[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

Scituate School Committee Meeting - 09-14-2026

Transcript