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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-03-11-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 5:09 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Eileen Jay, Chairperson Sarah Carter Larry Freeman (left after Executive Session) Kathleen Lenihan (joined after call to order) Sara Cuthbertson did not attend the meeting. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent, and Dr. Chris Lyons, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Staff Support. 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. Jay 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 (Unit C Bargaining), Mr. Freeman seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll call vote, and passed 3-0. The School Committee entered Executive Session at 5:10 PM and returned to Open Session at 6:17 PM. Kathleen Lenihan has joined the meeting, and Mr. Freeman went home sick. In Open Session, Ms. Jay introduced the School Committee members in attendance. She welcomed Sarah Carter as a new member of the School Committee and congratulated her on her election. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Lenihan had the pleasure of attending Harrington and Hastings Joy in Learning celebrations. She also announced that Community Forum #10 for the LHS Building Project will be held on March 19th at Cary Memorial Building and on Zoom. Ms. Carter thanked the School Committee for welcoming her, this is her first meeting. Ms. Jay also got to attend the Hastings Joy in Learning. CONSENT AGENDA Ms. Lenihan read the following consent agenda items: • Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. March 7, 2025 - Payroll in the amount of $4,913,988.40 b. March 14, 2025 -AP Warrant in the amount of $1,163,848.99 Ms. Carter read the following consent agenda items: • Minutes January 28, 2025 - AM Budget Hearing Minutes January 28, 2025 - PM Budget Hearing Minutes Ms. Jay read the following consent agenda items: • Field Trips a. LHS Field Trip to Rome, Italy, from February 13-20, 2026 b. LHS Field Trip to Siena, Italy, from April 17-25, 2026 Ms. Jay said these trips are ongoing and that the costs are going up. She just wants to make sure that we have funds available to help families who need it for these trips. Ms. Gaudet, Director of Secondary Education, replied that we do make funds available for a variety of different measures. She explained that each program runs a little differently and that she would consult and come back with more information. Ms. Lenihan moved to approve the entire consent agenda, Ms. Carter seconded. The motion passed 3-0. COMMUNITY SPEAK Olga Guttag - 273 Emerson Rd (on Zoom): Ms. Guttag is concerned about the decision to tear down Harrington School, especially given the expected population growth in Lexington due to new housing units. She suggests that instead of demolishing Harrington, it should be repurposed. She asked the School Committee to reconsider the demolition. LPS LITERACY ASSESSMENTS K-8 PRESENTATION Sara Calleja, K-5 ELA & Literacy Department Head, Casey Siagel, 6-8 English Department Head, Jennifer Gaudet, Director of Secondary Education, and Maureen Kavanaugh, Director of Data & Strategy, presented the K-8 Literacy/ELA Assessments slideshow. • Slides 2-5: Kindergarten through grade 5 o Slide 2: List of State and national resources o Slide 3: Mass Literacy has three compartments: Foundational Skills, Engaging with Complex Text, and Writing o Slide 4: Overview of K-5 Intervention • Slides 6-9: Grade 6 through 8 o Slide 6: Overview of ELA o Slide 7: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language o Slide 8: Overview of 6-8 Intervention o Slide 9: Family Communication • Slide 10: Monitoring our Progress • Slide 11: 2023-2024: End of Year DIBELS (Grades K-5) results • Slide 12: End of Year DIBELS by Subscore, 2023-2024 • Slide 13: STAR Reading Assessment (Grade 6-8) • Slide 14: K-5 Student Receiving Intervention: Reading & Writing • Slide 15: K-5 Reading & Writing: Intervention Focus Area • Slide 16: 6-8 Students Receiving Intervention: Reading Intervention Course Enrollments • Slide 17: 2024 MCAS English Language Arts results School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Lenihan asked what the difference is between the formal letter and the report that goes to families. Ms. Calleja replied that the letter is a formality from the State with legal language (K -Grade 3), and all families get the report and have a meeting. Ms. Lenihan also asked if middle school students are reading full books or selections from books. Ms. Siagel responded that they read full novels, short stories, poems, plays, certain types of media, and sometimes excerpts from novels. Ms. Lenihan also asked how balancing the range of skill levels in a classroom works. Ms. Calleja explained that we have a large, diverse range of texts that are distributed based on students' assessment results. Teachers meet with all students individually, so everyone makes progress at their own pace, as well as through classroom discussion. Ms. Calleja also spoke about the new component of our kindergarten and grade 1 curriculum, Jump Rope Readers, which are decodable texts, and you can't tell which level students are on because they all look the same. Dr. Hackett is excited about the writing that is highlighted in the presentation. On the last slide, Ms. Carter asked about the Middle School students who are in eighth grade right now and what happens to them at LHS. Ms. Gaudet replied that we're collaborating with Mr. Baker and the high school team to strengthen reading support across all content areas. This includes professional learning for staff on reading strategies, helping teachers support students within their classrooms. We're also working on reducing reading -related barriers when reading isn't the skill being assessed, so we can focus on students' content knowledge. At the high school, we're building on the existing Learning Center model, especially in humanities, to better support referred students. Long-term, we aim to give teachers more insight into students' skill levels to support more intentional classroom planning. Dr. Kavanugh added that there has always been a "hand-off" between eighth -grade and ninth -grade teachers. Ms. Gaudet went on to share that different benchmarking assessments are being discussed at the high school. Ms. Jay asked about slide 1S, K-5 Reading & Writing: Intervention Focus Area. It shows the cluster of need for decoding in the early grades. She would like to know how we track students who need help early on and, as they get older, see how they are doing in other aspects of reading. Ms. Calleja clarified that slide 15 represents intervention goals, not students; one student could have multiple goals. She also pointed out that most students who are receiving an intervention in one of the decoding areas are also receiving intervention in another. Ms. Calleja also added that we have graphs that track a child's progress across multiple skills. Dr. Kavanaugh added that the new DIBELS assessment has built-in reports so teachers will be able to track progress through that as well. Another tool for monitoring progress is through Linklt. Ms. Calleja added that we really look at students' writing to see if isolated skills turn into meaningful work. She pointed out the improvement made by grade 3, who were the first cohort to get Fundations. Ms. Jay added a comment about really looking at subgroup results. She also asked if students get pulled out of their classroom if they have intensive needs. Ms. Calleja confirmed that the most intensive needs students get pulled out of class four to five days a week for about thirty minutes to work with a specialist. Ms. Calleja gave a shout out to her multi -talented, multi -credentialed team of specialists. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Discussion of Draft LIPS School Calendars and Possible Vote • 2025-2026 • 2026-2027 Ms. Lenihan explained that there have been some misunderstandings around holiday closures and the start of school, so the School Committee decided to postpone the vote until they get further feedback. NEW BUSINESS Dave Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, reviewed the report and announced that we are currently running on a $891,000 deficiency. The main driver of this is the 29 FTEs that were added to accommodate increased student enrollment and meet new class size caseload guidelines. Transportation costs are another big factor. Ms. Lenihan asked if we needed to tap into the Special Education Reserve fund, what would that look like. Dr. Hackett responded that it would happen at the end of the school year (May). Town Meetine Articles Discussion The School Committee decided to postpone the discussion of Town Meeting Articles to March 26th, right before Town Meeting. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. Hackett reviewed her Superintendent`s Report with the School Committee. The highlights from her report include: 1. Ramadan Lighting Ceremony on February 28th. 2. Maintenance Worker Day is on March 4th. 3. The LEF will have a fundraising event, Celebration for Education, on April 5th. 4. There was a concert in Concord, Sound Revolutions, as part of the Lex250 celebration. Dr. Dwayne Milburn composed an original piece entitled "Lexington Triptych". 5. Joy in Learning Celebrations. 6. Diamond Student Wins MA Chess Championship for 7th Graders. 7. LPS Nurse Brice Adley was selected for a "Rising Star". 8. K-5 Science Curriculum Coordinator Karen McCarthy received a shout -out. 9. K-8 Comprehensive Local Assessment System, tonight was the second part out of three. 10. High School Building Project Updates: We are now in Module 4—Schematic Design, and Bloom is the design choice that will be used moving forward. 11. 11th Annual Lexington Parent & Caregiver Academy on March 22nd. 12. We All Belong; Seal of Biliteracy. COMMUNITY SPEAK No speakers. POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS Items added during this meeting: • None ADJOURNMENT Ms. Lenihan made a motion to adjourn at 8:35 PM, Ms. Carter seconded. Passed, 3-0.