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The Haverhill School Committee, convening as a new body after the city’s first ward-based election, voted unanimously to make Paul A. Magliocchetti vice chair last Thursday night.
New Ward 7 member Thomas Grannemann called to enlarge the nine subcommittees, with most previously having only two members each, in order to incorporate more viewpoints and workshop ideas more effectively. He suggested four or five groups of five members, with one of them tackling “strategic planning and program evaluation.”
“We need to identify the most promising ideas in education, determine where and how they can best work in Haverhill and adjust and adapt to ensure the best possible education for all of our students. Evaluation is key to this process and may involve assessing evidence from studies of other districts as well as assessing the results of pilots and test programs within Haverhill public schools,” he suggested.
Magliocchetti said many of the current subcommittees were formed to address specific issues that have since been resolved. As part of his new role as vice chair, he said he would send out an email to members soliciting interest in different subcommittees, and planned to open discussion at the next meeting on how to go forward.
Haverhill Education Association President Barry Davis, who used the occasion to advocate for a new contract for Education Support Professionals, said he welcomes the new board structure.
“It fills me with hope to look upon a committee that looks like and reflects all the students of Haverhill Public Schools,” he said. “Not only is this school committee more representative of our students, it’s also more representative of much of the staff of Haverhill Public schools, specifically the most essential part of our staff, the support staff.”