Leadership Team Update
Data-Based Decision Making
This summer, the Leadership Team will be
focusing our learning and growth on the use of data for making educational
decisions. We will all be reading the book “Driven by Data” to form a common
knowledge base. We will then be engaged in many activities, to further our
understanding, during our four-day summer retreat.
Educator Evaluation
As
the school year closes, the work of the Leadership Team will be focused on the
calibration of the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation System. With several
different administrators acting as evaluators, it is important that we act in
concert with our core beliefs of:
Learning &
Growth High
Expectations Accountability Consistency
The calibration of the feedback that we provide to
teachers so that they may grow in their professional practice is essential. We
will examine several artifacts that represent the feedback that was provided to
teachers and determine what constitutes the best of our professional practice
so that we may develop exemplars. This will help the District to continue on
its forward trajectory.
Budget Recommendations
The
Leadership Team also worked diligently to make recommendations to the School Committee
Budget Subcommittee regarding necessary, yet unfortunate, cuts that needed to
be made to the FY16 budget.
Mulready
Principal
I
am happy to let the Committee know that I have begun contract negotiations with
Ms. Kelly Whitmore to be the next principal of the J.L. Mulready Elementary School.
Ms. Whitmore is currently the Assistant Principal at the Freeman Kennedy
Elementary School and the K-6 Science and Math Curriculum Director in the Town
of Norfolk, MA.
Ms.
Whitmore’s educational philosophy is that every student has the capacity to
learn and that it is the responsibility of an entire community to create clear
and consistent expectations that promote a safe, curious and challenging
learning environment as we prepare them for the future.
Ms.
Whitmore is a certified reading specialist and also teaches an early literacy
course at Framingham State University. Data analysis is a strength of Ms.
Whitmore’s and this skill will benefit the District greatly as we implement the
first year of our District Improvement Plan.
She
identifies the guiding principles that have steered her life in the
professional and personal domains as: “empathy, curiosity and integrity”. I am excited to have Ms. Whitmore join the
Hudson Public School’s Team.
Finance and Operations
Lunch Notices
In lieu of report cards, students with
lunch balances over the cap set by School Committee policy and students with
outstanding debts at the High School will receive a notice telling them that
their report cards, schedules, and class assignments will be withheld until
their debt is paid to the District. This is the result of the newly enacted School
Committee Policy EDGA.
Budget
On Wednesday, June 10, 2015, Mrs. Lange and I were
informed by Town Executive Assistant, Mr. Moses, that the District could not
anticipate the continued receipt of any increase Chapter 70 funds, from the
previous year’s receipts. You may recall that this is what was traditionally
the 60-40 split that has frequently been discussed. These funds are traditionally
allocated during the November Town meeting. The assumption by Mr. Moses was
that this had been clearly communicated to Mrs. Lange, the Committee and me
through the budget process. We did not share the same understanding as Mr.
Moses. As a result, we had to cut an additional amount of almost $250,000 from
the FY16 budget. We were anticipating this money based on the past practice of
looking at the increase in Chapter 70 funding only and sharing it with the Town.
These additional cuts were on top of the approximately $513,000 cuts that we
knew we had to make. Below is an outline of the necessary cuts:
·
Reduction in the amount of full-time
equivalency of elementary specialists. This means that a teacher may have been
full time prior to the cut, but their position was cut to a fraction of what it
was. The impact on students is that we will no longer have arts integration
time and there will no longer be fourth grade band.
·
Reduction of an elementary special education
position
·
Reduction of a high school special education
teacher
·
Reduction of an ELL teacher at the Middle School
(new, needed position)
·
We will not be hiring a full-time clinical
psychologist at the High School. We will be contracting with a provider at a
lesser amount.
·
Reduction of 6 para-educator positions
This is the human impact of the cuts we needed to make.
In addition to these painful cuts, we have also had to deny requests for items
such as math textbooks, instructional technology and technology infrastructure.
Prior to recommending cuts to the School Committee all aspects of our educational
program were evaluated. The necessary cuts were made with the best interests of
the students and the strategic direction of the District in mind. On April 29,
2015, the District’s potential budget gap was $1,040,660. Through continued
austerity measures and responsible spending, the estimated gap had been further
reduced to $513,456. This figure was the figure we were working from prior to
June 10th. This was a difference of approximately $1,466,100 from
the original budget gap of $1,979,557 presented in November. There is a
presentation detailing how the District realized these savings available for
the community on the District website.
It is important that the community has full knowledge of
the financial position of the District and the implemented budget cuts. Those
employees directly impacted by the cuts were informed on Friday, June 12, 2015.
The District is committed to keeping the community informed as new information
comes to light and decisions are made.
Curriculum and Instruction Update
Math Data
Karen Martin will be presenting the Committee with an
update regarding the data from the mid and end of the year math assessments.
Superintendent’s Items of Interest
ELL End of the Year Celebration
I attended the ELL End of
Year Celebration at Hudson High School. This is such a powerful night where our
English Language Learners showcase their talents, knowledge and growth. I
eagerly anticipate this event every year. The planning team of Emily Smith,
Caitlin O’Neil, Ana Pimentel and Erin Goldstein manage to outdo themselves
every year. Congratulations to our wonderful students on all that you have
learned.
Guest Speaker ELD Classroom
The
day after the end of the year ceremony, I was able to connect on a more
personal level with some of our English Language Learners when I was a guest
speaker in their classroom. I was impressed with their thoughtful questions and
curiosity about my role in the District, as well as who I was as a person. The
time I spent in that classroom was a highlight of the past week.
Closing of the School Year
This afternoon marked the end of the 2014-2015
school year. I still cannot believe that the year is over for students. This afternoon,
we had our closing ceremony for teachers where the following awards were
presented:
Retirees
Margarida Bairos 22 years of service
Doreen Bove 29
years of service
Paula Setser 35 years of service
Robert Van Buren 8 years of service
Debra Fateiger 32 years of service
Years
of Service
Paula Setser
35 years of service
Maureen Parker 30 years of service
Philip
Marchegiani 30 years of service
Paul D'Alessandro 30 years of service
Teacher
Leadership Award
Educators are teachers,
scholars, professionals, and life-long learners. This award is meant to
recognize educators who have instructional responsibilities that seek out and
take advantage of opportunities for professional, personal, and scholarly
advancement in order to enhance their knowledge and skills. These educators
develop materials and methods that can be replicated, shared and used by
colleagues to advance the professional learning of colleagues and enhance the
learning of students.
Recipient: Kevin Hava
Growth Mindset Award
The Growth Mindset Award is meant to honor educators that embody
the idea of a growth mindset. Educators
that hold a growth mindset believe that they never stop learning and growing.
They believe that there is always a way to improve their practice. Individuals
that embody this mindset persist despite setbacks and view those same setbacks
as challenges to improve. They are drawn to challenges and persevere through
them. They are resilient and motivated. Educators with this mindset instill
this belief in their students as well.
Recipients: Farley Grade 4 Team
Leah Vivirito
Curriculum and Instruction
Award
The Curriculum and Instruction Award is meant to recognize
educators who have demonstrated outstanding professional practice while
implementing a department, school or District initiative. This award may also
recognize an educator that took a professional risk that resulted in improved
learning outcomes for a group, class, department, grade, or school.
Recipients: Elementary Math Specialists
Grade 5 Science Teachers
Anibal Serra
Darcia
Constantine Award for Paraeducator Excellence
The 5th Annual
Darcia Constantine Award for Paraeducator Excellence recognizes an individual
who consistently demonstrates outstanding paraprofessional practices.
Recipient: Marianne
Thompson
Enrollment
All enrollment numbers are up to date
as of the writing of this report. They are unofficial numbers. The
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education collects
snapshots of enrollment data three times per year October, March, and June. I
will provide you with monthly enrollment numbers so that you can be aware of
the amount of fluctuation that may or may not be occurring on a monthly basis.
|
Aug.
26th
|
Sept.
9th
|
Sept.
23rd
|
Oct.
7th
|
Oct.
21st
|
Nov.
4th
|
Nov.
18th
|
Dec.
9th
|
Hudson
High School
|
1,027
|
1,016
|
1,001
|
1,000
|
999
|
995
|
995
|
993
|
Quinn
Middle School
|
687
|
689
|
687
|
684
|
683
|
683
|
683
|
683
|
Farley
Elementary School
|
506
|
511
|
511
|
512
|
511
|
511
|
513
|
511
|
Forest
Avenue Elementary School
|
317
|
318
|
316
|
315
|
317
|
317
|
317
|
319
|
Mulready
Elementary School
|
277
|
278
|
280
|
280
|
279
|
279
|
279
|
280
|
HHS
Preschool
|
94
|
93
|
92
|
90
|
91
|
89
|
89
|
91
|
District
Total
|
2,908
|
2,905
|
2,887
|
2,881
|
2,880
|
2,874
|
2,876
|
2,877
|
|
Dec.
9th
|
Jan.
13th
|
Jan.
23rd
|
Feb.
5th
|
Feb. 20th
|
March 6th
|
March 20th
|
April 10th
|
HHS
|
993
|
992
|
992
|
988
|
991
|
988
|
984
|
986
|
QMS
|
683
|
685
|
684
|
683
|
683
|
682
|
679
|
679
|
Farley
|
511
|
511
|
512
|
512
|
511
|
513
|
514
|
513
|
Forest
|
319
|
321
|
322
|
322
|
322
|
323
|
324
|
325
|
Mul
|
280
|
282
|
281
|
279
|
279
|
279
|
279
|
280
|
HHS PreK
|
91
|
93
|
95
|
95
|
95
|
94
|
93
|
93
|
District Total
|
2,877
|
2,884
|
2,886
|
2,879
|
2,881
|
2,879
|
2,873
|
2,876
|
|
April 10th
|
May 8th
|
June
19th
|
|
|
|
|
|
HHS
|
986
|
973
|
790
|
|
|
|
|
|
QMS
|
679
|
677
|
676
|
|
|
|
|
|
Farley
|
513
|
513
|
513
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forest
|
325
|
325
|
324
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mul
|
280
|
279
|
279
|
|
|
|
|
|
HHS PreK
|
93
|
95
|
95
|
|
|
|
|
|
District Total
|
2,876
|
2,862
|
2,677
|
|
|
|
|
|