Committee gives superintendent strong ratings, reads public comments and moves to executive session

On July 12 the School Committee conducted the public portion of Superintendent Jason DeFalco’s end-of-year evaluation. Committee members read aggregate ratings and selected comments aloud; the record shows that multiple standards received an overall rating of "exceeded," including instructional leadership, student engagement, social-emotional well-being, and family support, while standard four (commitment to high standards and continuous learning of staff) was rated "met" and the student-learning goal showed "some progress."

Members highlighted DeFalco’s pandemic leadership, near-full in-person instruction late in the year, and summer-program development as evidence of strong performance. One committee summary read that "Jason successfully guided BMRSD through a pandemic while always making face-to-face instruction the ultimate goal," and noted collaboration with community partners such as the Boys & Girls Club.

DeFalco responded by thanking committee members and staff, acknowledged the difficulty of measuring student learning during recent years, and said he had identified trends and next steps to address student-learning goals.

Following the public evaluation, the committee discussed agenda items including open-house dates, COVID-related protocols and locker usage, and athletics fees. The meeting concluded with a motion to enter executive session for contract negotiations; the roll-call vote recorded the following: Amanda — yes; Tammy — yes; Jane — yes; Aaron — yes; Tim — yes; Carrie — yes; Sarah — yes. The committee stated it would adjourn from executive session and not return to open session.