Amherst Superintendent Evaluation

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)
#3
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Collector: Web Link 1 (Web Link)
Started: Monday, July 13, 2015 6:55:56 AM
Last Modified: Monday, July 13, 2015 9:45:54 AM
Time Spent: 02:49:58
IP Address: 161.77.201.89
PAGE 1: Superintendent Evaluation for Maria Geryk
Q1: Name of Evaluator (School Committee Member)

Kip Fonsh
PAGE 2: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard I: Instructional Leadership
Q2: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard I: Instructional Leadership Indicators

I-A. Curriculum: Ensures that all instructional staff
design effective and rigorous standards-based units of
instruction consisting of well-structured lessons with
measureable outcomes.
Proficient
I-B. Instruction: Ensures that practices in all settings

reflect high expectations regarding content and quality
of effort and work, engage all students, and are
personalized to accommodate diverse learning styles,
needs, interests, and levels of readiness.
Proficient
I-C. Assessment: Ensures that all principals and

administrators facilitate practices that propel personnel
to use a variety of formal and informal methods and
assessments to measure student learning, growth,
and understanding and make necessary adjustments
to their practice when students are not learning.
Proficient
I-D. Evaluation: Ensures effective and timely

supervision and evaluation of all staff in alignment with
state regulations and contract provisions.
Proficient
I-E. Data-Informed Decision Making: Uses multiple

sources of evidence related to student learning
including state, district, and school assessment results
and growth datato inform school and district goals
and improve organizational performance, educator
effectiveness, and student learning.
Proficient
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Q3: Overall Rating for Standard One: Instructional Leadership: The education leader promotes the
learning and growth of all students and the success of all staff by cultivating a shared vision that
makes powerful teaching and learning the central focus of schooling.
(no label)
Proficient
Q4: Comments and analysis (comments are recommended for any overall rating; however, ratings
other than proficient require the elevator to provide comments including rationale, evidence, and
feedback for improvement).
Since 2011 and her initial appointment as superintendent, Superintendent Geryk has taken steps to empower
Central Office and building administrators. To this evaluator these efforts seem largely successful and are a
core element of Geryk's ongoing efforts to create and enhance programs, practices and procedures that have
as their intended outcome an elevation of standards and expectations for all students. In addition, there
appears to be concerted efforts to create systems whereby administrators and instructional staff work together
to establish lessons that engage, stimulate and engage students at all levels, but particularly for
underperforming students. Furthermore, there is evidence of the establishment of a culture that demands high
standards and expectations for staff at all levels and for students. It is clear that the mission to address the
ongoing needs to those youngsters who are not performing at grade level continues to be a priority for this
administration. There is also evidence that this administration makes appropriate use of data to inform
decision making. This includes the use of surveys to determine both staff and community needs and
perceptions. Geryk exhibits a fully developed understanding of current educational research related to best
practices as it relates to the need for ongoing instruction related professional development. It is clear that the
challenge before the school committees is to provide the resources necessary to continue this work.
PAGE 3: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard II: Management and Operations
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Q5: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard II: Management and Operations Indicators
II-A. Environment: Develops and executes effective
plans, procedures, routines, and operational systems
to address a full range of safety, health, emotional,
and social needs.
Exemplary
II-B. Human Resources Management and

Development: Implements a cohesive approach to
recruiting, hiring, induction, development, and career
growth that promotes high-quality and effective
practice.
Proficient
II-C. Scheduling and Management Information

Systems: Uses systems to ensure optimal use of data
and time for teaching, learning, and collaboration,
minimizing disruptions and distractions for school-level
staff.
Proficient
II-D. Law, Ethics, and Policies: Understands and

complies with state and federal laws and mandates,
school committee policies, collective bargaining
agreements, and ethical guidelines.
Proficient
II-E. Fiscal Systems: Develops a budget that supports

the districts vision, mission, and goals; allocates and
manages expenditures consistent with district- and
school-level goals and available resources.
Exemplary
Q6: Overall Rating for Standard II: The education leader promotes the learning and growth of all
students and the success of all staff by ensuring a safe, efficient, and effective learning environment,
using resources to implement appropriate curriculum, staffing, and scheduling.
(no label)
Proficient
Facing intense community pressure to address the climate, culture and safety of the district's schools, Geryk
has responded by clearly placing the emotional, social and physical safety of students and staff as a high
priority. Her efforts to collaborate with all town entities including police and fire to insure these goals is
exemplary. Of particular note is the effort to address the mental health and behavior of students who have
demonstrated needs and at risk circumstances. The work in this area is significant evidence of the programs,
procedures and practices that Geryk has installed throughout the schools. Also, it must noted her efforts to
address a major community concern, the policies and practices related to school discipline. With assistance
from a very strong Business Department and fiscal managers, Geryk has demonstrated an ability to craft
budgets during very demanding fiscal times that minimize the damage to programs as much as can be
expected given the depth of the budgetary cuts required.
PAGE 4: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard III: Family and Community Engagement
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Q8: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard III: Family and Community Engagement
III-A. Engagement: Actively ensures that all families
are welcome members of the classroom and school
community and can contribute to the effectiveness of
the classroom, school, district, and community.
Proficient
III-B. Sharing Responsibility: Continuously collaborates

with families and community stakeholders to support
student learning and development at home, school,
and in the community.
Proficient
III-C. Communication: Engages in regular, two-way,

culturally proficient communication with families and
community stakeholders about student learning and
performance.
Proficient
III-D. Family Concerns: Addresses family and

community concerns in an equitable, effective, and
efficient manner.
Exemplary
Q9: Overall Rating for Standard III: The education leader promotes the learning and growth of all
students and the success of all staff through effective partnerships with families, community
organizations, and other stakeholders that support the mission of the district and its schools.
(no label)
Proficient
While there will always be miles to go, Geryk is to be commended, along with her staff, at taking major steps
to foster an inclusive environment for family engagement. While there are still intensely dissatisfied sectors of
the community, the creation of the Family Center was a long overdue effort to create a positive, welcoming
and safe environment for families to engage the District. The various ancillary aspects of the Center provide
significant evidence of a genuine, sincere effort to establish links to all members of the community. To this
evaluator this may be the most important contribution Superintendent Geryk has made to the educational
community as well as the larger community.
PAGE 5: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard IV: Professional Culture
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Q11: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard IV: Professional Culture

IV-A. Commitment to High Standards: Fosters a
shared commitment to high standards of service,
teaching, and learning with high expectations for
achievement for all.
Proficient
IV-B. Cultural Proficiency: Ensures that policies and

practices enable staff members and students to
interact effectively in a culturally diverse environment
in which students backgrounds, identities, strengths,
and challenges are respected.
Proficient
IV-C. Communication: Demonstrates strong

interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
Proficient
IV-D. Continuous Learning: Develops and nurtures a

culture in which staff members are reflective about
their practice and use student data, current research,
best practices, and theory to continuously adapt
practice and achieve improved results. Models these
behaviors in his or her own practice.
Proficient
IV-E. Shared Vision: Successfully and continuously

engages all stakeholders in the creation of a shared
educational vision in which every student is prepared
to succeed in postsecondary education and become a
responsible citizen and global contributor.
Proficient
IV-F. Managing Conflict: Employs strategies for

responding to disagreement and dissent,
constructively resolving conflict and building
consensus throughout a district or school community.
Proficient
Q12: Overall Rating for Standard IV: The education leader promotes the learning and growth of all
students and the success of all staff by nurturing and sustaining a districtwide culture of reflective
practice, high expectations, and continuous learning for staff.
(no label)
Proficient
During the multiple years of this evaluator's tenure on the Regional School Committee I have been witness to
the emergence of intense and, at times, very contentious community discussions regarding the promises and
realities of a culturally diverse community. There have been occasions when it appeared that certain elements
of the community were more intent on fostering tensions rather than seeking common and collaborative
solutions to problems that not only concern our communities, but are broader societal matters as well. This is
an area where many were unprepared for the intensity of many of the attacks generated by these
controversies. In the opinion of this evaluator this will continue to be an area that Superintendent Geryk will
need to continue to build on what she has already done to address this matter. For many in the community,
what she does will never be enough or sufficient. However, her work this past year provides evidence of an
awareness of the controversy, a willingness to address it, and the creativity to generate solutions.
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PAGE 6: Assess Performance on Standards (summary of above)
Q14: Assess Performance on Standards (copy from questions 3, 6, 9, and 12)

Standard I: Instructional Leadership
Proficient
Standard II: Management and Operations
Proficient
Standard III: Family and Community Engagement
Proficient
Standard IV: Professional Culture
Proficient
PAGE 7: Assess Progress Towards Goals
Q15: STUDENT LEARNING GOAL: We will utilize data such as the recent TELL survey results, family
surveys, and achievement data to build the District and School Improvement Plans with actionable
student goals based on feedback from families, staff, and student achievement data. In addition, we
will use evidence-based practices (with citations) to ensure that our methodology is supported by
current research.
(no label)
Met
Q16: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE GOAL: With my guidance and supervision, principals will develop
detailed plans for a staff development program at faculty meetings that improves the effectiveness of
teachers efforts to meet the diverse learning needs of students. Tapping internal and external
expertise, priority will be placed on examining the effects of institutionalized bias on students
identity and their learning and culturally proficient instruction and school practices. In addition, I will
observe teaching with principals on a regular basis to ensure that principals are skilled in describing
the instructional strategies needed to support all learners and offer feedback to teachers in this area.
(no label)
Met
Q17: District Improvement Goal: To create a functional structure to support students and families in
preparing students with special education needs for transition to post-secondary life.
(no label)
Met
Q18: District Improvement Goal (Part A): To successfully implement phase one of the Amherst
Together Collective Impact Initiative: Building Foundations for Community Engagement
(no label)
Met
PAGE 8: Rate Overall Summative Performance
Q19: Overall Summative Performance

(no label)
Proficient
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This evaluator would like to make one additional comment and that is to recognize Superintendent Geryk's
ability to put together a Central Office staff of extraordinary talent and expertise. This ability is also manifested
in the quality of the building administrations as well.
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#4
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Started: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 9:30:29 AM
Last Modified: Tuesday, July 14, 2015 11:33:28 AM
IP Address: 66.59.57.130

Darius Modestow

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Exemplary

Exemplary
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(no label)
Proficient
I-D: Amherst-Pelham was chosen as one of four exemplary districts to be featured in a series of videos on
implementing the new Educator Evaluation model.
I-E: Implemented an achievement data system (Inform) , Along with School Committee members,
encouraged broad staff participation in the TELL survey (resulting in each school meeting the threshold to
receive results), Surveyed families about their experience with their child(ren)s school(s)
and social needs.
Exemplary

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
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II-A: The Superintendent has shown in her decision making that student safety is put first. She creates policies
and procedures that promote safe schools ahead of popular opinions. I.e. Dogs, bus conduct, secure
buildings.
Proficient

Exemplary

performance.
Exemplary

efficient manner.
Exemplary
(no label)
Exemplary
The superintendent's fourth goal outlined and successfully delivered community outreach and partnership to
support the mission of the school. While the majority of this goal took place in the Amherst community the
overall promotion of partnership could be felt throughout all districts.
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Proficient

Exemplary

Exemplary

Exemplary

Proficient

Exemplary
(no label)
Exemplary
IV-B: The Professional Practice Goal emphasised the need for the staff in each school to look at their own
cultural proficiency with support. The Superintendent made excellent progress on this goal and her team
should be recognized for their efforts as this type of change does not happen within one evaluation cycle.
IV-C: The Superintendent communicates well with all stakeholders. Many of these conversations can be
difficult and require a great deal of tact and grace.
IV-D: Progress in goals of Student Learning and Professional Practice show a district self examining and
using that data to reflect and develop best practices.
IV-F: A great deal of conflicts are managed behind the scenes and have more layers than what is seen by the
public. The Superintendent manages very well an often hyper critical community and school committees that
have at times created more issues/work with personal ideas rather than the developed district goals.
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Proficient
Proficient
Exemplary
Exemplary
current research.
(no label)
Exceeded
Comments (optional)
"Met" does not capture the amount of work done on this goal so I have given it an "exceeded" mark.
(no label)
Exceeded
Comments (optional)
"Met" does not capture the amount of work done on this goal so I have given it an "exceeded" mark.
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
Evidence shows having met this goal. Not a Pelham School Goal.
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(no label)
Exceeded
Comments (optional)
Has met the goal of phase one. This plan has been done very well and is acknowledged by this "exceeded"
mark.

(no label)
Exemplary
Superintendent Geryk has received a Exemplary mark for her Summative Performance.
It is difficult to give an "Exemplary" Summative mark, as exceeding in every standard is near impossible given
the scope of this evaluation. To have an exemplary evaluation does not indicate a perfect year or that all
standards found in this evaluation are without need of work. However, because of the amount of success Mrs.
Geryk and her team has shown in areas of concentration (goals) set by the school committee, she deserves
this recognition.
She has had an excellent year as leader of our school district.
19 / 95
#5
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Started: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 12:45:42 PM
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IP Address: 108.8.205.40

Lawrence E. O'Brien

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Exemplary

Proficient
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(no label)
Proficient
I think the true standout evidence in this category are the Department of Elementary and Secondary videos on
our district's successful implementation of the relatively new evaluation system. The "Proficient" ranking In the
other categories are based on the clear evidence that a lot of macro-systems have been put in place by
Superintendent Geryk, (including the introduction of curriculum leaders and the elementary level) but I think in
future evaluations it would helpful to receive more specific evidence of follow-through with these macrosystems. For example, district staff have done and continue to do very good work horizontally and vertically
integrating the curriculum in various subject areas, now it's time to start getting more refined evidence of the
common assessments that have been put in place to measure the success of those curricula.
and social needs.
Exemplary

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Needs Improvement

Needs Improvement

Exemplary
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(no label)
Proficient
The exemplary ratings in this category can be attributed to the creation and work of the Interagency Transition
Team, the District Transition Working Group and the other initiatives discussed in Superintendent Geryk's selfevaluation on Standard III-B-1. Well done.
The needs improvement ratings in II-C and II-D are in response to my ongoing concerns about the many
upcoming changes at ARMS that I think will have an adverse effect on student learning and staff morale, as
well as a strong, but respectful disagreement with her about Policy IGA, specifically regarding the role of the
School Committee in curriculum development and program evaluation.
Finally, I can't give enough praise for the work of our Budget and Finance Director, Mr. Mangano, and his topnotch work at collaborating with the superintendent and her other direct reports at creating a budget that aligns
with our district's goals. Well done!
Exemplary

Proficient

performance.
Needs Improvement

efficient manner.
Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
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While Superintendent Geryk has helped create or outright established such highly regarded initiatives as
Amherst Together or the ARPS Family Center (with all of it's excellent programs such as Family University),
there have been occasions when some initiatives have been marred by insufficient communication. As I noted
in the previous category, there were many problems with the initial ARMS schedule change presentation in
terms of communication with the Regional School Committee, as well as parents. However, it would only be
fair for me to note that the presentation of the ARHS schedule changes indicated that the superintendent and
her administrative team learned from the previous unfortunate experience and handled that in a much more
skillful manner.

Exemplary

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Needs Improvement
(no label)
Proficient
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Q13: Comments and analysis (comments are
recommended for any overall rating; however,
ratings other than proficient require the elevator to
provide comments including rationale, evidence,
and feedback for improvement).
SurveyMonkey
Respondent skipped this
question

Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
current research.
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Significant Progress
Comments (optional)
I think that Superintendent Geryk has made significant progress toward getting into our schools to observe
her principals at work, but that she needs to do even more of that, even if it means delegating less to the
Assistant Superintendent.
(no label)
Met
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(no label)
Met

(no label)
Proficient


question
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#6
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Started: Saturday, July 11, 2015 9:02:19 AM
Last Modified: Thursday, July 16, 2015 5:22:37 PM
Time Spent: Over a day
IP Address: 50.187.48.133

Katherine Appy

Proficient

Exemplary

Proficient

Exemplary

Exemplary
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(no label)
Exemplary
In the 4 years that I have been on School Committee, I have watched and learned as the Superintendent and
her leadership team have created the conditions to move our districts forward in the service of meeting the
needs of our diverse student population.
The revision of the High School mathematics pathway is one example of this ongoing curricular work. At the
Elementary level the focus on early literacy demonstrates the Superintendents understanding of the
importance of early literacy in the long term academic success of students. Arts integration at the elementary
level is another example of valuing the strengths, interests and values of our children and our community,
while simultaneously moving the learning experience and access to best instruction for all kids, forward.
Last year, a survey of teachers and staff revealed a general sense of unhappiness with the then current
Professional Development offerings. The Superintendent responded to this feedback by initiating and
supporting a new Professional Development model that I believe is really exceptional. It draws on the
expertise of our own faculty and staff. The feedback to this shift in Professional Development has been
strongly positive as reflected in the summaries and feedback provided to the School Committee. Another
major initiative the creation of in-house sequences to support our own staff in obtaining certifications- is
really innovative and responsive to the staff and communitys desire to hire from our own communitys talent
pool in order to more strongly reflect our diverse population.
The implementation of instructional coaches at the secondary level ( coaches already in place at the
elementary level) and the expansion of the co-teaching model demonstrates the Superintendents use of
evidence based strategies to meet the needs of all learners.
Continued work and growth on observation and meaningful feedback to staff through the use of the evaluation
model, continues. Our district was one of 4 chosen across the State as a model to be highlighted by the
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The evidence provided through the videos ( produced
by DESE) were really wonderful and demonstrated how advanced our districts are in the professional use of
the new evaluation model.
It is clear, that Instructional Leadership is an area of real strength for the Superintendent. Her focus on
instruction and our students experience in the classroom, is essential to our schools meeting the mission of
providing access to best instruction for every student in the district.
I will be interested to see how these instructional changes, in particular co-teaching, plays out in our schools to
benefit kids. In addition, I look forward to the implementation of the Arts Integration model at the Middle
School. I was glad to see the Superintendent increase her time in the schools at the secondary level. While it
was great that the Assistant Superintendent was present at the elementary level, I am pleased that the
Superintendent plans to spend more time there next year.
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and social needs.
Proficient

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Exemplary

Proficient

Exemplary
(no label)
Proficient
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As a member of the Wildwood Building Committee, I have had a firsthand experience of the work being done
toward a substantial school building project. The process has thus far, been comprehensive, collaborative. I
believe the communication methods weve utilized so far, have been successful and the ongoing
communication plan, well considered.
The exploration of a possible consolidation of our secondary schools is another large project which I believe is
essential to the health of our schools. Given flat funding and declining enrollment, we must consider how to
continuously improve our schools. I appreciate the Superintendents thoughtful multi year vision, centering
around sustainability and the survival of a school district that continues to reflect our community values. The
Superintendent has contracted with the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration to design and facilitate
an engagement process around this possible consolidation and other projects that will support our schools.
The Superintendent has led the Districts adjustment to a change in the law that addresses student discipline
but, she did not stop there. She directed the revision of the codes of conduct and supported substantial
professional development related to restorative practices. In addition the district under the Superintendents
leadership, is becoming more adept at using and analyzing discipline date to support continued efforts to
reduce the amount of time students spend outside the classroom and away from learning.
There is a clear ongoing effort to recruit, retain and support staff. I appreciate that the Superintendent is
gathering information from faculty, staff and consultants to strengthen these efforts.
The hiring of our new Finance Director was a strong decision. In my 4 years on the Committee, this years
budget process was by far the best. The Director and his documents, were clear, instructive and
collaborative.
The review and adjustment of time on learning was undertaken this year, in particular at the secondary level.
The process at the Middle School could have gone much more smoothly. I am glad that the Superintendent
took this feedback and adjusted the High School process, which then went exceptionally well.
Exemplary

Exemplary

performance.
Proficient

efficient manner.
Proficient
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(no label)
Proficient
Family and Community engagement play a significant part in the academic success of children. Over the last
several years, this has been a tremendous focus of the Superintendent and a vital part of moving our districts
toward schools in which every student can achieve to the best of their ability.
The Family Center is the cornerstone of this effort. Its staff has supported and engaged hundreds of students
and their families. The Family Lecture series, Steps to Success, Juntos We Play and Family University are
just some of the concrete strategies used by the Center to do outreach and support student learning.
This year we saw the beginning of a Family Engagement Review process at each school that I hope will
provide baseline information to support each school in designing actionable steps. This engagement included
focus groups of staff and faculty as well as families. I will be interested in seeing how this work progresses.
The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project is another evidence based initiative that I look forward to supporting
and engaging historically undeserved students.
Numerous partnerships have been established with community organizations and institutions of higher
learning to benefit our students. The University of Chicago Impact Connections sounds as though it will
provide as assessment of our system which could support the creation of a multi-year plan. Another step
toward continuous improvement. The formation of these partnerships in the service of advancing our schools
is another particular strength of our Superintendent.
While, as I mentioned the Middle School schedule roll out received a great deal of negative feedback, I
believe the math program change, the High School schedule process and the MSBA process have gone
extremely well.
Communication with the School Committee has increased this year and is much appreciated. Communication
in general by the Superintendent has gotten better. The weekly written updates to families and the School
Committee have been informative. I have heard positive comments from community members specifically
about these updates. I also thought the newspaper articles and corresponding videos were terrific.
We must continue to focus on community engagement and communicating clearly and in a timely fashion with
our community. I really appreciate and recognize the Superintendents efforts in implementing some new
strategies this year.
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Exemplary

Proficient

Exemplary

Exemplary

Proficient

Needs Improvement
(no label)
Exemplary
I believe the Superintendent has grown substantially in her ability to use multiple methods of communication to
represent the school communitys voice. Some of these methods included the local newspaper, a blog,
Twitter, PSAs, Amherst Media segments and weekly emails to families and School Committee.
The Superintendents commitment to continuous learning is demonstrated at all levels of the organization,
including the District Leadership team, the mentoring and induction series, the coaching model and the
professional development model.
The creation of Amherst Together-in collaboration with the Town- is a clear effort to create a collaborative
environment to support our students. One of the strategies I particularly appreciated was the gathering of
perception data which then allowed stakeholders to work on collective impact action plans to strengthen
community connection and engagement. The perception data report is detailed and professionally done. I
also understand that the presentation to the community of the data was very well done and well attended.
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Exemplary
Proficient
Proficient
Exemplary
current research.
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met

(no label)
Exemplary
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As referenced in my feedback earlier in this evaluation I believe the Superintendent has worked tirelessly to
created the conditions for our districts to be sustainable, comprehensive and remarkable public schools.
Schools that understand the importance of providing teachers with the support, data and feedback they need
to offer our students the best possible differentiated instruction for a variety of learning styles. The
Superintendent understands that it benefits all learners to keep students in the classroom, together as a
learning community. It is extraordinary, that the Amherst public schools have given money back to the Town for
the last two years. This represents the Superintendent's management and long term planning in a time when
many districts are losing not only teachers, but enriching programs. Even at the secondary level- where large
cuts where required- the budget was created to have as little impact on the classroom as possible. Over the
time I have been on School Committee I have experienced our Superintendent as a visionary leader and have
watched as this leadership style has matured. Our district under her leadership, has been recognized by
national and state agencies and organizations. The Superintendent has a unique ability to communicate her
vision and develop and implement strategies to realize it. She juggles many balls in the air and for the most
part, does so with grace and equanimity. It is clear that she puts students first in whatever she does. It can be
hard at times in our community to maintain this student focus. The Superintendent is able to hold on to what's
important in moving the district to a place that she believes is best for all students.
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#7
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Last Modified: Saturday, July 18, 2015 4:06:44 PM
IP Address: 50.187.50.4

Kathleen Traphagen

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Needs Improvement
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(no label)
Proficient
Commendations:
Undertaking the multi-year effort at the elementary level to establish a unified curricula is no small project and I
commend Maria and the leadership team for persevering in this. It is not easy to unify schedules and support
teachers in using curricula that enhances and doesnt dampen teachers creativity and selves they bring to the
work and at the same time meet the needs of the increasingly diverse student population. Creating elementary
curricula leaders seems a promising strategy and Id be interested in the teachers perspective on the
effectiveness of that strategy. I think the district is beginning to see the benefits of this work, including the arts
integration project, grade-wide reading and math groups, etc. examples of things that can only happen when
each classroom is not its own island any longer.
I am also grateful for the restoration of third grade music instruction.
I applaud the increase in co-teaching and the initiative to work toward inclusion as much as possible, and hope
the district will continue to provide out-of-classroom support when needed, provide the supports the teachers
need to work in this new way, and evaluate this effort well.
I think rejecting the kindergarten grant was the right decision, thank you for listening to the teachers on the
undue assessment burden that took away their time with students. Please continue to review the number and
nature of assessments that students take, and understanding that many of these are within the purview of the
district, streamline as much as possible. At the same time, many assessments are still fairly flat in what they
ask of our kids multiple choice, fill in the blank, etc. How can we push the envelope so that kids are engaged
in performance based and more complex assessments and are given the time for self reflection to understand
themselves as learners?
I am glad to see the initiative to use Understanding by Design and emphasis on increasing cognitive demand
(which I had to look up since its education jargon) but I found it aligns already with a point I wanted to make
about increasing teachers capacity to support students to think in complex ways and apply information in new
settings, and create, rather than just take in static information. Thank you for the specific documentation of the
learning rounds at ARMS which show how complex a task it is to change instructional practice to do this. I am
interested in how the district will understand how much change is taking place here and how you will evaluate
your various initiatives on this.
I am really glad to see the focus on improving professional development from last year and how that has
already had an impact (at least as seen in how teachers rate their experiences).
Concerns:
With the ongoing push toward common curricula and schedules at the elementary level, it is critical to
preserve and expand teacher autonomy, respect their experience, and give room for their creativity. Not every
class should look the same. Not every afterschool program needs to offer the same things. Individual teachers
and schools need to have the support and autonomy to creatively teach including projects (backed by
evidence of success) that might not be happening exactly the same way or even at all in other classrooms and
schools.
On curricula I still dont see any evidence that the needs of advanced students at the elementary or ARMS
level are prioritized or met. Even the RTI pyramid only focuses attention on kids who are not getting it, there is
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level are prioritized or met. Even the RTI pyramid only focuses attention on kids who are not getting it, there is
not even an indication that kids who are above grade level need extra attention, much any discussion about
how to meet their needs. For example, the Fort River Data Driven Instructional Planning Form, has the same
box for At or Above Target. This is two different things! This needs to be taken seriously for so many reasons
losing families to other educational choices, turning kids off because they are bored, many will act out, many
will disengage. The go-to instructional strategy for kids who are above target is still to have them help other
kids. This is unacceptable.
The reason why I noted Needs Improvement to the data informed decision making is because the SIPs particularly the elementary SIPs and the DIP lack measurable outcomes. IE2 notes: "Provides support to
principles in their efforts to create focused, measurable goals" but I haven't seen this. Also as I note here in
many places, there are so many initiatives on which process oriented outputs are reported but outcomes are
not.
Other than in the ARMS SIP, I dont see the focus I am hoping for on how, in the curriculum mapping (and
unification at the elementary level), the district understands and is prioritizing the need to transform curricula to
reflect cultures and ways of being other than the dominant white paradigm.
I would like to see a comprehensive preK-12 plan focused on teacher professional development around equity,
race, implicit bias, identity etc. There is a lot going on here but its not presented or communicated coherently,
its all in pieces and its hard to see how it adds up and how it will be evaluated comprehensively. It seems
from the evaluations of the specific equity-focused teacher PD sessions at the elementary level, they do not
have a clear idea of how the PD they did applies to their teaching practice. Its unclear what the pathway of PD
is this is clearly not a one and done experience but whats the trajectory?
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Re: meeting the safety, health, social and emotional needs of students: I dont see clear evidence that PBIS
works. I may be missing something here. I can see there is data: the ARMS curriculum day 12/1 meeting
agenda shows that there is data on PBIS and staff are using it but that data has not been shared with the SC
and community so we can understand the efficacy of this strategy. I also think its important to implement and
evaluate PBIS with an understanding that the norms we begin with are of the dominant white, middle or upper
class paradigm. How are we examining this in our schools and making changes that recognize and welcome
other norms? How are teachers and staff held accountable for understanding this and acting in ways that
understand/validate non-dominant cultural paradigms?
Im glad the discipline code has been updated and fewer suspensions mean kids are not losing learning time
but there is much more work to do on understanding how implicit bias plays into how teachers react to lower
level infractions. We also need to ensure that while we examine the disciplinary frameworks, we continue to
hold all kids accountable for behavior, and dont let the unintended consequence be that behavior is
unchecked and kids are unsafe. This is really hard and I commend the district for doing this.
I think there is still work to be done on student leadership and ownership over climate. I know the ARHS
student advisory tried to work this year on a problem they identified: increasing support for students with
mental stress and depression. I think their perspective was they were not that successful due to adult barriers
and concerns. This needs to be worked on.
Bullying is a problem in Amherst. As an SC member I have heard this year of cases of bullying at the
elementary, middle and high schools that all resulted in families withdrawing kids because of the inability of the
schools to keep their kids safe. None of the families that spoke to me were sent an exit survey.
The needs improvement refers to the lack of progress in hiring and retaining teachers and staff of color. The
data shows that we are okay compared to some districts in the state, but I dont think that should be our
benchmark. Overall it looks like there was no change last year in the percentage of teachers of color and in
Amherst elementary schools over the last 8 years we have lost ground. Right now for example at Fort River, I
believe there is one classroom teacher of color in the entire school. There are no African American or Latino
teachers. The vast majority of students at FR will have no teachers of color K-6 at all. Crocker doesnt look all
that much better. This is really unacceptable. I wondering about accountability measures that take improving in
this area into account.
On the other hand I recognize that progress has been made at the regional and Pelham levels so thats
encouraging but we are so far from where we need to be, and diversifying the staff is foundational to meeting
our equity goals long term. We need new ideas and partnerships and we need more data on what strategies
are working and which are not. I see that you have tried Diversity Ambassadors, MTEL subsidies, and a para
teacher training program. What are the outcomes of these?
The data you provided on retention is not granular enough to understand why teachers of color leave; I
understand that its a privacy issue. I hope the ALANA faculty group will help. The notes you provided on this
group are not really specific enough to understand if it is having impact or what your specific goals are for this
group. ARPS must do better retaining teachers of color. What will it take?
Thanks for taking on the Wildwood Building Project with an expansive vision and in a way that includes
community voices. Thanks also for creative visioning around the middle-high school consolidation idea, and for
continuing to help to shepherd the complicated project of regionalization. I appreciate your perseverance in
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continuing to help to shepherd the complicated project of regionalization. I appreciate your perseverance in
trying to communicate to the larger community that the ongoing structural deficits and declining student
populations will mean we need to have different school structures moving forward if we dont do this we will
have to make more unwanted cuts to teaching and learning and everything we value about our schools.
Of course the issue that dominated the scheduling conversation this year was the middle school schedule
change, which I will address later not here because I think it's more than a schedule change.
On finances, exemplary management deserves commendation, yet Amherst still has a very high per pupil cost
and I hope Rick Hood's longstanding suggestion to develop a clear explanation for this happens this next year.
I don't think the response at Town Meeting was adequate.
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The depth and breadth of the Family Center work is impressive. I am still not totally clear on the outcomes of
the FC as a whole or specific initiatives like Steps to Success or Family University, or what the district strategy
is to evaluate this work.
The Youth Culture Initiative sounds excellent, also not sure of outcomes.
One of the things that strikes me is that in all the equity work, it is really focused on youth of color which is fine
but the district needs to also focus on helping white students and their families understand their role in
achieving equity, understanding bias, privilege, the ways the structures are set up to benefit the dominant
paradigm and how they can use their privilege to advance equity. I do not see this happening yet.
It's also really hard to evaluate with any certainty if all families consider themselves welcomed in the school
community and how to support learning at home. The equity work with family focus groups facilitated by
UMASS will hopefully help. Baseline information and then measurable goals from each school about
family/teacher conference participation would be one way to provide concrete family involvement information
and uncover gaps that may be overlooked right now.
Communication I understand that the district has put a lot of effort into communication and the weekly
updates from teachers provide a great amount of information and teachers are very accessible - or at least
many teachers are. Weekly newsletters from the Supt are a good addition - are you tracking the open rate? It
would be good to do this in a way where you can track analytics. It would also help if there was a searchable
staff directory at ARPS website with emails for all staff, with the capacity to search by person, or school, grade
level, function, etc.
Good that there is a bullying report button now I wonder if people are using it? I see there is still an
ombudsperson, fine but I dont know the impact of this role. I see that people have been trained in restorative
practices but I dont know the impact.
Outreach to community and partnerships are impressive. I liked the idea of the newspaper articles, but try to
eliminate the use of jargon. What is the watch rate for Voice in Our Schools? Overall, communications
strategies could be more quantitatively evaluated.
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I want to discuss the ARMS middle school schedule change here and this is the main reason for Needs
Improvement in E and F. Since this is a duplicative and clumsy rubric it's hard to choose exactly where to
place each discussion, but since the problem I see was primarily external communications, and process within
the building - professional culture - I am putting it here. In sum, there was a lot wrong with the substance,
process and communication of that project. The key takeaways:
1) Poor communication. Good things about the proposal such as the increase in academic class time to
enable the workshop model and increased engagement and knowledge for all kids were lost because they
were communicated so poorly. Also people who resisted the change were made to feel like they did not
understand or prioritize equitable access to learning for all children which was unfair and a bad strategy for
communication.
Also the communication was not at all transparent. Announcing that the change preserves access to our rich
array of specials when in fact many kids would have had less access in the original proposal, makes no sense.
Dont say the change preserves language when it guts it. Dont say the district values aesthetics (actually
dont even use that word) when kids will have to choose between language and art in 8th grade as in the
original proposal. Being upfront about hard choices is the best strategy and I know the district is trying to do
that with the ARHS schedule change process. People understand what they are losing, it does only harm to
pretend they are not losing it especially if you havent explained what they are gaining.
Any kind of organizational change of that magnitude needed teacher buy in and this schedule change did not
have it, teachers were really bypassed in this process and there is no excuse for that.
Its clear that this change is not just a schedule change and it should have been under SC purview. The SC is
to be blamed for not asserting ourselves on this. It would have been so much better if the district and school
leadership co-created the framework with the teachers, invited feedback from the school committee and
community with plenty of time, understood how to talk about the benefits and tradeoffs, and reasonably, asked
the SC to vote on it. The way it played out damaged community relations a lot.

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current research.
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As said, I am still looking for measurable outcomes on the SIPs and DIP. That said, the district did use TELL
survey data and various assessments to design improvements to programs and PD.
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I've already discussed the equity PD throughout. Excellent that this work has begun! Need to see the
coherent K-12 and over-the-course-of-a-teacher's-tenure plan. Need to see more about how teachers
change practice as a result of PD or if they even know based on the PD how to change practice.
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In depth interesting data from the UMASS collaboration, and great to have the Forum for Youth Investment
trip. How does this translate into impact the district and the district priorities?

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On the process of this evaluation, I think we still have much room for improvement. We were asked to read
227 documents to complete this evaluation some of these documents were 20-30 pages long, others 100200 pages long. Others were one page. I think there were at least 3 different summaries of all of this written by
Maria some of which contained repetitive information, some of which had nuggets that didn't appear anywhere
else. Many documents did not provide valuable evaluative information, others were extremely helpful. The
haphazard way they were curated required going through them all to ensure that we werent missing anything,
yet this was overwhelming and made it nearly impossible to maintain a clear sense of what we are being
asked to evaluate. Combine that with this clumsy, repetitive rubric (cites communication at least 4 times in
different places) and really, there has to be a better way.
Last year in my evaluation I mentioned more work on understanding the difference between outputs and
outcomes and using evidence to document outcomes. Next year I am hoping that the Superintendent can
provide a reasonably-sized set of documents which instead of including everything but the kitchen sink, are
curated strategically to help us understand the evidence she is presenting toward top priority goals. Perhaps
provide outcome evidence for progress on each DIP goal, in order, and leave it at that.
Overall, I believe you are doing a good job Maria and Amherst is fortunate to have you. I have detailed
throughout here a lot of areas for commendation and also for improvement.
Areas to work on include:
-increasing racial/cultural diversity of the faculty and administration - a clear plan and accountability for
reaching reasonable goals in a specific timeframe
-enabling families and community to provide early input into big changes
-engaging transparently and non-defensively with a range of community members about things that still need
to be transformed in order for all kids to succeed -- even if those conversations are difficult and don't proceed
according to protocol.
-providing measurable goals and communicating to a range of stakeholders on progress in as clear a way as
possible.
-Supporting teachers to be leaders.
-Meeting the needs of advanced students at the elementary and middle school levels.
I appreciate you taking on the hard work of making our district successful for all students and not being
satisfied with the fact that it is successful for most. This is not an easy conversation or realization for the
community or the schools to have, and tends to make you unpopular at times, but you have stuck with it and
are not backing down from the need for change. I admire that.
I also admire that you are actively engaged in supporting teachers to improve their practice and in pushing the
conversation about what we are actually teaching our kids to know and be able to do.
And that you are trying to squarely face future challenges by starting and moving forward processes such as
middle-high consolidation, regionalization and changing elementary school structures to mitigate declining
school populations and structural deficits. You are stewarding the schools for the long term. That's a definitive
choice you are making and it's a difficult path.
Thank you for all the work you do.
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Last Modified: Sunday, July 19, 2015 10:29:29 AM
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Tara Luce

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Significant progress was achieved toward very specific curricular improvement goals (e.g. Superkids). I have
been able to see the impact of the Superkids curriculum on my own child.
It would be helpful to review data from teacher evaluations of professional development so that we can
understand the impact of these new programs from the perspective of those who are most directly impacted
by it. It would also be helpful to understand how the district is using these data to inform the development of
future professional development.
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The district has made strong progress toward addressing core infrastructure and systems development needs.
The Wildwood project is designed to address one if not multiple building inadequacies. The transition to
google apps is a terrific improvement to technology infrastructure as well. District-wide communication has
also improved; I feel well informed both as a parent and as a school committee member about events, news
and opportunities pertaining to the district.
In the context of a regional school model, it can be difficult for a Superintendent to represent the disparate
interests each town, and for each town to feel as though the Superintendent holds its interest and concerns in
equal regard. As a Pelham school committee member, it often seems as though the interests of the Amherst
community are prioritized in discussions about needs of the Pelham school and that issues such as population
growth are perceived as a problematic, rather than as the vibrant community asset it represents.
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The added opportunities for community engagement this year have been impressive and many of them have
been very public, especially in Amherst. I am interested to see the results of the equity walk throughs and the
focus group discussions. I hope that the Superintendent will make concrete policy changes in response to the
community engagement process, which will help rebuild confidence and trust.

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Regarding conflict management and consensus building: efforts to build consensus and acknowledge minority
opinions within the community and the school committees could be stronger. I encourage the Superintendent
to consider communication strategies that are more affirming of opinions and perspectives different from the
majority opinion of the school administration. Even if the minority opinion is not adopted by the district,
engaging with dissent in more proactive and affirmative ways would significantly increase community and
stakeholder engagement in the work of the district and support conflict resolution efforts.

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Maria and her administration are a strong working group that have effectively made improvements in many
areas over the 2014-12015 school year. Significant improvements have been demonstrated in infrastructure
upgrades and the early literacy curriculum and its associated trainings.
Many of the other areas that the district has worked to improve are in early phases of change. For example,
the success of the work to build community consensus will be achieved as the initial outreach activities result
in demonstrable changes to district policy and procedure.
Pelham's curriculum and instructional models have continued to become more aligned with the systems in
place in Amherst. Pelham consistently benefits from the capacity of ARPS's Central Office's which is able to
support structures and change and whose successes can be directly linked with the Superintendent's strong
leadership and ability to build a cohesive team.
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Started: Sunday, July 19, 2015 12:02:21 PM
Last Modified: Sunday, July 19, 2015 3:43:35 PM
IP Address: 50.133.191.36

Richard Hood

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This year what I did was read the Superintendent's self evaluation and see if I agree with it or not.
I agree with the Superintendent's self evaluation here, with the except of evaluation (ID) where I did not see
evidence that area is any better that the theory areas in the section.
Some areas, such as IA I was very close to assigning Exemplary.
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I agree with the Superintendent's self evaluation on this section.
One could say that the issues that got the most press lately have been around "environment". I feel that the
administration, staff and students reactions to these issues have been exemplary and and moved the district in
a good direction.
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I agree with the Superintendent's self evaluation except for IIIB which covers Student Support and Family
Collaboration.
In the area of Student Support I was disappointed that we could not address any of the concerns that the
ARHS Student Advisory Group raised this year. In the area of Family Collaboration, I was disappointed in the
lack of collaboration with families (and the school committee) on the new ARMS schedule. Those two items
merit "needs improvement", but other items in those categories offset that such as Steps to Success and
Family University.
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I agree with the Superintendent's self evaluation in the section.
But her rational for the needs improvement in IV-E might also fail into IV-C. And I gave Exemplary in IV-D for
some of the reasons she gave for her Exemplary rating for IV-C. One can say that is juts a categorization
issue and overall not a major disagreement.
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I'll agree with "met" but feel we remain very weak in the survey area, especially family surveys. The new
student climate survey seems like a very good step, but we have yet to see the results even though there
surveys were down months ago.
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Agree with met. Good effort on this.
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Agree with met. Good effort here as well.
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I do not agree with "exceeded" on this. I don't really see where Amherst Together has achieved: "Creates
opportunities for community engagement and interpersonal and social connection." Other groups seem to
have done better with this such as Coming Together and the UROC meetings. Will remain open minded to
where this is going in the future.

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There was huge volume of text to read in the documentation provided for this evaluation. The
Superintendent's self evaluation alone was 36 pages. That could mean there is a lot to talk about and a lot
going on, which is certainly the case. But there was so much information, that I found myself throwing up my
hands a bit trying to keep track of it all. Perhaps that is just my shortcoming.
As in past years, I applaud all the effort being made on implementation of methods that are considered "best
practices". But I remain generally concerned that we may lack data to measure whether these methods are
actually producing results. The following paragraph from the Superintendent's introduction can serve to
illustrate:
"Over the past five years, these strategic plans have allowed for substantial improvement in all of the areas
identified through these internal and external assessments. They include specific strategies to improve our
school climate, to strengthen the student voice in leading school change, to create a tiered-approach to
academic and behavioral supports and intervention, to implement a systemic approach to family engagement,
to align our curriculum horizontally and vertically, and to strengthen the instructional model so that we facilitate
and coach students in a way that allows them to be engaged and active learners."
Reading that paragraph makes it clear that "substantial improvement" is about about improvement in methods,
not necessarily improvement in results. The "internal and external assessments" refers to "systemic gaps" not
assessments of performance. There may well be improvement in results, but if so, that is not made evident.
For example: "strategies to improve our school climate" - have we measured whether climate has improved or
not, and if so where is that evidence? Or at a minimum, one might ask what performance data do we expect
to see change as a result of implementation of new methods?
I sense this is an issue an all pubic schools and not at all unique to this district, as I have yet to find a district
that really does a good job of reporting results. We all seem to have to fall back on using results data posted
by DESE such as MCAS and graduation rates. I wish we had more of our own data to track our own
performance.
But in closing I would like to say that I have enjoyed working with this Superintendent a great deal over the
past 5 years, and very much appreciate her willingness to talk about anything with an open mind when I speak
with her one on one. I also appreciate her concern for students who come to school without the advantages
that many students have, and her efforts to help those students achieve.
I thank her for her efforts, in what is likely the toughest job in Amherst.
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Started: Wednesday, July 08, 2015 1:20:02 PM
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Phoebe Hazzard

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Standard I: Instructional leadership
-Solid evidence of work towards continued development of a rigorous, standards-based curriculum accessible
and engaging for the diverse needs of students.
-Piloting of arts integration with plan for expansion into the Middle School is an exciting movement towards
deepening student learning in line with the UDL model of multiple means of representation, action and
expression, and engagement.
-Improved student achievement is evidenced by AIMSWEB scores following implementation of data-driven
early literacy program, Superkids. The approach of this program has been a big shift for the community, and
its efficacy along with teacher buy-in and using it effectively to meet the full range of students needs should
continue to be examined closely as the roll-out continues.
-The selection of ARPS by DESE to participate in a video series modeling implementation of the
Massachusetts Evaluation Model indicates exemplary leadership around effective evaluation of educators for
continuous improvement of practice.
-Strong instructional leadership tools are in place, including teacher leadership and coaching models, equity
walks and instructional rounds.
-Targeted coaching and PD around examining cognitive demand in instruction and pushing higher order order
thinking skills indicates focus on rigor.
-ARPSU, PLCs, and early release day PDs show a strong response to the dissatisfaction expressed by
teachers in TELL surveys around a need for increased opportunities for professional development and
collaboration.
-An area of concern that has been expressed within the community is around the districts world language
opportunities. As ARPS continues to strive to be a leader in education and fulfill its mission of providing highquality, equitable education that allows our students to be contributing, respectful members of a changing
society, I think this an area that should continue to be examined.
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-Solid safety and security measures are in place.
-The Wildwood Building Project is an extremely exciting opportunity for the district to engage in a community
process of creating a building in line with our vision and values. The administration has clearly laid out a
timeline which intends to include ample opportunity for community engagement, and has placed a high priority
on expertise in community engagement in its selection process for a project manager and designer.
-The Wellness Committee seems to be an effective measure for bringing community input into discussion and
action around wellness issues for our students.
-The leadership is demonstrating a commitment towards fostering an environment of positive, productive
management of student behavior with a goal of keeping students in class. PBIS, training in restorative
practices, continued and close examination of discipline data, and a rigorous schedule of professional
development to encourage teachers to examine their practice are indicators of steps towards reducing
discipline disparity.
-The superintendent has provided ample evidence of the value placed by the district and efforts put forth to
recruit and retain staff and faculty of color. There is strong feeling in the community of the importance and
urgency that the districts staff and leadership reflect the diversity of the student body, and the administration is
encouraged to continue taking steps towards measurable change.
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-The creation and growth of the Family Center as a resource for services and education for families in our
district has been an excellent development under the leadership of the superintendent.The fact that over 700
families have been served by the Family Center and 70 families are supported by Steps to Success indicates
that its influence has been widespread in the community. The many programs based out of the Family Center
indicate a vibrant and growing resource.
-The district is taking clear steps to gather data around how to improve family engagement through the Family
Engagement Review Process in connection with the UMass psychology department. This process will
hopefully set the stage for setting and achieving clear and measurable goals for improving engagement in
each school.
-Through providing and ombudsperson and a bullying incident report system, the district is offering nonthreatening platforms for families to bring concerns to the administration.
-Having the community genuinely feel that it is educated about what is happening in the schools and that they
have a voice is a continual challenge. I have observed regular updates by the superintendent, a series of
informative articles in the Gazette, Voices From Our Schools video series, and aggressive efforts to
encourage families to complete surveys about the schools. I applaud the districts efforts and encourage
continued creative approaches to access the community.
-As acknowledged by the superintendent, the announcement of the ARMS schedule change was met with a
feeling that the process did not involve the stakeholder input and transparency desired by the community. I am
glad to observe the district responding to this feedback by approaching the ARHS schedule change as well as
the Wildwood Building Project with what I would consider more of a model process.
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-Agendas for DILT indicate well-organized meetings for effective work towards instructional improvement.
-Again, DESEs recognition of ARPS as a model for the new teacher evaluation system demonstrate the
districts high-quality work around cycles of feedback and reflection to set goals and and improve practice at all
levels.
-I believe that the administrations efforts towards fostering shared vision in the community have been
genuine, and the process of building trust with the range of stakeholders continues to be a challenge. I think
that the Amherst Together project is truly a visionary approach to addressing complex, embedded issues, and
I look forward to witnessing how the results of the Perception Data Report can be used to build community
trust around shared vision.
-In her introduction the superintendent noted, In the change process, people can become unsettled and revert
back to how things were historically done. We are a community that values achievement and high standards,
and when a change is implemented, concern may arise around these standards being threatened. In the case
of the ARHS math program shift, for example, the artifacts provided indicate strong evidence for an in-depth,
data-driven review process supported by the faculty that led to this decision. Continued follow-up on the rollout of the new program, or other such changes, to demonstrate its efficacy (and potential superiority) are
encouraged.

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current research.
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
-TELL surveys indicate significant improvement in teacher satisfaction around PD and collaborative time,
with evidence of a rigorous schedule of relevant and effective professional development opportunities. Research-based practices being implemented (ex - co-teaching, research-based curricula, growth mindset,
Chrome Books) -I look forward to analysis of the student climate surveys and how this information can be
used to improve school culture.
62 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
-Strong roll-out of PD around targeting institutional bias and moving towards improving equity our schools,
with extremely high-level experts brought in for close consultation. -Evidence of increased regularity around
observing and supporting principals with well-structured approaches to classroom observations
(instructional rounds, equity walks)
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
-Evidence indicates strong work towards improvement with new structures in place to support students with
special education needs (District Transition Working Group, Interagency Transition Team, ongoing
partnerships with local agencies and institutions of higher ed) -Potential for voc/tech programs offers
exciting possibilities within the district. -Strong collaboration with SEPAC
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
-I think Amherst Together is an exciting and visionary step towards addressing the core issues within our
community and therefore our schools. I look forward to seeing how it can evolve to potentially impact the
larger community.

(no label)
Proficient
Thank you for your continued vision and commitment towards supporting our schools to be environments
where all children can thrive.
63 / 95
#11
SurveyMonkey
COMPLETE
IP Address: 71.127.11.11

stephen sullivan

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
64 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient
For 1A, !B, 1C, and 1E I really like the direction the ARPS is moving. It is 1D that I am a disappointed with.
When we agreed (RSC) to hire an asssistant superintendent to aide in working through the huge task of
mandated paperwork and such things, it was with the understanding that the superintendent would be making
many more visits to all the buildings within the ARPS system. I was disappointed to learn that the assistant
superintendent was meeting/working with the principals on a regular basis ( I am not questioning the
qualifications of that person at all!!) and that the superintendent wasn't out and about until late winter/spring on
a regular basis. I feel that it is very important for the superintendent to observe the principals as they observe
the staff to ensure that all are on the same page in regards to evaluation. It is also important for the
superintendent to personally observe the principals on a regular basis in order to fairly evaluate the principals
alomg with their schools individual climate.
and social needs.
Proficient

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Proficient

Proficient

Exemplary
65 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient
Maria has really done a wonderful job of putting in place a #1 fiscal team.
Proficient

Proficient

performance.
Proficient

efficient manner.
Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
66 / 95
SurveyMonkey
I was happy to see that the Community Survey Summary showed positive remarks for the superintendent and
the schools. 225+/_ responses however is not a very good overall indicator. We need to involve more families
and community members somehow!
This isn't really the spot for it but after finishing the survey I was disheartened that there is not a place for us to
sum up or wrap up our thoughts. Timely Communication is one area where I feel sometimes there is a lag or
lack of communication. Two that stand out for me are Calvin Terrell (both visits) and the schedule changes at
the middle school. During the school year "13-14" there was an ARMS workshop/assembly for 8th graders and
both staff and families were prepared for it before it happened. With Mr. Terrell there was not the same care
taken for families and then his return trip was announced 3 days before he arrived. I was suppossed to be out
of town but changed my plans last minute to attend. The ARMS schedule change may have been in the works
for 3 years but it certainly was not public knowledge until all but the final stamp had been put on it. My third
example of non-communication was the ARHS walk-out last Fall. It had occured either the day of our RSC
meeting or the day before and their was not one mention of it by the Superintendent in her update.
Here is where my ELD kcks in! I am sorry I lost my thought train here so I will wrap it up with overall, I am very
happy with the performance of the Superintendent and I hope that next year I can give her even better
scores.Even with my nitpicky issues I have great confidence in the Superintendent's continued growth and
success!
67 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
The staff evaluations were overwhelmingly positive but again I wish there were more than 22 responses.
68 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
current research.
(no label)
Comments (optional)
I don't believe any school system can claim they have met Student Learning Goal.
(no label)
Comments (optional)
I agree with that statement except for the observation piece. I hope to see much more of that in the future
now that the assistant superintendent has been in place for a year.
(no label)
Comments (optional)
Again this is a goal where I don't believe any school can fully meet the goal. I do believe ARPS are
challenging themselves to touch this goal and are getting there
69 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Some Progress
Comments (optional)
I believe that ARPS is making major leaps foward with this goal but there will always be pockets of families
and community who will be at most only partially engaged.

(no label)
Proficient
Questions 15-18 are mountain peaks or deep sea trenches that will never be fully reached. I do believe
however that Maria and her team (all staff members) are striving to meet those challenges head on and doing
a good job of trying to meet those challenges (goals).
70 / 95
#12
SurveyMonkey
COMPLETE
IP Address: 24.244.188.18

Trevor Baptiste

Proficient

Needs Improvement

Proficient

Proficient

Needs Improvement
71 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Needs Improvement
The use of community resources and professional development are great. I I am concerned with data
collection analysis and decision-making. Specifically I dont have evidence of how the superintendent uses
recommendations from the equity walks or instructional rounds to improve school climate or instructional
practices.
The collection of aimsweb data is good evidence of 1-D-4 (Consistently reviews alignment between judgment
about practice and student learning data and provides guidance to administrators to make informed decisions
about educator support and evaluation based upon this review.) Absent the Arts integration in the middle and
high school I would like to see analogous evidence like this in the middle and high school.
The evidence for 1-b-3 should be the superintendents analysis of educator practice and principals
performance toward the goal of diverse learners needs, and not the planning of the co teaching model. This
would give me a way to compare what has happened this year to what will be implemented.
and social needs.
Proficient

practice.
Needs Improvement

staff.
Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
72 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient


question
Proficient

Proficient

performance.
Needs Improvement

efficient manner.
Proficient
(no label)
Proficient


question
73 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Needs Improvement
(no label)
Proficient


question
74 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Needs Improvement
Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
current research.
(no label)
Some Progress
(no label)
Some Progress
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met

(no label)
Proficient
75 / 95

76 / 95
SurveyMonkey
question
#13
SurveyMonkey
COMPLETE
Started: Sunday, July 19, 2015 11:10:22 AM
IP Address: 24.34.192.130

Emily Marriott

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
77 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient
A lot of exciting and encouraging work undertaken this year in instruction, including the initiation of Arts
Integration, improvement in reading assessments with the implementation of new curriculum, review of family
engagement (hope this work continues and expands), and building internal capacity for professional
development. Well done. It would be great to see the use of instructional rounds extended to the elementary
schools. I look forward to seeing how data collected this year (family engagement, ARPS-U and PLCs
feedback) is used to further improve our schools and professional development next year.
and social needs.
Proficient

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Proficient

Proficient

Exemplary
(no label)
Proficient
78 / 95
SurveyMonkey
In terms of environment, Pelham elementary is very well served by the superintendent and the facilities
department that make numerous improvements, often resulting increased efficiencies and cost savings.
Superintendent and finance director and staff have been very helpful in providing time and information to
support school committee discussions regarding Pelham's budget situation and regionalization.
Proficient

Proficient

performance.
Proficient

efficient manner.
Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
I applaud the work undertaken this year (focus group, walk-through) to gather feedback from school personnel
and families to assess family engagement and how welcoming the school is. I hope that the focus group work
will continue and give additional members of the school community, particularly those who feel disconnected,
the opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives. While communication with families and the
community has increased via numerous efforts, superintendent newsletter, etc, I feel there is still room for
improvement in deepening that communication and creating dialog where real issues facing the schools are
discussed in a meaningful, open way.
79 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient

Needs Improvement

Proficient

Proficient

Needs Improvement

Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
Cultural proficiency work continues to be a priority for the district as evidenced by the dedication of many staff
meetings to equity work, support for administrators to attend Ron Ferguson's workshops, equity walks, etc. I
would like to see how the district is measuring progress and the effectiveness of effort in this area. So far the
larger Pelham school community has not been involved in this work in a substantial way, but I think their
involvement is essential to truly create a culturally proficient school where all feel welcome and that their
perspective is valued. In some cases, the necessity and value of the equity work could be better
communicated to the staff as well as the larger community.
80 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
current research.
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
A lot of work was undertaken in relation to this goal and a lot of progress was made. Change in reading
curriculum for kindergarten and 1st grade was successful in raising assessment scores. Staff surveys
indicate overall increase in satisfaction with professional development, although still less than 50% of
respondents felt that sufficient resources are available for professional development, indicating there is still
a lot of room for improvement in that area. Arts Integration work at Pelham seems off to a good start. It will
be exciting to see how this expands and progresses. Feedback summary from the teacher reflection on
Equity Work PD indicates that there is unmet need for additional support in this area. I hope this continues
to be an area of emphasis for future PD offerings.
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
Pelham teachers devoted considerable staff meeting time to equity work this year. Has the feedback
gathered via staff surveys, student achievement and disciplinary data shown this work to be effective? I
hope the use of equity walks and instructional rounds will be expanded to the elementary schools including
Pelham.
81 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
This goal pertains specifically to secondary students and is beyond the scope of the Pelham Elementary
school committee.
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
Considerable work has been done this year to gather information and feedback from the Amherst
community to further community engagement. It is unclear to what extent this activity has involved the town
of Pelham and its school community. Only 31 total survey responses were obtained from 5 outlying towns,
including Pelham, leading me to conclude that Pelham hasn't been brought into this effort in a meaningful
way at this point. However, I do feel that doing this kind of outreach in Pelham would be worthwhile and
informative for the school as it strives to educate all students well.

(no label)
Proficient
Overall, Pelham Elementary is well supported by the superintendent and her team.
82 / 95
#14
SurveyMonkey
COMPLETE
IP Address: 128.119.169.253

Vira Douangmany Cage

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
83 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient


question
and social needs.
Proficient

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Proficient

Needs Improvement

Proficient
(no label)
Unsatisfactory
84 / 95
SurveyMonkey
II-D: Recent breach of confidential information through email communication with School Committee
members and members of staff and inconsistent disclosure of settlement agreements and reporting vis-a-vis
Carolyn Gardner.
Proficient

Proficient

performance.
Proficient

efficient manner.
Proficient
(no label)
Proficient


question
85 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Unsatisfactory
(no label)
Needs Improvement
IV-F: Carolyn Garnder's grievance against our school district based upon our actions could have been troubleshooted preventing a Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Complaint. Post settlement, our
district continues to receive negative attention with alleged personnel matters left un-redacted in the published
settlement agreement.
86 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient
Unsatisfactory
Proficient
Needs Improvement
current research.
(no label)
Some Progress
Comments (optional)
Superintendent acknowledges data analysis is not complete from school climate surveys as it relates to
instruction...I am curious as to what students are saying and wondering why there has not been a school
committee report of the executive summary of survey results.
(no label)
Some Progress
Comments (optional)
Superintendent acknowledges not actively "observing principals' practice when observing classrooms and
in being specific about the teaching strategies and practices that we are seeing in our schools."
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met
87 / 95
SurveyMonkey

(no label)
Needs Improvement
Please refer to my previous comments for Standard II: Management and Operations (Unsatisfactory) and
Standard IV: Professional Culture (Needs Improvement).
Additionally, I refer to a memorandum to educators that some in the public considered effectively a gag order
related to the Carolyn Gardner MCAD complaint against the district.
The Amherst Together initiative lacks race consciousness, critical race theory as reflected in the summary
analysis on the public participation survey and focus group data. Survey demographic information lacked race
as a category. This is inconsistent with our district's mission.
Our mission is the academic achievement of every student learning in a system dedicated to social justice and
multiculturalism. Unfortunately, the presentation to school committee members on integrated arts and the
focus on Egypt missed an important opportunity to share learning around critical thinking on issues of race,
class, gender and geography. This was relayed by a district consultant to principals, the superintendent and
educators as constructive feedback.
88 / 95
#15
SurveyMonkey
COMPLETE
IP Address: 68.186.244.133

Daniel Robb

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
89 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient
Superintendent Geryk's work on Instructional leadership was strongly proficient. With regard to indicator I-B-3
(Diverse Learner's Needs), good progress has been made, and more can be made, particularly with regard to
creating greater understanding and transparent dialogue between educators, students, and parents about how
best to create an even more open and equitable climate in the schools.
With regard to indicator I-E-2 (School and District Goals), good progress has been made. I would like to see
the community consulted in an even more proactive manner with regard to what these goals should be going
forward.
and social needs.
Proficient

practice.
Proficient

staff.
Proficient

Proficient

Exemplary
90 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient
With regard to Indicator II-B, while Superintendent Geryk's performance is strongly proficient, I would like to
see data provided to the school committee, particularly in the form of exit interviews for staff and faculty
leaving the school system, which informs us clearly as to how the leaving personnel see their exit from the
school system, so that we have a tool with which to evaluate employment termination in the school system.
With regard to Indicator II-E, Superintendent Geryk's budget management, in my view, has been exemplary,
and ably supported by those she has hired to manage this process. That said, as a small point, I would like to
see a clearer demarcation between the budget of the school system, and that of the Regional School
Committee, with the two (of vastly different orders of magnitude) separated in a way that clearly indicates what
funds are available to the Regional School Committee for its own administrative purposes.
Proficient

Proficient

performance.
Proficient

efficient manner.
Proficient
(no label)
Proficient
91 / 95
SurveyMonkey
Superintendent Geryk has been strongly proficient in this area. There has been improvement in the sense
within the community that the school system is listening to their concerns regarding the quality of the schools
(which, admittedly, is a very broad topic). I would like to see continued improvement in this, in particular with
regard to added opportunities for faculty and staff to engage in dialogue with parents and students in open
sessions which allow for conversation across the community/school divide.
One example of this would be the process employed this past year for the revamping of the Middle School
curriculum and schedule. This process was not as open and transparent in a proactive way as it could have
been, and resulted in some upset in the community. Subsequently, after a somewhat bumpy time, the
community's concerns were assessed and addressed in a way that seemed to take the community's views
strongly into account, and things settled down. A similar process of assessing the High School's curriculum
and schedule has been much more open and proactive, resulting in a much more satisfactory climate vis-a-vis
school/community dialogue.

Proficient

Proficient

Exemplary

Proficient

Proficient

Proficient
92 / 95
SurveyMonkey
(no label)
Proficient
Superintendent Geryk is challenged by being in charge of a school system at the center of a community that is
characterized by its diversity of views, and by a populace that is uncommonly well-educated and outspoken.
This is no easy task, particularly in an era when our nation is growing daily in its understanding of what it
means to be an American. A brief look at the headlines shows how fast the accepted norms in American
society are evolving. Amherst, being Amherst, will be at the forefront of these evolutions, and Superintendent
Geryk is challenged with remaining one step ahead of her community's expectations.
In my view, Superintendent Geryk has worked hard to try to bring the community together while maintaining a
high level of academic excellence in the school system.
The greatest challenge in this task in my view is two-fold: To understand clearly how the climate of the schools
can be made even better, with regard to how it feels for a student of any color, creed, or orientation to walk
through the doors on a given day, and to bring all members of the community to the table, with regard to
understanding their concerns and giving them the sense that their concerns are openly heard and taken
seriously (often through action).
Superintendent Geryk has supported several initiatives that I believe are crucial to this two-fold task.
One is her support of the the Regional School Committee's sub-committee the School Equity Task Force,
whose mission has been to listen and formulate actions that work to improve the schools with regard to
equitable education for all.
Second is her support of information-gathering efforts (one in conjunction with UMass School of Psychology
faculty) that seek to gather data around school climate and community.
One example of the above is the Culture, Climate, and Community (CCC) sub-committee of the
aforementioned School Equity Task Force (SETF), which is seeking to obtain just the sort of actionable data
that the school system needs to move further forward on these matters.
Superintendent Geryk has also supported initiatives such as the 2014-2015 ARPS Family Engagement and
Diversity and Equity Plan, and the Amherst Together Perception Data Report. All of these initiatives contribute
to a growing sense that the school system is moving toward an even more open and equitable climate within
the schools.
It must also be noted that Superintendent Geryk's communication skills are exemplary, in that she is a very
talented speaker, writer, and communicator in general, able to convey a sense of genuine concern, high
competence in her very broad area of expertise, and willingness to consider the views of others.
93 / 95
SurveyMonkey

Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
Proficient
current research.
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met
(no label)
Met
Comments (optional)
This is an ongoing process that will require ongoing effort to ensure that progress continues. In my view,
significant data regarding the sort of data sought by the Community, Culture, and Climate sub-committee of
the School Equity Task Force must still be gathered and assessed in a manner that makes sense to all
involved before the ultimate success of this project can be determined. That said, the implementation of this
process is underway and can be said to have been met, thus far.
94 / 95
SurveyMonkey

(no label)
Proficient
The Amherst/Pelham Regional School District schools are moving in good directions, with specific regard to
strong efforts to:
1. Address community concerns regarding equity within the schools.
2. Move away from high-stakes testing (which, in my view, distracts substantially from the schools' ability to
educate their students to the highest standards for all).
3. Address the very real requirements of changing student population levels and the challenges of a school
physical plant that will require re-shaping as population dynamics and fiscal realities change. Superintendent
Geryk is doing an excellent job of seeing "over the horizon" with regard to planning ahead so that Amherst
area schools continue to have good buildings and reasonable budgets within which to continue to offer an
excellent education. Of particular note is her visionary decision to work with Greenfield Community College to
offer expanded curricula to high school students within the boundaries of the Amherst areas schools.
Areas that I feel need increased attention (in terms of the work done by the Superintendent and the Regional
School Committee together) in the coming year are:
1. The work being done on the South Campus for a small population of Amherst area students. This subset
has, in my view, not been talked about enough by us, and needs some increased focus in the coming year.
2. The gathering of data regarding climate in the schools. This work has begun, and has begun well. I am
looking forward to the data gathered being used in effective ways. This is, in my view, some of the most
important work the schools can do going forward, and will be most effective when the data is gathered in a way
that is clearly unbiased in any way, so that all in the community can feel confident in its quality.
I am confident that Superintendent Geryk is the right superintendent for the Amherst area schools, provided
that she continues in her work to be open to addressing the concerns of those for whom an equitable school
environment (where all feel welcomed, embraced, challenged, and supported in their quest to excel) is
paramount.
I have every confidence in Superintendent Geryk's ability to continue to lead the Amherst/Pelham Regional
School District.
95 / 95

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Amherst Superintendent Evaluation

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Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

PAGE 1: Superintendent Evaluation for Maria Geryk

Q1: Name of Evaluator (School Committee Member)

PAGE 2: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard I: Instructional Leadership

Q2: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard I: Instructional Leadership Indicators

I-B. Instruction: Ensures that practices in all settings

I-C. Assessment: Ensures that all principals and

I-D. Evaluation: Ensures effective and timely

I-E. Data-Informed Decision Making: Uses multiple

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

II-B. Human Resources Management and

II-C. Scheduling and Management Information

II-D. Law, Ethics, and Policies: Understands and

II-E. Fiscal Systems: Develops a budget that supports

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

III-B. Sharing Responsibility: Continuously collaborates

III-C. Communication: Engages in regular, two-way,

III-D. Family Concerns: Addresses family and

PAGE 5: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard IV: Professional Culture

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

Q11: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard IV: Professional Culture

IV-B. Cultural Proficiency: Ensures that policies and

IV-C. Communication: Demonstrates strong

IV-D. Continuous Learning: Develops and nurtures a

IV-E. Shared Vision: Successfully and continuously

IV-F. Managing Conflict: Employs strategies for

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

PAGE 6: Assess Performance on Standards (summary of above)

Q14: Assess Performance on Standards (copy from questions 3, 6, 9, and 12)

Standard II: Management and Operations

Standard III: Family and Community Engagement

Standard IV: Professional Culture

PAGE 7: Assess Progress Towards Goals

PAGE 8: Rate Overall Summative Performance

Q19: Overall Summative Performance

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

PAGE 1: Superintendent Evaluation for Maria Geryk

Q1: Name of Evaluator (School Committee Member)

PAGE 2: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard I: Instructional Leadership

Q2: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard I: Instructional Leadership Indicators

I-B. Instruction: Ensures that practices in all settings

I-C. Assessment: Ensures that all principals and

I-D. Evaluation: Ensures effective and timely

I-E. Data-Informed Decision Making: Uses multiple

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

II-B. Human Resources Management and

II-C. Scheduling and Management Information

II-D. Law, Ethics, and Policies: Understands and

II-E. Fiscal Systems: Develops a budget that supports

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

III-B. Sharing Responsibility: Continuously collaborates

III-C. Communication: Engages in regular, two-way,

III-D. Family Concerns: Addresses family and

PAGE 5: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard IV: Professional Culture

Superintendent Evaluation 2014-2015 (School Committee)

Q11: Superintendents Performance Rating for Standard IV: Professional Culture

IV-B. Cultural Proficiency: Ensures that policies and

IV-C. Communication: Demonstrates strong

IV-D. Continuous Learning: Develops and nurtures a

IV-E. Shared Vision: Successfully and continuously

IV-F. Managing Conflict: Employs strategies for