Groton-Dunstable School News!

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and is looking forward to a great school year ahead. The start of a new school year is always an exciting time in our district as students and staff settle into new routines, classrooms, and opportunities. We encourage community members to tune in or attend our meetings throughout the year, and if there is a topic you would like the School Committee to consider for a future agenda, please feel free to reach out to me anytime. Below is a link to an information sheet with contact information for all School Committee members, details about our subcommittees, and a link to our meeting dates for the year.

On behalf of the School Committee, I want to wish all of our students, families, teachers, and staff a happy and successful 2026–2027 school year.

Lacey McCabe

Chair, Groton-Dunstable Regional School Committee

We hope you enjoy this month's newsletter and find it helpful as you get ready for the year ahead. In this edition, you'll find:

• 📚 Curriculum Corner
• 🚌 Bus routes for 2026–2027
• 📅 School calendar
• 🏛️ An update on the state budget and Chapter 70 advocacy
• 👋 Welcome to our new School Committee member
• 🌟 Staff Spotlight
• 🤝 Community Connections
• 🔗 Helpful links and contact information

This fall, all our classrooms K-4 will bring the new foundational skills phonics program on board. About half our classrooms pioneered this new curriculum last year and those teachers will be a great help to their colleagues implementing this curriculum for the first time. Families can read more about this program on the company’s website here. More specific scope and sequence information for GDRSD is under development and will be shared on the curriculum page of the website.

We are excited to share that GDRSD has been awarded a PRISM II grant of $146,000 to support our review, purchase, and implementation of a new, research-backed literacy curriculum in Grades K-3. This grant specifically supports professional coaching and guidance through the process of building shared understanding of the components of high-quality literacy curriculum, the selection of an approved curriculum, and the effective implementation of that curriculum. While the grant specifically targets K-3, the district has begun the process of literacy curriculum review for Grades K-8, following the curriculum review plan adopted in 2025. The grant activities align well with this internal process and we’re eager to receive this help.

This year, educators across the district will engage with one of three themes for our professional development time. Educators in grades K-2 will complete the HILL for Literacy’s Primary Series on the Science of Reading, focused on what happens in the brain as we learn to read, what strategies help students learn to read, and how assessment provides critical information for supporting reading development. The district partnership with the Equity Imperative will bring a series of interactive, in-person workshops to educators around practical tools, language, and strategies that foster belonging, strengthen relationships, and improve responses to student behavior while reducing reliance on punitive approaches. Finally, we will offer a series of workshops around inclusive practices for diverse learners, removing barriers to learning, and increasing student independence in their own learning journeys.

We are in the process of building a revised landing page for curriculum on the district website. This landing page will be the place to view information about the scope, sequence, and standards in place in different content areas and grade levels across the district. As this page is built, please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have specific questions about the curriculum.

You will also find the District Curriculum Accommodation Plan on that webpage. This document helps educators and families understand the accommodations that are options to help every child access curriculum and instruction.

As families prepare for the new school year, we want to make sure everyone has the information they need for a smooth start. The school calendar and bus routes for the 2026–2027 school year are available below.

On July 9th, Governor Healey signed the FY27 Budget, which increased the minimum aid rate to $160 per student. The budget also reestablished the Foundation Budget Review Commission, which will review how the state’s school funding formula is calculated and recommend changes to ensure it reflects the educational programs and services needed to meet the Commonwealth’s goals. The Commission is expected to begin its work once its members are selected, with a final report and recommendations due by October 2028.

Both the increase in per-pupil funding and the reestablishment of the Commission were priorities that our community advocated for throughout the budget process. A huge thank you to everyone who reached out to legislators, submitted letters, and helped advocate for these important changes. Your voices made a difference.

Shortly after signing the FY27 Budget, Governor Healey also proposed an additional $100 million for K-12 education as part of a supplemental budget. If enacted, this funding would provide an average of approximately $112 per student to school districts statewide. While this would be one-time funding and would not be incorporated into our Chapter 70 funding going forward, it would provide meaningful additional resources to our district. We will continue to monitor the supplemental budget and provide updates as it moves through the legislative process.

In early July, the Groton Selectboard and the Groton members of the School Committee met to appoint a new member to fill the vacant seat. We are excited to welcome Rebecca Weksner to the School Committee. Rebecca will serve until the next Annual Town Election in the spring.

We would love your help highlighting 1 (or more) of our amazing staff members and are seeking nominations for our next staff spotlight presentation, which will be presented at the end of September.

Nominations can come from staff members, students, parents, and community members and all staff members are eligible to be nominated. The deadline to submit for the next presentation is September 24th, 2026. Please click the button below to access the nomination form.

Food Truck Friday is back! A big thank you to the Dunstable Recreation Commission for making this fun community event possible! On Friday, September 18th from 5-8 p.m., head down to Larter Field to enjoy great food from the Smokin' Food Truck and bring your leashed dog for the Dog Show, featuring fun prizes!

• Dunstable Select Board: https://www.dunstable-ma.gov/user/113/contact

• Dunstable Advisory Board: https://www.dunstable-ma.gov/user/63/contact

• Groton Select Board: selectboard@grotonma.gov

• Groton Finance Committee: accountant@grotonma.gov

School Committee:

• Lacey McCabe, Chair lmccabe@gdrsd.org

• Rosanna Casavecchia, Vice-Chair rcasavecchia@gdrsd.org

• Christina Andriole, Secretary candriole@gdrsd.org

• Rohit Bhasin rbhasin@gdrsd.org

• An Hee Foley afoley@gdrsd.org
• Justin Owens jowens@gdrsd.com
• Rebecca Weksner rweksner@gdrsd.org