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By Carol Meyer
Supt. of Schools Margaret Adams was rated "proficient" overall during a recent one-year evaluation by the School Committee. Chair Nes Correnti said that based on Committee members' feedback, "It's evident that Dr. Adams is regarded as an intelligent, thoughtful, and effective leader who prioritizes the needs of students. She has displayed several attributes of a successful leader --including being a diligent worker, demonstrating commitment to the staff and community, and introducing improved processes and communication within the Hingham Public Schools system." Among Adams' notable achievements are her ability to assemble a strong Central Office team "that has provided stable leadership during challenging times" and her emphasis on the importance of innovation and data-driven approaches to education, which Correnti said benefit both students and staff. Adams has also actively sought feedback from the community, educators, and students through surveys, focus groups, and presentations to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the district's needs. It was also noted that Adams' entry process into her role as superintendent was commendable considering the challenges the district was facing -- successfully navigating through a special town meeting for a building project, working with a new leadership team, and addressing substantial budget needs that resulted in a tax override. "These achievements demonstrate her exemplary leadership skills," Correnti said. In response, Adams said she has been successful due to the success of others: "I'm grateful for their hard work. We've made great strides." By Carol Meyer
There are more people driving electric vehicles in Hingham every day, according to Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant Sustainability Coordinator Brianna Bennett. "The number is going up dramatically -- it's at least 400," she said recently. While most EV owners in town have home chargers, there are currently three EV charging stations in Hingham -- at Carlson Field, Station Street, and South Shore Country Club. The Select Board recently approved HMLP's proposal to install another charging station, with two ports, at Town Hall on the Burr Road side -- hopefully some time this summer. The average overall charging session lasts about 2 hours and 41 minutes, at a cost of roughly $2.79. So far, 138 unique drivers have used this service out of the 323 charging sessions that have occurred since Oct. 2022. Drivers pay for this service using an EV charging card they can swipe to connect with their credit card, and there are also charging apps. MassEVIP grants have funded the charging station projects so far. In addition to the current and planned four stations, HMLP plans to install level 3 chargers at various locations around town, which charge EVs much faster. The cost of these additional chargers -- which will be located at Station Street and Lynch Field -- are also covered by a grant. The Hingham Police monitor the charging stations to ensure only EV drivers are parking there to charge their vehicles. This means that someone parked in a designated space who is not charging their car may be ticketed for a $50 fine. By Carol Meyer
The Hingham Public Schools Social Studies and Business Departments were the first to engage in the new two-year program review cycle during the 2022-2023 school year. This updated review process is a systematic cycle of improvement "to ensure a robust curriculum and comprehensive instructional programming that is aligned to the [school] district's mission and vision," according to a recent memo to Supt. of Schools Margaret Adams and the School Committee from Andy Hoey, director of social studies for K-12. Key considerations relate in part to the extent to which these programs foster the development of student skills, meet the needs of all students, and prepare them for life. The first part of the program review involves a self-study, comprised of developing essential questions to focus the process; gathering curriculum documents, instructional resources, and program data for analysis; seeking community feedback on program offerings; and reviewing program of studies documents from comparable districts, followed by site visits to other districts and reciprocal visits to HPS. Site visits to Braintree, Needham, Duxbury, Norwell, Scituate, and Plymouth were conducted in 2020 prior to the Covid shutdown in anticipation of the previously scheduled 2021 program review. The second part of the review involves creating a written report and developing recommendations for an action plan, which will be presented to the School Committee in the Spring of 2024 following a complete analysis of the program review documents and data by the program review team, stakeholder surveys, and hosting a visiting team of educators to provide feedback on current programs during the 2023-2024 school year. |
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March 2024
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