ORANGE — Elizabeth Zielinski received rave reviews in the Mahar School Committee’s biennial evaluation of her job performance as superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional and Union 73 school districts.
The Leadership, Accountability and Measurement Subcommittee recently completed the superintendent’s summative evaluation report for the two-year cycle ending in June 2026, using information compiled from surveys filled out by Mahar School Committee members.
Zielinski earned a “proficient” rating overall, with an “exemplary” rating in the category of management and operations. Vice Chair Patricia Smith, who ran the June 11 School Committee meeting in Chair Peter Cross’ absence, said the latter is virtually unheard of.
“It was an excellent evaluation,” she said.
According to the evaluation, Zielinski met the various goals that the School Committee set for her, including increasing the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the benchmarks in reading by the end of second grade, and improving the knowledge and informed engagement of community members in regard to school budgets.
Zielinski also earned a “proficient” rating in the scoring areas of instructional leadership and professional culture.
At the meeting, Smith mentioned that Zielinski taught a class this school year due to staffing constraints and made a clear connection with students.
“I think we’re very lucky to have a superintendent who’s been able to stick with us and help us through a really difficult time,” Smith said. “She started just before COVID.”
Smith noted that the Leadership, Accountability and Measurement Subcommittee received responses from all of the 12 eligible voting members of the Mahar, Orange Elementary and Petersham Center school committees.
“That hadn’t happened in a while, so that was good,” she added.
