The top reported proficiency rate is 62% in Math. The lowest is 57% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hadley
Hadley is a regular public elementary school in Swampscott, Massachusetts, serving kindergarten through grade four. This school, housed on Redington Street, existed as a neighborhood elementary school for many years. However, a major change has occurred. As of September 2024, the district opened a new, consolidated Swampscott Elementary School, replacing Hadley along with two other former elementary buildings. Hadley Elementary was shut down after the new school opened. The narrative that follows describes the academic and community context of Hadley as it was during its final years of operation.
Hadley served a student body that was predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not available, and neither was information on the percentage of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, so a reader cannot assess the school's economic or special education profile from this data. The school's enrollment was moderate for an elementary school serving only these grade levels.
On state assessments, the NextGen MCAS, Hadley's students recorded a proficiency rate in mathematics that placed above the midpoint among the town's elementary schools and compared favorably to schools across the county. The English language arts proficiency rate was lower than the math result, though still within a competitive range against county peers. Looking at the school's own history over the past several years, math proficiency has moved up and down, settling near where it was in recent years. English language arts proficiency followed a clearer downward trend from pre-pandemic levels, declining from a higher point to the most recent result. These multi-year patterns may reflect the effects of the pandemic and shifting cohorts, and a parent may want to discuss current instructional approaches with the district.
The community Hadley served is Swampscott, a fairly affluent, mostly suburban residential town on the North Shore of Massachusetts, a short distance northeast of Boston. Swampscott has a rocky Atlantic shoreline with several beaches and a small land area. It is a compact, built-out community with MBTA commuter rail service to Boston and several bus routes. Town life centers on Monument Square, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Town Hall. The community has a public library, small parks, two ponds, and the Marblehead Rail Trail on a former railroad branch.
The most significant context for anyone considering this school is that it no longer operates as a separate elementary school. The Swampscott district consolidated all its elementary schools into a single new facility, which opened in fall 2024. Voters approved a substantial debt exclusion to fund the new school, which added to property tax bills. The district's operating budget was also increased through a Proposition 2½ override passed in 2021. These two measures represent a major financial commitment by the community to its schools, and the new consolidated elementary school is now the only option for families with children in these grades within the district. Hadley's own record reflects the academic performance of the student population that fed into this new school, but the school itself no longer exists as a separate entity.
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