New MSAD35 Superintendent Caroline Arakelian aims to work with school staff and board members this year to improve communications and transportation and give students more of a voice.
Speaking at the Aug. 19 Board of Directors meeting, her first formal meeting with the board, Arakelian reminded members they had requested that she review the district’s Strategic Plan and prioritize the goals outlined in the plan.
Her three main goals, she said, are:
- improving transportation and school safety
- strengthening district communication with the community, school employees and students
- expanding opportunities for students to have a voice in school operations
Arakelian will work with the district’s new part-time communicator TJ Atwell and other staff to develop a comprehensive communication plan, she said.
Also at the meeting, the board approved Arakelian’s recommended changes to future presentations by school administrators at board meetings, which she developed after seeking input from the administrators.
“The first thing is to move the presentations to the beginning of the meeting,” Arakelian said. After their presentations, administrators will be able to leave the meeting if they choose, rather than sit through the entire meeting awaiting their turn to present, she explained.
To give students a greater voice, each of the five schools will have two presentations a year that will include the administrator, a teacher and up to 10 students talking about projects in their school, she said. Administrators will rotate through the remaining four meetings of the year with individual presentations.
“The idea is that this will be a more efficient use of administrators’ time and increase involvement of students, teachers and parents,” Arakelian said.
“Let’s give it a try,” suggested board Chair Joe Long, “and review again in December.”
To further increase board and community awareness of activities at the various schools, Arakelian announced a district-wide calendar of all events occurring in each school that a parent or a school board member might attend.
Arakelian and district Finance Director Ryan Cormier recently attended a meeting of the Eliot Budget Committee, the superintendent said, describing it as “a good meeting.”
After speaking with the committee members, she said, she was more aware of the need to find ways to communicate with those community members who have no students in the school system.
