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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-12-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, March 12, 2024 Meeting Minutes AGENDA: CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:04 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Sara Cuthbertson, Chairperson Deepika Sawhney, Vice-chair Kathleen Lenihan, Clerk Eileen Jay Larry Freeman Student Representatives Julia Tanin and Hailey Kim. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent The minutes were taken by Julie Kaye, School Committee Meeting Recording Secretary. The School Committee convened at the School Committee Meeting Room at Central Office and remotely. Members of the public can view and participate in person or 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. CONSENT AGENDA Ms. Sawhney read the following consent agenda items: • Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. March 8, 2024- Payroll in the amount of$4,674,427.40 b. March 15, 2024 -AP Warrant in the amount of$673,151.72 c. March 15, 2024 - BMO Warrant in the amount of$100,320.59 Ms.Jay read the following consent agenda items as amended: • Minutes a. January 23, 2024 Mr. Freeman motioned to approve the entire consent agenda, Ms. Lenihan seconded. Passed, 5-0. JK 3/12/24-DRAFT SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Mr. Freeman gave a shout-out to the Unified basketball teams at Diamond and Clarke. Ms. Jay attended the SHAC meeting last week, and students gave a presentation about neurodiversity. They provided insight into their experiences as students with these neurodiverse conditions and suggested how teachers and educators can help. The presentation will be given again at Parent Academy on Saturday, March 23rd. Ms. Lenihan thanked the community for voting her in for her third and final term on the School Committee. She and Ms. Sawhney attended the SEPAC quarterly meeting. The new elementary math program, graduation requirements, and out-of-district placements were discussed. Ms. Sawhney attended a panel discussion on the film "Repairing the World: Stories from the Tree of Life." Staff and students were on the panel and reflected on their experiences. Ms. Sawnhey went to Washington, D.C., with a big group to tour high schools. She also announced that the essay competition, "My Truth Is" will happen again this year. The Student Representatives announced that last week, they hosted a club marketplace. Soaps were sold, and other clubs participated to promote themselves and raise money. Ms. Cuthbertson echoed Ms. Sawhney's report, she spoke about the trip to Virginia. COMMUNITY SPEAK Rachel Athens-53 Rhinecliff St, Arlington, MA (virtually): "My question is very specifically around some of the proposed calendars. I'll make it brief. I just wanted to say that I also really appreciate all the hard work. I can tell that the working team worked very hard on all of the proposed calendars. And I appreciate all of that time that they spent. My question is very specifically around the Friday before Labor Day weekend. And I'm looking for more clarification in the future. So why was the Friday before Labor Day not in any of the proposed calendars, especially option C1 and 133, which seem to be the front runners?There were reasons given in the notes, and what I could find were two reasons that I'd like clarification on moving forward. Reason number one was that many surrounding districts held school on this day. A little bit of light research just on the Working Group's notes indicated that, in fact, this was only about 25% of the districts that they looked at. Eight of the districts do not start until after Labor Day, six of the ones that start before Labor Day had that Friday off, and that was left with a five on the Working Groups list that worked Friday. However, none of those districts, so 0% of them, had four student-facing days that last week in August. All of those other districts had two teacher preparation days, and three student-facing days, which currently, in the Lexington model, we have three student-facing days that day, with one teacher prep day, and then one day off on that Friday. So, I'd like a little bit of clarification around that data. My other question was, there was some note on the 26th of February that noted that there were challenges for Special Ed, which was a reason why the Friday of Labor Day would be better to attend school. And I would just seeking some more information. That was the only note about this. Obviously, Special JK 3/12/24-DRAFT Education was a very large and varied population. So I was curious about the data that supported this, what types of challenges, what population of Special Ed, and where was the data that supported that. And so then I just referenced some things I did send some information to the School Committee" Olga Guttag - 273 Emerson Rd (virtually): "I served on the School Committee from '04 to '07 and I ran for the School Committee to help adjust the size of the LPS administration. Until Superintendent Ash was appointed, the LPS administration was greatly understaffed, and thanks to a lack of personnel, some very expensive budgetary mistakes were made. Since then, LPS had several superintendents, and each brought with them their own people into the administration. Unfortunately, they did not replace previous administrators but just added new administrative positions. So, the size of our administration grew with each change in leadership. Most of the time, a budget deficit led to classroom supplies and or teaching positions being cut. This directly affected our students by increasing class sizes. I would like to ask the School Committee to make the staffing of LPS public and transparent. Please have the administration prepare and post an organizational chart where each position shows the following: name and title of the position holder, short description of duties, percent of time in direct contact with students to whom the position reports, and annual salary. I hope that this org chart already exists. But if not, it's time to have one produced and published. Why am I asking? We know that we have a literacy problem, and some number of students in grades 4 through 12 are unsuccessful because they cannot read. We must help these students to read at grade level. This will be labor intensive and thus expensive. So where can we find the money? I believe that once we see the requested org chart, we will be able to identify multiple positions which were needed 10 to 20 years ago but are no longer serving any purpose. I expect also to see that we have a large number of educators who do not provide direct services to students. As much as it is great to have educators do research and develop new programs, in the current budget, that may be a luxury we cannot afford. I urge you to change some of the current non-student contact positions into literacy teachers and assistants. So our grade 4 through 12 underperforming students can finally be taught to read. I'm happy to sit down with anyone and show them some of the positions that have been unnecessarily held over. I look forward to seeing the requested org chart posted on the LPS website where parents can easily find it, please. Thank you for listening." Kris Elverum - 3 Penny Ln (in person): "My work is to be the CEO of a biotech company, but my most important job is to be the dad of four kids, ages 12, 10, and twins that are 8. My oldest daughter has dyslexia and goes to the Carroll School. And studies estimate that about 20% of people have dyslexia, and she does. But I'm not here to talk about her. My youngest daughter is in second grade. She taught herself to read inpreschool, and studies estimate that about a third of kids can figure out how to read by being exposed to books and workshops. But I'm not here to talk about her either. Because these studies leave the middle of about 50% of kids that don't have dyslexia, can't figure out reading on their own, and need to be taught. I'm here to talk with you about my other two children, my fifth-grader and my second-grade boy. Now, we've been really blessed to have wonderful teachers at Hastings. They've been super thoughtful, smart, and diligent. But if I hire the best scientists for my company, and don't give them the equipment or reagents to do their job, whose fault is it when the results suffer? Since she was seven, my JK 3/12/24-DRAFT fifth grader has said she wants to be a better speller. Her decoding skills were below average; the Lexington curriculum never taught her the prefix and suffix rules, syllables, and other word parts to give her that skill. So, we hired a tutor. It turns out to learn something, you can't if you aren't taught the rules. My second-grade boy got a little bit of phonics last year, but most of the instruction were queuing methods or workshops that don't work. And he was just below benchmark. So we've hired an outside tutor to teach him how to read. In my job, I need to stay on top of the latest data and quickly adapt when new compelling data presents itself. As a superintendent, Dr. Hackett, you're failing at this. And you Committee members, as her board, her bosses are also not meeting expectations. The NIH conducted a meta-analysis on what works to teach kids to read. The results were clear: phonics and systematic instruction works, Units of Study and benchmark assessment do not. Don't be distracted by Dr. Hackett's 130 pages of PowerPoints, posts online of research reports written by the Columbia Teachers College reading writing workshop or letter signed by Lucy Calkins. It's like a coal company promoting its own climate research. Dr. Hackett and Ms. Calleja are taking three to four years to review our curriculum and maybe implement changes. Lexington deserves better. We have resources, we are a community of physicians, doctors, and professors. This is Lexington; 85% of our kid's meeting benchmarks misses the point. People don't pay to move to Lexington to meet benchmark. My fifth-grade daughter and second-grade son, meeting benchmark, pay 1,000's dollars to make sure that they do. I'm here to ask you to do your job and to compel Dr. Hackett to her's, or replace her if she doesn't. Lexington is tremendous, and teachers deserve the best curriculum to do their job. Lexington kids deserve to learn how to read now." Natallia Hunik- 11 Volunteer Way (virtually): "I share the sentiment that was just shared by the previous speaker. I was actually going to talk about the academic loss that we all experienced during the pandemic, and the previous speaker outlined it really well. I have two kids in elementary school at Estabrook, and I have to pay tutors to teach them math and grammar following the European curriculum. The class size at Estabrook is 26 people. I'm just appalled that the School Committee and the Superintendent are talking about revising the school calendar when the priorities should be the academic loss experienced by our kids during the pandemic and the Superintendent and the School Committee failing our kids constantly. The academic loss that we've suffered as a community during the pandemic has never been addressed. Moreover, the issues have been swept under the rug. We've spent so much time as a community sending in the completion of different surveys about the second language curriculum that was going to be introduced into the elementary school. And we were never informed why this never happened. And there have been no follow-up emails, no beautiful PowerPoint presentations to inform us as a community why this curriculum didn't go through. Moreover, when I email the School Committee and the parents who just spoke, talking about how the Superintendent is failing our schools, we're being shut down,just like the previous parent that you just shut down in the room. This is completely unacceptable. And as a community, we should do better. And the School Committee members who keep getting reelected should be dropping their positions because you guys are failing this district. I pay 1000s upon 1000s of dollars to properly educate my kids. And why do I pay$50,000 in taxes annually? Where do they go?That's it. Thank you." SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT JK 3/12/24-DRAFT Dr. Hackett reviewed her Supedntendenfs Report with the School Committee. The highlights from her report include: a. Superintendent Shoutouts! o Big Wins for Clarke and Diamond Middle Schools at the 2024 Northeast Regional Middle School Science Bowl Regional Competition o Massachusetts Scholastic Art Awards b. We All Belong o DESE Grant to Support English Language Learners o Upcoming Holidays & Observances c. LHS Feasibility Study Updates o LHS Building Project Website o Seeking Additional Community Input on a Pool, New Field House, and State-of-the-Art Performing Arts Center o High School Tours d. Superintendent's Mid-Cycle Review e. School Calendar Working Group f. Multi-Tiered System of Supports Platform/Data Warehouse g. METCO Reorganization Plans in 2024-2025 h. LPS Concussion Management Protocols School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Lenihan spoke about the Concussion protocol and how it leaves out sub-concussive hits and repetitive-subconcussive hits. She would like to hear from Ms. Martin and Mr. Sheehan about how we can make football safer. Mr. Freeman asked how the three schools were chosen for the METCO consolidation. Dr. Hackett replied, "We looked at enrollment trends, staff diversity, and current resident and student diversity." Mr. Freeman finds this plan very concerning. The School Committee will ask Barbara Hamilton, METCO director if she would come to a meeting to discuss this further. Ms. Jay agreed it would be good to hear from Ms. Hamilton about the METCO consolidation. She spoke about how this is a pilot and how METCO students will be moved; she is looking ahead if the pilot doesn't work out and what the impact on those students would be. Ms. Jay also asked about the Family Friends program. Ms. Sawhney added a shout-out to both robotics teams. She also asked about the ELL parent event that was canceled last month due to a power loss and asked to be alerted to the postponed date. Ms. Sawhney loves that we have a concussion protocol, and she pointed out that the METCO reorganization will decrease the time students will be on the bus. SCHOOL CALENDAR WORKING GROUP PRESENTATION Ms. Lenihan, Johnny Cole, and Christy Prasad from the Calendar Working Group presented the slideshow. JK 3/12/24-DRAFT a. Recommendation #1 b. Recommendation #2 There will be two public hearings: March 18th and March 20th. After the hearings, the School Committee will vote on this. Nikhil Shah, a student, commented that he has been pushing for this change for two years. NEW BUSINESS Vote one SC Member to The Norninatinor Committee for the Executive Board of the Cary Memorial U rareoar of Trustees. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that Ms. Lenihan serve as the School Committee Member on the Nominating Committee for the Executive Board of the Cary Memorial Library Board of Trustees;Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0. Article 4 Digital o "ces Presentation Diane Pursley explained the Article. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Jay and Ms. Pursley discussed the Lexington Minuteman paper and public notices. Ms. Jay also suggested a slight change to the School Committee section. Ms. Sawhney asked about the Lexington Times being an option. Ms. Pursley replied that the Lexington Times only publishes once a month. Town Meeting Articles Discussion The School Committee discussed and voted on taking a position on the following Town Meeting Articles: Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 4:Appropriate FY25 Operating Budget, passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 9:Dept. Revolving Funds (School Bus Only),passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 10 C: CPA Projects (C-Bowman fields), passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 10 D: CPA Projects (D-Lincoln fitness), passed 5-0. JK 3/12/24-DRAFT Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 10 F. CPA Projects (F-Lincoln fields), passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 12 K, L, M, N: Municipal Capital Projects(Network items),passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 15:School Capital Projects/Equipment, passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 16 C, D:Public Facilities School Paving and Sidewalks;Public Facilities Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Replacements,passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 19 D:Stabilization Funds (D-Special Education),passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 26:LHS Project Design Funds, passed 4-0-1 (Ms.Jay abstained). Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 27.173 Bedford St Renovation, passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 42:Digital Publication of Legal Notices, passed 5-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 45:Indigenous Peoples Day,passed 5-0. Article 31: Prohibit Single-Serve Plastic Water Bottles (Citizen Petition) - Ms. Cuthbertson will get more information on this article, no vote was taken. Article 40: Integrated Pest Management Resolution (Citizen Petition) - Ms. Cuthbertson will get more information on this article, no vote was taken. Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee support Article 10 A: Cary Memorial Library Renovation,passed 5-0. Farmers' Marketir�er� euest d Dose Bear Fare ink The School Committee discussed whether to allow vendors at the Lexington Farmer's Market to sell cider and mead at its location on the LHS Practice Field. School Committee Questions/Comments: Mr. Freeman brought up the YRBS data and how the student alcohol use and abuse number was JK 3/12/24-DRAFT unfortunate. Leslie Wilcott-Henrie from Lexington Farmers Market explained that vendors have to go through a rigorous process in order to sell, "I just want to make clear that nobody is consuming or has any access to it. It's also one of the regulations we have at the Farmers' Market, that there's no consumption of alcohol by anybody on the Farmers' Market site" Ms.Jay moved to allow alcoholic beverages(cider and mead) to be sold at the Lexington Farmers'Market for the 2024 season from May 28, 2024, through November 26, 2024, at the Lexington Farmers'Market grounds, Ms. Lenihan seconded. Passed 4-1, Mr. Freeman opposed. FY 24 Second uarter a ort Dave Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, presented the report. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Sawhney is concerned with how much "red" she saw in the report. She requested to meet with Mr. Coelho. Ms. Cuthbertson spoke about the legal lines and how much they were utilized this year. Mr. Freeman asked about behavior subs and where we would get the $7,000 to cover it. Mr. Coelho replied that it would come from salaries. Mr. Freeman is also concerned about all of the red and states that it seems like a lot of it is related to special education. First Reading_2f Policy IJLA-_Library Resources Ms. Cuthbertson and Ms. Lenihan explained the policy; there will be three readings. First Readin ®f Policy IJL- Li rary aterials Selection an Ado °on Ms. Cuthbertson and Ms. Lenihan explained the policy; there will be three readings. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Vote on LHS Building Project Educational eLqgram and Space Su ar Ms. Jay recused herself from discussion of this agenda item, as an abutter to the high school property. Dr. Hackett gave a brief overview of the Ed Plan and Space Summary; she recommended that the School Committee vote to approve. Ms. Sawhney was uncomfortable with some of the wording used in the Ed Plan on page 71 about science graduation requirements; she sent the School Committee an email outlining these concerns. One of the topics of concern is the wording in the science section. Dr. Hackett JK 3/12/24-DRAFT read the following from the Ed plan: "Currently, the LHS Science educators are working together to develop a recommendation to determine an appropriate science sequence for our students. The Science teachers hope to increase opportunities for students to explore beyond the traditional classes via a recommendation that will articulate the sequence and structure of a 9-12 science program designed to serve all students. The Science Department hopes to finalize a recommendation that will be submitted first to the Principal and Director of Secondary Education for feedback and approval and then to the Superintendent of Schools. Any Superintendent-approved changes in the science sequence will also be reviewed by the School Committee Secondary Education Liaisons and then the full School Committee. As noted in the educational visioning of 2017, there is no graduation policy in the Lexington Public Schools, and none has existed for the past 30 years. A lack of policy contributes to what some educators perceive to be an organizational ambiguity that exists regarding the sequence of the science courses. To address this concern, the Superintendent and School Committee have developed collaborative goals for 2023-2025. We are in the process of working on goals to adopt a new graduation policy, and the recommended changes to the science sequence will be incorporated within the new policy, along with any other approved pedagogical or curricular shifts from the other departments." Dr. Hackett asked Ms. Sawhney what she would change, and she said that she would be happy to make adjustments. Ms. Sawhney replied that she had not rephrased anything in her notes; she suggested that the author (Dr. Hackett) articulate more explicitly. Ms. Sawhney expressed her concerns about students having to take a prep course before they can take an AP class, Honors for All, and Standards-Based Grading. Dr. Hackett added that the science department is looking to add more student opportunities, not less. Dr. Hackett also stated that there is no "code speak" in the document and that the School Committee has been intentionally included in her decision-making process. Ms. Sawhney explained that she is uncomfortable because of "systemic decisions" that have been made in the past and that "this process does not center parent feedback early on in the process." Dr. Hackett responded, "So for the issue of parent feedback, there has to be something to give feedback to. And that has been developed by the teachers. And it doesn't mention it explicitly in this draft. And I think we can add those sentences in parents' need to be part of this process" and "We know that we can't do something as big as graduation requirements without the input of a lot of people." Dr. Hackett and Ms. Sawhney discussed change and its effects. Ms. Lenihan added that she thinks the discussion about options and pathways is good. Mr. Freeman stated, "I still feel like there are some unspoken undertones in this conversation that find very troubling." Ms. Cuthbertson acknowledged that the School Committee has been aware of a problem with graduation requirements and science course sequencing. Dr. Hackett: "A big point here is that this is a document about an educational plan for a new school. It is not the plan. It's not the graduation requirements. The references should not be an all-encompassing plan about how something's going to unfold. That, to me, happens through JK 3/12/24-DRAFT the work of our goals" Mr. Freeman mentioned the sentence, "any Superintendent-approved changes will be reviewed by the School Committee" He would like the School Committee to review changes before the Superintendent approves them. Dr. Hackett explained that it won't be a change but an endorsement; she will edit this. Dr. Hackett informed Ms. Sawhney that she could edit something around family engagement, add an acknowledgment about change, and that she's not limiting students from taking advanced classes. Ms. Lenihon moved to approve the Educational Program and Space Summary with the recommended amendments on page 71, and Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 4-0(Ms. Jay recused herself from this vote). COMMUNITY SPEAK Parnika Mysore (virtually): "I'm a freshman at LHS. And ever since I was a child, I've been reading and hearing about ancient Indian history. The stories are mostly about the battles between the gods and the demons, which in my culture symbolizes the good and evil that is present within all of us. The defeat of the demons isn't about killing an external evil but about uncovering and eradicating the negativity within all of us. I find this an amazing concept that nothing better embodies than the festival of Diwali, celebrating the defeat of the Demon King Ravana. The Festival of Diwali is the one time where I can celebrate this knowledge, learn about ancient Hindu traditions, and perform the same rituals that my ancestors have been doing for thousands of years. Since last year, as Diwali was on a weekend, I was able to spend my day making colorful patterns on the floor called rangoli, distributing sweets, worshiping Lakshmi and Ganesh are gods of prosperity and good fortune, and lighting lamps. But according to the Hindu calendar, most times, Diwali does not fall on weekends, and taking this moment to understand and imbibe my culture is nearly impossible while balancing eight hours of school, which comes with at least an additional one to two hours of homework. Being a second-generation Indian already in danger of losing my culture, it is a shame to not be able to devote even one day of the year to celebrating my vibrant culture when many other groups here in Lexington have been granted that ability. Though the celebration of Diwali and all that it stands for has been going on for the last 2,500 years, it has never become outdated and has, in fact, become more pertinent than ever in a time riddled with wars, social injustice, and disharmony. Diwali empowers us all to come together to eradicate the negativity and celebrate the peace, harmony, and good present within all of us. So, I urge the School Committee to make the decision to have Diwali as a holiday. Thank you all for your time and consideration." Lana Panisuk- 28 Saddle Club Rd (virtually): "So first, since I've heard the recent discussion at the School Committee, I would like to express my agreement. I really agree with Ms. Sawhney about consistently late enrollment of community input was in the School Committee and general LPS questions, solutions, and initiatives. In our computer-aided age, it seems very easy to distribute the questionnaire and the feedback forms along to the parents and the community JK 3/12/24-DRAFT to get the community temperature. And for some reason, it's not done. Maybe it's a good initiative to embrace for the Lexington Public Schools. I wasn't planning to talk about it, but since I've heard the discussion, I would really support that. Anyway, I was planning to do the Community Speak at the first one before all my night responsibilities for my family occurred, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to. So to my second suggestion would be, is it possible to have a Community Speak at the beginning of the meeting? Because it was really really disruptive for my three kids, I needed to put to bed and prepare the dinner and have a dinner family so, and I missed a lot on that. Now, finally, bear with me; finally, I wanted to contribute today about the calendar discussion. I am a working mother who loves to travel with kids during school vacation. That's my passion. I like visiting National Parks, I like visiting my extended family, and I hate when the kids miss school. I really do. So, my suggestion to the calendar, let's expand school vacations to maximize the quality of family time. For example, next year the winter vacation is seven calendar days, from Wednesday to Wednesday, that's it. Let's add two days on either side and then we get 16 calendar days of cheap travel to many, many places. So now let me outline three points I really would like to deliver here; no matter what calendar is created, we will survive. There are many challenges in our lives, and the calendar will make it a little bit easier or a bit a little bit harder. Now second, my perspective is practical because I'm, I am a scientist. Therefore, this is the project with goals, requirements, and variables. Now, I'll skip that part because you probably discussed that. So, my main thesis: Let us reshuffle required days off towards weekend and vacation. One example I have already given was a winter vacation. Another one. Let's move professional professional learning days to either Monday or Friday." Megan Klein Hattori -44 Forest St (virtually): "Thank you, Dr. Hackett and School Committee, for your time. I'm reading a statement from a parent who would like to remain anonymous. The statement I'm going to read is not sensational and sounds mundane, except that it's the same story that those of us who are open about our children's reading difficulties hear again and again on the sidelines at the softball fields, the soccer fields, and while volunteering at PTO events, the story is my kid doesn't have dyslexia, but they are not okay. Here's the parents snipped. Dear School Committee, I'm writing to encourage a rapid review of the current approach to how reading is taught. My son is currently in fourth grade, and he's behind in his reading. He receives Tier Two support, for which I'm grateful. I wish his challenges could have been identified earlier and that support could have been in place in second grade. Struggling on his own caused stress, and frustration eroded his confidence as a learner. I thought my son's experience was unique and possibly the result of falling behind during the pandemic. However, I've begun to realize that other children are having similar journeys with their reading education. I believe that a review to the current approach could, I believe that a review just the current approach could lead to improvements that would benefit all students. Thank you for your attention to this important issue. Thank you all." Monica Davis - 26 Davis Ln. (virtually): "Thank you, School Committee members and Dr. Hackett, for the opportunity to speak tonight. I wanted to follow up with you on the recent literacy session that was held at the elementary through the Fiske PTO general meeting on March 5th. The mCLASS/DIBELs presentation at the PTO meeting was attended in person by about 10 to 15 parents and online by about four. This is a very small number compared to the 335 students at Fiske. An announcement was included in Mr. Baker's weekly update the Friday before, and an JK 3/12/24-DRAFT email blast was sent by PTO presidents on Monday morning. This gave only 25 hours of direct advance notice for an in-person meeting during the work day. Parents had to ask to get this converted to a hybrid format. And even then, the webinar option was only embedded in a PTO communication entitled Supersized March. No remote questions were allowed. As shared with Mr. Baker and the PTO presidents at that meeting, a PTO meeting really isn't the right forum for communication of academic topics. Looking back, other academic-related communications were treated very differently. For example, grades four and five Human Growth and Development sessions were communicated by direct emails from the Principal, with three sessions offered in person and virtually approximately a week or more ahead. The rollout of Illustrative Math was communicated via direct email to all families from the Principal for an evening virtual presentation with at least one week's notice under direct Fiske family communication letter about universal literacy screening was sent by the Principal in September to indicate that mCLASS/DIBELS was being implemented,although, at that time, there were no accompanying sessions. As parents, we look for important academic-related communications to come to us from the principal of our schools. As was done in these other instances, we need sufficient advance notice and flexibility for parents' attendance. When I attended those other sessions, there were many more parents present and these were effective means of communication on important matters. Sharing information on literacy screening results from mCLASS/DIBELS ought to have been worthy of the same quality, direct communication. I've learned separately that Sara Calleja has created a nice video to share with parents. But I only received a link to this video through another parent, not through LPS. Sara was kind enough to answer a question and to correct my misunderstanding of what happens for students who meet the composite benchmark, but have subscores below benchmark in one or more subtests. I know from other parents that I am not the only one who misunderstood. Having individual parents reach out with the same question is not efficient. I encourage LPS to directly send the video link to elementary parents by email from the Literacy department or principals and to include a link to a live FAQ document, which could be used to correct any misunderstandings and to respond to questions as they arise. Thank you". Dihua Xu -455 Waltham St (virtually): "Before I speak my main talk, I would like to echo Dr. Sawhney. Please give the community, especially those whose kids are still in younger grades, a chance to change their opinion before you approve or endorse a policy that would directly impact them in the near future. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the School Calendar Working Group for their diligent efforts, it's evident that a lot of consideration has gone into the draft. However, I do hope we could bring back option to only close school for legal holidays. First, as with any decision we made in this forum, it's important to remember that the discussion surrounding the school calendar should not be approached as a zero-sum game. We must ensure that no single religion or culture group feels marginalized or excluded. Secondly, while it's true that we have a sizable Asian population in our town, it is essential to recognize that our community is diverse in many other ways as well. We have a considerable first-generation immigrant population, double-income family, and individuals with various backgrounds. I hope before implementing any new holiday not required by federal state, our school district could offer childcare options, which could greatly benefit families in our community. Additionally, let's not overlook the educational opportunity that comes from embracing diversity in our school calendar. By being in school during diverse holidays, our JK 3/12/24-DRAFT students have the chance to learn and appreciate the traditions of others, fostering a more inclusive environment. With that said, I propose that we would reconsider the option of observing only legal holidays. Perhaps this could also save days and allow us to start the school year after Labor Day. So thank you for your consideration" UNFINISHED BUSINESS (continued) Co unity Speak Memo Ms. Cuthbertson read the Community Speak Memo. While discussing the speaker from the last meeting, Mr. Freeman asked: "If that were to happen next School Committee meeting, we would just have to sit here and listen to all of that again?" Dr. Hackett responded, "The thing that we have to watch out for is what they call the "chilling of speech" when they talk about First Amendment rights. The point that was emphasized by both attorneys also, is that we all have a First Amendment right. And people in the audience have a First Amendment right. And if something is unfavorable or doesn't align with our community values, we can speak up and say, in our town, this is what we believe. In our town, this is what we feel is important. So, people should not sit through what we heard the other night and feel powerless. You can use your voices in very good ways, in positive ways, to send the message, especially to vulnerable people in our community and students" Ms. Cuthbertson read the following guidance from Legal Council: "The public body may encourage the public to be civil and respectful and to avoid personal attacks or offensive language. But we cannot silence or remove members of the public simply for ignoring the advice, so long as they were otherwise respecting the rules governing requests to speak and time limits." She summarized by saying time limits are the only thing we can limit, and what happened at the last meeting is not considered a crime. Dr. Hackett shared that our legal team is involved, and they "filed a formal incident complaint with a transcript of what was shared, and then also reported it to the police department" Our legal team followed up with the chief of police. POSSIBLE ACTION ITE - No items were discussed or added. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Lenihan made a motion to adjourn at 10:00 PM, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0. JK 3/12/24-DRAFT