Letter: Montclair Superintendent Discusses PARCC, Strategic Plan, School Events

The following letter was sent to Montclair Patch by Superintendent Penny MacCormack. The letter was also recently distributed to parents and caregivers of children attending Montclair public schools.

Dear Families and Staff:

I am writing to wish each of you a happy new year and to provide you with an update on our activities around the District.

I begin this update with a heartfelt thanks to our teachers. Our impressive school system would not be in the position it is today without the strong dedication of our teachers. During those times I am able to be in the schools, I see the proof that we are doing something very right.

As I’ve reflected on 2014 and specifically on the first four months of the 2014-15 school year, I feel great pride for what we have accomplished. As a community of educators and families, we have set high expectations, and one by one, we are reaching them. We are collaborating, building relationships, conducting respectful discourse—all the while deepening our commitment to this extraordinary community.

In my last letter to District families, I outlined several initiatives, including our investment in 21st century classrooms, the plan to address innovation equity, returning World Languages to classrooms, decreasing class size in our kindergarten classrooms and building the curriculum and professional development infrastructure to help meet new learning standards. The District also collaborated with teachers to develop needed benchmarking in classrooms. We have attempted to share information in these and other important areas on a regular basis, which I hope you have found helpful.

During the past four months, under the leadership of our principals and the Central Services team, we have developed new ways to service families better. As we enter 2015, I want to highlight some of these service-oriented initiatives:

Strategic Plan
In the Strategic Plan, we stated our intention to proactively report results and to hold the Superintendent’s Office—me—accountable for objectives identified in the plan. I am proud to say we are meeting many of our goals and metrics. In some cases, however, we are not where we want to be. We are now using monthly Board of Education (BOE) meetings to report to the community where we stand on each aspect of the Strategic Plan, which can be found here. I hope you will consider attending BOE meetings in 2015 to hear these updates. If you cannot attend, note that my reports are available on the District website. The BOE meeting calendar can be found here.

Communications
Since the start of this school year, we have concentrated on better communications and transparency. I listened when you asked for more interaction with Central Services, and we have begun offering open forums, during which I visit a school and meet with parents to answer questions and discuss issues that concern them. These meetings are now available on public access television and via the District website.

District Audit
Each year, to meet a state-regulated requirement, the District hires an independent auditor to review our financial records. The 2013-14 audit cited significant improvements in our record keeping, processes, financial statements, and the organization of information. These improvements are meaningful to the District on a variety of levels, but as we go into budget season, we are confident that our financials are more transparent and available than in the past.

PARCC
As the Superintendent of a public school system, I am charged with implementing state mandates. While I recognize some community members are opposed to the state-mandated PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) assessment, I believe our community and our BOE expects me to ensure we are fully prepared for the assessment. Like many other New Jersey school districts, Montclair is now in the process of planning for the implementation of PARCC, which has been made more challenging by a state decision in 2010, to administer the assessment electronically instead of with paper and pencil.

The District recently completed three parent presentations on the PARCC assessment, which were designed to help families better understand all aspects of the assessment, including the types of questions that would be asked and the scoring system, as well as the use of computers to administer the test. During these presentations, we clarified for families that these first-time, baseline PARCC scores would not impact student grades, nor would they be used for retention decisions or to qualify for any District programs. PARCC, like most first-time endeavors, has prompted some anxiety, but we will meet this challenge together and learn from it. I have no doubt we will grow from the experience as we prepare our students to be successful and dynamic 21st century leaders.

Events
My open forums and the PARCC presentations are just two types of service-oriented programs we are creating for families. Our Talent Development Office also offered a workshop on making the most of parent-teacher conferences. Our events have been well attended, we’ve received great feedback, and the State even singled out Montclair multiple times for our parent communications. I urge you to watch for events now in development for 2015.

Partnerships
To better serve our families and to provide unique opportunities for our students, we have collaborated with organizations like MFEE, Project Oasis, IMANI, the Montclair Film Festival, Montclair State University, and others. We are excited about these initiatives and happy to be maximizing the great resources that exist here in Montclair. Please let us know if you have ideas for future initiatives that would be of value to our schools, teachers, and/or students.

In 2014, we put in place climate surveys in every school, we implemented new teacher and principal evaluation systems, we invested in improvements to our high school facilities, and we expanded teacher development opportunities. These innovations, along with the policy and service-oriented projects mentioned above, are ongoing. As I have said in the past, the best way I know of serving our schools is to keep on improving them.

Montclair at its Best
While many of us are aware of the great success of our sports teams this fall, an example was shared with me this year that I wanted to pass on, which goes far beyond a victory or a championship and instead showcases Montclair in its truest form.

Kayla Jennings who played on the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team and Moises Rodriquez who played on the Varsity Football team had both been multi-year varsity starters and all-state caliber players. Unfortunately, we lost both these great players to season ending knee injuries this year. When the season was lost for them, it would have been acceptable to see either of them shy away from the athletic field. Instead, throughout the course of the fall sports season, both were shining examples not only of great student athletes, but what makes our community great.

Both Kayla and Moises came to every practice, every game, rain or shine. They stood by their teams. They found new ways to contribute. They inspired and mentored their teammates. They pushed their teammates to excel and joined every celebration. As student leaders, though they could not participate in games, they remained anchors for their teams. They stayed committed.

Kayla and Moises showed us, once again, what is truly great and unique about our community. It is not necessarily the victory, but the pride and dedication we all share. Their individual actions represent how we do things in our community. When it comes to our schools, we show up, we contribute and we always stay committed.

Thank You
Whether in the one-on-one meetings I’ve had with many of you, or at a community meeting of the Achievement Gap Committee or Civil Rights Commission, or during an open forum with parents and caregivers, my contact with you has been invaluable and always informative. I am grateful to serve as your Superintendent. In meeting with families, faculty, students, and staff, there is one point that always stays with me: every one of us, even when we don’t agree, is committed to Montclair and the outstanding schools we have here. I value your friendship, your wisdom, your vision, and your efforts to collectively make this District as superb as it can be.

Sincerely,

Penny E. MacCormack
Superintendent