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Casey Needs To Improve Leadership, School Committee Says

Committee members looks for urgency from superintendent in tackling the district's educational problems.

Superintendent Joe Casey must take a stronger leadership role in the Melrose Public School system, particularly in the area of educational leadership, according to the evaluation approved by the committee Tuesday night.

The committee undertook the evaluation process at its meeting on Aug. 10 in an almost three-hour long frank discussion, offering their comments and grades in eight "core competency" areas and the five annual goals the School Committee set for the superintendent last year. Those grades and comments were compiled into the evaluation document approved this week.

Handing out grades of 0 (unacceptable), 1 (needs improvement), 2 (average/neutral), 3 (good) and 4 (outstanding), Casey received an average grade of 2.86 in the eight core competency areas.

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His lowest average score, 2.32, came in the area of educational leadership, the description of which reads in part, "curriculum evaluation and development, professional evaluation and development, inspiring others to meet highest professional standards, and student assessment should all be considered in the formulation of short and long range goals and objectives."

The committee members' comments at the Aug. 10 meeting during the discussion of Casey's educational leadership reflected a recurring theme of the superintendent's evaluation: the committee's desire to see Casey be a stronger leader and take more forceful, urgent action in steering the district.

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Committee looks for urgency from superintendent

For example, committee member Carrie Kourkoumelis said that Casey's willingness to roll out the district's Meeting The Needs Of All Learners plan "reflected well on his willingness to consider improvement" and address gifted and talented students.

However, Kourkoumelis said that follow-up on the implementation of that plan has been "inadequate" and there have been communication problems and, subsequently, confused parents, teachers and students. She added that the district faces other educational problems, such as a low passing rate for Melrose students on Advanced Placement tests; low growth percentile at some schools; failure of students in some schools to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress; and poor math MCAS scores at the middle school.

Mayor Rob Dolan said that short and long-term goals in every school should be fair, but demanding.

"That puts people on the line and that's healthy," Dolan said. "The Melrose Public Schools should never play it safe. Although I have seen significant improvement to push ... those walls of safety have not come down. The aggressive implementation of the Strategic Plan and Action Plans will define the legacy of the superintendent."

Committee member Kristin Thorp told Casey that he needs to be more vocal when espousing decisions made by the district's leadership.

"People don't all have to agree, but you need to step out there and say, 'this is what we decided, this is the clear path and this is where we're going,'" Thorp said.

Committee member Christine Casatelli said that areas such as the Early Childhood Center, the Education Stations afterschool program, and the superintendent's leadership on bullying have been "admirable," but said the district needs to "take it up a notch," something she said should be achieved through the strategic plan.

"Sometimes you can't lead by consensus," Casatelli said. "I think the superintendent is a great consensus builder, but sometimes that just doesn't work. I'm interested in passion and prioritization in the strategic plan, facilitated by you with support from the School Committee."

Casey's highest average score, 3.39, came in the area of "personal qualities and characteristics." Committee members spoke highly of Casey's standards of ethics, honesty and integrity, although even in that area, committee members again raised the issue of urgency and stronger leadership.

Casatelli recommended that Casey "show more initiative in constructing change," while Dolan said his only critique was about pace of change.

"It's never faster enough for me," he said. "He (Casey) knows that—we have that conversation consistently in my office. That's always been my challenge with every department head."

Committee: not enough progress on goals

Casey's average scores on his five goals for the past year were lower than his overall core competency scores, as the committee graded each goal on the superintendent's performance — the same as on the core competencies — and on the goal's completion. Goal completion scores were 0 (not started), 1 (substantially complete), 2 (partially completed), 3 (substantially completed), and 4 (fully completed).

On performance, Casey received an average score of 2.42, and on completion of goals, he received an average score of 2.36.

His lowest grades came on the goal of creating a district-wide communication plan; Casey received a 1.7 on performance and a 1.9 on completion. Casey's highest grades came on the strategic plan, which received final approval the committee earlier this month. Casey received a 2.8 on performance and a 2.6 on completion, although Kourkoumelis gave Casey a score of 0 (not started) on the strategic plan goal.

Kourkoumelis, undertaking her first superintendent evaluation as a member of the School Committee, was Casey's harshest critic during the evaluation process, giving him an average score of 1.56 in the core competency areas, including four grades of 1. In comparison, the next two lowest average score came from J.D. LaRock, also participating in his first superintendent evaluation, whose grades on Casey's eight core competency areas averaged 2.59, and Christine Casatelli, whose grades averaged 2.93.

Kourkoumelis noted in an attachment she submitted for the evaluation that a climate of trust and mutual respect is "entirely lacking between the superintendent and some committee members."

She also stated that there was "administrative failure" on Casey's part in relation to personnel issues at the middle school and high school, including a state ethics investigation into hiring practices she said was underway.

In the past, the superintendent's evaluation has been done in executive session behind closed doors, but due to the state's new Open Meeting Law, the committee conducted this evaluation in public at the Aug. 10 meeting. Despite a privacy clause in his contract, Casey agreed to make the evaluation public.

At Tuesday night's meeting, the draft evaluation was adopted unanimously. Casey was asked the next day to respond to the evaluation.

"It's always helpful, although you may not always agree with it," Casey said.

Committee member Donald Constantine, who chairs the education and personnel subcommittee, commended Casey for making the document public.

"I think you got beat on pretty hard," Constantine said.

Entering his fifth year as superintendent, Casey said many of the goals set for him by the committee last year are "in progress."

"Some we were able to accomplish in a year, some not, but it's in progress," Casey told Melrose Patch. "I've dealt with a raft of issues. It's taken a little while to come together."

Casey declined to comment on the evaluation notes submitted by Kourkoumelis.

Kourkoumelis could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday.

Melrose Patch editor Daniel DeMaina contributed to this report.

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