The School Committee presented its yearly evaluation of Harvard’s school superintendent this week, rating Dr. Linda Dwight as exemplary or proficient—the top two rankings—in each of the four major categories and 14 subcategories on the state’s standards for superintendents. The committee also concluded that Dwight had met or exceeded the goals it set for the year.
The state form allowed for only four rankings—exemplary, proficient, needs improvement, and unsatisfactory. However, committee members also expanded the evaluation with extensive individual comments. All comments were listed anonymously on the public evaluation.
Dwight’s highest ratings came in the area of professional culture within the schools, where she earned an overall ranking of exemplary. The rating was based on factors including her commitment to high standards, good communication practices, and creating a school environment in which everyone is respected. As one commenter said of Dwight in a summary statement, “She is a team player and consensus builder consistently advocating for students, teachers, and faculty. All together, her exemplary leadership is what continues to keep the young people of Harvard healthy, safe, learning, and growing.”
Another area of evaluation was management and operations, in which committee members were about evenly split in rating Dwight as exemplary or proficient. They rated her exemplary in managing the budget and human resources, but lower in use of information systems to optimize scheduling and teaching time. “The budget process is an area our district excels at,” one commenter wrote.
The committee was also fairly evenly split between exemplary and proficient for Dwight’s performance in the area of family and community engagement. The area includes addressing family concerns, communicating with families, and collaborating with community groups. One commenter wrote that Dwight “is perceived as visible and accessible,” and another praised her for “a generous open-door policy.” But someone also suggested that some of the superintendent’s public meetings, which have often been poorly attended, might not have been the best way to disseminate information to the town.
Dwight’s largest share of proficient—as opposed to exemplary—ratings came in the area of instructional leadership, an area that committee member SusanMary Redinger said is in some ways the least visible to the School Committee. Redinger suggested that Dwight bring more information to the committee to emphasize staff evaluations and instructional issues. Dwight agreed, saying she wants to do more presentations to the committee on curriculum. “My passion is the education side,” she said.
Several commenters pointed to a need for more data to analyze instructional strengths and weaknesses. “To move toward exemplary,” one commenter wrote, “the district will need to demonstrate that diverse learners are thriving in every classroom.”
Besides the five current School Committee members and Devens representative Maureen Babcock, former committee member Mary Traphagen took part in the evaluation, as she had been in office for much of the time covered by the rating.
Redinger noted that the state’s evaluation process is also a training exercise for the School Committee members themselves as they analyze the factors that go into the superintendent’s job. “I like the [evaluation] tool,” she said. “I don’t love it, but I like it.”
Dwight thanked the committee members and said she found the extensive personal comments they had added to the form particularly helpful.
