By DAN TOMASELLO

NORTH READING — Superintendent of Schools Jon Bernard unveiled the results he collected as part of his entry plan to the School Committee last week.

As part of Bernard’s entry plan, the superintendent collected data over the course of the fall to gain further insight about the school system and outline ways to move the district forward. He discussed school–related issues with different interest groups in town including school officials, local officials, parents/guardians and faculty members. He also reviewed results from online surveys completed by interest groups, reviewed documents and visited all five schools.

“It was an opportunity for me to gain a deeper insight about different grade levels,” said Bernard. “While I was high school principal for 11 plus years and I am familiar with the town and the district, I found there was an awfully lot for me to learn about the elementary and middle school levels. This has been the first opportunity I spent any significant amount of time in an elementary and middle school, and I have enjoyed that tremendously.”

The results were broken down into four categories: governance and leadership, academics, parent and community relations, and finance and budget operations.

Governance

Bernard said the district does an “exceptional job” recruiting and hiring highly qualified teachers. He said if teachers are not meeting the school department’s expectations, school officials establish a plan in order to help teachers improve their skills. He said special education professional development opportunities are made available to general education teachers in order to ensure “best practices” are developed to enhance teaching and learning.

The superintendent said the opening of the new North Reading High School last fall is a “tremendous source of pride for the North Reading community,” and the entire community is excited about the opening of the new North Reading Middle School this September. He said the school district’s strategic plan, NRPS 2016, is a highly regarded plan and serves as a “solid blueprint for the enhancement of the school district in targeted areas.”

According to Bernard, school officials and the School Committee have created a “strong culture of collaboration” with local officials and the school community. He said the town has been very supportive of the schools and has “provided sufficient support of funding requests” in the past.

Bernard outlined several areas the school department can be governed more effectively. He recommended refining the fifth year of NRPS 2016 and will begin the process of developing the next strategic plan for the school system, which he said could be called NRPS 2021.

The superintendent said he wants the school department to “work collaboratively with the town’s safety and emergency serves personnel to advance school safety protocols.” He said the school department needs to maximize resources and explore shared resources with municipal government to benefit both the town and schools.

Bernard said it’s vital for the school department hire a permanent Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Director. He said teachers have requested school officials to provide more professional development opportunities, particularly to meet state and federal mandates.

School Committee member Mel Webster urged Bernard to develop an “out-of-the-box” plan in order to increase professional development opportunities for teachers.

“That is the area that concerns me the most,” said Webster. “I don’t want to see our staff fall behind.”

Bernard agreed with Webster’s sentiment. He said the school department recently provided an “in-house professional development” program that received “very good feedback” from teachers.

Academics

Bernard said local students are described as “polite, engaged, caring and well-rounded,” and have a great sense of pride in the community. He said the educational programs at each grade level are “rigorous” and said teachers are dedicated to helping their students succeed.

According to Bernard, a significant number of high school students participate in athletics and extra curricular activities, which helps educate the whole child. He said attendance rates at all five schools are “consistently high” and there is a low dropout rate at the high school. He said the performance arts department provides a “vibrant and robust” program for students, and is a great sense of pride for the community.

Bernard outlined several areas that need to be addressed. He said respondents urged school officials to increase the PSAT participation rate at the high school. While the high school offers a number of Advanced Placement (AP) courses, Bernard said high school officials need to “work toward maximizing the percentage of students receiving a qualifying score on Advanced Placement examinations.”

According to Bernard, school officials want to expand the foreign language program at NRMS and also want to offer more foreign language classes at the high school.

Bernard said more teachers are needed at the high school to address large class sizes. He also said the school department’s websites need to be updated to make them “better resources” for the community.

Parent and community relations

Bernard said parents are “highly satisfied” with the level of communication they receive from the school system. He also said parents are “actively and appropriately engaged” in their children’s education, and parents and volunteers provide a great deal of support to the town’s schools.

The superintendent said parents serve as strong advocates for the schools. Additionally, the school department has formed strong partnerships with local officials and community organizations. School officials have also developed a positive working relationship with school unions.

Bernard also said the “Around the Schoolyard” articles, which appear in the Transcript over the school year and are written by school administrators, are “viewed very favorably by members of the community.”

Bernard outlined a few ways to improve communication with members of the community. He plans on publishing a periodic newsletter that will be distributed to both families and staff members.

Additionally, Bernard wants High School Assistant Principal Michael Downs and Middle School Assistant Principal Michael Maloney to contribute to future “Around the Schoolyard” articles. He will be hosting NORCAM’s “Inside NRPS” program to provide updates on school news.

Financial management

Bernard said school officials are committed to “maximizing current resources as part of the day-to-day budgetary demands and accomplishes the task in a transparent manner.” He also noted Finance Director Michael Connelly provides regular budget updates to the School Committee in public meetings.

According to Bernard, the school systems’ per pupil expenditures are significantly lower than the state average. He also said the town appropriates approximately 66 percent of revenues to the school budget.

“The perception from town officials and parents is that North Reading education is a great value,” said Bernard.

Bernard said the Finance Planning Team “works toward maximizing resources to the benefit of the entire community.” He said fees parents are asked to pay in order to supplement the school budget are viewed unfavorably by both the School Committee and school officials, but Bernard said the fees are needed to provide services such as athletics, busing and full-day kindergarten.

The superintendent said food service provider, Chartwells, has been working towards boosting school lunch sales and turning around the program. School and town officials recently filed a statement of interest with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to repair the Little School’s roof.

According to Bernard, the expenses with operating the new NRHS and soon-to-be-opened NRMS have exceeded what has been budgeted. He said school officials are carefully monitoring the situation.

Bernard outlined four financial areas that could be improved. He said the school system needs to receive funding for technology initiatives and long-range capital projects.

The superintendent and Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto continue to collaborate to investigate the possibilities for sharing services in order to benefit both the community and the schools. He also wants to restore the schools’ and districts’ expense budgets to “a level that meets identified needs,” which was identified as a priority by staff members.

School Committee Chairman Jerry Venezia said the school department needs to search for ways to fund the school department’s expense budget.

Next steps

With the data collection and analysis component of the entry plan completed, Bernard will develop a series of goals for the school system between March and June. The implementation phase of the plan will be launched in July.

Venezia and Webster there were “no surprises” in the results Bernard released.