Incumbent School Committee members Matt Spengler and Michael Greis and challenger Lauren Soper, who are competing for two available seats on the seven-member board, were asked questions by the Observer related to some of the key issues facing the committee.
What do you see as the school committee’s job?
Spengler’s understanding of the job description centers around vision-keeping, governance and budgeting. This involves setting goals and policies that reflect overall vision, supporting the superintendent and district team, supervising and evaluating superintendent goals and work, and ensuring budget decisions align with the vision.
“For me, the budget and what we’re spending on is an absolute reflection, or should be, of the values we hold for the district,” he said. “So, is the budget and what we’re spending money on, and how we’re spending it in alignment with our vision and the policies we’re setting?”
In line with her business experience, Soper thinks of the School Committee like a board of directors: overseeing the success of the school through supervision of the superintendent, budgeting (“Are we spending our money the right way? That’s really important.”), and taking responsibility for overall vision.
“Are we going in the right direction? What we’re doing, the policies that we have, is this supporting the overall vision? And I think that’s really where the Portrait of a Needham Graduate comes in.”
Greis emphasized that the role of the School Committee is clearly defined in Massachusetts law, and, like Soper, sees this as comparable to the role of the board of directors in any other organization. The key responsibilities attached to this role, he said, include hiring, evaluating and firing (if necessary) the superintendent, and setting policy.
“That said … a good, great superintendent uses the school committee to get input, be out in the community, articulate the things that we’re doing, and to review his or her vision for what the schools and leadership [are] doing right,” he said. “We socialize it.”
What do you see as the role of an individual member on the School Committee?
Spengler said his time as a chair and vice chair of the School Committee helped him better understand the role of individual members for him. One of the requirements of the chair and vice chair, he said, is to ensure committee members are involved in subcommittees and groups that can reflect their particular strengths.
“It’s also about sometimes being part of a subcommittee where you’re developing new skill sets and new understandings that maybe you’re not bringing to the committee naturally through your work or your own experiences,” he added.
Soper believes the role of each individual committee member, as with the member of any government body, is primarily to be a learner. To her, this looks like engaging with schools, the community, the parents, and the vision the state has set: “So it’s really being a learner of what’s happening in the state, and what’s happening in town, and then [translating] that into action.”
Each committee member also has an area of specialty, she said, which for her would be an emphasis on tailoring emotional intelligence into daily curriculums and daily conversations.
“Everybody brings different strengths and skills and experiences,” Greis said. “And I think that’s what’s important.”
Whether that experience is in education, business, or something else altogether — and whatever their connection with the schools might be, Greis emphasized the importance of having committee members who can contribute different perspectives and who see different “slices” of the schools.
Mass. Association of School Committees suggests school committees should be high-level policy boards, not managers of the day-to-day. Do you agree or disagree?
Spengler agrees with this description, but notes not everything is black-and-white, falling into the category of “policy” or “other”. Part of the School Committee’s role, he said, is to discern which policies have a greater impact on students and their experiences.
“Some of those policies, like the attendance policy you saw us talk about [in a recent School Committee meeting], have real impact on equity, student outcomes, student engagement [and] graduation,” he said.
Soper “absolutely” agrees with the MASC definition, stating that the committee’s role should center around understanding the system and using their birds-eye perspective to spotlight areas in need of improvement.
“The how of the policy, the how of the budget, is decided [by others],” she said “But are you challenging the how?”
“It’s true as a matter of law, as well as a matter of just good business sense,” Greis agreed.
With this in mind, he highlighted the importance of hiring a good superintendent who will work with the school committee, and who committee members can trust to manage the day-to-day well.
What aspects of NPS do you think are most in need of improvement?
Spengler highlighted three areas: allowing the Portrait of a Needham Graduate to shape priorities — “recognizing that there are changes, and how do we support that, either through the budget or the policies” — supporting student well-being (particularly around mental health) through budget and resources, and placing a continued emphasis on fair and effective policies.
“Great districts continually look at how what we’re doing and how we’re structured impact the student experience and student outcomes on a wide range of measures,” he said.
Soper said she sees room for improvement in closing achievement gaps with the lowest performing students, including more enrichment opportunities for high-achieving students, and clarifying how/what technology is made available to kids in schools. She said she has also noticed a need for consistency across the NPS system.
“There’s somewhere on the town website where we list all the different parenting books that we as a town
recommend. And so I read a bunch, [but] I don’t see us actually using those principles in our space,” she offered as one example.
Despite excellence across the board, Greis said the biggest challenges at the moment include implementing the Portrait of the Needham Graduate, stewarding student’s social and emotional health well from K-12, implementing the new literacy curriculum, and accomplishing everything in a fiscally responsible way.
“There’ll always be the challenge of how do we do everything we’re asked to do — and we’re always being asked to do more — in the limitations of time and money?”
In your mind, what is the best argument for or against the Pollard project?
“Pollard was built during the Eisenhower era, and it was built during a time when the model of education is very different than it is now,” Spengler said. “We have an opportunity here to design a facility that will support our education vision around collaboration and flexible learning environments.”
He noted that the Pollard project is an opportunity to align understandings about youth development and how students learn with a building that can support those visions and practices. But the decision ultimately lies with the community, he said, who has every right to ask committee members hard questions about cost, etc.
“The Pollard that [exists] today is the one that I went to,” Soper said. “So it’s old.”
She agrees with the argument that an older, less safe environment can detract from the learning experience, and says investing in a new Pollard building would be “money well-spent” — adding, “We’re just going to have to make a decision, and just do it. Because I don’t think the town or the students like being in this limbo of not knowing.”
“The reality is, we have a school that desperately needs to be replaced,” Greis said. “There is no doubt about that. It’s probably overdue in many ways. So this is an essential project.”
The emphasis, he said, should not be on whether or not to do the project, but on how to do the project well. This, he added, necessitates a lot of planning (which has been done), working closely with the master plan and stakeholders (which has been done), and aligning it with vision for students’ learning experiences (which has been done). Remaining challenges, Greis said, include articulating to the community why this project makes sense and continuing to pursue the project in a cost-effective way.
If Pollard passes, what do you think of the school master plan to use High Rock as a “swing” space for elementary students to move to if/when a new Mitchell is built?
Spengler emphasized that Mitchell does need to be rebuilt, adding, “And I think [from] everything I’ve seen, that [using High Rock] today makes the most sense.” Noting that these are significant projects, he hopes those involved in the planning process will be thoughtful and creative —“rather than building modulars.”. Spengler also pointed out that High Rock was originally built as an elementary building, so this would be an appropriate use of the space.
As a former student at High Rock, Soper sees the building as young-child friendly and likes the idea of using it for elementary students in the future. She said the biggest concern she has heard from parents in the Mitchell school district are related to the ways a Mitchell project could disrupt the neighborhood. In light of this, the recommends engaging with parents and other stakeholders often (everyday if not weekly).
“I also support bringing 6-8 together again, as I did myself as a student here. I’d want to understand any enrollment issues or budget concerns, too.”
Greis notes that having a swing space is an “incredible blessing”, emphasizing that both planned and temporary space in Needham is expensive. Using High Rock as a swing space during the construction of a new Mitchell building would be extremely valuable, he said, saving the schools from spending one-time funds that have no value later on.
If Pollard doesn’t pass, what is Plan B?
“It’s back to work, trying to figure out, you know, what needs to happen next,” Spengler said. “But we’re committed to improving the site and the student experience at Pollard and get it done.”
He acknowledges there are no guarantees with projects like this, but he hopes the School Committee has made their case, and both listened to community perspectives and earned the community’s trust.
“If we don’t do it, then I think we need to get really comfortable about what we’ve lost.,” Soper said, adding that an emphasis on Plan B can keep people from fully committing to Plan A. She believes the best way to truly improve upon the experience children are having in the NPS schools is to commit to the idea of a new building.
“It’s going to be incredibly expensive for this community,” Greis said — “There really isn’t a Plan B that isn’t going to cost us a phenomenal amount of money.” He emphasized that the work of rebuilding would still have to be done eventually, adding that he cannot think of a viable Plan B that does not include kids continuing to sit in the existing Pollard building.
“We just have to make a really good case, and then if it doesn’t happen, we’re going to have to go back and say, ‘Okay, now what do we need to do? Is there much we can change?’”
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