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Date: 12/12/2023
WESTHAMPTON — The All Districts Committee of the Hampshire Regional School District met with Superintendent Diana Bonneville to hear about the goals the superintendent will focus on in the coming year and the district’s improvement plan. Committee members asked for several clarifications, but the documents were distributed weeks ago and committee members were given time to offer feedback.
Bonneville began with the district improvement plan and its first objective, which focuses on the central office.
“We have four big areas,” Bonneville said. “The first one is having a positive school culture.”
There will be a K-12 curriculum audit to make sure all students are treated equitably, especially in special education. This year, officials will be updating the school handbooks to ensure the language is correct and consistent. A formal document describing how lesson plans are drawn up for students on a 10 day suspension will be written. A good look will be taken at curriculum assessments.
“The second [objective] is just really to hear more voices of students, caregivers, faculty and staff,” Bonneville said. The superintendent and her staff “really [want to] get out to the schools as much as we can, the central office and I, to really build relationships.”
Bonneville said the second objective is about relationships and partnerships in the district. Emergency management will be an objective, a better delineation of procedures to reduce the chaos in an extreme event. A transparent budget is extremely important and a big focus. Improving communication with principals has added significance now that two employees in the central office are out with medical difficulties. Bonneville and her staff will also take a look at central office restructuring.
“We’re trying to streamline the processes of HR and payroll,” Bonneville said. “We’re making great strides in that.”
Bonneville said she and the core administrative team meet for two hours every week to discuss goals and any issues that arise. One change in the planning stages is to write one handbook for all the elementary schools, with a section for each school, an effort to create consistency from building to building.
The third objective for district improvement, Bonneville said, orients around curriculum and assessment.
“The first one is looking at math and using the data to improve instruction,” Bonneville said. “We’ve seen increases in our MCAS scores with the bridges curriculum, but we want to dive in a little bit deeper.”
Bonneville especially wants to focus on third grade math performance on the MCAS testing, which was well below state averages at some of the elementary schools. Grade level expectations need to be discussed. Bonneville also intends to equalize the homework assignments from school to school. Newly hired employees need to be better informed about the history and nature of the district, expectations and other guidelines.
The district’s fourth objective for improvement is about instruction and teaching.
“We’re trying to prioritize curriculum, so we’re meeting as an executive cabinet every other week,” Bonneville said. “What are some of the hallmarks of high performing districts and how can we head in that direction?”
Out of district placements are expensive. The intent, going forward, will be to improve instruction in the district to reduce out of district placements.
“These are my goals, as well as the goals of the district,” Bonneville said. “How do we increase collaboration?”
Bonneville next outlined her goals as superintendent. “I really want to make sure that we have accessible math curriculum for all students,” she said. “We will use the 2022 grade three math test because the answers are out and accessible.”
Ian Stith and Peter Cleary of the Westhampton School Committee, and Kim Schott of the Southampton School Committee, asked for clarifications. Bonneville said the abbreviated test of 20 questions can be used to prepare students for this year’s test, expose them to the test format and content, and be used at all the elementary schools. Committee members commented the 20 questions released from the test aren’t the same as the 40 questions on the actual test. Jon Lumbra, chair of the Southampton School Committee, suggested the preparations be done using the tools the district already owns.
“If three out of the four elementary schools use bridges…we shouldn’t be altering it for the 20%. We should just find an alternate,” Lumbra said. “Why invest in these programs if we’re not going to use them?”
Bonneville will seek input from each building supervisor.
“I’ll have a dialogue with the principals,” Bonneville said. “We’re going to look at the current third graders and monitor their progress” and report back to the committees.
Committee members voted unanimously to accept the district improvement plan and superintendent’s goals.