Just before school opened this year, the School Committee looked back over the past year and gave Superintendent Linda Dwight high marks for all that she had accomplished. In their written comments, committee members praised Dwight’s collaborative style and willingness to listen to many viewpoints. “Her leadership style combines measured strength, calmness, and willingness to listen, and a desire for collaboration,” one comment read. (Comments were appended to the evaluation without the names of individual committee members.)
At the Aug. 27 meeting, the School Committee also credited Dwight with rallying community support for the Hildreth Elementary School building project that led to decisive votes in favor of the project at last spring’s Annual Town Meeting and Town Election. “Without her leadership, this project may very well have failed,” one member wrote. In particular, members praised the many public meetings Dwight organized as plans for the project developed, as well as her willingness to meet individually with residents who had questions and concerns about it. School Committee Chair Mary Traphagen acknowledged that the committee had underestimated the time and effort Dwight would have to devote to the project.
In their public evaluation of the superintendent, committee members used a checklist of formal goals and standards, noting that Dwight had met or exceeded two of her goals for the past year and made significant progress on a third. They also rated her proficient or exemplary in all other areas included in the evaluation, such as instructional leadership, management, and relations with school families and the community.
Dwight responded that she was honored to serve as the district’s superintendent. She said her own goal was to make “every kid feel perfectly at home in our district.”
