NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The public schools welcomed two new faces this year: a dean of students at Brayton Elementary and a director of adult education and 21st Century programming. 

 

Steven Rickman and Kate Merrigan were introduced at the School Committee's Aug. 26 meeting. 

 

The Merrigan isn't really new as she spent two terms as a city councilor. She replaces Anne Pecor, who was named as assistant superintendent earlier this year. 

 

Merrigan was director of student and community development for Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School and was more recently with the youth empowerment organization Up for Learning based in Vermont. She is a graduate of Drury High School and Marlborough College and completed her master's in business administration at Fitchburg State University.

 

"I was worried that the Drury class of '97 wouldn't get in there. That was very important," she laughed. "I was at an event with the superintendent last spring, in my role was Up for Learning, and he posted a picture of us afterward on social media and identified me as like Kate Merrigan, Drury class of '97 and I haven't been identified that way in decades, but it really touched me. ...

 

"I think I just feel really grateful to be here, back home in the district, that made me who I am, that's making my kids who they are, and picking up where Anne has left off, and it's so clear to me what tremendous work she's done to build these programs. So I'm very lucky and very grateful to be with you all."

 

Rickman comes to Brayton from Morningside Community School in Pittsfield, where he was also dean. Prior to that he was executive director of the Girls Club of Greenfield, and has years of experience as an elementary school teacher in Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in rehabilitation services, and completed a master's in instructional leadership from Robert Morris University and a master's in educational leadership from Queen's University of Charlotte. 

 

"Even though his first official day with students in our district begins on Thursday, Steven has been working with the school and district leadership team since June to help rate and prepare for a successful school year," said Superintendent Timothy Callahan.

 

Rickman said he was "so honored and happy to be with North Adams. I'm looking forward to being part of the change that is going to make our students in Massachusetts continue to be No. 1 in the United States."

 

In response to questions, Callahan estimated there were about 10 open positions at the start of the school year and they were mainly teaching assistants. They also included an elementary teaching post and school adjustment counselor at Colegrove Park Elementary, a special education position at Brayton Elementary, and an "eternally open" speech therapist post at the district level. 

 

He also presented his entry plan, as required by the  Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents' induction program. 

 

"I've angled my entry plan, which is really the plan for my first year on the job to listen, to what's actually happening and to make some recommendations that we can undertake as a district leadership team," said the former Drury High principal who's spent nearly three decades in North Adams. "But because I've been in the district so long, I do know a lot of things already. So I angled it around our five core values."

 

Callahan said he began his "entry" during the summer and through November will be reviewing data and reports, talking to stakeholders and conducting site visits. He will determine if the schools are meeting the district's stated mission and values and, if not, why not. 

 

"Are certain components less or more reflective in certain schools and programs? What are the greatest challenges within our district schools or programs keeping North Adams students from performing at their highest levels?" he said. "So in addition to the value lens, I will also be getting that general feedback and specific feedback about what we can do better, what must we protect or sustain within our district, what should be examined more closely to consider changes and what are your recommended improvements or priority areas."

 

This will take a number of months and the superintendent anticipated it will take up a significant amount of his work this year in addition to the continued implementation of the district's strategic plan. He will present his findings in the spring and have the district's leadership team identify priorities for the following school year.  

 

School Committee member Richard Alcombright said he was impressed by the letter Callahan sent to Brayton parents on the work being done in the school and how the administration will be tacking challenges and supporting teachers. 

 

"That letter was quite comprehensive, and I hope people took the time to read it, because it really ...  put the fire under you, and also them," he said. "There's a lot in there that will happen. So thank you for that. It was very comprehensive."

 

In other business, the committee approved a contract with the cafeteria workers that includes a few more vacation days, training, clothing allowance and longevity. Alcombright, who is on the nonprofessional subcommittee, thanked all the representatives involved in contract negotiations over the past year, saying there were very good meetings. 

 

• Callahan presented an amended graduation requirement because the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education had wanted more details. The committee had approved a competency criteria to replace the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System which can no longer be used as a graduation requirement. 

 

He and the subcommittee working on the policy recommended updating language in the student handbooks instead since that's where the existing policy points. 

 

"We identify the courses specifically. So we say which English classes count toward that competence determination credit, which mathematics for the competence determination, credit and so on," Callahan said. "This is all in the revised program of study for this year. We also clarify what it means to show mastery."

 

The committee in the past had only approved the handbooks, not the program of studies, but he said it should be approving both annually. Because of the Supreme Court case that found families can opt out of lessons that "specifically undermine their sincerely held religious beliefs," language has been included in all handbooks to address such a situation. 

 

Committee member Alyssa Tomkowicz said she had brought up the concern of where the line was, such as evolution and biology, because of how important they are in schooling. Fellow committee member Cody Chamberlain had also been curious of how likely parents were to take advantage of this language, but the superintendent said those parents are more than likely home schooling already. 

 

There had been a clause in the prior handbooks with an opt-out for religious views but few parents had used it, Callahan said, "it does upend decades of Massachusetts law, because opting out was not an option."

 

The committee approved the handbooks for all the schools and the program of studies. 

 

• The committee also approved a memorandum of agreement with the teachers on updated evaluation criteria and accepted a $500 donation from the North Adams Lodge of Elks 487 and $1,000 from NBT Bank to ensure every child would get a book at the prekindergarten through Grade 6 book fair.