Teaching & Learning
The BPS Office of Teaching & Learning provides resources, support, and leadership to ensure that all students have equitable access to high quality, rigorous, and culturally responsive instruction. We are committed to providing a safe, respectful learning environment grounded in positive relationships. We honor and celebrate the many ways in which our students, families, and staff are diverse and see this diversity as a strength in our schools and community.
Revised Competency Determination Policy
For former students who earned a Certificate of Attainment but did not earn a high school diploma due to their not passing one or more MCAS assessments, you may now request to have your transcript reviewed to determine if you meet the criteria for a high school diploma under the district's new Competency Determination Policy.
To request a review, complete this form.
Please note that competency determinations for former students will not be completed until after graduations for the Class of 2025.
If you would like to learn more about teaching and learning in the Brockton Public Schools, or call 508-580-7000 and request to connect with one of us.
To find the district's Curriculum Accommodation Plan, click here.
Departments
Fine Arts
The Fine Arts Program in the Brockton Public Schools offers an aesthetic, intellectual, and stimulating environment that fosters both creative and technical proficiency, with a focus on art literacy. This sequential K-12 arts program aims to awaken children's awareness of beauty in life and nature while cultivating a deep appreciation for their social and cultural backgrounds. Through various art forms and media, students learn to express their ideas and emotions, promoting personal growth and enhancing self-esteem. Moreover, art education provides opportunities for students to make meaningful connections in their lives, fostering problem-solving skills through exploration and discovery. As they progress, students are encouraged to investigate and analyze both past influences in the arts and current trends, using their evolving skills to create impactful artworks. The program aligns with the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework's vision, which emphasizes that learning in, about, and through the arts enhances each learner's ability to derive meaning from experience and contribute to society, embodying the Guiding Principles of the Arts Framework.
Bilingual/ESL Services
The Brockton Public School System has a diverse student population and currently services students from a variety of countries, including Albania, Angola, Brazil, Cambodia, Cape Verde, China, Haiti, India, Korea, Laos, Lithuania, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, and several Spanish-speaking countries. The Department of Bilingual/ESL Services administers programs for English language learners with the goal of developing English language proficiency and achieving state content-area standards, while simultaneously valuing their native languages and cultural backgrounds. BPS is proud to offer a robust Dual Language Program. To learn more about our French, Spanish and Portuguese immersion programs, click here.
BPS is committed to offering the highest quality of educational services to all students, including English language learners.
Classical & Modern Languages
Our 6-12 Classical and Modern Languages program is committed to cultivating multilingual and multicultural proficiency among students. Aligned with the Massachusetts World Language Curriculum Framework (2021) and ACTFL World Readiness Standards, our program fosters communication, critical thinking, and global citizenship through the development of language skills, intercultural competence, and an appreciation for diverse cultures and historical perspectives. The program supports MA DESE’s Vision of World Languages, emphasizing that all students should graduate with the linguistic and cultural skills necessary for success in college, career, and civic life.
Languages Offered:
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Middle/K-8 Schools (Grades 6 or 7): Chinese, Latin, Spanish
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Brockton High School (Grades 9–11): Chinese, Latin, Spanish
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Courses range from College Prep (CP) to Honors and Years 1–5, International Baccalaureate (IB), and Advanced Placement (AP).
Special Program:
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Medical Interpretation and Translation Program available in:
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French/Haitian Creole
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Portuguese/Cape Verdean Creole
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Spanish
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"To have another language is to possess a second soul." Charlemagne
English Language Arts
Our high-quality, evidence based curriculum fosters a deep love for reading, writing, speaking, and listening while emphasizing:
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Grade-level rigor with appropriate support for all learners
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Representation across race, ethnicity, gender, ability, language, and culture
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Critical thinking and collaborative conversations about texts and real-world issues
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Strong foundational literacy in early grades, expanding into critical analysis and argumentation in later grades
Rigorous instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language, ensures that students are fully prepared for college, career, and civic life. By valuing students' identities and building on their strengths, we create inclusive classrooms where every student can thrive as a reader, writer, and thinker.
Mathematics
The Brockton Public Schools' K–12 Mathematics Program is designed to provide all students with a rigorous, coherent, and comprehensive math education aligned to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) Mathematics Curriculum Frameworks. Rooted in the Standards for Mathematical Practice and the grade-level content standards, the program fosters deep conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and the ability to apply mathematical thinking to real-world problems.
We use high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) that have been carefully selected based on their alignment to the MA DESE standards and evidence of effectiveness. These materials support a progression of mathematical learning that builds across grades, ensuring consistency and continuity. Teachers implement research-based instructional strategies that emphasize problem-solving, reasoning, and mathematical communication. We foster student independence and stamina and provide opportunities for collaboration, exploration, and perseverance.
Instruction is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all learners, including English learners, students with disabilities, and advanced learners, ensuring equity and excellence. Regular formative and summative assessments inform instruction, monitor progress, and guide differentiation.
It is through this approach to teaching and learning mathematics that we are preparing the Brockton Public School students for success in the careers of the future.
Music
Rebecca Desmond, K-12 Director of Music, [email protected]
The Brockton Public Schools' Music Program, K-12 encompasses a sequential program of general classroom music instruction, instrumental and choral instruction and performance, and introduction to computer technology. The Brockton Public Schools adopts the vision of the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework. Music should generate intellectual and emotional excitement that helps bring people and art together. Through an effective program, music will have a lasting positive influence throughout one's life.
The program is based upon sound current research and provides students with multiple strategies for becoming critical and creative musicians, listeners, and composers.
Guiding Principles
- All students will have access to high quality music programs.
- Music instruction will encourage learners to make multicultural and interdisciplinary connections.
- Students will develop musical skills through interactive learning.
- Teachers will provide challenges and opportunities for students at all levels of musical ability.
- Material will be drawn from many genres, time periods and cultures.
- Music assessment will monitor students' performance, improve instruction, enhance learning, and encourage students' self-reflection.
Science
Our K-12 science program is thoughtfully designed to provide a rigorous, coherent, and developmentally appropriate science education that aligns fully with the Massachusetts DESE Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Standards. Through a phenomenon-based approach, students actively engage with scientific concepts, engineering practices, and crosscutting themes across life science, physical science, earth and space science, and technology/engineering domains.
At the elementary level, students build foundational knowledge and skills by exploring natural phenomena through hands-on investigations, simulations, and collaborative problem-solving. Lessons emphasize scientific practices such as asking questions, developing models, planning investigations, and interpreting data.
In middle school, students deepen their understanding by applying core concepts and crosscutting concepts (such as patterns, cause and effect, and systems thinking) across integrated science disciplines. Students engage in more sophisticated engineering design challenges, applying the engineering design process to real-world problems.
At the high school level, students pursue advanced studies in specialized disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, and technology/engineering. Coursework integrates science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts, preparing students for college and careers. Students also have opportunities for elective courses, capstone projects, and authentic scientific research experiences.
Social Studies
Our K–12 Social Studies program is built upon the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) History and Social Science Frameworks. We prepare students to become informed, thoughtful, and active citizens in a diverse and interconnected world. Our curriculum is rooted in inquiry-based learning, critical thinking, and civic engagement, while emphasizing a culturally responsive approach that honors the rich diversity of our students and communities.
Across all grades, students engage with key disciplinary concepts in history, geography, economics, and civics, while developing the essential skills of research, analysis, discussion, and informed action. We use multiple perspectives—especially the voices of historically marginalized groups—to foster a more complete understanding of the past and present. Instruction is designed to affirm students' identities, build empathy, and encourage deep connections between curriculum content and students’ own experiences.
Title I
What is Title I?
Title I is a federally funded program that provides supplemental instruction and material for students who qualify. Brockton is a School – Wide Title I program, meaning all students in the district are considered Title I. Services are provided to make sure that all students meet performance standards. Title I services provided with federal funds are based on the academic needs of students. Students who qualify for academic support may be served in all areas of education. Students are assessed throughout the school year using formative, summative, and performance assessments. These assessments inform teachers about instructional services that students need to increase performance and academic achievement. DESE- Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, distributes the money to local school districts based on the number of families who are below a specific income level.
What is Parents Right to Know?
As a parent of a student in the Brockton Public Schools, you have the right to know the professional qualifications of the classroom teachers who instruct your child. Federal law allows you to ask for certain information about your child's classroom teachers and requires us to give you this information in a timely manner if you ask for it. Specifically, you have the right to ask for the following information about each of your child's classroom teachers:
- Whether the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has licensed or qualified the teacher for the grades and subjects he or she teaches.
- Whether the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has decided that the teacher can teach in a classroom without being licensed or qualified under state regulations because of special circumstances.
- The teacher's college major; whether the teacher has any advanced degrees and, if so, the subject of the degrees.
- Whether any teachers' aides or similar paraprofessionals provide services to your child and, if they do, their qualifications.
Wellness Education
Our K-12 Wellness Program is designed to support the physical, social-emotional, and mental well-being of all students through a comprehensive, developmentally appropriate curriculum. Grounded in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education and aligned with national standards such as SHAPE America's National Health Education Standards (NHES) and National Physical Education Standards, the program promotes lifelong health and wellness skills.
Students engage in learning experiences that foster health literacy, emotional intelligence, physical fitness, and responsible decision-making. The curriculum emphasizes core concepts such as self-management, interpersonal communication, goal-setting, decision-making, and advocacy for personal, family, and community health.
Throughout each grade span, students will:
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Build foundational knowledge in health and physical education;
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Develop motor skills and movement patterns to participate in a variety of physical activities;
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Demonstrate behaviors that reduce health risks and enhance personal health;
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Strengthen social-emotional competencies including empathy, resilience, and self-awareness;
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Understand and apply principles of nutrition, mental health, substance prevention, personal safety, and disease prevention.
Our wellness approach is inclusive, culturally responsive, and adapted to meet the diverse needs of our learners. Students are empowered to become health-literate individuals who are prepared to make informed decisions, maintain healthy lifestyles, and positively influence the health of their communities.
COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS
Vocational & Career Education
The Vocational and Career Education department offers approximately 60 elective courses to students at Brockton High School. These courses are available to all BHS students, opening new avenues and possible career opportunities. For more on Brockton High's CTE offerings, click here.
Courses reflect up-to-date technological advances and skills necessary for employment in today's ever-changing job market.
Special Education
It is the responsibility of the Brockton Public Schools to identify any child who is a resident of Brockton, who may have a disability, regardless of the severity of the disability. It is also the responsibility of the Brockton Public Schools to evaluate students who may have a disability to determine if they are eligible for special education or related services under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) or 306 CMR 28 (Massachusetts Special Education Regulations). If you have questions or concerns regarding your child's development and would like to have him/her screened, please contact the Special Education Office at 508-580-7525.
If you have other specific questions about your child, you can also contact the Principal at your child's school for information about the Instructional Support Team (IST) process, which the first step in the referral process is to determine eligibility. It is through this school-based process that strategies are developed, academic and/or behavioral interventions and data is collected to support your child to determine if a referral for special education evaluation is needed. For more on the BPS Special Education Department, click here.
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Karen Spaulding Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning (Grades Pre-K-5)