LYNNFIELD — Superintendent of Schools Kristen Vogel said this week that her three main goals for the 2021-22 school year are going to focus on equity, relationship-building, and educator evaluation.
Vogel outlined her district goals during a School Committee meeting on Tuesday.
For equity, Vogel said she hopes to continue working with the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) to provide integration to the schools, as well as continue working with the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion coordinator to hire diverse staff and educate staff on social justice and diversity issues.
Vogel will continue to engage with the Equity and Diversity Committee through the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and will continue to task teachers with examining their curriculum through an equity and social-justice lens.
Vogel wants to partner with Facing History and Ourselves, a nonprofit that uses history lessons to challenge students and teachers to stand up against bigotry. Vogel plans to start looking more in-depth into this program in the spring semester.
“This curriculum and program is an absolute love of mine,” Vogel said. “It is something that ties into the civic curriculum for our students.”
For her relationship-building goal, Vogel wants to build a new website and student-information system for the school district, which she said will improve communication with stakeholders in the community. She also wants to participate in a new superintendent program hosted by DESE, the Massachusetts Association of Superintendents and Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
Vogel also plans to attend a certification program through the Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Education.
“I do believe that much of what I will learn in that certificate program will enhance my ability and skills around budget and negotiations as well as strategy development,” said Vogel.
The last goal she presented focused on educator evaluation. Vogel said her plan for this is very circular; it will start with a summer meeting to begin the school year; weekly and biweekly meetings with teachers; observing classrooms monthly; and starting over again next school year at the summer meeting.
“I am very much looking forward to having this be a part of almost every week,” Vogel said.
She explained that she would be walking through district schools with experts who understood where the curriculum should be; experts will weigh in on how Lynnfield’s schools stack up against other towns.
“As an educator I know what good practices are,” Vogel said.
She said that she wants to go through and be taught about what’s happening in the school, not just from principals, but also from department heads and other educators so she can “have the experience of seeing and discussing the teaching and learning through different lenses and different experiences.”
The School Committee, which expressed overwhelming support for Vogel’s plans on Tuesday, will officially vote on the goals at their next meeting.
Committee member Jamie Hayman said he was thrilled to see Vogel take such a detailed approach to helping the teachers in the district; he was supportive of her steps to integrate more discussion about social justice.
“This is why we hired you,” Hayman said. “It’s good to see you able to do this.”
Katelyn Sahagian can be reached at [email protected].
