AMHERST — New Superintendent E. Xiomara Herman must strive to rebuild community trust so healing and stabilization take place this academic year in the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional schools, one of four broad goals spelled out this week by the Amherst, Pelham and Regional committees.

Other goals include creating a district improvement plan to guide the schools, and conducting comprehensive audits of departments and budgets to enhance efficiency, data management and equity in the school buildings.

At a joint meeting Tuesday, the Amherst, Pelham and Regional committees unanimously approved a final draft of Herman’s main goals, which will promote learning and growth of all students and success for all staff.

In making powerful teaching and learning the central focus of schooling, providing management and operations oversight, supporting family and community engagement and enhancing the professional culture, Amherst representative Irv Rhodes said Herman has created inspiring, aspirational goals that are “incredibly appropriate” for where the Amherst, Pelham and regional schools are.

“As a student of organizational development, I am really in awe of how you have come in and taken charge of the organization, and given diagnoses of it in such a way that you were able to come up with these goals that are entirely in line with what is needed,” Rhodes said.

Herman, who began her tenure July 1, is replacing Interim Superintendent Douglas Slaughter, who served in the role continuously since Sept. 1, 2023, following the resignation of Superintendent Michael Morris. Morris left after facing criticism from some in the community over his handling of reported mistreatment of LGBTQ students at the middle school, though his departure came with a joint statement with leaders of the Regional and Amherst school committees that there was no wrongdoing on his part.

The goals will be used as the basis for Herman’s performance review next spring.

Each goal is accompanied by in-depth strategies to reach them. For instance, the goal to develop and present a district improvement plan by next June means an assessment of district practices, curriculum and administrative structure, accompanied by recommendations that might include restructuring the administrative framework to ensure effective leadership that promotes equity and inclusivity in teaching and learning practices.

To get there, the strategies would include: conducting a curriculum, instruction and assessment audit to ensure that what students are learning is based on standards, is rigorous and is aligned with state expectations, while also having equitable access to grade-level instruction; evaluating and restructuring administrative leadership; providing professional development opportunities for administrators; and enhancing student safety and well-being through safety audits and updates to facility maintenance and transportation protocols.

Herman said the six pages of goals were finalized after taking feedback from committee members at an earlier meeting and then being reviewed by McPherson & Jacobson, executive recruitment consultants from Omaha, Nebraska, which informed her they look achievable for all three districts.

“Realistically these goals are overarching to the point where the same steps have to be done in each district, there needs to be a curricular review in Pelham, there needs to be a curricular review across Amherst, and looking at the K-6 lens what are we doing in terms of meeting our standards and our goals set forth, how do we plan to move forward and reform,” Herman said.

While supporting the extensiveness and input and calling it a deep and broad plan, Amherst representative Deb Leonard wondered if more specifics should have been included.

“I’m having trouble finding the districts that I have come to know over the past eight months,” Leonard said. “The issues that have come up I think will be addressed in a comprehensive plan like yours, but I was looking or maybe hoping and expecting it to be more triage this first year.”

Leonard listed her concerns, including the stripped down world languages program at the middle school, how the Caminantes dual language program at Fort River School will be extended to the middle school, as well as the district’s response to Title IX complaints, chronic absenteeism, the block schedule in place at the high school and time on learning, students’ mental, emotional and learning losses from COVID, retention of staff of color and anti-bullying measures.

But Herman said all of these topics are encompassed within the goals, joking that she’s not portraying superwoman. “I don’t wear an ‘S’ on my chest, because the Xiomara is actually an ‘X,’” Herman said.

Still, Herman said she will make sure the district has sustainable practices, beyond Band-Aids that just cover up problems. “I also need to look at what are our curricular gaps, what’s the scheduling gaps, that’s where the deep audit of teaching and learning and what’s happening during the day,” Herman said.

Herman said the district improvement and Student Opportunity Act plans that can be provided to the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are essential.

In her time on the job, she is already in the midst of reshaping the central office, first bringing on Nyby Douglas as her assistant, then identifying that a media and climate specialist was missing to send out press releases, parent updates and reset the Facebook page and other social media channels. She recently hired Seth Keevaenthal to handle this role.

“Any school district, when we think about losing students to school choice and elsewhere, we have to think about the narrative and stories being told about our district, and how do we get our stories out,” Herman said.

There are other critical positions missing, and some of the skills may be found in house without hiring new people. “With the budget cut, we are being very creative,” Herman said, noting the renaming and restructuring positions and divisions and realigning responsibilities and duties for others.

“We’ve been looking at the current vacancies that we have that are budgeted and how do we take them and recreate them and shape them that meets needs that doesn’t cause us additional deficit,” Herman said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.