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Home My WebLink About2020-01-13-HASTINGS-min MARIA ��T�� U � �� -� � �� '� � � � U�U � U� U �� PUBLIC MEETING NOTES Meeting School Based Site Counci| — Maria Hastings Elementary Date Monday, 1/13/2020 Time 7:45 am —8:3Q am Location Library, Maria Hastings Elementary, 7 Crosby Road, Lexington, MA Present Louise Lipsi1z, Katie O'Hare Gibson, Brenda Rich, Lisa Con1re, Kim Ryan, Sarah Davison, Grace Lee, Beth Bristol,Jane Ka|inski, Daniel Pan Agenda 1. Approve 11/18/19 Minutes: ]ane Ka|insky moved toapprove the minutes, Kim Ryan seconded the motion. Minutes approved byunanimous vote. 2. MernberTopios Kim Ryan asked if there had been any feedback yet about the new website. Louise said she has not received any feedback yet. She asked that ifanyone hears feedback from the community, please advise them tosend that feedback toLouise. VVewill put information inthe Hastings Bulletin for the next few weeks to help families get oriented to the new website. There isstill some work todoinpopulating some ofthe links. Parents said that specifically people have Maria Hastings Elementary School | 7Crosby Road | Lexington, MA | 0%4%1 noticed that the food services page has some issues, such as trouble finding menus (it is a lot of "clicks" to get there) and no way to email the Director of Food services. Louise talked about the budgeting process, and explained that the town is looking at the "rainy day fund" to put money aside for big projects, such as future building projects, obligations for health insurance, retirement, etc. Given this, there may be some decreases in funding, so parents and community members are encouraged to watch the budget process so that when the budget goes to Town Meeting in March, residents will have had time to be aware of this. Daniel shared that there has been conversation about the fact that the shortfall for 2022 will be up to $4 million, and would like to have increased communication with the community about that. Louise shared that at the most recent summit, that shortfall has been reduced. We will make a plan to update communication from the school or the PTO about the most recent information from the school committee meetings in order to facilitate this communication. 3. Update on the Building Project The academic wing was prioritized to facilitate the opening for students. Classrooms are mostly ready to open, and the community wing now is completing flooring, the gym is finished. Furniture will begin arriving on January 20. Our plan is to walk the students over on February 14 in three different groups. They will come in the first floor and walk up to the second floor, go to their classroom to drop off their"book bags" or other personal materials, and then have a quick tour to see the specialist areas. On February 25, everyone will be able to come in to the cafetorium, and say goodbye there, before students go to their classrooms and parents can stay for a welcoming coffee. Louise and Katie have been coordinating with Lextended Day about how the systems and routines for Lextended may shift for the new building. They are also working on developing logistics for arrival and dismissal procedures, and general logistics for the new building. The current building will be demolished as soon as possible. The finance department and facilities department is working to coordinate LPS district dispersal of any furniture that could be used elsewhere, then working with a company which will come take anything that is left behind to be donated, and finally to do the demolition. The staff parking will remain the same through the end of the school year. Daniel asked when communication will go out to the community about the new arrival/dismissal procedures. Louise said that will be finalized this week, and then we will need another week or so to get the information clear with maps, etc. Beth and Kim expressed how much they appreciate the tours on Feb. 14, which will really help the students to prepare to return after the break. Louise shared that we had a faculty meeting last week to help with the transition for the staff to talk about what they are looking forward to in the move, while also acknowledging the "loss" of change. Update on Redistricting Families have begun receiving email from the school district about their redistricting status. Daniel shared that a family with a 2nd grader and a 4th grader received a letter about being redistricted to Estabrook. Louise asked that if people are surprised or confused by any communication they get about redistricting, they should contact her directly. Our numbers for next year are currently looking like 621, and that is without the addition of Boston resident students. Louise has spoken to Barbara Hamilton about her desire to increase the Boston resident population at grades K and 1, given the growth in our school population, we would like to increase the population of Boston resident students. By mid-February, we will know about voluntary staff transfers. The next step will be to look at the openings, and then the district will start with the most senior staff that are pre-professional status, and make placements in order to fill those openings. We hope to have the staffing finished in spring so that staff that will be transferring to Hastings will be able to come to some staff meetings and start to build the staff community. 4. Update on Portions of SIP 5. Equity, Teachers College, Math/Literacy Coaching cycles, Assessment data, and Mental Health needs of community. We have been working with consultants from Teachers College Reading and Writing Project for professional development for the teachers. The mathematics department is launching into a curriculum review. Beth Bristol moved to adjourn at 8:29 am, Kim Ryan seconded, all approved.