HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-13-LHS-min (2) LEXINGTON
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Andrew Baker (781) 861-2320, ext. 69102
Interim Principal abakeralexiniztortma.oriz
The LHS School Council occurred in person on September 13, 2023 from 6-7:15pm
In attendance: Andrew Baker, Allison Mantha, Walter Richardson, Suzanne Lau, Lizzy Cook, Elizabeth
Curtin, Paul Zheng, Tasbia Uddin, Karen Fu, Karen Griffiths, Jen Roney (community member)
1. Introductions of site council members and discussion of the purpose and function of the group.
a. by law, we review and help set policy for LPS, weigh in on any improvement and innovation
plans for the school's future, act as a sounding board for any changes that might be being
thought about for the future.
2. Selection of Future Meeting Dates
Oct 23 virtual
Nov 20 in person
Dec. 18 virtual
Jan 29 in person
Feb 26 virtual
March 25 in person
April 29 virtual
May 20 in person
June 10 in person (mostly celebratory)
3. Vote on Parent Co-Chair: Karen Griffiths is voted to remain as parent co-chair
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a. Discussion of this handout which Andy has been doing these with newer educators, in faculty
meetings, etc. His experience is that if we start out with these broader questions, we can get
to the values and things that are important to us.
b. Asking the right questions often reminds us of what's most important and what's most
essential. There needs to be a human component behind everything; these discussions help to
establish that.
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a. During their summer retreat, school principals went back through their strategic plans to
select the goals of highest priority and focus on those for the School Innovation Plan. They
then had to choose a proposed strategy to incorporate into an innovation plan for each of 4
core goals.
Lexington High School 1251 Waltham Street I Lexington,MA 102421
b. Andy suggests that the Site Council take some time looking at the above link before our next
meeting. We will then discuss what resonates with us, how it is like or unlike what we created
before, and how to move forward with it.
i. We need a bit more clarity on how many years we should be planning for and what
the visual representation should be; Andy will learn more about this.
ii. discussion about the uncertainty around what was supposed to happen with the school
innovation plan last year.
iii. Andrew says that for this year, his main focus is on the most human aspects of the
school: climate, culture,people, as opposed to highly technical stuff,bringing in
someone else, a rigid system, etc. He wants to focus on building the type of
community that can flourish in the next building, and cut down on the anonymity
inherent in such a large school.
6. h;un,I ,n; � pro eapdates
a. Community forum on September 14, 2023 discussed where we are in the MSBA timeline,
what the process has been to this point, and what the next steps are. There was also time for a
Q&A from community members at the end. Note that all information is at
lhsproject.lexingtonma.org, to make the whole process as transparent as possible, and the
links to the presentation and the recording of the meeting below.
i. We are currently in the feasibility phase; the next step is choosing a designer who will
take our educational vision and use that to create a design, which will build a building
that will be good for 5070 years. The designer will be chosen in October from a list
of three finalists,based on a decision by some members of the School Building
Committee along with the MSBA.
ii. Some community meetings have already started; once we get closer to needing a vote
from Town Meeting, the project become more present in people's minds,but this is
the phase in which we at LHS will have the most input, so it's important to be
involved. Tuesday was the first forum, and there will be at least 3 or 4 more. Some
students spoke and used the Mentee app to get input and data from viewers and
listeners.
iii. The timeline is mostly determined by the MSBA process, which is quite structured.
We might be looking at occupancy in 2028, if all goes well. Note that this will be a
very expensive project, and there's a need to be prepared for people to have sticker
shock when the numbers are determined. There will probably be a debt exclusion
vote in 2025, pending the appropriate approvals of Town Meeting.
iv. (questions and discussions about the site, type of building, etc. According to the
MSBA process, the SBC/OPM/designer need to research three different plans as part
of the feasibility study: a new building, renovating the current building, and doing
staged construction with additional space. Obviously there are questions with each of
these possibilities, including location, size, timing, feasibility, all of which will be
discussed as part of the process.
V. There will be much work done this year to try to define the educational vision, and
how that will inform the design of the school. There will be meetings with faculty and
other groups to start to work on elements of that, such as questions like: what's the
vision of the 4 years of science at LHS, and will it be integrated with arts or music?
Or what's the counseling structure, and do we want different types of spaces
dedicated to mental health and wellness? Overall, what experience do we want LHS
students to have here, and what do we want them to have or to know when they leave
here?
Vi. Comment that one of the main concerns that Andy heard at the meeting was about the
size of the school. He clarified that there are some things that MSBA doesn't pay for;
we will need to think about how we might want to adjust our plans for things that
they won't cover, whether it's extra enrollment or just features that aren't in their
purview. MSBA does now require that any school design include plans for how to
expand the school if enrollment grows.
Vii. (question about whether there is collaboration with similar-sized and located schools?
Andy said that there are only so many design firms that do this work, so all of the
designers have schools locally where you can go and look at their work. Once a
designer is selected, the OPM has also noted several schools that have won awards
for innovative design, including one in VA(there's also one in Australia, which is a
bit too far to visit). They will also meet with 5060 stakeholder groups in town,
including fire dept,police, etc., to get their input on the design
viii. Comment that MSBA includes lots of incentives to build to high rates of
sustainability, which is involved in many of the SBC discussions.
ix. Comununn,� Meetin Recording
X. Community Meetina Presentation
7. Meeting adjourned 7:15