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Concerns over School Superintendent’s Performance

Dear Fellow Parents and Residents of Reading,

Heather Soracco, Neighbor

Posted Thu, May 10, 2018 at 3:55 pm ET|Updated Thu, May 10, 2018 at 3:58 pm ET

The superintendent review process is underway by the school committee, and the superintendent’s contract is up for renewal for another two-year term.

We urge you to write to the members of the school committee or the superintendent to let them know of your opinions on the superintendent’s performance and to reach out with any questions or concerns you might have. Please also share with other Reading friends and families.

Concerns that have been expressed in an online petition include:

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Poor communication, including:

Failure to notify future kindergarten parents of changes to half day kindergarten
Failure to notify school families that the assistant superintendent, the second highest position in the district, was leaving until the hiring process for a replacement had already started
Implementation of new math curriculum with no parental notification or public hearing
Rollout of collapsing of levels of classes with no parental notification or public hearing

Failure to meet educational goals:

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Still no curriculum maps or pacing guides for math 5 years after implementation of the new curriculum
Failure to serve our special education students:
Joshua Eaton remains a Level 3 school for special education (ranks in the bottom 20% in the state for schools its size)
Two confirmed Office of Civil Rights Violations and three pending investigations
Unusually high legal fees for special education compared to peer districts, overall and for per pupil ($17-34 per student compared with state average of $6)

Lack of transparency