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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-26-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, November 26, 2024 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:01 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Eileen Jay, Chairperson Deepika Sawhney, Vice -Chair Sara Cuthbertson, Clerk Kathleen Lenihan Larry Freeman SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent Student Representative Present Adlan Bogatyryov 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. November 15, 2024 - Payroll in the amount of $5,017,231.27 b. November 29, 2024 - AP Warrants in the amount of $1,631,164.62 Ms. Lenihan the following consent agenda items: • Minutes a. October 8, 2024 Ms. Cuthbertson read the following consent agenda items: • Donations a. $4,000 Donation to the LHS Science Department from the Society of Science b. $1,000 Donation from Math Works to Support 2 Bits and a Byte Mr. Freeman made a motion to approve the entire consent agenda, Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. Passed, 5-0. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Lenihan had nothing to report, she wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and break. Ms. Cuthbertson, along with other LPS staff, attended the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference last week in Boston. She pointed out that Johnny Cole, Director of Equity and Student Supports and Casey Siagel, Middle School ELA Department Head, held a session called Diversifying Text Selection: A Systemic Approach. Ms. Cuthbertson enjoyed hearing about the systems that they have implemented, including the systemic communication they do with families. She also sat next to a student from Long Island who made a comment about doing this in high school. She replied that we offer courses at the high school and suggested that the student speak with LPS staff who can put her in touch with some of our students. Mr. Freeman had nothing to report. Ms. Jay did not have any announcements, but she would like everyone to know that the next School Committee meeting will be held in Boston for our METCO families. Everyone is invited to attend. It will be on December 3rd at 670 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA. Refreshments will start at 5:30 PM, and the meeting will start at 6:00 PM. Ms. Sawhney shared information that she received from a parent about the last Lexington debate tournament. They had 126 LHS debate students helping, setting up, administering, judging, etc. Ms. Sawhney is hoping the School Committee gets an invitation to the next one, Big Lex in January. Parents, kids, and teachers involved were given a shout -out. Ms. Sawhney also mentioned that the School Committee attended the Budget Summit last week, both the school side and the town side could talk about needs, revenue numbers, and expense numbers. Ms. Sawhney is requesting another meeting to have a more robust discussion. Finally, Ms. Sawhney announced that she will be resigning as a member of the School Committee in March 2025. Adlan Bogatyryov, a Student Representative, introduced himself. He is a sophomore at LHS and will be alternating with Haley Kim. Dr. Hackett added that the first meeting Adlan attended was very difficult because of a caller. Dr. Hackett met with the Student -Faculty Senate after to debrief and she pointed out how amazing Adlan was during that. Ms. Sawhney asked to know more about the format of the upcoming School Committee in Boston for the METCO families. She mentioned that she had seen the flier and noticed that it seemed to be in the same format as last year. She added that in the last meeting in Boston she had attended the middle school group wherein the Principals had mentioned that the academic outcomes of the METCO students would be discussed at a later date, maybe on Zoom. She asked if that discussion had happened last year and whether there would be any followup. Mr. Freeman also asked about the comparable differences in access to School Committee members Boston parents have vs. Lexington parents. COMMUNITY SPEAK Lana Panasyuk - 28 Saddle Club Rd (in person): Ms. Panasyuk stated that she sent the School Committee an email and that she would leave a paper copy. She hopes that this is correct. She went on to say: "You all know that LHS is over capacity right now at 98%, and it's been discussed already at many meetings. It is planned that the new LHS building will resolve this issue in six to seven years. So my concern is, as a parent, is right now enrollment at LHS is consistently growing, and it has been historically, no matter pandemic or no, but not pandemic. And in addition, we are expecting an influx of new students which are coming from MBTA rezoning communities. And in addition, as the Superintendent outlined from the last budget summit, the increasing number of students coming for special education, which requires additional resources, not only space but the teachers as well. So as a parent and from the parents, I request the School Committee to address this problem according to the steps which we outlined in the motion. And the motion is a suggested motion, I just want to make sure that there is a list, but I would like us to discuss what's most efficient. And as with any problem, first, we need to identify and acknowledge that the problem does exist at the LHS over capacity. And then, as with any problem, we need to address the timeline this problem is going to get resolved. Not in 10 years or not tomorrow, but somewhere. But we have to put it on paper and acknowledge it. And then there is a brainstorming portion where we need to explore, discuss and avoid all the ways how to reduce this over capacity. So we need to identify communities which can be redistricted and also places where this community could be redistricted too. So finally, we need to develop a plan for how to reduce this LHS overcapacity in the proposed time frame. And finally, implement the plan and report the results back to the townspeople" Ms. Panasyuk asked if she is doing the correct thing to get something added to a School Committee agenda. Ms. Jay explained that the School Committee makes up the agendas and that they don't typically come from the public. Olga Guttag - 273 Emerson Rd: (on Zoom) Ms. Guttag had audio issues during her portion of Community Speak, she emailed the School Committee her statement. It is as follows: "Dear members of the School Committee, I would like to ask you to direct Dr. Hackett to come up with a plan that will relieve the overcrowding at LHS by Sept 2025. Lexington has built its reputation on the quality of curriculum offered in our school — LHS in particular. Due to the overcrowding, many of the electives that made our school special had to be discontinued, degrading the excellence of our LHS offerings. We are at least 4 years away from having a renewed high school, so not being able to offer these exceptional electives to a full "generation" of LHS students when a solution has already been identified by Dr. Hackett is not reasonable. Please consider having Dr. Hackett and her team determine how to get more space at LHS — be it by either moving Gr. 9 to Middle Schools or, preferably, reclaim any office and classroom space used for non -LHS related curriculum that could be repurposed into additional classroom space. This should involve looking at district -wide specialists, any self-contained SPED programs, LABBB and any other users of space in LHS who can be relocated into some of our other vacant school spaces. Please let the public know at your next meeting how you plan to address the LHS overcrowding prior to having a renewed high school." Sarah Carter - 5 Spencer St. (in person): "I'm here speaking on behalf of SEPAC, Lexington Special Education Parent Advisory Council. I want to respond to this proposal that just put out of taking many of our students for special needs and removing them from the high school to another school or another district. Special Education students have a history of being warehoused, being sidelined, being isolated, being segregated. And we, as a community, have always valued the ideas that those students should be an integral part of whatever school we are at, and our students with the most disabilities and who need the most support should not be removed from a school simply for space issues. I want to strongly recommend that this proposal needs to be shut down immediately. This is not how we treat our special needs students." SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. Hackett reviewed her Superintendent's Report with the School Committee. The highlights from her report include: 1. D1 Coach of the Year o Congratulations to Coach Steve Solly 2. Performing Arts Happenings o Many Middle and High School events 3. High School Project Updates o LHS building project website o The last School Building Committee meeting was on November 18th, and the next one will be held on December 2nd. It will review the MSBA enrollment discussion and their follow-up letter. o Link to monthly reports for quick updates. 4. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Convention o Dr. Hackett attended with Sara Cuthbertson. o There's a photo of Kate McKinnon, one of the keynote speakers, doing a high kick. Dr. Hackett shared Kate's quote: "The world needs everyone to be exactly what they are to the fullest extent." o Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, was another keynote speaker. She talked about her new book, Lovely One. When asked what advice she had for schools, she answered, "Keep kids writing." o They also attended an inspirational session featuring Kwame Alexander. 5. We All Belong o IAL Collaboration, Middle School Social Studies Department Head Jane Hundley and teachers Christy Prasad and Remy Coombs have been meeting regularly with representatives from the Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL), focusing on adjusting and improving the 7th grade unit on South Asia o Undoing Ableism -Dr. Sue Baglieri, co-author of the book Undoing Ableism: Teaching about Disability in K to 12 Classrooms, led a workshop for new LIDS staff during our Better Beginnings session. o Upcoming Holidays & Observances School Committee Questions/Comments: Mr. Freeman is glad to see the IAL collaboration. He had attended a meeting with parents from the IAL Education group. Ms. Jay agreed and mentioned that she attended a different IAL education meeting where students were present. They were able to share how difficult it is for them to hear inaccurate stories about their cultural backgrounds. Student Representative Adlan agreed with the importance of hearing from students and getting the correct information in the curriculum. He shared personal experiences; he is of Chechen descent. Dr. Hackett suggested that Adlan share his statement with Kerri Dunne, Social Studies Department Head at the High School, and added, " The curriculum gives an opportunity for people to see their identity; it's validating" Adlan went on to speak about teachers managing time. Dr. Hackett added, "What we can think about is based on who's in the room with us as teachers, what we choose to cover because inevitably, there'll be a unit that we can't get to." Adlan continued to share personal experiences of not feeling represented and how he wrote a bill regarding the flags on display in the High School. Mr. Freeman reaffirmed the importance of students being able to share their experiences. Adlan brought up an incident where he saw Uzbekistan's flag. Dr. Hackett said, "I do want to say that context matters. What's happening in the world at a given moment in time sometimes makes us focus on things differently, and so sometimes that can probably take the shape or form or feel bias" Ms. Jay suggested an advisory group of students so that we could have discussions with multiple perspectives. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Third Reading of the Single -Use Plas is o le ase- ut of Ms. Jay made the point that it's not really a phase-out, this portion of the title was agreed upon to remove. Ms. Cuthbertson made a motion to approve EDEF Single -Use Plastic Bottle Policy, Ms. Lenihan seconded. Passed 5-0. B. Second Reading of nd Procedures C. Second Reading of Policy EFC ®Child utrition Prora Civil fights Policy and Procedures Ms. Jay explained that these policies are required by DESE, they have to be adopted as is. COMMUNITY SPEAK No speakers. POSSIBLE ACTT N ITEMS Items added during this meeting: • Article for consideration at Policy Sub (MASC Daily Ed article) • JH to think about mapping out what we are doing to close the achievement gap; DEI Report is a big part of the answer to the question; think about meeting times with Boston parents and others could be (Achievement gap for Black and Brown students) • Unfinished Business - Summit materials in case SC wants to discuss & Finance Sub to meet on Quarterly Reports (SC can send questions in advance to JH) • HS Advisory visit Student -Faculty Senate to learn more about what's happening in schools around overcrowding (EJ to coordinate a meeting with the Student Moderator (Maddie Chen) and Faculty (Mr. Doucette)) ADJOURNMENT/Calendar for the year Ms. Cuthbertson made a motion to adjourn at 7:49 PM, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed, 5-0.