2026-10-08 - School Committee

00:01[music]

00:07[music]

00:11[music]

00:15Uh, tonight's meeting of the Arlington

00:17School Committee is being conducted in

00:19person and through the use of Zoom. This

00:21meeting is being simultaneously

00:23broadcast on ACMI and the meeting is

00:26being is the meeting the meeting is

00:28being recorded because we have members

00:30participating or we anticipate having

00:33members participating remotely. All

00:36votes are going to be required to be

00:38taken by roll call. Persons wishing to

00:40access the meeting using Zoom may find

00:42information on how to do so on the

00:44town's website. The posted agenda and

00:46supporting materials for this meeting

00:48are also available on the town's

00:50website. Due to open meeting law

00:52restrictions, the committee cannot

00:53participate in or access Zoom's chat

00:56function. While everyone is welcome to

00:58observe this meeting, active remote

01:00participation requires advanced notice.

01:02All participants are asked to activate

01:04their camera and shall provide their

01:06full name in the interest of developing

01:08a record of the meeting.

01:11Uh so we now come to our annual land

01:15acknowledgement. This is from file BEDL

01:18from the school committee policy manual.

01:20On April 26th, 2021 under article 85,

01:25Arlington Town meeting voted 222 to one

01:29to two to encourage all town entities to

01:31celebrate and recognize the heritage of

01:34the people's indigenous to Massachusetts

01:36in Arlington by including a land

01:38acknowledgement at the beginning of the

01:40town's public meetings. The Arlington

01:42School Committee shall include at the

01:44beginning of its organizational meeting

01:46at the beginning of its first reg and at

01:48the beginning of its first regular

01:50meeting in October or such other meeting

01:52date as is approximate to indigenous

01:54people's day per title one article six

01:57of the town bylaws and as part of the

01:59graduation ceremonies a land

02:01acknowledgement shall be read in a

02:02substantially similar form to the

02:04following. We acknowledge that the town

02:07of Arlington is located on the ancestral

02:09lands of the Massachusett tribe, the

02:12tribe of indigenous peoples from whom

02:14the colony, province, and Commonwealth

02:16have taken their names. We pay our

02:19respects to the ancestral bloodline of

02:21the Massachusett tribe and their

02:23descendants who still inhabit historic

02:25Massachusetts territories today.

02:29Thank you.

02:34Do not have any public comment. Is that

02:36right? So, we will go first to our AEA

02:40representative, Michelle Fraser, who I

02:42believe is online.

02:46>> Hi.

02:47>> Hi. Uh, sorry I couldn't be there in

02:49person with all of you. We um we had a

02:52very successful open house at Gibbs

02:55School last night and uh I couldn't

02:58swing the toddler coverage two nights in

03:00a row. Um, but thanks for having me here

03:03on um Zoom. We just had um one quick

03:06update that we would like to share. Um

03:09congratulating one of our uh fourth

03:11grade teachers at Bracket um AC

03:15Kelkatera on being the recipient of the

03:17beacon of learning award which is given

03:20to one educator by the Massachusetts

03:22Commission on LGBTQ youth. AC was

03:26nominated as someone who works

03:28intentionally to ensure LGBTQ students

03:31feel seen, heard, represented, and

03:34supported, whether through inclusive

03:36curriculum and educational materials,

03:38advocacy, school culture, student

03:41support, or efforts to foster greater

03:44acceptance and understanding uh within

03:46their school community. And she will be

03:49honored on October 17th at their um

03:52annual gala at the Seapport Hotel.

03:55Thank you. Congratulations to AC and I

03:58was at the Gibbs last night. It was a

04:00very successful and crowded event. Um,

04:04thank you. We're going to move on to our

04:06AHS student representatives, Sophia

04:08Dfanis and Elliot Lane.

04:11>> We have a really fun slideshow that's

04:13>> Do you have more slides?

04:17>> Just a moment.

04:18>> Don't worry. [snorts]

04:32Miss Diggins, do you

04:34>> can you email them to Mona,

04:37>> Dr. Forblocker?

04:45>> We We can start.

04:45>> Do you want to I was just gonna say, do

04:47you want to start while we're waiting

04:48for your slides?

04:49>> Yeah. Um, so we have our student citizen

04:53of the month which was awarded to a

04:55sophomore, Ellie Mchu. She is noticed as

04:59a ray of sunshine in her classes and

05:02having endless positivity and she had

05:05many nominations for just being an

05:07amazing person and so we're very excited

05:09to have her as a student in our school

05:11and gave her the uh student citizen of

05:14the month award.

05:16We also gave out a staff citizen of the

05:19month award this month to social worker

05:22Chelsea Walsh. And when I say that the

05:24uh uh nominations for Miss Walsh were

05:27gushing, they were gushing. That she was

05:29described as just going above and beyond

05:33uh in every uh situation for her

05:36students. And it was uh very we're very

05:38happy to give her this award this month.

05:41Um, we also had a very successful

05:44custodian appreciation day on October

05:462nd where you would see a lovely photo

05:49of our custodians with their basket. But

05:52>> see if we can get that. [laughter]

05:54>> We'll get to it eventually. But um Oh,

05:56here we go.

05:57>> I think we're get Okay,

06:00>> now this looks like something else, but

06:13No problem.

06:15>> No. And we'll we'll keep going. That's

06:17>> okay. Um and we made them a big snack

06:21basket for them and they loved it. Then

06:24we also went to the Massar Conference,

06:27which is the Massachusetts Association

06:29of Student Representatives, which is

06:31what our position is right here. and we

06:33represented Arlington there last weekend

06:36and um we did some workshops and some

06:40networking and we learned Oh, there it

06:42is. Look at that. Okay, there's our

06:44lovely citizen of the student of the

06:46month and then there's our staff of the

06:48month. Um both of those and then if you

06:50go to the next slide,

06:55>> there's some of our lovely custodians.

06:57Yes, they were I I said I asked if I

06:59could take a picture of the basket and

07:00then they immediately wanted to be in

07:02the photo. That was very exciting. Um,

07:04and then for the next one, you'll see me

07:06and Elliot attending the conference. So,

07:09that was very exciting and we learned

07:10how we can be better affiliated with the

07:13state and on the national level. So,

07:15that was very exciting. And then for the

07:17last one, we had our fall pep rally

07:19today.

07:20>> So, the fall pep rally was today uh

07:22during our advisory period. So, we

07:24managed to pack allund,00,800

07:28at this point plus students in the uh

07:30gym. It was very very loud in there. Uh

07:32but we had a bunch of games, bunch of uh

07:36competitions to build school spirit. And

07:38yes, we did keep score and by the end of

07:41it, the seniors did win. Uh I was very

07:44happy to also see the uh senior

07:46tug-of-war team go against the uh

07:49teacher team and and win. So that was

07:52very fun.

07:52>> Two years in a row. Just want to ask

07:56>> that's our update.

07:57>> Thank you.

07:58Um let's see we are now on to our first

08:03presentation which we are going to hear

08:05from uh the science report science

08:08program report uh

08:12and Cuber and oh okay go ahead all right

08:17so tonight I'm excited to introduce Dr.

08:19Sam Hoyo, our K to2 science director and

08:23members of her team. Uh we have Sarah

08:26Huber, the K to5 curriculum specialist,

08:28and Alex Haidvich, who teaches biology,

08:32anatomy, and physiology at the high

08:34school. The science department has been

08:36engaged in some great work, and I'm

08:37excited to um present them to you this

08:42evening. So, Dr. Hoya,

08:44>> hello. It is so nice to see you all.

08:48Feel like I haven't here in so long. So

08:50excited.

08:51>> Um

08:53I promise I will be very quick uh

08:56because you don't actually want to hear

08:57from me. Uh and then I will hand it over

08:59to Mr. H who is going to wow you with

09:03all the amazing work he has been doing.

09:06So great, thank you. Um our curriculum

09:10uh update focuses on two connected

09:13ideas. uh performance-based assessment

09:17and phenomena- based teaching. And our

09:20goal is to use scientific knowledge to

09:23investigate, reason, explain, and solve

09:26problems.

09:28And we are building on the strong um

09:32achievements while hoping to expand

09:34opportunities for deeper learning and

09:36access.

09:37Looking at our scores for last year,

09:42um you can see that we have really

09:44really strong outcomes in Arlington. Um

09:48and these strong outcomes are able to

09:50give us a foundation for deepening the

09:52application.

09:54Um next, please. Thank you. Um our

09:58overall science scores remain really

10:01strong. Um,

10:03again, this is a three-year sequence of

10:06our scores in fifth grade, eighth grade,

10:09and for the high school introductory

10:11physics that students take in grade

10:13nine.

10:14Um, and

10:17we

10:19still have a lot uh a way to go in

10:24narrowing our achievement gaps. Our

10:26achievement gaps within our focal groups

10:28are not

10:31shrinking at the at the rate I would

10:33like them to,

10:36but it's an ongoing uh ongoing work. And

10:41we have a lot of success, especially if

10:44we look at grade five. Right now, grade

10:47five, what we're looking at is the

10:49entire all seven buildings and their

10:52MCCAST scores together. Um, but I was

10:56looking at Bishop's uh MCCAST scores

10:58today and they are narrowing the

11:00achievement gap for students on IEPs and

11:03for our high need students. So, there

11:05are some spaces where that gap is

11:07narrowing, but overall it's still work

11:10that we have to do and that we are ready

11:12to do.

11:14Um,

11:16next. Yeah, thank you. So our priorities

11:20are deeper learning, moving from

11:23learning about science to doing science

11:27and around equity and access.

11:30Students need a strong content knowledge

11:33and opportunities to use that knowledge.

11:37Um equity is a design commitment and one

11:41way for us to do that is to engage in

11:44shared phenomena.

11:46Give students access to materials,

11:50be explicit in our language supports,

11:53and find ways for them to express their

11:56thinking through models, discussion, and

11:59writing.

12:01Performance-based assessments don't

12:04automatically reduce or remove the

12:06barriers or close gaps, but our teachers

12:10will use those PBAs to design supports

12:14while uh preserving scientific

12:18expectations. Sorry. Next, please.

12:24So phenomena based teaching um phenomena

12:27is an observable event or a pattern that

12:30students can investigate and explain.

12:34Students will encounter something that

12:36is worth figuring out, something that

12:39they can ask questions about, gather

12:41evidence for, and revise an explanation

12:44or model.

12:45The content provides the tools and

12:49teachers help guide the sequence and

12:51teach ideas when students need them.

12:55Next, please to give you an idea. Uh

12:59this is something that I I do in my

13:01class um that I'm teaching. I teach

13:03physics this year. Um and previously in

13:07the past I would always start today

13:09we're going to learn about thermal

13:10energy transfer and half of my students

13:13would fall asleep

13:14>> right me too to be honest um but when we

13:18put the phenomena first

13:22when we say to students I have these two

13:24cups

13:25one is encased in a woolen

13:29container a koozie of sorts if you will

13:33and one is not which which cup is going

13:35to cool faster and why. All of a sudden,

13:38they have something to start thinking

13:40about. They're doing the exact same

13:43thing. They're engaging with the exact

13:45exact same material, but we're doing it

13:47in a different way. We're giving them

13:49that phenomena on which to anchor their

13:51thinking. And that is something that all

13:54students can have access to regardless

13:57of their needs and abilities.

14:02um in look that's great no next perfect

14:07awesome

14:09uh performance-based assessments

14:12it's a different way of uh assessing

14:14students it is asking students to take

14:17that scientific knowledge and practice

14:20to demonstrate that they truly

14:22understand the concepts

14:26can include data analysis modeling uh

14:29proposing investigations

14:31or evidence-based explanation.

14:34It doesn't have to be a large project or

14:37hands-on lab, but it's really about

14:41having students take what they know and

14:43apply it in a different setting so that

14:46they can transfer that knowledge. Our

14:49kids, as you can see from our MCCAST

14:51scores, our kids are really good at

14:53content,

14:54>> right? What we are trying to do now is

14:57we are trying to get them to be able to

15:00do the science with the content that

15:02they have. And that is where we struggle

15:04and that's where we see struggles in our

15:07MCCAST scores as well. They're great at

15:09the the content piece and we struggle in

15:13those performance uh engineering and

15:16science practices.

15:18We can go to the next slide.

15:22Um, DESIE has confirmed that starting in

15:26the spring of 2027,

15:28um, the innovative assessment will be

15:32operational. This is a new MCCAST. Uh,

15:37we have been really lucky in that our

15:39grade five and grade eight students have

15:42been piloting the innovative assessment

15:45for five or six years at this point. Um,

15:49so we got into that right in in as it

15:52was starting to come out [snorts] and

15:54it's a little bit different than

15:55traditional MCCAST because it starts

15:58with a storyline. Students are given

16:00that phenomena.

16:01They then have a simulation

16:04where students are doing the science

16:07and then from that they're able to

16:09analyze

16:11determine the evidence that they need in

16:13order to construct an explanation.

16:16Uh this is only for grades five and

16:19eight. Uh Desi has not said anything

16:22about changing the high school MCCAST as

16:24of yet.

16:31Go to the next slide. Thank you. Uh

16:34phenomena based teaching and uh

16:36performance-based assessments work

16:38together

16:40there. The instruction helps students

16:42build understanding and the assessment

16:45then asks them to apply that

16:47understanding.

16:49We can go to the next slide. Great. So

16:52this is where we're at in our

16:54implementation process. Uh we've been

16:56very lucky and given department time uh

16:58at the elementary this year. Uh Sarah

17:01and I are working with the kindergarten

17:04group and grade one. And so what we're

17:07doing is with teachers, we are

17:08co-creating

17:10uh and vetting performance-based

17:12assessment drafts with them and then

17:14hopefully it will begin to be

17:16implemented in those spaces uh within

17:19the next year.

17:22Grade 8 is also doing a lot of work

17:24around this. Um they have integrated

17:29several PBAs throughout their curriculum

17:31and are engaging in work to do more of

17:34that. And then at the high school level,

17:37uh, biology curriculum A and the anatomy

17:40and physiology class are really stepping

17:42up and doing a lot of work with regards

17:45to PBAs.

17:49Next, please.

17:51Um,

17:53we want to continue our professional

17:55learning. We want to pilot the PBAs and

17:59examine student work.

18:01Um, we will use teacher input in order

18:05to

18:07make these assessments fit us. Um,

18:13and we hope to take this slow but

18:17steady. Um, and so that by the end in

18:21two to three years, we'll be able to get

18:22all of the um, grade levels engaging in

18:26PBAs.

18:28Next, please.

18:30And now I'm gonna hand it over to Mr. H.

18:33>> Amazing. Um, I think the diagrams or the

18:36images didn't show up on some of these.

18:38Oh, maybe. But that'll be fine. Um, so I

18:41am Alex Hadvich. Uh, I am a anatomy and

18:45physiology teacher as well as a bio

18:47teacher. Um, and I started here five

18:49years ago and I found that when I

18:51started teaching anatomy and physiology,

18:53I struggled a lot with it. uh because

18:56the class was very memorizationheavy,

18:58very memorization focused. And as I kind

19:01of grew as a teacher, I started

19:02developing more and more

19:04performance-based uh activities.

19:06>> Sorry, can you pull that? Yeah, pull

19:08that closer to you.

19:09>> More performance-based activities and um

19:13more activities that focus more on

19:15hands-on practical learning. However, uh

19:20when we would then get to those

19:21assessments, I kind of saw a change in

19:24the students where the kids that seemed

19:26to know a lot, ask a lot of questions,

19:28and understood a lot in class would then

19:30be faced with diagrams, images, things

19:34that required really, really high levels

19:36of memorization.

19:37Um, and very little else. Um, and so I

19:41ended up having these massive gaps

19:43between my honor students and my A-level

19:46students and my heterogeneous class. And

19:48I found that the A-level students that

19:51retrieval tended to not be at level with

19:54the honor students and they tended to

19:56struggle a lot more despite the fact

19:58that they tended to know the same amount

20:01um or similar amounts. You can flip to

20:03the next slide.

20:05And so we had a real problem with that

20:07traditional teaching, or at least I did.

20:09And so when Dr. Hoyo presented the idea

20:12of a performance-based assessment, to

20:14me, that felt like a good uh opportunity

20:17to make a change and to try something

20:19out. Uh you can flip to the next slide.

20:23And so with you guys, I would like to

20:25take you through uh a story and what I

20:28had my students do for their

20:30cardiovascular system unit test. Um, you

20:33two are not allowed to tell anyone about

20:35this.

20:36Both of them are in this class, so I

20:39won't give too many details. Um, but uh,

20:43when I was uh, a kid, my dad told me a

20:45story about uh, the Loyola Mry Mount

20:48basketball team and a player called Hank

20:50Gathers. Um, and Hank Gathers was a

20:54phenom. He was a star player and Loyola

20:56Mry Mount played a very special kind of

20:58basketball where they would run up and

20:59down the court. They averaged like 140

21:02points a game and uh late in the season,

21:05one game, uh Hank Gathers uh passed out

21:09on the court and later on that day

21:12passed away. Um and what I took my

21:16students through is let's figure out why

21:19that happened. Let's try and make an

21:20explanation to understand why something

21:22like this may happen to a person. And so

21:25we can flip to the next.

21:28And so they always start a PBA with our

21:30notices, wanderings, and our initial

21:32ideas. Basically giving them an entry

21:34point um and to avoid that blank page

21:38stress that a lot of kids feel

21:39immediately when they start a test. So

21:41it has them analyze the story. What do

21:43they notice? What do they wonder? Start

21:45thinking about all of the pieces of data

21:48that they've been given in this story.

21:50And it gives them a real entry point to

21:52the activity. We can go to the next.

21:57Then I kind of asked them some questions

21:58about how does the heart normally

22:00function? How is it supposed to function

22:02during high levels of exercise? Starting

22:04to kind of get them thinking about their

22:06own bodies and connecting to the story

22:08of Hank Gathers, right? Why when we run

22:12does our heart rate go up? What does

22:14that then do to our blood pressure, our

22:15stroke volume? Connecting these ideas

22:17that we've been talking about in class

22:19to this story directly. Um, and so this

22:22is the part where students are now

22:24starting to show what they know a little

22:26bit more. Um, and the questions are not

22:29so difficult. They're not adding new

22:31pieces. It's more show me what you know

22:33up to this point and start trying to

22:36help me understand this story a little

22:37bit better. We can go to the next.

22:40Then we get into the actual differences

22:43and kind of connect it to the story. So,

22:46uh, Hank Gathers had had what is called

22:48hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. basically a

22:51um enlarged walls of the heart. It's

22:54usually found in high level athletes and

22:56there is a genetic piece to this. Um and

23:00as a result of these really really large

23:02walls, what ends up happening is the

23:04heart is able to pump blood worse. Uh

23:07and during high level exercise that can

23:10make it harder and harder for someone to

23:12sustain that level of play. And so

23:14students have to look at these images.

23:16They add some to the story and they have

23:18to connect what they understand about

23:20the heart, the chambers of the heart to

23:22explain why this heart, right, the one

23:24with hypertropic cardiomyopathy would

23:28work better or work in this scenario and

23:31how maybe this led to the collapse. Now

23:33we can go to the next.

23:36Then they start connecting it to medical

23:38data, looking at EKGs, looking at how do

23:41we actually analyze one of these,

23:43showing what they know from class, but

23:45also looking at a uh HCM is hypertrophic

23:49cardiammyopathy. Um, but looking at an

23:51EKG of someone who has that to analyze

23:54why are they different, what's different

23:56about them, and how does that maybe tell

23:58us what's happening in the heart. So

24:00starting to really look a lot deeper

24:03than just purely what is going on in the

24:05heart, what are the parts of the heart,

24:07label them. Um, and so they go through

24:09the EKG, learn a little bit about how

24:12the heart is actually functioning, the

24:13conduction of the heart, we can go to

24:15the next, and then finally is kind of

24:18the big put it all together. Um, they

24:21take all the little different pieces. So

24:23they take that first section about

24:24demand. Why is high energy or high

24:27effort the play that they did in

24:29basketball? Why would that lead to maybe

24:32problems with the heart? Then taking a

24:34look at structure. Why does the

24:35structure of his heart make that more

24:37likely? Then into output. So what is

24:40actually going on in his heart? What is

24:43happening? What is changing? Electrical.

24:45How are those electrical signals um

24:47impacting his heart's ability? And then

24:49finally put this together to tell me why

24:51did Hank Gathers collapse? Um, and we

24:55can go to the next. And so what I found

24:58to be really, really helpful and

25:01important here was that I have always

25:03struggled with multiple choice tests

25:06because they don't tell you anything. We

25:08think of assessments as ways for us to

25:09know our students better, but it just

25:12put a number on the kids that didn't

25:14necessarily tell me anything about them

25:16because sometimes it was putting numbers

25:18on them that did not make sense, right?

25:20It was telling me a kid didn't

25:21understand things when in class I would

25:23speak to them and I could tell that they

25:25really did. But because of the barriers

25:27of traditional testing, it ended up

25:29being that that number didn't fully tell

25:32me the whole story. And so when I was

25:34able to go through these PBAs, I was

25:37able to see the full rationale of my

25:38students. I was able to see maybe where

25:40they went wrong. I was able to see where

25:42I failed in my teaching. And rather than

25:45just looking at how did you cross out

25:47answers, which one did you circle, I

25:50could instead actually look at their

25:51thought process from start to finish,

25:53and I was able to pinpoint exactly where

25:55I messed up and where they messed up.

25:58Uh, we can go to the next. Uh, I have

26:01student work. I'm not going to have you

26:02guys read this, but I think the big

26:04thing that, uh, I noticed was different

26:07ways of answering is not different

26:09understandings. Kids can understand

26:11things and show it and explain it in

26:14very different ways. And this kind of

26:16test let them do that. It let them show

26:18what they know in the way that was most

26:20comfortable and made the most sense to

26:22them. Um and still allowed me to give

26:24them the points for their understanding.

26:26I can go to the next.

26:29And so in terms of how we actually grade

26:31these um most questions are graded on a

26:34scale of one to three. Um and so it lets

26:36a little bit more flexibility and we are

26:38always coming from student strength uh

26:40as our primary right so what do the

26:42students understand is my number one

26:45question not what did they not

26:46understand I'm not looking for vocab

26:48words I'm not looking for oh you

26:51explained this slightly in a way that I

26:53didn't like no it is did you understand

26:57it do you have the competency and if you

27:00did great right and so that traditional

27:02score of a 70 tells me very middle, but

27:05my PBAs that had a 70 told me a whole

27:08host about what my students truly

27:10understood. Uh, we can go to the next.

27:13And then I think the student feedback

27:15was the most surprising part of this.

27:17Um, I have never in my career

27:20[clears throat] had a student walk out

27:21of a test and tell me, uh, that was so

27:24much fun. And in this test, I had

27:27multiple students stop me and tell me,

27:30thank you. Um, I enjoyed that. I had one

27:34student say, "It felt like I was

27:35learning while I was taking it." And I

27:37think that's really what

27:39>> impacted me the most, which is we take

27:42this time to teach these students and to

27:44help them learn. And so even in our

27:46assessments, we should be helping them

27:48learn in whatever way we can. And

27:50whether that's telling them a story or

27:52doing a shared storytelling between us

27:54and them, that helps me actually teach

27:57them. And it helps the students feel

27:59like they're actually gaining something

28:00from the activity. It's not just throw

28:02all your brain on the paper. It's walk

28:05through it. Show me that you understand

28:06it. Um, and if you guys look at these

28:09graphs, I know the titles are probably

28:11not seeable, but in terms of the

28:13students that preferred this mechanism

28:15of testing, uh, it tended to be about

28:1860% of students preferred or felt even

28:21on this kind of testing. Um, and the big

28:24change that I found was that the

28:26students that really liked this kind of

28:27assessment were my A-level students.

28:29They were my students who tended to not

28:31be the ones who were perfect at

28:33memorization because they did much

28:35better. They felt better about how they

28:37did. And the kids who really didn't like

28:39this were the kids that always got

28:40hundreds and we're used to studying the

28:42diagrams and it was easy for them and

28:44this wasn't right. The rigor is still

28:47there, but the rigor is much more uh

28:51kind of general. It's much more about

28:53the whole student rather than are you

28:55good at memorizing? Are you good at

28:57recollection, recalling things? Um, the

29:00things that kids struggled with, it does

29:02hurt your hand a little bit. Um, it is a

29:04lot of writing. Uh, but I think and they

29:08felt like they lost their safety net.

29:09It's easy to cross out answers and feel

29:11good when you circle the one that you

29:12didn't cross out, but the students that

29:15left the test going, I definitely failed

29:17that were also the ones that got 95s,

29:20right? because really even though they

29:22didn't feel like they did great, they

29:24showed their understanding and the test

29:27just didn't say like, "Yeah, you got

29:28it." Because you were able to cross out

29:30the other possible answers. We can go to

29:32the next.

29:34And then I think in terms of

29:35scaffolding, um the big idea here is

29:38that there's different levels that the

29:39students can access. And that first

29:41level is notice and wonder. Any student

29:43can access it from that point. And so it

29:46really lets me have multiple entry

29:48points for students. But because we have

29:50those multiple entry points, I also get

29:52to see at what level did it stop making

29:55sense. At what level did we lose you a

29:58little bit and sometimes the kids who

30:01don't understand the first bits are also

30:03the ones who understand the end bit and

30:05kind of put it all together and it tells

30:06me, okay, maybe in class we're not fully

30:08understanding, but you are an incredibly

30:10intelligent person who's able to stitch

30:13this story together and make it make

30:14sense. Um, and I think in terms of next

30:17iterations, I think giving the students

30:19more PBAs before um, just to get them

30:23familiar with the assessment style. The

30:24big comments I had were just it's very

30:26different. Um, and if you haven't taken

30:28a test like this, it is kind of a lot

30:31uh, of change. Um and also uh having

30:35intentional targeted supports for my MLL

30:38students, for my IEP students, just

30:40because the level of reading is so much

30:43that if you are a student who has

30:45struggling uh reading comprehension

30:47skills, these kind of tests can be more

30:49difficult. Uh next and I think last

30:51slide. Yep. Um and so any questions,

30:55anything you guys have to ask about

30:58either my assessment or these types of

31:00assessments in general? Any

31:04questions?

31:06Mr. Thelman, do

31:07>> you do you tell them that Mr. Gathers

31:09that Hank Gathers didn't he stopped

31:10taking medication?

31:12>> Uh, that is part of the original story

31:14is that he did get diagnosed with this,

31:17didn't take his medicine um

31:19intentionally because it makes you move

31:22slower. It makes you sluggish. And if

31:25you want to be a great basketball

31:26player, he made the choice to stop

31:29taking them to play and inevitably it

31:32ended up um you know leading to his

31:36passing.

31:36>> Right.

31:39>> I just always wonder how you wrap it up

31:42in the class. Thanks,

31:43>> Mr. Slickman.

31:45>> Okay, so

31:48[clears throat]

31:49how do you get your test questions? How

31:51do you write your own? Do you have uh

31:54collaboration? Is there some interesting

31:57source of really thoughtful open

31:59response questions that relate?

32:01>> So, in terms of this one, um it was the

32:05original story came from me and frankly

32:07came from my dad. Um and when I was

32:10thinking about what would be a good way

32:11to test um this idea, I think this story

32:14really stuck in my brain.

32:16>> Um and then I put together my best

32:18attempt, sent it to Dr. Oo. She made a

32:22lot of different things, kind of broke

32:24stuff up in a way that was really,

32:26really helpful. And then I took

32:27[clears throat] that to my anatomy and

32:29physiology team. Um, and then we kind of

32:31crafted it together to make it as um as

32:36story based, but also making sure that

32:38we weren't uh setting the students up to

32:40for failure if they didn't fully know

32:42the story or understand it right off the

32:44bat. And so, um, it comes from both me,

32:47but then also the help of Dr. Hoyo and

32:51the teams that we have. We have

32:53fantastic teachers that I work with.

32:54>> I I want to acknowledge that just how

32:57much work there is involved in doing

32:59this because not only do you have to

33:02somehow come up with a a prompt

33:07that that is reliable and valid aligned

33:10to the topic.

33:12But that after you get past that

33:14barrier, now you're stuck with a stack

33:17of papers that you've got to read

33:18through.

33:20>> Yes. Um, and I think what surprised me

33:24was that the grading was undeniably more

33:27difficult and longer.

33:29>> And it wasn't

33:32>> as bad as I thought. It was very much

33:34one of those things that number one,

33:36you're able to grade them a little bit

33:37more blind because it's a longer test.

33:40You can have kids not write names. You

33:42can set it up so that you know I'm not

33:46understanding exactly whose test I'm

33:48looking at other than the ones who have

33:49very very distinct handwriting. Um, and

33:52I think once you get in a groove, once

33:55you know kind of what you're looking

33:56for, um, you become very decisive on it.

34:00Um, and so it is more work undeniably

34:03uh, across the board. And I think in

34:06terms of what do I want out of an

34:08assessment, what I want to know is more

34:10is to know more about these students.

34:13And I think above all, I knew more about

34:15my kids. And so it made the effort and

34:18the time worth it. I think

34:19>> I think that's a valid point in that

34:21when you're doing this kind of thing,

34:23you're you're really getting a better

34:25chance to understand the thinking of the

34:27students.

34:27>> Absolutely.

34:28>> Um,

34:30>> is this spreading through the science

34:32department? Dr.

34:34Uh it is it is uh our eighth grade team

34:37is fully on board with this. They are

34:39writing their own PBAs as well. Uh DESIE

34:43does have sample PBAs um

34:46>> that they have put out for each grade

34:48level.

34:49>> They only have one at the high school

34:51level and it's in chemistry. Um but my

34:55team, like Mr. H said, my team is

34:58incredible. Mhm.

34:59>> They understand

35:02that while this is a lot of work, uh,

35:05what they get out of it is so much more

35:07than just a standard test where, you

35:10know, multiple choice.

35:11>> Um, and so they're willing to put in

35:13that effort to to make it happen. Um,

35:16>> I am lucky in that

35:19when I put an idea to my team, um, I

35:22don't get a lot of backlash. I don't get

35:24a lot of push back. I get a lot of all

35:26right, we're gonna try it and see what

35:28happens. Um, and through that they've

35:32kind of uh gotten to the point where

35:34they're like they trust me and they're

35:36they're able to say,

35:38>> "Let's try it. Let's do it." Uh, and see

35:40what happens. Um, so that is uh my

35:43eighth grade team is really on board. My

35:45sixth and seventh grade teens are going

35:47to kind of look at this and work on this

35:49over the next school year to try to

35:51figure out where in their curriculum

35:53does these fit. And then Miss Huber and

35:55I are rolling this out K through five

35:58over the next few years.

35:59>> I I have a certain bias in that when I

36:02taught high school, I taught math, okay,

36:04which is probably the easiest one in

36:06terms of assessment and grading papers

36:09and stuff, but I I worked in a school in

36:11New Jersey where we were instructed to

36:14have an intense partnership with the

36:16science department. So I spent more time

36:19in math lab helping students with

36:22physics than I did in actual math

36:24problem. So that that collaboration

36:27across departments can be very

36:28important. Which leads me to to one more

36:31question. I know you all have other

36:33things to say. I'm happy to listen. I'm

36:35happy to go further with this because

36:37this warms my heart. But my solid

36:40question for you right now is what do

36:43you need from us to encourage this and

36:45help us move forward?

36:48It's the number one thing that we always

36:51need. Time and money.

36:54>> Um time. Time is the big thing. Uh

36:58>> you're the science people. You can get

36:59us a 26-hour class, right?

37:01>> Absolutely. Absolutely. Mr. H, he's on

37:03it. He's on it.

37:04>> Make it happen.

37:05>> Um

37:06>> we have been actually very lucky um in

37:09that

37:10>> our early release time. Um, we're going

37:13to be using it to work on this.

37:15>> Um, as well as department time.

37:18>> If we could get a couple of early

37:20releases, that would be amazing.

37:22>> Um, but

37:26time and money.

37:27>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I hear

37:29you.

37:30>> Thank you.

37:31>> Of course.

37:32>> I interrupted you guys. Is there

37:34anything else you want to put in front

37:35of? I was just going to say uh the

37:37physics team uh also a few teachers have

37:39told me about doing and trying

37:41performance based assessments. So I know

37:42Dr. Shivi um

37:44>> and so even in the high school level we

37:46definitely have some teachers that are

37:48starting to give it a try branch out um

37:51kind of across the board.

37:52>> We reordered in in New Jersey we

37:54reordered our math curriculum in terms

37:57of sequence of units in order to align

38:00with what was going on in the physics

38:03class. Uh and and the other thing I'll

38:07say is that from from my analysis of

38:11watching this high school for a long

38:13time, we've got outstanding teachers,

38:15outstanding leadership in in in the

38:18science department, and I think that

38:19we're doing really great things here.

38:21And uh the more I hear from you guys,

38:25even though you didn't bring any cute

38:26furry mammals [snorts] this this year,

38:29uh the more I hear from you guys, the

38:31more impressed I am. Thank you.

38:32>> Thank you. Dr. Alison Ampy.

38:35>> Um, thank you. This is very interesting.

38:40I I do wonder about how much time it's

38:43taking to both develop the tests and and

38:46grade them and also how much can you

38:49reuse the test year after year because

38:52won't kids, you know? [laughter]

38:56>> Um, yeah. So, I think

39:00undeniably it [clears throat] is

39:02difficult to tell kids to not talk about

39:04a test outside of the test. And I think

39:07when your test is a story,

39:11you can tell a kid, here's the diagram

39:13you need to look at, and they will

39:15undeniably be able to look at it,

39:17memorize it, and do great on that

39:19question.

39:20>> [clears throat]

39:20>> I have had students that, you know,

39:23looked up who is Hank Gathers and what

39:25is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

39:28and the actual analysis, the

39:31understanding, the ability to connect

39:33things

39:34goes beyond what you can look up simply.

39:38And I think it tended to be that even

39:40the classes that took it a day later, a

39:42week later, they actually did on the

39:45same level as the other students because

39:48while you can understand a little bit

39:49more about the story, it doesn't

39:51actually give you the intricate details

39:53and your explanation still has to be an

39:56explanation. And so I can notice a kid

39:59that when they're writing it's like this

40:02doesn't make sense because you're

40:04connecting different ideas that clearly

40:06you googled and looked up but they

40:08actually don't make sense in this story

40:10beat and and I found that it was not a

40:14concern to the extent that I would be

40:16worried about it. Frankly, these two

40:18knowing about this, I don't have any

40:20concern about because there's not much

40:23that they could really gather about the

40:25test um other than the fact that it's

40:28about a story and they're going to have

40:29to write a lot. So,

40:31>> look forward to that. Okay.

40:32>> Yeah, good luck.

40:34>> Um,

40:36another question is just you say that

40:38students were concerned that they had to

40:41write a lot and they got tired. Now, is

40:42the problem actually that they're not

40:45prepared to do a reasonable amount of

40:47writing or is it that you're asking more

40:50writing from them?

40:52>> It is more that the students that really

40:56want to be perfect and want to make sure

40:58that they're right will write as much as

41:02space you give them

41:03>> whether the question requires one word

41:06or not. Um, and so the kids whose hands

41:09hurt, and obviously there are kids who

41:12we need to let them type because that is

41:14an accommodation for them. But on the

41:15whole, the kids that were like, "My

41:17hands hurt, that was not fun." are the

41:19ones that were just writing so much

41:21because they were trying to write

41:23everything that they know because that's

41:25how they're used to doing tests, which

41:26is brain dump everything and hope some

41:28of it's right. And

41:32what I will say is I had students who

41:34got an 100 and were able to finish the

41:37test in 25 minutes and write 3 to 20

41:41words per answer because you can

41:43actually formulate an answer very

41:44quickly, very concisely and still answer

41:47the question in its whole. It's just the

41:49kids that tend to write a lot are the

41:51ones who want to make sure that they've

41:53written everything they know so that you

41:55give them the points whether it's there

41:57or not.

41:58>> Okay. I think the the thing about the

42:01performance-based assessments that I

42:02really like is that it's more about

42:06sensemaking and how students are able to

42:08make sense of what they know and apply

42:10it into this new situation

42:12[clears throat] than like Alex said just

42:13brain dumping every vocab word that

42:15you've learned in the last unit and

42:17hoping that it will make sense. Uh

42:19because you can truly see if students

42:22understand when they're trying to make

42:24sense of a of a problem.

42:26>> Okay. And then sorry my last one is just

42:29that I think with medical things it

42:32might

42:34be nice if you could find someone to run

42:38the whole question

42:40against I mean run your whole question

42:43and and all the answers and everything

42:46um just to make sure what you're saying

42:49is actually

42:52phrased correctly in terms of I mean I

42:54just it it bothers me if you're having

42:56students here learn terms that aren't

42:59medically correct and stuff and I went

43:02through it quickly but I thought I

43:04picked up some um so that's just I don't

43:08know how many others of these you do but

43:10it's just something to think about.

43:11>> Yeah,

43:12>> thank you

43:14Miss Hans Cathorn.

43:16>> Yeah. Um this is really exciting the

43:18work that you all are doing. Um and as

43:20someone who went to a math and science

43:21high school I think it's really

43:23exciting. I had a couple questions that

43:26um

43:27uh how do you because it seems like it's

43:30a very intentionally and a little bit

43:31time consuming as the educator to put

43:33together these types of assessments.

43:36>> How do we uh accommodate for having to

43:39adjust for neurode divergence and IEPs

43:42and things like that?

43:44>> How much time does it add to switch

43:47these assessments around? Um, and then

43:50I'll let you answer that, but I also

43:52want want to know is there a process for

43:54which you were getting constant feedback

43:56from the students other than if they

43:58complain in real time. Um, what whether

44:01they felt like this was a more effective

44:03way to show their work.

44:05>> Um, so I'll answer the last part. Um, so

44:08in terms of uh getting assessment data

44:10back in terms of my class, yeah, the

44:13graphs that I showed up there were from

44:15the students immediately after.

44:17>> Uh, Elliot and Sophia, we'll do a uh a

44:21form tomorrow to talk about the quiz and

44:24what did they think and did they like it

44:26and was it better or worse than what

44:27they've experienced, right?

44:28>> Um, because this is such a new thing and

44:31a new process, there are kinks. There

44:33are things we're working out. There are

44:35times where it doesn't go the way you

44:37wanted it to. Our last quiz maybe didn't

44:40go as well as we wanted it to. It took a

44:42little bit more time and you got to be

44:45flexible in this. It's um it's great

44:47that this is an elective course so I can

44:49be a little bit more flexible. And then

44:51I think in terms of students on IEPs who

44:54require extra time, um sometimes it's

44:56about which pieces are we able to not

45:00necessarily pull out, but have you put

45:02make the sense at the end? the putting

45:03it all together takes a lot of time, but

45:06also is something that I can pull away,

45:08have you reread through it on a

45:10different time or later in the day, and

45:12you'll still be able to make the same

45:13sense of what you've written, what

45:16you've kind of laid out.

45:17>> I think the other thing with PBAs is

45:20that they do allow for multiple entry

45:22points. So all of our students can

45:26actually access them. Um

45:30because they are not so focused on

45:33vocabulary but rather can you make sense

45:36of this? You can make sense of it in

45:39words in pictures uh in all of the all

45:42of these different ways. I think it is

45:44more accessible for a lot of students

45:46that have different needs and different

45:48learning styles.

45:50>> Great. Thank you.

45:52>> Yeah. Go ahead.

45:54>> I just wanted to add some like student

45:56feedback real quick. We

45:58>> real time student feedback.

46:00>> We took our first like PBA test today.

46:03We' taken a couple quizzes, but we took

46:04our first test today. And I personally

46:07don't love multiple choice questions

46:10because there's often multiple correct

46:12answers and you have to pick the most

46:14correct answer, which for me gets really

46:16tricky in the nitty-gritty of

46:18everything. And so today getting to just

46:21I am definitely someone who overexplains

46:23myself and that's that's my fault. But

46:25um getting to write all of my thinking

46:27out I think is very helpful and I really

46:29appreciated an assessment like this and

46:31I think it worked really well for me. I

46:33used up all of the time there and I

46:36think anything less would have been

46:38[clears throat] would have been scary

46:39but we made it to the end and I think it

46:41went well. But yeah

46:43>> and that's a bonus point. [laughter]

46:45>> I hope so. I hope so. works and move

46:48better.

46:49>> But now I always [laughter]

46:52>> but we love the class and I think it's

46:54really fun and I think these are really

46:55great.

46:55>> Yeah, thank you bonus points.

46:57>> Um I thank you for all of this. It's

47:00really like it's exciting to hear about

47:02and to hear about the other potential. I

47:04do want to go back to one sentence you

47:07something you said Dr. Hoyo and you're

47:08part of the presentation um which is you

47:11said that you were looking at the MCAT

47:15scores across the district and you could

47:17see spots where we were making better

47:21progress at closing the achievement gap

47:24and you know you've been here a while I

47:26don't want you don't feel like you have

47:27to give us everything but if you can

47:29just say a little bit more about what

47:31you think you could like if you've

47:33already started figuring out like what

47:36you're going to take from those examples

47:38and you know sort of how you're going to

47:40try to scale some of that. Um I would

47:43love to hear a little more.

47:45[clears throat]

47:48>> Yeah. Um

47:52the thing the hard thing about MCCAST is

47:55that it's a snapshot in time,

47:57>> right? And you could be having a

47:59terrible day and you may not do as well

48:01as you would the following day. Um and

48:03so we look at MCCAST

48:06but it is not the only thing that we

48:09look at. And so

48:11one thing that we are going to start

48:13moving towards and trying to do more of

48:15is looking at student work. uh

48:18especially trying to get into the

48:20elementary schools in their ACE time,

48:23being able to once the PBA has been done

48:25to go in and as a team look at it and

48:29try to say

48:32where

48:33is it that we need to change curriculum?

48:37Where is it that we need to maybe add a

48:40graph of the week or we need to do some

48:43shifting for the curriculum? and how

48:45much do we need to do in terms of

48:47professional learning? Um,

48:51and so that will be a a slow process

48:54because I don't want to just give

48:56teachers the PBAs. I I could do that.

48:59Miss Huber and I could make them give

49:00them to them and say go for it. Uh, but

49:03we want this to be a thinking

49:06partnership with teachers so that they

49:10they are the experts of what they do.

49:13Um, I'm really good at science. I'm not

49:15really good at kindergarten.

49:17>> Right. And those are the teachers that

49:20we're working with right now. And and we

49:21[clears throat] created a PBA and gave

49:23it to them and they were like, you know,

49:25our kids are five, right? I was like,

49:28oh, no, no, it's not. Um, [laughter]

49:31but you know, and they were very

49:33gracious and invited us into

49:34kindergarten classrooms to see what

49:365-year-olds can actually do. Um a and so

49:41we we want to go slow to go fast. Um we

49:44want teacher input. We want it to be a

49:46partnership

49:48um versus kind of a top- down

49:50requirement in terms of the PBAs. Um,

49:53and so we're we're going slow and we are

49:55hoping that because these assessments

49:58allow students to make sense of the

50:02information in their own way that we

50:05will be able to

50:07see a closing of the gap

50:11um with our focal groups

50:15>> a and you know hoping that it what

50:18they're doing in class will then be able

50:20to transfer onto the status. I mean, it

50:23seems like kindergarteners are the

50:24perfect kit students for a PBA. Like

50:28that's all they do all day long,

50:30[laughter] right?

50:31>> Um, did you have the question or No, I

50:34couldn't tell.

50:34>> I'm gonna keep gonna speak too, right?

50:37>> Oh, that's what I was Are you speaking

50:39or you

50:40>> Oh, I don't Only if you have a question.

50:42>> Oh. Oh,

50:43>> I I hope I was hoping we were going to

50:44hear about five things.

50:46Oh well, we are doing we are doing the

50:48the phenomena based teaching and with

50:51PBAs. Last year Michelle Frasier

50:53actually um did we did it with third

50:56grade and fifth grade and fifth grade

50:57piloted a couple um and Desi came

51:00because Desi has some set PVAs

51:04um to help I think their their goal is

51:06to help with the new innovative

51:07assessment in MCCast because that itself

51:10is almost a performance-based assessment

51:12with the computer simulation. Um,

51:16yes. So, and and I don't know if

51:18Michelle wants to say anything, but it

51:20was we also experienced with her fifth

51:22graders um writing fatigue and but they

51:26did they also enjoyed the test the

51:29assessment better than the traditional

51:31assessment I would say. Um, so well so

51:34first I want sorry I thought you were

51:36going to share a little more so I was um

51:38so thank you for this presentation. I

51:40think it was really helpful. I really

51:41appreciated how you sort of showed what

51:44an old assess or traditional assessment

51:46might look like and what this might

51:47might look like and and the contrasting

51:50um a lot of my colleagues have

51:51highlighted um things. But another thing

51:53that I just wanted to highlight was um I

51:56appreciated so much how how you

51:57mentioned that it also allows you to

51:59assess your teaching and notice what you

52:02may have missed in in teaching the

52:04students. Um, and I think that's such a

52:06great example of good teaching and I

52:08think that's happening in Arlington a

52:11lot and so I appreciate you

52:13>> sharing that. Um,

52:14>> thank you.

52:15>> I also appreciate Dr. Hoyo the the

52:18opportunity to give um teachers the

52:21chance to explore a different approach

52:23um to to supporting students in their

52:26learning. Um that doesn't happen

52:27everywhere. Um and then my last question

52:31might actually be for Dr. Ford Walker,

52:33but um you mentioned ACE time and PD

52:36time and um I'm just curious

52:40um you know some some districts fit

52:44science in in different amounts of time

52:46and ways and [clears throat] things like

52:48that. Um and it's very evident from what

52:50you all have shared and and the results

52:52that um that science is happening very

52:56intentionally from from kindergarten to

52:5812th grade. Um, and so I'm curious, um,

53:02h

53:03how do you how do you support that

53:06happening in terms of ACE time, in terms

53:08of, um, early release days and balancing

53:12sort of especially K to five, right,

53:14where it's a general educator and

53:16they're expected to teach a lot of

53:17content. Um, where does that support?

53:22>> I mean, I'm going to start off by saying

53:23that that's an area that we're still

53:24working on to be honest with you. K to

53:26five. Um, I'd love for you all to share

53:29just what the support is looking like in

53:31terms of what how Sarah is going into

53:32schools and supporting teachers and then

53:35I'll jump back in.

53:37>> I would say the trickiest part with

53:39science, I'm not sure if this is the is

53:43the right place, but the trickiest part

53:44is the scheduling is just making sure

53:46they actually have two science blocks a

53:49week. um that they have the time to do

53:53the the activities and the assessment is

53:55is the trickiest part. Um ACE is um it's

53:59very math and ELA heavy the ACE times.

54:02Um but I I do get called in on occasion

54:06for ACES.

54:09It's really about building strong

54:11partnerships. Um, and I think that

54:15between curriculum leaders and

54:18principles, we're constantly building

54:20and making those partnerships stronger.

54:23Um,

54:24and K5 teacher, I don't know how they do

54:28it. [clears throat]

54:29Um, they are masters of everything. Um,

54:33it's incredible what they do. What we

54:36have we what Miss Huber has provided,

54:39let's all be honest with each other, um

54:41is she has provided incredible amounts

54:44of resources for teachers to be able to

54:46use that it's almost like an

54:48off-the-shelf curriculum. They can take

54:50it, they can look at it, they can teach

54:52it. Um she has embedded

54:56phenomena at the very beginning so that

54:59we're doing that phenomena based

55:00teaching. She's embedded a lot of the EL

55:03strategies uh and the high lever

55:05instructional practices in there. So

55:07this is where you should do a turn and

55:08talk. This is where this protocol would

55:10work well. Um given students uh given

55:15teachers access to word walls and and

55:18all of these other things so that

55:21we Miss Hubert gives teachers uh what

55:24they need in order to be successful. And

55:27we have been very lucky in

55:30support from principles, support from

55:32central office, Dr. Ford Walker, Dr.

55:34Hullman in making sure that science and

55:38social studies uh is a priority in the

55:41elementary schedules. Could we use more

55:43time? Always, right? It goes back to

55:45that what do I need? Time and money. Um,

55:49but I know that we are very lucky and

55:52and the kids in Arlington are very lucky

55:55um that the town and the school

55:58prioritizes science and social studies

56:00because not everyone gets the amount

56:02that we get. So I I do thank all of you

56:06and and [clears throat] Dr. Hman and Dr.

56:08Ford Walker for giving us that time in

56:10and making sure that it is important.

56:13>> Thank you. And and then the one area

56:15that I do want to build off of that you

56:16mentioned, Dr. Hoy, um is this time that

56:20we have provided for school leaders and

56:23directors to meet um in order to talk

56:26about things such as the schedule. Um so

56:28we have eight sessions that are built

56:30into our leadership calendar this year

56:31where principles and directors can meet

56:34with one another um and really talk

56:37about things such as what are the

56:39barriers to making sure that our

56:41students are getting the recommended

56:42time. um instructional time for science

56:45and social studies. Um what are the

56:47other barriers that exist with the

56:49schedule? I think as we all know the

56:51schedule is often a challenge and

56:54they're just are not enough numbers or

56:56hours or minutes in the day um minutes

57:00versus numbers, excuse me, in the day um

57:02for all of the instruction that we want

57:06to take place to actually take place in

57:08a very thoughtful way. um and we're

57:11working towards ensuring that that

57:13happens more frequently as it relates to

57:15science and social studies. So that's

57:17the area that we can continue to improve

57:19in to be honest with you.

57:21>> Thank you. And as I said, I think you're

57:23there's a lot happening with the finite

57:25time that you do have.

57:29>> Anybody else?

57:30>> Thank you so much.

57:31>> Thank you very much for your time.

57:33>> I just want to thank you all. Thank you

57:34team. Thank you Sarah. Thank you Alex.

57:37Um, thank you so much for your hard work

57:39and contributions and Dr. Hoy, thank you

57:41for your great leadership of this

57:43department and team.

57:44>> Thank you.

57:44>> Thank you.

57:46>> Okay.

57:48Uh, next up we are going to hear from

57:50the Arlington Education Foundation.

57:54>> Okay. So, tonight I am excited to

57:58welcome AEF President Stephanie Murphy,

58:00Vice President Tracy Callahan, and

58:03Secretary Joy Dennison. The AEF is a

58:06major supporter of our APS educators,

58:09leaders, and students, and they have

58:11funded a number of district priorities

58:13and supported a lot of great work

58:15throughout the district. Um, I'm excited

58:17to welcome the Arlington Education

58:18Foundation team.

58:21>> Great. Thank you for having us here this

58:23evening and for inviting us to speak

58:24about AF. Um, I'm Stephanie Murphy,

58:27board president. This is Joy, board

58:29secretary, and Tracy is the uh co-vice

58:32president. Um, Arlington Education

58:35Foundation, for those of you that don't

58:37know, it's a volunteer-run nonprofit,

58:40and we support and enrich the public

58:42education here in Arlington. That's our

58:45mission. We fund [clears throat] ideas

58:47and initiatives that enhance the

58:49educational experience for both students

58:52and teachers.

58:54On the next slide, please.

58:57Um, just a couple of fun facts about

59:00AAF. Um we were incorporated in 2010 um

59:03when we merged with a similar

59:05organization.

59:06Um we are all volunteers. Um we have a

59:10board um of about 11 to 12 uh I guess 12

59:13to 15 people plus also a bunch of school

59:16representatives as well. Um we allocate

59:20and sort of plan to give out around

59:21$180,000 in grants to the Arlington

59:24public schools every year. um and over

59:26the last five years have actually given

59:27out just over half a million dollars um

59:30to the schools.

59:32The next slide, please. Uh we have four

59:36different grant categories.

59:39We have our excellence and education

59:40grants and that's a new name. Um you

59:43previously knew them as innovations

59:44grants. We just changed the name uh this

59:47year to sort of better reflect the types

59:50of grants we were actually funding. So

59:53both innovative ideas but also things

59:55that were really enriching and enhancing

59:58um for student learning. So high impact

1:00:00on that student learning. So we felt

1:00:02excellence in education was a better

1:00:03reflection of what we were funding. Um

1:00:06and so we give out a number of those um

1:00:08each year. Those are capped at $4,000

1:00:10each. We also have our continuing

1:00:12scholar awards and those are for the

1:00:14teachers for professional development

1:00:16and enrichment as well. And so they can

1:00:19use that to go to conferences or take

1:00:21workshops, things that will really um

1:00:23enhance their experience.

1:00:26Then we have our district level grants.

1:00:28We have two different levels of those.

1:00:29We have development and expansion grants

1:00:31and they're usually um in the $20,000

1:00:34range and we usually give out a couple

1:00:36of those a year and those usually come

1:00:38um again usually from cost district from

1:00:40maybe department heads or at that level.

1:00:42Um, and then we have a district

1:00:44investment grant, which is our largest

1:00:45one, which usually comes directly from

1:00:47the superintendent. And then our newest

1:00:50ones, uh, which are really fun, they're

1:00:52the Arlington High School club grants.

1:00:54So any of the established clubs at the

1:00:57high school can apply. It's on a rolling

1:00:59basis this year. Um, they can apply for

1:01:01up to $350. And this is a great way for

1:01:04the clubs to have access to do more with

1:01:07some more funding, but also for the

1:01:08students to have a chance to learn about

1:01:10the process of applying for grants.

1:01:15Um, and then of course to give away all

1:01:18that money, we have to raise some money.

1:01:21Um, so we have a number of fundraising

1:01:23and also just events as well. Um, a lot

1:01:25of our fundraising is direct support. um

1:01:28families and community members that

1:01:30donate directly to AAF. Um and we always

1:01:33appreciate those. Many Arlington public

1:01:36school families also are able to donate

1:01:38through the stars program where they can

1:01:40make a donation sort of in a teacher's

1:01:42name and the teacher gets a star

1:01:45recognition certificate. [clears throat]

1:01:48Um we have many we're grateful to our

1:01:50many local businesses that help sponsor

1:01:52particularly our 5K and help get that

1:01:54going. Of course, the 5K itself is both

1:01:56a fundraiser, but also a great community

1:01:58event. Um, I love it. You go out there,

1:02:00you see your neighbors, you see all the

1:02:02school running clubs. Um, it's just a

1:02:04really joyful time to celebrate all

1:02:06that's going on in the Arlington

1:02:07schools. Um, and we also have our annual

1:02:10showcase. We just switched the format

1:02:12last year and we'll continue with this

1:02:14new format where we're making it um, a

1:02:16free event open to all ages. We did it

1:02:19on a Saturday morning in January and

1:02:21tried to have some interactive things

1:02:22and it was a really great way for more

1:02:25community members to come and see all

1:02:27the great ideas that are happening in

1:02:28Arlington and see the teachers and

1:02:30students behind those ideas and be able

1:02:33to kind of interact with them and have a

1:02:36um just more people to know what's going

1:02:38on and the sorts of things that we are

1:02:40funding.

1:02:42Um and then I'm going to pass it on to

1:02:44Joy who's going to tell you about some

1:02:45of those specific grants that we funded.

1:02:47>> Yeah. Well, here at AF, um we believe

1:02:50that educators within Arlington public

1:02:51schools have great ideas and so many of

1:02:54our grants are designed to give um

1:02:56educators the runway to sort of try out

1:02:58those ideas, see if they work, um see if

1:03:01they can have some impact on the

1:03:03students that they um are teaching and

1:03:05interacting with. So um so I'll just

1:03:07share a few grant highlights from the

1:03:09last couple years, a few [clears throat]

1:03:10projects that we have funded. Um one is

1:03:13a native plants garden at Bracket

1:03:15Elementary. This was a partnership um

1:03:18between uh a group of parents, the green

1:03:20team at Bracket, and uh teachers and

1:03:24administrators. And uh we um granted

1:03:27them $4,000 to build a native plant

1:03:30learning garden um adjacent to the to

1:03:32the um playground at Bracket. Um and so

1:03:35it was a really um sort of great

1:03:37project. Um actually second graders um

1:03:40started many of the plants from seed and

1:03:43grew them over the winter and then this

1:03:46spring um all of the classes um from

1:03:48ages K through five got to go out and

1:03:51actually plant uh all of the plants in

1:03:53the garden and set it up and they'll be

1:03:55continuing to maintain that garden and

1:03:57using it to learn about um all sorts of

1:03:59things um from science topics to weather

1:04:01topics um basically hands-on learning

1:04:04right in their in their playground

1:04:06space. So another uh grant that we have

1:04:09done in the last year or so um we helped

1:04:11uh a preschool teacher and a social

1:04:13worker at Monotomy preschool purchase a

1:04:153D printer. Um they [snorts] had this

1:04:17idea where they wanted to create custom

1:04:20u manipulatives to be used in their

1:04:22classrooms um that would increase access

1:04:24for students of all sorts of different

1:04:26learning styles and abilities. Um, so

1:04:28now when um, social worker Elena

1:04:30Knightly goes in um, to talk to students

1:04:33about big emotions and read them books

1:04:36about um, big feelings and how do you

1:04:39how do you manage those big feelings?

1:04:41And she talks about wave breathing. um

1:04:43the three and four year olds in that

1:04:45class can actually hold um custom

1:04:48printed um

1:04:51figurines of of waves and they can trace

1:04:53what it is to do wave breeding or they

1:04:55can trace star breathing to help sort of

1:04:57manage these sort of big feelings or

1:04:59when they read Brown Bear Brown Bear by

1:05:00Eric Carl um the students can hold um

1:05:04different uh replicas of the animals in

1:05:07that book and really sort of be able to

1:05:09engage um in in that learning with all

1:05:12of their senses. So, um, so that's been

1:05:14a great project. And then another, um,

1:05:16another actually pair of grants that

1:05:17we've done in the last few years, um, at

1:05:20Otis, um, they have a new elective

1:05:22running this this year, um, that is on

1:05:24videography. Um, and so we actually

1:05:27provided a $20,000 grant last spring,

1:05:30[clears throat]

1:05:30um, for them to be able to purchase um,

1:05:32high performing iPads and, uh, video

1:05:35equipment in order to be able to launch

1:05:37that new elective. We also had done uh

1:05:40an education excellence or innovations

1:05:42grant last year um to help them build a

1:05:44build a soundproof room so that um

1:05:47students could practice um recording

1:05:49things um learning how to do podcasts

1:05:52with each other. Um so these are some of

1:05:54the ways that um we are trying to um

1:05:56help with hands-on learning in all of

1:05:58the schools. So, next slide.

1:06:04And then a couple other um highlights of

1:06:07things that we have done in the last

1:06:08year or so. Um the spy ponder threads

1:06:10closet at the district level. Um we

1:06:13helped sort of provide supplies for

1:06:14that. Um and that is something that has

1:06:16impact on the entire community. Provides

1:06:19um coats and school supplies and boots

1:06:21um to families from across the community

1:06:24in Arlington. Um we also um helped uh

1:06:28psychology teacher um Michael Sandler

1:06:30[snorts] from the high school um attend

1:06:32the National American Psychological

1:06:34Association conference where he was um

1:06:36awarded a national teaching award last

1:06:38year. [snorts] Um and so it was an AF

1:06:40grant that helped him um get to that

1:06:42conference. So and lastly um Tracy

1:06:45mentioned our newest sort of grant

1:06:46initiative. A few years ago we noticed

1:06:48that um students at the high school um

1:06:50who are trying to run clubs um really

1:06:53had a need for funds. And so we

1:06:54introduced um AHS club grants and we are

1:06:57now in our third year of that. Um I just

1:06:59attended last week the high school club

1:07:01fair. Um there's over a [snorts] hundred

1:07:03um clubs at the high school. Um and so

1:07:06these grants um offer uh studentled

1:07:09clubs at the high school up to $350

1:07:12um over the course of a school year to

1:07:14be able to spend on club activities. So

1:07:16um one of the ones that we granted um

1:07:19provided a grant to last year was the

1:07:20reading buddies club. This is a club

1:07:22that um pairs high school students with

1:07:25preschool and elementary school students

1:07:27from across the district to practice

1:07:29reading together um to practice literacy

1:07:31skills. Um and so we provided some money

1:07:33so that they could um hold a spring

1:07:36fling reading fair and then an autumn

1:07:38reading fair um and bring families um of

1:07:41all ages together in Arlington schools.

1:07:44So um so these are just a few of our

1:07:46highlights and I will pass it over to

1:07:48Stephanie now.

1:07:51Yes. So, how can the community get

1:07:53involved and support AEF? Well,

1:07:55obviously direct donations. Um, that's

1:07:58what funds our grants and sign up for

1:08:01the 5K. Sign up and run. Um, and if you

1:08:04know any businesses that would love to

1:08:06sponsor us, um, sponsor the race, they

1:08:08can get on the t-shirt and to purchase

1:08:12the stars during our, uh, twice a year

1:08:14we're doing the star campaign, which

1:08:16recognizes the teachers and the donation

1:08:19for the star goes right to funding

1:08:21grants. And then to spread awareness, we

1:08:24are always looking for great volunteers

1:08:26to be on the board. uh and then just to

1:08:29inform teachers and other educators that

1:08:31these grants are available to them and

1:08:34to attend events, follow our social

1:08:36media and support obviously support our

1:08:39business sponsors.

1:08:41Oh,

1:08:41>> great. Thank you so much for having us.

1:08:43>> Thank you. Um, we're so glad that you

1:08:46exist and that you came to tell us just

1:08:49a small sl I know it's like what we

1:08:51heard about tonight is

1:08:53>> like barely like touches everything that

1:08:57you all do and um so much of what you

1:09:01know we've done at the district level

1:09:03was has been made possible by EF

1:09:05funding. Um does anybody have any

1:09:07questions?

1:09:12Okay,

1:09:12>> thank you so much.

1:09:15>> Thank you.

1:09:15>> I just wanted to echo uh Mrs. Gillson,

1:09:18thank you so much for your partnership.

1:09:20Thank you for your support. Um, as was

1:09:24stated, we um really value your support

1:09:27and uh look forward to continuing the

1:09:30partnership that we have with you. um as

1:09:34you know I think as all of the um people

1:09:37who've benefited from the support of AEF

1:09:40have said to you it has really made a

1:09:43huge difference in many different ways

1:09:45and so um you know whatever we can do to

1:09:48continue to work together and strengthen

1:09:50the partnership please let us know but

1:09:52thank you for everything.

1:09:53>> Thank you.

1:09:57Uh, next up we have a second read on

1:10:01policy JLCD and JLCDC. Mr. Schlickman.

1:10:06>> Well, okay. Um, it's good to be back

1:10:09here with JLCD and JLCDE. It's been a

1:10:14while to get to this point. Um, we've

1:10:17[clears throat] made substantive

1:10:18improvements in JLCD.

1:10:22Um now I want to make it clear that what

1:10:26we're doing is in one way we're

1:10:29separating policy from procedure and in

1:10:33the original policy this was sort of

1:10:35mixed up a little bit and so the efforts

1:10:40of Dr. Al Allison Ampy and the

1:10:42administration have been important in

1:10:45terms of crafting what I think is a far

1:10:48better policy than we were presented by

1:10:51its beginning

1:10:53and probably the best policy in the

1:10:55state. The the one thing I note is that

1:10:58there are several places where we're

1:11:01saying that items should be shall be in

1:11:05the uh student handbooks and shall be in

1:11:09other documents. Uh that's not our

1:11:12policy right now. It only becomes policy

1:11:14when we vote it. So that the expectation

1:11:18will be going forward the information

1:11:21that we're demanding under this policy

1:11:24will end up included in the places that

1:11:27are described in the policy. So I

1:11:30recommend

1:11:31uh adoption of JLCD and JLCDC.

1:11:36Uh I move approval.

1:11:40>> I'll second.

1:11:42>> Anybody want Did you want to speak to

1:11:43it, Dr. Alani? So, while I appreciate

1:11:46the improvements that have happened with

1:11:49the policy, um it's still I'm still

1:11:52concerned that some of the things that

1:11:54the law says that we need to provide to

1:11:56parents

1:11:58aren't actually being provided publicly

1:12:00to parents yet. Like u Mr. Schlickman

1:12:04says, I guess they'll show up in the

1:12:06handbook, but right now they're not

1:12:08there. So to me, the law is saying we're

1:12:12supposed to provide this information and

1:12:14that information and it's either

1:12:16supposed to be in policy or I mean our

1:12:19handbooks are policy, but right now we

1:12:22aren't providing that information to

1:12:25parents. So, I'm going to abstain

1:12:29because I don't

1:12:33feel comfortable voting for something

1:12:36which is essentially saying we're

1:12:38supposed to provide this, but we haven't

1:12:40actually. Um,

1:12:43but I

1:12:46we're tinkering with what almost every

1:12:49other district in the state is using. I

1:12:52mean, we're improving upon

1:12:54what almost every other district in the

1:12:57state is already using because it's been

1:12:59supplied by um MASC.

1:13:03So maybe my standards are too high, but

1:13:06I'm going to vote by them. [laughter]

1:13:08>> Understood. Uh any other questions or

1:13:11comments?

1:13:13Miss Xton,

1:13:14>> is there a timeline by which I mean I

1:13:17know this was like brought to us in the

1:13:19spring and we've working

1:13:20>> I think we're supposed to have it

1:13:22already. It's supposed to be reapproved

1:13:25every two years or something. So, you

1:13:27know, we can go back and I I can keep

1:13:33>> I will support it for now and we can

1:13:35edit it.

1:13:37>> Okay. Uh the motion has been made and

1:13:39seconded. I will take a roll call vote.

1:13:41Mr. Cardon

1:13:44>> yes

1:13:44>> miss H Cathorn

1:13:46>> yes

1:13:46>> Dr. Alison Ampy

1:13:47>> abstain

1:13:48>> Mr. Thalman

1:13:49>> yes

1:13:49>> Mr. Slickman

1:13:50>> yes

1:13:50>> Miss Xton

1:13:51>> yes

1:13:51>> and the chair votes yes so that is six

1:13:54in favor one abstension thank you

1:13:58>> okay um [clears throat] superintendence

1:14:01update Dr. Ford Walker.

1:14:04>> Okay. Um, I have just a few brief

1:14:07updates tonight.

1:14:16Okay, great.

1:14:20The first is um I

1:14:25would like to recognize Nancy Hardesty

1:14:28who was a seventh grade teacher at MS

1:14:31for her heroism. Earlier this week,

1:14:33Nancy performed a Heimlick on a student

1:14:36uh saving their life. The student is

1:14:38fine thanks to her quick action. Um but

1:14:42we thought that it would be absolutely

1:14:44important to recognize her and thank her

1:14:47um for uh this act. Um I know that

1:14:51principal Ribbino as well as Dr. Hman

1:14:54who uh we all found out this morning um

1:14:56of her of this act that happened

1:14:58yesterday. We're all extremely just

1:15:00proud and thankful for her. Um and so we

1:15:03wanted to share with uh the school

1:15:05committee and the larger community um

1:15:07her act. So thank you Nant

1:15:12and the student is fine. I do I should

1:15:14say that. Um and next I want to share

1:15:18that there will be a combined town and

1:15:20school budget forum happening on October

1:15:2229th. Um that is to do one of or two

1:15:28things. The purpose is to really share

1:15:30how proactively

1:15:32um the information around the budget um

1:15:37to share that information and also to

1:15:38answer any questions that people may

1:15:40have about how the town and the school

1:15:42collaborate together during that

1:15:43process. Um we hope that we will have a

1:15:47number of people who are able to attend

1:15:49in person, but if not, there will be an

1:15:51online option to participate remotely.

1:15:54Um and if you're unable to attend, we

1:15:56still encourage you to register because

1:15:58um you'll be able to receive uh the

1:16:01recording after. And so again, that is

1:16:03happening on October 29th at 7 o'clock

1:16:06here at the high school in the discourse

1:16:08lab.

1:16:10And that is it for my rec for my

1:16:13>> Thank you.

1:16:14>> update.

1:16:15>> And also on there there was the QR code

1:16:17for people to submit questions. Um

1:16:20>> and I think I know from something Dr.

1:16:22our home and said, "We want to be clear.

1:16:24This is this is this we're we're sharing

1:16:27information without a crisis in front of

1:16:30us." Um, and we want to be really clear

1:16:32that that is like we like want to talk

1:16:34about these things when we're not in the

1:16:38midst

1:16:39>> of of considering like drastic measures.

1:16:44So,

1:16:44>> absolutely. Thank you. Um, yes, please

1:16:47scan the QR code to submit questions um

1:16:49and also to register.

1:16:52Okay, that we'll now move on to the

1:16:53consent agenda. All items listed with an

1:16:56asterric are considered to be routine

1:16:58and will be enacted by one motion. There

1:17:00will be no separate discussion of these

1:17:02items unless a member of the committee

1:17:03so requests in which again in which

1:17:05event the item will be considered in its

1:17:08normal sequence. Warrant number 27081

1:17:11October 6th, 2026 $459,272.32

1:17:17cents and the school committee draft

1:17:19meeting minutes from September 24th,

1:17:212026.

1:17:23Can I have a motion?

1:17:24>> So moved.

1:17:27>> Second.

1:17:28>> Thank you. Uh roll call vote. Mr.

1:17:30Carden,

1:17:31>> yes.

1:17:32>> Miss Hans Copathornne,

1:17:33>> yes.

1:17:34>> Uh Dr. Alison Ny,

1:17:35>> yes.

1:17:35>> Mr. Thelman,

1:17:36>> yes.

1:17:36>> Mr. Schlickman,

1:17:37>> yes. Miss Xton.

1:17:38>> Yes.

1:17:39>> And the chair votes yes. Thank you. Uh

1:17:42subcommittee liaison reports and

1:17:44announcements budget. Dr. Curs Dr.

1:17:47Alampy.

1:17:48>> Um I think we should be scheduling a

1:17:51meeting in the next couple weeks.

1:17:53[clears throat]

1:17:54>> Uh community relations. Mr. Thelman.

1:17:57>> No report.

1:17:58>> Curriculum instruction assessment and

1:18:00accountability. Miss Xton.

1:18:02>> Um I have some agenda items that are

1:18:04gathering. So, I'll be scheduling a

1:18:06meeting soon. Um, I did want to just get

1:18:10the sense of the committee. I Every year

1:18:13after we do the superintendent

1:18:15evaluation, there's sort of a

1:18:16conversation about what the form should

1:18:18look like [clears throat] next year.

1:18:20[laughter]

1:18:21Um, do do people want there to be a CIA

1:18:26conversation or are people happy to let

1:18:29Cher Goodson

1:18:30do that work for us?

1:18:32>> Oh, that's real.

1:18:35>> [laughter]

1:18:36>> So

1:18:38>> I think it would actually best if Dr.

1:18:40Holland, Miss Gdlesson worked out

1:18:43something based on their collective

1:18:44experience.

1:18:45>> Okay.

1:18:45>> I do.

1:18:46>> And then bring it to us where we can go.

1:18:48>> And then when you complain about it

1:18:50afterwards.

1:18:50>> No, I you guys are in agreement. I

1:18:53honestly

1:18:54>> Yeah.

1:18:56>> Okay. Is that it?

1:18:58>> That Yeah.

1:18:58>> Okay. Uh facilities, Mr. Filman,

1:19:01>> we are trying to schedule a meeting and

1:19:03we're working on dates uh that are work

1:19:05for the superintendent and then once we

1:19:07get that actually we do have some times

1:19:08now that we're then we're going to

1:19:10circulate something. So you guys should

1:19:12look for an email from Miss Diggins

1:19:14tomorrow.

1:19:16>> Uh policy and procedures. Mr.

1:19:18Schlickman,

1:19:19>> we have scheduled a meeting for 300 PM

1:19:21next Thursday.

1:19:24>> Uh Arlington High School Building

1:19:25Committee, Mr. Thielman,

1:19:27>> there's really no report. I mean, it's

1:19:28moving. There's we're in the final final

1:19:30final stuff.

1:19:32>> Addison Middle School Building

1:19:33Committee, Miss Xton.

1:19:35>> Sure. Um so, uh it came to my attention

1:19:38that I may not have been as clear as I

1:19:40should have been on September 10th, um

1:19:42about some things that happened in the

1:19:44summer. Um so, in July, the district met

1:19:47with the MSBA to hear their feasibility

1:19:50study enrollment recommendations. Um

1:19:53those enrollment recommendations

1:19:55included an enrollment number for the

1:19:57current model of a seventh and eighth

1:19:59grade school and an enrollment number

1:20:01for a consolidated model of a single

1:20:03seventh and eighth grade uh a single

1:20:06sixth through eighth grade school,

1:20:08excuse me. Um the MSBA allows for up to

1:20:11three study enrollment recommendations.

1:20:14Um so on August 19th, the building

1:20:16committee met um and Dr. H. woman

1:20:18presented the possibility of a third

1:20:20enrollment model um of two six through8

1:20:23schools, one housed at the Gibbs and one

1:20:25housed at the new MS. Um and after a

1:20:28lengthy discussion, the the committee

1:20:30decided not to request a third study

1:20:33enrollment recommendation from the MSBA

1:20:35for two sixth through 8th schools. So,

1:20:38we are not getting um an enrollment

1:20:41recommendation from the dis from the

1:20:43MSBA

1:20:45for two sixth through 8th grade schools.

1:20:47I just want to make sure that's clear.

1:20:51>> Thank you. Um okay, we

1:20:55>> you just want to make one Thank you for

1:20:56that clarification. the MSBA routine in

1:20:59all of the projects that we've been

1:21:01involved with here, Thompson

1:21:04and that I've been involved with

1:21:05Thompson and AHS underestimated the

1:21:08number of students we would have. Just

1:21:09to put that out there for the record

1:21:10[clears throat] and I realize it's

1:21:11largely out of our control, but I just

1:21:13want to put that.

1:21:13>> So, they did so um so the numbers that

1:21:16they gave us in July um they came back

1:21:20uh Dr. home and asked them um to take

1:21:23out the COVID years because they skewed

1:21:25our numbers and so the numbers that they

1:21:28came back with um were higher than that

1:21:32what they gave us in July. Probably

1:21:34still not enough. I appreciate that, Mr.

1:21:36Gilman. Um but they are higher than they

1:21:38were um in July.

1:21:40>> All right. Thank you. I didn't know

1:21:41that, but well, good job. I'm glad to

1:21:42hear that

1:21:43>> Mr. Carton.

1:21:46>> Uh thank you. Yes. Thank you for any

1:21:48additional information. My my concern on

1:21:52seeing what you know had been discussed

1:21:54at that meeting was that a lot of that

1:21:56is sort of in our realm, right? So if we

1:21:58ever decide to change our grade

1:22:00structure to have a 6 through8 school,

1:22:02we'll have to vote that. If we had

1:22:05decided that actually, you know, I still

1:22:08think once the once the new Otis is

1:22:10built, we could and we we have the

1:22:12Gibbs, we can still decide regardless of

1:22:15what the enrollment was. um to change

1:22:17the grade configuration to make that

1:22:20also a 6 to8 school. So um I just want

1:22:24to make sure that we're in the loop as

1:22:26as the planning progresses

1:22:29um and we're aware of decisions being

1:22:32made to either close off opportunities

1:22:35or open other opportunities. Thanks.

1:22:39>> Thank you. [clears throat]

1:22:42Um, okay. We are going to move into when

1:22:46I get a motion into executive session.

1:22:50Um, and we're not going to be returning

1:22:52afterwards.

1:22:54So, hold on. My papers got out of order

1:22:59with the language for Oh. So, um,

1:23:04uh, can I get a motion to enter into

1:23:08executive session to conduct strategy

1:23:10sessions in preparation for negotiations

1:23:13with non-UN personnel or to conduct

1:23:15collective bargaining sessions or

1:23:16contract negotiations

1:23:18with non-UN personnel superintendent

1:23:20contract and to review and possible

1:23:23approval of executive session meeting

1:23:25minutes from September 24th, 2026. But

1:23:29you have to say that cannot be conducted

1:23:32and I mean I don't remember that it's

1:23:34it's not written there but it should say

1:23:36>> that cannot that

1:23:38>> discussing it in public would be

1:23:42>> the chair declares it cannot be done in

1:23:44public.

1:23:44>> Okay. I declare it cannot be not done in

1:23:46public. Thank you Dr. Alison.

1:23:50>> So moved.

1:23:52>> Second.

1:23:53>> Uh Mr. Carden.

1:23:55>> Yes.

1:23:55>> Miss Hans Capathornne.

1:23:56>> Yes.

1:23:57>> Dr. Dr. Alison.

1:23:58>> Yes.

1:23:58>> Mr. Thielman.

1:23:59>> Yes.

1:23:59>> Mr. Schllebin.

1:24:00>> Yes.

1:24:00>> Miss Xton.

1:24:01>> Yes.

1:24:01>> And the chair votes yes. Thank you.

1:24:07[music]

1:24:16[music]

1:24:22>> [music]

1:24:27[music]