2025 Annual Report to Board of Elementary and Secondary Education BESE

Annual Report: 2024–25 School Year

The 2024-25 school year was a time of transition for Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE, as Acting Commissioner Russell D. Johnston wrapped up 11 distinguished years with the agency and Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler supported the agency by filling in as interim commissioner for several months.

During the year, Massachusetts fourth- and eighth-grade students again ranked number one among states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, often called the Nation's Report Card) but continued to struggle with pandemic recovery and achievement gaps. These challenges, plus the passage of Question 2 eliminating the use of Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS as a graduation requirement, were the backdrop for the state's search for a new commissioner, which concluded with the selection of Pedro Martinez in the spring.

Throughout the year, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's focus for both the pre-K–12 and adult learners it serves continued to be the three strategic objectives in the agency's Educational Vision :

• Strategic Objective 1: Cultivate systems to support the whole student and foster joyful, healthy, and supportive learning environments so that all students feel valued, connected, nourished, and ready to learn.
• Strategic Objective 2: Promote deeper learning so that all students engage in grade-level work that is real-world, relevant, and interactive.
• Strategic Objective 3: Develop and sustain a workforce that is diverse, culturally responsive, well-prepared, and committed to continuous improvement, so that all students have access to effective educators.

The Department's 2024-25 Annual Report is below.

Strategic Objective 1: Whole Student Supports

As the state continued to address a surge in homeless families, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE announced in September that 47 school districts were receiving more than $1.7 million in federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education grants , supporting more than 20,000 students who experience homelessness at some point during the school year. The grants provided districts with additional support and resources for family engagement, staff training, English language services, tutoring, school supplies and other needs. By the start of the 2025-26 school year, the number of families in shelters had decreased to levels lower than those of 2023.

In February, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE awarded $5.5 million in grants to improve student access to behavioral and mental health services and support. This funding can be used to create or expand comprehensive, integrated systems of student support and aims, through collaboration with families and educators, to build strong local school partnerships with community-based mental health agencies and/or providers.

In June, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education unanimously approved updated regulations related to the use of time-out practices . The updated regulations are designed to create safer and more supportive school environments and increase transparency and communication between schools and families.

Strategic Objective 2: Learning Experiences

As the Healey-Driscoll Administration kicked off the first full year of Literacy Launch: Reading Success from Age 3 through Grade 3 , Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE expanded its work to support districts' use of evidence-based early literacy strategies, awarding $326,477 in Partnership for Reading Success in Massachusetts (PRISM) grants , offering $5.5 million to help districts implement high-quality instructional materials through Partnership for Reading Success in Massachusetts PRISM II grants, offering free summer Literacy Launch Institutes for educators, awarding almost $372,000 to colleges and districts for training for prospective and existing teachers, and investing $25 million in high-dosage early literacy tutoring .

Reviews of literacy-related licensure programs also launched in 2025, marking the beginning of an accelerated review process of over 100 Elementary, Early Childhood, Moderate Disabilities PK–2, and Moderate Disabilities PK–8 teacher preparation programs across 41 sponsoring organizations to ensure alignment to the state's Early Literacy Program Approval Criteria , such that all teachers are prepared to implement evidence-based, inclusive, and culturally and linguistically sustaining early literacy instruction.

After Governor Healey established a K–12 Statewide Graduation Council , Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE worked with the Executive Office of Education and the Department of Higher Education to launch listening sessions and a survey to gather public input that would inform recommendations in future months.

To prepare students for post-secondary success, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE awarded nearly $1 million to support students' career and college planning with My College and Academic Plan (MyCAP), participated in a Financial Aid Road Show with the Executive Office of Education and Department of Higher Education, and, with a Board vote, improved access to career technical education schools . During the 2024-25 school year, more than 1 in 4 high school students—or 80,377 students—participated in a College and Career Pathway .

Strategic Objective 3: Diverse and Effective Workforce

During the 2024-25 school year, 38 educators participated in the first year of the Massachusetts Aspiring Principal Fellowship , a training program that Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE launched in partnership with Boston College's Lynch Leadership Academy to develop a strong and diverse pipeline of effective school principals. By the end of the school year, four participants had already transitioned into leadership positions.

The 2024-25 school year also marked the establishment of the first Registered Teacher Apprenticeships in Massachusetts. Seven inaugural Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program RTAP districts designed and launched pathways to licensure for diverse candidates in special education, early childhood, and English as a Second Language, with the goal of creating high quality, sustainable, affordable pathways into teaching.

Also, during the year, the Board voted unanimously to make alternative assessments to the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) permanent. This change came after five years of a pilot program and will allow prospective teachers to demonstrate competencies in different ways while maintaining high standards for subject matter knowledge, communications and literacy skills.

Closing

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE continues to refine and expand its work in many areas, all inspired by the potential, creativity, and dedication of Massachusetts students. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's goals remain that all students be known and valued; that all students have relevant, real-world, and interactive learning experiences; and that all students have the supports they need to excel at grade level or beyond.