BUCKLAND — The Mohawk Trail Regional School District School Committee has rated Superintendent Sheryl Stanton as “exemplary.”

Stanton is the first superintendent to receive an exemplary rating from the committee since 2012, when the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education began requiring school committees to evaluate their superintendents annually.

“Stanton brings a great deal of skill, dedication and positivity to her work as superintendent. She enjoys being with students, cheers their successes and deeply cares that each student reaches their full potential,” School Committee member Suzanne Crawford wrote. “She supports staff in continually developing and refining their teaching skills — and cheers their successes as well.”

Committee members voted unanimously on Wednesday to accept the assessment of Stanton. They wrote that Stanton met goals for instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture. While the district still has its challenges and Stanton is learning how to address them, they believe she is a strong superintendent and an asset to the district.

“While some work remains to be done building data-driven assessment systems for the classroom, and communication with families could benefit by lessons learned during this past year, Superintendent Stanton is a thoughtful and skilled problem solver who understands very well the challenges faced by this school district,” School Committee member David Henry wrote. “She has been instrumental in helping the district address its challenges head on and to have a vision for the future that is proactive and self-affirming. In this way, her leadership goes beyond what simply can be expected.”

“I believe Sheryl is up to the task,” School Committee Chair Martha Thurber added. “Overall, despite the challenges this year has brought and, perhaps, because of them, I believe Sheryl is an exemplary superintendent.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.