News of interest to the Sudbury Public School community and relevant to the Sudbury Public Schools submitted by the SPS School Committee. Also summary of the discussions and topics held at the most recent SPS School Committee meeting.
The School Committee Meeting Scheduled for August 17, 2011 has been canceled. Please see the attached notice for details.
On Wednesday, July 27, the Sudbury School Committee held a regularly scheduled meeting. The main topics of discussion included:
(1) enrollment update;
(2) overview of the new Educator Evaluation Regulations;
(3) appointment of the Route 20 Sewer Steering Committee Representative;
(4) Superintendent Entry Plan;
(5) update on the Noyes Green Repair Project
ENROLLMENT UPDATE
Superintendent Dr. Anne Wilson reported to the School Committee that for the 2011-2012 school year, there will be one section of Half-Day Kindergarten at Noyes and one at Haynes. For Full-Day Kindergarten, there will be two sections at Haynes, three at Loring, three at Nixon, and three at Noyes.
Dr. Wilson updated the Committee on projected class sizes for the Fall and pointed out that the second grade at Haynes, based on current enrollment data, will be over the district’s class size guidelines. Registrations over the summer have pushed enrollment in the Haynes second grade to 24 - 25 students per class. Within the next few weeks, Dr. Wilson will continue to monitor this and will present, if necessary, potential options to address this concern later in the summer.
OVERVIEW OF NEW EDUCATOR EVALUATION REGULATIONS
On June 28, 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) adopted new regulations for administrator and teacher evaluations. These will be implemented in Sudbury Public Schools for the 2012-2013 school year. Dr. Wilson delivered a presentation to the School Committee, outlining some of the specifics of the regulations.
During the past several months, discussions at the State level regarding the new regulations have focused on a number of aspects, including the manner in which student growth will be linked to educator performance. According to the regulations, there will be multiple measures of student learning that will be instrumental in the evaluation process. One of these measures will include student growth percentiles as reported by MCAS assessments. Teachers will be evaluated on four standards including: Curriculum, Planning & Assessment; Teaching All Students; Family & Community Partnerships; and Professional Culture. Administrator performance will be evaluated based on the following standards: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment; Management & Operations; Family & Community Partnerships; and Professional Culture. Each educator (teacher and administrator) will have a plan that will be differentiated by career stage and performance.
These new regulations are in the beginning stage of implementation, and there are a number of questions and concerns that must be addressed prior to full implementation. Dr. Wilson and the School Committee briefly discussed issues, including: timelines; administrator training; implications for collective bargaining; feedback from students, staff and parents that will be utilized during the evaluation process; reporting of data to the DESE as required; and the cost of implementation (as it is expected that this mandate will be unfunded by the State).
APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE TO THE ROUTE 20 SEWER STEERING COMMITTEE
The School Committee voted to appoint Richard Robison to represent the School Committee on the Route 20 Sewer Steering Committee. At their July 19 meeting, the Board of Selectmen previously appointed him to this Committee.
SUPERINTENDENT ENTRY PLAN
In order to ensure a smooth transition as Superintendent, Dr. Wilson developed an entry plan and presented this plan to the School Committee during the meeting. Her plan includes interviews with individuals and groups and a review of district documents and plans. The information she gathers will provide a basis for future goals, objectives, and activities. Gaining an understanding of the Sudbury Public Schools community as well as learning about the key issues in the district’s past and the priorities for the future are Dr. Wilson’s most immediate goals.
To get a “sense of each school”, Dr. Wilson will visit the schools, conduct interviews with site administration, and hold staff and parent forums. She also plans to interview the senior staff, principals, town administrators, Board of Selectmen, union leaders, Assistant Principals, PTO Co-Chairs, SERF leaders, School Council members, representatives from the Special Education Parent Advisory Council, the METCO Director, the Finance Committee Chair, other town leaders, and the members of the School Committee. She will hold group interviews with teachers, custodians, building staff, student leaders at Curtis, and Central Office staff. Dr. Wilson has already met with Chief Glavin and Lieutenant Nix of the Sudbury Police Department and Chief Miles and Assistant Chief Whalen of the Sudbury Fire Department. Information regarding opportunities to meet with Dr. Wilson will be forthcoming.
UPDATE ON THE NOYES GREEN REPAIR PROJECT
School Committee Chairman, Jeffrey Beeler, reported that the Noyes Green Repair Project is progressing. The roof repair and replacement is nearly complete. The boilers and associated work are in progress. The replacement of the windows is scheduled to be completed no later than October 15, although efforts will be made to push this date earlier if possible. It is expected that the window work that must be done during the school year will be handled with minimal operational disruption to the school. The project remains at, or under, budget.
DONATIONS
The School Committee extends its gratitude and appreciation to the Haynes Organization of Parents (HOP) for the generous donation of a playground structure for the Haynes School.
Please contact us with your questions, concerns and comments at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . You can also find this update and other important information on the SPS website. To access updates from the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, visit the LSRHS website.
Respectfully submitted,
The Sudbury School Committee
Login / logout 
