Kostan receives high grades from board

LYNN – On a night when Superintendent Nicholas Kostan broke down the latest MCAS scores, showing an overall improvement in the city, the School Committee agreed that his efforts over the past year have both met and exceeded their expectations.The six-person panel, along with Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr., rates Kostan each year based on eight overall points to give the superintendent both praise and feedback based on his overall performance.The questionnaire focuses on Kostan’s relationship with the School Committee, educational leadership, general management, budget management, personnel management, communications and public relations, personal qualities and overall performance.Within the last year, the Lynn Public Schools have made strides to improve in state mandated testing, remaining on target with their MCAS curriculum restructuring plans. A new math curriculum and uniform curriculum map have been instituted, along with extra programs for MCAS preparation at many schools.The district has also been upgraded to a “Priority 2″ school by the Department of Education, meaning that test scores and district performance have improved, and Lynn is now on the level of smaller urban communities such as Peabody, Gloucester and Medford, rather than larger urban districts Lawrence, Boston and Springfield.School Committee members said that Kostan exceeded their expectations in most categories, especially his working relationship with committee members and the staff.”I think he has exceeded our expectations in everything and it has been an honor to work with him over the past six years,” said Committee member Arthur Fiste.Kostan did face some critique, as Committeewoman Donna Coppola said she felt the superintendent failed at public relations and communicating with committee members, while Committeewoman Patricia Capano asked that Kostan utilize Committee Secretary Thomas Iarrobino more effectively to notify faculty and committee members of certain items.”Mr. Kostan has been very respectful to me, he is very supportive and he has done an exceptional job with curriculum and professional evaluation,” Capano said. “I do think that his secretary is underutilized. It is a great resource for the committee to have and I would like it if he could do more in utilizing that to keep in better contact with the members of the committee.”Clancy said Kostan had exceeded all of his expectations, and went on to reflect on the days before he took over when conflict and misunderstanding slowed down the School Committee.”To say that he exceeded expectations really doesn’t do him justice in some of these areas,” he said.Kostan remained humble amidst the kind words of his peers, and said he is especially proud of the district’s new “Priority 2″ status and the improvement of math scores on the MCAS exams.”For the past six years the School Committee has been extremely supportive and has always acted in the best interest of the students when a decision has to be made,” he said. “It takes a team effort and we have a great working relationship that allows us to succeed as a team.”