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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-02-25-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, February 25, 2025 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 5:06 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Eileen Jay, Chairperson Deepika Sawhney, Vice -Chair Sara Cuthbertson, Clerk Larry Freeman Kathleen Lenihan (joined at 5:15pm) 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. EXECUTIVE SESSION Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee enter Executive Session under Exemption 3—To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation, as the Chair so declares that an Open Meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body (LEA, Unit A, Level 3 Grievance), Mr. Freeman seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll call vote, the motion passed 4-0. The School Committee entered Executive Session at 5:07 PM and returned to Open Session at 6:26 PM. Kathleen Lenihan has joined the meeting. CONSENT AGENDA Ms. Sawhney requested that the Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval and the minutes be voted on separately. The School Committee agreed. Ms. Sawhney moved to approve Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval A. February 7, 2025 - Payroll in the amount of $5,242,980.47, B. February 14, 2025 - AP Warrant in the amount of $1,044,741.64, C. February 21, 2025 - Payroll in the amount of $5,031,544.27, D. February 28, 2025 - AP Warrant in the amount of $2,178,057.42, E. February 28, 2025 - BMO Warrant in the amount of $20,220.48, Mr. Freeman seconded. The motion passed 5-0. Ms. Lenihan moved to approve the January 21, 2025 Minutes, Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. The motion passed 4-1, Ms. Sawhney opposed. Mr. Freeman asked Ms. Sawhney why she did not approve the minutes. Ms. Sawhney said she finds that the minutes are not reported accurately as some School Committee members' remarks are captured verbatim and others truncated. Ms. Jay stated that she reviews all of the minutes for accuracy. She does not change any of the content, and she sees an even amount of representation. Dr. Hackett and Ms. Jay support Ms. Kaye's minutes. Ms. Sawhney added that she has noticed that the Community Speak comments are mostly verbatim, she takes issue with this because she has asked for her emailed comments to be added to minutes and met with a denial. She suggested that if a School Committee member would like something recorded verbatim, they should call into Community Speak. Ms. Jay responded that Ms. Kaye does a close verbatim for the Community Speak portion to capture the input from the community as closely as possible. Ms. Jay also added that per Robert's Rules of Order, minutes should not be verbatim, they should be a summary. Dr. Hackett stated that the minute -taker has discretion for what they include in the minutes, you cannot influence the note -taker's recollection. Robert's Rules also state that any member can propose corrections to the draft minutes, and then the full body will review them. Ms. Sawhney recommended examining potential implicit biases in the way information is reported. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Sawhney shared that she had a nice conversation with a crossing guard this morning. She expressed her appreciation for the police and crossing guards who consistently show up early, even in rain, snow, and bad weather. The woman she spoke with, a resident and police department employee, has served as a crossing guard for 17 years. Ms. Sawhney described her as a joy to speak with and was inspired by her story of saving her paychecks to put her children through college. She gave a heartfelt shout -out to her and to all those who work hard to keep our children safe. Ms. Lenihan happened to drive by Lexington High School during dismissal and noticed how busy it was. She was incredibly impressed by the crossing guards and commented on how truly amazing they were. Mr. Freeman stated that he has been to every meeting in Lexington for the past month. For the sake of time, he will pass on sharing any announcements. Ms. Cuthbertson held her announcements as well. Ms. Jay and Mr. Freeman attended the Frederick Douglass event. Mr. Freeman explained that the event focused on transcribing Douglass's documents to make them digitally accessible. Many students from Diamond participated. And since it's an annual event, Mr. Freeman encouraged everyone to attend next year. Ms. Jay announced that tomorrow is a Cary Library Full Board meeting. It will be in person at Estabrook Hall. She cannot attend, and it would be nice if another School Committee could go. Lunch will be at 12, and the meeting starts at 12:30. There will be a little celebration for Suzie Barry who is coming off of her term as a Trustee of Cary Library after a number of years. There will be another celebration for Ms. Barry's Select Board retirement on Thursday at 4:00 PM at Cary Hall. Ms. Jay also announced that two Joy in Learning celebrations are taking place this week—one on Thursday at Harrington and another on Friday at Hastings. Ms. Jay ended by noting that this is Ms. Sawhney's last School Committee meeting, she has been a member for seven years. She recognized Ms. Sawhney for her attention to data and her work with student policies, and thanked her for serving on the School Committee. The School Committee presented Ms. Sawhney with flowers and wished her the best. COMMUNITY SPEAK John Goodwin - (in person): Mr. Goodwin, a Lexington native, graduate of Lexington Public Schools, and current member of Unit C and the negotiating team, addresses the School Committee to update them on the consequences of their recent budget vote. Previously, the speaker urged the Committee to delay the vote due to concerns that formalizing the budget would impact ongoing negotiations. Following the vote, the district rejected all of their proposals, claiming they were untenable, despite months of negotiation aimed at finding a reasonable compromise. The district has insisted on a 3% increase in pay, which is already below the inflation rate for 2025. He emphasizes the dire financial situation faced by Unit C members, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford basic needs. He argues that the district's budget decisions do not account for the rising cost of living, which disproportionately affects Unit C employees. Mr. Goodwin also criticizes the district for prioritizing cost-saving measures, such as hiring less experienced teachers, which undermines the quality of education and risks the long-term financial health of the town. He urged the Committee to reconsider their support for the budget, highlighting the importance of adequately compensating those who care for the community's children. Robin Strizhak, President of the Lexington Education Association (LEA) (on Zoom): Ms. Strizhak advocates for better compensation for Unit C. Despite being one of the wealthiest towns in Massachusetts, Lexington employees struggle financially, living paycheck to paycheck. Ms. Strizhak asks how it is possible that other communities have figured out how to honor and compensate their paraprofessionals with a living wage—but Lexington cannot. She suggests having a donation page, yard and bake sales, having local businesses sponsor classrooms or programs, and tip jars (if they adhere to ethics laws). Ms. Strizhak raises if Lexington says it can't afford to pay its employees fairly, how can we talk about funding a new $700 million high school? She highlights the district's ongoing negotiations since May 2024 and urges the community, families, and local leaders to help find creative solutions to improve the situation and ensure that employees are paid fairly for their work. Lisa Granada - (on Zoom): Ms. Granada works for Lexington Public Schools as a Unit C staff member at the high school as a SIA -TLP and a building rep. She read a letter from an anonymous colleague who expressed their initial excitement about joining a district focused on supporting kids but highlighted that this support does not extend to Unit C staff members. Their role involves providing significant support to a student with a one-to-one IEP, which can be emotionally and physically taxing. The stress and hypervigilance required for the job affect their well-being, and they do not make a living wage. They struggle financially, living paycheck to paycheck, and often have to take on additional work to afford basic living expenses. The speaker urges for better pay, not for luxury, but to simply afford to live without having to work multiple jobs. They call for the same care and consideration for Unit C staff that they give to the children. Lisa Sullivan - (on Zoom): Ms. Sullivan, a Unit A ILP teacher at Fiske Elementary, reads a statement from Brenda Rich, a Unit A librarian, expressing support for Unit C staff. Brenda acknowledges the invaluable work of Unit C colleagues, particularly in providing crucial support to students, such as behavior management and individual assistance. She highlights how Unit C staff make the library a more conducive environment for student success. Brenda expresses concern that these staff members are struggling to secure a contract that reflects their hard work and provides them with the financial recognition they deserve. She urges the district to recognize the importance of this unit for the education of all students and to address their needs. The agenda was rearranged, and the Superintendent's Report will not be presented. Ms. Jay reminded the community to vote at the upcoming local Town election on Monday, March 3rd. She pointed out that some of the polling locations/precincts have changed. PRESENTATION: OVERVIEW OF THE LPS COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL ASSESSMENT SYSTEM, GRADES K-8 Ms. Jay explained that this is part of a series of presentations that will help provide an understanding of how LPS does its assessments and how we use data to track student progress. At the March 11 School Committee meeting, there will be an update on our Literacy/ELA Curriculum. On April 15, there will be an update on our Mathematics Curriculum. • Overview of Linklt (a resource only) Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh, Director of Data & Strategy, presented: • Slide 3: Connection to School Committee -Superintendent Goals o A more complete mid -year review of these goals will be presented in the upcoming weeks. • Slide 4: Multi -Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Supporting all Students by Design o MTSS isn't a program—it's a combination of practices, strategies, and supportive conditions, designed to ensure the success of all our students. It helps us organize how we educate all learners and identify what needs to be done to support them. • Slide 5: Overview of Assessment Types o Curriculum Based Measures o Universal Screener & Benchmark Assessment o Diagnostic Assessment o Progress Monitoring Measures o Outcome or Summative Assessment o These assessments are different than the assessments used by our Special Education staff to diagnose a specific disability. • Slides 6 & 7: Assessment & Team -based Data Reviews for better understanding of individual student needs o Ongoing teacher review of student assessment & work (throughout instruction) o Benchmark assessment reviews (K-8) o Progress monitoring meetings (K-5 Literacy 2024-25) o Student support team (SST) o IEP teams o School crisis response teams o School mental health teams o Previous work, our current focus, and next steps were reviewed. • Slides 8 & 9: Linkit: LPS's Intervention Manager & Assessment Warehouse o Finding a way to store and share student assessment data has been a challenge. Linklt is LPS's new data warehouse/intervention manager. • Slide 10: Family Communication & Partnership o Finding ways to better communicate information and partner with parents has been another area of focus. o Student reports can be shared in the Aspen Family Portal, and additional support materials are being developed. • Slide 11: Monitoring & Better Understand our Implementation o Lists previous work, our current focus and what our next steps are. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Lenihan asked about DIBELS and the STAR assessments on slide 10. Dr. Kavanaugh explained that if a student is flagged in the fall window for intervention or possible further screening, families would receive the results. Ms. Lenihan asked why can't everyone get the results, Dr. Kavanaugh replied that there is a lot of prep that goes into sending a result. Ms. Gaudet made a comment about the STAR assessments being correlated to MCAS results. Mr. Freeman asked if we notified families that they won't be receiving a result if their child isn't flagged. Dr. Kavanaugh replied that we did, and Ms. Gaudet added that we notified families that STAR assessments were given. She mentioned that we could have done a better job of communicating our process around when full reporting would be made available to all families. Mr. Freeman spoke about not wanting to panic parents. Jennifer Gaudet, Director of Secondary Education, joined the School Committee table. She added that context will be provided with scores. Mr. Freeman asked if a child's results from the previous year would show up, and Dr. Kavanaugh replied that they would not. One of her hopes is that results will be moved into the Aspen portal. Ms. Sawhney stated that we are lucky to be in Massachusetts with all of our data resources. She pointed out that DIBELS, Aimsweb, and STAR are related to math and literacy, and she is wondering about foreign language and science. Ms. Sawhney spoke about the only science assessment being the classroom one and MCAS. She asked if there was anything in place to look at the science data. Dr. Kavanaugh explained that math and literacy are screened because the goal is to identify students who are struggling with foundational skills. Ms. Gaudet added that Standards -Based Grading has allowed K-12 science leaders to separate science content standards and thinking skills. She added that World Language is a little different, but they also have some curriculum -based measures and other assessments. Ms. Sawhney spoke more about the importance of science skills and would like it to be included as a screener. Ms. Gaudet replied that this does not yet exist. Dr. Kavanaugh added that common assessments are usually attached to science units. Dr. Hackett invited Andrea So, Director of Elementary Education, to join the School Committee table. Ms. So spoke about how our science curriculum is becoming more creative and experience -based and that you simply can't get that data from a benchmark or diagnostic assessment. She has yet to see any assessment that captures a student's critical thinking skills. Ms. Cuthbertson brought up her son's TeacherEase account on her computer. She explained that under science, it breaks down results into science practice skills, such as developing and using models and critical thinking skills. She likes that TeacherEase communicates valuable information to parents and shows a lot more. Ms. Cuthbertson asked about SEL screening on Linklt. Dr. Kavanaugh replied that we are still "tinkering" with this, but the overview is that we can control who sees what. Mr. Freeman asked if there is a calendar for parents that shows when results will be coming out since there are many reports. Dr. Kavanaugh replied that the only immediate model that comes to mind is around MCAS testing. She will put those dates on the district calendar and consider adding the assessment windows and an approximation of when parents could expect to see results as well. Dr. Hackett thanked the team for working on this. Ms. Jay asked where IEPs will be housed, and Dr. Kavanaugh responded that IEPs are currently stored in Aspen, as well as 504s. Ms. Jay then reiterated that Linkit is an internal thing, Aspen is both family -facing and internal, and TeacherEase is more like the grade book for schools. She would like to know if there's a way to see progress data. Dr. Kavanaugh replied that there are a few different options on how to view that. DIBELS will give a growth score like MCAS. She also mentioned that there was training with our literacy staff on how to specifically compare students' scores throughout the year. NEW BUSINESS Discussion of Draft LIPS School Calendars • 2025-2026 • 2026-2027 Ms. Gaudet explained that every year we roll over the dates that we have: Government Obervances, parent conferences, and professional learning days. For the 2025-2026 calendar, we will need input from the community as to which date should be observed for Diwali. She noted that next year the Middle Schools will be going from two half days for parent/teacher conferences to one full day. The high school will keep two half days for conferences and those dates are to be determined. Ms. Jay mentioned that the calendar only shows government holidays and doesn't include any religious or cultural ones. She brought it up because the community takes pride in recognizing and celebrating different cultural traditions. Ms. Gaudet explained that in the past, some community members questioned why certain holidays were included while others weren't. The decision was then made to list them all as government observances and then provide a more comprehensive list with information on all the cultural or religious observances. This is a complicated issue and needs to be discussed further. Ms. Gaudet noted that Juneteenth falls on a Saturday in 2027. We will check with other districts to see if they plan to observe it during the week. Dr. Hackett gave a shout -out to Malcolm, who is here to observe the School Committee for Eagle Scouts. 71►1d1►1��:I��71�1;�1►I��� LHS Teacher Pariv & Science Andrew Baker, Principal of Lexington High School, joined the School Committee. He explained that in the last round of Unit A contract negotiations, the issue of parity of teaching instruction was discussed extensively. One of the outcomes of this was a commitment to work towards parity at the high school in teaching loads and classes. Mr. Baker reports that the collective bargaining agreement for Unit A expires on August 31, 2026, and we are trying to reach some of these goals. He announced that we have made a lot of progress over the last two school years (23.2 FTE have been added), and it has had a positive impact. He also explained the different challenges that the science department has had. Ms. Gaudet has helped to address the department's disparities. Mr. Baker added that a shared teaching schedule has caused a growth in interdisciplinary spirit, leading to more cross -listed courses next year. He explained that in the revised schedule for the 2025-26 Program of Studies, non -AP science courses will meet for 4 blocks instead of 5 blocks. He also spoke about the AP courses, they are still 6 blocks, and the College Board determines the curriculum. Mr. Baker announced that a second pass AP Biology course next year for seniors only, and he and Ms. Gaudet explained the block schedule, class credits, and Time on Learning. The hope for this is that students take more science courses. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Cuthbertson is excited about this opportunity to allow for more student exploration. Ms. Sawhney shared that she hears many stories from parents and asked about adding AP English courses. She referenced documents from DESE's website. Dr. Hackett added that we have not offered AP English courses for 32 years. Mr. Baker said that he will work with Jane Day and others on a presentation of the history of this and will talk to the department about offering it. Ms. Lenihan is concerned about English but excited that students will have the opportunity to take more science courses. She suggests a Genetic Genealogy class. Ms. Jay commented that this will open up a lot of options and choices for students but is concerned that students could graduate without taking the foundational disciplines in science, such as physics. NEW BUSINESS (continued) Vote the 3 -Year Successor Agreement (FY2025 - FY 2027) between the School Committee and the Tech Unit Chris Lyons, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Staff Support, and Dave Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, joined the School Committee and explained the agreement. The tech department's main concerns were salaries, longevity, and aligning with the other contracts. Since this is retroactive, adjustments will have to be made for this year. Ms. Cuthbertson moved to approve the 3 -Year Successor Agreement (FY2025-FY2027) between the School Committee and the Technology Unit, and Mr. Freeman seconded. The motion passed 5-0. COMMUNITY SPEAK Jess Quattrocchi - 102 Pleasant St (on Zoom): Ms. Quattrocchi expressed appreciation for Deepika, acknowledging her significant contributions and impact during her time on the School Committee. She also asked about the timeline for sending out the literacy survey to parents. POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS • No items were added. ADJOURNMENT/Calendar for the year Ms. Lenihan moved to adjourn at 9:28 PM, and Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. The motion passed 5-0.