Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-17-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, November 17, 2020 Conducted by Remote Participation Meeting Minutes AGENDA: CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:00 p.m. Chair Kathleen Lenihan welcomed and introduced committee members SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Kathleen Lenihan, Chairperson Eileen Jay, Vice-Chair Deepika Sawhney Scott Bokun Sara Cuthbertson, Clerk STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Sara Mei SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent Mr. David Coehlo, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations Dr. Christine Lyons, Assistant Superintendent to Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development The minutes were taken by Kristen Keough, Executive Assistant to the School Committee Ms. Lenihan read Governor Baker's Executive Order from March 12, 2020 which allows public meetings to be conducted remotely due to the state emergency related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Ms. Lenihan covered additional ground rules for an effective and clear conduct of business and to assure accurate meeting minutes. On behalf of the School Committee, Ms. Lenihan expressed her condolence to Clarke Middle School and families who recently lost two faculty members. A moment of silence was held. MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS/LIAISON REPORTS: Ms. Cuthbertson reported that she and Mr. Bokun joined a LexSEPTA meeting earlier in the month. She said that there were still some concerns from parents about the scheduling of the different supports that high school students need because of how complex the LHS schedule is. Overall parents are happy, especially the families that have students in school full time. Ms. LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC Cuthbertson said some parents expressed concerns about their child not receiving the support they need in the event the district ends up going fully remote for a period of time. Mr. Bokun had two announcements from the Lexington Human Rights Committee (LHRC). The No Hate November virtual event, Interrupting Racist Hatred, is taking place this evening with a panelist discussion. The link to the event can be found on the LHRC website. Mr. Bokun reflected on Core Value#4: Care for yourself and others. He called for everyone to be careful and safe while celebrating Thanksgiving this year. Ms. Sawhney thanked the Finance Department and Human Resource Department for all their hard work. Ms. Jay reported that the next School Committee meeting that was scheduled for December 1, 2020 would be on the same night as the LEF Trivia Bee. Therefore, the School Committee will be moving their December 1st meeting to the following Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 6:00 PM. Ms. Lenihan reminded people that on Friday, November 20, 2020, LexPride is hosting the Transgender Day of Rememberance, to honor the lives of transgender people killed in transphoebic violence. Registration is available for this event on Lexpride.org Ms. Lenihan said she is going to reach out to the Chair of the Wellesley School Committee to see how they went about getting the COVID surveillance testing at their school and to see if the information will be helpful to Lexington. COMMUNITY SPEAK: Dr. Avon Lewis, President of the Lexington Education Association (LEA): Dr. Lewis read a statement on behalf of the Lexington Public School teachers and staff members. Dr. Lewis said, in order for staff to be safe and feel safe in the buildings, she is asking that School Committee follow up on three things that were discussed in bargaining: (1) figure out a plan for the school to do some sort of surveillance testing, (2) see that the school district has a clear decision making process and thresholds for deciding when to reduce the number of students in the building by shifting more or all students into remote, and (3) need the School Committee to take a strong stance on the shared responsibility for all our safety (i.e., maskless basketball games in the town courts is not acceptable; tell families not to disregard the states travel restrictions; tell the community if they want schools open they need to close the restaurants and limit social gatherings). Dr. Lewis urged the School Committee to take action to assure the safety of Lexington students and staff and also to take action on behalf of the students and educators of the Commonwealth. Dr. Lewis asked for the School Committee to write to the Governor and the Commissioner, and urge them to respect local decision making and to value everyone's safety. LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC Arvind, 47 College Ave.: (1) Request to consider having in-person schooling for kids with big special needs that are on IEPs; (2) Request to see if fully in-person learning could happen after the winter break. Dr. Hackett addressed some of the comments that were made during public comment. SUPERINTENDENT REPORT: Dr. Hackett spoke briefly about the School Committee/Superintendent Goals. Dr. Hackett said she put together a draft based on what the priorities are for the Committee and for the Superintendent. Dr. Hackett said that Ms. Lenihan suggested that they finalize the goals at a School Committee retreat. Dr. Hackett provided a high level overview of the Goals: • Develop a PK-12 DEI Program o Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Address and Narrow Equity Gaps • LHS Graduation Criteria and LPS Core Values Community Celebration o Redefine Success • Develop a Middle School Project-Based Learning Academy Pilot o Cultivate Student Agency • Finalize the LPS Master Plan o Innovate for Sustainable Change LHS CURRICULUM PRESENTATION: Presenters: Mr. Jared Cassedy; Mr. Rob Collins; Ms. Tracy Conte; Ms. Jane Day; Ms. Julie Fenn; Ms. Robyn Dowling-Grant; Mr. Reggie Hobbs; Mr. Kevin Kelly; Dr. Christine Lyons; Ms. Amy Moran; Ms. Alethea Roy; Mr. Eamonn Sheehan; Mr. Andrew Stephens, Principal, LHS Dr. Lyons said tonight's presenters from Lexington High School would explain how they organized and planned for the year. They will provide examples of what things look like in the schools for both the hybrid model and the remote learning model (RLA). Some highlights from the high school presentation include the following: • Synchronous classes: all students (hybrid & remote) follow the same schedule • All students attend class at the same time • Counseling Seminars & check-ins • Advisory Structure • Art materials sent home • Science kits • Ubiquitous Google Classroom use • Video versions of instructional materials LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC • Remote coding platforms for programming courses • Schedules for 4 week cycle • Weekly newsletter to school community LHS Principal, Andrew Stephens, reviewed the HyFlex model and the constraints and decisions of the model. He continued to discuss what the HyFlex model solves as well as it's challenges. Dr. Stephens provided a brief overview of the College Admissions process and updated families on AP courses and class assessments. Each presenter reviewed the curriculum in their respective department: English, History & Social Studies, World Language, Special Education, ELL, Physical Education and Wellness; Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Science, & Mathematics in the hybrid model and Remote Learning model (RLA). They outlined their overall goals for the 2020-2021 academic year, as well as continued steps. For a complete review of the Curriculum Powerpoint, click here. School Committee Questions: Each committee member thanked everyone for the hard work they have done. Sara Mei said she has been compiling questions from students for the past three weeks. Ms. Mei stressed that many students would benefit from teacher office hour blocks. She said that iBlock was a time for students to ask questions and seek teacher support. Ms. Mai commented that if there were designated office hours after school, teachers could do their planning or grading, while students hop onto the zoom hours and ask their questions. Ms. Mei said this would be a time for student/teacher connections, socially and emotionally, as well as help students academically. Ms. Mei asked, "What could be done to create these important office hour times and is there a reason why most teachers don't have that opportunity right now?" Dr. Stephens explained the impossibility of building iBlock periods into the school day with the current schedule. The challenge is the limited time available and other constraints. Mr. Stephens said they have been discussing opportunities because this topic has been brought up in a number of different conversations, including amongst teachers. Mr. Stephens said he does not have an easy answer because it is a definite challenge but it is one they are looking at. Ms. Mei expressed concerns about equitable access to tests and assignments and asked what is being done to be sure that students have equitable access. Mr. Stephens responded that this is the first time he is hearing of this concern from anyone. He said he will make a note of this concern and have a discussion with department heads. Mr. Kevin Kelly commented that when he provides quizzes or tests he makes it clear, and the school policy makes it clear, that all students are under the same expectations in terms of their academic integrity. LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC Ms. Mei said she is concerned for teachers that are teaching fully remote and having empty classrooms for students who are zooming in for their in-person week because of contact tracing for attendance (i.e., marked virtually present when actually was in-person). Mr. Stephens said there is a setting to differentiate between the kids that are in-person or the kids that are virtual. Dr. Hackett commented that the iBlock has come up a lot in discussions even with teachers. One of the solutions would be to rethink the Advisory block. Mr. Bokun asked Ms. Conte how the communication is going between SPED students, SPED families, SPED liaisons, and also the specialist along with the Gen Ed. teachers now that we are remote, in-person etc. Ms. Conte said overall things are going well. She asked Mr. Bokun that if he is hearing otherwise, she would want to hear more. Mr. Bokun commented on the AP requirements reflected in the PowerPoint presentation. Ms. Sawhney commented on some concerns she has heard from the community, one specifically as to what the curriculum will look like for the remainder of the year (Jan-June). Dr. Lyons explained that Dr. Hackett included in the Blueprint that the district has times throughout the year where there is a pause and reflect period to take the opportunity to see how things are working or not working. Dr. Lyons said if we discover that we can increase the amount of curriculum that we are currently teaching, then we will do that. We need to see what that turns into realistically. Ms. Cuthbertson echoed Mr. Bokuns comments on the equity and social emotional pieces. Ms. Jay asked the department heads if having to change assessments has affected how educators teach or grade. She wondered whether this experience could potentially have a positive effect in moving away from some of the rigid testing we are used to. Mr. Hobbs said in Science, there has been a lot more use of formative assessment (i.e., in Zoom using the chat in a variety of different ways, using the little reactions zoom has). In Science, the focus is on, "Are you learning and understanding the material?" Mr. Hobbs said this has been a shift but it is the ultimate focus, and then, "Can you apply what you've learned to a novel situation?" Really working on those critical skills within assessment. Ms. Lenihan had a question regarding the AP History curriculum. Mr. Collins responded that there are a lot of materials for AP classroom practice tests and these are materials that teachers are using so kids can access. He commented that this is an extra thing for students to access if they want to review something. LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC Mr. Bokun reminded the community that Dr. Hackett would be holding a Superintendent/LHS Parent chat tomorrow at noon and another one with SPED families later on in the week. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: U date on SATs and PSATs Dr. Christine Lyons provided a brief update on the SATs test sessions that were administered on September 26th, October 3rd and November 7th. The PSATs were offered on October 17th for Juniors, and there will be a January date for Sophomores to take the PSAT. Ms. Jay asked if the District had any way to provide Seniors priority for scheduling their SATs. She also wanted to know if Seniors had any difficulty securing a seat. Dr. Lyons said she would double check with Ms. Glickman. She said that as well as adding more text dates, they did open additional seating so there was more space for students to take the test if they wanted to. COMMUNITY SPEAK: NONE POLICY SUBCOMMITTEE Ms. Jay reviewed edits made to Policy EBC-Su lemental: Interim Policy Related to COVID-19 Pandemic. Ms. Jay noted that this policy was already voted on, but an amendment was made to add a new section on Face Masks and Face Coverings, and to amend section JLCB-Immunization of Students. Ms.Jay moved to amend School Committee Policy EBC-Supplemental:Interim Policy on issues Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic;seconded by Mr. Bokun. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote- Approved 5-0 Ms. Cuthbertson provided a brief overview of Policy KCD: Fundraising/Contributions, and Ms. Jay reviewed the edits made in this draft compared to the existing policy. Committee members had discussion on edits made to Policy KCD. This was the first reading for the proposed policy changes. CONSENT AGENDA: Mr. Bokun moved to approve the following Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrants: • November 6, 2020-Payroll in the amount of$4,173,420.91 • November 6, 2020-Accounts Payable in the amount of$1,087,277.06 • November 20, 2020-Accounts Payable in the amount of$1,001,529.07 LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC • November 20, 2020-Accounts Payable (BOM)Bank of Montreal Reconciliation in the amount of$21,677.42 Ms. Cuthbertson moved to approve the following gifts/donations: • Approval of$1,000.00 donation from the Russian School of Mathematics to the LHS Mathematics Team • Approval of$5,000.00 donation from the Rappaport Foundation to Clarke Middle School Debate Team. • Approval of$5,000.00 donation from the Rappaport Foundation to Diamond Middle School Debate Team. • Approval of$5,000.00 donation (to be awarded in increments of$1,000.00 each year over the next 5 years beginning with the 2020-2021 graduating class)from the Rappaport Foundation to a Lexington High School senior who has been part of the Lexington High School's debate team. • Approval of$15,000.00 donation from the Lexington High School PTO to Lexington High School for COVID equipment. Ms.Jay moved to approve the following School Committee Meeting Minutes • September 8, 2020 • September 22, 2020 • October 6, 2020 Seconded by Ms. Sawhney;Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote- Consent agenda approved 5-0 Ms. Cuthbertson made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:18 PM; seconded by Ms. Sawhney; Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote;Approved 5-0 LSC 10/06/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 1/19/2021 KC