Administrator End-of-Cycle Evaluation

Name: Joseph Maruszczak Author: Self-Evaluation

Job Title: Superintendent Date: Aug 30, 2017 9:42 PM EDT
School: Mendon-Upton Regional Share: On

Performance on Goals
Student Learning Goals - Progress Rating
[ ] Exceeded
[X] Met
[ ] Significant Progress
[ ] Some progress
[ ] Did not meet

Student Learning Goals - Comments

For 2016-17 my Student Learning Goal was the following: Through my work with the district curriculum director, elementary and
middle school principals, science curriculum assistants, and teachers, student achievement in science will improve, as
aggregate Science & Technology/Engineering MCAS results from Spring 2017 for both Grade 5 and Grade 8 will increase by at
least 10 percentage points each from the 2016 results. The district has just received the Preliminary Spring 2017 Results for
the Grades 5 & 8 Science & Technology/MCAS tests. The aggregate Grade 5 results improved by 13% (from 43% advanced or
proficient in 2016 to 56% advanced/proficient in 20127) and the Grade 8 results improved by 15% (from 53% advanced or
proficient in 2016 to 68% advanced/proficient in 2017). The Grade 8 results represent the highest proficiency rate the school
has ever achieved in the history of the administration of the test.

The specific Key Actions detailed in my Annual Plan speak to further aligning the curriculum to the Next Generation Science
Standards (NGSS), providing more hands-on investigations for students, and ensuring greater consistency in learning
experiences offered from classroom to classroom. Maureen did some outstanding work with the elementary and middle school
curriculum assistants in selecting and piloting model science units from DESE as well as implementing science lessons from
the online Mystery Science Program and the Inspire Science kits. Additionally, middle school science teachers met on a
quarterly basis for the purposes of ensuring more hands-on explorations in their curriculum, aligning and mapping the
curriculum to the NGSS, and ensuring there is greater consistency in the content and types of learning activities that all
students are exposed to. Ensuring more lab investigations has been a bit of a challenge, as there is no formal lab space at
Miscoe and hence, things like appropriate ventilation, lack of lab equipment, etc. pose a challenge. Nonetheless, they did
increase the number of lab investigations to at least one per week. There is a heightened focus among the teachers,
particularly the 8th grade science teachers, to carefully align taught content with the NGSS. As the spring 2018 Science &
Technology/Engineering Test further transitions to these new standards, I anticipate further improvement.

Please see the attached documents for additional supporting information:

-End of Cycle Progress Report, 2016-17
-MURSD 2016 MCAS Results Presentation (PPT)
-2017 STE MCAS Results: Grade 5
-2017 STE MCAS Results: Grade 8

Attachments:
Superintendent's Annual Plan 2016-17 End of Cycle Progress Report - Aug 31, 2017 4:26 PM EDT - uploaded by Joseph Maruszczak
MURSD 2016 MCAS Results SC Oct 17 - Aug 31, 2017 4:48 PM EDT - uploaded by Joseph Maruszczak
- Aug 31, 2017 4:49 PM EDT - uploaded by Joseph Maruszczak
STE MCAS Spring 2017- Grade 8 - Aug 31, 2017 4:49 PM EDT - uploaded by Joseph Maruszczak
STE MCAS Spring 2017- Grade 5 - Aug 31, 2017 4:50 PM EDT - uploaded by Joseph Maruszczak

Professional Practice Goals - Progress Rating

[ ] Exceeded
[ ] Met
[X] Significant Progress
[ ] Some progress
[ ] Did not meet

Administrator End-of-Cycle Evaluation - Thu Sep 21 16:23:29 EDT 2017 1

Professional Practice Goals - Comments
For 2016-17 my Professional Practice Goal was the following: During the 2016-17 school year, I will implement new practices
to communicate and engage MURSD parents/families. I will also carefully monitor communication and engagement strategies
among the district's four schools for efficacy and consistency.

I have rated myself as "Significant Progress" and not "Met" for the simple reason that I have not successfully accomplished all
of the Key Actions that I intended on doing during last school year. I did put a great deal of effort in working with Dennis Todd to
revive our district's SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Committee) so families of students with special needs can have
a formal mechanism to network, organize, and communicate issues/concerns about the district's programming to the
administration. Throughout the second half of the school year, the SEPAC met a total of five times and we had success in
recruiting new parents, soliciting their input for helpful programming that parents are interested in, creating a formal structure for
leadership, and actually holding two separate informational sessions on two topics of interest: 1) student transitions, and 2)
strategies to alleviate student anxiety. We hope to build on this positive momentum in 2017-18.

We also started the school year by upgrading the district and school websites. Along with this transition, we also upgraded the
district's mass email/calling system to a newer version with greater functionality. The websites do have a cleaner look and have
information more carefully organized for easier access. We also started to use the new BlackBoard Connect/Parent Link email
system, which has greater functionality/aesthetics for mass emails than its predecessor did. However, we need to ensure that
all four school secretaries have more training in it, as they were inconsistent in its usage.

I believe that the district on a whole and our four schools are fairly effective in proactively communicating to our
parents/families. The next challenge is ensuring greater consistency in communication from classroom to classroom even
within an academic department/team. This past year, I discussed and disseminated specific Family & Community Engagement
Standards with our District Leadership Team. They have also been shared with our District Educator Evaluation Committee. My
vision is to begin to operationalize them, as I am trying to negotiate them into the evaluation process for our professional staff. I
look forward to continuing this work this year.

School Improvement Goals - Progress Rating

[ ] Exceeded
[X] Met
[ ] Significant Progress
[ ] Some progress
[ ] Did not meet

School Improvement Goals - Comments

My three highlight District Improvement Goals focused on the areas of social-emotional learning (SEL), communication &
outreach, and the district's curriculum review and revision process.

The district made significant progress in the area of raising the awareness of all stakeholders of student needs in SEL. It was
also a year to take stock of what ongoing resources and programming that are effective and where there are additional areas of
need. As we highlighted during at least two different School Committee meetings, we made SEL a key professional
development priority during the 2016-17 school year. We had presenters like Jessica Minahan (author of "The Behavior Code"),
Rick Lavoie (author of "The Motivation Breakthrough"), and Nancy Clements present on timely topics such as executive
functioning, ADHD, student anxiety, and social thinking. The feedback that we received from our teachers has been
outstanding as we focused on pragmatic tools they may use in the classroom. We also made this a focal point in improving
transition activities for students and their families, particularly at the Grade 4 to 5 and Grade 8 to 9 transition points.

Based upon feedback from the June 2016 K12 Insight Survey as well as surveying that the district did prior to the new District
Technology Plan, the district made improvements in communication and outreach. The district adopted one uniform learning
management platform, Google Classroom, and at present, over 80% of secondary teachers are actively using it. Our new
Director of Technology Integration also spent a great deal of time proving training to teachers in using the Google Apps for
Education so teachers could more effectively communicate with students and their families. The district also continued and
expanded its outreach to families through such programs as Keys to Clough, What's the Buzz at Memorial, and the 21st
Century Learning and Financial Literacy Conferences at Nipmuc.

The district also made significant progress in the ongoing process of reviewing and updating our formal curriculum using the
online mapping program, Rubicon Atlas. Under Maureen's leadership, nearly all classes and grade levels have completed
Stage 2 (Assessment) in detailing the assessments that are administered for each unit. Also accomplished were more
opportunities for vertical articulation (same content area teachers talking to different grade level teachers) between the middle
and high schools. Also of significance was the district successfully promoted more peer observation through such means as
Shadow a Student days, use of a "pineapple chart" and even the use of social media (#observeme) so teachers could highligh
best practices and solicit feedback from their peers.

Performance on Each Standard

Standard I: Instructional Leadership
Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Unsatisfactory

Administrator End-of-Cycle Evaluation - Thu Sep 21 16:23:29 EDT 2017 2

Standard I: Instructional Leadership - Comments and Analysis
I consistently use salient performance data to drive the district's programs, curriculum, and professional practices. I also push
my principals to use disaggregated student assessment data to make decisions about what is effective in their schools. As a
District Leadership Team, we typically use 3-4 meeting sessions to disaggregate and analyze data. A focal point during the
2016-17 school year was the analysis of the effectiveness of inclusion classroom instruction using multiple data points. The
district also has made significant progress in focusing district, school, and individual educator goals. In each of our schools we
provide educators with Model Professional Practice Goals that are aligned with the annual District Action Plans. Each of the
school improvement plans show close alignment with the annual District Action Plans, and in turn our educators align their
Student Learning and Professional Practice Goals with the district and school goals. I typically spend two to three hours per
week conducting classroom walkthroughs with our four principals, and after each session I debrief with the principal upon what
instruction was effective and where there may be opportunities for growth. As a result, I have seen improvement in the types of
concise, targeted feedback that our principals are giving our teachers. The district has made great progress in the past two
years in crafting formal time and structures (e.g., data blocks at the elementary level and common planning time at the middle
and high schools).so teachers may examine/analyze student work, analyze local benchmark assessment and MCAS results
and state assessments to improve curriculum and instruction, and create/calibrate common assessments. This work will
continue in 2017-18, however with a greater emphasis on practices such as project-based learning, maker education, genius
hour, blended learning, etc.- all of which promote greater student agency and modern learning.

Standard II: Management and Operations

Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Unsatisfactory

Standard II: Management and Operations - Comments and Analysis

I believe this standard remains a fairly strong area for me.As always, student safety is the very top priority. The district
improved its work with student safety drills (i.e., lockdown and evacuation drills) which were assisted with the implementation of
the CopSync program. This work will continue in 2017-18, as we will work with the Mendon & Upton Police Departments to
implement ALICE procedures during lockdown drills. I work with the Director of Finance & Operations, the Budget
Subcommittee, and the Regional School Committee to craft a fiscally responsible budget that is sensitive to the towns'
constraints yet moves the district forward. The FY2018 Budget posed some challenges for the simple reason that State funding
remains flat while level service expenses continue to grow.. I worked collaboratively with the Budget Subcommittee as well as
elected town officials to a positive outcome. I continue to believe that there is a high degree of confidence in the school district's
mission and vision as well as operations. I do support our principals in crafting formal structures and schedules for teachers to
collaboratively plan and analyze student data (e.g., common planning time at the MS and HS, grade level "data blocks" at the
two elementary schools). I also keep a collaborative relationship with the teachers association and other four unions, as
evidenced by successful negotiations with all that resulted in new, successive 3-year contracts that are fair to both sides. .I also
do my very best to support a robust professional development program that is driven by data and educator needs. The
provision of high quality professional development also remains a priority, and I believe we have had successes in
implementing new structures that enabled more educator choice and ownership.

Standard III: Family and Community Engagement

Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Unsatisfactory

Standard III: Family and Community Engagement - Comments and Analysis

A key component of this standard is modeling the communication, collaboration, and outreach that one would like to see by all
administrators and educators within the district.. I try to be as visible as possible through our communities and the district as I
attend numerous after school and evening events as demonstration of my engagement and that I am approachable. I model
effective communication with all stakeholders in the district, using a variety of means, including face-to-face, phone calls, email,
social media, and web-based applications such as Blogger and YouTube. I also connect with various groups that are specific to
a program, such as the Spanish Immersion Advisory Committee, the Mendon-Upton SEPAC, and the Warriors Club. During the
course of each school year, I also connect at least once with each school's PTO and/or School Council and in the case of
Nipmuc, the Nipmuc Together group. During the 2017-18 school year, I will be seeking to provide more coherency to this work
through the creation of a Superintendent's Cabinet, a regularly meeting committee that gives voice and vision to the many
stakeholder groups within the district. I work collaboratively with our principals and staff members when concerns arise. In the
grand majority of these instances, positive, equitable resolutions are reached. I also strive to create as many community
connections as possible, working with organizations such as the Upton Men's Club, the Mendon Cultural Council, the Mendon-
Upton Education Foundation, the Blackstone Valley Education Foundation (I serve as a board member), and the Mendon 350
Committee to serve our students. I continue to foster very positive relationships with both communities' Board of Selectmen,
Finance Committees, various boards, both towns' police and fire departments as well as town officials. In doing all of this, I try
to be an active and vital part of schools and greater community as much as possible.

Standard IV: Professional Culture

Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Unsatisfactory

Administrator End-of-Cycle Evaluation - Thu Sep 21 16:23:29 EDT 2017 3

Standard IV: Professional Culture - Comments and Analysis
I strive to model the types of practices and professional culture that I expect from the members of the District Leadership Team
to model in our four schools. Our team meetings (every other week) are always substantive and focused on improving teaching
and learning in the district. I also build consensus in a positive, collaborative fashion, as we work through critical decisions that
affect the district. The district's mission and vision for excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement is consistently
reinforced by myself and members of the team. My own professional development includes active involvement in my own
professional organization, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS), serving on the Executive Board
as one of two Massachusetts representatives to the AASA (the National School Superintendents Association) Governing
Board. I also serve on the Superintendent Advisory Cabinet to the DESE Commissioner and as the chair of the Blackstone
Valley Educational Collaborative, a consortium of the 12 districts in the region. As the Chair of the Blackstone Valley
Educational Collaborative, I am involved in planning professional development for regional administrators and educators during
common professional development days. Most recently (summer 2017), I planned a 2-day workshop for all Blackstone Valley
administrators on streamlining evaluation practices while improving the quality of feedback. I attend multiple conferences and
workshops sponsored by MASS, MASSCue (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators), and NEASC (New England
Association of Schools & Colleges). In November 2016 school year I was a keynote speaker on presented on the district's 1:1
Learning Program at MASSCue's Annual Conference at Gillette Stadium. I deeply value my own learning and professional
growth, and hence, try to promote and model this with my leadership team and the entire MURSD staff.

Overall Performance
Overall Performance
Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Unsatisfactory

Evaluator Comments
Comments and analysis are recommended for any rating but are required for an overall summative rating of needs improvement
or unsatisfactory or Impact on Student Learning rating of low.

Administrator Comments and Signatures

Administrator Comments
Comments can be added by an educator being evaluated.

After six years as the Superintendent of the Mendon-Upton Regional School District, I am confident that the district is trending
in a very positive direction and that there is a high degree of confidence by our families and the community. Many of the
traditional quantitative metrics show favorable results (e.g., district MCAS scores, SAT and AP participation and results) and
our flagship school, Nipmuc Regional HS receiving accolade as a DESE Commendation School and one of Newsweek's
America's Top High Schools. Also, the June 2016 K12 Insight Survey also gave positive quantitative and qualitative data
indicating satisfaction with the district's programs and services. The coming school year will mark the final year of our current
Five Year Strategic Plan, and we have been largely successful in achieving the overwhelming majority of strategic initiatives
that were detailed in 2013. I look forward to leading a new strategic planning process in 2018, one that will entail all
stakeholders. My view is that the MURSD is already a very good district; how can we take it to the take level and make it truly
great? I look forward to working with the Regional School Committee, the District Leadership Team, and MURSD families and
staff in pursuing this new plan and vision. I am excited by the possibilities for our collective learning and will continue to
represent the district and our communities in the most professional manner possible.

Signature of Administrator
Joseph Maruszczak (signed by Joseph Maruszczak on 2017-08-31 18:09)

Signature of Evaluator
- no signature -

Administrator End-of-Cycle Evaluation - Thu Sep 21 16:23:29 EDT 2017 4