The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Schools chief gets high praise in board evaluation
BRANFORD — It was a largely positive job performance evaluation for the town’s school superintendent of schools.
A just-released critique, conducted by the nine-member school board over a series of several closed-door meetings this summer, praises Hamlet Hernandez’s leadership during an extraordinarily unique and challenging time.
But it also asks him to work on his communication skills with the community.
“He has committed to that improvement by using federal funds to post for the addition of a communication professional to better connect the district with the community,” according to the oneand-a-half-page review.
“Overall, the board appreciates and respects Hamlet’s integrity and how he handled the reopening of our schools while at the same time overseeing the (Walsh Intermediate School) renovation, the largest construction project in the town’s history,” the evaluation also says. “In a time of crisis, when chaos felt like the order of the day and communication with the community was challenging, Hamlet was professional, composed and respectful. The board supports his continuing work in the coming year and looks forward to continued collaboration and growth.”
The evaluation was released to the New Haven Register following a Freedom of Information request.
Hernandez is entering his twelfth year as superintendent of the district. During that time, he said he has worked with four school board leaders and as many as 20 different members.
“On balance I think it was fair review,” Hernandez said Wednesday.
In addition to adding a communications professional, Hernandez also agreed to reach out more to stakeholders and form a round table and focus groups to solicit
parents’ input.
Prior to the first day of the 2021-22 school year, which was Wednesday, he put out a Back to School message. Also, efforts are being made to communicate to parents who don’t speak English.
Board of Education Chairman John Prins said the board held one executive session to establish the evaluation process and then two other meetings to conduct and finalize it.
“There could have been goals, but the board changed over the past year both in makeup and leadership,” Prins said. As such the evaluation was based on circumstances during the 2020-21 school year when the ongoing pandemic had school in hybrid mode until April.
The board looked at the superintendent’s educational leadership,
management, district climate, relationship with the board and professional qualities.
Rather score or rank the superintendent in those areas, Prins said there was a conversation among board members to determine accomplishments and commendations as well as areas of focus for the superintendent. No votes were taken during the process, Prins added.
Under educational leadership, Hernandez worked to bring the district’s elementary schools into alignment so that there is a more unified transition into the intermediate school, according to the evaluation.
Prins said the superintendent also has an extraordinary administrative team with which to collaborate.
“This was a period of chaos for
districts,” Prins said. “Across country and world. Through that he was professional, he was respectful and has already indicated some novel recommendation for improving communication.”
In spring 2021, when a large number of parents pushed for a return to full, in-person learning — what the evaluation document characterized as “pandemic fatigue” — Hernandez modified his educational plan, listened to the community and responded to the ever-changing dynamics of the pandemic, according to the critique.
As a result, the timetable for a full return to school was moved up.
“I do believe that the long haul we were under was causing people to feel a deep level of frustration,” Hernandez said of the ongoing struggle to keep kids safe and schools open.
“We did both,” Hernandez said. Good trending data and the introduction of vaccinations helped.
“He remains extremely cognizant of and skilled at soliciting administrator and educator input,” the review says.
In the area of fiscal management, Hernandez was praised for leading the process of contract negotiations with two major unions, guiding the budget through the town approval process and working on district energy conservation efforts.
As for board relations, the evaluation said Hernandez worked to cultivate a productive relationship despite heavy board turnover and against the backdrop of a global health crisis.
Although the evaluation is tied to Hernandez’s contract and salary, Prins said that part of the process has yet to occur.
“As soon as I can make it happen,” Prins said. “It is a very important next step. I hope to have it happen as soon as I can.”
Whether Hernandez’s contract will be extended beyond its remaining two years is yet to be determined.
Hernandez called it a conversation between him and the board that has yet to occur. He declined to say whether he had any plans to retire within the next few years.
“We have not had those conversations,” said Hernandez, 59. “Not in the middle of a pandemic.”
During the public participation portion of a school board meeting before the start of school, parent Gregg Jerolman questioned why the evaluation took so long to complete and why it was not immediately made public.
“The evaluation of superintendent is among most important you do,” Jerolman said. “We need to know what is going on.” He also presented board members with an FOI request for the evaluation.