(This is the third in a three-part series focusing on Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler’s goals for this school year.)
LYNN — School Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler will be judged on his performance at the end of the school year, which includes how well he meets his own professional practice goals.
Tutwiler is aiming to develop skills in strategy development, data analysis and instructional development by completing the first year of the New Superintendent Induction Program, which is not required but highly recommended for new superintendents, and earning at least proficient ratings on each major assignment. The program is a collaboration between the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents.
The four standards are instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture, which Tutwiler is aiming to become proficient on by learning skills through the program.
Separate from that, every educator in the state has to have a student learning goal and a professional practice goal in the Massachusetts Model System for Educator Evaluation.
“This reflects my personal value around continuous learning,” Tutwiler said. “It’s my view that in this work of education, you never really arrive. You’re constantly learning, evaluating and growing.”
The expectation in the first year of the three-year New Superintendent Induction Program is to meet with a coach regularly, who acts as a guide and thought partner on the work Tutwiler is undertaking. His coach is Joan Connolly, the former superintendent of Malden Public Schools.
This year, the program has three focus areas, which will support Tutwiler in developing an entry plan, reporting the findings of that plan and developing a strategic planning initiative.
To try to meet the goals of the program this year, Tutwiler will attend eight daylong professional development sessions, complete assigned reading and leadership tasks and consult with his assigned coach at least monthly.
In addition to being rated by the program, Tutwiler will be evaluated by the School Committee at the end of the year on how well he has met his student achievement, district improvement and professional practice goals.
Those goals include addressing overcrowding at the middle school level, reducing the academic achievement gap for students with disabilities in grades 3-8, and increasing how many English Language Learner students make progress toward English proficiency.
What the superintendent’s evaluation will look like has not yet been determined. School Committee member Jared Nicholson said the committee will be drawing upon evaluation tools that the DESE has created and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) has developed.
In the past, Nicholson said MASC has given the School Committee training on the evaluation process. Tutwiler setting his goals is the first step in that process.
“(Tutwiler) will have an opportunity to present goals and the progress that’s he’s done in support of those criteria and the result of that would be the ratings,” Nicholson said. “(We’re) in a position to have a productive conversation at the end of the year.”
In addition to the School Committee evaluating how well Tutwiler met his student achievement and district improvement goals, the superintendent will also be rated on how involved he is in the community and how involved the community is in the Lynn Public Schools, according to Michael Satterwhite, a member of the School Committee.
Under the terms of the superintendent’s contract with the School Committee, Tutwiler is earning a salary of $207,000 for this school year, with a potential $3,000 bonus at the discretion of the panel. He’ll earn a fixed rate of $210,000 for the second and third years of the deal.
“The purpose of a good goal is one that is rigorous, but also attainable,” Tutwiler said. “I’m stretching myself with the goals we’re talking about now.”