[0:00] Yes. But, just, just tell

[0:02] me.

[0:02] I'll write this down. I'll write it down

[0:04] , I'll write it down in my

[0:05] notebook.

[0:06] Don't throw this away.

[0:09] Jeff wants to take

[0:10] your things.

[0:12] What? What? Could you

[0:13] tell the people who

[0:15] want them that they

[0:15] can buy mine? A.

[0:17] Okay. Well, okay. Yes.

[0:23] Wait, who...Oh, I

[0:24] know. Were you there? Yes.

[0:30] I didn't know he was

[0:31] back. Er

[0:32] , technically not on an

[0:33] island.

[0:36] Yes. Yes.

[0:39] Let's talk later.

[0:40] Yes. OK. I am the main one

[0:44] .

[0:44] You are the boss.

[0:46] OK. Now this is my

[0:48] job. Good evening,

[0:53] everyone. Uh, I'd like to

[0:54] open the Nantucket

[0:55] School Committee meeting

[0:56] for

[0:57] October 6th. Congratulations. Uh,

[0:59] you have an agenda in front of your eyes

[0:59] .

[1:00] Can I get your

[1:01] approval?

[1:02] I suggest accepting.

[1:03] Second.

[1:04] All in favor?

[1:05] Yes.

[1:05] This meeting

[1:06] is being recorded on audio

[1:08] and video. We

[1:09] are opening up time for

[1:11] public comments. I don't

[1:12] know if anyone is

[1:13] online. No. Oh, dreaming is

[1:14] n't harmful. OK.

[1:16] We are closing the

[1:18] public comment section and

[1:18] moving on to the

[1:20] superintendent's report.

[1:20] Good. Uh, good

[1:22] evening everyone. Uh, we'll

[1:24] start with the number of

[1:25] students. So, our

[1:27] current

[1:29] student population as of October 2026

[1:31] is 1,604

[1:33] . This is only

[1:34] six fewer students

[1:36] than in September. This

[1:41] number will be

[1:42] relevant throughout

[1:43] the year and is an important

[1:44] metric that is

[1:45] regularly

[1:45] reviewed at the

[1:46] state level for

[1:47] funding and

[1:48] other issues. So, this is what

[1:54] we have now.

[1:55] Of course,

[1:56] we may see

[1:58] some changes throughout the year. This

[1:59] happens. We have

[2:01] added four students

[2:02] to NES. There are no changes in NIS. At

[2:06] CPS, we lost seven

[2:08] students. And in NHS we

[2:10] lost five students.

[2:13] So, this is

[2:14] the distribution

[2:14] compared to

[2:15] September.

[2:17] Beth, can you

[2:18] comment on the

[2:19] recruitment situation on

[2:21] Cape Cod?

[2:22] Yes, enrollment on

[2:23] Cape Cod is declining.

[2:26] We are seeing a

[2:27] decline in

[2:28] student enrollment in

[2:29] Massachusetts, and

[2:30] especially on Cape Cod

[2:31] , where this trend

[2:32] continues.

[2:35] This is most likely

[2:36] due to the higher

[2:37] cost of living on

[2:39] Cape Cod. They also

[2:41] see less

[2:42] growth in the number of

[2:43] multilingual students in

[2:45] their schools. So, I

[2:47] would say this is a

[2:48] trend across the

[2:49] state, but in the Cape and the

[2:50] islands we are seeing

[2:52] fewer and fewer students in

[2:53] our schools. We

[2:55] turned, as you

[2:56] advised last time,

[2:58] to the New School and the

[2:59] Lighthouse School. We did

[3:00] not receive

[3:01] a response in time to

[3:02] provide you with

[3:03] information today.

[3:04] But I did some research

[3:06] : Last year, the

[3:07] New

[3:08] Nantucket School had

[3:10] 176 students in

[3:12] grades K-8, while the

[3:13] Lighthouse School typically

[3:14] enrolls 80 to 90

[3:16] students per year. So, we

[3:21] believe that they are not

[3:22] seeing a

[3:23] significant increase in the

[3:25] number of students

[3:26] transferring to them from

[3:27] public schools. But I'll

[3:33] ask them about the

[3:34] recruitment dynamics

[3:35] as soon as we can

[3:36] contact them. So

[3:37] we will definitely

[3:38] keep you updated

[3:39] .

[3:40] Thank you.

[3:40] So I'd be happy

[3:41] to answer

[3:42] any questions

[3:43] you have. Loro?

[3:44] I have no questions

[3:45] . I just want

[3:46] to say that I

[3:47] really like the

[3:48] latest update,

[3:49] it's easy to scroll

[3:50] and read all of it. This is

[3:51] great.

[3:52] Thank you. Yes. Thank you. A

[3:54] few more things I

[3:55] wanted to share.

[3:57] Open days.

[3:58] We

[3:59] had some great

[4:00] open days last week and have

[4:01] two more coming up

[4:02] this week. So, both the

[4:04] elementary and high

[4:06] schools opened their

[4:07] doors to parents for

[4:09] two wonderful events on

[4:10] September 29th and 30th. I was able

[4:13] to attend the event at NES on the 29th

[4:15] , and when I

[4:17] arrived, it was

[4:18] very lively. There were

[4:19] many children and many

[4:21] families. I

[4:22] like that

[4:23] students come with their

[4:24] families, and it

[4:25] turns into a

[4:26] real family

[4:27] event. This is just

[4:29] wonderful. I also

[4:31] love seeing

[4:33] NES students who have just

[4:34] graduated or

[4:35] graduated

[4:36] years ago but

[4:37] come back

[4:38] to visit former

[4:39] teachers, give hugs,

[4:40] and just look

[4:42] around. It's so nice

[4:43] to see them again, and

[4:44] they love

[4:45] supporting their

[4:46] younger

[4:46] siblings. It was very

[4:48] touching. Current

[4:50] NES students

[4:51] enjoyed

[4:52] showing

[4:53] their classrooms to parents, sharing their

[4:54] work, and

[4:55] explaining school

[4:56] rules. It was a great

[5:00] pleasure to be there

[5:01] and spend the evening

[5:02] with everyone.

[5:05] Nantucket High School Open House

[5:06] was also a great success,

[5:07] and I received two

[5:08] important

[5:09] emails that I would like to

[5:11] share. One of

[5:13] them is from my father. Another one

[5:14] from my parents,

[5:15] now, now, here it is. My

[5:17] wife and I really

[5:19] enjoyed

[5:19] yesterday's

[5:20] open day at the NHS.

[5:21] It seems like it was

[5:22] one of the best turnouts

[5:24] in recent years.

[5:25] The teachers were prepared,

[5:26] organized, and

[5:27] explained

[5:28] class requirements,

[5:29] assessments, and

[5:30] course content very clearly. My wife

[5:31] especially liked

[5:34] one teacher's positive attitude towards

[5:35] all the students

[5:36] he works with in the classroom.

[5:37] I enjoyed the

[5:38] homework that

[5:40] my two children's teachers gave us. One

[5:43] assignment was to

[5:45] help the teachers

[5:47] get to know our

[5:48] children better, and another was for us to

[5:49] write a

[5:50] note of encouragement to be

[5:51] given to the students

[5:52] the following week.

[5:56] Another teacher provided

[5:57] clear information about

[5:58] essay topics for

[6:00] college admissions through the Common

[6:01] App, and also advised

[6:02] applying by

[6:03] November 1 for

[6:04] priority consideration

[6:05] for the institution of your choice.

[6:07] It was one of the

[6:08] parents. And another

[6:09] parent said: "This

[6:10] was by far

[6:11] the best, most

[6:12] organised and

[6:13] prepared

[6:14] open house my

[6:15] wife and I have ever

[6:16] been to."

[6:17] Wow.

[6:18] Therefore.

[6:18] Very nice.

[6:20] Congratulations to the high school on a

[6:21] wonderful

[6:22] open day.

[6:23] Both events had

[6:24] interpreters present

[6:25] for our

[6:26] multilingual families

[6:27] who needed

[6:28] language assistance. They

[6:30] were present and

[6:31] helpful throughout the

[6:32] evening. The educational technology

[6:35] department also worked

[6:37] to help families

[6:38] update data in the

[6:39] family portal,

[6:40] as it is quite

[6:41] difficult for us to get families

[6:42] to provide up-to-date

[6:43] information. And this is

[6:46] critically important for

[6:47] our work.

[6:50] They also helped us

[6:51] navigate Google

[6:52] Classroom—a new

[6:53] platform we

[6:54] use for

[6:55] grading

[6:57] and keeping

[6:58] progress logs in

[6:59] middle and high

[7:00] school. So they were

[7:01] there to help

[7:02] anyone who

[7:03] needed it.

[7:04] Representatives from the

[7:05] community school

[7:06] were also present,

[7:07] helping to

[7:08] register students and

[7:09] families for almost

[7:10] any of their programs.

[7:11] Swimming lessons,

[7:13] driving courses,

[7:14] adult dances,

[7:15] after-school groups—

[7:16] practically everything a

[7:17] public

[7:18] school offers. So it was

[7:20] great to see it

[7:22] turn into a

[7:23] real event for the

[7:24] whole community. These are

[7:25] community events, and that's what

[7:27] makes

[7:28] Nantucket special:

[7:29] so

[7:30] many people come to

[7:31] enjoy

[7:32] wonderful evenings in

[7:33] our schools. Therefore.

[7:35] Thank you.

[7:36] very much. Have questions

[7:37] about open days

[7:39] ?

[7:39] Not a question, but more of a

[7:40] comment, because I was at an

[7:42] open house

[7:43] at an elementary school.

[7:45] Our new principal,

[7:46] Ms. Stanton,

[7:47] Associate Principal

[7:48] Kim Albers, and their

[7:50] teams have done an

[7:51] outstanding job. And I

[7:54] must say that I

[7:55] really liked how

[7:57] the teachers made the

[7:58] students tour guides: they

[7:59] took their parents

[8:00] and siblings around the

[8:01] school. Our

[8:05] first grader was

[8:06] our guide and he was

[8:07] thrilled. But everyone

[8:09] was in the same

[8:10] position, because the children were

[8:11] proud, genuinely

[8:11] proud, of

[8:12] showing off their

[8:13] classes and what they

[8:14] had.

[8:15] This is great. This is simply

[8:16] amazing. Loro?

[8:17] I have a slightly different

[8:18] question. I noticed

[8:21] that there will be

[8:22] professional development soon

[8:23] . Is it because of

[8:24] the collaborative?

[8:26] Yes, we have

[8:27] professional development scheduled

[8:29] for October 9th, which is the

[8:30] Friday before the

[8:31] long weekend.

[8:37] It is specifically

[8:38] designed for

[8:39] our professionals and

[8:40] contractors, or those in

[8:42] specialized roles:

[8:43] occupational therapists,

[8:44] physiotherapists,

[8:45] counselors,

[8:46] social

[8:46] workers, as well as

[8:48] PE,

[8:49] health and language teachers. This is

[9:00] one of the few

[9:01] local opportunities

[9:02] for quality

[9:03] training, allowing

[9:04] them to work with

[9:05] professionals from other

[9:06] communities throughout the day,

[9:08] discussing

[9:09] topics that are relevant to them. So we

[9:14] offer them this

[9:15] opportunity.

[9:16] No, it's not here on

[9:17] Nantucket. It's the Cape Cod

[9:18] Collaborative, and

[9:19] they usually hold it in

[9:21] Dennis Yarmouth, if I'm

[9:22] not mistaken. Sometimes in

[9:23] Dennis Yarmouth, sometimes

[9:24] in Barnstable, but

[9:25] mostly in both

[9:26] places.

[9:27] And this is also for

[9:28] music teachers, right?

[9:29] Theater, yes, all

[9:30] experts have their

[9:32] suggestions. Not all of

[9:33] our specialists

[9:34] use this.

[9:37] Sometimes the offerings are

[9:38] slightly skewed towards

[9:39] seniors or

[9:40] juniors, so not everyone

[9:41] attends these events

[9:42] due to lack of

[9:43] relevance, but

[9:44] overall we have a pretty

[9:45] good turnout among

[9:46] staff.

[9:49] Thank you.

[9:49] Please. Finally,

[9:51] I would like to congratulate

[9:52] our principals on

[9:53] National

[9:54] Principals Month.

[9:57] We have Principal's Day

[9:58] in May, but October is

[9:59] National

[10:00] Principals Month

[10:01] . I want to

[10:03] take this

[10:04] moment to express my

[10:05] deepest gratitude to

[10:06] our four

[10:07] incredible

[10:08] principals: Mike

[10:09] Stanton from

[10:10] Nantucket Elementary, Becky

[10:11] Jand from Middle

[10:12] School, Mike Horton

[10:14] from Cyrus

[10:15] Pierce School, and

[10:16] Mandy

[10:17] Hylum from

[10:18] Nantucket High School, who is here today.

[10:19] Every day, they

[10:20] work tirelessly to

[10:21] create a

[10:22] safe,

[10:22] inclusive, and

[10:23] exciting

[10:24] learning

[10:25] environment for all

[10:26] students, while

[10:27] supporting our

[10:28] dedicated teachers and

[10:29] staff. Their

[10:30] leadership,

[10:30] dedication, and care

[10:31] for school

[10:32] communities make an

[10:33] unforgettable impact on

[10:34] all of us here on

[10:35] Nantucket. So

[10:36] please join

[10:38] me in

[10:38] thanking them for all

[10:39] they do. We

[10:44] also celebrated

[10:46] National

[10:47] Caregiver Day on October 2nd. It

[10:50] was a day dedicated to

[10:51] our wonderful

[10:53] neighborhood cleaners and our

[10:55] grounds maintenance team. We wanted to

[10:56] thank them again

[10:58] for their incredibly

[10:59] important work in keeping

[11:00] our schools and

[11:00] grounds

[11:01] clean, safe,

[11:02] and always ready

[11:03] for our students and

[11:05] staff. From early

[11:06] morning to late at

[11:07] night, they

[11:08] work tirelessly behind

[11:08] the scenes,

[11:09] maintaining our

[11:10] facilities and

[11:10] ensuring the

[11:11] smooth running of

[11:12] our entire

[11:13] campus. Their hard

[11:14] work, dedication and

[11:15] care ensure

[11:16] that our schools

[11:17] are always welcoming

[11:17] environments for

[11:18] our students,

[11:18] staff and families.

[11:19] So please

[11:20] join me in

[11:21] thanking

[11:22] our wonderful,

[11:22] amazing

[11:23] janitors,

[11:23] building supervisors,

[11:24] assistant

[11:25] janitors, and

[11:26] groundskeepers once again.

[11:27] Yes.

[11:29] And that's it. Thank you.

[11:34] Of course. We move on

[11:36] to presentations and

[11:37] discussions. We have the

[11:38] AP results with

[11:39] Director Heidel.

[11:54] Congratulations.

[12:04] So, before I

[12:05] begin our

[12:05] presentation, I want to

[12:06] first

[12:07] thank you for having

[12:08] us here. I

[12:10] know you've heard me

[12:11] say this a thousand

[12:12] times, but I'm always, happy and ready

[12:15] to share in

[12:17] our students' successes, big

[12:18] or small. I think what

[12:20] our students

[12:21] do every day is

[12:22] phenomenal, and I am

[12:24] always ready to

[12:25] celebrate them. But I

[12:27] also just want to

[12:28] mention and continue

[12:30] the theme of the open

[12:31] house, and I want to

[12:32] thank Mr.

[12:33] William Garski, who has

[12:36] been working on

[12:37] internships for

[12:38] his

[12:38] administration for the past year and this year. It

[12:39] seems to be CAGS

[12:41] he is working on. And he has

[12:43] helped

[12:43] coordinate

[12:44] volunteers for the

[12:45] open house

[12:46] for the past 2

[12:47] years. And this year

[12:49] we had about 30

[12:51] student volunteers

[12:52] from all four

[12:53] grades. So even

[12:54] some freshmen

[12:55] stepped forward and

[12:56] came to help

[12:57] that evening. So it was

[12:59] very nice that there were

[13:00] such a large

[13:00] number of students.

[13:02] And before we

[13:04] start looking at

[13:05] the numbers with our

[13:06] AP scores, I want to

[13:07] recognize our

[13:08] AP teachers, including

[13:09] Mr. Gregorich, who

[13:11] teaches chemistry; Miss

[13:12] McDonald, who

[13:13] teaches biology;

[13:14] Mr. Lucas Hayes,

[13:16] who leads AP in

[13:17] statistics; Mr.

[13:18] Kuratek, who teaches

[13:19] English;

[13:20] Daniel Clayton,

[13:21] who teaches

[13:22] English

[13:23] literature; and I should

[13:24] probably just

[13:25] take a

[13:26] second. which, um,

[13:30] to honor our, our

[13:32] dear Paige, who, um,

[13:33] taught, um,

[13:34] advanced

[13:35] literature last

[13:37] year, and, um, you know,

[13:38] when we lost her, uh

[13:39] , Danielle took over

[13:41] at the

[13:42] last minute. So

[13:43] we are certainly grateful to

[13:45] her for

[13:46] doing that and continuing to

[13:47] do so now. Um, Ms.

[13:48] Christie teaches

[13:50] U.S. government and politics, Ms.

[13:51] Lyons teaches

[13:52] environmental science

[13:53] , Mr.

[13:54] Zeckman, um,

[13:55] advanced physics, and

[13:56] Eileen Wiggins

[13:57] teaches, um,

[13:59] U.S. history. So, um, I'm

[14:00] grateful for everything

[14:01] they do. I have

[14:02] said many times

[14:03] that I was not an advanced student

[14:04] .

[14:05] That's why I'm always very

[14:06] impressed, firstly, by what

[14:07] our

[14:09] teachers do, and secondly, by the

[14:10] successes of our students.

[14:12] So let's

[14:13] look at the, um,

[14:15] numbers for the 2025-26

[14:16] school year: We

[14:18] had 144 students

[14:19] taking

[14:20] advanced courses and

[14:22] taking AP exams. This is

[14:26] a requirement to

[14:26] attend an

[14:27] advanced class,

[14:28] um, take an exam. Um,

[14:31] so we had 144

[14:33] students. 279 exams were taken by 144 students

[14:35] . The

[14:39] average score on these 279

[14:41] exams was 3.01,

[14:43] and, um,

[14:46] 69% of our

[14:47] students who took the

[14:49] exams scored a three or higher. So if we

[14:54] look at, um, by

[14:56] grade, in 10th grade

[14:57] we had, um,

[14:58] actually it should be 11.

[15:00] That's a mistake. It's not

[15:01] nine, there should be 11

[15:03] exams. Their

[15:04] GPA was 3.5, and

[15:06] 88% of them got a three

[15:07] or higher, although that's

[15:08] a small number

[15:10] because AP Biology in

[15:12] 10th grade is the only thing

[15:13] they can take

[15:15] in 10th grade. In 11th

[15:16] grade, we had 140

[15:17] exams to pass. The

[15:19] average score was 3. Um,

[15:22] 15%, and a score of three or higher

[15:25] was 71%. Um, 12th grade,

[15:28] 129 exams. Um, we had a

[15:32] 3.0 GPA, and 65%

[15:34] got a score of three or higher

[15:36] . So if we

[15:42] look at the

[15:43] five-year summary,

[15:44] which I think is

[15:45] interesting to look at, you'll

[15:46] see that, um, the

[15:47] last few years

[15:49] have been the biggest in terms of the

[15:50] total number of

[15:51] students taking

[15:52] advanced classes and the

[15:54] total number of

[15:55] exams. We, um, But

[16:07] we also had, so

[16:08] last year we

[16:10] had 152, um,

[16:11] graduates to 152

[16:12] graduates. This

[16:15] year we should have 154

[16:17] graduates. So

[16:20] our numbers are higher, so it

[16:21] makes sense that the total

[16:23] number of students in

[16:24] advanced courses

[16:25] and AP exams is, um, a

[16:26] higher number. Maybe

[16:31] a minute? OK.

[16:41] Come back.

[16:42] Here.

[16:45] Come back.

[16:48] I think

[16:56] So, I think it's interesting

[16:57] to look at the

[16:58] five-year report and the

[16:59] ... The number of AP students with a

[17:07] score of three or higher has

[17:08] certainly increased,

[17:09] partly because of the

[17:10] overall number of

[17:11] students that we had.

[17:14] But I think our

[17:16] students are

[17:16] doing well. If

[17:18] you go to the

[17:19] next slide,

[17:20] why do we pay

[17:21] attention to three or higher?

[17:24] Most

[17:25] universities that

[17:26] accept AP scores

[17:27] credit three,

[17:28] four, or five.

[17:30] is the highest

[17:31] score you can

[17:32] get. Students

[17:35] are also rewarded for their

[17:36] achievements. They are

[17:38] considered

[17:39] AP Scholars if they score

[17:41] three or

[17:42] more on three

[17:43] or more AP exams.

[17:46] AP Honors Scholars

[17:47] are those

[17:49] who have a

[17:50] 3.25 GPA on all

[17:52] exams taken and receive a

[17:53] score of three or higher

[17:54] on at least four of

[17:56] them. And also an

[17:59] AP Scholar with

[18:00] Special Honors,

[18:01] and it seems we

[18:03] have Mr. McGrady among us who

[18:04] was just such a

[18:05] scholar. I don't want to

[18:09] embarrass him,

[18:10] but he did a

[18:11] great job. These are students who

[18:13] earn a

[18:15] 3.5 GPA on all AP exams

[18:17] and have scores of three or

[18:18] higher on five

[18:19] or more exams.

[18:22] So if you go

[18:23] to the next slide,

[18:24] you'll see the numbers for

[18:26] this year. Number of

[18:28] scholars this

[18:30] year: 27

[18:32] AP scholars, 12 AP

[18:33] Honors scholars, and 13

[18:34] AP

[18:36] Distinction scholars.

[18:45] So, the College Board considers a

[18:46] passing score

[18:48] on the AP exam to be a score

[18:49] starting at a three. I

[18:52] often disagree with this

[18:53] . I believe

[18:56] that students who received

[18:58] one or two points

[18:59] also achieved success,

[19:00] because the AP course and the exam itself are

[19:02] much more difficult

[19:03] than regular or

[19:04] advanced classes.

[19:07] I think the goal is to

[19:09] help

[19:10] students better

[19:11] prepare for the

[19:12] complexity of the

[19:12] university

[19:13] program. Personally, I

[19:17] think kids who

[19:18] take AP courses,

[19:19] pass exams, and

[19:20] get an A or

[19:22] B—even if

[19:23] colleges don't

[19:24] count it—are

[19:25] still

[19:26] successful. Not all

[19:31] colleges now

[19:32] accept AP scores to

[19:33] replace courses, but it

[19:34] still shows that

[19:36] they are capable of

[19:37] successfully attending

[19:38] university. Are there

[19:46] any questions? Oh,

[19:49] I forgot to mention one more

[19:51] thing. And I thought this

[19:53] slide was here, but it's

[19:54] not there. So, our

[19:57] current

[19:58] student population: in biology,

[19:59] we have seven students. We have 26 in

[20:04] calculus,

[20:05] 13 in chemistry, 29 in

[20:07] English, 24 in

[20:08] English

[20:10] literature, 56 in

[20:11] ecology, 20 in physics,

[20:13] 25 in statistics, 33 in

[20:14] US history, and eight

[20:16] in public

[20:17] administration.

[20:20] Thank you.

[20:21] And no, I forgot to

[20:23] do the math,

[20:24] sorry.

[20:25] Laura, Laura, do you have any questions?

[20:27] No questions, thank you.

[20:29] Ben?

[20:29] Dr. Lafferty?

[20:30] Happy.

[20:31] Oh, it's exciting to see the

[20:33] kids doing so well

[20:34] .

[20:35] Mhm.

[20:36] I think they're

[20:37] doing well,

[20:38] Dr. Lafferty, and I'm

[20:39] always impressed with

[20:40] our teachers.

[20:41] When you come to

[20:42] their classes, they...I

[20:43] was in an

[20:44] AP statistics class the other

[20:45] day. It's just

[20:48] phenomenal what they

[20:50] do in class, what

[20:51] work

[20:52] the teacher gives them, and how they

[20:53] think on the go. I wouldn't be able to do that

[20:57] .

[20:59] No questions. Thank you, and

[21:02] thank you to all our

[21:03] teachers, our AP

[21:04] teachers, especially

[21:06] now, and congratulations to all

[21:07] their students. So,

[21:09] thank you.

[21:10] very much.

[21:11] Now let's move on to the

[21:12] homeschooling report

[21:13] from Dr.

[21:15] Hallett.

[21:15] Yes. Okay, this report was supposed to be

[21:17] presented by

[21:18] Assistant

[21:19] Superintendent

[21:20] Melissa DeWitt, but

[21:21] she's in training. So

[21:23] I will do my best

[21:24] to share it and

[21:25] highlight it

[21:26] properly for

[21:27] her and for all of you. Do

[21:28] you want me

[21:29] behind the podium, or are you

[21:30] comfortable with me being here?

[21:31] Sorry to interrupt

[21:32] . Just as I sit down

[21:33] . No, everything is fine.

[21:34] Where do you want

[21:35] to see me? Thank you.

[21:36] Good. So I'll wait

[21:37] until everything is ready.

[21:39] Thank you.

[21:42] Good. So, I will try

[21:46] my best to

[21:47] walk you through the

[21:49] homeschooling procedures

[21:50] we have in place for

[21:51] our families so that we

[21:53] can explain a little bit about

[21:54] how

[21:55] homeschooling requests are initiated

[21:56] and what the

[21:57] expectations are. Are

[22:00] we ready to move on to the

[22:01] next slide,

[22:02] please? Thank you.

[22:03] Good. So, the first

[22:06] step is that

[22:07] parents must

[22:08] notify us of their

[22:10] intention to switch to

[22:10] homeschooling 14

[22:12] days before the

[22:13] program is installed, and this must

[22:14] happen before

[22:15] the child is picked up from

[22:16] school. So, before

[22:20] they start

[22:21] homeschooling, which could

[22:22] happen, for example, in

[22:23] the middle of the school

[22:24] year. Well, we still

[22:26] have to know about it

[22:28] in advance, and it has to be

[22:29] submitted every year.

[22:30] So if a student

[22:31] starts

[22:32] homeschooling and the parents

[22:33] want to

[22:34] continue it, we

[22:35] must receive

[22:36] this statement every year.

[22:40] The second step is for

[22:41] students to

[22:42] be certified,

[22:43] which means parents

[22:45] confirm in writing who

[22:46] they are, their place of

[22:47] residence, and their

[22:49] hours of study.

[22:51] Finally, they should

[22:52] outline a

[22:54] curriculum, which is the

[22:54] structure they

[22:55] plan

[22:56] to use, the

[22:57] proposed program

[22:58] , the details of that

[22:59] program, and

[23:00] the hours of instruction

[23:01] they plan

[23:02] to spend on each of the

[23:04] homeschooling subjects

[23:05] . So,

[23:07] additional procedures

[23:08] that the district

[23:09] is required to

[23:10] follow to

[23:10] make sure

[23:11] parents are competent in

[23:13] homeschooling their children

[23:14] . This is essentially a

[23:16] confirmation from

[23:17] parents that they are

[23:18] able and willing to

[23:19] dedicate time to

[23:20] properly

[23:21] homeschool their children.

[23:23] They should clearly

[23:24] indicate the teaching

[23:25] aids they

[23:26] plan to

[23:26] use, such

[23:28] as textbooks,

[23:29] workbooks, any other

[23:30] teaching materials,

[23:31] as well as lesson plans,

[23:33] teaching aids,

[23:34] and standardized

[23:35] testing.

[23:36] Students are expected

[23:37] to take

[23:38] standardized

[23:39] testing to

[23:40] ensure that

[23:41] educational progress

[23:42] is occurring

[23:43] throughout the

[23:44] homeschooling process

[23:45] . So, where did

[23:47] we stop, and

[23:48] sorry, I should have

[23:49] asked you to

[23:50] move on. I'm

[23:52] not doing very well here

[23:53] . Let's move on

[23:54] to the next slide,

[23:55] please. Another.

[23:58] Yes. OK. So,

[24:00] currently

[24:01] we

[24:03] have a total of 21 students in Nanteca Public Schools.

[24:05] That's seven

[24:06] more students than in the 2025-26

[24:08] school year, and 13

[24:10] families. So often families

[24:13] homeschool not

[24:14] just one student, but

[24:15] all their children. So, out of

[24:17] those 21, we're talking about

[24:18] 13 different families that

[24:20] will homeschool

[24:21] one or more

[24:23] students, and that's four

[24:24] more families than in

[24:26] 2025. Next slide

[24:28] . So, by year and

[24:30] grade: 10 students in

[24:32] elementary school.

[24:35] Four in second

[24:36] grade, three two in

[24:37] third grade, two

[24:38] in fourth and two

[24:39] in fifth, and this is an

[24:40] elementary school from

[24:41] preschool or

[24:42] zero to fifth

[24:44] grade. And in high

[24:47] school we have eight

[24:48] students: four in

[24:49] sixth grade, one in

[24:51] seventh grade, and three in

[24:52] eighth grade. And we

[24:54] have three students at the

[24:55] high school level.

[24:57] One student is in

[24:58] ninth grade, two are

[24:59] in tenth grade. So,

[25:02] some of your questions were

[25:04] about whether

[25:05] we are seeing a

[25:06] significant

[25:07] increase in

[25:09] homeschooling this year, and whether

[25:10] that could have caused a

[25:11] decrease in our

[25:12] enrollment. We did

[25:14] n't actually

[25:15] see it. Thank you.

[25:16] I'm glad my

[25:18] assistant is here to

[25:19] help me. So

[25:20] you'll see on the

[25:21] graph that yes, this is

[25:22] by far the largest

[25:23] number of

[25:25] homeschooled students,

[25:26] but remember that

[25:27] because of the low

[25:28] total

[25:29] enrollment, it

[25:30] seems like there are a

[25:31] lot of students. This is 21 percent.

[25:35] In nine years, you

[25:36] will see that yes, we have

[25:37] definitely grown.

[25:39] There is an increase. There was a

[25:41] small jump in

[25:43] 2020-2021, during the

[25:44] pandemic, but later

[25:46] we saw some

[25:47] growth in the indicators

[25:49] . If you go to the

[25:51] next slide, I'll

[25:52] show a little bit of the data

[25:54] that we have from the

[25:54] past year, so we'll

[25:56] share some of

[25:57] the trends that we've

[25:58] noticed and also

[25:59] understand where

[26:00] homeschooling is happening

[26:01] on Cape Cod

[26:02] and the islands. You

[26:05] will see this graph

[26:06] or chart

[26:07] showing different

[26:08] communities. We have 1.03% of

[26:10] homeschooled students

[26:12] —this is our

[26:14] homeschooling rate

[26:15] , meaning only 1

[26:17] % of 25-26 were homeschooled

[26:19] . That was 19 homeschooled students

[26:22] last year out of 1,843,

[26:24] not including

[26:25] preschoolers.

[26:26] Regional data

[26:27] suggests that

[26:28] we have lower homeschooling rates

[26:30] than most of our

[26:32] neighbors on Cape Cod

[26:33] and the islands. Falmouth is

[26:35] slightly higher—1.47,

[26:37] Plymouth—1.92, as well as

[26:39] Sandwich and Bourne. You will

[26:41] see very high

[26:43] rates in

[26:43] Provincetown.

[26:45] has a very

[26:46] small district, so

[26:47] even a few students

[26:49] make that

[26:49] percentage jump.

[26:51] This is a

[26:52] kindergarten

[26:54] through 8th grade only school district. So, you'll

[26:55] see it there. But we are

[26:57] roughly on the same

[26:59] level. Sandwich and Bourne

[27:00] have slightly higher

[27:01] rates than the rest of the

[27:03] counties. Chilmark, a

[27:04] very small

[27:05] community on

[27:06] Martha's Vineyard, also

[27:07] has a high rate.

[27:08] High percentage. We

[27:10] need to think about

[27:11] percentage, not

[27:12] quantity. So,

[27:14] moving on:

[27:16] total number of

[27:17] students on Cape Cod and the

[27:18] islands—358 active

[27:20] students

[27:22] enrolled, 25 of whom

[27:23] later moved out of

[27:24] state. 19, when they

[27:28] finished

[27:29] homeschooling, whether

[27:32] they went to high

[27:33] school or somewhere

[27:34] else, moved

[27:36] out of state. 19

[27:39] came to, um,

[27:40] public schools, eight

[27:41] transferred to

[27:42] private schools in the

[27:43] state, and five

[27:44] stayed and

[27:45] switched to

[27:47] homeschooling. I believe

[27:50] this refers to the

[27:51] dropout status of

[27:52] students who may have

[27:53] dropped out of school.

[27:54] Maybe I can

[27:55] share more

[27:56] information

[27:57] next time regarding

[27:58] this slide. Maybe it's a

[27:59] little unclear to me

[28:00] .

[28:02] Finally, here are some

[28:03] resources that have

[28:04] been used

[28:05] to prepare and

[28:06] assist our

[28:07] families as they

[28:08] study and

[28:09] consider whether to

[28:10] homeschool their

[28:11] children. So,

[28:13] there is an online portal

[28:15] where parents can

[28:16] get information

[28:17] and then either ask

[28:18] questions or

[28:19] start the process.

[28:22] Our school

[28:23] policy I HGB clearly

[28:24] outlines the rules and

[28:25] procedures for

[28:27] homeschooling. You can

[28:28] move on to the

[28:29] next slide.

[28:30] Do you want me to

[28:31] come over? Do

[28:32] you want? That would be

[28:33] great. Thank you, Mandy.

[28:35] Therefore. Amanda Bartley.

[28:39] So, can you

[28:40] go

[28:41] back one slide? So, as

[28:42] I understand it, when we

[28:44] see 358 active

[28:45] students, active students

[28:46] mean that there are students

[28:48] who are enrolling and

[28:49] those who are dropping out of

[28:51] school. So that

[28:52] takes into account our

[28:53] kindergarten class that is

[28:54] coming. This

[28:55] takes into account our

[28:55] graduates who are

[28:56] leaving, in addition to

[28:57] any students who are

[28:58] coming into or

[28:59] leaving the district. So, that's what

[29:00] 358

[29:02] active students mean. This

[29:03] data applies to all

[29:05] Nantucket public schools. So, for

[29:06] the last one, um?

[29:07] So, sorry, not just

[29:08] homeschooling. This is

[29:10] all Nantucket public schools

[29:11] .

[29:12] out of state.

[29:13] So, I think this

[29:14] slide was added

[29:14] here because one of the

[29:15] questions you had at the

[29:16] last

[29:17] school committee meeting

[29:18] was what's

[29:19] happening with

[29:20] attendance trends. So,

[29:21] 25 of our students, I

[29:23] believe, don't quote

[29:24] me, but I believe

[29:26] 25

[29:27] students have moved out of

[29:29] state in the last 90 days. 19

[29:31] transferred to

[29:32] public schools in the

[29:33] state, eight

[29:34] transferred to

[29:35] private schools in the

[29:36] state, and five

[29:37] switched to

[29:38] homeschooling.

[29:40] Thank you.

[29:43] Thanks for the "call a

[29:44] friend." I appreciate it.

[29:46] So, let's just

[29:47] go back to the

[29:48] next slide with

[29:49] resources. Yes,

[29:51] the policies and procedures

[29:53] are available on our

[29:54] website, and there are,

[29:55] you know, clear ways to

[29:56] consider

[29:58] homeschooling.

[30:01] And also the laws and

[30:02] details, as it is

[30:03] important that our

[30:04] families

[30:05] considering

[30:06] homeschooling understand

[30:08] the requirements.

[30:08] And that's all for now

[30:10] . And Melissa has the

[30:11] last slide. If you

[30:12] have any questions, you

[30:14] can of course

[30:14] contact her.

[30:16] She is certainly

[30:17] more

[30:18] knowledgeable about

[30:19] homeschooling than I am,

[30:20] and she will be happy

[30:21] to discuss

[30:22] trend analysis,

[30:23] regional

[30:23] comparisons, and

[30:25] any

[30:26] policy and

[30:26] compliance issues

[30:27] you may be

[30:28] interested in.

[30:32] I have questions,

[30:33] but I'll leave them for

[30:35] Melissa. That's exactly what

[30:35] I would recommend.

[30:38] Thank you. We all agree to

[30:40] postpone our

[30:41] questions until later.

[30:42] Perfectly.

[30:43] At the next full

[30:44] meeting, we

[30:44] will have a small

[30:45] question and

[30:46] answer session so you

[30:47] have a chance to

[30:48] chat with her.

[30:50] Thank you, and it looks like we're

[30:51] moving on to the

[30:52] final requirements and

[30:53] recommendations for

[30:54] high

[30:55] school graduates.

[31:00] Congratulations. Amanda Bartley,

[31:02] I'm the Assistant Director

[31:04] of Learning and

[31:05] Teaching, and with us

[31:06] today...

[31:08] Good evening, everyone. I'm

[31:10] Jeb Gately,

[31:11] Executive Director

[31:12] of Special

[31:13] Services.

[31:14] Our

[31:16] high school administration is also here to

[31:17] help answer

[31:18] questions about

[31:19] this presentation. With

[31:20] us are Mandy Hillel,

[31:21] Jen Serradalis, and

[31:22] Tracy Mayo. So,

[31:24] today we are

[31:25] presenting new

[31:26] requirements for

[31:26] graduates in

[31:27] Massachusetts. You can

[31:29] move on to the

[31:30] next slide. We'll

[31:35] talk about

[31:36] what these requirements are, how

[31:37] they will affect

[31:40] Nantucket High School graduation rules, and then

[31:41] move on to

[31:42] discuss the impact

[31:43] on special

[31:44] categories of students. This

[31:48] report was released in June

[31:51] 2026. It is brand

[31:55] new and

[31:56] prepared by the

[31:58] State Graduation Board. The

[32:02] State Graduation Board was

[32:03] established by

[32:04] the Governor. So,

[32:06] we have the

[32:07] governor's office and DESE, the

[32:08] Department of

[32:09] Elementary and

[32:10] Secondary Education. This is

[32:18] an initiative of the

[32:19] Governor's Office, and

[32:20] the reason for its appearance is "

[32:21] Bulletin 2", which

[32:22] eliminated the MCAS requirement as a

[32:24] competency criterion

[32:25] , while maintaining

[32:26] the requirement for

[32:27] determining

[32:28] competency.

[32:37] Since this requirement

[32:38] was removed, each

[32:39] district now has its own

[32:40] definition of

[32:41] competency for

[32:42] mastering

[32:43] English,

[32:44] math,

[32:44] science, and

[32:46] successfully completing the

[32:47] curriculum.

[32:52] But it looks

[32:53] different in each

[32:54] district. So the goal

[32:57] was to make the requirements

[32:58] a little more

[32:59] uniform across the

[33:00] state. That's

[33:05] the background to this

[33:06] conversation and the reason for

[33:07] this report.

[33:11] The report begins

[33:13] with the vision of a

[33:14] Massachusetts graduate. You

[33:17] can see here, in the

[33:18] center of our graphic,

[33:19] that the goal is to

[33:20] educate thinkers

[33:22] , active citizens,

[33:23] and learners

[33:24] across the state. So,

[33:28] you will see these

[33:29] ideas being actively

[33:30] prepared: creative

[33:32] problem solvers, self-aware

[33:33] navigators, conscious

[33:34] co-authors,

[33:35] responsible

[33:36] decision makers,

[33:38] and effective

[33:38] communicators will be

[33:40] woven into the

[33:41] recommendations made.

[33:43] by them.

[33:44] Next slide.

[33:45] Thank you. Um, so "

[33:47] Strong Foundations for a

[33:48] Bright Future

[33:49] "—that's their structure

[33:50] here. And here are four

[33:53] components of what

[33:54] they want to see

[33:55] from our

[33:56] graduates. Core

[34:00] courses, summative

[34:01] assessments,

[34:02] after-

[34:03] school planning, and

[34:03] culminating experiences.

[34:07] By this, we tried

[34:08] to explain how it

[34:09] relates to

[34:10] classroom learning,

[34:11] demonstration of

[34:12] mastery, and

[34:13] college and career readiness.

[34:15] There are many overlaps

[34:16] between many of these

[34:17] different fields.

[34:18] Next slide,

[34:20] please. So, I just

[34:25] talked about those four

[34:27] areas that went

[34:27] horizontally. Now

[34:29] they go

[34:29] vertically. These are the same

[34:31] four things. And we

[34:33] tried to take, um,

[34:35] recommendations. So everything here is still under

[34:38] development.

[34:40] Recommendations from the

[34:41] release report and

[34:42] what are the

[34:43] estimated timelines and

[34:44] impact on us. So you

[34:48] see the first one here is

[34:50] about the core

[34:51] courses, and that impacts

[34:52] us because we have to

[34:53] implement

[34:55] that by the next

[34:56] school year for the

[34:57] 2031 graduates.

[34:59] These are our future

[35:00] ninth graders. And I'll be

[35:02] back to

[35:03] talk more about the

[35:04] core courses in a

[35:05] few minutes. But the

[35:06] main impact here is that

[35:07] we have to

[35:08] implement "Mass Core."

[35:10] So I'll come back to

[35:11] this because I need to

[35:11] go into a little more

[35:12] detail. And, um,

[35:15] the changes we'll

[35:16] need to

[35:17] make. Regarding the

[35:19] final

[35:20] assessments, the dates are yet to be

[35:21] determined.

[35:25] DESE doesn't yet have all

[35:26] the guidance for districts

[35:27] on how

[35:28] to respond to this, which

[35:30] was released by the

[35:31] governor's office in

[35:32] June. Therefore, these are only

[35:36] approximate dates.

[35:38] Planning after

[35:39] school, I'm really

[35:40] excited about it. My Cap

[35:42] is my

[35:43] career and

[35:44] academic

[35:45] development plan. This really

[35:48] helps students

[35:49] think about what they will

[35:50] do after

[35:51] graduation,

[35:52] whether it's

[35:53] college and career readiness or

[35:55] college admission. But

[35:58] it will be built into the

[36:00] work we

[36:00] do. I think we

[36:02] will consider this around the

[36:04] 2028-2029

[36:06] school year. And the

[36:09] final experience

[36:11] is a kind of

[36:11] creation of a portfolio of

[36:13] works. And the high school

[36:17] has started this work

[36:18] over the past

[36:19] few years. So

[36:22] what happens next is that the state

[36:23] will develop fairly, um,

[36:25] somewhat stricter

[36:25] guidelines, within

[36:26] which we will have to navigate,

[36:28] so to speak,

[36:30] using rubrics

[36:31] that we can then

[36:32] provide

[36:33] feedback on at the local

[36:35] level. Next

[36:38] slide, please.

[36:40] Amidst all this, you

[36:41] will see financial

[36:42] literacy as a

[36:43] mandatory requirement.

[36:45] Um, we already have a course in

[36:46] financial

[36:46] literacy, and it's

[36:48] part of our

[36:49] current

[36:50] graduate requirements. Um,

[36:51] on-the-job training

[36:52] that is related

[36:53] to the My Cap program. Uh,

[36:55] FAFSA and MASFA: students can

[36:57] choose whether to

[36:58] participate in these,

[36:59] but we are required to

[37:01] provide information

[37:02] about them. Artificial

[37:05] intelligence and digital

[37:07] literacy—that's a

[37:08] new, um, component

[37:09] here. By the way, we

[37:11] added an

[37:12] artificial intelligence class in

[37:13] high school, a

[37:14] semester-long course,

[37:15] right? This year. Um,

[37:18] as I understand from

[37:20] reading this report,

[37:21] there is a module that

[37:22] all students

[37:23] will have to complete either

[37:24] independently, or as part of the

[37:25] course, or we will

[37:26] integrate it into the

[37:28] learning process. Um

[37:31] , and also civic

[37:32] readiness. Um, so

[37:35] we have our community

[37:36] projects, action projects,

[37:38] implemented, um, both in

[37:39] ninth grade and,

[37:41] I think, in 11th

[37:42] grade. Is that correct?

[37:46] Yes.

[37:46] okay. I was

[37:48] right about that.

[37:49] 11th grade.

[37:50] Okay,

[37:54] next slide,

[37:55] please. So, another

[37:57] thing that's already in place and that

[37:58] they're going to

[37:59] expand is

[38:01] achievement awards. We

[38:03] already have the

[38:04] seal of

[38:05] biliteracy. Um, this is the only

[38:07] seal currently

[38:08] in the state, um,

[38:09] other than innovative

[38:10] ways. Um, we

[38:12] also have

[38:13] innovative ways. Um

[38:15] , in the future they're

[38:16] talking about

[38:17] adding all these

[38:18] other accolades. Um,

[38:20] we don't have

[38:21] any guidance yet on

[38:22] what that

[38:23] will look like, but they

[38:24] say there will be a

[38:25] minimum amount

[38:26] that each district will be

[38:28] required

[38:28] to offer.

[38:32] Next slide.

[38:33] Okay, MassCore. So, um,

[38:36] the idea here is

[38:37] that students

[38:38] will complete MassCore, which is a

[38:39] rigorous

[38:40] curriculum that

[38:41] meets

[38:42] college admissions requirements

[38:43] and

[38:44] leaves all

[38:46] post-secondary education opportunities

[38:47] available to all of

[38:48] our students. Um, as you

[38:53] can see

[38:53] on the right, the requirement for

[38:55] English language and

[38:56] literature is

[38:57] four units or

[38:58] four credits,

[38:59] math is four

[39:01] credits,

[39:02] science is three

[39:03] lab courses,

[39:04] history is three,

[39:05] foreign language is two,

[39:06] physical education is

[39:07] required

[39:08] to offer it, um,

[39:10] once a year every year,

[39:11] art is one

[39:12] credit, and

[39:13] additional courses. When

[39:16] we move on to the

[39:17] next slide, um

[39:19] , I'd like to provide

[39:20] some data. I'll dig a little

[39:22] deeper into

[39:24] MassCore when we

[39:24] compare it to

[39:26] Nantucket High School. Um, 46%. I

[39:32] wanted to look at

[39:33] the data across the state:

[39:34] how many districts are already

[39:35] compliant with MassCore and

[39:36] how many of our students are

[39:38] currently compliant with

[39:39] MassCore. So, 46% of

[39:42] high schools that

[39:43] provided

[39:45] graduation requirements are fully

[39:46] compliant with MassCore.

[39:48] That is, we are talking about about

[39:50] half of the state. 24% of

[39:51] schools are lacking just

[39:53] one subject. And 82% of

[39:57] Massachusetts graduates already

[39:58] meet

[40:00] MassCore requirements. That's why the

[40:02] graduation board

[40:02] said, "We can

[40:03] make this our

[40:04] first step

[40:05] since we're pretty

[40:06] close to

[40:07] doing it

[40:09] statewide." The table above

[40:14] shows the percentage of

[40:15] high schools that are

[40:16] already compliant

[40:17] with MassCore, by

[40:18] subject area

[40:20] . And our district is shown below

[40:25] . So, in 2023,

[40:28] 99.3% of our students

[40:30] met the

[40:32] MassCore requirements. In the 24th — 83.1%, and in the

[40:38] 25th — 77.1%. It's simply a

[40:41] difference in whether

[40:43] our students choose

[40:44] courses that are part of

[40:45] MassCore or not. So, when

[40:51] we look at the

[40:52] next slide, it's

[40:53] just a quick overview of where

[40:54] we're doing

[40:55] well. Okay, in

[40:58] English language and

[40:59] literature we

[41:00] meet the requirements

[41:01] . In history and

[41:02] social studies,

[41:03] we meet

[41:04] the requirements. Where there is an

[41:06] asterisk, we need to

[41:07] make a few

[41:08] corrections. And where there

[41:11] is an X next to

[41:12] foreign language and

[41:13] arts, it is not a

[41:14] current

[41:15] requirement, so we will

[41:16] make some changes.

[41:20] Next slide,

[41:21] please. Going

[41:24] a little deeper, when we

[41:25] look at

[41:25] math, the correction

[41:27] we need to

[41:28] make is the

[41:29] addition of Algebra 2.

[41:31] Currently, the

[41:32] graduation requirement is Algebra 1 and

[41:34] Geometry. So although

[41:37] we

[41:37] are in line with the number of credits, students

[41:39] will have to study

[41:40] Algebra 2. A

[41:42] slight

[41:43] adjustment is needed with science. We now

[41:47] offer

[41:48] computer science, and it

[41:49] can count

[41:50] as math

[41:51] credit. According to MassCore,

[41:55] computer science can

[41:56] count as either

[41:57] math or

[41:59] science credit. And

[42:00] it

[42:01] will count

[42:02] as a laboratory

[42:03] science course.

[42:05] Next slide,

[42:06] please. Actually,

[42:09] go

[42:10] back one slide. Sorry,

[42:11] I didn't stop at

[42:12] English language and

[42:13] literature, and this is

[42:14] important, the very first

[42:16] line. ESL Levels 1 and 2

[42:18] can

[42:19] count as

[42:21] two ELA units. So

[42:23] when we come back

[42:24] in a few minutes and

[42:26] talk about the impact

[42:27] on

[42:28] English learners, that

[42:29] will be a positive step

[42:30] for us. Next

[42:32] slide. Regarding foreign

[42:34] languages, we currently do not have

[42:35] such requirements, so we

[42:37] will need to add

[42:38] two units of the

[42:39] same foreign language

[42:41] . So, you need to

[42:42] take two years of

[42:42] Spanish or two

[42:44] years of Latin. You can't

[42:45] take one year of one

[42:46] and one year of the other. It is

[42:48] also likely that

[42:50] exemption will be provided upon

[42:51] proven

[42:53] language proficiency. This again

[42:56] needs to be determined by DESE as to

[42:58] how this will work in

[42:59] practice. Regarding

[43:04] physical education,

[43:06] we have 2.5 units, which is

[43:08] above the Mass Core requirements.

[43:11] So, as we add other

[43:12] items, we

[43:13] may have to

[43:14] discuss that. But this is

[43:16] just a potential

[43:17] possibility, and we still have a

[43:18] lot to

[43:19] figure out. Regarding

[43:21] art, we

[43:22] will need to add

[43:24] one unit as a

[43:25] requirement. And then

[43:27] the number of additional

[43:28] core courses

[43:29] will decrease as

[43:30] we add other

[43:31] requirements and the number of

[43:32] elective courses

[43:33] will decrease. Okay,

[43:36] I'll give the floor to

[43:37] Dr. Gately.

[43:38] Good. So, one of the

[43:41] questions that arises

[43:42] with any changes

[43:43] to graduation requirements

[43:44] and

[43:45] curriculum is how

[43:46] it will affect our

[43:48] special

[43:49] education students. When we

[43:52] look at

[43:53] special education students,

[43:54] they are guided by an

[43:55] individualized

[43:56] education plan, and

[43:57] we are very fortunate in

[43:58] that regard because

[43:59] the changes that we will

[44:00] be implementing in

[44:02] special education are

[44:03] really about

[44:04] how the IEP

[44:05] will meet the

[44:06] basic requirements that

[44:07] students need to meet.

[44:10] And this process

[44:10] begins long

[44:12] before high school. It

[44:14] starts from the

[44:15] moment a student

[44:16] becomes eligible for

[44:17] special education,

[44:18] they begin

[44:19] this

[44:20] planning process.

[44:23] When considering

[44:25] competency definitions, they

[44:25] need to

[44:26] demonstrate

[44:27] mastery through

[44:28] coursework, as

[44:29] well as completing

[44:30] thesis and

[44:31] portfolio projects. And

[44:34] this is again an

[44:35] integral part

[44:36] that will be part of their

[44:37] individual

[44:38] learning plan,

[44:39] probably starting at the

[44:41] beginning of high

[44:42] school, to begin

[44:43] to identify what exactly

[44:44] they want to achieve

[44:45] and demonstrate through

[44:46] their academic

[44:47] success. And this is

[44:54] actually, although it may

[44:55] seem like a difficult

[44:56] task,

[44:57] it is actually...how would it be more correct to

[44:58] say...For

[44:59] many children, it is more

[45:00] encouraging to have

[45:01] the opportunity to prove

[45:02] their competence

[45:04] than to try to

[45:05] succeed in a

[45:06] test that

[45:06] most have difficulty

[45:07] coping with, especially if they

[45:08] have

[45:09] learning disabilities.

[45:16] They

[45:16] will continue,

[45:17] all special education students

[45:19] will continue to

[45:20] be required

[45:21] to meet local

[45:22] district requirements such

[45:23] as credits, passing

[45:25] scores, and

[45:25] civics and

[45:26] financial

[45:27] literacy. There are no

[45:28] exceptions to this

[45:30] . There is a point to

[45:32] consider, as

[45:33] Mandy just mentioned,

[45:35] regarding world languages.

[45:41] We have students in the language arts program

[45:43] who are being

[45:45] considered

[45:45] for

[45:46] world language exemptions simply because

[45:47] of their

[45:48] ability to learn

[45:50] English; With all due

[45:51] respect, if you have

[45:52] dyslexia in

[45:53] English, you will

[45:54] also have it in a

[45:55] foreign language. So,

[45:59] that makes things

[46:01] ten times harder. So

[46:03] this is one of the options being

[46:04] discussed at the

[46:05] state level. This

[46:08] comes from discussions with

[46:09] other

[46:10] special education directors in

[46:12] my college.

[46:15] When considering

[46:16] DESE requirements, I believe this

[46:17] last statement is

[46:19] extremely important

[46:20] because it

[46:21] allows districts

[46:22] to provide

[46:23] reasonable flexibility,

[46:24] such as

[46:25] adapted

[46:26] mastery demonstrations, to

[46:27] help students with

[46:28] disabilities

[46:29] complete the core

[46:30] components. So this is

[46:34] another integral

[46:35] part of the educational

[46:36] plan where we look for

[46:37] accommodations to

[46:38] provide access for

[46:39] children, because, again

[46:40] , I've said this

[46:41] more times than I

[46:43] can remember,

[46:44] special education

[46:45] is about providing

[46:46] access for students. It

[46:47] doesn't change what

[46:48] they are learning. So,

[46:50] the curriculum

[46:51] remains the same. It's all about

[46:52] how

[46:53] they can

[46:54] access it.

[46:55] Next slide,

[46:56] please. Ahem. A

[47:04] very valid

[47:05] question arises regarding those

[47:06] students who fall

[47:07] into the category of

[47:08] special needs

[47:10] . What does this mean for

[47:11] them? Therefore,

[47:13] equivalency for

[47:14] specialized and

[47:15] substantially

[47:16] modified

[47:17] individual courses

[47:18] means that students

[47:19] studying a

[47:20] life skills program or a

[47:21] substantially modified

[47:22] core English course

[47:24] can have these courses

[47:25] count toward

[47:26] graduation under certain

[47:27] requirements. And the first of these is that the

[47:31] course structure meets

[47:33] state standards

[47:34] , including all the

[47:35] fundamental

[47:36] concepts that students

[47:37] should master within the

[47:38] framework of a standard

[47:39] course. The learning can

[47:42] be significantly

[47:43] adapted or

[47:44] modified according

[47:45] to the needs of the learner. Again

[47:46] , how the

[47:48] learning plan is designed

[47:49] will play a very

[47:50] big role in this.

[47:53] Demonstration of

[47:54] mastery through

[47:55] portfolios,

[47:55] alternative

[47:56] summative

[47:57] assessments,

[47:58] on-the-job training, or

[47:59] effective

[48:00] demonstrations within

[48:02] their

[48:02] Individualized

[48:03] Education Plan (IEP)

[48:04] will also be

[48:05] considered. And,

[48:07] of course,

[48:08] director certification. Ultimately, the

[48:12] school principal must

[48:13] officially certify

[48:14] that students have completed

[48:15] specific

[48:17] course requirements, and a student with an

[48:18] Individualized

[48:19] Education Plan (IEP)

[48:20] is equivalent to a

[48:21] traditional course.

[48:25] Um, one of the things

[48:26] I also have

[48:27] high hopes for in terms of

[48:28] transition planning

[48:30] is what

[48:31] Mandy mentioned, My Cap.

[48:33] We have been

[48:34] involved in

[48:35] transition planning

[48:36] for students within IEPs for years.

[48:38] So, starting at

[48:40] age 14, students should

[48:41] start

[48:42] thinking about what

[48:43] their

[48:44] future looks like: whether it's

[48:46] college and career readiness, or a

[48:48] job, or a

[48:49] host of other things. And

[48:51] they can

[48:51] change these plans

[48:53] several times

[48:54] during the period from

[48:55] age 14 until

[48:56] graduation or

[48:57] reaching age 21.

[49:01] But in designing a

[49:02] graduation schedule,

[49:03] mapping out

[49:04] coursework,

[49:05] making sure

[49:06] they meet

[49:07] the requirements of each

[49:08] school year,

[49:09] it's a very specific

[49:10] plan within their

[49:11] IEP. If a student has completed the

[49:14] academic program

[49:16] but has not met their

[49:17] transition planning goals

[49:19] for

[49:19] independent living,

[49:20] vocational

[49:21] training, or

[49:22] post-secondary

[49:23] education, the district

[49:24] may not release them.

[49:25] Therefore, they must

[49:26] demonstrate

[49:27] success in

[49:28] transition planning as well as

[49:29] meet academic

[49:31] requirements for graduation.

[49:33] We are incredibly

[49:34] fortunate in our

[49:36] district to have a

[49:36] dedicated

[49:38] transition specialist who

[49:39] works with our

[49:40] students, every single one of

[49:41] them, starting at

[49:42] age 14. And one of the

[49:45] initiatives

[49:46] we're working on as a district

[49:47] is ensuring that

[49:48] students are

[49:50] active participants in the

[49:52] decision-making process. Over the

[49:56] past two years,

[49:57] statistically, we

[49:58] have seen more

[49:59] students participate in

[50:01] their IEP meetings,

[50:02] but we are still working

[50:03] on this. It's intimidating—

[50:07] going into a room

[50:08] full of adults and

[50:09] trying to explain

[50:10] what they want, but

[50:12] we've also seen

[50:13] great success in CPS and

[50:14] NHS over the past 2 years

[50:15] with IEP meetings

[50:17] conducted by the

[50:18] students themselves. Students conduct

[50:19] their meetings

[50:20] independently. So, this

[50:21] also gives great

[50:23] hope. So that's what

[50:24] we're looking at from a

[50:25] special

[50:26] education perspective, but as

[50:27] Mandy also pointed out, there's still a

[50:29] lot of "what ifs." We have

[50:31] n't received all

[50:32] the information from the state yet,

[50:33] but once we

[50:34] do, I would

[50:35] say that in terms of

[50:36] special education,

[50:37] we have a lot in place

[50:39] to

[50:40] make this

[50:41] transition. Are there any

[50:43] questions?

[50:45] Good.

[50:46] Yes, it happened here.

[50:48] Laura.

[50:49] Yes, I have a few,

[50:50] if I may.

[50:51] Another slide about

[50:53] English learners, sorry.

[50:54] Oh, great. OK.

[50:55] I'm at a

[50:56] loss here, I just

[50:57] want to make sure.

[50:59] What directly

[51:00] concerns us?

[51:01] Oh, yes, yes.

[51:03] I had it, yes.

[51:04] OK. So,

[51:06] regarding our

[51:08] English language learners and the

[51:09] implications for them: as

[51:11] we have said, if

[51:12] our students are at an

[51:14] ELD proficiency level of one or two,

[51:15] those

[51:16] English as a

[51:17] Second Language lessons

[51:18] will count

[51:19] as

[51:20] English language credit for up

[51:21] to 2 years.

[51:25] Our ELD level

[51:26] three and four students will be required to

[51:28] complete 2 years of

[51:30] English language instruction.

[51:33] Regarding the

[51:34] foreign language component, our

[51:36] students will be able to

[51:36] fulfill this requirement

[51:38] through their proficiency in their

[51:39] native language. We

[51:42] don't know exactly what

[51:43] this will look like yet.

[51:44] This is probably

[51:45] due to the imprint of

[51:46] bilingualism, but

[51:48] perhaps only

[51:49] partially, not

[51:50] fully.

[51:51] Next steps.

[51:53] Next slide,

[51:54] please. We are limited on

[51:58] time as our

[52:00] high school curriculum

[52:01] is published in January.

[52:05] Graduation requirements

[52:06] are defined in

[52:07] school committee policy.

[52:12] So we will need

[52:13] you to vote

[52:15] for a policy change

[52:16] this fall, by December,

[52:17] so that we can

[52:18] meet the

[52:19] MassCore requirements, as our

[52:20] future

[52:21] ninth graders

[52:22] need it for graduation.

[52:27] Regarding everything else,

[52:28] we are still awaiting

[52:29] further

[52:30] guidance from DESE. However,

[52:33] in our conversations we

[52:34] express

[52:35] enthusiasm about it.

[52:40] This is a great opportunity

[52:41] to think about high

[52:42] school not only on a

[52:43] statewide scale, but also

[52:44] on a local level,

[52:45] about what changes we

[52:47] can make and

[52:48] how to use that

[52:49] to make learning

[52:51] truly engaging and

[52:52] meaningful for our students. This is

[52:57] fully

[52:57] consistent with our

[52:58] work in the field of

[52:59] applied learning

[53:01] . So, we are on the

[53:01] right track.

[53:03] Okay, question.

[53:04] Laura.

[53:05] I cannot guarantee

[53:06] answers.

[53:09] I personally

[53:10] need instruction

[53:11] on MassCore, because what is it, a

[53:13] replacement for the MCAS assessment?

[53:18] MassCore existed before

[53:20] .

[53:20] Of course.

[53:21] It works like this: graduation requirements

[53:23] are set by

[53:24] local districts.

[53:26] Mhm.

[53:27] But MassCore is a

[53:27] recommendation made by the

[53:29] governor's office,

[53:30] as far as I understand.

[53:33] So many districts

[53:35] adopted MassCore even before

[53:36] that. The point now is

[53:40] that all districts

[53:41] must adopt MassCore,

[53:43] as the

[53:44] competency definition that

[53:45] was in effect through MCAS

[53:46] no longer exists. So

[53:50] how do we do this in an

[53:51] equitable and meaningful

[53:52] way across the

[53:53] state?

[53:55] Can I ask you one more

[53:55] question?

[53:56] Please. I

[53:57] just want to

[53:58] add something. Public

[53:59] colleges and

[54:00] universities

[54:01] require

[54:02] students to complete the

[54:03] Mass Core program. So

[54:04] we want to

[54:05] make sure our

[54:06] students have the same

[54:07] benefits in

[54:08] the future as

[54:09] students in other

[54:10] Mass Core districts.

[54:12] You know, I haven't

[54:14] heard anyone mention

[54:15] framework programs for a long time.

[54:18] Do they still exist,

[54:19] or is it more of a

[54:20] curriculum thing?

[54:22] Standards.

[54:23] Yes, standards.

[54:24] They are still active. The

[54:27] Massachusetts State Curriculum Framework applies

[54:28] to our classes. But

[54:29] that's not what we're

[54:30] talking about now.

[54:31] But will they be

[54:32] reviewed

[54:33] based on this?

[54:34] is more about the

[54:35] content of what we

[54:36] teach in

[54:37] each of the lessons. This also

[54:40] determines what

[54:41] subjects are required

[54:42] for graduation.

[54:45] Of course. And I have one more

[54:47] question. Some

[54:49] of these points

[54:50] seem more

[54:51] subjective,

[54:51] such as

[54:52] assessing

[54:53] self-awareness or

[54:55] communication effectiveness. I

[54:59] understand that you don't

[55:00] have all

[55:00] the answers because this is a

[55:01] new initiative, but are

[55:03] there

[55:03] tools to

[55:04] evaluate this?

[55:08] I think this will manifest itself

[55:09] in different areas,

[55:11] right? Some of the "soft

[55:14] skills" you

[55:15] mention are likely to

[55:16] come into play during

[55:19] post-secondary education planning

[55:20] , and also, excuse me,

[55:21] going back to that

[55:22] slide...During

[55:23] final activities

[55:25] and portfolio work

[55:26] . It will definitely be

[55:30] visible there.

[55:32] Especially for

[55:34] 12th grade students.

[55:36] Yes, but we will

[55:37] gradually move

[55:38] towards this.

[55:39] Mhm. So

[55:40] after-

[55:41] school planning, My Cap,

[55:42] actually

[55:43] starts in 6th

[55:44] grade. This is a

[55:45] 6th-12th

[55:47] grade curriculum that we

[55:47] need to implement.

[55:49] Of course. I would

[55:50] personally like to

[55:51] hear more about this

[55:52] in a different format.

[55:54] Just suggesting.

[55:56] Regarding...

[55:57] Specifically regarding My Cap and Mass Core

[55:59] . There's

[55:59] a lot of work

[56:00] ahead for My Cap,

[56:02] so...

[56:02] Okay. Thank you very much.

[56:05] Thank you.

[56:07] Yes. Thank you. Wonderful

[56:09] presentation. Ahem. Would it

[56:13] be unfair to

[56:15] say that DESE is

[56:16] a bit confused

[56:17] after the

[56:18] governor's orders?

[56:21] Well, the

[56:21] governor's report didn't come out

[56:22] until June. So I

[56:24] want to be

[56:24] fair,

[56:25] you know? These are two

[56:26] different bodies, and DESE should

[56:28] help the districts

[56:29] figure it all out.

[56:31] But what they were tasked with

[56:32] finding out

[56:33] only happened this summer. And these are

[56:35] very big changes. Um, the

[56:39] superintendents' association

[56:41] has been very clear about giving

[56:42] districts

[56:43] enough time and

[56:44] resources to

[56:45] implement this.

[56:48] That's why we've set

[56:49] tentative timelines

[56:50] based on our

[56:51] assumptions about

[56:52] how things

[56:53] will play out and

[56:54] when we should

[56:55] address these

[56:56] issues. And it's not all at the

[56:57] same time.

[56:58] Mhm.

[56:59] My second question, a

[57:00] very minor one, is about the

[57:02] timing. In the

[57:03] next steps slides, you

[57:04] mentioned that

[57:07] policy changes are needed by December 26th. And

[57:08] then there is a note that

[57:09] the curriculum

[57:10] is published in January. All things being

[57:12] equal, wouldn't it be

[57:13] better to wait

[57:14] until January?

[57:16] Well, we need it

[57:17] for the

[57:18] curriculum. The

[57:20] policy changes must

[57:21] take place before

[57:22] the program is released

[57:24] in January.

[57:24] Oh, of course.

[57:25] At the end of January. Yes

[57:27] .

[57:28] Uh...

[57:28] Yes, if you allow me.

[57:29] Now about something else.

[57:31] First, Mandy

[57:32] mentioned the Massachusetts Association of

[57:33] School

[57:34] Superintendents

[57:35] . They

[57:37] openly and clearly

[57:38] stated that such

[57:39] changes also have

[57:40] financial consequences.

[57:45] We are in a

[57:46] pretty good

[57:47] position, but it is

[57:48] likely that we will have to

[57:49] hire

[57:51] teachers, for example, of a

[57:52] foreign language, as

[57:53] required by Mass Core. We're

[57:57] not sure yet. We

[57:59] need to

[57:59] analyze

[58:00] the situation for

[58:01] the graduates of 2031,

[58:03] since the changes will

[58:04] affect them.

[58:07] Regarding policy changes:

[58:08] yes, we should

[58:09] change the rules so that

[58:10] the curriculum

[58:11] is adapted to

[58:12] them. If we introduce

[58:17] Algebra II as a requirement

[58:18] under the

[58:18] Mass Core standards, we will

[58:20] implement it and

[58:21] make sure that all

[58:22] curriculum changes

[58:23] occur

[58:24] accordingly. And

[58:29] to be clear: this

[58:29] will affect two

[58:30] curricula.

[58:33] We believe that

[58:34] two programs will operate

[58:35] simultaneously.

[58:36] One for ninth

[58:38] grade and the other for

[58:39] grades 10-12 for the class of 2031

[58:41] . Then

[58:42] next year it

[58:44] will be 9th and 10th grades, and

[58:45] then 9th, 10th, and 11th. This is a

[58:50] slow

[58:50] implementation, so to speak, but

[58:51] once the ninth grade

[58:52] starts, the

[58:53] process will move quickly.

[58:57] After that,

[58:58] active

[58:59] forward movement will begin. So,

[59:01] it won't be too difficult for us to

[59:03] make these changes to Mass

[59:04] Core. We already have a lot

[59:06] prepared.

[59:07] We have implemented

[59:08] financial

[59:08] literacy, which

[59:09] was not the case in some districts

[59:11] , and this is important. We are already

[59:12] close to

[59:13] where we need to be, with

[59:14] some

[59:15] necessary adjustments. I

[59:16] don't think this will be

[59:18] any dramatic

[59:19] change or shift

[59:20] for us. Moving

[59:22] forward and building out

[59:24] My Cap, as well as other

[59:25] elements that

[59:26] we still have little

[59:27] information about, such as

[59:28] final

[59:28] course assessments,

[59:30] who

[59:30] will be responsible for that, and

[59:31] some aspects of the

[59:32] portfolio. Although we

[59:34] already have a graduation

[59:34] project for

[59:35] senior students. So that's

[59:37] also an advantage,

[59:38] since we've already

[59:39] steered them in that

[59:40] direction. It's still a

[59:43] little bit undefined,

[59:44] we need

[59:45] more help,

[59:46] so the Department of

[59:47] Education is trying

[59:48] to do everything they can,

[59:49] and the Governor's office and the

[59:50] Board of Education are

[59:52] pushing. So we

[59:55] will see things

[59:56] change

[59:57] pretty quickly, but it

[59:58] will still

[59:59] require guidance and

[1:00:00] active

[1:00:00] representation from

[1:00:01] school

[1:00:02] superintendents. I will

[1:00:05] say it.

[1:00:06] Dr. Oliver. It's like

[1:00:10] starting to build a

[1:00:11] house without any

[1:00:12] plans.

[1:00:14] We have a concept.

[1:00:17] It will be interesting to see

[1:00:18] the results

[1:00:19] at the end of the year.

[1:00:24] Good. Do you have any

[1:00:25] questions? I'm

[1:00:26] fine.

[1:00:28] It's like I'm

[1:00:29] graduating.

[1:00:31] Yes. One more year.

[1:00:33] I'm curious, what

[1:00:34] items cause

[1:00:35] you the most

[1:00:36] anxiety? What

[1:00:38] subjects are we not

[1:00:39] coping with and which

[1:00:40] seem likely to become

[1:00:41] problematic?

[1:00:42] Yes. I think we'll be

[1:00:45] fine, I'll

[1:00:46] tell you about our

[1:00:47] staff now. I think we will be

[1:00:52] fine with art. We

[1:00:53] believe we have

[1:00:54] enough staff to keep

[1:00:56] everything in

[1:00:57] order there. We will need to

[1:00:59] carefully

[1:00:59] examine the issue of

[1:01:00] foreign languages and

[1:01:01] determine when expansion may be

[1:01:02] necessary

[1:01:03] . This may

[1:01:05] not be the 29th year, we'll have to

[1:01:07] see which one

[1:01:08] , but such a need will

[1:01:10] likely arise. Uh

[1:01:12] ...As for

[1:01:16] math, the

[1:01:17] Algebra 2 requirement is something

[1:01:18] we need to

[1:01:19] investigate further

[1:01:21] , how many of our students are

[1:01:22] currently not

[1:01:23] meeting that

[1:01:24] expectation. Many

[1:01:28] respond, but

[1:01:29] some choose other

[1:01:30] options for earning

[1:01:32] math credits. And so—in the

[1:01:34] penultimate and

[1:01:36] final years.

[1:01:37] So we need to

[1:01:38] look at this a little more

[1:01:39] carefully. Uh, as for

[1:01:42] the others, I don't...Did I say

[1:01:46] something wrong? I

[1:01:48] guess I didn't quite

[1:01:49] understand what you just

[1:01:50] said about

[1:01:51] math. Because they

[1:01:52] need four

[1:01:53] credits in math.

[1:01:54] This is what our

[1:01:55] students take, right?

[1:01:57] Yes, but the changes

[1:01:57] are that

[1:01:59] they will have to

[1:01:59] study algebra two.

[1:02:02] And not all of our Now

[1:02:03] our requirement for

[1:02:04] graduation is algebra

[1:02:05] one and geometry.

[1:02:07] Good.

[1:02:08] So, there are a certain

[1:02:08] number of students

[1:02:10] who don't study

[1:02:11] algebra two. And this

[1:02:13] will be interesting. So,

[1:02:16] for example, if we

[1:02:17] have students who

[1:02:18] start with if they

[1:02:19] start with

[1:02:20] pre-algebra, that is,

[1:02:21] if they took

[1:02:22] pre-algebra, then

[1:02:23] algebra one, then

[1:02:25] geometry, they

[1:02:26] might not take

[1:02:26] algebra two in the

[1:02:27] last class.

[1:02:31] They may decide to

[1:02:32] take a different

[1:02:33] math class.

[1:02:34] Statistics.

[1:02:35] To become, yes, exactly. There may

[1:02:37] be another option

[1:02:38] they will choose.

[1:02:40] So we'll just

[1:02:41] need to

[1:02:42] look at it a little more

[1:02:43] carefully. I don't think

[1:02:44] it will have a

[1:02:45] huge impact, but

[1:02:47] it will affect a certain number of students.

[1:02:49] Thank you.

[1:02:50] But we can

[1:02:51] prevent this because we

[1:02:52] will know

[1:02:52] in advance, because for

[1:02:54] most students

[1:02:55] this will be the course for the

[1:02:56] penultimate

[1:02:56] grade.

[1:02:57] And there is no

[1:02:58] way it

[1:02:59] will start sooner

[1:03:03] than we expect.

[1:03:04] I can answer that

[1:03:06] . No, that's impossible.

[1:03:07] It would be massive uh

[1:03:10] Street protests.

[1:03:12] Yes, a rebellion by the

[1:03:13] district

[1:03:14] superintendents,

[1:03:15] including me. It's

[1:03:17] just that it's difficult,

[1:03:18] but like I said, it's

[1:03:19] not too heavy a burden.

[1:03:21] This is the right

[1:03:22] direction for us, but

[1:03:23] they won't

[1:03:24] accelerate it. The

[1:03:26] deadlines they

[1:03:27] set

[1:03:27] will remain as they

[1:03:29] are. I don't think we're

[1:03:30] suddenly going to say that

[1:03:31] everyone should have everything.

[1:03:33] So, this is going to be a

[1:03:34] training program—

[1:03:35] it's like a contract, right?

[1:03:37] So we need to

[1:03:38] implement this for

[1:03:39] our

[1:03:39] ninth graders, because

[1:03:40] this is the expectation

[1:03:41] they have when they

[1:03:42] graduate.

[1:03:43] They will know what

[1:03:44] courses they need to

[1:03:45] take to

[1:03:46] graduate. So,

[1:03:47] MGM.

[1:03:48] And so we will consider

[1:03:49] this at the

[1:03:51] policy subcommittee meeting. So, Laura and

[1:03:53] Tanya, get ready. We

[1:03:55] will call you in for a

[1:03:56] review, and then we

[1:03:57] will share our

[1:03:58] proposed

[1:03:59] policy changes and

[1:04:00] ask the entire

[1:04:01] committee to comment.

[1:04:03] Thank you.

[1:04:04] And thank you both.

[1:04:05] OK. See you later.

[1:04:06] OK.

[1:04:07] Wait. Wait.

[1:04:09] We don't have

[1:04:09] the technology. That's it.

[1:04:11] OK. Where are we? Good.

[1:04:13] So, the

[1:04:14] committee discussion and

[1:04:15] vote that

[1:04:16] needs to happen.

[1:04:17] Vote to

[1:04:18] approve a donation of

[1:04:19] school supplies with an

[1:04:20] estimated value of

[1:04:22] $1,200 from

[1:04:23] St. Paul Church for students and

[1:04:24] staff at Nantucket Elementary

[1:04:25] and Middle Schools

[1:04:26] .

[1:04:27] Accepted.

[1:04:29] Second.

[1:04:29] Who is "for"?

[1:04:30] J.

[1:04:31] Vote on

[1:04:32] approval of the minutes of

[1:04:33] the meeting of

[1:04:35] August 25, 2026.

[1:04:36] Accepted.

[1:04:37] Second.

[1:04:38] Who is "for"?

[1:04:39] J.

[1:04:41] Approval vote...

[1:04:43] Wait, did we

[1:04:44] get that? OK. I

[1:04:45] wanted to say that I didn't

[1:04:46] even see the

[1:04:46] minutes for September 1.

[1:04:47] OK. Sorry. It

[1:04:49] was not crossed out on the iPad.

[1:04:50] Vote to

[1:04:51] approve

[1:04:52] the memorandum of

[1:04:53] understanding regarding

[1:04:54] teacher assistants

[1:04:55] for the 2026-2027 school

[1:04:56] year.

[1:04:56] Accepted.

[1:04:57] Second.

[1:04:58] Who is "for"?

[1:04:59] Y.

[1:04:59] Voting on

[1:05:00] approval of transfers

[1:05:01] and accounts.

[1:05:02] Accepted.

[1:05:02] Second.

[1:05:03] Who is "for"?

[1:05:04] Y.

[1:05:04] And now we

[1:05:05] will move on to our

[1:05:06] representative on the

[1:05:07] student council,

[1:05:08] Natalya Penkova.

[1:05:09] Congratulations.

[1:05:10] Natalie.

[1:05:13] What would you like

[1:05:14] me to talk about?

[1:05:17] How have the last

[1:05:18] few weeks at school been

[1:05:19] ? Were there any

[1:05:21] concerns from

[1:05:22] your classmates? Is there

[1:05:24] anything we

[1:05:25] should know about? How are

[1:05:26] you doing with sports? Are there

[1:05:28] any performances being prepared

[1:05:29] ?

[1:05:29] Well, there are

[1:05:31] no problems now. I think

[1:05:33] everything is going well. I

[1:05:36] mean,

[1:05:38] school spirit week is starting soon. He

[1:05:40] will be here in 2 weeks, I'm

[1:05:41] almost sure. They're just

[1:05:44] starting...

[1:05:45] a drama club. They

[1:05:47] are preparing a performance.

[1:05:50] Rehearsals for "

[1:05:52] The Murder Was Slayed."

[1:05:53] Done. Yes, "

[1:05:56] The murder was

[1:05:57] committed." Or

[1:05:59] delivered.

[1:06:00] OK. "

[1:06:01] The murder was

[1:06:01] committed." This is great.

[1:06:03] I was a little

[1:06:04] confused. Plans for

[1:06:07] Homecoming.

[1:06:08] Well, people

[1:06:10] are starting to vote

[1:06:12] on the design of

[1:06:13] the corridors. I'm pretty

[1:06:15] sure the theme for the

[1:06:17] Homecoming dance has already

[1:06:18] been chosen. And we already have a

[1:06:21] set date for the

[1:06:23] dance—October 24th. And the

[1:06:25] school

[1:06:27] spirit week I

[1:06:28] mentioned will last

[1:06:29] from the 26th to the 30th. The Island Cup

[1:06:33] falls on Halloween, the

[1:06:35] 31st, which is also when

[1:06:36] our Homecoming game will take place

[1:06:38] . And the bonfire and

[1:06:42] fan rally from the

[1:06:44] Boosters Club—on the 30th. So, yes

[1:06:47] . This year we are also

[1:06:52] planning two trips:

[1:06:53] to Iceland and Italy.

[1:07:00] I have planned, but a

[1:07:01] trip to Italy—

[1:07:02] from the Latin

[1:07:03] club, it will be very

[1:07:04] interesting.

[1:07:06] Oho. Yes. This is fascinating

[1:07:08] .

[1:07:08] Hot.

[1:07:09] A lot so far.

[1:07:10] And do you need

[1:07:11] vaccinations?

[1:07:12] Apparently.

[1:07:13] Probably.

[1:07:14] And Natalie, I

[1:07:15] apologize. Can you

[1:07:16] tell me a little about

[1:07:17] yourself? What grade are you in

[1:07:18] ? What are your

[1:07:19] hobbies?

[1:07:20] I am currently in my

[1:07:21] second year. As for

[1:07:24] my interests, I

[1:07:26] really like art

[1:07:27] and sports. I play

[1:07:29] tennis. That's it.

[1:07:32] Perfectly. Thank you. And thank you for being

[1:07:34] here. This is going to be a

[1:07:35] great year. Do

[1:07:36] we have any questions for

[1:07:37] our representative?

[1:07:38] No. Welcome,

[1:07:40] Natalie.

[1:07:40] Perfectly. Congratulations.

[1:07:41] Thank you. OK. So,

[1:07:43] reports of subcommittees

[1:07:44] or working groups. Is there

[1:07:46] anything?

[1:07:47] Nothing. Does

[1:07:48] anyone have anything?

[1:07:49] Um, no. Regarding NET, we

[1:07:51] are preparing for an event at

[1:07:53] Level Press in three weeks.

[1:07:55] Mhm.

[1:07:56] Yes.

[1:07:57] This is a networking

[1:07:58] event to learn

[1:08:00] what NET is. NET usually

[1:08:02] remains a bit in the

[1:08:03] shadows. In the past. So

[1:08:08] we need to become

[1:08:09] a little...NET needs to become

[1:08:10] a little more well-known. For

[1:08:13] those who don't know, the Nantucket

[1:08:14] Education Trust is a

[1:08:15] non-profit

[1:08:16] organization that has

[1:08:18] been around for quite some

[1:08:19] time. It has a

[1:08:22] dual mission:

[1:08:23] supporting public

[1:08:24] schools through gifts

[1:08:25] and donations. They are

[1:08:28] regular

[1:08:29] sponsors of the "

[1:08:30] Journey Across the

[1:08:31] Strait" project, thanks to which

[1:08:32] our

[1:08:33] tenth and

[1:08:34] eleventh graders

[1:08:35] attend colleges. And

[1:08:41] NET also manages the Cal

[1:08:43] Pond district, which is

[1:08:44] populated entirely by Nantucket

[1:08:46] Public Schools educators

[1:08:47] . This is

[1:08:53] affordable housing for

[1:08:54] our NPS employees.

[1:08:57] We are very happy that NET

[1:08:59] supports us so much.

[1:09:04] We are planning

[1:09:05] to expand a bit as

[1:09:06] we hope to have more housing built in the

[1:09:07] coming years

[1:09:09] after

[1:09:10] the completion of the

[1:09:11] field development on the

[1:09:12] site directly behind the

[1:09:13] football field where

[1:09:14] our buses are currently parked and will

[1:09:16] soon be moving. That's

[1:09:20] it.

[1:09:21] By the way, regarding this,

[1:09:22] today I happened

[1:09:23] to see two different

[1:09:24] bus drivers

[1:09:26] driving at the same time. So it

[1:09:27] was really nice

[1:09:28] to see two big

[1:09:29] buses on the road.

[1:09:32] We have drivers who

[1:09:33] can help us,

[1:09:35] and another candidate on

[1:09:36] the way who is

[1:09:37] about to take the

[1:09:38] exam. We are very

[1:09:41] close to

[1:09:42] signing the contract

[1:09:43] and hope to

[1:09:44] make an announcement

[1:09:45] before the next

[1:09:46] meeting. Therefore.

[1:09:47] Perfectly.

[1:09:48] Thank you. I know we

[1:09:50] have a number of subcommittees

[1:09:51] that need to start

[1:09:52] scheduling meetings.

[1:09:54] Agree. And if

[1:09:55] you'll allow me, off the top of my

[1:09:56] head, we really

[1:09:57] need to reach out

[1:09:58] to

[1:09:59] teacher assistants. The current

[1:10:01] letter of intent

[1:10:02] voted on

[1:10:03] was a special

[1:10:04] agreement for this year that

[1:10:06] addressed some of the

[1:10:06] discrepancies between

[1:10:08] what was agreed to in

[1:10:09] our

[1:10:10] teacher contract and what

[1:10:11] should be agreed to

[1:10:13] for the

[1:10:13] teacher assistant contract,

[1:10:15] as they were still

[1:10:16] working to our

[1:10:19] Friday

[1:10:20] 2:20 pm dismissal schedule.

[1:10:20] A.

[1:10:21] So we needed to

[1:10:22] make a few

[1:10:23] adjustments to

[1:10:24] make sure they

[1:10:25] could help

[1:10:26] us, especially with

[1:10:27] supervising students

[1:10:28] who stay 10

[1:10:29] minutes longer on

[1:10:30] Fridays. So, we are

[1:10:32] very grateful to them and glad

[1:10:33] that we were able to provide them with

[1:10:34] some support

[1:10:35] this year, and all of that

[1:10:36] will cease at

[1:10:37] the end of this

[1:10:38] year when we

[1:10:39] move on to

[1:10:39] negotiations for

[1:10:41] next year. So

[1:10:43] .

[1:10:44] Thank you.

[1:10:46] want to know.

[1:10:47] It's all you.

[1:10:48] Good. So our

[1:10:49] next

[1:10:50] agenda is a seminar.

[1:10:51] We often hold a

[1:10:52] workshop in October to

[1:10:54] share with you

[1:10:55] our 2026 MCAS ratings

[1:10:56] and reporting

[1:10:57] , and then our

[1:10:58] principals and

[1:10:59] assistant

[1:10:59] principals will come

[1:11:01] to share

[1:11:02] their

[1:11:02] school improvement plans.

[1:11:04] So, this is the meeting

[1:11:06] for next time.

[1:11:07] Most likely, we

[1:11:09] will be in IS. It's more of a

[1:11:11] workshop-style work environment. We

[1:11:15] don't need cameras,

[1:11:16] but we will still

[1:11:17] provide a

[1:11:18] hybrid format for those

[1:11:19] who want it at that time.

[1:11:23] So, that's all.

[1:11:24] Thank you.

[1:11:25] I have to say, I

[1:11:27] really like the

[1:11:28] social

[1:11:29] media posts from

[1:11:30] public schools. So,

[1:11:31] whoever was responsible

[1:11:32] for this, it was really

[1:11:33] nice to see what was

[1:11:34] happening in the

[1:11:35] district. So thank you

[1:11:36] to whoever is

[1:11:37] doing this. Well, that

[1:11:39] concludes our meeting. Can

[1:11:41] I get

[1:11:41] a motion to

[1:11:42] close the meeting?

[1:11:43] I suggest.

[1:11:43] We will assume that you

[1:11:44] proposed it and you

[1:11:45] supported it. How do you like

[1:11:46] that? I

[1:11:46] support. Yes.

[1:11:47] Good. All in favor? By.

[1:11:49] Good evening.

[1:11:53] Good job, friends.

Nantucket School Committee - October 6, 2026

Transcript