Taunton schools set 94.5% attendance goal as Parker Middle readies fall 2027 move to Hamilton Street
Families also have an early release Thursday, Nov. 19, for caregiver conferences, and a Coffee & Conversation session at Pelletier Place on Tuesday, Nov. 17.
TAUNTON Taunton Public Schools is aiming for 94.5% attendance districtwide and wants families struggling to get children to school to call their school, Superintendent John J. Cabral wrote in a Nov. 9 letter to families.
The fall update, posted on the district's website Monday afternoon, also says Parker Middle School is planned to move into the renovated 2 Hamilton Street building in fall 2027. It lists three pots of state, cable and city money for school facilities that add up to $6.18 million by our count, money Cabral wrote lets the district make improvements without drawing directly from its operating budget.
For families, the nearest dates in the letter are a Coffee & Conversation session at Pelletier Place on Tuesday, Nov. 17, and an early release for caregiver conferences on Thursday, Nov. 19.
Attendance and absences
The district's goals are 94.5% attendance and a drop in chronic absenteeism to 18.5%, the letter says. Cabral tied the attendance push to the rest of the district's plan, writing that "making the most of these opportunities starts with being in school."
"If getting your child to school is becoming difficult, please contact your school so we can understand the barriers and work together to address them," he wrote.
The building money
Renovations at 2 Hamilton Street "continue ahead of Parker Middle School's planned relocation in fall 2027," Cabral wrote. The Massachusetts School Building Authority approved an estimated maximum grant of $4.78 million for partial window and door replacement, and the Taunton Cable Advisory Commission approved $800,000 for technology and communications work, according to the letter.
The window and door grant is for Parker Middle School at the city-owned 2 Hamilton Street site, the former Coyle and Cassidy campus, according to Massachusetts School Building Authority records. The authority's board approved it in a 7-0 vote Aug. 26, with a total project budget of $6,404,146 and an estimated maximum state grant of $4,775,770, the board's minutes show. The grant is figured at a 78.1% reimbursement rate, and Parker has been sharing space with Taunton High School, according to an authority staff memo for that meeting.
At Taunton High, $600,000 from the City of Taunton supported paving across one-third of the campus. "These funding sources allow us to make substantial improvements without drawing directly from the district's operating budget," Cabral wrote, thanking Mayor Shaunna O'Connell, the City Council and the School Committee.
Cabral told the School Committee in October that the district expects to renovate the Hamilton Street building without the city borrowing for it, as SC360 reported Oct. 30.
Reading in the early grades
The letter restates the district's First Grade Promise, that every first grader will read at grade level by June 30, 2027. Teachers tested all first graders in the first three weeks of school, and Ignite Reading tutoring started Sept. 28 with 271 seats this year, and 30 more seats for second graders open in January.
Last year, 93% of the tutored students who were missing basic kindergarten reading skills closed those gaps, Cabral wrote. A separate $277,020 grant will go toward reading instruction in grades 4 and 5.
Planning for after graduation
The district's goal is for every student in grades 5 to 7 to take part this school year in My Career and Academic Plan, known as MyCAP, with teams at Martin, Parker and Friedman working with SchooLinks and Junior Achievement, the letter says. The goal for seniors is that each one applies to Bristol Community College, a Massachusetts state college or university, or a certification program.
Nearly 1,500 Taunton High students are in the school's 21 career and vocational pathways, and 400 take college-level classes through Early College, according to the letter. The high school also held its first college and career fair this fall, bringing representatives to students during the school day to cut transportation and scheduling barriers, the letter says.
Other numbers in the letter
Galligan Elementary School earned a 2026 Massachusetts School of Recognition designation, which SC360 reported Oct. 30, and 15 Taunton students earned a combined 18 perfect scores on the 2026 MCAS tests, Cabral wrote.
Fall sports drew 520 student-sport registrations, about 23% more than last year, the letter says. More than 60 multilingual families came to the district's first Coffee & Conversation community cafe, and the state education department invited Taunton to share that work with colleagues across the state.
The district is also writing a Portrait of an Educator and a Portrait of an Administrator to match Taunton High's Portrait of a Graduate, and Cabral wrote that educators and caregivers will get chances to weigh in. The district serves nearly 8,000 students and is in the second year of a five-year strategic plan.
How to reach the district
Taunton Public Schools' central office is at 215 Harris St. and can be reached at 508-821-1100. The full letter, "From the Superintendent: A Strong Start at TPS," is on the district's website, and families with attendance questions are asked to start with their own school.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
The district's goals, programs, numbers and dates come from Superintendent John J. Cabral's letter "From the Superintendent: A Strong Start at TPS," posted on the Taunton Public Schools website Nov. 9 at 4 p.m., including the Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 dates in its events list and the central office address and phone on the same page. The school and site the window and door grant covers, the Aug. 26 vote, the project budget and the reimbursement rate come from the Massachusetts School Building Authority's Aug. 26 board minutes and its staff memo on the Parker project. The $6.18 million total is our sum of the three amounts the letter lists ($4.78 million, $800,000 and $600,000). No student is named.
Corrections
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Sources (6)
- Taunton Public Schools, 'From the Superintendent: A Strong Start at TPS' (Superintendent John J. Cabral)Posted Nov. 9, 2026, 4 p.m., on the district website, with the upcoming events list and central office contact. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Massachusetts School Building Authority, Board of Directors minutes, Aug. 26, 2026Project Funding Agreement vote, 7-0: Taunton, John F. Parker Middle School, Windows/Doors, total project budget $6,404,146, estimated maximum total facilities grant $4,775,770. Minutes approved Oct. 28, 2026. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Massachusetts School Building Authority, staff memo on the John F. Parker Middle School Accelerated Repair project, Aug. 19, 2026Partial window and door replacement at the city-owned 2 Hamilton Street site, formerly the Coyle Cassidy Middle and High School site; Parker co-located with Taunton High; 78.10% reimbursement rate. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- Taunton Public Schools, Capital Improvements pageJohn F. Parker Middle School Relocation Project to 2 Hamilton Street, the former Coyle & Cassidy High School and Middle School campus. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Taunton School Committee story, Oct. 30, 2026Our earlier report of Cabral telling the committee the Hamilton Street building would be renovated without city borrowing. Read Nov. 11, 2026.
- South Coast 360: Galligan and Winslow named 2026 Schools of Recognition, Oct. 30, 2026Our earlier report. Read Nov. 11, 2026.