HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-11-07-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Tuesday, November 7,2017
Town Hall,Selectmen's Meeting Room
1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA
Present:
Chair, Alessandro Alessandrini; Vice Chair, Eileen Jay;Jessie Steigerwald; Kate Colburn; Kathleen Lenihan
Superintendent, Dr.Czajkowski; Student Representative, Rosana Jiang(7:05)
The minutes were taken by Kristen Cronin, Executive Assistant to the School Committee and
Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent
The meeting convened at 7pm
Call to Order and Welcome:
Chair, Alessandro Alessandrini called the meeting to order, and introduced committee members.
Public Comments:
Judy Crocker provided a Safe Routes to School update for 2017-2018
Superintendent's Announcement:
33 teacher's participated in project SLICE workshop earlier today. Kristy Lathrop from Buck Institute for
Education facilitated the event at the Central Administration building.
On December 4,thirty-six faculty members of Lexington High School will participate in a day long
training with Frank Locker to continue the LHS Visioning Process.
November 29, Dr. Czajkowski will be out with shoulder surgery until the first of the year. Kelly Chase,
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development will be in charge of
the district until Dr. Czajkowski returns from medical leave.
School Committee Member Announcements:
Kate Colburn: Kate gave a brief update on the MASC Delegate Assembly from the MASC/MASS
conference that school committee members attended last week. At a previous school committee
meeting Kate reviewed the seven resolutions to be voted on at the conference. All seven resolutions
passed, with some amendments to the first resolution involving the reporting date for enrollment.
On Saturday, November 4 Jessie and I attended a program called "understanding gender", sponsored by
Lexington Pride. This program provided excellent information for community members to the public
who are looking to learn more and recommendations for school systems. Greatly admired the courage
of the young people who served as panelist at the event and would like to follow up with the committee
for ways to continue to help support these students who are dealing with this issue.
Kathleen Lenihan: 20/20 Committee's report on the town wide survey is available on town website.
Munroe Center for the Arts hosts free performing arts series on Saturday nights. The next event will be
held on Saturday, November 11 at Cary Hall.
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LSC Meeting 11/7/2017
YES for Lexington Debt Exclusion Campaign is in full swing. Thank you to everyone who participated in
the Kickoff.
Jessie Steigerwald: Any school projects for the debt exclusion can be found on the town website or
campaign website at www.yesforlex.org. Reports are available to the community on what the School
Committee has based their decisions on.
Would like to have a member of LEXPride come to a school committee meeting to give a brief
presentation.
Eileen Jay: On October 19, a recognition event was held for all the teachers who reached professional
teacher status and Milestone event for teachers who have been here for 25 years or longer.
A number of people have applied to be on the Superintendent search committee, later in the evening
we will be discussing and finalizing the committee.
Alessandro Alessandrini: Suggesting a review/discussion of the MASC Conference at an upcoming
school committee meeting.
Encourage community to call State Legislators and express the importance to maintain the Chapter 70
funding.
Consent Agenda
1. Vote to Accept Community Gift Donation of Lexington High School Band/Jazz in the amount of
$400.00—Motion approved (Alessandrini/Colburn) 5-0
2. Approval of School Committee Minutes from September 19, 2017—tabled till November 28
3. Approval of School Committee Minutes from October 3, 2017—tabled till November 28
Agenda:
1. M.A.S.S.Award for Academic Excellence to Students
Dr. Czajkowski awarded Manasvi "Minu" Gunnala, Olivia Kormos, and Ryan Leung with the M.A.S.S.
Academic Excellence to Students certificate.
2. K-12 Technology Entry Findings&Capital Budget Request
Jennifer Judkins, Director of Digital Learning,gave a follow-up presentation requested by the School
Committee at the October 12, 2017 presentation of the initial FY2019-23 Capital Budget Request for
School Technology.
During the presentation Jenn reviewed her entry plan findings including identification of focus areas
following extensive interviews, site visits and document review. The entry plan findings informed
the development of a 5 year capital plan request includes investments in infrastructure as well as
increase in access to mobile devices for student learning.
Entry Plan Findings&Growth Opportunity
• Focus Area
• Vision & Planning
• Infrastructure &Access
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• Technology Staff
• Professional Development
• Needs Assessment
FY2019 Capital Request
• 1.7 Million (total 2019 tech capital request)
• 794K(increase mobile device access)
• 495K (replace existing equipment
• 425K(Infrastructure Improvement)
o Infrastructure: Separation; Bandwidth; Resiliency
District Provision of Devices for Learning: Under Chapter 71, Section 48 of the Massachusetts
General Laws, schools must purchase at public expense textbooks ad other instructional materials
and supplies intended for use and re-use over a period of years. Schools then in turn "loan" those
instructional materials free of charge to students, who must return them at the end of the school
year.
There was further discussion and questions among members and Jenn Judkins. It was suggested to
submit any questions for Jenn Judkins to Alessandro and Dr. Czajkowski.
3. Vote to Approve LABBB Collaborative Capital Plan
Dr. Czajkowski reviewed the LABBB Collaborative Capital Plan on behalf of LABBB. The Board of
Directors voted to put$2,000,000 toward this capital reserve. These projects are anticipated to be
completed within the next three to four years. For this capital plan to be fully approved we need a
2/3 vote by the respective LABBB school committees.
LABBB requires specialized equipment or modified classroom space to service our students. LABBB
also needs adapted living skill environments set up to teach our students the skills to live
independently. In most of LABBB's space we have built kitchens, laundry rooms, Occupational and
Physical Therapy rooms and specialized bathrooms.
Motion to approve LABBB Collaborative Capital Plan(Alessandrini/Colburn)motion approved 5-0
4. DLP Program Evaluation Presentation
The Director of Special Education for the Lexington Public Schools requested that the LABBB
Collaborative conduct a program evaluation of the Developmental Learning Program. This evaluation
was focused on determining the status of the DLP, what is working well in the program, and concerns
that staff and parents have over programming needs. The administration wanted to secure
recommendations that will assist in short and long-range planning.
The evaluation process consisted of reviewing written documents for the DLP that included the
following: description of the program, roles and responsibilities, census and budget, curriculum
material, procedures and practices, and a sampling of IEPs at all levels of the DLP. The program
evaluation also included thirty-minute one-on-one interviews and forty-five minute focus group
interview sessions with staff and parents at both the Upper and Lower DLP and Clarke Middle School.
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From this process, findings and recommendations were developed with the inclusion of full
explanations for each recommendation. This report provides the Lexington Public Schools with the
necessary information to move forward with enhancing the existing DLP at all levels. There are many
positive aspects and components to the DLP program that are cited in the Commendations section.
The Recommendations section addresses issues that can be addressed within a reasonable
timeframe to enhance what the district is attempting to accomplish for students with significant
disabilities.
Sally Smith, M. Ed.And James B. Earley, Ed. D Special Education Consultants, LABBB Collaborative,
Bedford MA. Presented the Developmental Learning Program Evaluatio
Member of the Lexington Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC),spoke on behalf of
SEPAC. Would like to thank Ms. Sugita and her team for completing a program evaluation of the
Developmental Learning Program (DLP) and specifically for providing us with a cop of the evaluation
report in advance of this meeting.
Based on their review of this report, the SEPAC submitted a summary of comments/queries collected
from their members, inclusive of contingent of parents from the DLP that participated in the parent
focus groups.
After further discussion it was decided to develop a timeline of what could be implemented and
budgeted between Visioning for LHS or LABBB placement.
5. Vote on Objectives of Human Rights Task Force Survey
Sean Osborn chair of Human Rights Committee and Victoria Buckley Chair of Disability Committee
discussed three objectives of Survey questions for parents of K-12 students being developed by task
force members. Survey will be sent to LPS parents of Black and Disabled students in February 2018.
There was a lengthy discussion on this topic revolving around the data that is being presented among
discipline for African American, Latino and Disabled Students and economically disadvantage families.
Motion to approve objectives of Human Rights Task Force Survey(Alessandini/Colburn)motion
approved 5-0
6. School Start Time Task Force
Ian Dailey, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Administration provided a brief update on the
school start time task force.
School Administration is hosting a community forum on November 15, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in Battin
Hall with members of the Task Force along with special guest,Judy Owens, an expert in the field to
aide in the discussions at the community forum.
7. Diamond Traffic Plan
Ian Dailey, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Administration provided a brief update on the
Diamond Traffic Plan to discuss some of the challenges and recommendation to try to improve safety
and flow at the site.
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The School Administration implemented a new traffic plan at Diamond Middle School at the
conclusion of the construction period ending in August 2017. Recently,there have been some safety
issues and concerns regarding the traffic plan, mainly with the Hancock Street side of the property.
As a result, several site visits and conversations with School Administration and Transportation Safety
Group have been conducted to review the current challenges and identify solutions.
TSG is requiring a new traffic plan to be implemented on Tuesday, November 14. Communications
will be sent out to parents implementing this new traffic plan this week.
Motion to authorize superintendent to pilot diamond traffic plan as shown and to review again in
January. (Alessandrini/Steigerwald) motion approved 5-0
8. Vote to Approve Accounts Payable Warrant—(Alessandrini/Lenihan) motion approved 5-0
Members agreed to move this item to consent agenda for future meetings.
9. Vote to Approve Payroll (Alessandrini/Colburn) motion approved 5-0
Members agreed to move this item to consent agenda for future meetings.
10. Vote to Approve members of Superintendent Search Committee
After a lengthy deliberation, school committee voted on participants to serve on the Superintendent
Search Committee.
Motion to adjourn (Alessandrini/Colburn)
The Motion was approved 5-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 p..
Meeting Materials:Agenda;A.1;A.2-Digital Learning Presentation;A.3- LABBB Collaborative Capital
Plan A.4- DLP Evaluation Powerpoint& Program Review Report;A.5;A.6;A.7-2017-18 Approved
Diamond Traffic Plan;A.8-AP Authorization Summary Form;A.9- Payroll Authorization Summary
Form & Payroll Summary Report MUNIS
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LSC Meeting 11/7/2017