Concord Public Schools & Concord-Carlisle Regional School District / Superintendent Online Application Chesson, Laura - AppNo: 17659 Date Last Submitted for Job ID 927: 1/9/2017

Personal Data Name: Chesson DR Laura S (Last) (First) (Middle Initial) Other name(s) under which transcripts, certificates, and former applications may be listed: Other: Sulmonte Laura J (Last) (First) (Middle Initial)

Email Address: [email protected] Postal Address Permanent Address Work Address Number & Street: 6303 Thompson Farm Number & Street: 869 Avenue City: Bedford City: Arlington State: MA State: MA Zip Code: 01730 Zip Code: 02476 Phone Number: 978 618-4557 Phone Number: 781 316-3523 Fax Number: Fax Number: Cell Number: 978 618-4557

Where would you prefer to be contacted: Either

Current Personal Data Current Employer: Arlington Public Schools Current Position: Assistant Superintendent Years in Position: 5 Enrollment: 5600 Number of Staff: 560 Annual Budget: $63 million Current Gross Income: $150,000 Type of District/Organization: K - 12 Most Recent Degree From: University of Massachusetts at Lowell Degree Earned: ED. D. Administrative Experience Employer and Position Title Location: Dates: Primary Supervisor/Board Pres. City, State From - To Arlington Public Schools Arlington, MA 06/12 Kathleen Bodie Assistant Superintendent present 781-316-3500 Significant accomplishments in this position: -Leadership of all curriculum, instruction, and assessment initiatives in all major subject areas in diverse district of 5600 students. -Develop and implement district-wide technology plan supported by funding negotiated with town capital committee thru allocation of $400K per year for 4 years and the Arlington Education Foundation thru allocation of $50K per year for three years. -Supervise and evaluate seventeen curriculum directors and specialists. -Coordinate district accountability report to DESE. -Developed and implemented, with Communications Director, new method of communicating budget priorities and expenditures as well as key metric digital dashboard. -Develop and implement data teams in all schools and all grade levels that will utilize data to make decisions regarding student interventions. -Develop and implement district-wide teacher leadership program recognized as exemplar by DESE. -Represent district on a variety of boards including EDCO PAC and IDEAS. -Coordinate the implementation of the new teacher evaluation system, including District Determined Measures (DDM).

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Admin Experience Continued Employer and Position Title Location: Dates: Primary Supervisor/Board Pres. City, State From - To Maynard Public Schools Maynard, MA 05/08 Robert Girardi High School Principal 05/12 978-897-8891 Significant accomplishments in this position: -Instructional leadership of school resulting in major overhaul of ELA and Math curriculum to align with Common Core, addition of 15 new electives, and implementation of Senior Capstone project. -Community and parent outreach. -Design of new high school opened Fall 2013. -Design of lower house/upper house school structure to facilitate the addition of grade 8 to high school in Fall 2013. -Development and implementation of PLC structure. -Co-ordination of preparation for 10 year NEASC visit. -Development and implementation of intervention plan for at-risk students. -Co-facilitator of District Educator Evaluation Task Force. -Co-facilitator of 6- 12 Literacy/Math Articulation Task Force. -Administrator representative on district facilities committee.

Reason For Leaving: To take Assistant Superintendent position Last Annual Salary: 112,00 Last Annual Gross: 112,000 Enrollment: 2000 District Type: K - 12 Leominster Public Schools Leominster, MA 05/05 Thomas Brown Assistant Principal 05/08 978-345-9200 Significant accomplishments in this position: -Recruitment, supervision, evaluation, and instructional leadership of staff of 45+ to service diverse student body of 750+ students grades 9 - 12. -Creation, design, facilitation and implementation of small learning community leadership team responsible for designing vision, mission, governance, and overall SLC policies and practices. -Collection, analysis, and interpretation of data regarding the positive and negative outcomes of the implementation of the small school model, and presentation of findings at two major conferences. -Development and implementation of new discipline policy. -Communication with parents and students. -Day to day operations of appropriate guidance, secretarial and custodial staff. Facilities management for two wings of the building. -Administration of MCAS/MEPA across both SLC’s.

Reason For Leaving: To take principalship Last Annual Salary: 91,00 Last Annual Gross: 91,000 Enrollment: 1900 District Type: High School Arts Academy Boston, MA 5/2000 Linda Nathan Assessment Co-ordinator/Summer 5/2005 617-212-5225 Principal Significant accomplishments in this position: Recruitment, supervision, and evaluation of summer staff to service 200+ students in remediation and enrichment programs each summer in Humanities, Writing, Mathematics, Music Theory, and Music Performance. Facilities management of building through 2 major construction efforts. Student discipline. Payroll and other daily business functions. Community, parent, and district communications.

Coordination of all school-wide assessment including standardized assessment, formal in-house assessment and in-house informal assessment. Key interface to special education. Analysis of formative and summative assessment results and program modification recommendations that result from the analysis. Curriculum design and supervision of courses for students with challenges in the area of mathematics, and classroom instruction. Curriculum design and implementation of musical theatre course and private voice lessons. Major accomplishments include grants from Annenberg Challenge, Boston Plan for Excellence, and Noyce Foundation, and spearheading efforts that have resulted in school being recognized as Commonwealth Compass and CES mentor school for outstanding

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Experience Continued increase in student achievement through personalization of instruction.

Reason For Leaving: Advancement Last Annual Salary: 67,000 Last Annual Gross: 67,000 Enrollment: 450 District Type: High School

Admin Experience Continued Employer and Position Title Location: Dates: Primary Supervisor/Board Pres. City, State From - To Center for Collaborative Education, Boston, MA 12/97 Dan French Program Director 8/00 617-421-0134 Significant accomplishments in this position: Design and coordination of state-wide program involving 13 CES middle and high schools seeking to reform their mathematics and science programs to create rigorous educational opportunities for all students through the implementation of CES principles. Recruitment, supervision, and development of team of 3 consultants working across the state. Major accomplishments include grants from the Noyce Foundation and the Massachusetts State Department of Education and recognition of program excellence by the Title I Dissemination Project of Massachusetts. Professional development and coaching of over 20 K-6, 5 -8, and 7 - 12 schools throughout Massachusetts.

Reason For Leaving: To return to a public school Last Annual Salary: 56,000 Last Annual Gross: 56,000 Enrollment: District Type: , Significant accomplishments in this position:

Reason For Leaving: Last Annual Salary: Last Annual Gross: Enrollment: District Type:

Professional Experience Employer and Position Title Location: Dates: Primary Supervisor/Board Pres. City, State From - To Hudson Public Schools Hudson, MA 08/95 John Staplefield Math teacher 12/97 Significant Accomplishments at this position: Design of mathematics programs and instruction for grade 8, 9 and 10 Work recognized for excellence through grants from the Massachusetts Department of Education and the Digital Corporation. Inaugural teacher in Virtual High School program.

Reason For Leaving: Advancement Last Annual Salary: Last Annual Gross:

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Prof Experience Continued Employer and Position Title Location: Dates: Primary Supervisor/Board Pres. City, State From - To Bernalillo Public Schools Bernalillo , NM 07/93 Patrick Lopez 8th grade teacher 07/95 Significant Accomplishments at this position: Development of the district-wide K -12 technology plan. Development of integrated math, science and technology program for grades 5 - 8. School television station advisor. Work recognized for excellence through grants from Intel, the Coalition of Essential Schools, and SIMSE New Mexico, as well as National Science Foundation/CES Fellowship.

Reason For Leaving: Husband relocated Last Annual Salary: Last Annual Gross: IBM E. Fishkill, NY 6/81 James Fischette Manager - Programming Systems 2/93 Significant Accomplishments at this position:

Reason For Leaving: Last Annual Salary: Last Annual Gross:

Other Experience Employer and Position Title Location: Dates: Primary Supervisor City, State From - To IBM East Fishkill - Manager East Fishkill, NY 6/1983 James Fischette 02/1993 since retired. Significant accomplishments in this position: Managed programmers both in US and abroad on development of major programs to support Budget, General Ledger, Product Control, and Inventory of IBM's largest chip manufacturing division.

Reason For Leaving: Change of career to education and relocation to New Mexico due to spouse job change. Last Annual Salary: 34000 Last Annual Gross: 65000

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Education

High School Attended: , Abington, MA

Colleges, Universities and Technical Schools Attended: Name and location Major Degree Date Conferred University of Massachusetts at Lowell School Leadership Ed. D. 06/11 University of Massachusetts at Lowell Educational M.S. 5/05 Administration Alfred University Management/Comp. BS 05/81 Sci

List honors, awards or distinctions: Fellowship, National Science Foundation and Coalition of Essential Schools, 1993. Digital Corporation Innovation in Teaching Grant, 1995 and 1996. Massachusetts Department of Education, Innovative Educational Program grants 1995, 1996 and 1997. Annenberg Challenge Grants 2001 and 2002. Noyce Foundation Grants 1998, 1999, 2002. Boston Architectural Foundation Grant 2002, 2003, 2004.

Please list your professional memberships - please indicate leadership roles you may have had with any of them. ASCD MASS

Please list your community and civic memberships and participation.

Please list any publications you may have, including your doctoral and/or master's dissertations, if appropriate. "Teacher Leadership in a Boston Pilot School" (Doctoral Dissertation)

Please list major presentations made to national, state or regional audiences. Utilizing Social Media to Better Communicate with Parents Regarding Student Progress", iPad Summitt, National Conference sponsored by EdTeach Teacher.

"K - 12 STEM Curriculum for Arlington Public Schools", TECH Forum, National Conference sponsored by Tech and Learning magazine.

"Utilizing DDM's to Inform Curriculum and Instruction", Massachusetts Associations of School Superintendents Summer Conference, July 2013.

"Teacher Leadership as Key to School Reform", National Conference of the Coalition of Essential Schools, 2011.

"New Definition for Teacher Leadership", UMASS Lowell Colloquium on Educational Research, Spring 2011.

"Senior Project", Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association, 2011.

"Using PLC's to Further School Reform", Massachusetts Secondary School Administrators Association, 2009.

"Examining Equity Gaps in Standardized Test Scores", New England Small Schools Network Annual Conference, 2003.

"Using Standardized, Inquiry-based Curriculum to Meet the Needs of All Students", Math Matters, Title I Dissemination Project, December 2000.

"Using Data Analysis to Increase Student Achievement", Coalition of Essential Schools, National Fall Forum, November 2000.

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Please list major presentations made to national, state or regional audiences. (continued)

"Using Writing to Increase Student Understanding of Mathematics", Regional Conference of the Turning Points Network, August 2000.

Please list significant workshops or conferences which you would like to highlight.

Certifications Do you hold the appropriate certificate for this position? Yes Type State Certificate Number Expiration Date Active? Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent MA 335166 2019 Yes Principal 9 - 12 MA 335166 2019 Yes Principal 5 - 8 MA 335166 2019 Yes

Please list all of the endorsements and/or verifications documented on your teaching/administrative certificate(s):

Open Ended Questions

For Concord Public Schools & Concord-Carlisle Regional School District / Superintendent: 1. Please share why you are interested in this position and your unique qualifications for it. Concord/Concord-Carlisle is a district which has long-term, much-deserved reputation as an innovative district committed to excellence in education. During my four years serving on the EDCO PAC, I have heard first-hand from the Assistant Superintendent and other members of the Concord/Concord-Carlisle district staff about the outstanding work in curriculum and instruction that has been undertaken by the teachers, staff, and administration. The Assistant Superintendent has often shared the deep, reflective, and collaborative practice that is the hallmark of your district. These are the characteristics that I most admire and that I most desire in a district where I would be seeking a superintendent position.

Over the past twenty-two years I have had many experiences in my career in education that provide me with a background that is unique among candidates for this position. These experiences focus on the development of collaborative school climate, a vision for K - 12 education that is characterized by the development of 21st century skills, the use of data-based cycles of improvement, the ability to provide an effective but cost-mindful education to a diverse student population, and the design and implementation of an educator development program that has the growth of each teacher at its heart.

I have worked in urban, suburban, and rural districts as a teacher and administrator - from each of these very different, but also similar school district settings I have gained knowledge and skills concerning the building of consensus and effective teams that are essential to a strong school district. I have strong background across the K - 12 in teaching and learning. I have taught ELA, math, and science at the middle school level and writing, math, and music at the high school level. During the last four years our staff has developed robust curriculum coaching and content area interventionist programs in order to provide a consistent, rigorous educational experience for students at our seven elementary schools as we implement district-wide the Lucy Calkins reading and writing programs, the Investigations math curriculum, and the FOSS K - 5 science curriculum. These changes were made collaboratively supported by a district-wide curriculum council I established two years ago, semi-weekly meetings with the special education coordinators, and a monthly meeting with all seven elementary principals. As a former building administrator, I understand the challenges that principals face every day and I have made it a high priority to support their efforts as instructional leaders in their buildings.

Drawing on my experience implementing instructional technology to support teaching and learning and working closely with the teachers and staff of Arlington, over the last four years we have implemented a technology plan that has resulted in one-to-one programs at several of our elementary schools, the sixth grade at our middle school, and within several classrooms at our high school. In addition, we have implemented optional BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) programs at our middle and high school in order to increase our technology in a cost-effective way.

Finally, over the last three years, working in concert with the leadership of the local LEA, Arlington has established an articulated teacher leadership program which allows classroom teachers to gain the skills necessary to take on roles of teacher-leaders throughout the district. This has assisted in holding on to talented teachers while providing outstanding professional development for our staff.

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Question Continued

For Concord Public Schools & Concord-Carlisle Regional School District / Superintendent: 2. Please list the five accomplishments in your professional career of which you take the greatest satisfaction and why you do so. The first accomplishment that I will share is my work as an eighth grade math and science teacher at Bernalillo Middle School. In 1994 I received a fellowship from the National Science Foundation and the Coalition of Essential Schools in support of my work in the development and implementation of integrated math and science curriculum for English Language Learners at the middle school level. This work, in support of an eighth grade middle school cluster at the Bernalillo Middle School in Bernalillo, New Mexico, resulted in an inquiry-based, hands-on curriculum designed to meet the needs of highly economically disadvantaged, ELL student population that once implemented sparked an interest in math and science to a very under-served population. This work was supported by grants from the Intel Corporation. As a result, there was a significant increase in the interest of these students in continuing their studies in math and science as they moved into high school. As the drop-out rate of this district was nearly 65%, there was a critical need to find entry points into the academic experience that would help retain students. It also provided these students with the opportunity to use the Internet and other digital resources as part of their studies for the first time in this high-poverty school district. I am truly proud of the contributions that this curriculum and instruction effort had on these students.

The second accomplishment that I will share is my work as an administrator and teacher at the . During my tenure as the Assessment Coordinator for the Boston Arts Academy, the requirement to receive a competency determination in ELA and math on the MCAS came in to being. During my first year at Boston Arts Academy, a Boston Public high school for the visual and performing arts, the failure rate on the MCAS was nearly 75%. Over the next three years I led a team of teachers and staff that designed and implemented changes in curriculum and instruction that resulted in a turn-around of results demonstrated by 82% of students passing the ELA and math MCAS on their first attempt. In addition, the two and four year college acceptance rate of our seniors rose from below 50% to above 90%. Our efforts were supported by grants from the Noyce Foundation. The changes implemented have had a long-lasting effect as the two and four-year college acceptance rate currently hovers around 92% and 100% of the students achieve a competency determination - statistics that are exceptional for a non-exam Boston High School.

The third accomplishment I would like to share is my work as a headmaster at . Leominster High School is a 1900 student high school in central Massachusetts. At the time I was hired as an administrator the district was seeking to create a much more personalized education for its students in a large, cavernous building with little or no sense of school community. Working with an administrative team of two other headmasters and the high school principal, we re-invented the student and staff experience through summer and year-long professional development, creation of a three house system, introduction of teaming for 9th and 10th grade students within their houses, and implementation of an advisory program for all students. Over a three-year period house instructional leadership councils and advisory programming committees developed clearly articulated mission and visions for the three houses, freshmen transition programs, and social-emotional support systems. These changes were implemented in a collaborative fashion, utilizing teacher leadership as the corner stone of this work. The fourth accomplishment I would like to share is the development of the Capstone Project Graduation requirement that was designed and implemented during my time as a principal at Maynard High School. After receiving much feedback that senior year for many students was just a "place-holder" till graduation and examination of the required graduation requirements which revealed that most students had already earned almost all the necessary credits before entering their senior year, a team of teachers, administrators, and staff recommended that the school conduct a pilot for a senior project program. The first year, seven students supported by two teaching staff undertook a senior project as a pilot. The success of this pilot led to an expansion of the pilot to include 30 students and 4 staff in its second year. In the third year of the program the details of the program were expanded to offer students the opportunity to take the senior project option at the Honors level (which would result in the same uplift to the final grades as other Honors courses). The enrollment in senior projects expanded to 40 (out of a class of aprox. 90 students). These projects included work which would become the basis for recent state legislation regarding prohibition of adolescents using tanning salons due to the risks for melanoma, the certification of a student as the youngest person to receive a license as a person trainer, the development of a technology based program for students with hearing and speech issues within the district, and the development of a social-media for crowd-funding support for businesses in third world countries. In my last year at Maynard the school committee voted to require participation in the senior project program as a graduation requirement. This program has created true meaning for the senior high school year in Maynard Public Schools.

The fifth and final accomplishment I would like to share is the development and implementation of the Teacher Leadership Program in

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Question Continued the Arlington Public Schools; this is a project that has been one of the most important efforts I have undertaken as the assistant superintendent in Arlington. Two years ago, in conjunction with the LEA, we piloted a program where classroom teachers who were identified as excelling in the Lucy Calkins reading and writing programs could volunteer to receive professional development expanding their skills in running of collaborative teams and peer coaching. These teachers then volunteered their classrooms as "lab-site" classrooms. Peer teachers in the same grade would visit the lab-site classrooms one day a week for one hour over a six-week unit, observing the lab-site teacher and then working with small groups of students in the lab-site classroom. The teachers and the lab-site teacher would then de-brief after school regarding these lessons. The feedback from this experience was so positive that the program was expanded so that the lab-site teachers would be responsible for running the early release day professional development in the Calkins program during its second year. This year we have moved from selection of lab-site teachers by the district literacy specialist staff to a full-blown application process which includes the submission of a video lesson. The lab-site teachers are now called teacher-leaders and lead all of the professional development in literacy for each grade. The teacher-leaders are currently participating in a graduate level course in supporting instruction offered in conjunction with Teacher's 21. The program, supported by the Arlington Educational Foundation, has resulted in expanded career paths for our most talented teachers while providing all of our elementary teachers with quality, cost-effective instructional support.

Language Skills Do you know any language other than English? Yes

Language(s): French Oral Level: Polite Written Level: Polite Professional References

Reference 1 Reference 2 Name: Kathleen Bodie Allison Elmer School/Org: Arlington Public Schools Arlington Public Schools Current Position: Superintendent Special Education Director Home Phone: 617-512-9485 Cell Phone: 781-820-1413 857-205-3116 Work Phone: 781-316-3501 781-316-3531 Mailing Address: 869 Massachusetts Avenue 869 Massachusetts Avenue Arlington, MA 02476 Arlington, A 02476 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Relationship to Candidate: Supervisor colleague Years Known: 5 3 Reference 3 Reference 4 Name: Linda Hanson Kristen DeFrancisco School/Org: Arlington Public Schools Arlington Public Schools Current Position: Arlington Educator Association President Principal Hardy School Home Phone: Cell Phone: 781-799-8163 617-791-5407 Work Phone: 781-316-3791 781-316-3781 Mailing Address: 869 Massachusetts Avenue 869 Massachusetts Avenue Arlington, MA 02476 Arlington, MA 02476 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Relationship to Candidate: colleague - President of Arlington Educator Colleague - New Principal Mentored Association (local LEA) Within District Years Known: 5 5

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General Information List any additional information which will support your candidacy.

Are you presently under contract? Yes When does contract expire? With 60 days notice Have you ever failed to have your contract renewed, be rehired, been asked to No resign a position, or resigned to avoid termination? If yes, explain. Have you ever had a credential or certificate revoked, suspended or annulled in No any state, territory or foreign country? If yes, explain. Where did you hear of our vacancy?

Referrals How did you hear about employment with us? Ed Week

Legal Information 1. Are you eligible to work in the United States? Yes

2. Have you ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving a sex offense or a controlled substance? No If yes, explain, giving dates:

3. Have you ever had any indicated finding of child abuse filed in your name? No If yes, explain, giving dates:

4. Have you ever been convicted of any crime? No If yes, explain, giving dates:

Confirmation I authorize the organization(s) to which I am applying and Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, Ltd. to contact my references or any other references deemed necessary to ascertain the merits of my candidacy for this position. I authorize references to discuss my application and/or release information concerning me, and agree to hold them, the District, and the consultants harmless for providing and/or utilizing any information requested and/or provided.

I also request that my application and interest in the administrative position remain as confidential as possible under the applicable laws of the state. I understand that my candidacy may become a matter of public record when I am presented to the Board. I further understand that elements of my resume may be available to the public and the news media at such time. However, I request that reasonable effort be taken to maintain the confidentiality of this application and other documents and information which accompany my application for the position for which I am applying. (Note: In some states, such as Florida, there can be no confidential written correspondence. Please call HYA if interested in one of these positions.)

If you answer "yes" to any of the above questions, you must submit official copies of court records including disposition of the case(s).

I hereby affirm that there are no misrepresentations, omissions or falsifications in the foregoing statements and answers, and that the entries made by me are true, complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I acknowledge that any misrepresentations, omissions or falsifications might be grounds for dismissal if employed for this position.

Laura S. Chesson (agreed online) Generated at 1/9/2017 1:09:07 PM Central Page 9 of 9 ARLINGTON Special Education Office Telephone Arlington High School (781) 316-3530 P.O. Box 167 869 Massachusetts Avenue Fax Arlington, MA 02476-0002 (781) 316-3647

September 22, 2016

To Whom it May Concern,

I have known Laura Chesson since July of 2014, when I joined the Arlington Public Schools as the Director of Special Education. In this role, I have worked closely with Dr. Chesson as part of the district's Senior Leadership Team. Dr. Chesson has been both an ally and a resource, as I have sought her advice, assistance, and support in my work here in Arlington.

Dr. Chesson and I have worked closely to deliver cost-effective educational services that provide equitable and rigorous opportunities for all students. Given the current fiscal climate, this takes skill, ingenuity, and coalition building as many interests compete for limited resources. One way Dr. Chesson is doing this is by spearheading the District's effort to review, improve, and expand our Response to Intervention/Multi-Tiered Systems of Support process. Her efforts also include planning and providing professional development that meets the needs of a broad range of student and adult learners.

Her support for our recently created Safe & Supportive Schools Taskforce was instrumental in getting the work off the ground — from helping to secure grant funding and gain approval from the Superintendent. During my recent maternity leave, Dr. Chesson provided coverage for my department and demonstrated a deep understanding of special education laws and regulations. She has led both the implementation of the new teacher evaluation system and our RETELL initiative. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable in all these areas, she is also supportive as many of us learn to navigate our way through the new requirements and content.

Dr. Chesson is extremely intelligent, incredibly hardworking, and supportive, while maintaining high expectations for others, as well as herself. She has the ability to engage others in "the work" and seeks input from stakeholders, while still maintaining a sense of vision and direction. These are all qualities that we know our necessary for an effective Superintendent. It is without reservation that I recommend Dr. Chesson for the position of Superintendent. If you have any questions or would like to speak with me further, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Alison Elmer Director of Special Education June 30, 2016

Letter of Recommendation for Dr. Laura Chesson

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my pleasure to recommend Dr. Laura Chesson for a position in educational leadership in your district. I have been fortunate to work with Dr. Chesson in several different capacities over the past four years. Dr. Chesson and I have had an unusual relationship, as there has been a lot of overlap in our professional responsibilities. I currently work as a K-5 district literacy coach, and Dr. Chesson is my primary evaluator. We meet on a weekly basis to discuss, develop, and implement programs and practices that support teachers in their efforts to improve elementary literacy outcomes. At the same time, over the past four years I have also served as the President of our local education association. In her capacity as Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Chesson and I met for extended periods of time to negotiate our current evaluation contract. Once the contract was passed, we partnered to co-present a "train the trainer" model to disseminate the components of the new evaluation system in Arlington.

I will first address my experience working with Dr. Chesson in her capacity as the instructional and curriculum leader of the district. Since her background is in secondary math education, she was initially not that familiar with the area of elementary literacy. Over the course of our years working together, I have watched her grow and deepen her knowledge in this area by constantly asking questions of both the literacy leaders, and the teachers who do the work. Dr. Chesson approaches her work analytically, wanting to understand why and how a new initiative is preferable before signing onto it. I have also been very pleased to discover that Dr. Chesson and I share a passion for distributed leadership, and for mentoring and giving opportunities to classroom teachers to take on leadership roles in the district. We are currently working on developing a model of teacher leadership that offers teachers training in leadership competencies, followed by opportunities to share their expertise by opening up their classrooms to their colleagues. This has been important and groundbreaking work, and I am grateful for her support in this area.

Dr. Chesson and I have also worked extremely closely on Arlington's Effective Educator Development System - our evaluation system. She and I meet often to review contract language and to ensure that the evaluations teachers in our district receive are fair, objective, and evidence-based. We also share the belief that evaluators need to offer concrete support and models for any area they find deficient. Especially as this new system was rolled out, Dr. Chesson and I would jointly review any evaluations that were deemed problematic, in order to ensure that both the educators and the evaluators were properly fulfilling their responsibilities within the evaluation system. I have found Dr. Chesson to be a fair arbitrator who seeks to improve the capacity of both educators and evaluators.

In closing, I would like to say that I believe Dr. Chesson is a thoughtful and capable educational leader. Her enthusiasm for and support of teacher-led professional development around instructional practice is on the cutting edge. Her work on the evaluation system demonstrates an understanding that a shared vision of best practice must be forged collectively if it is to be effective.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with further questions. I can be reached at: lhansonParlington.k12.ma.us, or 781-799-8163.

Sincerely,

Linda Hanson Rodney J. Hardy Elementary School

PRINCIPAL: Kristin DeFrancisco Kdefrancis co @arlington.k12 .ma.us To Whom It May Concern:

Becoming a principal is an honor as well as nothing short of overwhelming. Four years ago I was appointed the principal of the Hardy Elementary School in Arlington. Beginning this job was a dream come true and one of hard work, passion, dedication and yes, being overwhelmed at times. Enter Dr. Laura Chesson. I feel very fortunate that when I looked for a mentor to help me become the best principal I could be, Laura answered the call.

There are many things about Laura that make her an asset to the Arlington Public School System. The first is she builds capacity. Further she understands that to build capacity, she must lead by example. She did this for principals in Arlington when mentoring around the new Educator Evaluation System. Laura spent time designing professional development for principals that included authentic evaluation examples. We used these evaluations to define what we felt we should be seeing in classrooms across the district. The opportunity allowed us to build capacity as we learned from colleagues how to develop through lines in our work as well as frame our feedback in ways that would be well received by teachers. She very much models what we should be doing with our own staffs to help build capacity by learning together. In addition, she has also helped us think about how to distribute leadership in our buildings. First she provided principals with training around how to organize around this goal. Then she developed a plan to implement workshops through teachers 21 for both leadership teams in buildings as well as individuals who may be coaches, interventionists or mentors in the system. As principals, we are seeing what kind of difference this makes as we execute the many facets of running a school.

Because Laura was a principal herself, she has a deep understanding of the demands placed upon a building administrator. In addition to the attention she Ores at the district level, she is able to help principals troubleshoot issues and also knows when to just listen. For me personally, she has guided me through issues with personnel and parent concerns that have risen to a district level. She is an integral part of helping set goals as a district and knows how important her support is to principals as they work to execute those goals in their buildings. She has supported my efforts to build a strong social emotional curriculum in my school by embracing my mission to train all teachers in Responsive Classroom and become a truly Responsive School. This support is not just for me. Laura makes sure to be in my building while school is in session as well as during times when teachers are meeting in their professional learning communities. I often walk in to visit my teams and find Laura deep in conversation about what she can do to support 52 Lake Street • Arlington, MA • 02474 - 8599 • 781-316-3782 • FAX 781.316.3717 Rodney J. Hardy Elementary School

PRINCIPAL: Kristin DeFrancisco Kdefrancis co @arlington. k12 . ma. us

their efforts. This is rare and so necessary with all of the demands placed on teachers today.

Finally, the district has benefitted from Laura's ability to develop and support the professional development of principals and teachers. She believes we should have the opportunity to learn together and from one another. She was instrumental in bringing early release PD afternoons to our district. Each Tuesday afternoon, we are able to gather either as a building, district grade level, or by subject area to work on a variety of topics, including the implementation of new curriculum. This collaboration is essential and Laura recognized this need when she began her tenure as Assistant Superintendent.

It bears repeating that I feel very lucky to have Laura as I grow as a principal. It is clear to me how passionate she is about contributing to a school system in a way where principals, teachers and children can learn, grow and become the best they can be. She would be an asset to any system that is lucky to attract her candidacy and I would highly recommend her for the position of Superintendent of Schools.

I am happy to make myself available for any further discussion.

Sincerely,

CiAt.e4i) Kri tin DeFrancisco Ele entary School Principal H dy Elementary School 61 791-5407

52 Lake Street • Arlington, MA • 02474 - 8599 • 781-316-3782 • FAX 781.316.3717