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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-30-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, November 30, 2021 Conducted by Remote Participation Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:30 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 is convening by video conference via the application Zoom as posted on the Town's Website. Members of the public can view and participate in the meeting webinar from their computer or tablet by clicking on the link provided with the meeting agenda. Please note that this meeting is being recorded, and that some attendees are participating by video conference. This evening's meeting is being broadcast live and also taped by LexMedia for future on -demand viewing. All supporting materials that have been provided to members of this body are available on the Town's website unless otherwise noted. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT • Congratulations and Celebrations Dr. Hackett got to attend the "Asian American History Inclusion" Benefit Concert on November 11. It was organized by our Lexington High School students. Asian American veterans were honored and the event raised over $10,000 for the integration of Asian American history into our K-12 curriculum. • LPS COVID-19 Update o Dr. Hackett mentioned that 90 % of the students at the high school are vaccinated and we are starting to track the third booster shot. o The upcoming vaccine clinic dates are: December 2, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Central Office Gymnasium LSC 11/30/21 - Approved on 12.14.21 JK December 10, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Central Office Gymnasium December 13, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Central Office Gymnasium December 23, 2021 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the Central Office Gymnasium o All children must be signed up prior to the clinics; there will be no walk-ins for children. The December 23rd link goes "live" on December 2nd. o There is an update to the COVID Safety Protocols page on the website. o Dr. Hackett thanked the School Committee members for helping out with the prior vaccine clinic's. • Superintendent School Visits Dr. Hackett visited a number of History and Social Studies classrooms at Lexington High School. She saw students getting ready for debate, students doing re-enactments, classes where primary sources and personal finance were discussed, and there were lots of games! Dr. Hackett reported that there were high levels of student engagement and that she was also able to meet with educators and support staff. Dr. Hackett thanked Kerry Dunne, LHS History and Social Studies Department Head, and all the staff who spent time talking with her and welcoming her into their classrooms. • Tenacity Challenge Prior to COVID-19, Lexington Public Schools participated in the Tenacity Challenge, an interdistrict academic competition for teams of urban and suburban students of color. While COVID-19 diminished participation during the past two years and forced this challenge to be virtual, this year, they are finally back in-person! The Tenacity Challenge competition consists of four events centered around the theme of tenacity and leadership, and at least one or two LPS teams plan to participate. The competition will take place on April 30, 2022. To find out more information, please visit their website at https://www.tenacitychallenge.com/. • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Johnny Cole was invited to speak: o He mentioned the successful hiring season we had in terms of diversity. Retention is now a focus, we want our new hires to thrive. o We continue to have required training for all staff in cultural proficiency. There are plans to work with Whitsons District Manager Kevin Silvia to provide training for all food services staff as well. o Dr. Lyons is attending the Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Education job fair tomorrow; she will be bringing five Student Advisory Council students. o The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Community Input Team (CIT) is looking at articulating a district -wide curriculum for diversity, equity and inclusion. They will also start to look at some social justice standards and what model works best. o The DEI Student Advisory Council is back up and running, we have a lot of new students involved! Dr. Hackett added that the work that was just highlighted is part of the Superintendent—School Committee Goals. LSC 11/30/21 - Approved on 12.14.21 JK The full Superintendent's Report can be found here. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Sawhney asked if there could be more vaccine clinic dates. Dr. Hackett replied that the Director of School Health Services adds as many as the community needs. Ms. Sawhney asked if we have any feedback mechanism that tracks new teachers and gets feedback from them. Mr. Cole responded that we are working on that, the Affinity Groups are one of those mechanisms. Facilitators are asking people who are attending the Affinity groups, "Is there anything that you want us to share with Administration?"; "Is there anything you want to share about your experience being hired/working here?". METCO Presentation Dr. Hackett introduced Barbara Hamilton, the LPS METCO Director. Ms. Hamilton talked about the challenges of the pandemic and how she has seen students and educators working really hard to bring back some normalcy. She would like this evening to be about focusing on the positives and on students strengths. Many students in the programs are on the honor roll, honorable mention, and have been accepted into higher education already. Some METCO students recently participated in a college fair and received on-site acceptances. The CEO and President of METCO, Milly Arbaje-Thomas, was then invited to speak. Ms. Arbaje-Thomas thanked the School Committee and Dr. Hackett for having her there. She explained that the METCO program started with School Committee members. Ms. Arbaje-Thomas is also a parent to a student in the METCO program and it has affected her life personally. She mentioned that the METCO program brings another perspective to suburban students. She also said that she loves Lexington's Core Values. Only 33 communities are members of the METCO program in Massachusetts. Ms. Arbaje-Thomas announced that there is a new exhibit at the METCO office in Nubian Square, it displays the history of METCO and she invited the School Committee to have a meeting there. There are also lots of upcoming events there and they are working on "METCO 2.0". Lastly, Ms. Arbaja-Thomas announced that Emerson College has given a four year scholarship, with everything paid for! She expressed great pride in Lexington's involvement with the METCO program. Ms. Hamilton then introduced the video about the METCO program in Lexington. The video included interviews with many METCO students and staff throughout the district. It featured the support that is offered to students, the cultural impact, the different programs available, and students highlighted their achievements and goals. Ms. Hamilton asked for a moment of silence to honor Lisa Cox, Gail Cody, and Edna Jones -Stroud, all of whom were involved with METCO and have passed away recently. LSC 11/30/21 - Approved on 12.14.21 JK Ms. Hamilton explained that next there would be breakout sessions with groups for each school. Each will have two sets of questions to discuss. The different sections available for members of the community to join are: • Bowman & Bridge Breakout Session • Estabrook & Hastings Breakout Session • Fiske & Harrington Breakout Session • Clarke Breakout Session • Diamond Breakout Session • LHS 9th & 10th Grade Breakout Session • LHS 11th & 12th Grade Breakout Session One question being asked of all groups is: "How do we continue to promote the positive message and experiences that METCO brings to our school district and to our community?" The second question is unique to each group. There will be a facilitator in each group who will share what that question is. The hope is that through these discussions, we will all really see the importance of our collaboration. Ms. Hamilton announced that each of the links for the different groups are located at the bottom of the agenda. The groups will meet for 20-25 minutes then the School Committee meeting will reconvene to adjourn. The School Committee came back to the original Zoom meeting. Ms. Lenihan had some technical difficulties and is no longer in the meeting. Dr. Hackett mentioned how it was a really great experience to be able to spend some time with our families, students and staff. Dr. Hackett, Ms. Hamilton and Ms. Sawhney briefly discussed Lexington's METCO enrollment numbers. Ms. Sawhney mentioned that in her Google Meet group there was a student who talked about how we can elevate the stories and experiences of our students. Ms. Sawhney stated that if any student writes to the School Committee, they will get a handwritten response. Ms. Jay, who was in the LHS 9th & 10th Grade Breakout Session, said there was a request to do this sort of thing virtually more often. The other thing that came up in the LHS groups was, "What makes it difficult for kids in high school to push themselves into higher levels or more challenging classes?" Ms. Jay spoke of the importance of building confidence academically and socially at younger ages, so they have the confidence before reaching high school. She asked how we can do this. Dr. Hackett said that the video did a good job of showing how confidence grows over time. Kids come to us with different needs and abilities, our job is to take them wherever they are at in their journey and to give them what we can to help them thrive. Ms. Jay asked for a motion to adjourn; Ms. Cuthbertson made the motion to adjourn at 8:15 P.M.; Mr. Bokun seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll call vote (Approved 4-0). LSC 11/30/21 - Approved on 12.14.21 JK