Dartmouth Middle and High School officials are looking to improve classroom functions with better learning assessments, more positive reinforcement, and community partnerships, according to presentations given at the August 22 School Committee meeting.

At the meeting, officials from both schools explained how they were to implement key elements from Dartmouth Public Schools Superintendent Bonny Gifford’s three-year strategic plan, including teaching and learning, access and equality, and community engagement.

Middle School Assistant Principal Carl Robidoux explained that teachers are better tracking the effectiveness of classroom lessons through assessments at the end of each module. However, he said, to improve teaching and learning, the school will implement pretesting to better gauge student preparedness and lesson effectiveness.

Middle School Dean of Students Sarah Decas praised the school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, a method focused on rewarding good behavior instead of punishing bad behavior, but said there are still challenges in reaching every student.

“I think PBIS is really working in our building. We have a good grasp, but it’s that kid in the class that we just can’t seem to get, and that’s where we see frustration. We’re going to work on that this year,” Decas said.

Decas also addressed changes to the Response to Intervention (RTI) program, a system aimed at helping students in need. The first change: changing the name of the RTI classroom to eliminate negative preconceptions of the program.

“One of the issues we discovered is the kids don’t even know what RTI is, and they assume it’s punitive and they have to go there. We’re trying to put a little more of a positive spin on it because we did find that kids thought it was perceived as a negative thing,” Decas said.

Decas added that in addition to the name change, the school is working on defining better exit criteria to determine when students no longer need the RTI program.

“The goal of putting a kid in these programs isn’t to make it a lifetime thing. The goal is to exit the kids from that so they can be independent and work on their own,” Decas said.

Middle School Principal Darren Doane said that while the school currently has partnerships with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and the Dartmouth Rotary Club, it will improve community engagement by seeking additional partnerships with outside organizations. More so, the Middle School will be expanding its college preparedness and career days, on top of continuing its efforts to get parents and students involved.

High School Principal John Gould said he intends to improve access and equality by implementing PBIS programming for the first time this school year. Gould added that he has seen the success of the program at Dartmouth’s middle and elementary schools.

Gould said that in community engagement, the school goes to great lengths to ensure students and parents are involved. Faculty are involved in various committees and councils, as well as partnerships with UMass Dartmouth, Dartmouth’s Youth Advocate, communication through social media, and a Dartmouth Community Television series.

The high school will also improve communication among staff and grade levels by uploading curriculum to program called Rubicon Atlas. The electronic outline will allow easy reference for both current and future staff, said Gould.