School Committee honors memory of late member Anthony Mattera

Congratulates Supt. Kelly as recipient of Christos Daoulas Award

By Barbara Taormina

The School Committee opened their meeting on July 23 with members sharing their grief and memories of fellow committee member Anthony Mattera, who died on June 22. School Committee Secretary John Kingston read a Facebook post by a Revere resident that captured much of what the committee and the community was feeling about the loss of Materra. Like others, Caggiano focused on Mattera’s “out of the box” approach to education with special attention paid to his famous egg drops off the roof of Lincoln School.

“He gave all he could, the best he could,” read Kingston, who paused when he was overcome by tears. Kingston said Mattera’s example was “to live your life as best you can, be the best you can be.”

Other members also expressed their appreciation for Mattera’s work and said he will be missed on the committee.

The committee took a moment to congratulate Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly, who was honored with the Christos Daoulas award by the Mass. Association of School Superintendents. The award is given to the educator who demonstrates the finest attributes of school administration.

Kelly said the award was unexpected and humbling. “It fills my cup, as elementary school kids would say, it fills my cup that some of this hard work doesn’t go unnoticed,” said Kelly.

The committee also received a brief presentation on a new employee handbook that was overhauled through the lens of equity. The new handbook is for both teachers and staff, because, as Kelly said, it takes both teachers and staff to make the district run and to allow students to succeed.

The committee also reviewed their formative evaluation of Kelly. Vice Chair Jacqueline Monterroso explained that the evaluation was in regard to a five-year district plan with six areas or goals. Monterrosso said a formative evaluation is something generally given verbally, but the personnel subcommittee collected information and feedback, which they incorporated into a memo and which they intend to post on the committee’s website.

The committee found Kelly was on track with finding ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge. Committee members noted students’ involvement in advocating for the new high school and for reinstating the honors program. The committee also found Kelly was on track with reviews of district handbooks with an emphasis on equity. Kelly also has increased parent and family involvement with coffee hours, more translation services and family nights. Kelly was also praised for new student support services and practices providing more social, emotional and behavioral interventions and providing more early college opportunities for students.

While Kelly received high marks on those areas, several members of the committee said they feel the district’s goals should focus more on academics. “To be honest, I’ve been torn by the evaluation not being done in a timely manner and not as focused on academics as we should be,” said Caggiano. “It’s a concern that we don’t address it in the evaluation.”

Caggiano, who also serves on the Northeast Metro Tech School Committee, said about 60 percent of Revere’s eighth graders, or 360 students, are applying to Metro Tech not solely for the education in the trades but also because of the strong academics. Caggiano suggested that if there is greater emphasis on academics in Revere, fewer students would apply to Northeast Metro Tech. Caggiano is running again for a seat on Northeast Metro Tech’s School Committee and will be on the ballot this November.

Revere School Committee member Aisha Milbury-Ellis echoed Caggiano’s concern that the district’s goals don’t include fundamentals, such as academics, improved MCAS scores, higher graduation rates and decreasing absenteeism.

Kelly said the formative evaluation was based on six goals that were taken from a community meeting of parents, teachers and students. “I agree on a stronger focus on academics,” she said, adding that there have been huge gains in academic performance among certain groups of students.

She said it is soon time to hold another community-wide meeting to set goals for a new five-year plan for the district.

Joint meeting brings Sannella back to school board

The City Council and the School Committee held a joint meeting on July 22 to approve former School Committee member Frederick Sannella’s appointment to fill the remaining term of committee member Anthony “Tony” Mattera, who died last month. Vacancies on the School Committee are filled by the defeated candidate with the most votes from the previous election – who must be approved by the council and the committee. Sanella lost the sixth seat on the committee in the 2023 municipal election with 2,304 votes to Mattera’s 2,337 votes.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the voters of Revere for taking a look at an old warhorse,” said Sannella, who promised to serve to the best of his ability.

Prior to serving on the School Committee, Sanella was an elementary teacher at the Lincoln School and an assistant principal at the Whalen School.