KP Superintendent Gives "State of the Schools" Presentation

King Philip Superintendent Elizabeth Zielinski spoke about the strengths and weakness of the school district at Monday's school committee meeting.

Zielinski gave a "State of the Schools" presentation to the committee, in which she spoke about what she had found by speaking to parents, students and teachers.

"This is based on the entry plan I initiated upon coming into the district," she said. "O met individual teachers and parents and had coffees in the community."

According to Zielinski, there were a good number of positive statements about the district.

"The schools are valued," she said. "People feel they're educationally sound, and parents are supportive of education."

Zielinski said the schools' extracurricular programs also drew praise, and that the district overall has a good reputation in the community.

Zielinski, though, said there were several concerns expressed.

"We need an instructional and curricular realignment," she said. "There's a disconnect between the eighth grade and high school, in terms of what the expectations are. There's even a disconnect within our own departments."

She added that frequent turnover in the district's administrative team led to inconsistency, notably a lack of a common goal.

"People have said it's not always clear what their roles or responsibilities are," she said.

Another perception, Zielinski said, was that the district is insufficiently transparent with its budget process.

Zielinski said steps would be taken by the district to address these concerns.

"We're going to review and revise the 7 to 12 curriculum for alignment," she said. "We're also going to have a dialog with the K through 6 feeders systems to emphasize consistency in instruction."

She said the district would also strive to better inform the community about its budget, especially where funding comes from.