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Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, October 18, 2019 ASKS | from page 1 viewed to make a fair decision on a pay increase, but ultimately the MCAS results need to be a major factor in that. If our rating decreases, I cannot in good faith vote for a pay increase. We let go of 21 custodians to save money for the school district, but we are giving the superintendent a pay increase while we have two schools requiring assistance or intervention. This cannot and will not continue to happen. Candidate Ryan P. Fisher Of course MCAS improvements need to be a key criteria for the Superintendent in Candidate William A. Marchand, Jr. Candidate Ryan P. Fisher $3.39 $2.45 GALLON GALLON We accept: MasterCard * Visa * & Discover Price Subject to Change without notice 100 Gal. Min. 24 Hr. Service 781-286-2602 * Corporate Litigation * Criminal/Civil * MCAD * Zoning/Land Court * Wetlands Litigation * Workmen’s Compensation * Landlord/Tenant Litigation his performance evaluations, and it’s absolutely appropriate to link salary increases, by contract, to results. In last week’s answer, I talked about the need to hold the Superintendent accountable for raising academic achievement, for the School Committee to advocate for every possible resource he needs to make achievement happen, and also to have all of the stakeholders in the district anonymously weigh in on his performance, and make the crux of the responses public. If there are hidden roadblocks to raising achievement, students, parents and teachers can tell us where they are. When we support teachers and let them teach efficiently and effectively, and when we put students into a safe and accountable environment best suited for learnLawrence A. Simeone Jr. Attorney-at-Law ~ Since 1989 ~ * Real Estate Law * Construction Litigation * Tax Lein * Personal Injury * Bankruptcy * Wrongful Death * Zoning/Permitting Litigation 300 Broadway, Suite 1, Revere * 781-286-1560 Lsimeonejr@simeonelaw.net ing, MCAS scores will increase. In the Superintendent’s 2019 review, it was noted the performance goals established by the committee were too broadly defined and difficult to measure. He was tasked with visiting every school in the district weekly, but the goal ended there. He could walk in the door, say good morning, walk right back out and technically satisfy his requirement. If the current School Committee attempts to finalize new performance goals for the Superintendent prior to the election, I would strongly urge them to set detailed, appropriate and annual goals for MCAS performance. They should certainly be tied to any future contract. In the September 12th school committee meeting, about 40 minutes in, the committee reviewed the district’s turnaround plan and the Superintendent’s own MCAS goals. He’s looking for at least 3% gains by 2023. While I give him credit for a slight increase in 2019, the scores had just fallen in 2018. We need to see annual progress, not a promise of eventual progress. MCAS results are a much better indicator of achievement than report cards, and we need to see improvements year by year. I reviewed the Department of Early and Secondary Education’s MCAS data as well as publicly announced honor rolls for the 2018-2019 calendar year, looking at the second trimester School Committee Member Linda N. Gaieski for the Belmonte students and the fourth quarter at the High School. Twenty-four percent of 6th graders were recognized for having grades over 90, and 59% of 6th graders scored over 80, but only 8% exceeded MCAS expectations in English Language Arts, and only 9% in Math. That’s a big disconnect between report cards and how our students measure up to other districts. Thirty-three percent of 7th and 8th graders had grades over 80, but only 4% of 7th graders and 5% of 8th graders exceeded MCAS expectations in English Language Arts. For Math, those numbers were 2% and 10%. At Saugus High School, 37% of all students are on the honor roll. I talked last week about a high school math class that went five months without a teacher, where the students mostly taught themselves and were graded by computer. Their grades were reportedly curved due to the situation, but there would be no such curve on a standardized test. The Superintendent should not receive credit for curved grades, as the inequity was his responsibility to solve in the first place. The challenges facing our district are difficult, and I truly believe the Superintendent wants these improvements. It’s appropriate to hold him accountable as the district’s chief executive officer. School Committee Member Linda N. Gaieski I certainly think MCAS results should be included as a part of the Superintendent’s evaluation if the School Committee, as a body, agrees upon specific MCAS goals as part of the annual evaluation. A superintendent, according to DESE Superintendent evaluation rules, may only be evaluated on agreed upon goals listed in the evaluation document. Since MCAS scores need to be a priority at our current performance level, I wrote specific goals around MCAS results for inclusion in this year’s Superintendent’s evaluation. I will point out that while these results are important to a district, they are only one piece of what a Superintendent’s job encompasses. School Committee Member Marc Charles Magliozzi There are many other aspects of the job that should be part of this evaluation. The scores, while important, have to be looked upon in light of overall student growth. Other factors, such as decreasing chronic student absentee rates, high school completion rates, English language proficiency, and the percentage of 11th and 12th graders completing advanced coursework, should also be included. All efforts to increase student scores must be looked upon in order to give a fair evaluation. I am not in favor of using MCAS results as a criterion for determining if the Superintendent merits a pay raise. Merit pay is a slippery slope and very hard to determine in a fair and equitable manner. Student MCAS performance determines no other educational professional’s pay raise, so to base the Superintendent’s raise on such would be unfair. When MCAS testing was initially instituted, teaching professionals were fearful over these scores being used as evaluation tools and particularly concerned with the unfairness of the correlation. Teachers were assured that this was not the intent of the test and as such would not be used in that manner. Following that logic and keeping in mind the myriad of tasks a Superintendent must perform, his/her pay raise should be determined by the Committee in light of overall job performance in advancing the district as a whole and accomplishing the tasks established by the Committee, not solely on the basis of one test. If the district regresses in its MCAS scores, the question of whether or not the Superintendent deserves a pay raise, again, depends on a myriad of factors, many of which were previously stated. The determination needs to be arrived at on the overall progress being made toward student growth, areas of significant improvement and many other factors that influence student scores. Candidate Joseph “Dennis” Gould With my 40 years experience in business and with nonprofASKS | SEE PAGE 9

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