Superintendent Receives A's and B's

Superintendent of Schools James Cummings received an excellent report card tonight from the School Committee.

His work ethic, respectful manner, ability to communicate well and build a team were cited numerous times by School Committee members as they rated him in various areas during his job evaluation.

He was judged in six categories: Relationship with the School Committee, educational leadership, general management, budget management, personnel management and communications/public relations.

He earned all 3s and 4s on a scale of 4.

The committee members in attendance unanimously agreed that communication is one of his greatest strengths.

Committee member Donna Stock said she believed that everyone he deals with _ including town officials, parents, faculty and staff _ would give him high marks in this category.

By reaching out to town officials such as the town administrator he has helped to smooth out the budget process, committee member Teri Turgeon said.

“That makes a big difference in how the schools are perceived,’’ she said.

They also praised him for a newsletter that goes out to the community and for meeting frequently with various groups, including the Grafton Teachers Association, and for attending numerous school and community events, such as the Fun Fair, which he visited last May before he officially became superintendent.

 “Sometimes it’s the little things like that that make a big difference,’’ Turgeon said.

Committee members spoke of the many challenges and transitions he faced during his first year, including his decision to reorganize the grades, overseeing a newconstruction, hiring several new principals and dealing with transitions to new buildings and/or grade levels that will affect virtually everyone in the district.

And they mentioned his humor in dealing with situations out of his control, including a hurricane that forced the first day of school to be delayed for weather and power outage reasons, which also caused the computer system to crash.

“You had a refreshing sense of humor’’ through that, committee member Daryl Rynning said.

Committee chairman Kathleen Halloran described Cummings as "a consummate professional.''

His creative budget approaches, including reducing the number of buses rather than cutting staff, were also cited.

Committee members said that they look forward to the next year, when the “dust settles’’ and the transitions have been made, so Cummings can spend more time working in the classroom directly with students and staff.

Committee member Peter Carlson was not able to attend.