Northampton superintendent gets high marks for job performance

By AMANDA DRANE

@amandadrane

Published: 06-28-2017 10:40 AM

NORTHAMPTON — From the High-Five Friday controversy to a major structural overhaul at the elementary level, School Committee members praised Superintendent John Provost for his strong leadership in turbulent times during the first phase of his annual review Tuesday night.

Committee members Ann Hennessey, Lonnie Kaufman and Ed Zuchowski, who make up the subcommittee charged with recommending an overall rating of Provost, went line by line according to state-issued standards and unanimously agreed to recommend a rating of “proficient.”

The rating now advances to the full committee for a final vote on July 13, thusly concluding the superintendent’s review process.

The subcommittee members had high praise for Provost’s budget preparation, collaboration and communication with families. They particularly applauded his strong management, a category for which he earned an “exemplary” rating. Such ratings are difficult to earn, Provost and committee members agreed, because such a grade means the school leader is serving as a model for other districts.

Provost cited his letter to the school community in the wake of Donald Trump’s win as a example of strong management skills. In that letter, the superintendent said Trump’s victory — despite the interpretation of some — was a declaration that all points of view would be respected on the heels of a divisive election.

“This wasn’t any kind of consolation for Hillary Clinton supporters,” he said.

He also touted his presentations at conferences around topics of social and emotional learning, social justice and workforce diversity as examples of strong leadership.

Committee members also lauded Provost for the “ease with which he deals with critical situations,” like the High-Five Friday snafu earlier this year. Some in the community argued having police officers come visit schoolchildren and dole out high-fives was insensitive to students of color.

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Provost said it was a sticking point for him.

“I misunderstood, or wasn’t sensitive enough, to how that initiative would be received by some of our families,” he said, adding he thinks the district is taking positive steps toward “repairing the rupture.”

And Provost won major kudos from committee members for being open to feedback during the budget process which resulted in significant structural changes to special education at the elementary school level. Provost ended up revising the budget three times in collaboration with employees and parents.

“I don’t think this is happening in other districts,” said Zuchowski, a teacher at Easthampton High School, of Provost’s communication with parents.

Provost mentioned as a side note he’s “just about filled” all the special education teacher positions created under the elementary school overhaul, a point he credited to the desirability of the district. In a nod to those who said the elementary restructuring seemed to come quickly, he said he’s hoping to start the budget process a month earlier next year to give people more time to process and react to changes.

The School Committee ratified a five-year contract for Provost in April. His salary will increase to $158,700 as of July 1 and increase incrementally each fiscal year, up to $176,900 in the final year of the contract.

On several points committee members struggled over whether to give Provost proficient or exemplary ratings, and under no category gave him a “needs improvement” or “unsatisfactory” rating. There were many in which they found his work top-notch — “you’re exemplary for us,” Hennessey told Provost in one instance — but they hesitated when it came to the point of demonstrating that behavior for other districts.

Committee members agreed Provost earned a proficient in the category of “instructional leadership.” They gave him credit for his work on the curriculum, especially for infusing more “data-informed decisionmaking.”

“When I came to the district and asked for a copy of the curriculum, there was nothing,” Provost said, adding data wasn’t held in high regard at the time.

“My work is to demonstrate data can be used in a way to improve learning,” he said. “There are so many examples of misuse of data out there that many are turned off to the whole concept.”

Hennessey hailed him for that effort.

“I think this is something the district really needed,” she said.

Hennessey said she received letters from several parents, all of whom had conflicts with the district at some point. Still, they wrote to say Provost always handled things fairly.

“That, to me, is what we want to be hearing,” she said.

While the review happened in open meeting, doors to the Puchalski Municipal Building were locked. A custodial worker let this reporter, the only member of the audience, inside about 25 minutes after the meeting began. Asked about it after the meeting, Provost said the doors are set to a timer and no one in the room knew how to reset them.

Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.

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