Superintendent of public schools James Weiss received high marks on what equates to his report card - an annual evaluation recently completed by members of the All-Island School Committee (AISC) and the superintendent's cabinet.
Discussion about Mr. Weiss's evaluation and his proposed goals for the 2009-2010 school year topped the agenda at last week's AISC meeting at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS). The school committee also read and discussed a proposed new student travel policy for the first time.
The superintendent's evaluation questionaire was sent to the 14 school committee members of Martha's Vineyard's 5 school districts, and to the 11 members of the superintendent's cabinet, which includes school principals and central office administrators.
Respondents ranked Mr. Weiss in terms of "fails to meet," "sometimes meets," "usually meets," "always meets," "exceeds" or "no basis" in 39 job-related categories.
According to AISC chairman Dan Cabot's summary of the responses, 83 percent of the school committee members and 94 percent of the cabinet indicated Mr. Weiss usually meets, always meets, or exceeded their expectations. One school committee member did not respond in time to be included in the summary results.
In their comments, school committee members praised Mr. Weiss for shepherding school budgets through town meetings in difficult economic times, and starting two new programs, a grade 8 honors program and the Bridge Program, which serves students Island-wide with multiply involved disabilities.
They also commended him for the Professional Growth System for teacher evaluations that he put into place, the hiring of a new management team, and the search for a new Chilmark head of school. Other favorable comments noted Mr. Weiss's attention to detail and continued good communication with the school committees and the community.
Cabinet members' responses also were overwhelming positive, according to Mr. Cabot's summary. They commended Mr. Weiss's vision, leadership, communication skills, accessibility, hard work, and attendance at events in all schools.
Budget presentations were a notable area of improvement for Mr. Weiss, according to school committee members' responses. Last year, four school committee members checked that he failed or only sometimes provided clear budget documents, while this year, 8 out of 13 indicated he exceeded their expectations.
Areas of concern mentioned by school committee members in this evaluation and previous ones included recruiting teachers, communicating with the media, effecting more collaboration among school districts, and funding for unfunded mandates and liabilities.
Five of the eleven superintendent's cabinet members noted concern about the internal workings of the staff in the central administrative offices.
"The only thing that really jumped out to me was that there were several people who said, either in the comments or in the checklist, that the long-range strategic plan, the five-year-plan we've been talking about, kind of got pushed to the back burner this year, and in fact, that was part of Dr. Weiss's self-evaluation," Mr. Cabot said.
In his self-evaluation, Mr. Weiss said the most significant issue this school year has been the impact of the economy on town and school budgets, which he expects will require more of his attention next year. He also acknowledged that staff boundaries and inappropriate behavior were a significant issue, with several cases involving teachers that required working closely with local legal authorities and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
In response, he noted that he and his administration worked with the teachers' unions to develop a new staff conduct policy and protocol, and opened a dialogue in the school community regarding appropriate professional behavior.
With a challenging school year beset with economic and personnel issues almost finished, Mr. Weiss proposed a list of 10 goals for 2009-2010. He said the first two on the list, conducting contract negotiations for the school system's five bargaining units and developing six educational budgets for fiscal year 2011 school budgets, must take priority.
Mr. Cabot suggested that school committee members make a list prioritizing Mr. Weiss's goals to bring to the next meeting.
In other business, the AISC welcomed newly elected Oak Bluffs School Committee member Melanie Marchard.
Turning to policy matters, the AISC completed a first reading of a draft student travel policy. Mr. Weiss said the new policy is an attempt to gain control over student travel by creating a standardized policy for schools Island-wide.
Mr. Weiss pointed out three aspects of the policy as "very important to understand." Under the new rules, principals may approve school-sponsored day-long trips; athletic trips will be subject to the travel policy; and field trips will be considered extensions of school curriculum and as such, all school rules apply. The policy also includes a health issues section.
In discussion, school committee members raised concerns about fundraising for trips and the use of those funds.
Mr. Weiss suggested that school committee members talk to parents, community members, and other school committee members about the proposed policy before the second reading, likely next month.
The AISC also completed a third reading of a revised student conduct policy with only minor changes required by the State, and a new ethics protocol and revised staff conduct policy. The individual school committees convened and approved those policies, with the exception of Tisbury and Edgartown, which did not have a quorum present.
The AISC's next meeting is at 7 pm on June 8 in the high school's library conference room.
