Superintendent Marcus Ware outlines midyear priorities, seeks uniform metrics before formal evaluation

Superintendent Marcus Ware presented a midyear check-in to the Chicopee School Committee on March 5 at Chicopee City Hall, calling for consistent district systems and shared benchmarks before a formal evaluation of his first-year initiatives.

Ware told the committee he was focusing on five initial priorities — English language arts, mathematics, attendance, student conduct and mental health — with two additional priorities tied to management and operations, specifically human resources and budget/finance. He said the district needs aligned procedures and data systems before setting district-wide performance targets and asked for more time to present evidence-backed metrics at a later evaluation.

On curriculum, Ware said Chicopee remains in year three of the CCal Amplify English-language-arts curriculum and will not change the program this year so leaders can evaluate implementation fidelity. He said the district is developing benchmarking tools that correlate with MCAS expectations so the…