Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 7/9/2019
AGAWAM – During a School Committee meeting on June 25, the results of superintendent Steven Lemanski’s evaluation were discussed. Each Committee member was asked to submit a document that had a designated area for ratings and comments.
Step one on the evaluation form was “Assessment.” This portion assessed Lemanski’s progress toward goals. Listed goals were professional practice, student learning and district improvement. The ranking options under “Assessment” were “did not meet,” “some progress,” “significant progress,” “met,” and “exceeded.” The average ranking for this step for Lemanski based on the responses of Committee members was “met.”
Step two on the evaluation form was “Assessed Performance of Standards.” The standards as listed were Instructional Leadership, Management and Operations, Family and Community Engagement and Professional Culture. The ranking options under each standard was “unsatisfactory,” “needs improvement,” “proficient” or “exemplary.
Agawam Mayor William Sapelli explained, “The evaluation of proficient: this is a rigorous expected level of performance of all staff.”
Lemanski was rated as “proficient” under all standards.
“That is the category we are looking for. It is the category by state standards [that] is the expected level of performance. We’re very pleased to announce that that is the case with Mr. Lemanski this year,” Sapelli said.
Each member of the School Committee were asked to share their individual comments as provided on their evaluation forms.
Committee member Carmino Mineo shared, “Steve promotes a positive relationship with all stakeholders in our education system. Throughout the last two years, I’ve seen first hand the positive influence that he has had on our entire education system. He’s approachable, accessible and responds to questions in a timely manner. He is a visible presence in both our school district and our community.”
Committee member Anthony Bonavita said he found it difficult to choose between “proficient” and “exemplary” when completing the evaluation. “I found the process very difficult to decide between proficient and exemplary. There’s a very fine line between them. I have four proficient and three exemplary. Believe me, the proficients were very close to being exemplary. It’s kind of like a proficient plus is the way I found it,” Bonavita said.
“Superintendent Lemanski has proven to be an excellent leader. The work he has done in many departments and level of education have allowed for professional development regarding diverse backgrounds as much as diverse learning styles and has begun conversations about how to best serve these students,” Committee member Tracy Wilkie shared.
Wilkie continued, “Mr. Lemanski has worked hard to present a very considerate budget, balancing the needs of our students and our faculty as well as our taxpayers. Mr. Lemanski has put a lot into family and community engagements. He has worked to bring the families, community and student body to come to focus on many of the social and emotional issues that our schools are facing. I look forward to working with Mr. Lemanski to continue development and refinement of our schools.”
Committee member Wendy Rua shared both strengths that she has seen in Lemanski’s work as well as areas where she would like to see focus increased.
“Mr. Lemanski continues to look for the strengths and target the areas which need improvement in the Agawam Public Schools. The strongest area is family and community engagement. As it can be said, not many events go by without a visit from our superintendent. That makes him approachable to staff, parents, students and the community. We definitely thank him for that. The highlights of [the] 2018-2019 academic year include the outdoor classrooms, advanced manufacturing program, community partnerships and attention to the STEM curriculum,” Rua said.
Rua continued, “Mr. Lemanski received a rank of proficient from me in the evaluation, but I want to highlight a few areas that I feel need his direct attention as they are still on the radar and we hope that he will continue to work for them during the next academic year. One is the establishment of a Safety Committee. I still feel we need a reunification plan and a full policy update and ongoing conversation of the physical safety needs of each building.”
Rua also suggested that focus increase on student wellness. “Student wellness continues to be a strong focus of Mr. Lemanski. I would like to see that continue in the direction of recess and homework district policy and meaningful attention to the increasing anxiety and needs of our more advanced students as well as some of our struggling students,” Rua said.
Committee member Shelley Reed praised Lemanski for his work on initiatives. “I’ve given Mr. Lemanski an overall rating of proficient, but I do think Mr. Lemanski excels in the area of instructional leadership regarding curriculum and instruction shown by the many new initiatives and ideas he’s moving forward such as outdoor classrooms, manufacturing programs, STEM classes, inclusion programs and other out-of-the-box curriculum initiatives. He continually comes up with new ways to improve the quality of education in Agawam,” Reed said.
Committee member Kerri O’Connor shared, “Mr. Lemanski ensures that we have highly qualified teachers and administrators who continue to have passion, dedication and ensure quality education for our students. Inclusive practices are an area of strength as well as promotion of professional development for our staff.”
O’Connor continued, “An area of weakness [is] there’s been minimal evidence of measurable outcomes regarding the transparency and follow through of several district-wide initiatives. I believe Mr. Lemanski has provided several strength-based initiatives to enhance and promote social emotional learning. However, transparency could be an area of focus.”
Sapelli said, “I think [Lemanski] does a wonderful job managing the schools and his personnel. Mr. Lemanski is in his second year as a superintendent. You wouldn’t really know that in watching him operate and has used his past experience to hone his skills as a professional.”
Lemanski responded to the comments of the Committee. “It’s the end of my second year and it really has flown by. I can’t believe that it was that fast already. I appreciate the constructive, honest feedback that I’ve gotten and I promise to take a closer look at that and look to improve if possible in some areas,” Lemanski said.
Lemanski continued, “I look forward to next year and some of the initiatives and the assistance that you gave us with the budget and putting certain positions in place. I look forward to working with those people to see how we can make a difference in our schools and I’ll continue to work diligently in leading the school district. I thank you for the opportunity.”
To view the full meeting, visit vimeo.com/Agawam.