Supt. receives high marks from School Committee

By Mike Berger

Canton School Superintendent Derek Folan received high marks on his year-ending performance evaluation, culminating with an overall rating of “proficient” as determined by the five-member School Committee.

School Committee member and former chair Kendall O’Halloran, who was assigned to compile the ratings of each committee member, presented an overview of the evaluation at the committee’s meeting last Thursday, June 12.

Reading from the evaluator comments section of the report, O’Halloran noted that Folan, in his fourth year as Canton’s superintendent, has “led the CPS administration, along with support from several of his key senior staff, in the implementation of high-quality teaching and learning strategies, improved fiscal management and a shared understanding of fiscal responsibility across all school buildings, and enhancements to family and community supports as well as communications.”

Utilizing the End-of-Cycle Summative Evaluation form provided by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), School Committee members rated Folan as having “met” his professional practice goals while making “significant progress” toward his student learning and district improvement goals.

He was also evaluated according to several performance standards and was rated as “proficient” in the areas of instructional leadership, management and operations, and developing a professional culture while earning an “exemplary” score in the family and community engagement category.

Commenting on the notable progress Folan has made toward achieving his stated goals, with completion rates ranging from 83 to 98 percent, committee members concluded that the superintendent and his district leadership team deserve “tremendous recognition for their sophisticated approach to incorporating DESE standards, SMART goals, and quantitative measures into strategic planning and evaluation at every level,” leading to “impressive results” and positioning the Canton Public Schools as a model for many other districts.

Some of the key accomplishments cited in the evaluation report include the implementation and use of data analysis across all levels of staff to ensure increased student support; improved fiscal procedures and budgeting processes; implementation of the district behavior matrix; and consistent communication on many topics, most notably the Galvin Middle School building project.

Under a summary of notable strengths, the committee praised Folan as a “true model of a leader who seeks to engage with the community in the broadest sense” and “represents the district well” at both school and community events. They also cited Folan’s leadership on the GMS project, his strong and effective communication skills, his work with other district leaders to address areas in need of improvement, and his dedication to instructional leadership with a particular focus on “closing achievement gaps and promoting equitable experiences.”

Among the suggested areas for improvement outlined in the evaluation included better analysis and forecasting for outplacement costs; greater focus on 5-8 grade model learning and delivery of professional development and planning on this format; a continued focus on improving assessment achievement for priority subgroups; continued use of the Data Dashboard to enable the School Committee to track progress as it relates to action steps; and incorporation of colleague and stakeholder input in the evaluation process.

Following O’Halloran’s presentation of the evaluation report, School Committee member Kristian Merenda noted that Folan is the “right leader at the right time” for Canton, adding that the district has reached new heights under Folan’s leadership.

New School Committee member Amanda Ryder said while the evaluation process is new to her, it quickly became evident to her that Folan was an “incredibly strong public leader” and has “great people working with [him].”

School Committee Chair Kim McCourt added, “It is clear that you have strong relationships in the district, and this shows how much you value everyone.”

Folan said he was humbled by the process and said he could not have achieved this level of success without the support and assistance of his administrative staff as well as the district’s educators and support staff. “I also strongly believe in our parents and kids,” he said. “I love Canton and what we are getting done.”

A complete copy of the superintendent’s summative evaluation report can be found on the School Department website under the June 12 “Meeting Materials” link at cantonma.org/school-committee/school-committee-minutes-agendas.

In other news from Thursday’s meeting:

* The School Committee congratulated and thanked the CPS staff members who are retiring from the district this year. Among those recognized were …

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