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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-01-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, February 1, 2022 Conducted by Remote Participation Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:33 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 David Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations The minutes were taken by Julie Kaye, School Committee Meeting Recording Secretary. The School Committee convened in-person in the LPS Central Office and Zoom. 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 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. 14%lkTAIaIVi11.1a:Ze1►I►[fill ►[49kFAIIL1ll�7_1►1131TA1471•]►11.14:1013&1 • Ms. Cuthbertson thanked CAAL (Chinese American Association of Lexington) for the Lunar New Year celebration last night, she had a great time watching with her family. Ms. Cuthbertson and Mr. Bokun attended the last Capital Expenditures Committee meeting. The CEC has a new member, Michael Boudett. They also attended the LexSEPTA Business meeting. Kate DeAngelis from the Recreation Department gave a presentation LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK of all of the work that the Recreation Department is doing (creating more accessible and inclusive recreation experiences). • Mr. Bokun attended the MLK Community Conversation on Race with a focus on education on January 19. He thanked the Lexington Human Rights Committee for organizing it. Mr. Bokun added that Lexington's Human Services is putting together a virtual session called "This is Where We Live Now: Redefining a new normal in the midst of our collective trauma.". The speaker is Charity Bell and the topic is about how we deal with being in crisis mode for almost two years now—how do we talk to each other and move forward together? • Ms. Sawhney has attended two Recreation Committee meetings, an Appropriations Committee meeting, and the Select Board meeting. There is a new article that has been requested for annual Town meeting, it's regarding the Worthen Road area. Concerns are being voiced at the Select Board. Article 97 is a law/mandate where if you have open/recreation spaces and need it for other uses you need permission. There has to be a land swap for the new high school. Town Manager Mr. Malloy and Dr. Hackett will meet to create a framework for the task force to look into the land use issues. • Ms. Jay announced that the School Health Advisory Council (SHAG) is sponsoring an event called Safe Schools Program for community allies to help support LGBTQ students and reduce homophobia and transphobia. It will be a virtual forum on Monday February 7, 2022 at 7:00 pm. This event is specifically for parents, educators, students and community members of all gender identities and sexual orientations to learn how we can support our LGBTQ students. Ms. Jay also added that there is a Hindu holiday this Saturday (2/5/22) called Vasant Panchami. This is a celebration of the goddess Saraswati, she is the goddess of knowledge, learning, music and art. Ms. Jay wished those who celebrate a happy Vasant Panchami. • Sara Mei mentioned that this week in LHS Senate they talked about organizing course advice sessions to underclassmen. She also said that the Program of Studies for the 2022-2023 school year was released today, along with Curriculum Night information. They are also connecting with counseling for a possible mental health day. This week, there is someone coming to talk about restorative justice practices. • Ms. Lenihan stated that the Vision for Lexington Committee has put out a survey that happens once every five years. She encouraged people to fill it out, it helps the Town figure out our priorities going forward. Ms. Lenihan mentioned that LexObserver is a non-profit news outlet in town (www.lexobserver.org). If you follow them you will receive a newsletter and you will be up to date with everything going on in Lexington. She also wished everyone who celebrates a happy Vasant Panchami day! LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK COMMUNITY SPEAK Lana Panasyuk, 28 Saddle Club Road: She has had five kids go through Lexington Public Schools. She would like the School Committee to address three points: one is to make masks optional, the second is rolling back protocols (distancing, isolation, opening windows etc.), and to keep talking to local governments. She and her friends who are parents will be sending letters to the Town, to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and to the Massachusetts Governor's office to get freedom for our children. Lee Manning, 9 Burroughs Road: She has three kids at Fiske. She would like to draw attention to the letter that was released from the Massachusetts Secretary of Education. It was to Higher Ed presidents and his call to transition to regain a sense of normalcy. The Secretary mentioned that the two years of social isolation, anxiety, stress and depression needs to be addressed to promote a return to healthy social interactions. He also mentioned reconsidering protocols such as overtly aggressive surveillance testing , discouraging group activities and mask requirements. Lee stated that this letter was directed to higher education but she feels like something will be headed our way soon, she hopes that when it does that the School Committee will consider this with as much urgency as it deserves. Lori Giterman, 26 Eldred Street: She is a mother to a fourth grader at Estabrook and a soon to be kindergartener. She would like to reiterate what Lee and Lana said, she thinks it's time for us to have an open conversation about rolling back the protocols. Masks are not required in over half of the states. She states that it's time to ask ourselves, "why are we putting the ownership of this endemic on the children who are at lower risk and who are not significantly risking their family members and adults around them?" She encouraged the School Committee to have the conversation, "let's be on different sides, let's hear each other, let's weigh the pro's and con's, let's do the risk/benefit analysis and let's not continue to have an imbalanced impact on all of our children." NEW BUSINESS Proposed FY 23 Capital Improvement Projects Dr. Hackett introduced Mike Croinin, Director of Public Facilities. Mr. Cronin gave the following project updates, these are projects that have occurred recently and some are coming up: LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK • High School - Painting, floor replacement and window cleanings happened over the past summer and the fall. The HV/AC unit in the library will be replaced in the coming summer. The K mods have had heating and cooling issues, we have been working with our vendor, some remediation work is expected to take place. Repiping on the roof is also being looked at. The last item on the capital plan is for the LHS study, we have to wait to see if we get invited in. • Clarke - Classroom painting, flooring work and window cleanings have been done. We are on the tail end of the solar installation project, we are waiting for the batteries to arrive. The hope is for the process to be complete by the start of the next school year. In the back of Clarke, there is a little road/driveway to the loading dock, this area will be resurfaced with new asphalt. • Diamond - Lots of painting, flooring, and window cleanings have been done. The last piece of the building project is to add a generator, there is a small one but it does not service the whole building. We are working with the principal so that while it is being replaced it will impact the summer programs as little as possible. • Bowman - Solar in place to be ready by the end of the summer. We did line striping and a controller upgrade so the HC/AC units work more efficiently. We got new bike racks to accommodate the increase of students riding their bikes. Cosmetic updates to the front will happen in the summer, as well as new playground resurfacing PIP (poured in place). • Bridge - A roof bid went out, we are hoping to get bids back by February 24. We are anticipating the numbers to be high, Mr. Cronin will give an update once the numbers are in. Some adjustments to the project may have to be done due to inflation. New surfacing for the playground (PIP) will be done. • Estabrook - Humidity control was not in place when the building was built. This means if someone had the windows open and the AC was running, the trays would flood from the condensation and the whole system would shut down. Chris Bouchard and Sean Newell came up with a solution for this. New surfacing for the playground (PIP) will also be done. • Fiske - We are doing the first year of the capital flooring program, five buildings were selected that needed new flooring. The flooring replacement will be done in four classrooms each summer, the file will be removed and we will switch to linoleum (better maintenance). Fiske will receive an entirely new playground and PIP resurfacing. • Harrington - Over the summer four classrooms will receive new flooring. • The Central Office -This building received a F on its evaluation, significant roof work is needed. Some windows need work, we are going to do a test/pilot for new windows. LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK • Hastings & LCP - The only significant work happening at these two locations is the solar project, we are waiting for Eversource to hook everything up. School Committee Member Questions/Comments: Ms. Sawheny asked if any of the solar panels were working. Mr. Cronin replied that none of them are hooked up, we are waiting for batteries and Eversource. Ms. Sawhney asked how the solar panels are holding up with all of the snow, Mr. Cronin stated that they are holding up great. Ms. Sawhney also asked about the new playground, Mr. Cronin explained the Poured In Place (PIP) surface and the old playground material. Ms. Sawheny asked how the new flooring at Fiske is going to be managed since the ESY program is held there in the summer. Mr. Cronin explained that he is working with the principal, the rooms that are scheduled to be redone will be away from the rooms being used for the program, also there will be no fumes. Dr. Hackett thanked Mr. Cronin for his forward thinking efforts and all of the hard work that is done by facilities. Ms. Jay asked about the HV/AC system at the high school, how is the rest of the HV/AC system doing? Where are we with the health and maintenance during these planning years? Mr. Cronin replied that we know that the building is in its final years but we are still maintaining it. There are pieces of equipment that will fail before we have a new high school so there is a new capital item that has been put in place for $500,000.00. This is to cover any emergencies or if any equipment needs to be replaced (it is in the capital budget). Ms. Jay also asked if replacing systems as they fail is the best way or is there a more preventative way? Mr. Cronin responded that it is financially better to replace pieces instead of whole systems, he did also state that if the whole system is not working then they will reassess. Ms. Lenihan thanked Mr. Cronin for going over all of the projects. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT • LIPS COVID-19 Update: o Dr. Hackett mentioned that experts predicted that the Omicron surge would reach its peak in February, this is reflected in our diminishing positive cases. As of January 12th, 236 students and 34 staff reported newly positive for COVID-19. On January 27th, 69 students and 8 staff reported new cases, the trajectory is moving in the right direction. LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK o Dr. Hackett believes that now is a good time to reflect on the past two years of the pandemic. She had a photo memory pop up of the performance at Diamond where we got our first case two years ago. We should think about how far we have come, reaffirm our commitment to in person learning and to remind people that vaccines were a game changer for us! o As of January 28th we had approximately 82% of all LPS students (K-12) fully vaccinated. You can view a snapshot of LPS student vaccination rates by school and grade, this is linked in the report. To date we have administered 6,270 COVID-19 vaccine doses and/ booster shots through our clinics. For the month of February vaccine clinics will be held at Central Office on: ■ February 4, 2022 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ■ Wednesday, February 16, 2022 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. ■ Thursday, February 17, 2022 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. ■ Thursday, February 24, 2022 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dr. Hackett added that we will keep doing vaccine clinics until we get to 100V o Dr. Hackett spoke about managing the dichotomy of what people want during this pandemic. She made it clear that there are no plans to revert back to remote learning. o There has been a "back to normalcy tool kit" that has been floating around on social media both nationally and locally. People are talking about taking off masks and reverting back to normalcy. We have received many messages about rolling back protocols. Dr. Hackett wanted the School Committee to be aware that this is a communication strategy that is out there, she is not taking a position on it. o The organization that has the most power in this pandemic is the Board of Health. If we were to lose masks, we would be in violation with the Board of Health which has a policy in order through March 15th. We can not overturn this and we do support this. Our local nursing staff has talked about the difficulties of managing all of the different government agencies positions on the pandemic. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has different requirements than the Board of Health, than the Mass Department of Public Health, than perhaps the position of the governor. Dr. Hackett understands that people are wanting to remove the masks, when it is the right time, we will. o Dr. Hackett also gave an update on the 10 -day quarantine, several weeks ago we moved from the five day quarantine and moved to test -to -return. Meanwhile, the state has dropped the test -and -stay protocols and they have talked about dropping contact tracing (we did all of that prior to the State's announcement). We instituted a 10 -day quarantine because students and staff were returning with positive test cases (people were not testing negative on day 6) and we saw numbers skyrocket. So while in the Omicron surge we went back to a 10 -day policy. Since we have seen those numbers decline, we are going to go back to the five day quarantine (returning on day 6). We are not requiring testing because we have new testing protocols in place. Every couple of weeks people get rapid LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK antigen tests to take home. We have three types of testing still happening: the rapid antigen at home tests, symptomatic testing, and pooled testing. These are the ways that we will pick up on positive cases. School Committee comments and questions on COVID-19 update Ms. Cuthberston asked, "On the return on day six, how are we communicating to families that the expectation is that they use the test and to test before they send their child back?" She knows families in town that have had a child be asymptomatic and still testing positive up to day 10. She is concerned that people will assume that because their child is asymptomatic that they can go back. Dr. Hackett said that the testing requirement for the new rapid antigen test is for Tuesdays, we have pooled testing on Wednesday with results on Friday so it is possible for people to return positive. We are recommending a Tuesday return and nurses are also watching the symptomatic cases carefully. There will be some risk in not completely isolating but watching the numbers, we feel confident that it's a manageable risk. She also added that if numbers increase then we will talk about another change in protocol, we're going to try things out and adjust if needed. Ms. Cuthbertson also asked what the opt -in rate for the new antigen tests is, Dr. Hackett responded that she does not have the exact numbers with her but she remembers it being around 2,500 students and approximately 800 for staff. Ms. Cuthberston encouraged everyone to participate in testing. Ms. Sawhney asked Dr. Hackett to give an overview of the opt -in testing in case there are parents who have missed any communications. Dr. Hackett replied that a couple of weeks ago Governor Baker announced that they would have rapid antigen testing available to both students and staff who wanted it. The requirement was that school systems had to sign up for it, so we did. We then had teams go to the webinars, we sent out consent forms to families (she is unaware if you can continue to sign up), Mr. Coelho added that he believes you can continue to sign up. January 28th was the deadline for the first distribution. Dr. Hackett stated that if you are hearing this for the first time to contact your principal to get the form. If you submit a consent form, you will receive a rapid antigen test kit every couple of weeks. We are asking people to take the test on Tuesday to try and catch the people who we don't catch in the pooled testing. Test strategy number one is to watch for kids and staff who are symptomatic (we give tests if they are in school), test strategy number two is the pooled saliva testing, and the third is this new rapid at home antigen testing. We are using the State's program now because it is free. LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK Ms. Lenihan asked about school lunches, she gave a hypothetical scenario about a student returning while being symptomatic and she asked if there was any way to make sure that this does not happen. Dr. Hackett replied that we can't protect against anything 100%, we can put systems in place but more than likely an educator would notice something like that scenario before it got to lunch. This is not perfect but some people who are very fearful are picking their kids up at lunch and then bringing the child back to school. At first this was not allowed by principals but considering that we are in a different time and place, accommodations were made. Ms. Lenihan is concerned about the vaccination rates at the elementary schools, they are between 67%-75%. Dr. Hackett pointed out that the high school vaccination rates were low at the beginning, it took some time to build up. Parents of younger children also seem to have a longer process of deciding if the vaccine is right for their child. Dr. Hackett does feel like we will see those numbers increase overtime. Ms. Jay thanked Dr. Hackett for being willing to adapt to changes, especially with protocols. Her flexibility is appreciated. Ms. Jay reminded everyone that it is our job to keep everyone safe. People may be tired of hearing about protocols but it is necessary to have these conversations. Ms. Jay has been hearing lots of stories about kids missing social interactions, especially in the Middle and High School, and concerns about their mental health. She asked if more fun in-person activities could be planned, the more the better. Ms. Jay recognizes that all of our students, at every grade level, have struggled. Some of our youngest (kindergarteners and first graders) have never experienced school and don't really know how to be in the classroom with a lot of other kids. As a result, this creates disruptions. Ms. Jay states that it is important for our teachers to do what they do so well and establish norms, teach how to take turns and to be kind to others. Dr. Hackett added that it hurts her heart when she thinks about little kids having to deal with the last two years and their first exposure to school was during a pandemic. She also mentioned that our educators are very attuned that this is an unusual time. The public does not see what Dr. Hackett sees when she visits classrooms; we are not perfect but kids are still learning and experiencing joy! Teachers have been given permission to veer from the curriculum in order to take care of students' social -emotional needs. Dr. Hackett asked Sara Mei about her experience of being in school with masks, Sara replied that at the High School no one really complains anymore, it's just a part of normal life. Ms. Lenihan added that she asked her son who is in high school, what is different this year and he said everything is the same, we just have masks on. LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK Dr. Hackett also pointed out that the younger students are getting outside a lot more now, this is something that she wants to see always, pandemic or not. We are also working hard to avoid any disruptions in our group activities, we are not canceling trips, unlike other districts. Dr. Hackett is proud to announce that we will be going to Carnegie Hall! This is not without risk, but we have plans in place for people's safety and families understand what we are requiring. People should know that our educators work really hard to collaborate with families to make sure that there is no disruption to the wonderful events that kids have had in the past. Ms. Cuthbertson added that she is excited to bring her family to the Joy In Learning celebration at the beginning of March. She also thinks it is great that Big Backyard is still happening, she loves seeing children being out like they would have been before. • Congratulations and Celebrations: o Dr. Hackett visited both middle schools, Clarke and Diamond, on January 13th. She saw students creating double helix models to describe the structure of DNA and where it is located; how CO2 moves to the bloodstream from the alveoli; from the alveoli to the bronchioles; so on and so forth. She saw discrete engineering classes (this doesn't happen in most middle schools) and students making robots, a 3D model of an arm, and students gearing up to dissect a Iamb's heart. Dr. Hackett also got to listen to teachers engage in thoughtful collaborative dialog to determine how to consistently measure the standards indicators in the Next Generation Science Standards, eight practices. They also explored ways to measure how students apply and synthesize their pre-existing knowledge into new material, it was a fascinating conversation because they weren't just talking about standard based education. Dr. Hackett got to sit in on a conversation with a team of three educators, they were putting their heads together to explore ways to cover classes. All along, these three science teachers have been working together with one long-term substitute. They would teach their content to their own kids and then when it was time for independent work, they would run over and take turns and teach what they just taught to their kids in the classroom with the substitute and that sub would go over to the teacher who is teaching the classroom. They did this many times because they did not want kids to miss out on the content. This shows great dedication! If you know of any science teachers, please let us know so that we can help fill important open positions. LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK o Dr. Hackett saw some fun project based learning happening in Miss Whitney Factor's class. Students worked in teams, they would go to medical school and learn about diseases and then create a recipe for their patient and go home and make it. Team Tenacity's cookbook won! Dr. Hackett thought that it was great that students were putting their own cultural spin on this lesson. o Dr. Hackett thanked Val Franks, the middle school science coordinator. Dr. Hackett asked Val what she is proud of and Val replied that she is really proud of the fact that she insists on lots of questioning (inquiry -based education) and that they are still doing labs and hands-on learning. o Dr. Hackett gave a shout out to Bowman educator Josh Curhan for making the Fenway Bowl Honor Roll! o Dr. Hackett is also proud of Ryan Casey at the High School for earning the ACTFL Award of Excellence in World Language Instruction Using Technology on November 19th! o Dr. Hackett got to see a new teacher, Emily Moran's lesson, "Things We Lost. Things We Learned. Things We Love." This is a wall with index cards filled out with reflections of the pandemic. Emily is also a recipient of an award through the National Art Ed Association convention in New York, they also asked her to present. • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: o A letter was sent out to the community in solidarity with the Jewish community to reaffirm that "we all belong" and there's absolutely no place in our community for violence or hate of any kind. Horrific events have happened right before the international Holocaust Rememberence Day. o Dr. Hackett encouraged everyone to attend the webinar A Straight Ally's Guide for Reducing Homophobia and Transphobia on Monday February 7th at 7:00 pm. o Grace Ou drafted a letter of support for new social studies electives at LHS. o A group of students got together on Wednesday January 12th and watched the documentary Willie. It is about the first black player in the National Hockey League, Willie O'Ree. Mr. Bokun asked for this to be included into the curriculum somehow. Dr. Hackett was on a panel at the hockey convention, The Carnegie Initiative Summit in Boston. • Aspen Family Portal: o Dr. Hackett asked parents to please double check your ASPEN records. The full Superintendent's report can be found here. LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK UNFINISHED BUSINESS After several presentations and public hearings on the FY 2023 proposed budget, the School Committee voted on approving the budget. Mr. Bokun moved to approve the Superintendent's FY 2023 Budget; Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. (Approved 5-0). COMMUNITY SPEAK Zhechun Zhang, 3 Baker Ave: He has a first grader at Bowan. He really likes Dr. Hackett's decision making during COVID, it is good for leaders to have an open mind. He also likes the transparency of explaining the reasons and evidence behind the decision making. Mr. Zhang thought that the rates of vaccination were high at the elementary level. His family moved to Lexington from Brookline, he is optimistic that his kids are well protected because the vaccination rates are much higher in Lexington than in Brookline. Catie Sawka, second grade teacher at Bowman Elementary: She thanked Dr. Hackett for her support for speaking about how things are being implemented in the classroom. Catie spoke on behalf of herself and her colleagues that kids are not bothered by how things have had to evolve in order to keep themselves safe, as well as their family members. Catie shares that she lost a family member at the beginning of the pandemic to COVID and that she and her 14 -month-old son just recently recovered from COVID. She added that she has established a really strong classroom community and her students are so accustomed to the masks, "they are fine with it." Catie stated that young children are better at adapting to change than adults are. In her class, they celebrate when a kid gets a vaccine and they have fun masks. Catie thanked Dr. Hackett again for acknowledging the fact that we're doing all that we can to make school as fun, engaging and normal as it can be in the current climate. We are all in this fight together and Catie wants to reinforce the notion that the primary kids are totally fine with it and that they are thriving. Tracey Dawson, 23 Richard Road: She has a second and third grader at Bowman. She thanked all of the nurses and staff who handle the vaccination clinics. Her kids were first in line at the very first clinic, they fist pumped the air for their vaccine shot! She brought up the process for developing the plans for the new high school. At one of the enrollment information nights that LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK she attended while enrolling her daughter, there was a lot of excitement because that class was potentially going to be the first to go through a new high school. It has been four years since and there is still no progress. Ms. Dawson would love to see the School Committee have a discussion about this at an upcoming meeting. She asked what else can we be doing, both as a committee and as a community to think outside of the box to accelerate the development project. Ms. Jay thanked Catie Sawka for her comments, she and her colleagues are the reason things are going so well in the classrooms. Ms. Sawhney brought to attention that this meeting is Mr. Bokun's penultimate meeting. CONSENT AGENDA Mr. Bokun read the following consent agenda items: Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. January 14, 2022 - Payroll in the amount of $4,038,465.29 b. January 21m 2022 -Amounts Payable in the amount of $1,445,92'.98 Ms. Cuthbertson read the following consent agenda items: Donations a. Approval of $400000 from the Russian School of Mathematics and $500,00 from the Center for Applied Rationality to the Lexington High School Math Department b. Aooroval of 5500.00 donation from the Russian School of Mathematics for the Science Olympiad Ms. Jay read the following consent agenda item: Minutes a. January 4, 2022 Ms. Sawhney moved to approve the consent agenda; Ms. Jay seconded. (Approved 5-0). Ms. Cuthbertson made a motion to adjourn at 8:40 P.M; Ms. Jay seconded. (Approved 5-0). LSC 2/1/22 - DRAFT JK