ATHOL — At the most recent (virtual) meeting of the Athol Royalston Regional School Committee, Chair Lee Chauvette announced the results of Superintendent Darcy Fernandes’ latest mid-cycle job review. Fernandes, who is wrapping up her third year in the position, received generally high scores in all areas in which her performance was assessed.
Neither an online petition posted on the Change.org website nor a letter signed by some 20 parents, both seeking Fernandes’ dismissal, were mentioned during the committee’s meeting.
Chauvette said Fernandes exceeded her goals regarding high school MCAS math scores, made “significant progress” toward her goal of improving engagement with families, surpassed English learning goals and goals for improved data collection from learning walks at secondary grade levels. The superintendent also exceeded goals set for curriculum and instruction, rated “proficient” in meeting high expectations for student performance, and surpassed expectations for data-informed decision-making. Overall, said Chauvette, Fernandes exceeded goals for instructional leadership.
When it comes to money matters, Chauvette said Fernandes had received a score of “proficient” in developing a budget that supports the district’s mission and goals. Under the heading of “family and community engagement,” she was deemed proficient when it comes to ensuring families feel they are welcome members of the classroom and school community; sharing responsibility and collaborating with families and community stakeholders to support learning; and, addressing family and community concerns equitably, effectively, and efficiently.
In the final areas of assessment, Fernandes exceeded goals for fostering a shared commitment to high standards of service, teaching and learning.
Committee member Charles Pretti said, “I want to compliment the committee for taking this (evaluation) as seriously as they’ve taken it in the past two years. I see consistency with the scores from the committee; a good reflection on everybody’s contribution. I think the committee needs to compliment themselves on taking this as seriously as they’ve done, and (the superintendent’s) scores have consistently moved upward as well.”
“In each of these areas,” said committee member Mitch Grosky, “the superintendent has, overall, either met or exceeded our expectations. That certainly would be what we would have hoped for when we brought this superintendent on board a couple of years ago.”
Contacted by the Athol Daily News, Chauvette said, “The district has made progress with regards to curriculum. The superintendent, administrative team, all staff, and finally the students, certainly have worked hard to make this happen. The superintendent has put into place many areas of learning and instruction that we didn’t have previously.”
Chauvette added that neither the petition nor the letter played any role in Fernandes’ evaluation.
“Regarding the online petition against the Superintendent,” he said, “it has not been formally presented to the committee, yet. We also received a letter from parents that was issued regarding a previously alleged incident involving the ARMS (Athol Royalston Middle School) girls basketball team.
“Some parents are upset at comments made by the superintendent at an event. That letter is still in possession of the committee, but due to the pandemic, we haven’t been able to schedule a meeting that could involve that group.”
In December 2018, it was alleged that members of the ARMS girls basketball team had used racial epithets against their opponents during a game with Sabis International Charter School. Local parents felt Fernandes was too quick to accept the allegations and slow to defend students from her own district.
The petition is critical of Fernandes for a number of reasons, including drastic staff cuts, allegedly poor relations with the district teachers, allegedly referring to special needs students as “problem children,” and several other issues.