HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-04-LHS-min (2) RECEIVED
LEXINGTON 022 27 Apii, 51 puin
ll(,qrTOWN CLERK
LEXINGTON MA
Andrew Stephens, Ed.D. (781) 861-2320, ext. 69103
Principal astephens@lexingtonma.org
Twitter: ,@,LexingtonHSMa
Minutes for the LHS School Site Council remote meeting on October 4, 2021 from 6:00-7:30 PM.
Present: Andrew Stephens, Karen Griffiths, Suzanne Lau, Walter Richardson, Sam Offsey, KC Zheng,
Alix Fox, Jennifer Roney, Bryce Spalding, Liz Curtin, Kate Riley, Samuel Simon
1. Approved the September, 2021 meeting minutes
2. Approved meeting dates for 2021-2022
• November 1, 2021 • March 7, 2022
• December 6, 2021 • April 4, 2022
• January 10, 2022 • May 2, 2022
• February 7, 2022 • June 13, 2022
3. Updates & discussion:
• Back-to-School Night is this Thursday. Google Meet links are being sent out, as well as a
schedule template for the parents.
• Discussion of the student activities fair which had over 100 tables and was very well
received.
• COVID -related updates
o SC policy for vaccination for extracurriculars moved to 10/15. The nurse will
send out an email next week to all unvaccinated students to give them a heads up
that they'll need to get vaccinated to participate, and the following week will have
more rosters for specific followups. Comment that there might be an issue if the
pooled testing isn't up yet, since unvaccinated students will need to be tested.
o Pooled testing for elementary starting this week; LHS does not have an
implementation date. The testing was delayed because the new vendor for the
tests has a different identification process, which needs to be streamlined.
o Question about the state saying schools can apply to remove the mask mandate if
80%(?) vaccinated: will LHS do that?Any decision about masking is systemwide,
under the purview of the Board of Health and the School Committee.
• Students' access to audio of their classes
o Students who are under quarantine or at home can have access to their classes.
Teachers open Google Meet whenever anyone's absent, but often no one comes.
Question: are we looking at whether this is an effective use of students'learning;
if not, it's a big ask on teachers,just having to do that before each class during the
Lexington High School 1 251 Waltham Street I Lexington,MA 102421
limited passing time (especially teachers who switch classrooms). Andrew notes
that it's a DESE policy; Lexington expanded it to kids with possible covidlike
symptoms. Andrew can bring it up if there's a discussion in the district.
o Some possible options/questions discussed. Would it be more effective for
students to email teachers if they're out and planning on logging on? Can we get
any data collected on who's using it?What is the DESE requirement for how it's
implemented... could students have to email by 8:30 if they're planning on
logging on?Andrew will pass on the question.
o Acknowledgement that the implementation of this at the HS is very different than
at elementary school, so this might be a good reason to have different methods for
different levels.
o Question: do we as a Site Council agree that it's something we think should be
looked at/modified? We said yes, and Andrew will take that to the next meeting,
fwiw.
• Interior Chinatown update
o Nov. 3. Some prep activities have been going on, doing some enrichment
activities during 2 I blocks this month. The book is being analyzed and discussed
in a number of classrooms. Johnny Cole is running a Ted talk tomorrow in the
auditorium on some of the themes present in the book.
o LHS has a visible commitment to the book and its overall themes.
o Charles Yu is going to do a schoolwide livestream during F block on Nov. 3, and
will visit a number of classrooms connected to the art and science of writing.
There will be an evening presentation; we can have half capacity in the
auditorium.
• School Innovation Plan development
o This year, our task is to develop an LHS innovation plan that can cover 1-2 years,
starting next year.
■ Quick overview of the executive summary of the strategic plan: identify
and narrow equity gaps, etc.
■ Andrew thought it would make sense for us, over the next couple of
months, to run through an exercise to get started.
o Activity in breakout rooms: Look at strategic objective 1: address and narrow
equity gaps. What are the most significant ones that we see from our perspective?
o Homework: situate the conversations we're having, look at the notes, think about
it. We will spend more time on this at our next meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 7:35