THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 9, 2022 ~ Letter to the Editor ~ Page 7 Malden Public School Tour School Committee Member Joseph Gray and staff of the Linden School M y November 18 tour of the Linden school was magnifi cent. After last month’s tour at the Early Learning Center, it was just as impactful to be guided through to the staff and faculty working to educate our children at the Linden STEAM Academy, K-8 grade. Principal Ray lead myself, Superintendent Ligia and Committee member Sharyn through the classrooms and studies at the school today. We also met the SUBCOMMITTEE | FROM PAGE 1 those categories. As part of her presentation on professional practice, Noriega-Murphy said, “As the new Superintendent of the Malden Public Schools, I will begin the school year by holding listening sessions and meetings with numerous stakeholders to learn about the district and the City.” She also said she planned to review documents and data to fully understand the district in an unbiased manner. According to committee members, Noriega-Murphy had either met that goal or made signifi cant progress toward meeting it. She received equally high marks on her explanation of student learning goals. “My goal is to create systems, protocols and coherent processes to deliver high levels of learning for all students with a culturally and linguistically equitable instructional core,” she told Committee members, adding the intent to adopt a new literacy/ELA and math 6-8 curriculum, professional development, teacher paraprofessional leadership and mentorship programs. Noriega-Murphy’s district improvement goals mirrored her student learning goals and stressed equity literacy and numeracy and professional development. Members of the evaluation subcommittee were split on their ratings for district improvement with one member voting to say she had exceeded that goal and others saying she K-4 principal Jost. I paid particular attention to the progress of both the new Honors program and the AEAP program for talented students. I needed clarification to compare and contrast how both programs are structured. Having gone to an Exam School myself during the 1970’s in Boston, I am curious and partial to the AEAP structure. After chatting with the math coach and other instructors, it was immensehad met or made progress toward achieving it. School Committee Member Rob McCarthy, who chairs the Superintendent Evaluation Subcommittee, said that while he and fellow members Jennifer Spadafora and Sharyn Rose Zeiberg were working much was happening in the district. Malden teachers held a vote of no confi dence in Noriega-Murphy because she tried to make changes that should have required union approval. Teachers staged a one-day strike over pay increases and a safe working environment. In addition to those problems, questions were raised about Noriega-Murphy’s academic credentials. “There was obviously a backand-forth with the teachers’ union,” said McCarthy, adding that events did not aff ect the committee’s evaluation. “I think right now, at this point, the Superintendent Evaluation Subcommittee will have to meet again to go over all our data and information,” said McCarthy. “Then we’ll decide to vote it out favorably or negatively to the entire School Committee,” said McCarthy. As for instructional leadership, School Committee Members agreed that the Superintendent was able to collect and measure scope of data when it comes to the school district. School Committee Members agree that there was support for educators across the entire district with helping them with licensure issues and making a pipeline for paraprofessionals. ly helpful to have an extended dialogue with the current K-4 AEAP teacher. The talent and dedication of our Linden AEAP staff is phenomenal! If invited, I am willing to come back and listen/talk in more detail about how the program can be enhanced for future generations of children. Sincerely, Joseph Gray Ward 6 School Committee Member Committee members ranked Noriega-Murphy mostly either proficient or exemplary in instructional leadership with the exception of evaluation, which several felt needs improvement. In the other categories, Noriega-Murphy received a range of ranking with an overall rating of profi cient. McCarthy said a lot of the information gathered showed Noriega-Murphy in a positive light, but there was some disagreement among committee members on whether the fi nal rank should be profi cient or needs improvement. OUR OFFICE HAS MOVED TO 519 BROADWAY, EVERETT SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY 519 BROADWAY EVERETT, MA 02149 PHONE: (617) 387-7466 FAX: (617) 381-9186 Visit us online at: Rocco Longo, Owner WWW.SABATINO-INS.COM Need a hall for your special event? The Schiavo Club, located at 71 Tileston Street, Everett is available for your Birthdays, Anniversaries, Sweet 16 parties and more? Call Paul at (617) 387-5457 for details.
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