HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-01-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Lexington Town Office Building
Selectmen's Meeting Room
1625 Massachusetts Avenue
CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 7:07 p.m.
Chair Eileen Jay welcomed and introduced committee members
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Eileen Jay, Chairperson
Kate Colburn, Vice-Chairperson
Kathleen Lenihan, Clerk
Deepika Sawhney
Scott Bokun
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT
Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent
Dr. Christine Lyons, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional
Development
Mr. David Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations
The minutes were taken by Kristen Cronin, Executive Assistant to the School Committee and
Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent.
School Committee Announcements/Liaison Reports
Mr. Bokun reminded the community of the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new playground at
Bridge Elementary School on October 2 at 9:00 a.m.
Mr. Bokun commented on the core value (#5) of the strategic plan: Do Your Part: As members
of communities, both small and large, we are united in many purposes. When we encounter
challenges or conflicts, we work together with confidence and humility. None of humanity's
great accomplishments were done in isolation. Members of our community meet each other
where they are and are invested in one another's success. Mr. Bokun challenged the
community to do their part and listen, and if they have any comments to reach out to school
committee through email or at the public forums to make known any ideas or opinions that
they have.
Ms. Lenihan attended the "Stop the Bleed" workshop through the Town of Lexington. Would
like to have "stop the bleed kit" in the schools near the AED machines.
1
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19
Ms. Sawhney thanked the PPC Chair and the PTA/PTO heads for Clark & Bridge school
announcements/newsletters. Ms. Sawhney noted there was some fun events taking place over
the weekend that she would like to participate in.
Ms. Colburn, no announcements.
Ms. Jay informed the community of upcoming public forum dates. The first set of dates are for
the redistricting forums on Wednesday, October 16 at 9:00 a.m. in Estabrook Hall, as well as
Thursday, October 24 at 6:00 p.m. in Estabrook Hall. In addition there will be two public forums
for the next phase of the Strategic Planning to be held on Monday, October 7th from 9:00 -
11:00 a.m. at the Lexington Community Center, as well as Monday, October 21st from 6:00 -
8:00 p.m. at the Community Center.
Ms. Jay announced an upcoming joint meeting with Board of Selectmen to get an update from
the Mental Health Task Force on Tuesday, October 29th at 7:00 p.m.
CONGRATULATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS
The Superintendent extended congratulations to Harrington Elementary School for its
recognition as a 2019 National Blue Ribbon School. For the past two years, Harrington has
demonstrated exemplary achievement, and they are one of only 362 schools to be recognized
in the nation.
On November 14, 2019, Grade 5 Teacher, Sara Lamb, Principal Jackie Daley, and the
Superintendent will travel to Washington, DC to accept the award on behalf of the Harrington
Elementary School community.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
Dr. Hackett reported on the following Massachusetts Comprehensive ASsessment System
(MCAS) results. She noted that each year Massachusetts students in grades 3 -8 and grade 10
take assessments linked to our state learning standards. The DESE advises that when reviewing
students' scores, we should keep in mind that (1) the standards for"meeting expectations" are
far more rigorous than the standards for reaching "proficient" on the legacy MCAS; and (2) the
"Next-Generation MCAS" scores should NOT be compared to legacy MCAS scores.
Dr. Hackett reported that overall the district performance continues to be high in ELA and
Mathematics. In grades 3 - 8, 79% performed at Meeting or Exceeding Expectations in ELA and
82% in Mathematics. In grade 10, 92% performed at Meeting or Exceeding Expectations in ELA
and 96% in Mathematics. Dr. Hackett noted that based on district-level results, large
achievement gaps continue to exist for certain subgroups of students. Across all subject areas,
gaps continue to be the largest for students with disabilities, African American/Black, and
economically disadvantaged groups. A memo from Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh on 2019 MCAS and
Accountability results can be found here: MEMO 2019 MCAS and Accountability Results
2
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19
Dr. Hackett reported on the Lexington Strategic Planning Implementation Highlights. She noted
that the initial roll-out of the Strategic Plan of the Lexington Public Schools occurred on August
26, 2019, the first day back to school for educators. Since then she has seen many educators
thoughtfully explore ways to integrate the tenets of the strategic plan into their classrooms,
where the concepts and ideas matter most.
Dr. Hackett went on to report on the Lexington Public Schools Equity Audit. She gave a brief
history of how the Equity Audit came to be. After hearing concerns from the community over
the vendor they had chosen to conduct the Equity Audit, Dr. Hackett decided to move forward
with the following actions:
• Johnny Cole, Director of Equity and Student Supports will take the lead on the
Equity Audit. Johnny is still new to Lexington and he is in the process of finalizing
his Entry Plan. He recently conducted several interviews, and he will continue
these efforts with student interviews, classroom visits, and focus groups. While
Johnny will oversee all aspects of the Equity Audit, he will take the lead on
identifying racial and LGBTQIA+ inequalities that exist in the systems, structures,
and policies of the Lexington Public Schools.
• Thomas Hehir, national consultant and expert in special education, will continue
his work by examining school-based inequalities and barriers that exist for
students with disabilities in Lexington. He recently completed a review of the
DLP Program at Harrington Elementary School, which will be integrated into the
Equity Audit. Additional data sources and reports (previous DLP consultants'
report, SEPAC Survey, DESE Tiered Focus Monitoring reports, etc.) will be
incorporated into the Equity Audit to make it as comprehensive and meaningful
as possible.
• Johnny Cole will be the Lead Project Manager for the Equity Audit, with support
from Ellen Sugita, Maureen Kavanaugh, and others. We will prepare a
presentation of our findings to share with the School Committee and the public
in January, 2020.
• Once we have the data from the Equity Audit, we will establish our Community
Input Teams to begin to address the identified systemic barriers in the Lexington
Public Schools.
The next item Dr. Hackett reported on was Coaching for Change (C4C). Coaching for Change
(C4C) will partner with Lexington Public Schools' METCO Program for the 2019-2020 school year
to implement a pilot program at the Diamond Middle School. They will be working in
partnership with Barbara Hamilton, Academic Director for Lexington METCO, and Jennifer
Turner, Principal of Diamond Middle School. Coaching for Change will work to build a positive,
unifying after-school culture for middle and high school students in Lexington, using a tiered
mentoring model. Our overall vision is to connect approximately 40 middle school students
from diverse backgrounds.
3
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19
Coaching for Change will consult with Lexington Public Schools to train and coach teachers and
administrators on how to run a two-day-a-week program at Diamond Middle School, focusing
on academic enrichment, creative physical activity, teamwork, public speaking, critical thinking,
and positive relationship-building with peers and adults.
The emphasis of the C4C-LPS partnership:
1. Set up the infrastructure to attract, train, and retain local and diverse college students
to the Lexington Public Schools workforce
2. Build a community amongst a diverse and intentionally organized LPS school
population across high school and middle schools. Moreover, the C4C partnership
work will remain strongly focused on recruiting and training college mentors (Regis
College) to lead the programs.
3. We will put special emphasis in recruiting and training a cohort of four Lexington High
School students, in partnership with METCO, to fulfill our mission to build a larger
sense of community amongst Lexington Public Schools students.
Program recruitment and training will take place this fall with a scheduled implementation of
the C4Change mentoring program at Diamond this spring. If the C4C pilot is successful at
Diamond, we will look to expand to Clarke Middle School if there is interest next year.
Click the link to review a full copy of the Superintendent's Report: Superintendent's Report
COMMUNITY SPEAKS:
None
CONSENT AGENDA
ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS/GIFTS
Ms. Colburn moved to approve donation to Lexington High School Music Program in the
amount of$500.00-seconded by Ms. Sawhney(Approved 5-0)
Ms. Colburn moved to approve donation to Lexington High School for Band/Jazz competitions
from the Greater Boston Food Bank in the amount of$300.00-seconded by Ms. Sawhney
(Approved 5-0)
PAYROLL AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE WARRANT APPROVAL
Mr. Bokun moved to approve Payroll Warrant dated September 27, 2019 in the amount of
$4,031,887.77;Accounts Payable (US Bank)dated September 27, 2019 in the amount of
4
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19
$3,668.04 and Accounts Payable Warrant dated September 27, 2019 in the amount of
$1,160,002.20-seconded by Ms. Lenihan (Approved 5-0)
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Ms. Lenihan moved to approve September 24, 2019 School Committee Minutes-seconded by
Ms. Sawhney(Approved 5-0)
Presentation: Redistricting for Middle School and High School
Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh, Director of Planning and Assessments and Applied Geographic
consultants presented the elementary & middle school redistricting district proposal.
Highlights presented are as follows:
• The student population and growth is not evenly distributed, nor are residential areas
o Bridge & Fiske assignment areas are among the most dense and compact
o The Clarke assignment area is more densely populated than the Diamond
assignment area.
o The Hastings assignment area appears geographically larger than others, but
contains large non-residential areas.
• Other characteristics, however, like residential sales and demographics, are well
distributed across every district
• Fiske would be the smallest elementary school under current right-sized capacity
definitions.
• If we were to adjust school assignment areas with school proximity as the main factor:
o Hastings would be well under-capacity, while other schools would be over;
Clarke would also remain over-capacity
o It requires us to revisit "components" used during the previous phase of
redistricting
• New Recommended Elementary Assignment:
o Effective movement of components from Bridge to Bowman; Bowman to
Harrington; Harrington to Fiske and Fiske to Hastings
o In addition components moved from Bowman, Bridge, and Estabrook to Hastings
achieves equitable distribution of students
• Implementation Details:
o Currently enrolled students living in newly assigned areas will attend new
schools during the 2020-21 school year (except for students who will be in 5th
and 8th grade during this school year).
o Students who will be in the 5th or 8th grade and live in newly assigned areas
during the 2020-21 school year will have the option to remain in their current
school
■ *Students who will be in 6th & 7th grade and live in newly assigned areas
during the 2020-21 school year may apply for a special transfer through
LPS Central Registration to remain in their current school (See School
Committee policy: JCAC Student Transfer Policy)
5
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19
o Grandfathering of 5th and 8th grade does not apply to other siblings enrolled in
the same school. For example, if a family has a 3rd and 5th grade student, the
5th grader would be eligible for grandfathering. The 3rd grade student would
not. This family would have the option to move both students to a newly
assigned school.
School Committee members had some comments and questions for Ms. Kavanaugh which she
addressed.
Ms. Jay suggested taking another look at the Middle School redistricting plan. She commented
that it could be a difficult time to be moving current students to a different school.
Community Speak
Rebecca Fagan Gorospe, 42 Carnival Rd. - Ms. Fagan was looking for some data on the actual
number of component blocks that are being moved in and out.
Suzannah Hoke, 13 Sheridan St. - Ms. Hoke's children attend Fiske elementary school, which is
one mile from their home and is a safe walking/biking route. Switching to Hastings would not
allow for the same independence for her children.
Lucas Hung, Liberty Heights - Mr. Hung suggested considering that, instead of impacting all
districts equally, we think about impacting a minimum number of districts (two or more) rather
than the four.
Alison Strochlic 78 Grant Street -Alison shares same concerns including walking and biking to
school, as well as concerns about how people are moving into Fiske. She reiterated the prior
point that it seems odd to be affecting more students instead of less.
Karin Ornstein, 12 Tucker Ave, Liberty Heights - Karen expressed concerns for separating Liberty
Heights from Peacock Farm neighborhood. Also expressed concerns of crossing Mass Ave.
John Coakly, 23 Oakland Street - Mr. Coakly echoed the same points as other families given that
his children would not be able to walk to school and he expressed concerns about them having
to take the bus.
Ms. Jay thanked the community for speaking and reminded them of the upcoming public
forums.
5 minute recess.
FY2021 Budget Calendar and Guidelines:
Mr. David Coehlo provided school committee with the revised edits for the budget calendar and
guidelines that were suggested at the last School Committee meeting
6
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19
Ms. Colburn moved to approve FY2020-21 budget guidelines-seconded by Ms. Lenihan
(Approved 5-0)
Policy Reading#2- Homework Policy IKB Revisions
Dr. Lyons gave a brief update on revised edits to the Homework policy. She noted that after the
last School Committee meeting, the feedback and suggestions were brought to the Policy
Subcommittee, along with some reconvening members of the Homework Committee.
School Committee members had further discussion and questions for Dr. Lyons which she
addressed.
Ms. Jay recommending having a Policy Subcommittee meeting with Dr. Hackett and Dr. Lyons in
order to review further edits. Committee members would like to take a vote at the next School
Committee meeting on October 15, 2019.
COMMUNITY SPEAK:
None
At 10:30 pm Ms.Jay made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Ms. Colburn(Approved 5-0)
7
LSC Meeting 10/01/19
Minutes Approved 10/15/19