Superintendent's Report to SC 5.27.20

Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

May 27, 2020

New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)

• In February, I reported to the School Committee about NEASC’s Collaborative Conference Visit to Swampscott High School
• Last week, Mr. Kohut, Ms. Cooper, and I received a letter informing us that at the April 16th meeting of the Commission on Public and Secondary Schools voted to award our high school continued accreditation
• Four of the six Foundational Elements in the Standards have been met
• Priority Areas for Growth
• The next step will be the development, submission, and implementation of the School Improvement/Growth Plan that needs to be submitted by July 15, 2020
• After that, the school is scheduled to host the Decennial Accreditation visit on November 14th - November 17th, 2021. The focus is to make sure the school has implemented the Priority Areas for Growth as included in the School Improvement/Growth Plan.

Rotary:

• Rotary reached out and asked how they could support the schools during these unprecedented times
• Ms. Mackey-Knowles attended a meeting on behalf of the district and explained our need for additional Chromebooks as we move forward with our plan to go 1:1
• At last Wednesday’s Rotary meeting, my fellow Rotarians voted to sponsor two Chromebook carts with a total donation in the amount of $12,000
• I am overwhelmed by their support and generosity

Director of Facilities:

• I’m pleased to report that Mr. Max Kasper has been appointed as the new Director of Facilities for both the school department and general government
• Max has the skills and relationships necessary to make this position work
• Support him with resources and personnel

Transitions, Celebrations, and High School Graduation:

• Elementary Principals are working with their teachers to come up with an appropriate celebration for 4th grade
• Mr. Calichman sent a message that the 8th grade celebration will occur when we are given the word by health agencies and the state that it is appropriate. 
• High School Graduation is very different
• Just prior to our meeting with representative parents of the Class of 2020 meeting last Thursday, Commissioner Riley came out with a memo providing guidance around HS graduation celebrations. That guidance allowed for parades to be part of the celebrations.
• The guidance also stated that if graduations are held after July 18th, they could be held in person with very detailed and outlined restrictions 
• The parent presentation gave us a lot to consider but two points were clear
• Our seniors want to celebrate in some way TOGETHER
• Our seniors would like their walk the stage moment to celebrate their 13 years of hard work
• Mr. Kohut and his team worked on their draft plan and he’s here to present the final graduation plan this evening