The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Edward a Sisson
Edward A Sisson is a regular public elementary school in Lynn, Massachusetts, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade within the Lynn Public Schools district. Lynn is a densely populated urban city in Greater Boston’s inner core, a place with a historic downtown, an industrial past centered on shoemaking and jet engine manufacturing, and a current identity shaped by its immigrant population, loft-style apartment conversions, and public parks including the Lynn Woods Reservation and Lynn Shore Reservation. The school sits in a residential neighborhood of this large city, and its enrollment reflects the community’s diversity. Hispanic students make up the largest share of the student body, followed by White students, with smaller shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, receiving special education services, or classified as English learners was not available in the source material, though in an urban district of this size those are likely to be significant factors in understanding the school’s support needs; a parent may want to ask the school directly about these populations.
On state assessments administered through Massachusetts’s NextGen MCAS, Sisson’s proficiency rates are lower than those at many other schools in Essex County. The overall proficiency index, which combines results across math, English language arts, and science, places the school in the bottom quartile relative to districts in the county. In mathematics, roughly one in five students scored proficient or above. In ELA, roughly one in four did so. Science results, which reflect only fifth-grade test-takers, were lower still. Looking at multi-year trends, proficiency in both math and ELA was higher before 2020, reaching around half or more of students meeting the bar. The drop after the pandemic was steep, and the school has not returned to its earlier levels. There was a slight uptick in ELA in the most recent year, which a parent may want to discuss with the school as part of understanding current instructional efforts.
Sisson serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on course access, staffing ratios, or discipline were provided. Housing in the Lynn area is expensive, consistent with the broader Greater Boston region, and property tax bills have been rising as the school district’s budget grows. The district itself has seen several recent developments: it expanded its dual-language program to two additional elementary schools, received a federal literacy grant to support reading instruction across the district, and was designated an Early College Promise district, creating no-cost college credit pathways for high school students. At the same time, the district closed Thurgood Marshall Middle School due to declining enrollment and facility costs, reassigning students to other middle schools. A potential major renovation or replacement of Lynn English High School is in early feasibility stages through the state’s building authority.
For a family considering Sisson, this is a neighborhood elementary school in an urban district with strong civic anchors and evolving program offerings, particularly around bilingual education and early college access. The academic attainment data, however, shows a school that is working to lift proficiency rates that have been well below the county midpoint for several years. A parent may want to explore what specific academic interventions and support programs are in place, especially in math and reading, and how the school’s instructional approach fits their child’s needs. The school’s grade span means students will eventually move on to Lynn’s middle schools, and the district’s recent reassignments make that a transition worth understanding early.
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