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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-15-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, February 15, 2022 Conducted by Remote Participation Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:02 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 Chris Lyons, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Staff Support 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 at Central Office. 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. EXECUTIVE SESSION Exemption 3 - For the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining with Unit C, as the Chair declares that an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the School Committee. Ms. Lenihan made a motion to enter Executive Session, roll call vote (Approved 4-0, Ms. Jay not present at this time). RETURN TO OPEN SESSION The School Committee adjourned Executive Session and entered the regular session at 6:45 pm. JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT SC MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS • Ms. Cuthbertson announced that the Parent and Caregiver Academy will be on March 13th from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. This will be virtual with 3 sessions to choose from. This event fills up quickly so go sign up! Ms. Cuthbertson and Ms. Jay attended the last School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) meeting, there was a panel discussion for "A straight ally's guide for reducing homophobia & transphobia". • Ms. Sawhney spoke about Mr. Bokun. • Ms. Jay stated that the straight ally's guide for reducing homophobia & transphobia was very well done, she thanked SHAC LGBTQ subcommittee. They are doing a great job trying to promote understanding and help support our students. The next LGBTQ subcommittee meeting is scheduled during iBlock so some students will be able to join in with their perspectives. Ms. Jay asked Dr. Hackett for an update on what LPS is doing with the dyslexia guidelines. She would like to know if someone could do a presentation at a future School Committee meeting. Ms. Jay also reminded everyone about the upcoming local election on Monday March 7th and encouraged everyone to vote. There are several uncontested races for Select Board, Planning Board and Town Meeting, but the School Committee is a contested race. There will be forums to hear everyone's point of view. • Sara Mei attended the Student Rep. Orientation in Marlborough, she said that it was a cool experience engaging with students from across Massachusetts. There were breakout discussions about mental health, curriculum and achievement, student communication, and COVID. Sara shared her three take-aways. Lexington is a really privileged community, we are so lucky to have families that care for kids and staff that are so dedicated to educating and inspiring our young people. Her second take -away was about mental health, they talked about resources in terms of counseling staff and the importance of professional development for teachers to help support students mental health and the impacts the pandemic has had. Sara added that one student in her group said that their high school has about 1,200 students with just 3 counselors. Her third take -away was about curriculum achievement. Different curriculums and classes were discussed. She was the only student in her group who came from a school that doesn't do weighted GPA. A key point in this conversation was about equity in classes, schools, and between school districts. Sara Mei finally added that she, along with a small group of other Seniors, have been working on a fun transition movie for the incoming students. The video introduces 8th graders to the High School. • Ms. Lenihan read a proclamation for Mr. Bokun, he is Mr. Core Values. • Dr. Hackett introduced a video of students at Harrington singing the "We All Belong" song. JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT • Mr. Bokun attended the Lexington Human Rights Committee meeting where Dr. Hackett, Johnny Cole, Maureen Kavanaugh, and many LPS administrators and educators presented the LPS Report on Efforts to Reduce Systemic Barriers to Equity. Mr. Bokun also added that the next few Planning Board meetings (on Wednesdays), will have public input on upcoming Town Meeting Article 39. This article is about amending the zoning bylaw for 475 Bedford Street (the old Boston Sports Club property). Article 39 wants to change the zoning from a Residential District to a Planned Development District in order to build a life science building there. There has been a lot of talk amongst Town Meeting members to try to keep this area residential with the hopes of getting affordable housing built in that location. He thanked his colleagues for all their kind words! Tonight is Mr. Bokun's last School Committee meeting. Each School Committee member said some nice words about Mr. Bokun and thanked him for all of his work. COMMUNITY SPEAK Lana Panasyuk, 28 Saddle Club Road: She has 5 kids who attend (or have attended) Lexington Public Schools. She brought up the mask mandate and damages caused by masks on our children. She asked the School Committee to make masks optional. Zhechun Zhang, 3 Baker Ave: He is a computational biologist who supports the vaccine program at Pfizer. He is also a Site Council member at Bowman. He asked the School Committee to start an investigation on the events that are happening in a particular 1st grade class at Bowman. Lee Manning, 9 Burroughs Road: She has three children at Fiske Elementary, one in Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 3rd. She was a reading specialist at Hastings prior to having children. Lee shared sentiments from one of her friends who is a teacher in Lexington about the masks. Her friend shared with her that when she is teaching phonics and assessing students, they are giving her unexpected below grade level responses. She can not use certain teaching strategies due to masking such as showing students how to make sounds. Monica Davis, 26 Hayes Lane: She is a parent of a 2nd grader and a 4th grader at Fiske. She thanked Ms. Jay for requesting an update from the schools on how Lexington is responding to the new 2021 Massachusetts Dyslexia guidelines. She also emphasized the impact of masks on learning. Monica is a parent representative on the Dyslexia Task Force that was formed last year. She thinks it's important for the School Committee to hear how Lexington is doing with the guidelines. She also gave a shout out to Mr. Bokun since he was on the Dyslexia Task Force. JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT Teresa Wright, 35 Reed Street: She thanked Mr. Bokun for his time on the School Committee. She is a scientist and a parent to a dyslexic child. She is hoping that the Board of Health will drop the mask mandate by the end of the month or soon after, she is hoping that Lexington will then also move to become "mask optional." SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT • LPS COVID-19 Update o Dr. Hackett wrote a letter to the Board of Health, she states in the letter, "I write to you today to ask that you do not lift the mask mandate prior to March 15, 2022." The Board of Health is meeting tonight to hear from people who want to express their opinion. Dr. Hackett wants to set Lexington up for success. After the school breaks, COVID cases spike and this could be true for the upcoming February break. She does not want to lift the mask mandate too quickly. o For the fourth week in a row, active and ongoing positive cases continue to decline! o Nearly 100% of our 1,400 LPS staff members, 93% of our High School students are vaccinated. Middle schools have vaccination rates just over 86% and approximately 70% of our Elementary schools were vaccinated as of January 26th. • Congratulations and Celebrations o Dr. Hackett got to see math pilots (San Francisco Unified School District Mathematics & Illustrative Mathematics) happening in K-5 Mathematics. She also visited Diamond Middle School's Social Studies classes. o Clarke Middle School students performed, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!" • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion o The LPS Report on Efforts to Reduce Systemic Barriers to Equity will be presented later in the meeting. o Dr. Hackett wrote some clarifications in her report to some misinformation that has been heard at the SEPTA/SEPAC candidate forum and referenced in the LexObserver. Dr. Hackett is quite impressed with the performance of our special education students in Lexington. o Dr. Hackett states that we are absolutely not cutting the special education budget. Special education staffing changes are linked to changes in student enrollment, and our numbers have gone down since 2020. Students with disabilities comprise approximately 14.2% of our student population and our FY 2023 proposed school budget has allocated 32.78% of the General Fund to Special Education accounts. o Dr. Hackett also spoke about communication and outreach with our Special Education families. She explained that two of our School Committee members are Special Education liaisons. • LHS Statement of Interest (SOI) Update o We got the much awaited call from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) asking if Lexington were to be invited into the Capital pipeline, would we be ready? Dr. Hackett responded that yes, indeed, we would be ready. Lots of JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT work has been done to get ready for this. The Board of Directors of the MSBA will meet on March 2nd and they will decide which schools to invite. If we are invited then we would be readying ourselves for the eligibility period. Three things we should be thinking about is funding, educational programming, and site development. The full Superintendent's Report can be found here. School Committee Questions/Comments: Sara Mei asked if masks will still be optional after the mandate is lifted, Dr. Hackett replied that yes, anyone who wants to still wear a mask is welcomed to do so. Ms. Sawhney asked after the mandate is lifted, how do we support staff on both sides (wearing a mask vs. not wearing masks)? Dr. Hackett replied that we will continue to have PPE available for people who need it. Dr. Hackett also mentioned that "smile masks" (they are clear so teachers can see the mouth) were purchased as well as plexiglass shields in response to some of the Community Speak comments. Ms. Sawhney asked if testing will continue after March 15th. Dr. Hackett replied that yes, testing will continue. Ms. Lenihan mentioned that even after the pandemic is over, some people may want to still wear masks. There is "no expiration"; anyone who wants to wear a mask, can absolutely wear a mask. She also spoke of some benefits of masks in general and how we have learned how important ventilation is in our schools. Ms. Cuthbertson commented on how they don't make K-95 masks for under 12 years old and how one-way masking is still beneficial. She reiterated that we are just trying to look out for everyone in our community. She also encouraged the public to keep in mind that there are immunocompromised individuals and people in the community at higher risk. She asked if the same structures for snack and lunch will still be in place. Dr. Hackett appreciates Ms. Cuthbertson's comments about health equity issues. In terms of lunches, we are reviewing protocols. Lunches will start to look like how they used to. Planning to ensure that there are spaces for those students who are a bit more nervous to eat will also be discussed. Dr. Hackett also added that it is important to create a culture where there's no shame to those who want to wear masks and to those who chose not to. Mr. Bokun asked if there's an ending date to the federal mandate to keep masking on buses, Dr. Hackett replied that to her knowledge, there is no ending date (it might be on March 18th). Ms. Lenihan stated that the "unwinding" is complicated and time consuming. After Dr. Hackett concluded her Superintendents Report, she left the School Committee meeting to attend the Board of Health Meeting. PRESENTATION: 2021-2022 Annual LPS Report on Efforts to Reduce Systemic Barriers JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT Ms. Lenihan introduced Mr. Johnny Cole, Director of Equity & Student Supports and Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh, Director of Planning and Assessment, to present the following report on Systemic Barriers. 2021-2022 Annual LPS Report on Efforts to Reduce Systemic Barriers Mr. Cole started off by saying that it is great to see all of the work that we are doing but also acknowledging how much work there is still to do. Slide 1- Introduction: Lexington Public Schools Report on Efforts to Reduce Systemic Barriers to Equity: Annual Update. Slide 2- The Lexington Public Schools Strategic Plan Vision Statement has as Goal 1, Address and Narrow Equity Gaps. This goal is broken into two parts. Part one is about ensuring that all students and staff have a sense of belonging and safety, and the other part is about addressing disparate student experiences. Slide 3- These are five areas that are focused on in the report: (1.1) Ensuring a diverse workforce, (1.2) Ensuring equitable access to a diverse, rigorous curriculum reflecting our vision and core values, (1.3) Ensuring inclusion in the general education learning environment, (2.1) Addressing disproportionate use of suspension & student discipline, and (2.2) Ensuring progress toward our "We All Belong" core value. Slide 4- Ensuring a Diverse Workforce, this is a recap of what was presented in the Fall. We are seeing increased diversity amongst our staff, particularly with racial diversity. Slide 5- A frequently asked question is how do our staff demographics compare to our student demographics, this slide is comparing those data points in bar graphs. Slide 6- A bar graph with the rates of diversity in staff from FY18 to FY22 broken down by the different bargaining units. Slide 7- Delivering a Diverse Curriculum. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Community Input Team meets monthly to do work on this. There are expectations that all departments should be addressing the key components of the DEI Social Justice Standards. Slide 8- Views of Climate and Learning (VOCAL) Survey Project was developed by the State and it is administered to students in Grades 4, 5, 8 and 10 along with MCAS. Slide 9- VOCAL results that are related to teacher expectations, the majority of students report a positive perception. Slide 10- MCAS Math results by ke subgroup. These are our MCAS results that were reviewed earlier this year. Slide 11- High School Course Enrollment by Level and Special Education Status and by Race/Ethnicity. The figures here summarize course enrollments by special education status and by race and ethnicity across our Advanced Placement, honors, and three levels of college prep. Slide 12- Ensuring Inclusion in the General Education Learning Environment. There will be a report coming out from the Community Input Team on Inclusion. Slide 13- Reviewed the K-12 LPS Special Education Environment (percentage of inclusion), these numbers have improved. Slide 14- Addressing Disproportionate Use of Suspension & Student Discipline, the data shows some promising trends. Slide 15- Excerpt from Lexington Public Schools Strategic Plan Vision Statement. JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT Slide 16- Use of Suspension or Emergency Removal: 2018 to 2022. We are on track to be lower than pre -pandemic levels and we will continue to collect data on the subgroups throughout the yea r. Slide 17- Administrator Behavior Referral Summary. This year LPS launched a new data collection for documenting other behavioral incidents for which students are referred to building administrators, sometimes known as an "office referral.". Slide 18- Ensuring Progress Toward Our Core Value "We All Belong." This includes preventing acts of bullying, discrimination and harassment, clarifying and enhancing ways staff and students can report and continuing to enhance our data collections and reporting. Slide 19- This is a summary of responses from the online Incident Reporting form. So far, the form has been used 31 times. There is also a chart that has LPS Confirmed Bullying Incidents from 2018-2022 Slide 20- Shows a breakdown of those who were electronically bullied and those who were bullied on school property. These results capture the students' perceptions about the experiences they're having in school. Slide 21- Results from 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS): Experience of LGBTQ+ High School Students, we do see improvements. Slide 22- Additional resources for community members, families, students, and LPS staff are linked. View the full written report on reducing suets is barriers. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Cuthbertson said that it is great to see improvements! Her question is towards the YRBS data and the reports from our students with disabilities and our LGBTQ+ students. She would like to know if we have any information (or can we get the information at a later meeting) on the diversity and staffing for gender and sexuality and disability, for our students the representation is important. Dr. Kavanaugh responded that "we are so close" and that there is a survey drafted, it will probably go out in the fall or winter of next year. Ms. Sawhney wanted to know how our system was doing after 2019, she said that this was answered on page 31. She asked if we should look at how staff interact and understand other staff in terms of diversity. Mr. Cole responded that we have been doing Professional Development (PD) around this, we just finished three 2 hour sessions at Central Office. Ms. Sawhey asked if the new hires/temps could get a little 2-3 page write-up as to what our ethos is and what our expectations are. Mr. Cole replied that we already have this as a part of our onboarding for substitute teachers, and it is done through Human Resources. Ms. Jay really appreciated the report and is looking forward to diving into the full report. Sara Mei brought up the disproportionate use of suspension in student discipline. She mentioned that there is a new restorative justice coordinator at the High School, she would like more information about this role and if there is a similar role at the Middle School. Mr. Cole said that there was some restructuring of roles in the counseling department to help free up one of the roles to be for restorative justice. This counselor is working with the Deans and engaging in JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT restorative practices. Other staff will also be trained in restorative justice. There is not one role like this at the middle school level but there are lots of counselors who are well -versed in restorative justice practices. Dr. Kavanaugh added that there are administrators in the process of getting fully trained to build their own capacity to lead, and fully implement restorative practices in their current roles. Ms. Lenihan brought up the part on page 7 of the written report that discusses access to honors and AP classes. She would like to know if this could be tweaked a little to still include teacher recommendations. Mr. Cole responded that this is about removing barriers rather than putting them up and that it is work done by the curriculum department heads. Also we are trying to rethink what is "successful" for individual students. Mr. Bokun added that he saw the presentation at the HRC meeting and he "thinks you're ready to take it on the road." NEW BUSINESS Vote to Ratify Memorandum of Agreement with Unit C Negotiations with Unit C were completed and the contract is ready for School Committee approval. Mr. Bokun made a motion to ratify Memorandum of Agreement with Unit C; Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote (Approved 5-0). Superintendent's Mid -Cycle Review This item was skipped and will be discussed at a future meeting due to timing. Policy Update • Ms. Cuthbertson reported that after the YRBS data came out, she met with Julie Fenn and discussed the need to update some of our health policies. She would like to have a meeting with Ms. Sawheny to review more of our policies. • Ms. Lenihan brought up the policy regarding School Committee reorganization. Ms. Jay agreed that we have to change this policy because it currently says that the reorganizing should happen at the first meeting after the Town election. She also thinks that we can decouple the timing of doing liaison assignments from the reorganization. She is suggesting to have the liaison retreat shortly after the election. COMMUNITY SPEAK Mona Roy, Bertwell Rd: She commented on the excellent work that LPS is doing to remove systemic barriers. It is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made. She also commented on how Dr. Hackett reminded us that community progress happens when community members speak up, she appreciates that the School Committee continues to JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT encourage parents and students to speak up, be brave and share different perspectives. She also spoke about the LexSEPTA forum that she attended and thanked the parents for submitting questions to SEPAC and thanked the candidates for showing up and answering the questions. She also thanked the School Committee for all of their work. Sacit Cetiner, Main Campus Dr: He is a research scientist at a University in Boston. He has two kids, one 14 and one 6, and they recently relocated to Lexington. His child goes to Bowman and has experienced some challenging days. He pleads to the School Committee to read the emails from other parents carefully. He cares about everyone's right to education but education can only occur in the proper forum. He is very concerned about his child. Ms. Lenihan spoke up and mentioned that anyone can reach out to the School Committee at an individual level at any time and that you can speak to us about any concerns. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Mr. Cetiner added that he feels like "we have not been paid attention to" and he would appreciate attention to this topic. Lee Manning, 9 Burroughs Road: She is happy to hear Sara Mei's comments about lunch feeling normal. She shares information that she has received from other parents that the elementary students are eating at desks or on the floor and talking is not allowed. She asks that since things are moving towards normalcy that improvements are made to lunches. She also added that from the teachers she knows, the smile masks are not being used. She has used them while tutoring and they fog up and they are not effective at showing the mouth like we thought they would. Chris Robinson, 57 Buckman Dr: He is a physician practicing in the Mount Auburn/Cambridge system, his daughter is in first grade at Bowman. She has had some traumatic experiences in her first two years at school and he will be submitting his experiences to the School Committee. Zhechun Zhang, 3 Baker Ave: He wanted to add that the parents at Bowman tried every route from a school level as well as the Central Office. We feel this matter really needs to reach the School Committee. He also hopes that the mask mandate masks on buses will be lifted. CONSENT AGENDA Mr. Bokun moved to approve the following consent agenda items: I. Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. February 4® 2022 - B O in the amount of $1,366®19168 b. February 11, 2022- in the amount of $4,272,690,17 c. February 18 2022 - BMO in the amount of $14,765.60 JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT d. Februart 18, 2022 - Accounts Payable in the amount of $934e950.37 Mr. Cuthbertson moved to approve the following consent agenda items: II. Donations a. Rewards Program Ms. Sawheny moved to approve the following consent agenda items: III. Minutes a. December 14 2021 Ms. Jay moved to approve the consent agenda; Ms. Sawhney seconded. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote (Approved 5-0). Ms. Sawhney made a motion to adjourn at 9:38 P.M, Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote (Approved 5-0). JK 02/15/22 - DRAFT