Superintendent 2023-2024 Goals

Mid-Year Review

The role of a school superintendent is a crucial one, as they serve as the chief executive officer of a school district. Their responsibilities encompass a wide range of tasks related to the overall management and administration of the school system. Here are some key aspects of the role of a school superintendent:

Leadership and Vision: Superintendents are expected to provide visionary leadership for the school district. They often work with the school board to establish a clear vision and mission for the district and ensure that all decisions align with these goals.

• Working with the Director of Curriculum to establish focus areas for the District Improvement Plan.
• Led the District Leadership Team through the budget process to be focused on student achievement and necessary resources to support staff and students.
• Advocating for and bringing a team to DESE-sponsored professional development through the REDI (Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) initiative. We are participating in Foundations 1: Equity in Action, a Learning Series for District Leaders and/or Teams.
• I support committee and subcommittee work—(wellness, safety, and DEI - in addition to the school committee subcommittees.)

Administrative Oversight: They are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day administrative operations of the school district. This includes managing budgets, allocating resources, and making decisions that impact the district's overall functioning.

• Monthly grant meetings to review the current status of all grants
• Budget process leading to budget presentations to the school committee and other town boards.
• We meet as a district leadership team to create a recommended budget for the MPS. This includes extended time with the business manager, Wayne White, and my administrative assistant, Colleen Andrade. The budget presentation is reviewed, presented, and changed as we move through the budget process.
• Sharing budgetary information with staff and community.
• Participation in the Assabet Valley Collaborative and the CASE Collaborative board of directors.

Personnel Management: Superintendents are typically involved in hiring, evaluating, and managing district-level administrators, principals, and other staff members. They play a key role in creating a positive and effective work environment

• I meet with our District Leadership Team weekly for various reasons: curriculum oversight, budget, professional development, NEASC, goals, transportation, hiring, and a wide range of other areas.
• I have instituted monthly meetings with the Director of Facilities and the building principals to facilitate and prioritize our facility needs in the buildings and on the grounds.
• We are negotiating a three-year contract with the Maynard Education Association (MEA). We will begin negotiating with the MPS custodial unit next month.

Community Engagement: Building positive relationships with the community is essential to the superintendent's role. This involves regular communication with parents, community leaders, and other stakeholders to address concerns, gather feedback, and maintain transparency.

• Create and send a weekly newsletter to all staff and families (Superintendent’s Update using the SMORE platform).
• Create and send a weekly update to the school committee and district leadership team (Superintendent’s Memo).
• Participation in a wide range of meetings, including but not limited to school committee meetings, personnel subcommittee meetings, Policy subcommittee meetings, Budget subcommittee meetings, DEI subcommittee meetings, Strategic Planning subcommittee meetings, district-sponsored DEI meetings, as needed at Select Board meetings, Finance committee meetings, recreation committee meetings
• MSBA Building Committee meetings to continuously move the Green Meadow Building project forward.
• Bleacher meetings to assist in sharing important information and moving the bleacher project forward.
• I attend school and community-sponsored events regularly (athletic events - football games, basketball games, cross-country, track, soccer, holiday concerts, and music concerts at Green Meadow, Fowler, and Maynard High School, as well as community events).

Policy Development and Implementation: Superintendents work with the school board to develop and implement policies that guide the district. They ensure that policies comply with state and federal regulations and are in the best interest of students and the community.

• I participate in the Policy Subcommittee to ensure we have appropriate and legal policies for MPS.
• I participate in the Commissioner of Education calls to stay informed of any new initiatives, changes in policy, and specific directions from the commissioner.
• I work with the Director of Student Services, the Business Manager, and the Director of Curriculum to make sure we comply with all requirements and our policies are legal and appropriate.

Curriculum and Instruction: While superintendents may not be directly involved in day-to-day teaching, they oversee the development and implementation of curriculum and instructional programs. They work to improve academic outcomes and student achievement.

• I have supported incorporating the MAPS assessment into the Maynard Public Schools to provide data for us to assess student growth. This has been a collaborative effort with the Director of Curriculum and the other members of the District Leadership team, especially the building-level administration and the director of technology.
• I continue to work with and support the Director of Curriculum as we have implemented a new literacy program.
• I continue to work with and support the Director of Curriculum as we pilot new math curriculums and plan to purchase one for next year.

Advocacy and Communication: Superintendents often advocate for local, state, and national education. They may communicate with legislators, community leaders, and other stakeholders to promote the district's needs and advocate for educational policies.

• I participate in the Commissioner of Education calls to stay informed of any new initiatives, changes in policy, and specific directions from the commissioner.
• I communicate with members of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and attend roundtable meetings to discuss current education legislation.
• I attend the MASS Annual conference in July to reflect on the prior year, learn about upcoming focus areas from the Commissioner of Education, and plan for the upcoming school year.

Crisis Management: Superintendents play a critical role in managing the situation in times of crisis or emergencies. This includes ensuring the safety of students and staff and communicating effectively with the community.

• Fortunately, we have not had any significant crisis management situations recently. However, we have an active safety committee with members of the administration, staff, parents, and community members.
• We maintain positive working relationships with the Maynard Police Department and the Maynard Fire Department.
• I meet with the Town Manager weekly to discuss critical issues.
• I meet weekly with the school committee chair to discuss school business and any critical or time-sensitive issues.
• I meet with the Chief of Police every month to maintain our relationship and to discuss current issues around school safety and policy changes connected to the role of the school resource officer.

Overall, the school superintendent's role is multifaceted, requiring strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills to effectively manage a school district's complexities and contribute to students' educational success.

Monitoring Progress

Measuring Impact

Literacy Update

Students in Kindergarten and Grade 1 are assessed using Earlybird. EarlyBird was developed and scientifically validated at Boston Children’s Hospital in partnership with the Florida Center for Reading Research faculty. EarlyBird is recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Education and reviewed by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII). In 2022, DESE engaged in a comprehensive process to identify early literacy universal screeners that comport with the Massachusetts

Dyslexia Guidelines. Since 2022, the Green Meadow Elementary School used two approved Early Literacy Screeners (Dibels 8 and Early Bird).

Mathematics Curriculum Review Process

For many years, the K-8 mathematics curriculum has been a series from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) called Go Math.  The publisher is phasing out this curriculum, with the text no longer in publication and the related website now unsupported by the publisher.  Consumable materials are becoming scarce and difficult to obtain.

In response to this reality, the district formed a Mathematics Curriculum Review Committee that has been meeting for over a year with several goals, including recommending replacing the Go Math curriculum in grades K-8.

Thus far, the committee has created and approved a mission statement for mathematics education in Maynard and has been examining potential replacement materials for Go Math.

The committee members agreed that several criteria should be met as part of the new curriculum acquisition and implementation.

Criteria included:

• The materials must align with the state curriculum frameworks in mathematics.
• The materials selected should receive high ratings on the state-approved CURATE or Ed Reports websites.
• New curricular materials should be deemed culturally sensitive to all demographic groups.
• The newly selected curriculum must be implemented with fidelity during all math instruction.
•  Pilots should be run for the two or three programs deemed appropriate selection finalists.
• Staff training must be planned before full-scale implementation and ongoing as needed.
• Any available state grants for acquiring materials or teacher training will be examined for alignment with our district goals and pursued if appropriate.

To determine which programs should be piloted as “finalists,” committee members examined the materials on the CURATE, and ED Reports websites, spoke to colleagues in other districts that currently use materials under consideration, and, if possible, made arrangements to observe other teachers in other districts who are using materials under consideration.

The updated timeline for recommending new materials is:

• By January 29, complete selection of curriculum materials to be piloted.
• From February 5-March 1.  Training for staff engaging in pilots.
• From March 1-April 5.  Pilot implementation.
• From April 5-April 22, Evaluation of curricula piloted.
• April 26th.  Recommendations to Superintendent.
• May 9th.  Report to the School Committee.
• May 31st.  P.O.  prepared and professional development calendar created.
• 2024-2025 School year.  Full implementation.

Monitoring Progress

Measuring Impact

We held our Data Equity Walk earlier this school year in a different way to hopefully gather more input from a wider audience. The information was shared at the Back to School Nights or Curriculum Nights. We do believe that more people saw and thought about the information. However, we did not receive more feedback than in the past. We will continue considering other mechanisms to share the information and gather feedback from the staff, parents, and community. We will share the Data Equity Walk information with the DEI committee, assess the information, and create actionable steps. The District Leadership team will do the same thing and incorporate more recent assessment data from MAPS.

We have a fully functioning ELPAC and a parent liaison who is also a paraprofessional. This gives us greater flexibility and more access to his skill set.

We are analyzing our attendance data to identify any groups struggling to come to school consistently and may fall into the chronic absenteeism category. This is an area of focus from the Department of Education, and we have received a grant to help support the effort to have all students attend school.

The DEI Committee has been working diligently to create a parent survey. This has been supported by the Education Commonwealth Project (ECP) and UMASS Lowell. We have a survey that will be tested in the next few weeks, with an anticipated implementation time of March 2024.

Our team is participating in the REDI professional development through DESE. The specific program we are involved in is Foundations 1: Equity in Action, a Learning Series for District Leaders and/or Teams.

We contacted the district’s SEPAC and collaborated to share information and sponsor events for our parent community.

Monitoring Progress

Measuring Impact

I have been and will continue participating in and supporting the MSBA Green Meadow Building project. We have had many meetings and public information sessions to help share the specifics of the project and the “Why” of the project. At the Fall town meeting, the town overwhelmingly passed the Green Meadow Building Project, with over 80% voting in favor.

I have been and will continue participating in and supporting the Bleacher project. We have a working group currently meeting bi-weekly with additional meetings as needed. This is an important project for both the school and the town.

I have been communicating with various boards as an advocate for the schools. For example, I met with Annalisa and Nikki from the Boys and Girls Club, and we have a collaborative working relationship. We most recently met and agreed upon how to work together to support Maynard youth in participating in town-wide basketball. This is new to the Boys and Girls Club, as the Recreation Commission formerly managed it. Given the number of meetings with the Green Meadow Building Committee, the Bleacher working group, the five subcommittee meetings, and the district-level meetings (safety, wellness, EL, to name a few), I will make a point to attend some Recreation Commission meetings as well. At many Recreation Commission meetings, we have had school representation through our athletic director, Mike Arria.

I have been working with the curriculum director to create an updated district improvement plan. The DIP will be updated in content and format as we move forward.

Monitoring Progress

Measuring Impact

I have met with the high school administration and the NEASC Steering Committee to review the draft report and recommendations. The report was shared with the school committee, as was the opportunity to offer feedback. This is an ongoing process, and I am meeting again with the Steering Committee.

NEASC Visit with School Committee

As we've discussed, our visiting team has asked to meet with the School Committee on the evening of March 11.

To give more context to their visit, they will gather evidence that our District recognizes that accreditation is a valuable opportunity to review our systems, programs, and processes related to student learning. They expect that all stakeholders have “The Four C’s”:

1. Conceptual understanding of their role in student learning

2. Commitment to student learning

3. Competency in their role in student learning

4. Capacity and resources to support student learning

The standards the NEASC team uses to examine student learning are:

1. Learning Culture – Safe and productive learning environment

2. Student Learning – Curriculum and instruction that maximizes student learning

3. Professional Practices – Productive and professional adult relationships and processes that support student learning

4. Learning Support - Support for all students to access learning

5. Learning Resources –Adequate time, funding, and facilities to support student learning 

(I have highlighted Standards 3 and 5 because they are the Standards that apply most directly to the School Committee.)

Maynard’s High School’s three areas of improvement review this visit are:

1. Creation of a Vision of the Graduate (we are done except for the picture)

2. Completion of Curriculum Maps that are tied to the Vision of the Graduate (99% complete)

3. Improving access to rigorous academics for all students, following the models of successful courses such as Introductory Physics and Senior Project (long-term project, underway)