Newsletter #2 - Q&A for Asst. Suprdt. - Dr. James Kelleher

Q&A for Assistant Superintendent - Dr. James Kelleher

Dr. James Kelleher’s role as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development is outlined on the school website and on the blog.

What is your role as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Staff Development?
I have served for the past four years and during this time, I have led a variety of initiatives throughout the district, all focused on helping to implement the district’s Five Year Accountability Plan (included on the Scituate Public School website http://www.scituate.k12.ma.us/ on the Superintendent’s page). The goals of the Accountability Plan are to:
Support curriculum alignment and review on a continuous basis for all disciplines;
Improve the quality of classroom, school and district planning by systematically using data to guide decision making;
Endeavor to increase and improve communication and collaboration with colleagues, students, parents and community members, and;
Evaluate and reconsider governance and operational structures; update policies, procedures and systems of central office.

What are the key initiatives you are working on related to the goals of the school district?

Each year, I lead a core committee of stakeholders in reviewing a new curriculum area, with the intention of identifying new trends and purchasing new materials, as necessary. Dr. James Kelleher - “My number one priority currently the English Language Arts (ELA) program.” English Language Arts (ELA) includes: reading, writing, language (vocabulary, grammar, and usage), as well as speaking, listening and thinking skills. In the first several years of school, up to 50-60% (up to 3 hours a day) of a typical student’s daily curriculum is ELA. The K – 12 program is currently in need of replacement as the books and resources used currently are ‘on loan’ from the publishers as a pilot program. We need to purchase those materials this year to replace the outdated 12-year old materials currently owned by the district.

What are the district's plan to address the gap in MCAS scores which could result from the
elimination of key curriculum, particularly at the high school and middle school levels?
Teachers are responsible for reviewing and interpreting the scores and needs of their students and planning class lessons appropriately. Principals also review the scores for their school and meet with the teachers to discuss where changes or additions to the curriculum need to be made. All staff have been trained in Performance Improvement Mapping (PIM) so they have the skills to interpret MCAS scores and set new goals based on discrepancies that are identified. This becomes more challenging when the district is not able to provide them the materials or teaching staff they need to instruct this curriculum.