HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-12-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Conducted by Remote Participation
Meeting Minutes
CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:32 P.M.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Kathleen Lenihan, Chairperson
Eileen Jay, Vice -Chair
Scott Bokun
Deepika Sawhney
Sara Cuthbertson, Clerk
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE
Sara Mei
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT
Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent
The minutes were taken by Julie Kaye, School Committee Meeting Recording Secretary.
The School Committee convened in-person in the Select Board's Meeting Room. This was the
third hybrid meeting. Members of the public were able to view and participate in the meeting
webinar from their computer or tablet using the link provided with the meeting agenda. This
meeting was being recorded, and attendees were able to participate by video conference. The
meeting was broadcasted live and also taped by LexMedia for future on -demand viewing. All
supporting materials provided to members of this body were available on the Town's website
unless otherwise noted.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS:
• Ms. Cuthbertson attended Re -Discovery day on Saturday with Mr. Bokun, they worked at
the elected officials booth. She thanked Suzie Barry for her help with set up.
• Mr. Bokun reminded us that October is Dyslexia and ADHD Awareness Month. The
Dyslexia and ADHD Story Walks are on display at Bowman, Bridge, Fiske, the Community
Center and the library through October 14th. They will then rotate to Estabrook,
Harrington, Hastings, Clarke Middle School and stay at the library until the end of the
month. There is a Dyslexia and ADHD film festival at the Community Center tent on
October 14, 2021 at 6:30 pm. The Dyslexia Task Force met, they redefined some goals
and they will continue to move forward to make sure LPS follows the new DESE
guidelines on Dyslexia.
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• Mr. Bokun was invited to be a part of the Lexington Climate Action Plan Working Group
kick off meeting that was held last week, they will be working on a blueprint for the
Town.
• Ms. Jay and Ms. Sawhney went to the PPC (PTO -PTA Presidents Council) meeting; pooled
testing was discussed.
• Ms. Jay asked the School Committee if they would be interested in writing a letter of
support for two bills (House bill H584 & Senate bill S365) related to anti -racism
curriculum in schools. The bills are for forming a Commission to study and make
recommendations to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
and to formulate a fund for school districts who might be interested in adopting some
recommendations. She offered to write a draft letter that would be discussed at the next
School Committee meeting. All of the School Committee members expressed interest.
• Ms. Sawhney went to the Recreation Committee meeting this past week, two projects
were discussed. The Committee will get approval to use CPA funds for the Center
Recreation Restroom Project. At that meeting, Select Board Member Suzie Barry talked
about a document, Ms. Sawhney requested the document from Dr. Hackett. Dr. Hackett
replied that she thinks that the document was sent to her already.
• Ms Sawhney: At the end of this week, the LPS administration will be sending out a bid
for our bus service. This is a 5 -year contract that will begin in Fall 2022. Hopefully we will
get bids back from vendors in December. Ms. Sawhney explained the different types of
vendors, ones like C&W who provide diesel buses and service, a Highland -type which is a
mix of a finance and service provider, and Eversource which provides the electricity.
Grant funding will determine which one we will go with. We want to do this without an
extra cost or management burden to the Lexington Public School System. We are all
interested in sustainable transportation.
• Ms. Jay asked Ms. Sawhney if there were any updates on the proposal for storage of LPS
athletic equipment during the Recreation Committee meeting. The equipment is
currently in portable containers, she would like to know if a more permeate storage area
was discussed. Ms. Sawhney responded that yes, it is part of a joint project with storage
and the bathrooms.
• Sara Mei stated that this week in LHS Senate, composting was discussed. Test kits were
resumed today.
• Ms. Lenihan went to the Harrington playground grand opening. It was so wonderful to
see the kids play outside and they all sang a song.
• Ms. Jay and Ms. Cuthbertson attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Lexington
Visitors Center last week. There was a great turnout.
COMMUNITY SPEAK
None
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
Dr. Hackett stated that some of the topics in her Superintendent's report have been covered so
she will skip around.
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• Congratulations and Celebrations
o In the Superintendent's Report the ribbon -cutting ceremony at Harrington
Elementary School playground was noted (this was mentioned by Ms. Lenihan in
the School Committee announcements and liaison reports).
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
o A document was created for guidance on how to eliminate discipline disparities.
A lot of the work being done is not just addressing the symptoms of the problem
but also the root causes of the problem.
• LPS COVID-19 Update
o This was discussed later in the meeting under the Unfinished Business section.
• October 1st Enrollment
o We are seeing some rebounding compared to last year (kindergarten enrollments
were lower for example). Those children have come back in some cases and in
some cases they are still lower, but we are seeing the numbers return to more
normal numbers (even though nothing is normal in a pandemic). We are still
doing a lot of work, more information will be presented at the first Summit
meeting on Thursday. Dr. Hackett cautioned around taking the numbers and
treating them like they are really what will be in the future.
• Innovation Plans
o Dr. Hackett explained that during one of the retreats over the summer she
worked together with the Admin Council to create a new process. School
Improvement Plans are required by the State.
o Two Year Innovation Plan Timeline presented, Dr. Hackett went over the 4
strategic objectives on the Action Plan Timeline (address and narrow equity gaps,
redefine success, cultivate student agency and innovate for sustainable change).
o Dr. Hackett also went over how the LPS Strategic Plan was designed to be flexible
and adaptive; therefore, specific related goals are established and assessed
annually at the individual, school, and district level (she read the goals in the
document). She also reviewed the timeline for annual school and department
Innovation Plans.
The full Superintendent's Report can be found here.
School Committee Questions/Comments:
Ms. Cuthbertson stated that she likes how the Two Year Innovation Plan Timeline ties into the
Strategic Plan. She believed that it is important for each school to have their own goals. She is
excited for the Joy In Learning celebrations.
Ms. Sawhney asked if the Guidance for Exclusionary Practices in LPS is a guidance to
administrators, educators, staff, etc.? She also asked if the part that talks about when a child's
caregivers/parents are brought into the process could be spelled out. Dr. Hackett replied that
they can talk about that, "what works for one child may not work for another." Dr. Hackett
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understands the importance of parents being brought in on the process but also understands
that we need flexibility in the process and not to get too particular with how we spell things out.
Ms. Sawhney also asked about the totals on the Table 1 of the October Enrollment Update
document. Dr. Hackett replied that she will take a look at the table and she will come back to
that question. Ms. Lenihan asked if these numbers would be discussed further and Dr. Hackett
stated that this will be discussed on Thursday.
Ms. Sawhney referenced the Two Year Innovation Timeline document, she would like to know
what is the purview of the Site Council. Dr. Hackett replied that it is specified in the statute, they
give a list of 6 items (enrollment & diversity for example). A leader puts together the materials
and people weigh in, they are also supposed to advocate for resources needed.
Ms. Lenihan stated that this whole process sounds interesting. She was on Site Councils before,
sometimes they do not accomplish as much as one would hope. Dr. Hackett added that every
school is different and that they should be working on different things. This process is a tool to
help us capture the excellent work that is going on in our collective goals.
PRESENTATION: DIVERSE HIRINGUPDATE
Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh, Dr. Chris Lyons, and Johnny Cole presented.
Before the presentation started Dr. Kavanaugh addressed Ms. Sawhney's question about the
table on the October Enrollment Update document. Ms. Sawhney clarified that she would like
to know "what does the column heading total mean?" Dr. Kavanaugh replied that is the total for
FY22. The FY21 column is the total from September, the number decreased from October.
Mr. Cole is excited to share the data and stated that the beginning of the update is a recap of
our philosophy around why diversity is important. The first link in the document is to a video
that was created by the LPS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Advisory Council. The video
has helped attract talented educators to our district. Mr. Cole explained that there is a
"pipeline" issue, there are not as many educators of color in the state. We have developed
practices and processes that attempt to address bias in the process to allow greater
opportunities for candidates of color. Mr. Cole then brought attention to the last link, it includes
a list of questions that all hiring managers ask every candidate regardless of identity. He briefly
went over the bullets listed in the blue box on page 2 the document.
Dr. Kavanaugh reviewed Table 1, this table summarizes the racial demographic of LPS employees
over time. The results increase slowly, but steadily. The table also includes results from
comparative districts. Figure 1 shows the percentage of LPS students and staff in terms of race
and ethnicity as of 2020-21, this data shows that we are moving in the right direction. Since July
2021 there have been 6 new administrators to the district and 3 internal candidates who took
on new leadership positions. Out of those 9 staff members, 3 identify as educators of color and
6 identify as white. Figure 2 compares our employees of color among various bargaining units
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(Unit D, Unit C, Unit A, Non -represented, Facilities, coaches, ALA and Adult Ed) from FY2018 to
FY2022. We are seeing that diversity has improved in many of the Units, specifically in Unit C,
Unit A and ALA.
Dr. Lyons stated that to look forward we are going to look at the past a little bit. For the past two
years we have belonged to a diversity network with DESE, which has become a professional
learning community this year. We will continue with job fairs and we are working on making
sure that we have diversity in our hiring committees. Staff affinity groups help support our staff.
Dr. Hackett added that all of the people involved have done a tremendous amount of work. This
is an important challenge to our school system.
Mr. Cole stated that one thing that is not captured in this update, but will be in the January
update, is the amazing work that our hiring managers are doing across the district in terms of
their thinking and approach.
Dr. Hackett stated that one of the things that we have learned is that the traditional way of
hiring and onboarding don't necessarily work. Adopting unconventional approaches to hiring
diverse candidates is something that we've tried to get more comfortable with. Networking is so
helpful.
School Committee Questions/Comments:
Ms. Cuthbertson really likes the inclusive language in the interview guidance. Recently there
have been many Boston Globe articles about diversity, one talked about Boston Public Schools
(which has the most diverse educator workforce in the state) and they have not made any
improvement in staff diversity in ten years. There is an Educator Diversity Act, in that act it
discusses having diversity in hiring roles (which we have) and establishing educator diversity
councils (which we have also done). Ms. Cuthbertson asked if someone could explain the
process of bringing forward candidates even if they don't meet certifications. Do we support
them financially, do we offer mentoring, how does this work? Dr. Lyons replied that it depends
on the individual. We can also help them to find certification programs then we communicate
with the Department of Education and DESE as to why the candidate is perfect despite the lack
of certifications. Dr. Hackett added that we have paid for candidates' certifications, she is direct
with not letting licensure be a barrier. Mr. Cole also added that if you think that you have a
candidate of color that will help us reach our diversity needs, don't worry about a piece of
paper, especially in leadership roles. Dr. Kavanaugh stated that we have excellent candidates for
leadership positions that would have previously been passed over if it was not for the flexibility
with this paper review. Mr. Cole made the statement that the reverse has been true as well,
some candidates look good on paper but don't work out. Ms. Cuthbertson would like this to be
supported at the State level. She also asked if the hiring managers who have been successful
with this have been mentoring ones that are not as successful, "Is there a way of pairing people
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into teams to help each other out?" Dr. Hackett replied that there is not an official pairing but
certainly a lot of sharing happens.
Mr. Bokun asked if the Staff Demographics are posted on the district website. Mr. Cole answered
that we do post it on the Equity section of the website. Mr. Bokun then asked if there is a way
that this could be highlighted more and show that we are constantly working on this.
Ms. Sawhney stated that the hiring departments and interviewing panels are doing their best
but the bulk of the workforce is predominantly white. She also added that having diversity in
high positions makes a greater impact than that of a teacher in a classroom. She touched on the
ethical challenge of hiring people that come from other districts. Ms. Sawhney suggested
increasing the feedback from the community and more outreach. Dr. Hackett stated that we
have made immense progress, she does not want that to get lost in the conversation. Dr.
Hackett then invited Mr. Cole to go over the principal hiring process and to give an example of
non-traditional hiring practices. Mr. Cole stated that we had a principal opening this year, we did
the traditional process of posting the job that resulted in one person of color applying. Then
another principal reached out and encouraged someone of color they knew to apply. Neither
candidate ended up working out but it wasn't because we didn't want to move forward. There
were circumstances in both candidates' lives that resulted in them not being hired but the
person that did end up getting hired was of color. Dr. Hackett went back to Ms. Sawhney's
question of do we reach out to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) staff about our
processes, and in this very case that was done. There were post interview conversations with
candidates and they were asked for their feedback about what we could do better. We are
actively and constantly thinking about ways to get better and trying to spread the word that
Lexington is a great place to work. Mr. Cole also brought up the search for the Director of
Secondary Education. The role did not end up resulting in a person of color being hired but at
the end of the process, Dr. Lyons asked what could we have done to bring more diverse
candidates. Administrators at the middle schools shared some of their strategies on how they
increased their diversity. There is a big mindset shift that is happening, we are going in the right
direction.
Ms. Jay pointed out that the numbers are evidence of lots of hard work. She also stated that the
non-traditional methods are a necessity, traditional recruitment is not enough. She thinks the
video with the students was a fantastic way to convey that the students care about diversity.
Ms. Jay asked if there was potential for doing more outreach to universities and graduate
programs. Can we forge some relationships with some Schools of Education? There are
organizations that could help as well with getting the word out. She asked if it is possible to add
to recruitment packets some material that shows the kind of supportive community we have
here in Lexington (DEI work, Affinity groups). Dr. Hackett replied that we can definitely do that,
there is already lots of paper and materials so she suggested short video clips of staff and
students. We are due for a Community Report, we can highlight some of our accomplishments
that have been made to help spread the word. Mr. Cole also added that our administrators are
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maintaining relationships with students of color that have graduated in hopes of hiring them
down the road (which we have done).
Ms. Lenihan brought up the cost of housing/living and issues of transportation being a challenge
when hiring a more diverse workforce. She mentioned Brookline's numbers and wonders if that
is because it is easier to get to schools in that town. Ms. Lenihan asked if we have thought about
housing assistance because it can be tough to recruit people to a place where the salary is not
enough for them to live in the place they work. Dr. Hackett stated the importance of not only
hiring people but supporting them to make sure that they stay. Mr. Cole asked if we connect
with universities from around the country that have larger populations of students of color,
could we work with local organizations that could provide moving stipends?
Sara Mei stated that she has noticed after going through the LPS system that the staff is
becoming more diverse.
NEW BUSINESS
Student Vaccine Mandate
• Cambridge did what LPS did for vaccine mandates (vaccine required for extracurriculars).
• Amherst has added COVID vaccine as a mandate to attend school, effective December 1,
2021. Their process was to reach out to the Amherst Board of Health (only Boards of
Health have the authority to set school vaccine requirements), then their School
Committee voted.
• Ms. Lenihan was interested in what Amherst did so she reached out to our chair of the
Board of Health, Dr. Wendy Heiger-Bernays. She was very receptive to this and she is
going to have some conversions with Joanne Belanger, the Director of Public Health.
• The entire State of California is going to require vaccination in order to attend school
starting next year.
• Ms. Sawhney is wondering why there is still some vaccination hesitancy. Since most
colleges have vaccine mandates, what are parents waiting for? Ms. Lenihan responded
that this will be an ongoing issue and reminded us of the importance for those who can
get vaccinated to do so in order to protect those in the community who can not get
vaccinated due to medical reasons.
• Ms. Jay is wondering about timing, the under 12 population has not been approved yet.
Ms. Lenihan responded that in Amherst the mandate does not go into effect until
December 1st and the mandate is based on what is approved by the FDA. Working with
the Board of Health is key.
• Ms. Lenihan stated that the FDA is meeting on October 26th to discuss the 5-11 year old
vaccination. The expectation is that that 5-11 year old authorization would come by the
first or second week of November. She asked if that goes through, would we be able to
loop in those students into our vaccination clinics? Dr. Hackett replied "absolutely."
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• Ms. Lenihan said that she will give an update once she hears from Dr. Wendy
Heiger-Bernays; she then asked the School Committee if they would like to have a
meeting with her.
• Ms. Sawhney asked if there is a supply for the under 12 year olds available yet and if
schools will receive it once Medical Centers do. Dr. Hackett replied that she does not
know and that we wouldn't know until it is approved.
ADHD Awareness Month Proclamation
Mr. Bokun read the Proclamation.
Ms. Cuthbertson moved that we adopt the ADHD Awareness Month Proclamation; Ms. Jay
seconded the motion. (Approved 5-0).
Appoint cial Voting eluate and Alternate elegae for Joint ASS/ ASC Annual
Business Mggting
Mr. Bokun volunteered to be the Official Voting Delegate and Ms. Cuthbertson volunteered to
be the alternate.
Ms. Jay moved that the School Committee appoint Mr. Bokun as the Official Voting Delegate
for the Joint MASS/MASC Annual Business meeting and Ms. Cuthbertson as the Alternate
Delegate; Ms. Sawhney second. (Approved 5-0).
SC Resolutions - Discussion and Vote
This is what Mr. Bokun will be voting on at the meeting. Mr. Bokun read the "Be It Resolved"
section of each resolution.
Resolution 7 was discussed (receivership). Ms. Sawhney is concerned that this resolution will
allow for the possibility of corruption and the inability to "get rid of bad apples." Ms. Lenihan is
in favor, she sees this resolution as a way to balance between State oversight and maintaining a
local say.
Mr. Bokun moved that the School Committee approve the Resolutions excluding Resolution 7;
Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. (Approved 5-0).
Mr. Bokun moved that we accept Resolution 7; Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. (Approved 4-1)
[Bokun-YES; Cuthbertson-YES; Jay -YES; Lenihan-YES; Sawhney-NO].
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
COVID-19 Pool Testing Discussion
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Pool testing was paused but will resume tomorrow (October 13, 2021). Dr. Hackett explained we
had over 2,000 tests during week 1 of testing. The tests come with a QR code that is scanned
and connected to the student's ID number. The QR codes did not end up matching the student
ID's, so we had approximately 900 vials that had to be hand identified. The vendors fixed this so
now we can resume.
The first round of testing saw three positives, the second round saw one positive. This testing
enables us to do outreach. After that one positive case was found in the pool testing, one class
that had an illness was looked at further, they were tested and there ended up being 35%
positive cases but we were able to control that cluster.
Ms. Jay said that this was a topic of discussion at the PPC meeting, she does not think that there
is any disagreement that this is a valuable thing. Participants in the meeting asked about how
we improve participation in the weekly testing. Since this takes a lot of volunteers, there were
concerns about how we make this sustainable. Dr. Hackett replied that we have dealt with
participation rates throughout COVID (do we offer incentives?). There is a harsh reality that
some people just don't want to participate. We have to accept that it is not going to get to
100%; people come from different places. Ms. Lenihan encouraged everyone to remind friends
and neighbors to participate. Dr. Hackett addressed the volunteer comment, people may be
getting tired. If additional support is needed, we can provide it but there is a shortage of nursing
staff nationwide. Ms. Sawhney added that feedback from this process has been positive and
that yes, it was "clunky" at the beginning but it is improving each time it's done. We are very
grateful to CAAL (Chinese American Association of Lexington) for their help.
COMMUNITY SPEAK
None
CONSENT AGENDA
Mr. Bokun read the following consent agenda items:
Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval
a. October 8, 2021 -Accounts Payable in the amount of $1,597,213.40
b. October 8, 2021 -Payroll in the amount of $4,210,719.49
Ms. Jay read the following consent agenda item:
Approval of School Committee Minutes
a. September 28, 2021
Ms. Sawhney read the following consent agenda items:
Donations
a. Approval of approximately $2,000 worth of school supplies donated to the Lexington
Public Schools from Staples
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Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee vote to accept the whole Consent
Agenda; Mr. Bokun seconded. (Approved 5-0).
Mr. Bokun made a motion to adjourn at 9:11 P.M.; Ms Cuthbertson seconded. (Approved 5-0).
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