NOTE: A 16-page Back to School 2010 special section was included in the print edition of this week's Townsman
It's an unusual task for a new superintendent. But Marinel McGrath says one of her main goals for her first year will be implementing a new strategic plan for Andover schools that was created primarily before she was hired.
"The community and the school system have spent a lot of time and energy on that plan," she said. "I love the strategic planning process. I believe in it. To not have been a part of it earlier is hard for me. But the steering committee and the community have done a wonderful job of capturing where the community is."
McGrath believes the plan will guide the schools throughout her tenure and that she has the skills to use it to "evolve our school district." By updating the plan regularly, school leaders can outline goals for each year and, as each school year wraps up, assess whether the Andover schools have reached their goals, said McGrath.
"Once we get it, it should be a document we review every year. You keep updating it, so it never goes out of date. A lot of them get written and put on a shelf, but we hope to use it in the dynamic sense it should be," she said.
McGrath was hired in March to replace Claudia Bach, who left the district April 29 after 12 years as superintendent. McGrath, the former assistant superintendent, signed a three-year contract with the district with a starting salary of $195,000 per year.
Specifics of the strategic plan will not be finalized until later this fall, however McGrath said the plan will outline standards for Andover education.
"It does address what we need to do curriculum-wise. You have your Three Rs, and they have to be heavily bolstered by the Four Cs - creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration," she said.
McGrath discussed the plan with the School Committee at a retreat at Memorial Hall Library this month, and plans to continue meeting with parents and teachers during the fall to discuss Andover education in general. Because she did not take over in Andover until July, she has had limited opportunity to meet with staff, students and parents.
By way of example of how the plan would affect classroom teaching, she said one goal for the year that is part of the strategic plan is to make technology use a natural part of each class, rather than a class onto itself.
"People have to look at the emerging technology. It's not an add-on, it's an integral part," she said, adding that Andover schools this year will determine "how do we get it in as just another tool for learning and not as a separate piece, as a separate component."
Spending and innovation
To get a sense of her educational style and philosophy, the Townsman asked McGrath what role the budget plays in deciding what new innovations or pilot programs to explore.
"You always have to float out what that vision is, but realize that you may not be able to realize it in the short term," said McGrath.
As Andover's assistant superintendent from 1995 to 2002, she remembers when the system brought forward the idea of all-day kindergarten. It took five years for Andover to adopt it.
"We kept it in front of people," she said. "I think you have to be a dreamer to keep going forward. But you also have to be realistic about how you step out the dream - if you want to realize it."
Systemwide approach
McGrath was asked about how to allow for each school to have its own personality and new programs and still ensure that all Andover students of the same grade are receiving the same education.
"We're a preK-to-12 system and we have to make our decisions that are in the best interest of the K-12 system. Each school has to have its own identity," she said, "[but] we're six schools into three schools into one school. The core curriculum must be the same for all students."
While Wood Hill Middle is known in part for its expeditionary learning, McGrath said each of the three middle schools does offer some version of project-based learning.
"I wouldn't want one school to have one type of program that other students can't have because that sets up inequities," she said. "There will be variations on a theme."
Opportunities and equality
Andover benefits from donations from parents and other community members. Yet donations to a particular classroom or schoolhouse potentially could leave students in one room or school with different opportunities than others their age. How would McGrath handle this type of situation?
She says the strategic plan should create clear standards for each school's technology goals, and policies for equitable opportunity. Principals, school technology boards and the central office must ensure that all children have access to the same technology, said McGrath.
"I would never want to thwart parents' enthusiasm," said McGrath.
However, in a case where, say, one electronic white board is made available to a particular school by parents, that technology should be shared with all the classrooms in that age group and should be part of an overall plan to expand in that area.
"Some teachers just may be ready to use it, but they can bring the others along. It becomes incumbent upon us [administrators], we must be the [overseers] who are always watching and ensuring there is equity. Otherwise, we become a systems of haves and have nots," said McGrath.
