Danvers Public School administration responds to Open Letter Request

I just want to thank DPS, Mary Wermers, Acting Superintendent for their response to my Open Letter regarding school administration and parent meetings. I am posting the open letter response after speaking with Mary Wermers Tuesday night April 11, after the FIN-COM School Budget meeting at the town hall. Mary also wanted me to relay to you all that in addition to all the current meeting opportunities, when the new Superintendent Dan Bauers takes the helm in July 2023 he will hold an additional series of meetings for parent and community input.

The response as recived:

Hi Jim - Thank you for sharing your letter. The Danvers Public Schools provide many opportunities for parents and taxpayers to express their concerns. These opportunities include:

• Public comment during our School Committee meetings in the Items of Interest from the Community portion of the meeting
• Participation in School Council meetings and PAC meetings at the individual schools
• Danvers administrators meet frequently with parents and community members who request meetings. We are open to meeting with any parent or community member who requests one.
• Danvers High School has two additional committees to promote participation and dialogue. There is the Climate, Culture and Transparency Committee which is open to all and our DHS Alumni Council which is open to any graduate of Danvers High School.
• This school year, we have had several forums where parents and community members have had the opportunity to provide feedback:
  • School Safety Meeting - September 29, 2023 - Feedback about school safety
  • Superintendent Search - Initial meetings (November 2022)
    • Feedback about the district
    • Qualities they are looking for in the next district leader
  • Superintendent Search - Meeting with the finalists (January 2023)
    • Concerns about the district
    • Learn about their approach to leading the district
  • HRMS and Thorpe Principal Search - Initial meetings (Feb and March 2023)
    • Feedback about the school
    • Qualities they are looking for in the next principal
  • HRMS and Thorpe Principal Search - Finalist meetings (March 2023)
    • Concerns about the school
    • Learn about their approach to leading the school
  • Elementary Community Learning sessions (October 2022, January and March 2023)

We believe that the above feedback structures provide DPS families and community members many different avenues to provide important feedback to our schools.

Thank you - Mary Wermers