Mount Greylock High Superintendent Gets Strong Evaluation
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Her highest reviews came in the visioning and stewardship category, with five members saying she exceeded expectations and one saying she met them. None of the committee members recommended improvement.
"Faculty are taking entirely appropriate 'ownership' of school and curricular matters and both the administration's and individual faculty members' initiates for professional development are commendable," read the comments from committee member Heather Williams.
Visioning and stewardship was one of two categories under the broader category of governance and leadership. The other, communication, received four meets expectations and two needs improvements.
"Communications are starting to improve but there must be more concentration on the Lanesborough residents and governing bodies. We must build confidence within Lanesborough that Mount Greylock is truly their school too," read Chairman Robert Ericson's comments.
Ericson and Jack Hickey, both Lanesborough representatives, were the two votes for needs improvement. This year Ellis hired a communications specialist, which some members said has paid dividends. Four members said she had met expectations.
The communications subcategory was her lowest score tied with her collective bargaining negotiations in the human resources and professional development category. That too earned her four meets expectations and two recommended improvements.
The other subcategory of mentoring received only four meets expectations. Both Williams and Sheri Peltier commented that there had been a massive turnover at the school. The dean of students post had been replaced with an assistant principal and the principal and business manager both resigned along with multiple teaching and other staff changes.
"It will be extremely important going forward for the superintendent to support all her subordinates appropriately and to ensure that no talented people are lost," Williams' comments read.
In the overall category of management and operations, Ellis received four marks of exceeds expectations and two marks of meets expectations in both subcategories. Her push to hire The Management Solution to handle finances instead of hiring another business manager received high praise.
"The budgeting for Mount Greylock has been nothing short of miraculous and this despite the change-over in business staff," Caroline "Carrie" Greene said.
In the curriculum and instruction category, Ellis received meets or exceeds expectations in all three subcategories. Her response to the school being placed on corrective action because of low state Adequate Yearly Progress earned the most praise.
"The superintendent responded to the expressed need for change in the math department both expeditiously and appropriately. We are seeing nothing short of a complete turnaround of this department, a shift deemed essential by parents, the School Committee and the state," Greene said.
She received three exceeds expectations and three meets expectations in her goal of integrating technology into the instruction. She received four meets expectations and one exceeds expectations in continuing to establish high expectations for the common core.
Tags: evaluation, MGRHS, superintendent,
