[0:03] Okay. Call the September 14th, 2026 Cit School
[0:10] Committee to meeting this to or to order
[0:12] this evening uh at 6:02 p.m. And we'll
[0:17] begin with public comment. Anyone who
[0:20] wants to make public comment in person
[0:22] may come up to the podium.
[0:26] See nobody any hands raised remotely.
[0:30] Take you off mute. I'm not seeing anyone
[0:33] currently.
[0:35] Okay.
[0:38] All right. No public comments tonight.
[0:40] We'll move forward with our action
[0:41] items. We have approval of minutes from
[0:43] August 28th.
[0:47] They are all in. We're back up for
[0:49] review.
[0:51] Any questions or
[0:54] comments before we take a motion on
[0:57] those minutes from the 28th.
[1:02] » Can I I can make a motion.
[1:03] >> Sure.
[1:04] >> To approve the
[1:06] uh school committee or the summer
[1:08] retreat meeting minutes from August
[1:09] 28th, 2026.
[1:14] » Second. I carry. All right. All in
[1:17] favor?
[1:18] >> I.
[1:20] >> All right. We have another set of
[1:21] minutes from August 31st, 2026.
[1:25] Same process.
[1:29] » No, you're doing something.
[1:31] >> I took your seat, but I don't want to
[1:32] take [laughter] all your
[1:36] » All right. I'll make a motion that the
[1:38] school committee vote to approve the
[1:39] minutes of August 31st, 2026.
[1:43] >> Second. Okay. All in favor?
[1:46] >> I.
[1:47] >> All right. Thank you. Someday it might
[1:49] be. [laughter]
[1:53] » All right. Up next, we have approval of
[1:54] an ISL out of state field trip to Walt
[1:57] Disney World.
[2:00] >> Madam Chair, with your permission, I'd
[2:01] like to invite Mike. Thanks for the
[2:03] presentation.
[2:04] >> Sorry if I can.
[2:05] >> No, you're good.
[2:06] >> Getting used to the new arrangement.
[2:07] >> The new arrangement. [laughter]
[2:09] >> You're the first participant.
[2:11] >> I like it. I like it.
[2:13] >> Um, am I good to go?
[2:14] >> You certainly are. Yes.
[2:15] >> Hi, my name is Mike Tinko. For those
[2:17] that don't know me, I teach here at High
[2:19] School, teach the ISL postgraduate
[2:21] program, which is a subspar classroom
[2:24] here at the high school. Um I primarily
[2:26] work with the 18 to 21 year olds um
[2:30] educational service ends at 22. Um we're
[2:34] very fortunate in situate where um the
[2:36] ISL program or the classroom that makes
[2:38] up the ISL high school, postgrad and GLC
[2:42] um is one of the oldest sort of
[2:43] subsparate education um special
[2:46] education classrooms in the state. We
[2:49] have a long tradition of taking the kids
[2:52] uh doing a Disney trip every other year
[2:55] and taking the kids who um are about to
[2:57] turn 22 to Walt Disney World. Um, from
[3:01] our records, this has been going on for
[3:03] over 20 years. Uh, and um, we're looking
[3:07] for approval to do so. Um, from my
[3:12] standpoint,
[3:13] um, teaching the postgrads and getting
[3:15] to go on the trip, it's so nice because
[3:18] it's like your last few months with them
[3:21] after the trip, and you learn so much on
[3:22] the trip about their active daily living
[3:26] skills, their social emotional skills,
[3:29] and it's like you see the last bit of
[3:32] thing that you can't see here at school
[3:34] that you need to teach them before they
[3:35] age up. Um, we'll be going with three
[3:38] students. Um it will be myself, um
[3:40] another special education teacher and um
[3:44] a nurse.
[3:50] » Great. Any questions?
[3:52] >> Such a great It's an awesome program and
[3:55] great opportunity for
[3:56] >> everyone.
[3:58] >> Thank you.
[3:59] >> You have notes.
[4:03] » All right. Take a motion on I accepted
[4:06] trip. I'll make a motion that the school
[4:09] committee vote to approve the EXL out of
[4:11] state field trip to Walt Disney World
[4:13] 3727
[4:15] to 31227.
[4:18] >> Second.
[4:18] >> Okay. All in favor?
[4:21] >> Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
[4:42] » While she's giving those out, I'll just
[4:43] set the stage. Kelly's here for the
[4:45] final approval. And under our rules, we
[4:47] have the first approval and then we
[4:48] gather information, then we come back to
[4:50] final approval. So, she's here uh for
[4:52] final approval where this conference is
[4:54] in November.
[4:56] >> Hi. Um I'm Kelly Troyer. So, I'm a
[4:59] history teacher here and one of the Monu
[5:00] adviserss. So, we just have some of our
[5:03] updates. You've gone a little bit
[5:05] further into the planning of the trip.
[5:08] Um so, we're hoping to take 36 students.
[5:11] We're hosting tryyouts this Thursday and
[5:14] Friday after school for this and the
[5:17] pending trip to Europe. Um, we're hoping
[5:19] to do one try out for both travel trips
[5:22] this year. It kind of makes it easier to
[5:24] see early on to be honest, like if we
[5:27] can get as many kids as possible to get
[5:29] to go to one and it also gives families
[5:31] more time to think about costs, what
[5:34] works for them, stuff like that. So,
[5:36] we're going to try it this way um this
[5:38] year and the students have already begun
[5:39] preparing. And for SHA Browns, it'll be
[5:42] myself, uh, Heather Willinger, Richard
[5:45] Kermand, and Hannah Zimmerman who are
[5:47] also now leading a local team. So,
[5:49] they'll get to come with some of the
[5:50] older kids and chapron with us then. Um,
[5:54] right now we're looking to take a
[5:55] JetBlue flight out of Boston to DC um on
[6:00] Wednesday morning and we're going to try
[6:02] and spend 24 hours in DC um, and we're
[6:06] going to do some sightseeing that I can
[6:07] get to in the itinerary in a little bit.
[6:09] And then we'll take the ANT track to
[6:11] Charlottesville on Thursday morning.
[6:14] Montichello's down there, all that
[6:16] stuff. And then the students will have
[6:17] the conference for the rest of the
[6:18] weekend. Um, we're staying in one of the
[6:21] room blocks at the Charlottesville
[6:23] Fairfield in by Marriott that has like
[6:26] the discount from the conference and
[6:28] they extend it to us for Thursday night,
[6:30] which is really nice. Um, because most
[6:32] schools are local go on Friday to
[6:34] Sunday. Right [clears throat] now, our
[6:36] estimated cost, including the school bus
[6:38] to and from Logan, flights to DC, the
[6:40] Amtrak to and from Virginia, school
[6:43] fees, delegate fees, advisor fees, and
[6:45] hotel accommodations is $1,78.
[6:49] Um, this is not including any
[6:51] fundraising to offset. So, we have some
[6:53] left over from last year. And then we
[6:55] have some fundraisers planned for the
[6:57] fall. Um, we also have a meeting with a
[6:59] new fundraising committee from the town
[7:02] on Friday afternoon. So, we're looking
[7:04] forward to see what ideas they have,
[7:06] too. Um, flipping to the itinerary.
[7:09] We're going to be leaving pretty early
[7:11] like we usually do on a Wednesday
[7:12] morning. Although, I did not book the 6
[7:14] a.m. flight this year. That [laughter]
[7:15] was an option, but it was the same
[7:17] price. So, I was like, we can go at
[7:18] 9:00.
[7:20] We have a ton of sightseeing. We're
[7:22] thinking to split into groups that first
[7:23] day in case we have kids who came to DC
[7:25] with us last year to try and get them to
[7:27] some new sites they might have not seen
[7:28] last time. Um, we'll do a group dinner,
[7:31] probably an early night Wednesday.
[7:33] Thursday will be the early Amtrak to
[7:35] Charlottesville, and then Montichello
[7:38] and the Jefferson School of
[7:39] African-American Heritage or walking
[7:41] tour, maybe both if we have time and
[7:43] some team bonding. That will be free on
[7:46] Thursday night is is the plan. Um, and
[7:48] then Friday all the way to Sunday, they
[7:51] will be in their committee sessions all
[7:53] day. Saturday is long. It's 9:00 to 9:00
[7:56] um with a dance afterwards hosted by the
[7:58] conference and then we'll Amtrak back to
[8:01] DC and fly back to Logan on Sunday
[8:03] night.
[8:06] I did do the math of what if we took the
[8:09] Amtrak to Infirm because it's a little
[8:11] bit cheaper. But back is an 18hour
[8:14] commute and they'd have to miss school
[8:16] Monday. So then we opt in for the
[8:18] flights.
[8:21] Have any questions?
[8:24] Um the so the cost does not include any
[8:27] monies you have left over or the
[8:29] fundraising. So that could go down a
[8:31] little bit.
[8:31] >> Yes.
[8:40] » Questions either you already answer
[8:42] those.
[8:43] >> Okay. I know. I feel like that was
[8:44] information overload, but I was like get
[8:45] it all. That's perfect. Appreciate your
[8:49] coming back and giving us further detail
[8:51] and totally understand how that has to
[8:54] happen.
[8:55] >> Time appropriate chunks for you.
[8:58] >> Um, all right. I do have an extra one.
[9:00] >> Yeah, I love that question.
[9:00] >> So, you said you're going to have
[9:01] tryyous for this trip and the next trip.
[9:05] >> So, will you
[9:07] like divide the kids like some kids
[9:09] would want this one and then some kids
[9:11] have not like some students won't want
[9:13] both or
[9:14] >> Yeah. So, we did this three years ago.
[9:16] We did three trips in one year and they
[9:18] were all different cost ranges. So we
[9:19] did this again too to help with that and
[9:23] we decided to go back to it because kids
[9:25] then can rank to like they'll get a cost
[9:27] estimate ahead of time. So then they can
[9:29] rank their preferred trips based on like
[9:31] what they want to do but also like what
[9:33] might be more manageable at home. Um and
[9:36] then it helps us place like and if some
[9:39] student does want to go both and we have
[9:41] the space they could. Um, but that was
[9:44] pretty rare last time we did like the
[9:46] ranked trips. Most kids don't want them.
[9:50] » All right. Take a motion on model UN
[9:54] conference.
[9:55] >> I'll make a motion to approve the model
[9:57] UN conference to Charlottesville,
[9:59] Virginia 114206
[10:02] to 118 2026.
[10:05] Second.
[10:06] >> Right. All in favor? I
[10:09] >> Thank you.
[10:13] Up next, naming of the new elementary
[10:16] school
[10:18] vote.
[10:20] So, um, the way that we will handle
[10:23] voting of the new elementary school name
[10:25] is we'll go in alphabetical order. So,
[10:29] first we'll start with Irwin. What we
[10:31] want to do is if that is your vote for
[10:34] the name, you want to vote yes on that.
[10:36] If it is not your top or primary choice,
[10:40] you want to vote no in this round. We'll
[10:42] go through all three names one at a
[10:45] time. So, we can sort of bet out. And
[10:47] what will likely happen, well,
[10:48] potentially happen is we might narrow to
[10:51] two and then we would vote again to see
[10:54] which one ends up having at least a a
[10:58] majority vote. Um, and should that
[11:01] happen, you know, the first round, then
[11:03] that will be the new name. But if it
[11:05] does not, we'll continue down the list.
[11:07] >> So there's three
[11:08] >> questions,
[11:09] >> three
[11:10] votes first to see.
[11:13] >> Yeah,
[11:13] >> because we had talked about different
[11:14] ways. I just want to make sure I get
[11:15] that.
[11:16] >> Yeah. Okay.
[11:16] >> Yeah. Correct.
[11:18] >> So you only want to vote yes on your top
[11:20] choice. You want to vote no on what is
[11:23] not your top choice.
[11:24] >> Okay. In this round.
[11:25] >> In this round.
[11:25] >> So this isn't rank choice right now.
[11:27] This is just your top.
[11:28] >> Correct.
[11:29] >> Okay. One vote.
[11:30] >> Yeah. One vote across the three. Oh,
[11:33] great.
[11:33] >> Okay.
[11:34] Someone gonna keep track of it.
[11:38] [laughter]
[11:41] » Thomas.
[11:43] Okay.
[11:45] >> Okay.
[11:45] >> And so, right. All right. So, up first
[11:48] is Irwin. So, let's just go down the
[11:51] line, I guess, and say up or down for
[11:54] Irwin if that is your top choice.
[12:00] » Oh, sure. Yes.
[12:04] No. No.
[12:06] >> Yes.
[12:14] So do it. No. Yes. Yes.
[12:18] >> No.
[12:20] [laughter] This is not okay.
[12:29] Hey. No, no,
[12:32] >> no.
[12:33] >> Yes.
[12:38] » Sorry, Dan. It's two down to when it's
[12:41] set to
[12:43] >> So, do we do it the same way?
[12:46] >> You could or just
[12:47] >> or just name?
[12:48] >> I would just do them in alphabetical
[12:49] order. You don't have to do two separate
[12:52] votes. You could do one off.
[12:56] Can I ask also now that we're going into
[12:57] the second round, could we
[13:00] say a little bit about our justification
[13:02] for preference?
[13:03] >> Sure. Um, do you want to start again,
[13:05] Terry?
[13:06] >> No, you can.
[13:08] >> I [laughter] can make one suggestion
[13:09] might make it a little bit easier if
[13:11] we're going to if we're going to do
[13:12] that.
[13:12] >> Yeah.
[13:12] >> Um, nominate both
[13:15] >> and then have each person name who they
[13:16] want and then if you want to say a few
[13:18] words before you make the name, you can.
[13:21] >> Does that work? And in this way, you
[13:23] know,
[13:23] >> so we're not doing too
[13:25] >> I don't think you have to at this at
[13:26] this
[13:26] >> just say who you want
[13:27] >> unless you want to. It might be easier
[13:28] if people are going to say a few words.
[13:31] >> They have both nominations on the table
[13:34] and then each person votes who they
[13:36] want. We'll get to three,
[13:38] >> right?
[13:38] >> With only two people. So
[13:41] >> that fair.
[13:44] » Okay. So we need a motion to nominate
[13:47] both names for discussion.
[13:52] Okay, I'll make a motion that we um put
[13:54] forward Satuit and Irwin for discussion.
[13:59] >> Second.
[14:01] All in favor?
[14:03] >> I.
[14:04] >> All right. So, we'll open up for a
[14:05] discussion.
[14:07] Anyone who wants to lead that discussion
[14:10] for their top choice here.
[14:16] » Um
[14:17] >> yes. Well, being the newest to the
[14:19] process the past two weeks and beyond,
[14:21] but specifically the past two weeks,
[14:22] I've done so much research into these
[14:23] choices. And so, first I wanted to say
[14:26] how well researched and what wonderful
[14:28] choices we had because I think that all
[14:29] three represent an important part of
[14:32] Stitch's community. And I'm voting for
[14:36] Anz Haynes Irwin because I keep coming
[14:38] back to the idea that we're naming a
[14:42] school and it's a place where
[14:44] generations of Stitcher children will
[14:46] learn not only about themselves but the
[14:48] community that they're part of. And um I
[14:52] love the idea that children will could
[14:55] potentially grow up and learn about who
[14:58] Inzwin was um from the perspective of
[15:03] having lived in their town, loved their
[15:04] town, and led change about what's
[15:07] possible for generations of people who
[15:08] came after her. So that to me feels
[15:10] incredibly empowering. Um, and also she
[15:14] has a different identity than some of
[15:18] the folks who we see more prominently
[15:19] named in public institutions in our
[15:22] town. Um, so I love that about this
[15:25] choice.
[15:27] >> Thank you, Erica.
[15:33] » I can go next. I agree with everything
[15:35] you said, even though I think ultimately
[15:38] I've spent so much time thinking about
[15:40] this. Um, and I agree with everything
[15:42] you said. Um, and I just feel as though
[15:47] from the conversations I've had, um, and
[15:50] observations I've made of other
[15:52] people's, you know, what they've had to
[15:54] say, um, so to it just seems to be the
[15:56] name that most people connect with. Um,
[15:59] and I think there's a benefit sometimes
[16:01] in choosing a name that is not a person.
[16:04] Um when I read back what students had
[16:08] written about all three options, um one
[16:11] student wrote, this is a quote, um we
[16:14] can remember that Native Americans who
[16:16] set our town up for success and allow
[16:18] children to understand the full history
[16:20] of their home. Additionally, the term
[16:21] refers to the small stream that flows
[16:23] into Sichu harbor. The ocean is a huge
[16:25] part of Sichu's identity and
[16:26] infrastructure. By choosing this name,
[16:28] we are not only representing who makes
[16:31] situ special, but also what makes it
[16:33] special. And I think that is finally
[16:36] kind of what tipped me over into situ. I
[16:39] think it sort of has those both of those
[16:42] facets. And in my conversations with
[16:44] people over the last month, several
[16:46] months, I think that's probably what it
[16:49] is that makes people connect with it.
[16:53] Um, and ultimately what SW direction
[16:56] that said, I also agree with everything
[16:58] you said. So I think, you know, we're in
[17:01] a good spot in the best I would work,
[17:03] but ultimately I would keep my vote.
[17:10] » Well, neither was my top choice, but
[17:14] that's okay. Satun was my second choice.
[17:16] Um I like board because of the whole
[17:18] history and all everything the kids
[17:20] could learn but this you know I agree
[17:22] with everything that that Maria said
[17:25] about Satuit because they can do the
[17:27] same and it is you know it's a good way
[17:29] to learn um you know who were the first
[17:31] people here
[17:34] our town's named after
[17:38] Brook
[17:44] » oh we can use the mic sorry
[17:45] >> no it's Um, I was just saying that I I
[17:48] my first choice was ward, but my second
[17:50] choice was to do it. And I agree with
[17:52] everything Erica and Maria said.
[17:58] Now, I'm sticking with my original
[18:00] choice. I feel like I've been consistent
[18:02] across the whole way. Um, I don't
[18:04] disagree that satuit is an important
[18:06] word and Daniel Ward did some important
[18:08] work around the mossing. I do think we
[18:11] have this fabulous museum. I also did a
[18:13] lot of research and there were multiple
[18:15] people that contributed to the mossing
[18:17] and so I felt it was really hard to
[18:19] narrow it to Mr. Ward. Um the Satuit I
[18:23] struggle because there's a Satuit tavern
[18:24] in town, there's a Satuit boat club,
[18:27] there's a Satuit marquee right at the
[18:30] brook and so I felt like we already had
[18:32] named and represented and honored that
[18:34] piece of our history. And so I felt like
[18:37] similar to Erica that naming a school
[18:41] was an opportunity to elevate someone
[18:43] who is important to Situit. I mean if
[18:46] you read the report that the students
[18:48] did, she was an author, she was a
[18:51] suffragette, she contributed and those
[18:54] things feel so related to schools and we
[18:57] don't have anything that marks her
[19:00] contribution. And to me, this was part
[19:03] of the point is that we want our kids,
[19:06] our students, our teachers, our
[19:07] community to learn about all different
[19:09] kinds of contributors to the town. And
[19:12] we don't have a school named after a
[19:15] woman.
[19:16] >> I know Jenkins there was a family and
[19:19] from what I understand it was a husband
[19:21] and wife that were honoring their son.
[19:23] >> And so even though Mrs. Jenkins was
[19:26] connected to that, we don't have the
[19:28] direct naming. And so I just thought it
[19:30] was a great opportunity to name an
[19:32] important part of our town after someone
[19:35] who also contributed and we could learn
[19:37] about them. So but again I'm you know
[19:40] it's just my opinion.
[19:42] >> Well I agree I agree with everybody's
[19:45] points wholeheartedly.
[19:47] I do want to thank once again Dr. Rob
[19:49] for running the task force Mr. Lynch for
[19:52] all your contributions. obviously the
[19:55] students for their input community uh
[19:57] teachers history department everyone
[19:59] who's really um embraced this process
[20:02] and so thank you once again for that um
[20:06] I I really felt like we should make a
[20:08] concerted effort to for me originally I
[20:11] really thought that this process would
[20:12] be quite unifying and I've been struck
[20:15] by how it's been I don't want to say
[20:18] divisive that's a little harsh maybe but
[20:20] just very passionate um in in who or
[20:24] what people feel is the appropriate name
[20:28] for the school. Um but that's a a
[20:31] learning lesson for me. Um
[20:34] but through that sort of same
[20:38] thread
[20:39] I I similarly to you Maria actually when
[20:41] I was going back into the student
[20:43] research I had a quote that stuck out to
[20:45] me and it was from the student research
[20:47] and it said since the other elementary
[20:49] schools are named after certain people
[20:51] this school will have a greater
[20:52] connection to the town since it includes
[20:55] everyone and that was in one of the
[20:57] student contributions for to it. So for
[21:01] me, I just felt guided by the idea of
[21:04] including everyone in this naming. And
[21:07] then this really this quote kind of um
[21:10] embodied that for me. I also felt like
[21:12] it was really relevant that we had there
[21:15] were multiple students last year who
[21:18] submitted situ as an option. uh there
[21:21] were five student groups that had also
[21:23] thought that that was a really strong
[21:25] choice for them and made pretty um
[21:28] powerful presentations on it to so that
[21:31] was how that even situate made the
[21:33] original three um I felt like
[21:36] stakeholders really spoke
[21:39] fast and about their support for this
[21:42] name um and we had asked for community
[21:45] input we want and value that so um I
[21:48] didn't feel like there was a balanced
[21:53] sort of voice for other names like
[21:56] nothing else really rose quite to the
[21:59] top like Sichua did from community
[22:03] stakeholders. Um I didn't really receive
[22:06] any emails of support for Irwin.
[22:10] a few for Ward, maybe one or two for
[22:12] Irwin, but by far in a way I felt like
[22:14] Stituit was a community voiced
[22:18] choice
[22:20] and
[22:21] you know that was kind of what led my
[22:23] decision and ultimately going towards to
[22:26] do it. So that being said, I think um
[22:32] maybe we'll take a final vote on name if
[22:35] anyone wants to make a motion for that.
[22:39] Should
[22:42] [laughter]
[22:43] I just count another vote or no? I think
[22:45] we need to formally vote the name.
[22:47] >> You do. You have two nominees on the
[22:49] table right now. So, what you could do
[22:50] is name in alphabetical order. You can
[22:52] start with her with the number of votes
[22:54] you have and then go to take the number
[22:56] of votes you have. You already have
[22:57] >> stick with our process.
[22:59] >> We have two nominees.
[23:00] >> All right. That's okay. We'll do the
[23:02] runoff then. So, um start with Irwin.
[23:07] >> Yes. No.
[23:09] >> No.
[23:11] >> Yes.
[23:13] >> And we'll do situ.
[23:15] >> No.
[23:15] >> Yes.
[23:18] >> No.
[23:19] >> Okay.
[23:19] >> Well, situ passes three to two. So, the
[23:23] name of the new elementary school will
[23:24] be Suit Elementary.
[23:30] That's
[23:31] >> Next up, let's talk about playgrounds.
[23:34] [laughter]
[23:35] Give me a moment to share my
[23:36] >> Yes.
[23:40] Sorry. Always.
[23:49] [snorts]
[23:51] >> So, thank you, Madam Chair. Following in
[23:54] the steps of a very successful Jenkins
[23:57] playground back in 2023, we're following
[23:59] a very similar process at Watuck. So you
[24:02] might remember uh this time last year
[24:04] the Wampuck playground was actually on
[24:06] our capital list and on our capital plan
[24:09] and we took it off because I spoke to
[24:11] Mrs. Rear and we decided to follow that
[24:13] process did. So she's been working all
[24:16] year with her PTO putting together
[24:19] fundraiser putting together information
[24:21] on the playground. Um it if you're
[24:23] looking at Watuck it's the playground
[24:25] all the way to the left next to the gym.
[24:27] It's over 20 years old. It's in it's in
[24:29] rough shape. Um, and for all the reasons
[24:31] that that they have been saying all
[24:33] along, it really does need to be
[24:34] replaced. October 1st is the deadline
[24:37] for a CPC application in town. And so
[24:40] we're really hoping to use a combination
[24:42] of funding from CPC and the Watuk PTO in
[24:45] order to afford this the same that they
[24:47] did. Um, so part of the CPC application
[24:51] is looking for endorsement from the
[24:53] school committee. Um, we're not
[24:54] endorsing a price, we're not endorsing
[24:56] an amount, we're simply saying that this
[24:57] is a good idea. And then once I have
[25:00] some more information from Mrs. Rip,
[25:01] I'll come back to the committee with
[25:02] dates and times and so forth should
[25:04] anybody would like to go to the CPC
[25:06] meeting. Um, but basically the letter, I
[25:08] won't read the whole thing, but the
[25:09] letter basically says, you know, our
[25:11] current 3 to five playground is over 25
[25:13] years old. It's done a great job. Um,
[25:15] but due to heavy use, not only from the
[25:17] school, but from the community as well,
[25:19] um, it's it's time to to change it. It
[25:21] doesn't have modern safety standards.
[25:24] Um, and it's not as inclusive as normal
[25:26] newer ones are. um you know and we're putting the bullets there. Wat
[25:31] talk's commitment to accessibility,
[25:33] inclusion, building community, and
[25:35] welcoming the neighborhood. And so we'll
[25:37] be submitting this application on
[25:39] October 1st. Committee knows. So I would
[25:41] like committee's vote to endorse this
[25:43] letter. Any changes you want to make?
[25:44] Certainly, it's fine. U but this would
[25:46] allow for uh Mrs. Re to move forward
[25:48] confidently with the endorsement.
[25:51] >> Thank you, Dr. Rab.
[25:53] Any questions anyone has about the
[25:55] letter project where it stands currently
[26:02] a
[26:04] motion on the endorsement of this
[26:06] project.
[26:09] Um I will make a motion that the school
[26:12] committee vote to approve the letter of
[26:13] endorsement for the Mont Elementary
[26:16] School playground.
[26:19] Second.
[26:21] >> All right. All in favor? I
[26:24] >> thank you very much.
[26:27] >> Playground to the other on the other
[26:29] side that was also CPC.
[26:31] >> Yeah.
[26:32] >> Okay. 2019 I think
[26:34] >> long ago but
[26:37] we have a great tradition of CPC support
[26:39] for our playgrounds 19 2023 Jenkins.
[26:42] >> Yeah,
[26:45] >> that's great. Um all right, let's go to
[26:48] the report of the superintendent. Dr.
[26:50] Rob,
[26:51] >> thank you very much. If you did in a
[26:53] moment, just to share my screen, I'd
[26:56] like to show the committee a new format
[26:58] for these superintendent updates and and
[27:00] Mr. Lynch and I are going to be
[27:01] following this uh format moving forward
[27:05] for a number of reasons and I'll I'll
[27:06] explain in one second as soon as you get
[27:08] to see.
[27:11] So
[27:12] basically what we're going to do because
[27:14] I do this superintendent update every
[27:16] meeting and it's on the agenda. We
[27:18] thought that it made sense to make it an
[27:21] archive. So this will be the first slide
[27:23] of the entire year. And so this way, you
[27:25] know, I'm always trying to go back and
[27:26] look at what's being said at prior
[27:28] meetings. This will keep everything in
[27:29] one place. And so we're going to have
[27:32] this as kind of a running slide deck and
[27:34] then um it will be an opportunity to
[27:36] make sure that we can always go back
[27:37] throughout the year. Um, so I'm gonna
[27:40] I'm also going to invite um Mr. Payne,
[27:43] our athletic director, to join me at the
[27:45] table. We're going to be talking about
[27:46] the athletic correction corrective
[27:48] action plan and the latest update there.
[27:57] Okay.
[27:59] So, as the committee is aware, we've had
[28:02] three prior meetings on the athletic not
[28:05] only the title N audit, but the action
[28:07] plan. And I thought for the sake of
[28:09] making things a little bit easier, I'd
[28:11] put all of the documents in one place.
[28:14] So on this slide, we have the audit
[28:16] itself, which I'm not going to go
[28:17] through, but the audit that was
[28:18] presented on June 1st, um the draft
[28:21] action plan, the verbal one that was
[28:23] presented on the 15th, and then the
[28:24] slides that Mr. Payne presented on
[28:26] August 17th.
[28:28] What was missing from that and what I
[28:30] committed to at our last meeting was a
[28:32] timeline of exactly what we were going
[28:35] to be able to do.
[28:37] And I'm looking at it on my share this
[28:41] tab instead. There we go.
[28:44] I apologize this is a little bit small.
[28:46] Um but it is in your uh packets so you
[28:49] can take a look at it. So what we did is
[28:51] we sat down and we took the action plan.
[28:54] We took Mr. Payne's slide deck and we
[28:57] basically broke it down into
[28:59] deliverables over 50 different
[29:01] deliverables that deliverables that we
[29:03] needed to do during the year. Some of
[29:05] these, very few of them are done, others
[29:07] we need to commit with. And then I also
[29:09] wanted to make sure there was a timeline
[29:11] so that the committee was aware of, you
[29:13] know, when these things were going to
[29:14] happen because we can't do it all at
[29:16] once, but I certainly want the committee
[29:18] and the community to be aware that we're
[29:19] taking aggressive action. So, you know,
[29:22] I I won't read them all, but and this
[29:24] will be online. It's actually online
[29:25] now, so anybody can take a look at this
[29:27] if they'd like to. Um, but it's
[29:29] everything that Mr. Payne talked about
[29:31] on August 17th. Um, so you know, we
[29:34] already have a policy on adding a team.
[29:36] I put it here. As we begin to do these
[29:40] things, as we begin to meet all these
[29:42] deliverables, I'm going to use this as
[29:44] kind of a document where we put all of
[29:46] these things. Um, once the athletics
[29:49] council um is formed and working on
[29:52] forming it right now, um, we will use
[29:55] them to look at some of these documents
[29:57] before they're vetted, or they're put on
[29:58] here. Um, we're really excited actually
[30:01] to have I won't I can jump there just
[30:03] because we have 10 parents interested so
[30:05] far in the council. We put a notice out
[30:07] last week and we had 10 parents
[30:08] interested. Um, so we're really excited
[30:10] about that. So we'll be able to narrow
[30:11] that down to four. Um, really hoping to
[30:13] narrow it down to two women and two men.
[30:14] So we have representation on that on
[30:16] that committee. Um, so basically here it
[30:19] is. You know, this is everything we've
[30:20] talked about making sure that we review
[30:22] the five-year uniform cycle. We have
[30:24] one, but we want to make sure it's
[30:25] current. We want to make sure it's
[30:26] robust. Um, we want a review of the
[30:29] document, publish the document. We want
[30:31] students involved in uniforms. Um, you
[30:34] know, we want to, some of these things
[30:36] we've already done, expanding the girls
[30:37] golf schedule. We did that. We made sure
[30:39] that they had the same number of matches
[30:41] this past spring as the boys did. Um, I
[30:44] want to make sure that we continue some
[30:46] of these things. So, establish prime
[30:47] time plan for varsity events. We just
[30:49] had girls soccer at six o'clock last
[30:51] week. Um, we're trying to do more prime
[30:54] court events. And while that's checked
[30:55] off, there's constant oversight for that
[30:57] and making sure that we continue to do
[30:59] that. Um, today we put out all the
[31:02] practice schedules on parent square to
[31:04] try to help parents understand some of
[31:05] the practice schedules. Um, it's just
[31:07] helpful information to have and I think
[31:08] sometimes, you know, we forget that, you
[31:11] know, it's hard to keep track of all the
[31:12] different schedules. So, we put it out
[31:14] there so people could have it. Um, we
[31:16] want to make sure we review JV and
[31:19] freshman schedules for equity and
[31:20] alignment with other schools. make sure
[31:22] that, you know, our freshman schedules
[31:23] at all our sports is compatible with other schools. Um, and everything
[31:28] on here. So, all 11 goals are listed
[31:30] here. Um, you know, we're going to be
[31:32] starting to work on a coach's handbook.
[31:34] I think we brought up at the last
[31:35] meeting that that's something that
[31:36] really needs to be updated. Um, broaden
[31:39] our job posting next networks. Um,
[31:43] expand girls volunteers. I'm not reading
[31:46] every single one of these. Um, the
[31:47] trainer worked really hard on a taping
[31:49] and treatment schedule this year. Um,
[31:52] you know, we are going to be looking at
[31:53] our FY28 budget and one of the things
[31:56] that we're going to be looking at that
[31:57] is if we can do the strength and
[31:59] conditioning over the summer on the
[32:01] schools and not make that a burden on
[32:02] parents. So, um, budget, you know, if
[32:05] the budget can handle it, that's one
[32:06] thing that we're certainly looking into
[32:08] seriously. Um so what I think this
[32:11] document does is it provides the
[32:14] assurance to the committee and the
[32:15] community um that we are taking each of
[32:18] those areas and making sure there's a
[32:20] deliverable on those and that over the
[32:22] course of the year we'll make sure we
[32:24] have them. So if you look at this plan
[32:26] along the top it's basically roughly
[32:28] every every week. Um and then the
[32:31] shading has to do with the season. So
[32:32] the lighter shade is the fall, the
[32:34] middle is the winter, and then the
[32:36] darker shade is the spring for no other
[32:37] reason that that just is what the
[32:38] athletic schedule is. Um, so you'll see
[32:42] everything here. Um, and then one of the
[32:45] things that I want to announce this
[32:46] evening, we'll be sending more
[32:47] information out very soon, is that we're
[32:50] scheduling a booster night for Tuesday,
[32:52] September 29th. It's going to be in the
[32:54] middle school um at the Gates Commons
[32:56] because there's something going on in
[32:57] the pack that evening. So, we're going
[32:59] to have have it in the gates comments an
[33:01] opportunity for all schools sports
[33:03] boosters um presidents and treasurers
[33:05] and anybody involved to come learn about
[33:07] what it is to be a 5013C, what it is to
[33:09] properly um you know be a boosters club,
[33:12] get involved. We want to talk. A lot of
[33:14] discussions came up in our last meeting
[33:17] about, you know, are we interested in a
[33:19] townwide boosters or schoolwide boosters
[33:21] club? Are we interested in putting some
[33:22] sports together? Let's talk about it.
[33:24] Let's talk about all of those things.
[33:25] Let's talk about what the opportunities
[33:27] are. Let's talk about what we're looking
[33:28] for for compliance with policy KCD for
[33:31] donations. Make sure that we understand
[33:34] all of that. So really want to engage
[33:36] the boosters. We appreciate all the hard
[33:38] work that they do for the students and
[33:39] the school, but we want to engage them.
[33:41] We want to celebrate what they do. I
[33:43] think sometimes people think this is a
[33:44] lot about compliance and they have to
[33:46] say, well, these are our expenses and so
[33:48] forth. It's really about celebrating the
[33:50] work that just does and making sure that
[33:52] there's equity across all sports. And so
[33:55] everything is here. Um, and I wanted to
[33:57] show the committee, this is kind of the
[33:58] last piece of our putting together the
[34:00] project and now we'll really be running
[34:02] the project and running a corrective
[34:03] action plan moving forward. What the
[34:05] committee can expect moving forward is a
[34:07] standing agenda item where I'll let the
[34:09] committee know kind of where we're at
[34:10] each of these.
[34:12] Uh, Mr. P, I'll give you an opportunity
[34:14] to say a few words if you'd like.
[34:16] >> So, um, based on the start of the school
[34:19] year and whatnot and how busy it is for
[34:21] everyone, uh, Dr. um um the rest of the
[34:24] administration haven't honestly had a
[34:26] lot of time to spend together. Uh now
[34:28] that we're kind of in in a groove and
[34:31] things are up and rolling um myself and
[34:34] Chris and the administrative team will
[34:36] be able to spend more time focusing on
[34:39] the immediate goals that um need to get
[34:42] done sooner than the goals that will uh
[34:45] take really a whole school year to
[34:47] accomplish. Um we have made progress uh
[34:51] with the athletic council. The council
[34:53] is set with the exception of the four
[34:55] parent volunteers. We have the four
[34:57] coaches, four students, uh two school
[35:00] committee members, Jen Lopes, um Lisa
[35:04] Kirk and myself. So it will be a 17
[35:07] member committee. Um our schedule of
[35:09] meetings is is already out. So uh we
[35:13] have made progress but still obviously a
[35:15] lot of work to do. Um,
[35:17] and I I just would like to say that uh
[35:20] this fall we have 425 student athletes
[35:26] which in my tenure is by far the highest
[35:28] uh number of student athletes we've had.
[35:30] Previously the high number was 381. So
[35:33] uh you know things things you know
[35:35] participation wise look really good. We
[35:38] actually feel are fielding three field
[35:41] hockey teams, three girls soccer teams.
[35:44] We've never done both at the same time
[35:46] before. It's either been one or the
[35:47] other. And believe it or not, we have
[35:50] four volleyball teams. We had over 30
[35:53] freshmen come out for volleyball. And we
[35:56] typically keep 15 14 players on a team.
[36:00] So in lie of cutting half of the
[36:02] freshman that came out, we decided to
[36:05] split them in half and have a blue and
[36:06] white freshman team. Added a couple of
[36:10] extra games so that they'll each get 12
[36:12] matches. Um, so 24 fresh freshman
[36:15] matches, but being able to keep all of
[36:18] those girls we thought was important. We
[36:20] didn't want their first experience in
[36:22] high school to be getting cut from the
[36:24] fresher volleyball team. So, um,
[36:26] significant work for the coaches, but it
[36:28] it's it's manageable and it's happening
[36:31] right now. So, um,
[36:35] have a lot of night games scheduled. Uh
[36:38] there's a field hockey game taking place
[36:40] right now. Uh which is a 6 pm start. So
[36:44] girls soccer has four night games. Field
[36:47] hockey we're trying to get to
[36:48] [clears throat] a fourth and boy soccer
[36:50] has three. So um and we we did have we
[36:54] have a nice crowd out there tonight for
[36:56] field hockey game. So that's good. We
[36:58] had a really good crowd for the first
[37:00] night girls soccer game. So
[37:05] things seem to be going well from my
[37:06] perspective. guys would like to ask any
[37:09] questions or make any comments.
[37:13] >> Thank you.
[37:15] >> Question.
[37:16] >> Um I have a question about the boosters
[37:17] meeting. Is that kind of like a um not
[37:21] just you're having it like in next week?
[37:24] >> Two or three weeks between
[37:25] >> and is that for just the fall boosters
[37:28] or all boosters? And it and is it like
[37:30] kind of mandatory?
[37:32] >> I'm gonna say that. I mean, it's hard to
[37:34] mandate anything with adults, but I'm
[37:36] gonna I'm gonna say this is your
[37:37] opportunity. There's been a lot, I
[37:39] think, of misinformation out there about
[37:41] what parent what just what I'm looking
[37:42] for, what the policy is, and so I want
[37:45] to be able to be really clear with
[37:46] everybody. So, I'm going to invite um
[37:48] everybody fall, winter, and spring um
[37:51] and whoever is in place. Um I would
[37:53] anticipate probably having to do it
[37:55] again in the winter time, but I am going
[37:57] to say um yeah, we want to get as many
[37:59] people as we can.
[38:00] >> I think Yeah, because I think it'd be
[38:01] helpful for everybody to hear the same
[38:03] thing. at the same time. So,
[38:06] >> it's all important information.
[38:07] >> I mean, I also wonder to your point
[38:09] about mandating, I mean, if there are
[38:11] key stakeholders among the boosters, I
[38:14] don't know that we want them leading or
[38:17] managing boosters if they're not willing
[38:19] to come to these meetings. So, I don't
[38:21] know who those people are and if those
[38:22] exist, but like maybe you can't mandate
[38:24] that every participant, but maybe
[38:26] there's some people that are doing some
[38:28] really important stuff that need to be
[38:30] at those meetings.
[38:33] One of the hard things in managing the
[38:36] boosters groups is is their leadership
[38:38] changes every year. Yeah.
[38:40] >> So, you're working with a new group of
[38:43] parents basically on a yearly basis.
[38:45] >> Yeah. All the more reason for them to
[38:47] have training and and I'm not saying
[38:49] that you have to take that on, but I
[38:51] know in the PTO's and the school
[38:54] councils and even in school committee,
[38:56] we create secession plans. And so like
[38:59] there's nothing saying that like the
[39:00] folks who went through the training
[39:02] couldn't identify people towards the
[39:03] end, right? Like and I know sometimes
[39:05] the pe the maybe the freshman parents
[39:07] get involved so they're brand new but I
[39:09] think thinking about what that secession
[39:11] plan to me that makes it even more
[39:14] important if we're having so much
[39:15] turnover.
[39:16] >> Thank you for saying that and actually
[39:18] you reminded me I'm really going to
[39:19] focus I thought a lot about the 29th.
[39:21] I'm focusing this one on sports
[39:23] boosters, but I'm also going to be
[39:24] offering opportunities for the PTOs and
[39:26] the other organizations that work with
[39:28] us like Shore, different places. I I do
[39:31] want to speak to them as well,
[39:32] >> but I thought putting everybody together
[39:34] in one, the interests are different.
[39:36] >> Yeah.
[39:37] >> And so I think it it's worth our time to
[39:39] have some different groups and different
[39:42] >> I'll be doing that in the near future.
[39:44] I guess my main comment I mean I
[39:47] appreciate you can see the alignment of
[39:49] the items with what Mr. Payne presented.
[39:53] So I appreciate that. I think my
[39:56] wonder and worry is there are things
[39:59] that I've heard from parents and
[40:01] students that are going on around
[40:03] culture that are a little from a data
[40:06] standpoint they're very qualitative and
[40:08] squishy. And so I think that it's going
[40:12] to be really important and I just want
[40:13] to name in this meeting that whatever
[40:15] comes out of that interest survey I
[40:18] think is going to also determine some of
[40:21] the work because I really do think it
[40:23] would be really important to think about
[40:26] some culture metrics. Um and I know
[40:29] people think oh culture it's you can
[40:31] measure it. Um, and there's lots of
[40:33] literature on ways to measure it. And so
[40:35] thinking about it from like a athletic
[40:37] context and it's like language,
[40:40] treatment, belonging, right? Like all of
[40:42] these things um I think needs to be in
[40:45] here somewhere. Um the other thing I'm
[40:47] wondering about is
[40:50] um around coaches. I see that's a coach
[40:53] handbook. That's great. I love the idea
[40:55] of the performance evaluation similar to
[40:57] the boosters. I don't I don't know. I
[41:00] apologize Mr. if this exists like is
[41:02] there some onboarding orientation
[41:04] training that happens for coaches and if
[41:07] so does this talk about like sort of the
[41:11] metrics that will then show up on the
[41:13] evaluation right like completing that
[41:15] loop so to speak I just don't see any
[41:17] mention of that so I don't know if
[41:18] that's because it exists already just
[41:21] want to see that connection in all
[41:23] fairness to the evaluation process
[41:26] >> so to answer that question perfectly
[41:29] honestly no Okay.
[41:31] >> No, it that it does not exist. It it's
[41:35] the hiring of the coach and then a
[41:38] conversation between the coach and
[41:40] myself basically when the season starts.
[41:43] Um, so we we can need to take a serious
[41:47] look at that because you're 100%
[41:49] correct. How do you tie that
[41:51] how do you tie what your expectations
[41:53] are, what not of the coach into a
[41:56] postseason evaluation?
[41:57] >> Yeah. when really it's just based on a
[42:00] conversation when the coach is hired.
[42:02] >> Yeah. And I actually this week um I
[42:05] happen to bump into it um I found a
[42:08] couple of great articles I can send them
[42:09] to you Tom about coaching quality and
[42:11] how to think about attributes of coaches
[42:13] in like the high school level. I sent it
[42:16] I think I sent it to you. Um so it might
[42:19] be something useful to look at these
[42:21] organizations that are doing research on
[42:23] it.
[42:24] Yeah, there were some great points in
[42:25] that article to incorporate what to
[42:28] incorporate into a training like who
[42:30] could maybe be a presenter at a training
[42:32] from a mental health standpoint like
[42:34] just
[42:35] >> and I think the other thing the other
[42:37] thing that I thought was really
[42:39] >> interesting I mean I was a a college
[42:41] athlete so it made sense but I think we
[42:43] talked so much about how teachers are
[42:46] like paramount to the students
[42:48] experience this article and other
[42:50] articles describe the importance of a
[42:52] coach right to these athletes and so the
[42:55] more we can support these coaches the
[42:59] more impact we can have on our so in
[43:01] other words Mr. Payne like there's no
[43:03] expectation that you are wholly
[43:05] responsible for this Dr. Rob is not
[43:07] wholly responsible. So the more we can
[43:09] prepare our coaches just like we do when
[43:12] we think about teachers, right?
[43:13] Principles to teachers, you can have
[43:16] lots of cascading effect if our coaches
[43:18] are high quality and prepared.
[43:21] >> Agreed.
[43:22] >> That was not that this is about the
[43:23] article, but that was my one of my
[43:26] takeaways from that too was if we're not
[43:28] preparing coaches, it's a missed
[43:29] opportunity for those connections that
[43:31] could exist.
[43:31] >> We would never think about not preparing
[43:33] our teachers. So like anybody who's
[43:36] having that kind of face tof face time
[43:38] with a student um deserves that support.
[43:41] >> No, thank you very much. I I think
[43:43] that's a lot of the work of not the work
[43:45] but some of the work of the athletics
[43:46] council will be to help us write the
[43:48] survey, help us look at the survey, help
[43:50] us look at what we need to do
[43:51] differently. We're really hoping for
[43:53] that. But similar to how a school
[43:54] council advises the principal, this
[43:56] athletics council advises the ad. And I
[43:58] think that's really the spirit of it. So
[44:00] I think we'll we'll get there. And I
[44:02] intend to um update this so as we do
[44:04] more. We say living document all the
[44:07] time, but this is real. This is, you
[44:09] know, if we make a commitment, I'm going
[44:10] to add it to this, you know, not only to
[44:12] make sure it gets done, but just to make
[44:13] sure that people understand that we're updating it and making it.
[44:18] >> I just I have two comments because I'm
[44:20] thinking a lot about culture as well
[44:22] right now and I actually heard both of
[44:23] you make comments that I was so excited
[44:25] to hear because they were reflective of
[44:27] culture and how you're thinking about it. Um and one Dr. when you
[44:31] mentioned boosters night and that's
[44:33] really an opportunity to celebrate what
[44:35] they do and to make sure that there's
[44:37] equity across sports, right? Like that's
[44:39] a reflection of how you were thinking of
[44:42] informing culture. And then you, Mr.
[44:43] Payne, I love the example that you gave
[44:45] about more than 30 freshmen turning up
[44:48] for volleyball and that you and the
[44:50] coaches didn't want their first
[44:51] experience to be a cut and so you found
[44:54] you thought of a creative solution to
[44:56] accommodate all of the girls. And so I I loved hearing both of those examples.
[45:00] And so I hear culture in this. And I'm
[45:02] wondering um and this is more me
[45:04] thinking out loud than asking an
[45:05] explicit question, but with all the
[45:07] tactics that you've put together,
[45:10] where do you see culture most
[45:12] prominently represented here? Because
[45:14] I'm sure it is here, right? Um and that
[45:16] again maybe isn't an explicit question
[45:19] tonight unless you have a response, but
[45:21] it's something that I was thinking about
[45:22] as I was looking through the tactics.
[45:24] So, so, um, I've met with, uh, all of
[45:28] our captains groups prior to the start
[45:30] of the season with the exception of
[45:32] cross country is they've just actually
[45:34] >> put their captains in place last week.
[45:37] And the purpose of the meeting was to um
[45:41] kind of tie it into everything that's
[45:43] been going on with the athletic
[45:44] department. And me explaining to the
[45:47] captains that um
[45:50] culture is where I and the department
[45:54] have fallen short over the past few
[45:56] years. And one of my main goals this
[46:00] year is to improve the culture of
[46:02] athletics at Citrate High School. And in
[46:05] doing so, we're going to form an
[46:06] athletics council and whatnot. But my my
[46:09] point being to the captains was that if
[46:13] there's not strong communication between
[46:16] you and I or
[46:18] you and the administrative team or
[46:21] whatnot, we may not realize where we're
[46:24] falling short. And I said to them, I
[46:26] said, "I need you to be as honest as
[46:28] possible." I said, "You can't be afraid
[46:30] to tell me the truth. you can't be
[46:32] afraid to hurt my feelings because
[46:36] I can't fix what I don't know isn't
[46:40] working. So, I really tried to stress
[46:42] upon them that, you know, communication
[46:44] was going to be key. I'd be meeting with
[46:46] them on a monthly basis during wind
[46:48] block. Um, so three or four times during
[46:51] the season. Um, and you know, I asked
[46:54] them, you need to, you know,
[46:57] speak with your teammates, talk with
[46:58] your teammates. You know, I need I need
[47:00] the feedback. I need the information.
[47:03] Um, and switching gears here quickly,
[47:05] just sitting with um, Miss Kirk one one
[47:08] day discussing what our first agenda
[47:11] would look like for the um, athletic
[47:13] council. Our primary topic was how do we
[47:17] develop a metric to measure culture. So
[47:19] we already knew that this we need to
[47:22] establish this because
[47:25] you know hopefully that that group of
[47:27] people the comp like you said from the
[47:29] items that were in that article there
[47:31] are some very you know concrete ways to
[47:35] measure culture and I think we need to
[47:38] develop those metrics to kind of form
[47:41] the basis of what the council will be
[47:43] doing moving forward. So
[47:47] >> thank you. I appreciated your thought
[47:49] process around that. So, thank you for
[47:50] sharing.
[47:52] >> I couldn't have said it better than
[47:54] that. [laughter] But I think it's
[47:55] embedded throughout even something as
[47:56] simple as picking uniforms, you know,
[47:58] having the captains and involved picking
[48:01] uniforms just helps them understand it
[48:02] all that choice.
[48:05] >> They'll be blue, of course. [laughter]
[48:08] So just we we are ordering new girls
[48:10] basketball uniforms and we had three
[48:12] girls in the office the other day and we
[48:14] had samples
[48:16] >> uh three girls three different types of
[48:18] uniforms wanted [laughter]
[48:21] >> that's the input we look
[48:24] >> so more to come but I think this is a
[48:26] maybe step forward in terms of our
[48:27] planning and really getting concrete
[48:31] >> yeah and presumably through the
[48:32] athletics council if there were other
[48:34] things to be added here that's the
[48:37] channel that you would want this to
[48:38] come.
[48:41] >> Understood.
[48:43] >> Okay.
[48:45] Move on to our support of the minute.
[48:48] Thank you, Mr. P.
[48:51] Turn it over to Mr. Lynch.
[48:56] » Thank you.
[48:58] Uh similar to Dr. Rev, this is a format
[49:01] of just sharing academic progress. So
[49:04] this will be slide deck we used uh for
[49:07] the year. Um so
[49:10] quick update on uh academic progress uh
[49:13] here in our uh our third week. So we're
[49:17] um want to highlight three major points
[49:19] that uh this year we're really and in
[49:22] the past year we're focusing on
[49:24] researchbased instructional strategies.
[49:26] So, of course, you have uh the
[49:28] curriculum and standards that you teach,
[49:30] the what, but we're really also focused
[49:32] on how. So, what are the researchbased
[49:35] strategies that prove um effective and
[49:38] ensuring that students are growing and
[49:39] learning? So, uh over the course of last
[49:44] year, all evaluators took a course
[49:46] called analyzing teaching for um student
[49:49] results, which is very focused on what
[49:52] are the practices of effective
[49:54] evaluation.
[49:55] And so, um, the
[49:59] observation team and our, um, our
[50:01] leadership team, department chairs,
[50:03] curriculum coordinators, assistant
[50:04] principles, and principles really spent
[50:07] seven full days last year, um,
[50:10] developing those skills and and
[50:14] honing in on objectives, criteria for
[50:18] success, formative assessment, and
[50:19] feedback. And so we began our planning
[50:22] in the spring to think about how do we
[50:24] emphasize these strategies with staff.
[50:28] So from the district kickoff um which I
[50:31] know committee members attended, Dr. Rab
[50:34] talked about these four um foundational
[50:37] instructional strategies.
[50:39] Uh last week at our uh 6 through 12 uh
[50:43] combined staff meeting on September 8th
[50:45] um our principles and department chairs
[50:48] uh facilitated discussions that focuses
[50:50] on these four areas. Staff were asked to
[50:53] think about um their own strengths with
[50:56] many of these skills and um identify
[50:59] where they could share their strengths
[51:02] with other others and where maybe they
[51:03] need um some more support themselves.
[51:07] our elementary uh staff had a very
[51:09] similar presentation um on September
[51:13] 10th at their Thursday elementary um
[51:16] staff meeting. So, we really feel like
[51:18] we're moving together consistently as a
[51:21] district. Um we provided
[51:24] um this
[51:26] graphic just to um
[51:30] provide a little bit more detail about
[51:31] the four strategies, but I introduced
[51:34] this with you because I think over the
[51:35] course of the year, this is the these
[51:37] are the four areas we're um focused on
[51:41] as um as teachers and staff. And so uh
[51:45] we're excited to keep this u momentum
[51:47] going.
[51:54] I also would want to mention that um we
[51:58] had 26 educators sign up for four days
[52:02] of professional development this summer
[52:04] that focused on these strategies that
[52:06] was the studying skillful teaching
[52:09] course. And so
[52:11] teachers came in for these four days. We
[52:15] were we were excited to see many of our
[52:18] um teachers with less experience
[52:20] participate in this foundational class.
[52:22] But then also we had a very good mix of
[52:24] um teachers with more experience who are
[52:26] looking for sort of like a maybe a
[52:29] booster as well as um our two teachers
[52:32] that run the mentoring program. So I
[52:34] think we're seeing some really good
[52:36] energy and focus um both from leadership
[52:38] and from our teachers who do the leading
[52:41] in the classroom
[52:44] for academic progress. Just to share
[52:46] about uh benchmarking. So of course
[52:49] we're continuing our work to monitor
[52:50] student progress. We benchmark three
[52:52] times per year. We have a schedule
[52:54] that's already laid out in grades two
[52:55] through 10. Um, I will be sharing uh the
[53:00] MCCAST results and official
[53:01] accountability data. Um, it's released
[53:04] by the state on September 22nd and we
[53:07] will do our MCCAST and accountability
[53:09] presentation for the public in the
[53:11] committee on the 19th.
[53:15] And we're also continuing um to uh move
[53:18] forward with our curriculum management
[53:20] plan and cycle. So, it seems like just
[53:23] recently we shared that at school
[53:25] committee. Now we're on to the third um
[53:27] year of that. So um this year ELA 6
[53:31] through2 is implementing um its
[53:34] professional development in line with
[53:36] the curriculum adoption cycle. They've
[53:39] um been involved in formal adolescent
[53:42] literacy
[53:43] course uh through Hilford literacy. Um
[53:47] they're also doing professional
[53:48] development writing on November 3rd.
[53:51] uh we're implementing amplify science in grades K through five um
[53:57] offering professional development on
[53:58] that for teachers on November 3rd.
[54:01] So those are the groups that are
[54:02] implementing this year. We also have
[54:04] review cycles uh happening for
[54:08] element for
[54:10] English language arts in PK through
[54:13] five. So that committee continues to um
[54:16] do really good work to identify our next
[54:18] program after my view and world language
[54:23] and school counseling are in the review
[54:25] stage when they're thinking about how
[54:27] are our programs working and what
[54:29] additional resources professional
[54:31] development and assessments might our
[54:34] counseling staff and or language staff
[54:36] need. So, very exciting time of year,
[54:39] lots of things planned out and I look
[54:42] forward to continuing to update the
[54:44] committee and the public on our
[54:46] progress.
[54:48] >> Thank you.
[55:01] >> Great.
[55:05] our business and finance
[55:08] >> budget reconciliation.
[55:10] >> So, for some reason when I clicked on
[55:12] the um
[55:15] what should have been my
[55:17] appendix doesn't show up.
[55:20] >> So, if they want to make me a co-host or
[55:23] >> I can Tom's gonna call it up for me.
[55:27] >> Yeah,
[55:28] >> it's in the back.
[55:29] >> Yeah, we can see it.
[55:31] >> Okay.
[55:32] Project. Yeah.
[55:35] part of it's a it's a link on our agenda
[55:37] for anyone who needs or wants to access
[55:39] that
[55:40] >> if you want to start.
[55:42] >> Okay.
[55:42] >> Oh, you can get
[55:43] >> so I can see the letters. There's not a
[55:46] b place.
[55:48] >> Oh, yeah. Search for
[55:52] >> the attachments. I see what you're
[55:54] saying. But I think after the meeting
[55:55] they're available
[55:56] >> after.
[55:58] >> I'll do my best to
[56:00] >> Okay. So, I have on getting that to show
[56:03] on the screen.
[56:06] >> Yeah. I don't know what why it
[56:07] disappeared. It existed. Sarah will
[56:09] attest to that. It
[56:10] >> doesn't see
[56:13] as as we do every year. The business
[56:16] office
[56:17] um you know after June 30th works with
[56:20] town hall to close out the year, make
[56:23] sure that we have not overspent our
[56:25] budget because that's like a big no no.
[56:28] like to make sure that does not happen.
[56:30] And we succeeded and in fact we actually
[56:34] are returning to the town $5,87.
[56:39] We prefer it to be zero but uh with the
[56:43] number of things that change at the end
[56:45] of the year. Sometimes we get credits.
[56:47] Sometimes POS end up cancelled and
[56:50] various incendry things. So $5,87
[56:54] returned back to the town. If you look
[56:57] at the numbers, oh, thank you. Uh,
[56:59] Tommy's got the the chart up there.
[57:01] [snorts] Uh, it we had a budget of 48,
[57:06] million635,587.
[57:10] Those amendments and transfers fall into
[57:13] two categories.
[57:15] uh 124,000 and I'm using round numbers
[57:20] was additional money that came in, you
[57:23] know, from the state and that was from
[57:25] the uh you know millionaires
[57:26] billionaires, you know, fair share tax
[57:30] and the town at town meeting in the fall
[57:33] voted to turn $124,000
[57:36] of that over to the schools to augment
[57:39] our budget. And then the other 170,000
[57:44] was carry forward incumbrances. So
[57:47] things that we had ordered in FY25
[57:51] that didn't come in yet, but we still
[57:54] had the money allocated for them. The
[57:57] vast majority of that was spent. About
[57:59] 156,000 out of the 170 did in fact show
[58:02] up like it was supposed to. The other
[58:04] 14,000 did not. Okay? And that that's
[58:08] about typical for most of these. So our
[58:11] budget was augmented by 294,672.
[58:16] You can see our final budget there. And
[58:18] then of course our final expenses. We
[58:20] spent 48,924,871.
[58:26] Now I do want to add that this is
[58:29] strictly
[58:30] the town budget. Okay? This does not
[58:34] include why we present an all funds
[58:36] budget to you. Okay? This is looking
[58:39] strictly at the money that came from the
[58:42] town and you know on the town's ledgers
[58:44] in one form or another. Uh and you'll
[58:47] again you'll see the difference of 5,87
[58:49] between those two numbers. It was a
[58:52] challenging year to say the least. Uh we
[58:55] had a fair number of changes um which
[58:59] some of which resulted in my being here
[59:01] at the uh administrative level and the
[59:05] price of gasoline and diesel kept going
[59:08] up and up and up directly affecting our
[59:13] transportation budget and that affects
[59:16] not only daily transportation you know
[59:18] for all students but also our metco
[59:21] transportation our field trips our
[59:23] athletics etc. ETA and got reflected in
[59:27] some other pricing, you know, certainly
[59:30] for our food and in particular, of
[59:32] course, the heating of our buildings.
[59:34] Uh, interestingly, we didn't go too far
[59:37] over. In fact, we came pretty close on
[59:40] our overall electric, but heating was
[59:43] another story. Now, what this does is
[59:45] tell us these are things we're going to
[59:47] have to be watching very carefully this
[59:49] year and try to make some plans for
[59:51] going forward. At one time, and we still
[59:54] do, we had a contract that locked in an
[59:57] electric rate, which is part of why we
[59:59] did as well as we did. However, there
[1:00:01] was quote an escape clause. If the price
[1:00:04] went up enough, they were allowed to
[1:00:08] raise our price. Again, not necessarily
[1:00:11] to curtain market if we were starting
[1:00:13] over, but you know, and you don't think
[1:00:16] about that. And when the price goes up
[1:00:17] and nothing changes, you thank God we
[1:00:19] did that. and all of a sudden it went up
[1:00:20] so much that we were like, "Oh man, they
[1:00:22] finally, you know, we finally had to
[1:00:25] take that hit." So again, very, very
[1:00:28] challenging year, but we made it. We
[1:00:31] made it. And one of the things that
[1:00:33] really helped why we didn't have to come
[1:00:36] to you partway through the year and say,
[1:00:37] "Oh my god, we're running out of money
[1:00:39] and you know, the sky is falling." Uh,
[1:00:41] was for for several years, the district
[1:00:43] has done a great job of being a good
[1:00:45] steward of the circuit breaker funds.
[1:00:48] Uh, and you're only allowed, first of
[1:00:50] all, they have to be used for special
[1:00:52] education expenses. They are earmarked.
[1:00:54] You can't do anything else with them.
[1:00:56] You also can't accumulate them. You
[1:00:58] can't keep sucking them away and, you
[1:00:59] know, come up with $10 million worth of
[1:01:01] circuit breaker. So, you do have to
[1:01:04] spend them. You're only allowed to keep
[1:01:05] as much in that account as equals one
[1:01:08] year, the most previous year of
[1:01:10] receipts. Um, but we've done that and so
[1:01:15] we had that money there and we were able
[1:01:17] to make sure that we used those funds
[1:01:20] to cover a lot of our special ed funds,
[1:01:23] you know, expenses. By doing that, the
[1:01:27] funds that had been originally allocated
[1:01:29] from the general fund portion versus
[1:01:32] that revolving fund called circuit
[1:01:34] breaker was able to be reallocated, you
[1:01:37] know, to some of the other expenses.
[1:01:39] again allowing us to end the year where
[1:01:42] we needed to be which was above zero
[1:01:45] close to zero.
[1:01:47] >> Thank you for thatation. That's helpful.
[1:01:52] Any other questions about
[1:01:55] FY26 budget reconciliation?
[1:02:01] » No vote necessary. So continue
[1:02:03] discussion
[1:02:05] of these donations.
[1:02:08] Okay. And then the next thing we're
[1:02:10] going to talk about is donations. Um,
[1:02:13] everybody's I don't say favorite topic,
[1:02:15] but certainly a um a fun topic. And I
[1:02:19] just had it up here and I don't know
[1:02:21] what I know it's here. Okay. So, if you
[1:02:24] look at the agenda, it lists several
[1:02:26] donations. We actually have a couple
[1:02:28] more than that. And so what I'm going to
[1:02:31] do is let's definitely take the ones
[1:02:32] that are on the agenda which I'll talk
[1:02:34] about and I'll let you know that the
[1:02:36] next meeting you may recall from last
[1:02:40] year I had started a spreadsheet. So we
[1:02:43] will do a continuous monitoring of
[1:02:46] donations that come in and so I will
[1:02:48] have that updated for you and it will
[1:02:51] include not only the donations you're
[1:02:53] seeing tonight but a couple of others.
[1:02:55] Um and so we'll we'll be caught up to
[1:02:57] date and that it's ongoing.
[1:03:00] Um you know we sometimes kind of joke
[1:03:02] you know situate where the money seems
[1:03:04] to you know come down you know from from
[1:03:06] the heavens for us. Um, so
[1:03:11] one of the donations you have not yet
[1:03:12] heard about, uh, I do not have an
[1:03:14] amount, but we had a resident by the
[1:03:17] name of Richard Bonano donate a large
[1:03:20] number of items to Wampuck, and he gave
[1:03:23] them wipes, paper towels, copy paper,
[1:03:27] crayons, construction paper, markers,
[1:03:29] stickers, glue sticks, and colored
[1:03:31] pencils. So we thank him very much for
[1:03:34] that.
[1:03:35] >> That was that was lovely.
[1:03:38] um something that actually happened last
[1:03:40] June, but it's getting um presented as
[1:03:43] an FY27 donation because of when it
[1:03:46] occurred and when it's being accounted
[1:03:47] for, which happened after June 30th, uh
[1:03:51] was from the Situate Education
[1:03:53] Foundation and they gave us $4,130.
[1:03:58] Uh and that was earmarked for the uh
[1:04:01] METCO Junth program for next June for
[1:04:05] June 2027.
[1:04:07] Um the METCO band Olympics program. Um
[1:04:11] the sped garden improvements,
[1:04:14] the coffee cart expansion and we have
[1:04:17] few more donations coming up for the
[1:04:20] empty bowls project and the SHs history
[1:04:23] bowl trivia night and the student
[1:04:25] photoshop subscription.
[1:04:28] Okay. So, thank you to the uh Situate
[1:04:30] Education Foundation for helping us with
[1:04:32] a large number of items that really
[1:04:35] enhance programs for our students. Um,
[1:04:39] this I believe is on your list. Donald
[1:04:41] and Laura O'Keeffe gave us a check for
[1:04:44] $1,500
[1:04:46] for the LL program. So, we thank them
[1:04:50] for that. It will be put to good use.
[1:04:53] The uh Sandy Beach Association of
[1:04:55] Cohasset Ma was lo in Cohasset Mass also
[1:04:59] gave us $500 in cash for the excl
[1:05:02] program and Shaws and Star Market, okay,
[1:05:07] gave us $500 in grocery gift cards to
[1:05:11] support the coffee cart business. So
[1:05:14] this way they can go to Shaws with the
[1:05:16] gift cards and per, you know, purchase
[1:05:17] the uh supplies that they need to run
[1:05:20] their coffee cart, which I confess this
[1:05:22] past Friday I was like, "Oh, where are
[1:05:24] they? I miss them." Very much looking
[1:05:27] forward to them getting started up
[1:05:29] again. Uh, and then the Commission on
[1:05:32] Disabilities, and this actually happened
[1:05:34] last June as well, but again, it's
[1:05:36] getting carried forward because it
[1:05:37] hadn't been approved yet into this year,
[1:05:40] um, gave us $1,000. And specifically to
[1:05:44] support, um, it's called the Sailor
[1:05:47] Launch Coffee Cart Program. They also
[1:05:51] gave us in addition to the um, $1,000,
[1:05:54] four coffee carffs and boxes of Selza
[1:05:58] waters. So when they come through with
[1:06:00] the cart, they don't only offer us hot
[1:06:02] coffee or tea. They also offer a choice
[1:06:04] of, you know, water or celtzer waters.
[1:06:09] So that was that was very nice. We also
[1:06:12] got a gift from John and Christina Lynch
[1:06:14] of Situ Mats, $200 for the Situ High
[1:06:19] School volleyball program.
[1:06:21] And given that um Scott's not here
[1:06:23] anymore, but given that we've got extra
[1:06:25] teams, that's uh very much appreciated.
[1:06:29] And then we have from Servicemaster of
[1:06:32] Southshore, which is located or has an
[1:06:34] office in Situit, $1,250
[1:06:39] and that is for supplies as needed in
[1:06:42] the district.
[1:06:44] And then the last one that I have is the
[1:06:47] uh well the last one I've got a note on
[1:06:49] is the first parish unitarian church of
[1:06:51] situ mass $514
[1:06:54] and that is cashes for the metco program
[1:06:57] should be used as desired.
[1:07:00] um on your sheet you have and I don't
[1:07:02] have it listed yet because I need to get
[1:07:04] the details on it but you can see that
[1:07:07] um score has given us three donations
[1:07:11] but I don't have the details so I'm not
[1:07:13] 100% sure
[1:07:15] >> course I'm sorry
[1:07:17] >> I said score course um dyslexia
[1:07:20] >> so I'll have more details um at the next
[1:07:23] meeting but I don't want to leave them
[1:07:25] out because they obviously have given us
[1:07:26] funds we're very happy and we thank
[1:07:30] And that's what I have for donations.
[1:07:34] >> Thank you. Can I make one suggestion,
[1:07:35] Madam Chair?
[1:07:36] >> Yeah,
[1:07:36] >> there are a lot of donations there. I
[1:07:38] know some of them we don't have in front
[1:07:39] of you,
[1:07:39] >> right?
[1:07:40] >> Perhaps we table the vote and then you
[1:07:42] see the spreadsheet next week when we
[1:07:44] have it completely share that you can
[1:07:46] vote one number.
[1:07:47] >> We usually vote them doesn't even
[1:07:49] acknowledge a vote on our agenda
[1:07:51] actually. So
[1:07:52] >> do it though.
[1:07:53] >> Yeah. And this is
[1:07:55] >> Yeah. This way you'll have them all in
[1:07:57] front of you and vote one.
[1:07:58] >> Yeah, we can do a single vote that'll
[1:08:00] get them all accepted. Yeah.
[1:08:02] >> And then the next chapter, next one
[1:08:04] after that will be a new page in my
[1:08:06] spreadsheet.
[1:08:06] >> Sounds good. So, we'll review these
[1:08:08] again next time. End quote.
[1:08:11] >> All right. We uh Thank you so much.
[1:08:14] That's cool. We have a sub some
[1:08:16] subcommittee reports. Um and we'll start
[1:08:18] with policy.
[1:08:20] Um our first meeting of the year is
[1:08:22] actually this Thursday. So we've not
[1:08:24] actually met, but we did want to put
[1:08:26] this on our agenda this uh meeting
[1:08:29] because um it's a very important one
[1:08:32] that came directly from the governor's
[1:08:34] office to all districts. Um and they've
[1:08:37] asked us to um put this policy on our
[1:08:41] books immediately. So that's why we're
[1:08:43] doing it here today as a first reading
[1:08:45] and vote. Um so hopefully hopefully
[1:08:47] everyone had a chance to review it. Um
[1:08:50] it is related to the protect Act which
[1:08:53] was passed by the state not sure exactly
[1:08:57] when but sometime this summer relatively
[1:09:00] recently
[1:09:02] >> since the
[1:09:04] um oh yeah August right so um you know
[1:09:08] this is very important to that this
[1:09:10] would be a brand new policy that we
[1:09:11] would be adding um to our manual so it
[1:09:15] does not replace or revise anything in
[1:09:17] existence this is just a policy.
[1:09:20] >> Um, do you want to add anything?
[1:09:23] >> I I would just summarize the act as uh
[1:09:26] consistent with guidance from DESIE and
[1:09:28] with the new state law that um note that civil arrests for
[1:09:35] civil law enforcement are not allowed on
[1:09:38] school grounds um during school hours,
[1:09:41] including federal immigration
[1:09:42] enforcement uh without a judicial
[1:09:45] warrant or judicial order. that's the
[1:09:48] law in the Commonwealth and so schools
[1:09:49] have been asked to uh implement that and
[1:09:52] make procedures for that which we're
[1:09:54] doing. So step one is to add this to our
[1:09:57] policy and then we'll be continuing to
[1:09:59] add the procedures um once we have a
[1:10:04] meeting with uh DESIE officials to
[1:10:08] provide a little bit more help.
[1:10:12] So those procedures are policy.
[1:10:17] Pretty straightforward. [clears throat]
[1:10:19] All right, we'll take a vote on policy
[1:10:21] ACL.
[1:10:24] I make a motion that Sigma school
[1:10:27] committee
[1:10:29] accepts
[1:10:30] policy ACL as written.
[1:10:36] » Second. Okay. All in favor? Hi.
[1:10:40] >> All righty. Thank you. Uh, school b
[1:10:43] building committee, we don't have an
[1:10:44] update because we are meeting Wednesday.
[1:10:47] That will be our next opportunity for
[1:10:49] any updates uh publicly. Finance and
[1:10:52] operations also has not had its first
[1:10:56] meeting yet. So, we'll probably have an
[1:10:58] update.
[1:11:00] Well, maybe actually our next meeting we
[1:11:02] could have an update. In fact,
[1:11:05] >> um on that one and equity and belonging,
[1:11:09] I know you set a calendar as well for
[1:11:10] meeting dates.
[1:11:11] >> Yeah, we have a meeting
[1:11:14] get on. We'll have more information and
[1:11:16] updates on our subcommittees as the year
[1:11:19] rolls out. Um okay, we have some
[1:11:22] warrants.
[1:11:23] >> We do. Okay. So, the first warrant is
[1:11:28] number S 26702
[1:11:33] in the amount of $16,523.50
[1:11:40] and the date on that is the 2nd of July
[1:11:44] 2026.
[1:11:49] The next warrant number S 26709
[1:11:57] in the amount of $52,05045.
[1:12:02] The date on that is July 9th, 2026.
[1:12:08] The third warrant is number S267
[1:12:17] in the amount of 163,95811.
[1:12:24] The date on that is July 16th of 2026.
[1:12:31] The fourth warrant
[1:12:33] is S26723
[1:12:38] in the amount of $5,073.
[1:12:44] That doesn't make sense. I think it is
[1:12:46] missing a zero there
[1:12:49] >> or missing a comma rather. I apologize.
[1:12:51] Let me go back. 5 million73,738.72
[1:13:00] and that was dated July 23rd of 2026
[1:13:06] and the reason of course for the large
[1:13:08] number is the
[1:13:10] um the construction
[1:13:14] and then the last one I have is
[1:13:18] S26730
[1:13:21] 30 in the amount of $320,796.96
[1:13:29] and that date is July 30th of 2026.
[1:13:38] Sounds good. Thank you very much.
[1:13:41] All right, that brings us to the end of
[1:13:43] our agenda for tonight.
[1:13:46] There's nothing else. will take a motion
[1:13:48] to adjourn to 716.
[1:13:54] I'll make a motion to adjourn at 716.
[1:13:57] >> Second.
[1:13:58] >> Okay. All in favor? I got