New superintendent presents entry plan to school committee, sets goals for first year in job
By Carol Britton Meyer
New Superintendent of Schools Michael Jette presented his entry plan to the school committee this week, including a commitment to “looking, listening, and learning” to help set up Hull Public Schools for “success for the next decade.”
The “#Anchored in” theme for the 2024-25 school year relates to belonging, opportunities, and relationships, with a focus on “hope, unity, stability, and strength.”
Hull Superintendent of Schools michael Jette, who is in his first year leading the district.
This is the first school year under the reconfiguration plan that places preK through grade 7 students at the Jacobs School and grades 8-12 at the high school.
Jette’s entry plan includes visiting every classroom before the end of September and each school weekly; reviewing school improvement plans and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education “report cards;” looking for indicators and trends related to a sense of belonging for all students; “being mindful of opportunity gaps” and addressing them; and keeping an eye on enrollment reports.
“Enrollments are a challenge in Hull, and we need to keep paying attention [to this issue],” he said.
Working as a team
The plan also included meeting with key staff before the end of July “to get a sense of what they value and want to protect moving forward and to address [those as] a team,” as well as one-on-one meetings with the school committee; talking with Hull Teachers Association leaders “to build a collaborative relationship right out of the gate;” and meeting with representatives of the Boosters, PTO, parents, caregivers, families, and students.
Jette said he enjoyed talking with people at last weekend’s Endless Summer celebration. In fact, whenever he saw someone wearing something bearing a Pirate logo, he started a conversation.
Scheduling and attending community listening sessions and developing feedback mechanisms related to the opening of school under the reconfiguration plan and monitoring how it progresses are also part of the entry plan, along with developing and implementing “a full-circle feedback tool for [school] leadership.”
Both schools have done a “really good job” implementing the reconfiguration plan so far, according to Jette. “There’s still work to be done related to making all of this work in a seamless way.”
As part of his overall efforts to get to know the community better, Jette also reached out to the senior center “to see if there are opportunities throughout the fall to engage with and hear from folks without children in the schools to see what’s on their minds.”
Community involvement
Jette also plans to utilize open-ended interviews as an opportunity to learn from stakeholders; develop a communication plan involving parents and the community; ensure that all school leaders have the tools to be successful in their roles; establish a meeting schedule “to provide collegial support;” and continue to develop the “#Anchored in” theme for the 2024-25 school year.
Because the current Hull Public Schools strategic plan covers the years 2019 to 2025, Jette intends to collaborate with the school committee and others during the winter and to begin drafting a new one in spring 2025.
The goal is to begin implementing the new strategic plan next summer – including district and school goals “to ensure we are all pulling in the same direction,” he told the school committee.
During the recent HPS convocation, Jette noted that September 3 was his 34th consecutive first day of school since he started teaching. Adding 13 years of public K-12 education and six years of college brings the total to 53 first days of school he has experienced since he started kindergarten in 1972. “I’m still excited, nervous, and energized!” he said.
‘Growth-oriented mindset’
Also during the convocation, Jette shared his thoughts about what education means to him –including that students, administrators, and educators benefit from a “growth-oriented mindset” based on the premise that all students can learn; all teachers “must continually refine their practice;” and that the school community “must commit to high-quality professional development.”
School systems “must develop a sense of belonging for all students,” Jette said, noting that “decisions that work involve key stakeholders” and that “chain of command is important.”
The focus of Jacobs School this year is on achievement, perseverance, community, and engagement, and on innovation, unity, collaboration, and community at the high school.
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