Interim Superintendent of Schools Theresa McGuinness discussed a temporary change in principals for both the Glover School and Veterans Middle School at the School Committee’s latest meeting.
With Glover School Principal Hope Doran going on a medical leave of indefinite length, McGuinness announced that current Veterans Middle School Principal Matthew Fox will serve as Glover’s acting principal through winter break. McGuinness commended Fox for making his presence known at Glover immediately.
“It was evident that the Glover team appreciates his collaborative and supportive approach already,” McGuinness said at the Dec. 7 meeting. “He immediately jumped into all lunches, all recesses, and even got into several classes to meet the students.”
In turn, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Julia Ferreira will take over for Fox as the acting principal at the middle school until he is able to return. Ferreira was previously the assistant principal of the middle school.
In the meantime, the district is launching a search for a full-time interim principal at Glover.
McGuinness also announced an expedited investigation into the district’s practices in relation to a recent restraint of a student at the Glover School.
“As a district, we want to review when student restraints should be used, the procedures that are used during those restraints, and we want to ensure that this administrative review is thorough and unbiased,” she said.
The district has hired a third-party attorney who specializes in education policy to evaluate the situation.
McGuinness and the committee were joined by Massachusetts New Superintendent Induction Program Coach Dr. Jane Tremblay at the meeting, who will help McGuinness gather information on how to improve the district.
“In my short time here of one month, it has become clear to me that the district is lacking a number of procedures and protocols necessary for a district to run smoothly,” McGuinness said. “I, along with my leadership team, will be working on revising and creating the necessary protocols and procedures to ensure that we are all on the same page.”
During the meeting, the committee also voted unanimously in favor of adopting new consolidated School Committee Operating Protocols.
“We’ve had protocols for years. Over several years they grew from one page to six pages, which became cumbersome,” Committee Chair Sarah Fox said. “One of the pieces of feedback that came back through working with our contacts at Mass Association of School Committees is that it’s really best practice to have one page.”
Sarah Fox added that the protocols can be shortened due to the presence of many common themes.
The meeting was eventually closed off to the public, as the committee moved to enter executive session to “conduct strategy sessions with respect to collective bargaining requested, and litigation threatened,” in response to a letter sent by the Marblehead Educators Association regarding four teachers who have been placed on administrative leave at Glover Elementary School.