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71-52 Selectmen’s Meeting – February 6, 2017 Joint Meeting with School Committee—Receive Report of the Subcommittee on Asian Communities Mr. Alessandrini, School Committee Chair, called his committee to order at 7:08 and introduced members: Judy Crocker, Eileen Jay, and Jesse Steigerwald and Dr. Mary Czajkowski, Superintendent. Ms. Barry welcomed Susie Lee-Snell, Vision 20/20 Subcommittee on Asian Communities, who presented findings and recommendations of the study. The goals of the subcommittee were to examine the role of Town and School officials in responding to the Town’s changing demographic profile and, building on progress made, to welcome and integrate Asian families into the community. The subcommittee was formed to identify ways to foster a community/Town government that reflects a diverse population and to encourage social integration that makes interactions more seamless. Ms. Snell noted that she was standing in as presenter due to member Dan Krupka’s skiing accident over the weekend. Ms. Barry expressed the Board’s wishes for Mr. Krupka’s speedy recovery. Ms. Snell said the subcommittee members included representatives from the Chinese-American Association of Lexington (CAAL), Faith Lin and Bin Zhou; the Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL), Shoba Reginald and Manasi Singhal; the Korean Organization of Lexington (KOL), Susie Lee-Snell and Jordan Shin; the PTA/PTO, Becky Barrentine and Tanya Gisolfi; the Vision 20/20 Committee, Margaret Coppe and Dan Krupka; and three Members-at-Large, Nancy Corcoran- Ronchetti, Pat Costello, and Margaret Heitz. The full report is available electronically on the Town website or in hard copy form at the Selectmen’s Office. Ms. Snell noted that an estimated 25% of Lexington’s residents and 37% of Lexington Public School students are of Asian ancestry. An underlying question of the subcommittee’s work asked if Lexington’s civic leaders had a responsibility to plan strategically for the growth of Lexington’s Asian population and if should they deal with consequences as they occur. Communities that bore similarities to Lexington were identified in New Jersey (19) and California (16). That list was narrowed, ultimately, to 12 communities that were studied in greater depth. Online surveys were conducted with groups in those towns/cities and results were tabulated in a collaborative effort with Sociology professor Marian Cohen and quantitative research students from Framingham State. Follow-up dialogues took place with mayors, PTO/PTA leaders, Town Managers, and community leaders of Asian ancestry in these communities. The Superintendent of Schools and School Board Chair from Walnut Valley, CA came to Lexington to share strategies implemented by their district.