Westwood is a great town. But when you compare our schools to similar communities, the numbers show we have room to grow. Here's what the data says.
Westwood's 7th graders score 66% Meeting or Exceeding on MCAS math — the lowest of every comparable district.
Hopkinton's 7th graders score 78% in math. Westwood's score 66%. That's a 12-point gap between towns with similar demographics and resources.
Source: Spring 2025 MCAS, MA Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (profiles.doe.mass.edu). Peer districts: Wellesley, Needham, Dover-Sherborn, Medfield, Hopkinton, Weston.
At the high school level, the pattern continues. Westwood's 10th graders score 77% in math — below every single peer district.
| District | ELA | Math | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover-Sherborn | 91% | 87% | 86% |
| Needham | 85% | 84% | 72% |
| Hopkinton | 84% | 80% | 80% |
| Weston | 81% | 82% | 77% |
| Wellesley | 77% | 81% | 85% |
| Medfield | 73% | 79% | 88% |
| Westwood | 77% | 77% | 77% |
A 10-point gap at the high school level shows this isn't just a middle school problem — it's systemic.
Source: Spring 2025 MCAS, MA DESE. Peer districts: Wellesley, Needham, Dover-Sherborn, Medfield, Hopkinton, Weston.
Westwood's grades 3-8 ELA scores dropped after the pandemic and have not bounced back — even six years later.
| Year | ELA (Grades 3-8) | Math (Grades 3-8) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | ~78% | ~73% | Pre-pandemic baseline |
| 2020 | No test (COVID) | ||
| 2021 | 75% | 62% | First post-COVID test |
| 2023 | ~72% | ~70% | Slow recovery |
| 2025 | 71% | 72% | Still 7 points below 2019 |
Math has mostly recovered from its post-COVID crash, but ELA remains stuck well below pre-pandemic levels. This requires attention.
Source: Spring 2025 MCAS + historical data, MA DESE. Values marked ~ are approximations.
Results from a Westwood parent survey I conducted in 2024 as part of my service on the district Portrait of a Graduate committee.
Parents want a stronger academic focus, more STEM, and better communication. These priorities directly shaped this campaign's platform.
Source: Westwood parent survey I conducted in 2024 as part of my service on the district Portrait of a Graduate committee (28 respondents). Directional findings from engaged parents.
Each year, the superintendent calculates the budget increase needed to maintain current staffing and services ("level services"). For three straight years, the approved budget has fallen short.
| Fiscal Year | Level Services Needed | Approved Budget | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY25 | 3.77% ($56,808K) | 3.69% ($56,764K) | -$44K |
| FY26 | 3.88% ($56,966K) | 3.52% ($58,762K) | -$204K |
| FY27 | 5.18% ($61,814K) | 4.91% ($61,649K) | -$165K |
Over three years of below-level-services budgets, the district made significant reductions including: elementary music and art teachers replaced by computer science (FY25), Mandarin program largely eliminated (FY26), high school math teacher cut (FY27), Director of Social-Emotional Learning eliminated (FY27), instructional technology coaches cut, and growing class sizes across multiple grade levels. Even after the FY27 budget was revised upward to restore elementary classroom teachers, the HS math teacher and MS special education teacher cuts remained.
The initial FY27 proposal (4.31%, $61.3M) included cuts of 5 general education teachers. After community advocacy and School Committee negotiation with the Town, a revised budget (4.91%, $61.6M) was approved restoring 4 elementary teachers. However, the budget remains below level services, and the HS math teacher and MS special education teacher were not restored.
Source: Westwood Public Schools Budget Executive Summaries, FY25-FY27. All documents available at westwood.k12.ma.us.