School board bids farewell to departing administrators

By Mike Berger

At its final regular meeting before the end of the school year, the Canton School Committee sadly bid farewell to two veteran school administrators: Jen Henderson, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and Dr. Bill Conard, Galvin Middle School principal.

Henderson is retiring and Conard is returning to his former district to serve as the interim principal at Randolph High School.

Jen Henderson conducts the CHS orchestra during the recent graduation ceremony. (Mike Barucci photo)

Committee members praised Henderson for her dedication, knowledge, and experience in so many areas of education, having been a teacher, principal, district administrator, and interim school superintendent.

Conard served as GMS principal for seven years and was praised for his enthusiasm, engagement with parents and students, and his contributions to the school leadership cabinet.

Even in his last presentation to the School Committee last week, in which he outlined the latest school improvement plan, Conard spoke with pride about the overall direction of the school and expressed enthusiastic support for his staff and students.

Conard leaves GMS with an enrollment of 739 students and a total staff of 110. Over the past year, the school had an attendance rate of 95.8 percent. Of the total student population, 13.3 percent received specialized instruction for identified disabilities and 1.5 percent are English language learners.

Conard said GMS achieved significant achievement and growth in all three MCAS subjects (English language arts, math, and science). Additionally, more than 100 students in grades 7-8 took national language exams in Spanish or French and 51 earned distinction.

In a 2017 survey, more than 85 percent of families responded positively to several aspects of GMS culture, including school communication, an appreciation for diversity, race, religion and gender, student safety, opportunities for positive recognition, a fair and accurate grading system, learning activities that appeal to young adolescents, and extracurricular opportunities.

The survey also identified areas in need of improvement, with fewer than 85 percent of families responding positively to the following categories: teacher communication, school bus safety, teacher coordination to balance a student workload, and parent input and involvement in regard to school policies and practices.

In terms of new initiatives, Conard said he was pleased with the early progress of Team Silver, a pilot team of seventh grade classes that seeks to maximize interdisciplinary learning opportunities in support of students’ academic, social, and emotional needs. Conard also highlighted the success of the “Bulldog Block” advisory period, the strengthening of relationships between adults and students as well as peer-to-peer relationships, and expansion of after-school clubs.

In addition to Dr. Conard’s presentation, School Committee members also heard presentations from CHS Principal Derek Folan and Rodman Early Childhood Coordinator Donna Kilday on their school improvement plans. The three elementary school principals presented their improvement plans in late May.

Folan presented a look back at a successful 2017-18 school year and also shared some new goals for next year. Particularly noteworthy was Canton High’s promotion to Level 1 status as determined by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The coveted status is based on MCAS performance and a school’s progress on “gap-narrowing goals” across the entire school and within particular subgroups. The measurement also takes into account factors such as MCAS participation as well as graduation and dropout rates.

Statistics from the CHS Class of 2018 show that 92 percent …

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