Supt. Connelly earns an 'A' on his first report card
Published on April 21st, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - Members of the Stoneham School Committee played the teacher's role at last Thursday's meeting and gave a hearty pat on the head of their "student," Superintendent of Schools Joseph Connelly.
Connelly, who was hired last June and formally took over the responsibilities of the School Department on August 1, 1998, earned consistently high grades in his first annual evaluation and was rewarded with a three year contract to continue to lead Stoneham's schools into the next millennium.
"One of the things I am most proud of is to have brought you to Stoneham," School Committee Chairperson Jeanne Craigie said to Connelly. "We are extremely lucky. We found the best (candidate)."
The School Committee rated the superintendent in eight categories on a scale of five (five being the best). In each of the eight categories and in each of the 52 subcategories which further described his responsibilities, Connelly earned no grade lower than a four.
• In the "Relationship with School Committee" category, scores ranged from a 4.25 to a 4.5 (average of four School Committee member reviews).
• In the "Communication and Public Relations" category, Connelly earned scores between 4 and 4.5.
• In terms of "Personal Management," the superintendent drew scores between 4 and 4.5.
• The "Educational Leader-ship" category was a particularly strong one for Connelly. He earned scores between 4 and 4.75 in the subcategories - the 4.75 mark earned in the "oversees that the special education program meets the learning needs of each special education student in the most cost effective manner" area.
• In terms of "General Management," the superintendent scored consistently in the 4.25 to 4.5 range.
• In the "Facilities Management" category, Connelly again earned between 4.25 and 4.5.
• He also was credited for his performance with "Budget Management," a category in which he earned scores between 4.25 and 4.75. The 4.75 was granted in the "Determines that funds are spent wisely and that adequate control and accounting are maintained" subcategory.
• Finally, Connelly's "Personal Qualities" were deemed exemplary with marks between 4.25 and 4.5.
"He's done everything we've asked of him and then some," Craigie told the gathering which had remained until the evaluation finally took place at 11:30 pm. "Everything has exceeded our expectations."
Connelly was quick to deflect the credit for the School Department's recent success away from himself.
"We can't lose sight of the fact that this has been a very productive year. From the first day that I was here, I was impressed by the support that I received from the staff," he said. "Right through this process, it has been a complete team effort.
"We all share in the success because we are a team."
School Committee member Steven Gucciardi, however, wouldn't let Connelly get off the hook that easily.
"When I look at all the things that have been accomplished over the past few months, I'm really amazed," he said. "I think we're very lucky as a community to have you here working for us."
The committee voted unanimously to reappoint Joseph Connelly as superintendent and to sign him through the 2001/2002 school year.
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