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Home My WebLink About2021-02-08-LHS-min ' 0*, LEXINGTON I G S C N,,,,,10 ::;;;; Andrew Stephens, Ed.D. (781) 861-2320, ext. 69103 Principal astephens@lexingtonma.org February 8, 2021 LHS Site Council Minutes Via zoom Present: Andrew Stephens, Cathy Swan, Nancy Shepard, Karen Griffiths, Angela Chang, Suzanne Lau, Sam Offsey, Liz Curtin, Lyn Yang, Katie Riley, Jen Roney, Walter Richardson, Khoi Le, Sam Simon Absent : Erin Barrett Approved January Minutes Updates/Announcements *Curriculum Night -remote -good turn out -virtual format works very well -more people can attend -no parking issues -something we want to pursue and continue to do in the future -8th grade parents were confused because Curriculum Night was before Freshman Night -due to scheduling -no context for what classes kids were supposed to take -maybe share the informational videos before Curriculum Night -Science did break out rooms -worked well and saved time as they were able to answer a question once instead of having to answer it multiple times *Course Selection -most students ask their teachers or student faculty senate -advertised via email -good for seniors asking about electives -Jane Day (Head of English Department) does a power point about senior English electives -Counselors meet with kids to make sure they are taking all of their requirements and answer any questions -Aspen -there is a section to make sure you are taking all of the requirements -progress to graduation -here is what you signed up for and here is what you have left to take -find it through student account -updates when final grade is put in *Curriculum -Skills vs. Content -depends on the class and teacher -some classes are more skills based -AP US History -some classes are more content based -AP Chemistry -many teachers have been able to get more content across than they thought -schedule has been tricky -with off weeks, it can be weeks before classes meet again -very difficult to do labs in science -teachers are learning new ways to collect data and give feedback to students *Spring Sports -winding down winter sport season -went ok -able to have some games -Fall 2 Sports will start the week after February Break and run until April -communication will be going out to Fall 2 students to register but may not have all the answers about what season will look like -still meeting to decide -tryouts will be the week we get back after February break -sports being discussed as part of Fall 2 -football, cheerleading, girls volleyball, track, girls swimming -need to participate in pool surveillance testing the week you are in school if you are hybrid -if you don't, you will be sent home for a week of remote learning -this group is bigger than previous seasons so it will be a challenge -there will be another season- Spring 1- which will run mid-late April until July *Quarter 3 Full Time Students -we have many students who have been struggling with remote or hybrid learning and need or would benefit from full time -many people involved in this process and came up with criteria -developed a rubric to see if it should be offered to a student -recommendations from counselors and deans and teachers -SST (student support team) meetings -highest scoring kids (on the rubric) need to be in school the most -what is our capacity as a building to maintain social distancing but accommodate these kids? -once a student was identified, they were invited -a lot of teacher support -state says we need to do this -started the year with special programs in school full time -right now we will have 70-80 kids added to full time between Cohorts A and B -many parents think that if they complain enough, their student can come back full time -this is not the case -what happens if a student is invited but does not accept? -not an easy answer -we follow up with them but cannot force them -families have the right to say no -families will work with counselor to come up with best solution -these students will be in school for morning session and go home for lunch -will more students be invited in the future? -will assess half way through 3rd quarter to see if these interventions are working and if there are other kids who also need to return to full time -might be constrained by space -but if we can accommodate within our space, we should be doing it -current interventions are limited right now -when remote kids want to come back to hybrid will there be space? -right now it is not an issue and we don't expect it to be one -we can't have all 2400 students come back yet *YRBS (Youth Risk Behavior Survey) -highest participation ever! -SHAC (Student Health Advisory Council) works on questions and tailors survey to students in Lexington -results of survey inform decisions -will give us great info to help us think and program as we bring more kids back to school *NEASC Decennial Visit -Collaborative Conference -was a 2 day visit and self study in 2018 -looked at highlights -Our report is to give an account of our process of things we decided we needed to work on -will get lots of feedback -5 Priority Areas -DEI (including discipline disparity) -Strategic Plan -Vision of Graduate -Physical Plant -MSBA request for new building -Curriculum maps for every subject -In process of reporting on the priority areas -this is not great timing because there is so much else going on -was originally scheduled for October but was delayed until now -in the past, a group of teachers and administrators would come for 3 days and go to tons of classes and present the report to staff on last day -we had to pay for their hotels and meals -How will this visit work? -will come in March -will be fully remote -as we get closer they will give more details -we are on track for it -why are they coming during a pandemic? -they only come every 10 years so they need to stick to their timeline -they are approximating what normally occurs *20201-2022 School Year -we will have to see what next year looks like -will have to look at schedule -goal is to get off 4 week cycle -too hard to go so long without seeing students -hopefully we will have a better blueprint of what start of year will look like -do not want to have to repeat the same process as this year -we want this figured out asap -will have to follow guidelines *Surveillance Pool Testing Update -only 40% participation of staff and students -not a great number -some forget to pick up test or turn it in -some athletes don't want to get tested because if they are positive they can't participate -trying to increase number of participants -almost zero positive cases system wide *Budget Update -our budget is frozen -there is a lot more scrutiny on where we spend our money -next year we are not getting any FTE to address our student increase -classes will be bigger but not overcrowded -had a big bump in FTE 2 years ago so we are ok -2017 7% increase -2022 3% increase -downward trend over last 5 years -we are going down 6 FTE system wide -no layoffs, but retirees, etc. will not be replaced -next year we will maintain level service *February Break Travel Protocol -For staff and students traveling outside Massachusetts to a non lower-risk state or internationally -Quarantine for 10 days OR -Produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72- hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts. If not obtained before entry to Massachusetts, a test may be obtained after arrival. However, all such arriving travelers must immediately begin the 10-day quarantine until a negative test result has been received *AP Testing Update -college board will have some remote testing done at home -some tests must occur in school: world language, music theory -this will be done in school and other students will be remote to give enough space to spread test takers out Meeting adjourned