Cambridge Public Schools District Review Recommendations Leadership and Governance 1. The school committee, within the scope of its responsibilities under the 1993 Educational Reform Act, together with the superintendent, should create a more collaborative culture that encourages all stakeholders to work together to support higher levels of student achievement. A. The school committee should delegate to the superintendent the educational and operational leadership of the district, foregoing direct involvement in the administration of the school system and in the administration of individual schools. 1. School committee members should recognize that the superintendent is the educational leader for the school system; the superintendent provides administrative leadership for all school staff in operational matters and in proposing and implementing policy changes. The school committee should communicate with the superintendent before bringing any independent motions to school committee meetings. 2. The school committee should reconsider the appropriateness of individual members’ uninvited visits to schools. B. The school committee’s work to provide high-level oversight of the district should include annually evaluating the superintendent based on mutually agreed-upon district goals and current state laws and regulations, including the new educator evaluation framework. The evaluation process should include a review of the rubric to be used, in order to help the superintendent and school committee members clarify and agree on roles, responsibilities, and expectations. C. The district and the city may wish to convene a study group to reconsider the continued viability of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system and the concurrent, two-year term of office for all school committee members, and contemplate instituting a different approach that could provide more stable district governance and leadership continuity. Recommended resources include: The Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) (), which provides training and information to school committees. In particular, the examples listed and described in MASC’s member publication Protocols and Best Practices for Effective School Committees could be useful in the school committee’s assessment of its strengths and areas for growth. Setting and Monitoring District Goals: The School Committee’s Role () is a concise synthesis of guidance about the school committee’s role in district planning and educator evaluation. DESE’s Implementation Guide for Superintendent Evaluation () describes recommended tools and processes to guide the evaluation of superintendents.
Cambridge Public Schools District Review Recommendations Leadership and Governance 1. The school committee, within the scope of its responsibilities under the 1993 Educational Reform Act, together with the superintendent, should create a more collaborative culture that encourages all stakeholders to work together to support higher levels of student achievement. A. The school committee should delegate to the superintendent the educational and operational leadership of the district, foregoing direct involvement in the administration of the school system and in the administration of individual schools. 1. School committee members should recognize that the superintendent is the educational leader for the school system; the superintendent provides administrative leadership for all school staff in operational matters and in proposing and implementing policy changes. The school committee should communicate with the superintendent before bringing any independent motions to school committee meetings. 2. The school committee should reconsider the appropriateness of individual members’ uninvited visits to schools. B. The school committee’s work to provide high-level oversight of the district should include annually evaluating the superintendent based on mutually agreed-upon district goals and current state laws and regulations, including the new educator evaluation framework. The evaluation process should include a review of the rubric to be used, in order to help the superintendent and school committee members clarify and agree on roles, responsibilities, and expectations. C. The district and the city may wish to convene a study group to reconsider the continued viability of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system and the concurrent, two-year term of office for all school committee members, and contemplate instituting a different approach that could provide more stable district governance and leadership continuity. Recommended resources include: The Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) (), which provides training and information to school committees. In particular, the examples listed and described in MASC’s member publication Protocols and Best Practices for Effective School Committees could be useful in the school committee’s assessment of its strengths and areas for growth. Setting and Monitoring District Goals: The School Committee’s Role () is a concise synthesis of guidance about the school committee’s role in district planning and educator evaluation. DESE’s Implementation Guide for Superintendent Evaluation () describes recommended tools and processes to guide the evaluation of superintendents.
2014-0049.docx