June 18, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
The school committee had a full agenda this week, listening to special education and strategic plan updates, hearing the latest Hingham Public Schools enrollment data, and discussing the process for Supt. of Schools Katie Roberts’ scheduled evaluation in July.
The committee will receive Roberts’ summative assessment artifacts (providing evidence of her work toward meeting performance expectations) by June 30 and will complete their individual evaluation forms and submit them to Chair Jen Benham by July 9.
She and Vice Chair Michelle Ayer will compile a composite write-up of the committee’s evaluations by July 16. The school committee will deliberate on the evaluation in a public meeting July 21.
During the Aug. 18 school committee meeting, the committee and Roberts will talk about goals for the coming school year.
In other business at the meeting:
- Roberts presented an enrollment update (as of June 1) to the school committee, indicating 95 pre-k enrollments (no change from the previous month); K-5, 1,682 over the four elementary schools (decrease of one student); grades 6-8, 801 (no change); and grades 9-12 (plus post-grad students), 1,062 (increase of 6 students) — for a total of 3,640 students (representing an overall increase of five students).
Other enrollment figures include 55 out-of-district students, six who are homeschooled, and 4 participating in Vo-tech/agricultural programs. - The draft HPS strategic plan for 2025-2028 “represents the culmination of months of collaborative work with students, families, educators, administrators, school committee members, and community partners,” Roberts shared. “. . . At its core is a commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and excellence in education, centered around the growth and success of each student.”
A strategic plan is “a powerful tool that can assist a district in staying focused on a vision for the future and to identify the steps needed to reach its goals.”
The plan — which includes a “Portrait of a Learner” section –focuses on culture of collaboration and community partnerships; innovative and responsive teaching and learning; healthy, equitable, and inclusive communities; capital and finance; and human resources and leadership.
The 24-member strategic planning committee is comprised of HPS administrators, the METCO director, teachers, members of the school committee, educators, a special educator, an interventionist, a high school student, the middle school and high school team chairs, and the Hingham Education Association president.
HEA President Jacqueline Beaupre thanked everyone involved in the process, calling it “very productive.”
That said, she expressed concern that this plan “overlaps with our next collective bargaining cycle. Some of our teachers aren’t starting at a living wage, which does not include student loans. I want to flag [this issue at this time]. You need to start thinking about that now and about how you are going to advocate for health insurance [benefits for HPS teachers].” - Roberts also presented the May 27, 2025 Special Education Subcommittee of the Hingham School Committee update in Interim Executive Director of Student Services Barbara Cataldo’s absence. The report outlines four goals related to special education programming; inclusive practice; communication/collaboration/relationships; and professional development.
“The goal is to “improve and strengthen our special education programming,” Roberts said, ” and to ensure that all students’ needs are met. . . .”
Dr. Christine Panarese was named the permanent executive director of student services last March, effective July 1.