HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-28-SC-min
LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen’s Meeting Room
1625 Massachusetts Avenue
Present:
Chair, Eileen Jay; Vice Chair, Kate Colburn; Alessandro Alessandrini; Kathleen Lenihan, Deepika Sawhney,
Superintendent, Dr.Czajkowski; Student Representative, Rosanna Jiang
The minutes were taken by Sara Calvino, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m.
Welcome:
Superintendent Announcements:
Dr. Czajkowski extended congratulations to the LHS Economic Adam Smith Team and advisor William
Cole for reaching National Finals and being interviewed on CNBC yesterday morning. The LHS Economics
Club and teams are completely autonomous and student run. This is a big achievement for them.
Dr. Czajkowski also congratulated Atreya Mallanna, a 5th grade student at Estabrook, for winning the
Massachusetts State National Geographic Bee competition and is now qualified for the Top 10 finalists in
the National Geo Bee Competition, out of 54 states and territories.
Dr. Czajkowski gave a brief update on the Elementary Principal Search and the formation of a Discipline
Task Force.
School Committee Member Announcements:
School Committee members expressed sorrow and prayers to the families who lost loved ones in the
most recent school shooting.
Consent Agenda:
1.Vote to Accept Donation to the Maria Hastings School from Wilson Farms in the Amount of
$275.00
2.Approval of School Department Payroll Warrant dated May 11, 2018
Eileen Jay moved to approve the School Department’s payroll warrant dated May 11, 2018 in
the amount of $3,790,616.51 – Seconded Approved
3.Approval of School Department Accounts Payable Warrant dated May 18, 2018
Eileen Jay moved to approve the School Department’s accounts payable warrant dated May
18 2018 in the amount of $615,119.55 – Seconded (5-0)
Eileen Jay moved to approve the School Department’s US Bank reconciliations in the amount
of $31,517.22 – Seconded (5-0)
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Agenda:
Lexington Education Foundation Update:
Karen Orf and Kim McCormick, LEF Presidents, reported on LEF’s principal activities over the 2017-2018
school year.
Highlights are listed below:
●Raised more than $5 million in private donations from Lexington families and businesses
●Granted awards totaling $195,751 in three categories
o Program Grants - $97,666
o Fellowships - $40,335
o School Community Grants - $57,750
●Fundraising
o Celebration for Education Weekend – June 15 & 16
o STAR Awards spring campaign
Update on Addressing Disparities in Student Discipline:
Eileen Jay reminded the community of the procedures and reviewed the operating norms for school
committee meetings as well as protocol during public comments.
Dr. Czajkowski reported that a “Discipline Task Force” will be formed in order to help address the
disparities issues within LPS. Dr. Czajkowski takes full ownership as the Superintendent in addressing
this issue and, as a team, intends to look at the data to the extent that we need to. This is a
long-standing issue in our community and schools. We need to use this as an opportunity to address the
concerns. It’s going to take time, empathy, understanding, and people looking at themselves and their
beliefs and values. Dr. Czajkowski thanked the Human Rights Committee, Commission on Disability,
Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL), and SEPAC for raising this issue in our community. We
will use this as an opportunity to move forward and look at the data.
Andrew Stephens and Victoria Buckley provided a presentation and a brief summary of the items
discussed at the May 14 Discipline Task Force meeting:
Discussion Points:
●Hopes
●Discussion of the problem around student discipline & disparities
●Discussion of who should be on the team moving forward
●Discussion of where to begin (agenda for 5/29 meeting)
●Set future meeting dates/times: 5/29 & 6/12
Many community members spoke during public comment with suggestions on how to better address
the disparities issue in Lexington.
LHS Visioning
Andrew Stephens gave a brief update on the LHS visioning update including the visioning timeline and
three main goals listed below:
●To begin to articulate an LHS Vision through discussion of the experience all students and
teachers should have
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●To begin to articulate what we think the ideal graduate knows and can do and what he/she
needs
●Overall to get us thinking and talking about what we want for the future and where we are now
Health Education Program Review – Year 1
Eamonn Sheehan and Julie Fenn reported on the Health Education Program Review for year 1. Program
goals and overview of completed work was reviewed along with areas of growth, strengths,
recommendations and next steps.
Members had some questions for Mr. Sheehan regarding the possibility of restoring health education
for the elementary level.
First Reading of Draft Policy EDE: Waste Reduction: Conservation, Recycling and Composting
Eileen Jay read the first draft policy of EDE: Waste Reduction: Conservation, Recycling and Composting
that was developed by the Policy Subcommittee in conjunction with Green Team volunteers and Ian
Dailey, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations.
School Committee member Kate Colburn had some questions for Ian Dailey regarding cost implications
and logistics, such as staffing and purchasing. Members agreed to review the policy and send any
questions and suggested edits to Eileen Jay.
Discussion of School Start Time Options
Members discussed feedback from the public forum and many emails they have received from the
community. Consensus shows the community is in support of a later start time for the high school, but
many respondents expressed a lot of concerns about having the elementary schools starting before 8:00
a.m.
Members would like the School Start Time Task Force to meet “one more time” to see if there are any
other creative opportunities to make this work. They would like the Task Force to look at some of the
suggestions that were raised during tonight’s open forum and to report on their findings at the next
School Committee meeting.
Superintendent End of Year Self Assessment
Superintendent Dr. Mary Czajkowski presented a summative report of her 2017-2018 Goals.
Per the process outlined by DESE, the Chair will summarize the ratings and comments from
individual members and present a report of the School Committees’ Superintendent Evaluation
at the June 5, 2018 School Committee meeting. All educator ratings including the
Superintendent’s rating must be submitted to the DESE no later than June 30, 2018.
Motion to adjourn was made and seconded: Meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m.
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Meeting Materials: Agenda; A.1- PowerPoint Presentation A.2- PowerPoint Presentation A.3-
PowerPoint Presentation A.4-Lexington Program Review Presentation; Wellness Executive Summary;
Wellness Program Review A.5-DRAFT Policy A.6-None A.7-Superintendent End of Year Self Assessment
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