopkins CRRE evaluation of the Ignite Reading program in Massachusetts (2023-2024) found that participating first graders achieved an average of 5.4 additional months of learning compared to national benchmarks. ● The CRRE study calculated an effect size of +0.21 to +0.23 SD for the Ignite virtual tutoring model. This effect size is comparable to, or exceeds, the impact of large-scale, in-person tutoring programs, validating the efficacy of their structured virtual model ● Ignite's targeted, 1:1 approach produces consistent gains across diverse student populations. Research indicates that multilingual learners (MLLs), students with IEPs, and students of color experience the same accelerated growth in foundational reading skills as their peers. ● Ignite’s curriculum and tutoring methodology are heavily grounded in the Science of Reading, focusing explicitly on systematic phonics, phonemic awareness, decoding, and early fluency—the exact skills required to crack the alphabetic code in K-2 While national research provides the foundation for this model, our own data from the previous academic year provides the most compelling case for continuing Ignite seats at the Primary School. Investing in Ignite tutoring seats for our K-2 students is a proactive, evidence-aligned strategy to prevent reading failure. The model’s proven ability to deliver over five months of additional learning, combined with the measurable success our own students experienced last year, justifies the continued allocation of resources to this program. ===PAGE 5=== .4 Music Teacher LHS Currently, at 0.6 FTE, our ability to offer a diverse and comprehensive music curriculum is constrained. Increasing this position to full-time will directly address this limitation by: ● Allowing the introduction of new music electives that cater to a wider range of student interests and skill levels. ● Providing more sections of popular existing classes and ensuring more students have the opportunity to participate in the arts. ● Providing the educator with the necessary time to build and sustain a stronger, more visible music program within the school community. A key component of this proposal is utilizing a portion of the increased FTE to address a significant scheduling hurdle. The music teacher will teach one section outside of her primary certification area, specifically within the Physical Education department. ● This strategic placement will directly help seniors fulfill their mandatory PE requirements, which are often difficult to schedule due to competing priorities. ● By opening up a crucial PE section, we alleviate a major scheduling bottleneck. This flexibility is critical for upperclassmen. ● With their PE requirement satisfied more easily, seniors will have the schedule availability to enroll in advanced classes (AP, Honors) or other electives aligned with their post-secondary goals. Moving the Music Teacher position from 0.6 to 1.0 FTE is not merely an investment in the music department; it is a strategic maneuver that benefits the entire school's master schedule. It enriches our arts offerings while providing essential flexibility that allows our senior students to maximize their academic potential and pursue their individual areas of interest. The return on investment in student opportunity and schedule optimization makes this a highly advantageous decision.