2026-10-22 - School Committee

00:01[music]

00:07[music]

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00:14>> Tonight's meeting of the Arlington

00:16School Committee is being conducted in

00:18person and through the use of Zoom. This

00:20meeting is being simultaneously

00:22broadcast on ACMI and the meeting is

00:24being recorded. Because well, actually

00:27we don't have any members participating

00:29remotely as far as I know. If they do

00:31appear remotely, we will do roll call

00:33votes. Uh persons wishing to access the

00:36meeting using Zoom

00:38may find information on how to do so on

00:40the town's website. The posted agenda

00:42and supporting materials for this

00:44meeting are also available on the town's

00:46website. Due to open meeting law

00:48restrictions, the committee cannot

00:50participate in or access Zoom's chat

00:52function. While everyone is welcome to

00:54observe the meeting, active remote

00:56participation requires advance notice.

00:59All participants are asked to activate

01:00their camera and shall provide their

01:02full name in interest of developing a

01:04record of the meeting.

01:06Uh we will go first to public comment.

01:09For members of the public who wish to

01:11address the committee, there will be 20

01:12minutes of public comment. If you would

01:14like to sign up to speak either remotely

01:17via Zoom or in person, you must email

01:19Elizabeth Diggins by 6:00 p.m. Thursday

01:22the date of the meeting. Depending on

01:23how many people sign up, time allotments

01:25may be reduced but will not exceed 3

01:27minutes each. If the number of people

01:29who sign up exceeds what can be easily

01:32done in 20 minutes, the number of

01:34speakers may be capped or speaking times

01:36may be reduced at the discretion of the

01:38chair. All requests to speak received

01:40after the date and time indicated will

01:42be invited

01:43uh to speak at the next School Committee

01:45regular meeting. We have three community

01:49members, I think all in here all here in

01:52person for public comment this evening.

01:54The first one is Elizabeth McWhorter.

02:01One moment.

02:09>> You want me to do my name and address?

02:11>> Uh hold just 1 second. Let me make sure

02:13I

02:14want to I screw this up a lot.

02:16>> [laughter]

02:16>> Okay, I'm ready and yes.

02:18>> Okay. Uh good evening. I'm Elizabeth

02:20McWhorter. I'm here as chair of the

02:21Arlington Special Education Parent

02:23Advisory Council and I live at 170 to

02:25Mount Vernon Street.

02:27State law created the SEPAC to advise

02:29this committee. That's a requirement,

02:31not a courtesy. Right now, the advisory

02:33role of SEPAC is limited to individual

02:35relationships with members of the

02:36district and the school committee.

02:39When I reviewed the deck for Dr. Homan's

02:40outcomes report tonight, I saw evidence

02:42of our collaboration.

02:44The nuance and transparency with which

02:46she discusses outcomes for students with

02:47IEPs is noted by us, appreciated, and

02:50should be applauded. Dr. Homan, thank

02:52you for listening to us.

02:54But this approach does not scale or

02:56provide a structure for systemic

02:57collaboration. This past June, the

03:00committee approved policy KBG. The

03:02committee approved amended language on

03:04second reading and the record says that

03:05was done in consultation with the SEPAC.

03:08We had one short conversation with

03:09district staff with only partial

03:11information.

03:12Consultation means we see the language,

03:14have time to respond, and our response

03:16is on the table before you vote.

03:18If a short conversation with partial

03:20information is is what consultation

03:22means in Arlington, we need to talk

03:24about what you think the SEPAC or any

03:26parent advisory council is for.

03:29And this isn't only about us. When this

03:31committee changes a policy, how is a

03:33parent or a student supposed to find

03:35out? Where was the revised bullying

03:37policy posted? A policy code on an

03:40agenda isn't notice.

03:42Families shouldn't have to read every

03:43packet to learn that something changed.

03:46Families trust a process when they can

03:47see it. Right now, they can't. So, So,

03:50asking for three things. One, bring KBG

03:53back so the SEPAC can review the

03:54language. Two, correct the record on how

03:57this amendment was developed. And three,

03:59before the bullying policy goes further,

04:01post the draft where families can find

04:03it and open a comment window. Then make

04:05that the rule for every policy. Drafts

04:08in one findable place, comment before

04:10each reading, and vote with a

04:11distribution plan and anything

04:13potentially touching special education.

04:15Sent to the SEPAC directly.

04:17We're ready to build this with you. The

04:19next step is yours.

04:21Thank you.

04:21>> Thank you.

04:24Um next is

04:30Um Claire Abbott.

04:43>> Good evening, Chair Kittelson,

04:44Superintendent Homan, and members of the

04:46committee. My name is Claire Abbott, and

04:48I live at 22 Fisher Road.

04:50>> [snorts]

04:50>> I'm a parent of three APS students, and

04:52I'm here about policy JICFB, the

04:55bullying prevention policy.

04:57One of my children has an IEP that

04:59identifies vulnerability to bullying as

05:01a particular concern due to his

05:03disabilities, and he has been through

05:05the dis- the district's bullying

05:06procedures twice, as both the target and

05:08the accused. In sixth grade, we filed a

05:11complaint with the district related to

05:12both physical and cyber bullying with

05:14video and text evidence. And despite six

05:17week weeks of outreach, this complaint

05:19was never investigated.

05:20In seventh grade, he was accused of

05:22bullying and suspended for six days

05:24after a rushed two-day investigation.

05:27We subsequently filed a PRS complaint

05:29that resulted in corrective actions

05:31related to the district's discipline and

05:33communications procedures,

05:35but it never addressed the pattern of

05:36inadequate bullying investigations due

05:38to the statute of limitations.

05:41As you update this policy, I bring to

05:43you four recommendations. First, I

05:46commend the new requirement to inform

05:48the target's family about the DESE PRs

05:50process.

05:51But bullying investigations involve two

05:53parties, and both families should be

05:55informed of their procedural rights.

05:58Second,

05:59the policy says an investigation, quote,

06:01may include interviews with the target,

06:04the accused, staff, and witnesses.

06:06Please change the word may to shall in

06:10order to ensure that all parties

06:11involved are adequately interviewed.

06:13This did not happen for us,

06:15and it contributed to incomplete

06:17findings and a disproportionate

06:18disciplinary response that is

06:20permanently on our son's record.

06:23Third,

06:24please do not replace the 14-day

06:26investigation period with the word

06:28promptly.

06:29While your intentions may be good in

06:31accelerating investigations, without a

06:33clear maximum timeline, the policy is

06:36vague and unenforceable.

06:39Fourth, as you know, students with

06:41disabilities are far more likely to be

06:43both targets and perpetrators of

06:45bullying.

06:46Disability status is not an excuse for

06:49harmful behavior,

06:51but a bullying investigatory policy

06:52should require consideration of

06:54disability factors and consultation with

06:56special education staff, so incidents

06:58are understood in context, and any

07:00subsequent discipline is appropriate.

07:03This is already noted in the district's

07:05bullying notification and intervention

07:07plan,

07:08but warrants explicit mention in policy

07:10as well to ensure that it is adhered to.

07:14My story is just about one child, and

07:16there are countless others who have

07:17important input and insight to share

07:19with this committee.

07:21I want to conclude by asking you to

07:23engage parents and guardians more

07:24directly about this policy, and to put

07:26these revisions out for true public

07:28comment, so you can hear directly from

07:29the students and families affected. I

07:32only discovered that this was on

07:33tonight's agenda 24 hours ago.

07:36Policy plays a critical role in

07:38signaling essential guardrails for

07:39district action. Policy holds districts

07:42accountable.

07:44I have tried to name the most important

07:45components that I believe should not be

07:47left to procedures, but codified in

07:49policy.

07:51I've submitted my full remarks and a

07:52policy markup in writing. Thank you.

07:54>> Thank you.

07:55>> Thank you. Great.

07:56>> [clears throat]

07:57>> Um next is uh Cheryl Miller.

08:09>> Hello, my name is Cheryl Miller out of

08:10the 10th Street.

08:12Uh I dealt with severe chronic

08:13absenteeism for both of my children who

08:15have disabilities.

08:16So, I was very interested to see that

08:18Dr. Holmes' outcomes presentation, which

08:19we'll hear tonight, delves deeply into

08:21chronic absenteeism.

08:23Some of the data presented is extremely

08:25important and could be a foundation for

08:27real change if APS chooses.

08:30But, I'm very concerned with one of the

08:31takeaways of her analysis,

08:33that underachievement is primarily

08:35because of focal group membership.

08:37Students don't underachieve, or for that

08:40matter become chronically absent,

08:42because of their race, income,

08:44disability status, or any other factor

08:46that's to them.

08:47They understand or be they they

08:49underachieve or become chronically

08:50absent because of how those things are

08:52met by the world.

08:54And APS is part of the world.

08:57So, how does APS treat students in the

08:59focal groups?

09:00Is there anything about how APS reacts

09:02to those kids that could get better

09:04leading to better outcomes?

09:06I thought that was what the equity audit

09:08and strategic plan were supposed to be

09:10about.

09:11Deeply interrogating APS's structures,

09:14systems, and biases,

09:16and overhauling them to make changes

09:18that would be felt by and result in

09:20better outcomes for students in the

09:22focal groups.

09:23But, while there has been activity, a

09:25working group here, a listening session

09:27there,

09:28meaningful change has been thin on the

09:29ground.

09:31And as far as outcomes, if you look at

09:32Dr. Holmes' presentation, too many of

09:34the trend lines are going in the wrong

09:36direction.

09:37I can only speak to disability.

09:39I tried so many times to just discuss

09:41disability as something apart from

09:43special education law. I tried to ask

09:45what APS's understanding of disability

09:47cultures was. I tried to ask whether

09:49they believed in nothing about about us

09:50without us.

09:52I did this because the reason my kids

09:54became chronically absent was not their

09:56disabilities. It was how APS reacted to

09:59their disabilities.

10:02I was met with a brick wall.

10:05And because I'm me, I bashed my head

10:07against that brick wall for years

10:09because I stupidly believed that APS

10:11intended to hold itself to the values of

10:13the strategic plan, that outcomes for

10:15focal groups are what matter, not

10:17actions taken,

10:18and that the school committee would

10:19actually hold Dr. Homan accountable.

10:23I no longer believe those things.

10:26There's so much I could say, so much

10:28about chronic absenteeism as it relates

10:30to disability and I don't like the

10:31special education.

10:33There's so much work that could be done

10:34to make things better for kids.

10:36What's lacking is the will to do it.

10:41>> [snorts]

10:45>> Um okay.

10:47Uh we will go to our AEA representative

10:50Jenna Medeiros who is online.

10:55>> Hey everybody, nice to see you. Um

10:56nothing to report.

10:58>> Thank you.

10:59And uh then to the AHS student

11:01representatives Sophia De Stefano and

11:03Elliot Lane.

11:05>> Wow, you did really good with the last

11:06name this time.

11:07>> I just want to be better than Mr.

11:08Thelman.

11:09>> And and you are and you are.

11:12>> [laughter]

11:12>> It's a very low bar.

11:13>> Very low bar. Of course, of course,

11:15yeah. I can take it.

11:17>> Um the sophomores and the juniors have

11:19the PSAT today. I've heard from multiple

11:22people that it went pretty well, but the

11:24second math module was pretty tricky.

11:26So, I'm hop- hoping they all did

11:28amazing. The seniors have the day off,

11:30but I actually came in and helped out

11:32with the freshman events that were going

11:34on where they had some like

11:35team-building exercises and such. Um we

11:38had the MASC officer show for us at

11:41student council

11:43um last weekend and it was very fun. We

11:45have our music tech concert coming up on

11:48the 27th. So you guys should all show up

11:50and support performing arts.

11:52>> And uh another shameless plug from the

11:55performing arts department uh

11:57Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing,

11:59the fall play, uh will be on November

12:0213th, Friday night, and there'll be a

12:04matinee on Saturday and a final show on

12:08that Saturday. Uh I'm in it and I'm very

12:10excited to uh be performing my final

12:13final play here at the uh at the high

12:15school. So

12:16uh I think tickets are out now. So

12:18please feel free to check them out.

12:19>> The posters are gorgeous.

12:21>> Oh yeah, they're they're really nice. We

12:22had a we had a student do them.

12:24>> Really?

12:24>> Yeah, nice.

12:26>> Okay.

12:29Perfect.

12:30>> Thanks. Thank you.

12:30>> You're all set?

12:31>> Yeah. Okay.

12:32>> Um okay. Our first presentation this

12:35evening is about the Addison Middle

12:37School middle school field trip to

12:38Washington D.C.

12:40Uh discussion and possible approval. Uh

12:43Ms. Rubino is remote and Ms. Keys is in

12:46person.

12:48>> [clears throat]

12:49>> Okay. So I'm going to pull up slides for

12:51you and you can tell me how to navigate.

12:53Um

12:54Ms. Keys and Ms. Rubino brought this

12:56idea to me uh several weeks back uh as

12:59something that we had uh discussed as

13:01the potential for more domestic trips at

13:03middle school. If you recall, we've done

13:05um international trips at middle school.

13:07We were trying to find things that would

13:09tie closely to the curriculum. Um so

13:11they brought this idea. I think the

13:12aspiration would be that it would be a

13:15broader trip for all of our students,

13:17but I don't think that's the least

13:19initial

13:20um goal at this. It would be to try

13:23something out. So they're going to talk

13:24to you about what we would like to try

13:26out,

13:28um, and the committee can discuss and

13:30raise any concerns that they might have,

13:32and I'm operating from a brand new

13:33computer that I just realized I've never

13:36shared on Zoom from before, so

13:38hold tight for just a second.

13:41I don't know what I need to tell it that

13:43it can do.

13:45Um.

13:52Okay, I have to quit and reopen Zoom.

13:55So.

13:57I will need to pull up the slides.

13:58>> was going to start by giving a little

13:59bit of background as to like where this

14:01idea came from. Maybe she can start

14:02doing that while you're pulling up the

14:03slides.

14:04>> for it.

14:05>> Hi everyone, thank you for,

14:07um, being here. I am in my car

14:10presenting, um, my daughter had a little

14:13induction ceremony that I didn't want to

14:14miss out on, so thank you for bearing

14:15with me as I present, um, through Zoom

14:18sitting in my car. Um, I'm really

14:21excited and energized about presenting

14:23the possibility of this trip, um, for

14:25feedback and potential approval. Um, I I

14:29truly believe that this, as you'll hear

14:31in the little bit and you'll see in the

14:32slides, that this DC experience is more

14:35than a trip where students are going to

14:38go and take pictures. They are going to

14:40have an experiential learning

14:41experience, um, where they will see how

14:44their learning not only from their time

14:47in civics class in eighth grade, but

14:49through their whole really K through

14:50eight experience kind of comes alive.

14:53Um, the the experience in this trip

14:56really grounds, um, the civics action

14:58project and it really showcases

15:00students, um,

15:02to see how what they are learning about

15:04inside the walls of their classroom

15:05every day really has had an impact in

15:08our world, in our nation, in our country

15:10and beyond. Um, and that's what I think

15:12is so exciting about this trip.

15:15Um, I think it offers us an opportunity,

15:18um, to provide something that other, um,

15:21districts around us are also providing

15:23for students.

15:24Um and I really um became energized

15:27around um trying to bring this trip um

15:30to our students when I was able to um

15:34chaperone the Quebec City trip that some

15:36of our eighth graders went on last year.

15:38Being with students in in in another

15:41area, another venue, seeing them create

15:44um

15:45relationships with with peers that they

15:47aren't even really close friends with,

15:49and then being able to learn and

15:51experience um the learnings outside of

15:54the classroom and really transfer what

15:55they are learning about in the classroom

15:58out into the real world is really what

16:00we want to see for our students as they

16:02grow. Um so I'm really excited about the

16:04potential for this trip. Um Liz, I think

16:06you can go to the next slide now.

16:09Um as I I kind of already mentioned

16:11these pieces here, um but it also opens

16:13us up from to the joy of traveling. It

16:16allows students to explore new places

16:18and experience new things. And it really

16:20does build upon um that trip that they

16:23engage in in sixth grade at Nature's

16:25Classroom. So it's another kind of

16:26connection and through line through the

16:29secondary um middle school experience.

16:33>> All right. So we've identified that we'd

16:35like to work with a company called Close

16:36Up. They only do DC. They are not a

16:39broader student travel organization.

16:41They only do DC trips. This is their

16:43expertise. Um we looked at flying, we

16:48looked at buses. It's the same price

16:51to fly for 3 days or to bus for 4 days.

16:55So we'd we're we're leaning towards the

16:573-day because we think that's less

16:58disruptive to school. Um and we have

17:01some chaperones who We have an odd

17:03number of teachers who get very bus sick

17:04at the Odyssey. So even like our

17:06day-to-day field trips are challenging

17:08and we have a lot of people who like I'd

17:09love to go. I can't do 16 hours on a

17:11bus. So um we think that that's probably

17:13our better option.

17:15Uh if the trip would be fully planned

17:16and operated by Close Up, including all

17:18overnight security. Uh, they cover one

17:21APS adult for every 10 students. There's

17:23a mix of sort of government history, DC,

17:27and cultural sites that would be

17:28included in this, as well as

17:31collaborative learning opportunities led

17:33by their experts in DC. They connect us

17:36with community leaders who are doing,

17:38um,

17:39like, uh, community intervention

17:41projects. They connect us with people on

17:43Capitol Hill who can talk to the kids.

17:45We would be planning to try to connect

17:48with one of the members of our

17:49Massachusetts delegation while down

17:51there.

17:52Um,

17:53and all of that would be incorporated

17:54into the itinerary that's put together

17:56by Close Up. Uh, the goal is that at

17:59some point

18:00every eighth grader would have the

18:02opportunity to go. We're going to open

18:03it up to everybody this year. We'll we

18:05don't have a cap on how many kids

18:07they'll We can take as many as want to

18:09go.

18:09Um, we did, when we did some staff

18:11surveying, have people be like, "Oh,

18:12there's already a dance competition this

18:14week. They can't, you know, we're

18:16expecting some of that will come up with

18:18the first year, but we're hoping down

18:20the line with more notice people will be

18:21able to sort of block out that time.

18:24Uh, you want to go to the next slide?

18:26So, our sample itinerary, this is fully

18:28customizable. I sat down with somebody

18:30from Close Up last week and asked how we

18:32could maybe tweak some of this to fit

18:34with our Arlington goals.

18:36Uh, one of the things our staff

18:37mentioned that would be valuable would

18:39be the Holocaust Museum, and there's a

18:40couple of exhibits there that they think

18:42would work really well. Um, and then,

18:46you know, I we talked about the

18:47Smithsonian, and one of the things they

18:48can do is create some student choice, so

18:50that they can run like three different

18:53groups to three different three or four

18:54different museums, and the kids could

18:55pick which Smithsonian they want to go

18:57to based on their interests. So, there's

18:59a lot of ways that we can really make

19:00this particular to Arlington. This is

19:02the draft that they sent over, but we

19:04can tweak this and customize it to fit

19:07with our own curricular goals and

19:08experience. The civics teachers are

19:10working now on identifying specific

19:12things they think would be most useful

19:14to our kids. So.

19:17Um

19:18and so this is sort of the the nuts and

19:21bolts of what this would be covered. It

19:23is 1340 per student. Um that does not

19:27include travel insurance which I think

19:29would be about another $75

19:32per student. It's in the um

19:34application packet.

19:35Um

19:36but I did some digging around to see

19:38sort of what other groups were charging

19:41and you can see over on the right um

19:43that it's still a much well decently not

19:46lower estimate than many of our other

19:49neighboring groups. And a lot of that's

19:51because Close Up only does DC. They have

19:53the relationships with the hotels there,

19:55the bus companies there

19:57um

19:57and they're able to get us a better

19:59price. So.

20:02Um

20:03yeah.

20:04>> [clears throat]

20:04>> Uh so one of the things we are cognizant

20:06of is you know, what do we do with kids

20:08who aren't going on these trips? We

20:09don't want them to feel left behind.

20:12So we're hoping that there will be

20:15alternative activities or local trips.

20:17It won't just be school as usual. Um you

20:20know, when Gibbs goes to Nature's

20:21Classroom

20:22half the group is doing work at the

20:23school, half the group is at Nature's

20:25Classroom. We're trying to figure out

20:27three days of local activities or trips

20:30that would hit similar goals as what

20:32kids are doing in DC. So whether that's

20:34government related sites in Boston or

20:37some sort of fun bonding time outside of

20:39the building that our kids who aren't on

20:41the trip could be doing here. Uh that

20:43also means if you go on the trip, you're

20:44not missing classes. Um

20:47we are attempting, we're not sure if we

20:48can do this, to schedule it at the same

20:50time as the French trip to Canada. Um

20:52logistically that would make sense.

20:54Um and we are expecting that there would

20:56be a behavior contract for any student

20:58who's planning to travel similar to all

20:59of our other trips that Arlington runs.

21:02Uh we did some initial surveying um of

21:05staff. We got 77 responses.

21:09About 67.5%

21:11said yes, I'm in favor. 9.2 said no, I

21:13don't like this idea.

21:15And the rest were like, I have

21:16questions. Universal

21:18support generally. Most of the questions

21:20and concerns were about cost to families

21:22that people don't want to exclude

21:24students.

21:25How do we support high need students so

21:27that they were able to participate in

21:28this trip?

21:30There is some concern about taking three

21:31days at the end of the year from eighth

21:32grade especially where there's eight

21:34days of MCAST testing for our eighth

21:36graders during the fourth term, third

21:38and fourth terms. There was some concern

21:41from our civics teachers that this is

21:43kind of right when they're doing their

21:44civics actions project. So, trying to

21:45find ways to make this align with that

21:48as opposed to just taking away three

21:50days from that.

21:51Um

21:52A lot of staff were like, is this going

21:53to be extra work for me? I'm trying to

21:55assure them that no, it's not going to

21:56be.

21:57And then there were questions about what

21:58would be the expectations for

22:00chaperoning if they want to go.

22:02We had 20 staff members who said yep,

22:05I'm in. I want to go. I want to be a

22:06chaperone. We had another 20 who said

22:08like, I maybe want to do this. I just

22:10need like the final details before I can

22:11officially commit. So.

22:14I'll go to the next one.

22:16We did some family surveying as well.

22:18Ms. Rubino sent out her

22:21a survey in her newsletter to parents.

22:23We got 205 responses.

22:26The vast majority said that they think

22:27their kids would attend. So, 83% said

22:29yep, I think my kid will attend. Only

22:313.4 said, I don't think my kid would do

22:33this. The rest of them were again, a

22:35maybe, I'm not sure.

22:37We asked, do you think you would need

22:38full or partial scholarship? 14% said

22:41yes.

22:43And then we asked like, what do you have

22:44questions about? A lot of them were

22:45about chaperoning ratios. How do I dress

22:47my kid with food allergies?

22:49How would roommates be chosen was a big

22:50one. I think that's coming off of

22:52Nature's Classroom concerns.

22:54Like, where would they be staying?

22:56And then a lot of parents said, I took a

22:58trip like this in eighth grade. Like, I

23:00want my kids to be able to do this cuz I

23:02did this. And

23:03give me a little liberty here. That made

23:05me dive into my very old photo albums.

23:07And if you'd like to see the the Julie

23:08Key's eighth grade field trip to DC from

23:11Norwood Junior High School,

23:13um

23:13you know, a lot of us I'm in this the

23:15the picture on the right. I'm like the

23:17third one with the pink shirt on. It's a

23:18very very fuzzy old film camera photo,

23:20but

23:21um

23:23you know, a this is a big Massachusetts

23:25thing. A lot of our schools do this. So,

23:27um

23:28I think it's cool that we're thinking

23:29about offering it here in Arlington.

23:32So,

23:33this is us presenting to you. Um

23:36next steps would be to finalize our

23:37dates. We We think we've settled in on

23:39June 8th to 10th.

23:41Finalize the itinerary. And once we have

23:42that, we can

23:44advertise it, launch the sign-ups,

23:46create ways to lead up to the trip

23:47throughout the year, and plan some

23:49fundraising opportunities. So.

23:52>> Did you want

23:53>> that I

23:54>> Um I will say that uh when they

23:58brought this to me initially,

24:00um

24:01>> [clears throat]

24:01>> I have a soft spot for DC trips for some

24:04of the reasons that Miss Key's actually

24:05just named. I didn't take one in school,

24:08uh but I did chaperone one as a young

24:11teacher. And for a bunch of kids in

24:14rural Indiana, it was really quite

24:16life-changing. We did the bus for

24:18multiple days thing.

24:20Um and there was a student who sat

24:22behind me. And when we

24:25uh got to Indianapolis, which does not

24:28have skyscrapers, from right behind

24:29[snorts] me I hear, "Oh my gosh, look at

24:31that skyscraper!" And I was like, "Oh,

24:32this could be fun."

24:34Um and [laughter] it was they were so

24:36excited and it was really fun to watch

24:38students

24:39um just be different students in a

24:42context like that.

24:44They were so

24:45um respectful and curious and engaged.

24:48And um not that they weren't that back

24:50at school, but the like different kinds

24:52of questions they would surface and the

24:54the different kind of learning that it

24:55is when it's experiential like that was

24:57just really really fun. Um so I am

25:02certainly in support of the concept. I

25:04think we have questions that we will

25:06need to resolve um as a group when we do

25:11things like budget around

25:13um what it is that we think belongs in

25:16the base budget when it comes to things

25:18like this that are so closely related to

25:21the curriculum. And I don't have answers

25:23for that right this minute um but I also

25:26didn't think it wasn't worth having the

25:28conversation and perhaps trying to see

25:31what the uptake is, what the obstacles

25:33are, what the challenges are, how we

25:35like this organization.

25:37Um and because we have done other trips

25:40I thought at middle school and are doing

25:42them now, I thought it was worth

25:44bringing to the committee for

25:45consideration as a larger opportunity

25:47for more of our eighth graders.

25:50So thank you all for all the research

25:51that you've done on this.

25:53>> Can I ask um about I think it was a

25:56point in

25:57>> [clears throat]

25:57>> one of the slides about fundraising,

25:59sort of what

26:01what if I I realize this is like you're

26:03figuring this all out but what because I

26:05know you have put a lot of work into it,

26:06what if any thought has gone into that

26:09part of this?

26:10>> So Close Up has said they can probably

26:12work with us to get about $200 off for

26:15families in need because we're talking

26:16about a potentially large trip and I'll

26:18let Ms. Rubino talk more about what

26:20she's thinking about for of the

26:22Arlington side of that.

26:25>> In terms of fundraising, if this is

26:26approved, we can we can work on doing

26:28some school-based fundraisers um that

26:30could offset the cost. Um

26:33truly we I think we need to think

26:35long-term in terms of fundraisers

26:37because it is a lot of money that you

26:38have to raise and it takes time to raise

26:40that money. Um so if this is something

26:42that becomes an annual trip, it might be

26:44something that we want to think of um

26:46classes raising money over the course of

26:48their time in um throughout middle

26:50school so that we can use some of that

26:51to offset the cost of that. Um but there

26:53certainly are fundraisers that we could

26:55do um at the school

26:57um

26:58in order to offset that cost, like

27:00having a hosting a potentially hosting a

27:02dance or something else um like that in

27:05order to have some some funds to help

27:07with the with the cost. We can engage

27:09our PTO with some of that work to help

27:11support us there as well.

27:14>> Um I have other questions, but I'll let

27:15other committee members go first.

27:18Anybody?

27:20Mr. Carden.

27:21>> Uh thank you.

27:23>> [clears throat]

27:23>> So, I guess the my first question is to

27:25to Dr. Homan. You know, when we were

27:27talking about science camp and

27:28reestablishing that, there was a lot of

27:30concern, particularly from your

27:31administrative team, about equity

27:33issues.

27:34>> Yep.

27:35>> This is even more cuz it costs more. It

27:37involves a a plane trip with a lot of

27:39special needs kids can't go on. So,

27:42what does your team think of this? Have

27:44you run it by our

27:47equity director? You know, what what

27:49what sort of is the feedback on from

27:51from that team on this?

27:53>> So, one of the things, this is something

27:55that we would have to plan for and think

27:56about. One of the things we found with

27:58Nature's Classroom is that we've been

28:00able to

28:02do a lot to overcome some of those

28:04challenges over the past year. So, we

28:06want to learn from that first because

28:08there were um

28:10there are things about doing it with an

28:12older group of kids that makes it sort

28:13of more accessible. This is another

28:15couple years older, and so doing this

28:18with sixth grade students um has

28:22helped some families feel like, "Okay,

28:23well, we're building independence, and

28:25let's give it a try." I think

28:27highlighting for families, for some

28:29students who might be kind of right on

28:30that edge, what some of the things are

28:33that actually make it maybe easier for

28:35them to engage in this setting versus

28:37which is vastly different from a

28:39school-based setting, having the

28:41resources on hand. So, Nature's

28:43Classroom provides some of the concerns

28:45related to allergy, for example, or

28:48medical needs. Um Nature's Classroom

28:50provided the nursing as part of the

28:52contract. So, getting the additional

28:54services, having the overnight security,

28:56these things can provide a little more

28:58peace of mind for students with families

29:00that are right kind of

29:01unsure, on the edge of maybe letting

29:03them go. I really liked the the idea of

29:07the day trips to government-based,

29:10civic-based sites in the area because I

29:13think that's very doable in Boston and

29:16there's a lot that you can learn about

29:17American history right here.

29:19Um so, the ability to mirror is actually

29:22a little better than it is for Nature's

29:24Classroom in this case.

29:26Um and so, because of some of those

29:29considerations, because we've seen

29:31significant increases in the

29:32participation in Nature's Classroom with

29:34some concerted effort, um I felt a

29:37little bit better about this. The

29:38finance part is the part that I'm

29:40actually the most concerned about.

29:42Mostly because I really wouldn't want

29:44students to feel like they could not go

29:45on this. One of the things we've done

29:46with Nature's Classroom is if families

29:48tell us they need help with it, we don't

29:49ask more questions.

29:51We provide extra help.

29:52Um we have also asked if families want

29:56to give a little more, they're able to

29:58do that and that has helped us um with

30:00some of the additional costs. We've

30:01wrapped all of the costs into that trip

30:05so that it's a self-sustaining program

30:07to the extent possible and it has been.

30:10So, we would want to do this in a

30:11similar way. I think one of the big

30:12questions we need to ask ourselves is

30:14what are the schools subsidizing?

30:16And are the things we've eliminated fees

30:19on in the past

30:21the things that it makes the most sense

30:22to eliminate fees on if we're embedding

30:24certain things in the curriculum? And

30:26that's going to be a longer discussion

30:27with the committee.

30:28Um and absent an answer to that, I'm not

30:31sure if this could be a long-term

30:33project for equity

30:35for equity reasons, frankly.

30:38>> Yeah. Um

30:39so, I did go on my eighth grade trip as

30:41well. Uh I had a great time. It

30:43convinced me to, you know, pursue a

30:45career in Washington for for 8 years.

30:48So, uh

30:49it can be a very meaningful trip, but it

30:51also um mine was over school vacation.

30:54Um

30:55it wasn't really as part A lot of people

30:58went, so there still were people left

30:59out, but because it was over school

31:01vacation, it wasn't quite the same as

31:02doing it during the school year. So,

31:05I'm I'm not going to, you know, stand in

31:07the way. I think go ahead and try it,

31:08but I I do think longer term

31:11>> [clears throat]

31:11>> we need to think about a lot of these

31:12issues and and and see

31:15>> [clears throat]

31:16>> what kind of what kind of inequities

31:18we're creating

31:19by having this program. Thanks.

31:22>> Ms. Hayes-Caperton.

31:23>> Yeah, I just want to echo everything

31:26Glenn has said. Um I think with these

31:28opportunities, because this is an

31:30enormous cost for families, um when

31:33they're happening during school hours

31:37and during where class time would be

31:39happening, there's going to be a clear

31:40divide on the equity level, and it's one

31:43thing to have these trips on school

31:45breaks where the kids who can afford it

31:48and the kids who can't afford it, it is

31:50less visible. So, my my biggest concern

31:53was like one, the the just the social

31:56disparity would be extremely visible,

31:58cuz they'll be missing class time.

32:01And two,

32:02the

32:04I I'm curious as to what research was

32:06done. Like I know that there are

32:08Washington-based organizations that

32:10create grant programs for this kind of

32:12thing, and so I'm curious about what

32:14research has been done in order to cover

32:16the costs for students, and if you and

32:19then second part, if you considered

32:21doing it on a school break.

32:23>> Um I do not know of Washington-based

32:25groups that So, I will happily take

32:27those names for you and dig in and

32:28research that. That's that is not

32:30something I Rochelle, did you hear

32:31anything about what So, please that that

32:34would be great.

32:35>> Yeah, no, I'm not I'm not familiar with

32:37them either, but yes, if you know of

32:39them, absolutely.

32:40>> Yeah. I mean, I think we were thinking

32:42ideally this would be something where

32:44everybody could go. That's not going to

32:45happen on a school break.

32:47>> Mhm.

32:47>> Um because we have a lot of families who

32:49travel or are committed to family

32:52events, visiting family. They

32:55um there's

32:56the April breaks are huge sport breaks.

32:58It's very hard to plan travel in

32:59February because of the weather around

33:01here.

33:02Um

33:04and I don't know that we get enough

33:06chaperones

33:08because I don't think

33:10we know that they stipend people for

33:12time for Nature's Classroom beyond the

33:14work day. They do not

33:17pay high school teachers who go on

33:20trips. Your your payment is the free

33:22trip.

33:23>> Mhm.

33:24>> I don't think we would get

33:27>> [clears throat]

33:28>> 20 to 40 teachers from the Edison to

33:31give up three to four days to go to DC

33:35without some compensation during a

33:37vacation.

33:37>> Mhm.

33:39>> Yeah.

33:39>> Well, well, they might get 10 to 15.

33:42>> Um I think that's why Rochelle, do you

33:44have other

33:45>> No, you you said them all. I I I echo

33:47the same sentiments.

33:49Um and I I I am concerned that if we did

33:51hold it over a vacation week, it would

33:54be really challenging to get the

33:55chaperones needed to be able to make

33:57this trip happen.

34:03>> Anybody else?

34:06>> I have I'm Sorry.

34:08>> No, I was going to move approval, but

34:09I'll wait.

34:09>> Um I'm I [clears throat] want to say

34:11that

34:13I have a I I am extremely torn about

34:16this trip, and I don't actually know at

34:20this very second what what how that's

34:22going to affect my vote. On the one

34:24hand, I thank you for the work that

34:26you've done. I I know this organization

34:29when I was a brand new college graduate,

34:32uh

34:3330-something years ago in DC. I had

34:36friends who worked with Close Up, who

34:38then became teachers. Like, it is a If

34:41we are going to do a trip like this, I

34:43think that this is a fabulous way of

34:45doing it.

34:47I am really, really uncomfortable with

34:50the cost of this trip and the So, what's

34:52weird about this is what makes me

34:55uncomfortable is the goal that it

34:57becomes everybody, which feels really

35:00contradictory, right? Because we send

35:02kids on expensive trips all the time in

35:05this district, and it always makes me

35:07feel feel uncomfortable, but I don't

35:09worry about as much about the kind of um

35:15really [clears throat] visible

35:16inequities that Ms. Haines-Cottrell has

35:18already spoken to.

35:20I also

35:21have just been through this with a

35:23sixth-grader in Nature's Classroom. This

35:26is more than two times as much money in

35:29a two-year period that we are asking

35:31families

35:32to

35:34pay.

35:35Honestly, like, if I were going to

35:36choose what If I had to make a choice in

35:38my budget about what I was going to do,

35:40I'd choose to send my kid to DC over

35:42Nature's Classroom

35:43>> [laughter]

35:43>> because of all of the things that

35:45everybody is talking about about DC. I

35:47don't

35:49I don't know. I I don't know how to move

35:51forward with this trip

35:53the in this sort of, like, we don't

35:56really know what it's going to be way,

35:59and I

36:01I um I don't My problem talking to both

36:05of you right now is I don't know what

36:06you could tell me that would relieve

36:09Like, I I think you've done your job,

36:11right? And I um I think this belongs in

36:16a larger larger conversation that Dr.

36:18Homan has alluded to about how we think

36:22about

36:23>> [clears throat]

36:23>> the way that we fund curricular-based

36:27things in this district and

36:31so I don't know how I'm going to vote. I

36:34wanted to say all that because I don't

36:35want it to to go unsaid that I like this

36:38is

36:39I would this if I was going to pick a

36:40trip to send my kid on in however many

36:43years at APS this would be like way top

36:45up there and so I like the idea of it

36:48existing

36:50but the idea it's real like

36:54I I cringe a little bit Ms. Keys when

36:56you said

36:57we want it to be something everybody can

36:59go on and that wouldn't work on a school

37:01vacation because people go and travel

37:05because [laughter]

37:06those people are not the ones I'm

37:07worried about.

37:09>> So I think I was thinking more in that

37:11sense of this year.

37:13>> Yes, no and I think like I think that's

37:15what I'm struggling with is a decision

37:16we make about this year about rolling

37:18this out and seeing how it goes and

37:20being very very clear that if we do this

37:22this year this is not a commitment to

37:25anything but this year and that we have

37:28to ask some really good questions

37:30because while I didn't write down the I

37:32don't have the numbers in front of me

37:33that 80 whatever percent would go is a

37:36great number for less than half the

37:38class.

37:40Right?

37:41>> [laughter]

37:41>> More than half the class either didn't

37:43notice the survey or were like that

37:44never happened you know we don't know

37:46what what those people it doesn't

37:48surprise me that of the people who are

37:50answering the survey it is vastly

37:52supported. So um that's where I am. I

37:55don't know if anybody

37:56[cough and clears throat] else has

37:56anything to say.

37:59>> Well I I let me be a little more

38:01explicit perhaps about where I'm kind of

38:03at with this.

38:04This approval would be for this year.

38:06>> Mhm.

38:07>> To vet this organization

38:09>> [clears throat]

38:09>> to see what the interest level is to try

38:12out the double model where there's some

38:14field trips for the students who don't

38:16go the DC trip for the students who opt

38:19into this.

38:21Absent a plan that would significantly

38:25reduce the cost of this trip for

38:27families or completely eliminate the

38:29cost of this trip for families.

38:31I would not be okay with us trying to

38:33make it be everybody. We have done that

38:35with Nature's Classroom.

38:37So, we have had the goal of having

38:39everyone go for Nature's Classroom. It's

38:41a different There's a different reason

38:42why for that.

38:44And it's a much less expensive trip.

38:46Unless this trip were down in that range

38:49of cost,

38:51through some mechanism that of us

38:54figuring out how to fund that or

38:56fundraise for that,

38:59I would not be okay with this being for

39:00everybody.

39:02So, we would still have things to figure

39:04out.

39:05So, this is not a commitment to

39:07permanence of the trip

39:09necessarily. It is not It's not

39:12commitment to permanence of the trip

39:13with everybody going at all.

39:15So,

39:17just so you everybody knows kind of

39:18where I am with that.

39:19I do not want to dive too deep into this

39:23next piece because it's very, very

39:25preliminary,

39:26but I did have a conversation with

39:28leaders of our PTO organizations

39:31very recently

39:32about organizing ourselves around what

39:36could be a tax credit program um that

39:39Massachusetts may or may not opt into

39:42and trying to make sure that our schools

39:44are able to capture some of the funds

39:46that might otherwise go to scholarship

39:48granting foundations.

39:50Um

39:51should This is that I had separately

39:54emailed all of you. We don't know what

39:56the governor is going to decide on this.

39:58Um but should Massachusetts opt in or

40:02not opt in, but delay a year, I think

40:05that could be a mechanism through which

40:08we're able to support some of

40:11some initiatives like this or any other

40:14initiatives that we wouldn't be able to

40:15support as part of base budget. So,

40:17I am already thinking about what we

40:20could potentially do to pull these costs

40:22down, both this cost and the Nature's

40:24Classroom costs, because I think that is

40:26a significant one for families,

40:27particularly when they have multiple

40:29kids rolling through sixth grade shortly

40:31after one another.

40:32Um

40:34but it it's not not on my mind.

40:36Um and it is a significant cost

40:38increase, and we're quite aware of that

40:40and had that conversation when we talked

40:42about it.

40:46>> Mr. Slicklen.

40:47>> Yeah, I I hear all the concerns. I hope

40:51the governor does not authorize that

40:54Trump scholarship scheme

40:57because it does nothing but feeds money

41:00to charter schools and private school

41:04tuition.

41:05Um

41:09I

41:10My experience with trips to DC is I was

41:13a chaperone on one.

41:15Um

41:16back in the day from Brooklyn.

41:18And our biggest problem

41:21was it was Jewish group we had to uh

41:25find kosher food on the trip.

41:28Uh which made it sound more challenging

41:30than it would have been otherwise. Uh

41:33other than that was it was you know, DC

41:35is meant for this.

41:38It it it is a civic monument, and I

41:41think that

41:42the the more students who actually see

41:45and experience

41:46uh a visit to DC the better. So, I'm

41:49inclined to

41:51uh

41:52support this for trial basis.

41:55Um

42:00So,

42:02yeah, I I I agree with the uh intent to

42:05go and find additional funding to help

42:07students uh

42:09but I also know that this is a very

42:12common thing for districts

42:13[clears throat] to do.

42:15Even districts that are

42:17not as

42:18uh

42:20uh fiscally

42:22able as we are

42:25are able to close off. So, I really

42:27commend the people who are

42:30uh making an effort to try this out and

42:32I'm willing to give them the latitude to

42:36see how it works this year and see if we

42:39have a foundation or something to

42:41improve upon next year.

42:42>> Yeah. Um

42:45I

42:46I know Mr. Rubino really wants every kid

42:48to go. I don't see this as being a trip

42:50ever that every kid is going to go on.

42:52Um our kids won't even stay after school

42:54for 5 minutes. They are so scheduled and

42:55busy that they have so much stuff going

42:57on in their lives that I there's going

42:59to be a significant number of them who

43:00like cannot miss 3 days of their own

43:03life to go on this. There are going to

43:05be kids who are not comfortable getting

43:07on a plane. Um so I am really committed

43:10to making sure that this is sort of a 3

43:13days of civic learning whether you're in

43:16DC or you're here in Massachusetts and

43:19that everybody is having, you know,

43:20we're we're not building this as the DC

43:22trip and the leftovers. We're building

43:24this as like you can choose which

43:26program you want to do for 3 days of

43:28civic learning um

43:30so that it's not the travelers and the

43:33leftovers. Like I I really want this to

43:35be a good experience for

43:36whichever group it is. Um I will also

43:39tell you I did ask what would happen if

43:41we went like over Memorial Day weekend

43:42or over a weekend in general. Um

43:45and Close-Up staff would have to be paid

43:49overtime.

43:50So, it would increase the cost of the

43:52trip to try to go over a weekend to

43:54minimize the time out of school.

43:58>> [clears throat]

43:59>> Somebody want to make a motion?

44:01>> I may I move that we

44:03approve the the trip.

44:04>> Second.

44:05>> Miss Hanscom Ethridge.

44:06>> Abstain.

44:08>> Mr. Carden.

44:09>> Yes.

44:10>> Mr. Tillman.

44:11>> Yes.

44:11>> Mr. Slightman.

44:12>> Yes.

44:13>> And I abstain.

44:15I don't know what that

44:16>> What was the count?

44:17>> That means it doesn't count.

44:17>> 3-0.

44:18>> 3-0. I mean, I think that's not a

44:19majority.

44:20>> No, it's 3-0, two. So, you do have a

44:22majority.

44:23>> You have a majority.

44:24>> Okay. And I abstain.

44:26>> 3-0.

44:26>> 3-0, four.

44:28>> People who abstain count.

44:30Uh it

44:31>> As voted.

44:31>> It is voting, yes.

44:35>> Then isn't it

44:36>> The motion carries. The motion carries.

44:37>> Okay. All right.

44:39>> So, have a good trip.

44:41>> Okay.

44:41>> Thank you. Thank you.

44:42>> I had a shabbat dinner last night.

44:44>> Thank you.

44:44>> It was a lot of fun today.

44:45>> You coming on this one?

44:46>> Uh give me a

44:47>> I was going to say you could have

44:48>> [laughter]

44:49>> asked parents and Shapiro and his kids.

44:51>> You know, maybe. I may be

44:55I don't know.

44:57>> I don't know how to count in that

44:58scenario.

44:59>> I don't know, either. I'm going to trust

45:01our Robert's Rules experts.

45:04>> Okay. APS Outcomes Report, Ms. Holman.

45:07>> Okay.

45:07>> Dr. Holman, sorry.

45:09>> [snorts]

45:10>> All right.

45:18Why is it Let me check. Hold on.

45:25There we go.

45:28Good evening, everyone.

45:31It is

45:33my pleasure to bring you the Outcomes

45:36Report for 2026.

45:40As soon as I can see my screen

45:41appropriately. Okay. Um

45:44So, tonight we'll be talking about how

45:47Arlington did on the state's

45:49accountability measures

45:51um and MCAS outcomes. And I just want to

45:54remind everybody

45:55um of, you know, sort of what we're

45:57measuring ourselves against. Our

45:59Priority 1 goals and action steps for

46:01last year um were to improve students'

46:04experiential and academic outcomes and

46:07the outcomes of focal groups through

46:08focus on major instructional priorities.

46:11Last year in particular, we were working

46:13on making sure that we shared with staff

46:15a high-quality

46:16instructional vision that was anchored

46:18in deeper learning. We disseminated that

46:21vision of deeper learning, what deeper

46:22learning meant to staff. We've had some

46:24conversations about that as well in CIAA

46:28in our um conversations at this table,

46:32um many many conversations with staff

46:34and with leadership about that. We've

46:36provided professional learning

46:38um to for the new ELA curriculum. We

46:40talked a lot about deeper learning in

46:42practice at secondary including

46:43experiential opportunities and um

46:46interdisciplinary coursework like we've

46:47expanded at the high school.

46:49And

46:50we talked about uh the future of

46:52leveling practices at the secondary

46:53level and particularly we've been

46:55focused on middle school mathematics and

46:57making sure all students have access to

46:58higher level coursework in mathematics.

47:00So, I'll

47:02I'll call back to a couple of those

47:03initiatives as we look at some of these

47:05outcomes noting of course that you can't

47:07draw a straight line from any one

47:08outcome to any one initiative. It

47:10doesn't work like that. All of these are

47:11situated in the greater social context

47:14of sort of the society we're living in,

47:16um the state's outcomes. So, I'm going

47:18to go through a little bit of an

47:20overview about that accountability

47:21system just because uh for our listeners

47:23at home as well as for all of you, um it

47:26is quite a complex system. It has a lot

47:27of pieces and parts so it's worth sort

47:29of quickly

47:31reviewing how it works.

47:32Then I'll be talking about district-wide

47:34outcomes um and I'll first go through

47:38just the district-wide outcomes. Then

47:40elementary [clears throat] results, uh

47:41those worth celebrating and some things

47:43that we want to continue working on.

47:44Middle school, same thing. Things we're

47:47celebrating, things we want to continue

47:48working on and then high school.

47:50Um there are a few other data points

47:52that I'd like to dig into, some things

47:54we know about our growth areas and some

47:56things that we've sort of looked at the

47:58correlations between

48:00when it comes to attendance and focal

48:03group achievement and all student

48:05achievement. And then finally, we'll

48:07finish up with takeaways and next steps.

48:09This is a meaty presentation. There's no

48:11way it will be 12 minutes or less, but

48:13I'm going to do my best to move through

48:15it quickly. If there are critical

48:18questions that you think will impact the

48:20comprehensibility of things as we go,

48:22please don't hesitate to stop and have

48:25me clarify something.

48:26Um in throughout the presentation, I'm

48:28going to talk about year-over-year data

48:30and cohort data.

48:32The cohort data looks different from the

48:34year-over-year data. So, DESI reports

48:36everything as year-over-year.

48:38That's showing changes for different

48:39groups of students in each year. For

48:41example, if you think about grades 3 to

48:435 year-over-year, it's different

48:45students in the first year than the

48:48fourth year because they're

48:49matriculating through. So, if you look

48:50at third-grade outcomes year-over-year,

48:53you're looking at different group of

48:54third-grade students every year.

48:56That makes sense.

48:57Um that's best for assessing the

48:59effectiveness of a system as a whole,

49:01for assessing the sort of the teaching

49:03that's happening with students, for

49:05assessing how that school's doing, the

49:07impact of interventions on the school as

49:09a whole over longer spans of time.

49:11Cohort data is tracking a single cohort

49:13of students through multiple years.

49:15So, those visualizations will only show

49:17students who are currently enrolled in

49:19APS. So, the numbers might be slightly

49:21different from what you might see for

49:22that same cohort if you looked at

49:24year-over-year data because the cohort

49:26data is showing you the the students who

49:28are enrolled here now and how they have

49:30performed over time. Um in the Arlington

49:33public schools, it's not including them

49:35if they weren't here for the span of

49:38that cohort's time. Um it's also showing

49:41their progress over the past several

49:43years of testing. So,

49:45if there's a gap in the years they don't

49:47take an MCAS test, so the high school

49:48data looks a little funky because

49:50there's just like a there's a dot and

49:52then there's a line and that's because

49:54there's a gap in ninth grade cuz they

49:55take a test in tenth grade. So they test

49:57all the way through up through eighth

49:58and then there's gap. Um so cohort

50:00trends

50:02will tell you more about how that group

50:04of students is doing and can be better

50:07for assessing achievement gaps because

50:10it's showing you whether you're closing

50:11the gap for the kids in that group. Uh

50:14so I use that to talk about achievement

50:16gaps several times throughout this

50:17presentation.

50:18>> [clears throat]

50:20>> Um we're going to talk about achievement

50:22and growth measures. Uh we use meet

50:23percent meeting exceeding as our measure

50:25for achievement. Um that is from the

50:27strategic plan. Our goal is to have as

50:29high a percentage of students meeting or

50:30exceeding standards on MCAS as possible.

50:32Um we provide information about the

50:34percent meets exceeds throughout the

50:35report. Growth percentiles are however

50:39um not absent state comparison. Growth

50:41percentiles are a state comparison in

50:44and of themselves. They're always

50:45relative to statewide growth in that

50:46cohort. The statewide SGP is set at 50%.

50:49So where there's an SGP graph you'll

50:51just see a line that's right there 50%.

50:54Um growth and meeting the targets are

50:56only provided for uh math and ELA. The

51:00actually percent meeting exceeding is

51:01provided also for science and civics but

51:03you don't get growth scores in math and

51:05ELA.

51:06Um so all of the data here these are all

51:09year over year data. So these charts

51:11these charts this is all presenting it

51:14as year over year for that set of grade

51:16levels. Some of the students are the

51:18same for example if they were in third

51:19and fourth um but some of the students

51:21are not for example last year's group of

51:23fifth graders would be this year's group

51:25of sixth graders so they would be in the

51:27middle school outcomes this year.

51:30Um

51:33Yeah.

51:34So there are state comparison graphs

51:36included in here too. The percent meets

51:38exceeds over time um is going to have a

51:41gray line and that's the state line and

51:43then here's that flat 50 line. That's

51:46the growth line for the state. It's

51:48always set at 50. Uh we want to see this

51:51uh teal line be above that one um really

51:55as often as possible and we want to see

51:56it tracking up whenever possible.

52:01We also included some state comparisons

52:05um on achievement. So, where it says

52:08selected districts, that's always

52:09comparing to the town manager 12. Where

52:11it says all districts, that's comparing

52:12to the entire state. Um this is

52:15providing additional context because

52:17assessment results are happening within

52:19that context and state and local

52:21outcomes get influenced by state

52:22regulations, funding formulas, and a lot

52:25of sort of you can place some of these

52:27results in context if you think about

52:29them against some of our text-alike

52:31communities and what their outcomes have

52:33been. There are places where we've seen

52:34a dip, but we're ranked higher. Um and

52:37that's because some of what's going on

52:40would indicate that maybe other

52:42districts are seeing even bigger dip

52:43than we have. Um so, it's really just

52:46for that additional context. It's not to

52:48say that we should be in any particular

52:51spot relative to those districts or

52:53relative to the state. Our strategic

52:55plan is measuring us against ourselves,

52:57not against everybody else, but we can't

53:01take that

53:02for as if we're living in a bubble cuz

53:04we're not and some of those state um

53:07challenges, some of the things going on

53:09with the state, some of the state's

53:10curriculum measures have an impact on

53:12our achievement here.

53:13Um so, this is cohort data. This is what

53:17the cohort data is going to look like.

53:19Um this example shows the performance of

53:21the current seventh, eighth, and ninth

53:22grade cohorts in ELA over time.

53:25So, the current seventh graders are the

53:28sort of light blue line right here. The

53:30current eighth graders are this blue

53:31line in the middle. And then, the

53:34current ninth graders are this dark blue

53:36line. This is the middle school graph uh

53:39even though it has the current ninth

53:41graders in it because the current

53:42ninth-graders took eighth-grade I cast

53:44last year. So, they would have been in

53:46eighth grade last year. So, when it says

53:48current, that means literally current,

53:50right now these students are in ninth

53:51grade.

53:54Um we have uh

53:56also provided data for uh gaps um

54:00for the achievement gaps in our focal

54:02groups and how our focal groups are

54:04doing. Uh wherever possible, we're going

54:06to provide a year-over-year comparison

54:08of proficiency and SGP for the focal

54:10groups. I haven't included all of them

54:12in this deck, but you have the big deck,

54:15which has all of it for all of them, if

54:17you wanted to go look at um any more of

54:19the data.

54:21It will include uh for those groups the

54:24comparison group in a chart over here on

54:26the right, so that you can sort of see

54:28what we want to see for both groups. So,

54:30this is an example for students with

54:31IEPs. You want to see this percent

54:33proficient going up

54:36as you move down the chart. And you want

54:38to see the percent proficient going up

54:41as you move down the chart for the

54:43target group as well, ideally at a

54:45faster rate, because that's what closes

54:47an achievement gap.

54:51This is what it looks like when an

54:52achievement gap is closing.

54:53This is our high school ELA cohort

54:55performance for the current 11th grade

54:58um black and Hispanic students. What

55:00you'll notice here is that it is jumping

55:04around a little bit for this cohort.

55:06We've included a trend line on these

55:08graphs, because the trend line is what

55:11tells you what overall over a longer

55:14period of time is happening with that

55:16group.

55:17Um so, that acceleration towards

55:19grade-level proficiency would mean that

55:21both groups are trending up

55:24and that the focal group is trending up

55:27faster, and that from one point in time

55:29with a 35% gap, for example,

55:32you'd see a smaller gap

55:34closer to the end of that trend line at

55:3730% for example.

55:38Okay, so that is what we're looking for.

55:42Um, this is one that is just barely

55:44considered closing. Uh, there are others

55:47that look a little bit more like they're

55:49closing, others that are not. So, I'm

55:51going to show those and the goal here is

55:53transparency and to be clear about

55:55what's working and what's not, where

55:56we're closing gaps and where we still

55:58are struggling to do so.

55:59Um, you want to see that focal group

56:02line go up faster. You want to see their

56:05uh, SGP be higher than the non-target

56:09group's SGP. We want growth for all of

56:12the students. We definitely want the

56:14non-target group's SGP to be above 50,

56:16but you're accelerating if the SGP for

56:19the target group is higher than for the

56:22non-target group.

56:25Um, just a quick recap on accountability

56:27data. So, there's MCAS data, there's

56:28performance on a test,

56:30um, and then there's accountability. And

56:32accountability is taking that

56:33performance on a test, um, from multiple

56:37years as well as performance on the

56:39ACCESS test for our ML students this

56:42year, we're only including ACCESS data

56:44because that is what we are held to.

56:47That is what we are accountable for.

56:49It's not how they perform on MCAS that

56:51we're held accountable to.

56:53Um, so there's ACCESS data, that is the

56:55uh, multilingual learner test that is

56:57taken every year. Chronic absenteeism

56:59data is included in the accountability

57:01measures for the district. Um, advanced

57:03coursework completion data is included.

57:06Four-year cohort graduation rate, annual

57:07dropout rate, and extended engagement

57:09rates. So, everything pertaining to

57:10graduation. We don't share that today,

57:12it's all available online,

57:14um, and I can speak to it at a later

57:16date if desired, but we are going to

57:17speak to items one through four.

57:21On the accountability report, we get

57:22points. And this is these are the point

57:25designations.

57:27So, if

57:29a group declines, then we get zero

57:31points. If there's no change, we get one

57:33point. If we improve below but below

57:35target, then we get two points. If we

57:37meet the target, we get three points.

57:39And then if we exceed the target, we get

57:41four points. And then they put a target

57:43percentage attached to that and then

57:45calculate a district percentage and

57:46school percentages. And then they

57:48calculate school percentiles.

57:51So,

57:52um

57:53we are meeting and exceeding targets or

57:56substantial progress towards targets for

57:58our focal groups and for all of our

58:00schools and as a district,

58:02we also have insufficient data.

58:04That's from Menotomy Preschool because

58:06there's insufficient data for them to

58:08get a designation. But these are all of

58:10the designations in the state that a

58:13district can get or a school can get.

58:16Districts can't get school of

58:17recognition. We did have one school of

58:18recognition last year. We don't have one

58:20this year. Um but we do get all of the

58:24rest of these designations potentially

58:26as a district or as a school meeting or

58:28exceeding targets, substantial progress,

58:31moderate, limited or no, focused,

58:33targeted support, and broad and

58:34comprehensive support. The state puts

58:36out this lovely little spectrum for us

58:39that you have to read from right to left

58:41if you want to read it from like lowest

58:43possible designation to highest possible

58:45designation. So, the highest possible

58:47designations over here are all the way

58:48on the left, schools of recognition,

58:50which districts cannot receive,

58:52meeting or exceeding targets, which

58:54districts can, and then districts and

58:56schools all get one of these

58:58designations on that spectrum.

59:02So,

59:03on to some outcomes.

59:05Um

59:06I am pleased to report that this year

59:08Arlington was designated as meeting or

59:10exceeding targets. That's the highest

59:12possibility possible accountability

59:13designation for a school district. Only

59:16about 10% of districts in the state

59:18received that designation in 2026.

59:21You can see the breakdown over here of

59:24designated um districts in the state and

59:27what they were designated as as well as

59:30the number of districts statewide with

59:32that designation. The most common

59:33designation is moderate progress

59:35um or substantial progress. Only 39

59:38districts received meeting or exceeding

59:40targets. Um so, we're thrilled that

59:43we're meeting or exceeding targets.

59:44That's fantastic.

59:46Um

59:47when we're looking at student growth

59:49percentiles, we're looking for students

59:51to be anywhere from that 40 up to 100.

59:55Um typical growth to high growth. So,

59:57when you see SGP, that's what we're

59:59looking for. I just wanted to show real

1:00:01quick what all of our schools got. We're

1:00:03not going to dig into school level

1:00:04results. They're going to come and talk

1:00:05about that with all of you when they do

1:00:07their SQP presentations.

1:00:09Um but, I think part of what led to our

1:00:11meeting and exceeding designation is

1:00:13that we see a lot more green arrows

1:00:15um in the direction both on progress

1:00:18towards targets.

1:00:19Um This should say 2026 for Oh, no. This

1:00:22is 2025. This is 2026. So, they use both

1:00:25measures when they calculate uh where

1:00:27we're at. So, over here on 2026, we're

1:00:29seeing a lot more growth. Um

1:00:32particularly, I want to shout out

1:00:33bracket. Went from 62% progress towards

1:00:36targets last year to 81%.

1:00:39They went from an 83% account of uh 83

1:00:42on accountability percentile to 91%,

1:00:44which was a big jump.

1:00:45Um also, Stratton had a big jump this

1:00:48year from 63% 79% on uh progress towards

1:00:52targets and then jumped up to 90 uh in

1:00:55percentile. A lot of these I put equal

1:00:58if they're sort of within 2 3% of last

1:01:01year. So, a lot of them stayed

1:01:02relatively stable. We'd seen some pretty

1:01:04big leaps over the last couple years for

1:01:07schools

1:01:08um on accountability percentiles and

1:01:10progress towards targets. So, we only

1:01:12have a couple of schools that saw a

1:01:13little bit of a dip.

1:01:15Um interestingly enough, actually

1:01:17Thompson saw some really huge gains in

1:01:19their actual outcomes for the students.

1:01:22Um so, it's just a there are probably a

1:01:24couple targets that were challenge and I

1:01:26think some of that has to do with some

1:01:28widening

1:01:29um, gaps that we're seeing for some of

1:01:31our focal groups. And I'll speak to that

1:01:33in a little bit, but overall positive

1:01:36growth for a lot of our schools. Um, a

1:01:38couple slips on progress towards targets

1:01:40for some schools as well or holding

1:01:42steady for a lot of the schools.

1:01:45So on our district accountability

1:01:46report, these are the points that I was

1:01:48talking about. Um, and they will they do

1:01:51points both for all students

1:01:54and for lowest performing students and

1:01:56they do this for high non high school

1:01:58grades, that's here on the left and for

1:02:01high school grades here on the right.

1:02:04And then here you can see all the

1:02:05different achievement measures.

1:02:07I put a star if we had a three or a

1:02:09four, which would be meeting or

1:02:10exceeding.

1:02:11Um, and then a little exclamation point

1:02:13if we had areas where we received a

1:02:16zero, a one or a two, which means that

1:02:18maybe we progressed but not to our

1:02:21target or we didn't or we did saw a

1:02:23decline

1:02:24um, in students achievement or growth.

1:02:27And what you'll notice is that for our

1:02:28lowest performing students and I'll talk

1:02:30about this when we talk about gaps a

1:02:32little bit.

1:02:33Um,

1:02:34that's where we're seeing a drop in

1:02:35points.

1:02:37And then this is the bottom half of that

1:02:39same report.

1:02:41Um, language proficiency is something

1:02:42that I'll speak to and show some data

1:02:44around

1:02:45both for non high school grades and for

1:02:47high school grades here a little bit.

1:02:50And chronic absenteeism for our lowest

1:02:51performing students in our non high

1:02:53school grades

1:02:54was one area where we had some progress

1:02:56but not all the way to the target.

1:03:01I also wanted to show that we get these

1:03:03same reports for each of our focal

1:03:05groups. So if you go to the

1:03:08district profile, the DESI profile, you

1:03:10can dig in and take a look for each

1:03:12focal group at what the progress towards

1:03:15improvement targets was for that focal

1:03:18group. So, here's the all students one

1:03:20and that's where we

1:03:22uh this was last year. We were 83%

1:03:23towards targets. This year it's 82, so

1:03:25it's very stable,

1:03:26um which is great. And then you can also

1:03:29look at that for multilingual learners.

1:03:30We saw a really significant dip on

1:03:32progress towards human targets for

1:03:34multilingual learners, which we can chat

1:03:36about um and need to do some digging on

1:03:38to understand a little bit more about

1:03:39why.

1:03:40And still relative to the state, that

1:03:44was considered substantial progress

1:03:45towards targets. So, it some of this

1:03:48will seem counterintuitive because

1:03:50that's a that's an alarming dip and yet

1:03:53it counted as substantial progress

1:03:55because there were some gains that we

1:03:57could see in those results and some of

1:03:59that has to do with the extent to which

1:04:01you're testing some of the same students

1:04:03year over year, too.

1:04:04Um for our students from low-income

1:04:06households, we also saw a really

1:04:08significant decline. That's playing out

1:04:10in the achievement gap analysis that

1:04:12we're looking at.

1:04:14Um and that's still rated as moderate

1:04:17progress towards targets and substantial

1:04:19progress towards targets for students

1:04:20with IEPs. Uh we saw a little bit of a

1:04:23dip there also on advancement towards

1:04:26targets. But again, these are all

1:04:27point-based, sort of like the

1:04:29accountability report. It's not pure

1:04:31achievement. It's also looking at

1:04:33chronic absenteeism. It's also looking

1:04:35at all of the like advanced coursework.

1:04:38Um so, these reports are for just the

1:04:41subgroup in the district against all of

1:04:43those measures that we were looking at

1:04:45on the district report. This is the one

1:04:47for students who are black or African

1:04:49American

1:04:52and Hispanic or Latino, which was the

1:04:55only focal group on the accountability

1:04:56report for which we were meeting or

1:04:58exceeding targets.

1:05:01Okay.

1:05:03Now, we'll get into actual scores.

1:05:05Um so, in district ELA overall, our

1:05:09students held very steady. Um this is

1:05:11I'm also looking at uh results for the

1:05:13next several slides, grades 3 through

1:05:1612. So, this is the whole picture and

1:05:18then we'll get into each of the grade

1:05:20level areas. Our scaled score was also

1:05:24level from last year.

1:05:26Um,

1:05:27both of these were really significantly

1:05:28higher than the state average and you

1:05:30can see what's happening with the state

1:05:32line here um and with ours, which was

1:05:34extremely steady uh at grades 3 through

1:05:372 3 through 10, I guess, this year.

1:05:39Um, and so was SG P uh and was

1:05:42significantly above the state average.

1:05:46These are outcomes for district ELA

1:05:48overall.

1:05:49I will note that um one of the

1:05:51conversations that's been going on in

1:05:53the district since we got results and

1:05:56have started taking a look at them is

1:05:58some of the results around uh

1:06:00essays, writing. This is

1:06:03it's common in the state for those

1:06:05measures to be a little lower than

1:06:07reading and language, but it's something

1:06:08that our teachers really want to work on

1:06:10and have been building some plans

1:06:11around. We do have 2% more students in

1:06:14the exceeding range in ELA than we did

1:06:16last year, which is positive. Um, and we

1:06:19also moved up uh among the town manager

1:06:2212 to be uh at the top when it comes to

1:06:25achievement in ELA.

1:06:27>> Can I I'm sorry. It's town manager 12,

1:06:29but there's 14.

1:06:30>> Because I included the state by accident

1:06:31in that grab.

1:06:32>> Okay. And earlier you said

1:06:34>> There should be 13 There should be 13.

1:06:35>> Okay.

1:06:36>> The state was in that grab, that's why.

1:06:38So, just count the state out. It'd be 11

1:06:40>> Okay.

1:06:41>> Um, and in some of these one one of the

1:06:43things you will also notice is that this

1:06:45state number will change. That has to do

1:06:47with how many districts in the state

1:06:49have those grade levels. If I'm looking

1:06:51at particular grade levels, and

1:06:53sometimes you will see the number in the

1:06:55town manager 12 actually be much lower,

1:06:58particularly at high school. That has to

1:07:00do with whether or not each if it's a

1:07:03focal group one, whether or not each

1:07:05district has that focal group reported.

1:07:07For example, so like if it's not

1:07:09reported, then you might not see a full

1:07:1213 there. Um so it's the number

1:07:15reported. In this case, it's 14 because

1:07:17I had the state added, and I wasn't

1:07:19supposed to.

1:07:21Um

1:07:22So district math um overall was uh

1:07:26showed some improvements from last year.

1:07:28So we were up a percent, which is not

1:07:31considered statistically significant, is

1:07:32basically stable.

1:07:34Um average uh scaled score also was

1:07:37essentially stable. Uh but average SGP

1:07:40went up by three points for grades 3 to

1:07:4210 last year. And then one new measure

1:07:45that was not in last year's um report is

1:07:48the students who met the progress

1:07:50target. That's the platforms sort of

1:07:52taking the target that DESI sets for

1:07:54each of the student groups and placing

1:07:56it up against that progress target. So

1:07:59it's sometimes that number's

1:08:01significantly different from meeting and

1:08:02exceeding standard, and sometimes it's

1:08:04not. It just depends where the state had

1:08:06set the target for that group.

1:08:08Uh for district math overall, we did

1:08:10note that we have some work to do if we

1:08:13wanted to match some of our

1:08:15um awesome outcomes in areas like uh

1:08:18geometry, algebra and functions, to do

1:08:20in measurement and data. Um and so

1:08:23that's something that I know has been on

1:08:25the minds of a lot of our teachers.

1:08:26They've been working on measurement and

1:08:27data units over the last couple of

1:08:28years, as well as um expressions and

1:08:31equations. And then you can see by grade

1:08:33level how we've done in math. Um and we

1:08:35know that this is something that we've

1:08:37been working on at sixth grade in

1:08:39particular, at third grade, and fourth

1:08:42grade, fifth grade. This year we were

1:08:43going to do the math curriculum audit.

1:08:44And so um we were really excited to see

1:08:48some pretty significant gains in seventh

1:08:49through 10th. And I'll talk about that a

1:08:51little bit more in a minute when we get

1:08:53up to the middle school and high school

1:08:55outcomes.

1:08:56But otherwise, relatively stable with a

1:08:58couple more students uh in the exceeding

1:09:00range, and 1% fewer students in the um

1:09:04not yet meeting partially meeting range.

1:09:08And this is district science for fifth

1:09:10grade and eighth grade overall. We saw

1:09:12some positive results there.

1:09:18And then this is our K-12 multilingual

1:09:21learner progress. Um you can see this is

1:09:23a slight downward trend here uh but an

1:09:27upward trend on attaining proficiency.

1:09:29So that's why some of the results

1:09:32might not look so great but still

1:09:34considered moderate progress towards

1:09:35targets because we do have some students

1:09:37who are meeting their targets. Um and

1:09:39I'll talk about that when we get into

1:09:40some of the grade level results.

1:09:42One of the things worth noting on all of

1:09:44the multilingual learner charts is how

1:09:46many of our students speak so many

1:09:48different languages.

1:09:50So our multilingual learners are really

1:09:52quite diverse.

1:09:53And most of them speak other languages

1:09:57than these five languages at the top. Um

1:10:01and so our students are coming to us

1:10:02from all over the world and learning how

1:10:05to speak English alongside all the other

1:10:07content that we're teaching. Um and

1:10:10some of them have very different

1:10:11experiences when they walk into that

1:10:12classroom setting. Um so it is I'm

1:10:15excited this year that actually we can

1:10:17present some of the ACCESS data cuz we

1:10:18haven't had that available in the past.

1:10:20It was it's a positive development that

1:10:22we went up 3.7% attaining proficiency

1:10:26from last year um to 32% of them

1:10:29attaining proficiency this year which

1:10:30essentially means they graduated out of

1:10:33the ACCESS program.

1:10:35So

1:10:36let's start with elementary results

1:10:37we're celebrating. Um and we'll go from

1:10:40there. So for elementary ELA we're

1:10:43really excited to see more students

1:10:45exceeding standards than we've had in

1:10:47previous years

1:10:49um that this trajectory has continued

1:10:51because we've been doing a lot of hard

1:10:53work in elementary ELA to make sure that

1:10:55our students can comprehend complex

1:10:57texts, that they're engaged with those

1:10:59texts, that they're connecting what

1:11:01they're reading with other content. Um

1:11:03and so these are some really positive,

1:11:04strong results. We're also comparing to

1:11:07other districts in a very positive way.

1:11:10The state has seen some pretty

1:11:11significant declines in ELA,

1:11:13particularly the elementary level. What

1:11:15was so reassuring about this is that

1:11:18this means that students are being well

1:11:20set up as they head into middle school.

1:11:22Um what it might require is some

1:11:24vertical conversation about what these

1:11:26students know how to do really well and

1:11:28you know, what might need to shift at

1:11:30middle school as they matriculate um up

1:11:33to the middle school, but we're already

1:11:35hearing from middle school teachers um

1:11:36the difference that they're seeing and

1:11:38some of how students are able to engage

1:11:40with non-fiction texts in particular.

1:11:43Um in grade

1:11:45Where did math go? There it is. We'll do

1:11:47science first. Um

1:11:49so in uh grade five science, we're also

1:11:51seeing some positive results in

1:11:53performance. And

1:11:55you know, it's fairly stable, um but

1:11:59still significantly higher than the

1:12:01state average and we're pleased that we

1:12:04have more students moving up into these

1:12:06blue bands because that is where we want

1:12:07to see them and even more students

1:12:09moving up into some of the exceeding

1:12:10bands. In grades three to five math, we

1:12:13saw some growth, um which is very

1:12:16exciting. We know we want to do some

1:12:17curriculum work here, but we've moved

1:12:19some of the protocols that we use in ELA

1:12:21over into [clears throat] math and I

1:12:23think that that is building some

1:12:24consistency and coherence

1:12:26and we've also been doing a lot of work

1:12:28with building thinking classrooms, which

1:12:29is a pedagogical approach that gets

1:12:31students up and talking about the math

1:12:33concepts that they're learning in class.

1:12:35Um and so we think that a lot of the

1:12:37positive results here can be attributed

1:12:39to that.

1:12:40For our students with IEPs in ELA, we're

1:12:43seeing some positive growth as well with

1:12:45a 2% increase from last year and even 5%

1:12:48of students um with IEPs in three to

1:12:50five ELA exceeding standards, uh which

1:12:53is not

1:12:54quite the bar we've seen in previous

1:12:56years, which is really fantastic. Uh we

1:12:59are seeing the trajectory go in the

1:13:01direction that we want it to here, uh

1:13:03but it's not going in that it's not

1:13:06going in that direction any faster than

1:13:07it is for students who don't have an

1:13:09IEP. So, right now it's not closing the

1:13:11gap, uh but we are pleased to see

1:13:13everybody headed in essentially the

1:13:15right direction.

1:13:16Um in grades three to five math for our

1:13:19students who are Black and Hispanic, we

1:13:20saw an even greater jump than we did for

1:13:22our students with IEPs

1:13:24um of 6% versus the previous year.

1:13:27However, I will note and this is in

1:13:29these breakouts for our Black and

1:13:31Hispanic students, we did these as two

1:13:33separate groups.

1:13:34Um there's not a comparison group there

1:13:36really, but there is both groups

1:13:38separately. And what you'll notice is

1:13:40that we see a positive trajectory for

1:13:41our Hispanic students. We do not see

1:13:43that same positive trajectory for

1:13:45African-American and Black students,

1:13:47unfortunately. Um so, that's worth uh

1:13:50taking a closer look at. We see that

1:13:52same trend in a lot of these data for

1:13:55our Black and Hispanic students. Um

1:13:58and then for our multilingual learners

1:13:59at the elementary level, we actually had

1:14:016.3% of them attain proficiency, but

1:14:05fewer of them make progress. So, we have

1:14:08some students in our ML groups and this

1:14:10is going to require some disaggregation

1:14:12by language, by grade level to better

1:14:14understand, by school to better

1:14:15understand what all of the why is behind

1:14:17it. But we do have a number of students

1:14:19who are graduating out,

1:14:21um far more than last year, and a number

1:14:24of students who are not making progress

1:14:26in their language development, uh fewer

1:14:28than last year. And so, it's a

1:14:30broadening spectrum. That is what that

1:14:32means. And we see this all over the

1:14:35data, a broadening spectrum of results.

1:14:39Um and that's a that's a challenge

1:14:41because what it means is we have more

1:14:43students with more we have students with

1:14:45more significant needs, um and we are

1:14:47meeting the needs of more students who

1:14:50have some needs. So, we're hitting the

1:14:52gap, okay, but we're really having a

1:14:54hard time with students whose needs are

1:14:55becoming [clears throat] greater or for

1:14:57whom the layers are sort of compounding

1:14:59one another.

1:15:00Um,

1:15:02I can say more about that in areas for

1:15:03growth. So, when we look at our cohorts,

1:15:06we're seeing mixed results for students

1:15:08uh who are black or Hispanic, students

1:15:10with IEPs, um and I'll show a couple

1:15:12more examples of that. Students of color

1:15:14are starting out in a better place in

1:15:16third grade ELA. So, that's this like

1:15:17light pink dot right here, 50%. Um, so

1:15:20they're in a better spot than their

1:15:22peers were when they started out in

1:15:25third grade with at 47%.

1:15:28That's a positive change and it's one

1:15:31we're seeing in dibbles data at the

1:15:32start of the year as well, in um

1:15:35attendance data at the start of this

1:15:37this year as well.

1:15:38Uh, but we're not seeing them sustain

1:15:41that. So, we're also seeing drops in

1:15:44these data for both for these both of

1:15:46these groups, um and we'd like to see

1:15:48some things go in the opposite

1:15:49direction. These gains are inconsistent

1:15:51year to year, even for the same cohort

1:15:53of students.

1:15:54In science, we have, you know, some

1:15:58mixed results as well.

1:16:00Um, if we look at our black and African

1:16:01American students, we're seeing some

1:16:03drops. Uh, if we look at our Hispanic

1:16:06students in here, we're also seeing some

1:16:08drops, but we're also seeing more

1:16:10students exceeding standards. And so,

1:16:12this is a widening range. We have more

1:16:14students doing even better and we have

1:16:17more students falling into not meeting.

1:16:21Um, and so that is a really big

1:16:23challenge, particularly for uh

1:16:24disciplinary area that has a lot of

1:16:26academic language attached to it and a

1:16:28disciplinary area that's very hands-on.

1:16:30Um, things like absence can really

1:16:32significantly impact that at grades

1:16:34three to five because instruction in

1:16:36science and social studies, they can go

1:16:38back and forth between science and

1:16:40social studies. So, if you miss a day,

1:16:42you might miss what would be equivalent

1:16:44to multiple days of instruction in these

1:16:46subjects. Um and so that could be

1:16:48playing a role. It's also possible that

1:16:50other compounding factors like being in

1:16:52one of these groups and having being in

1:16:54a low-income household um could be

1:16:57compounding some of these outcomes as

1:16:59well. So we don't want to conjecture too

1:17:00much, but this is not the trend we want

1:17:02to see uh in our outcomes at all. So

1:17:06it's a concerning one.

1:17:07Um in grade 3 to 5 ELA for our

1:17:10low-income students, and this is a trend

1:17:12across as well, uh we're seeing that

1:17:14income is having a greater effect uh for

1:17:17those students who it does impact and

1:17:20that while we have technically moved

1:17:22from 27% of our low-income students in

1:17:25ELA um being proficient 5 years ago to

1:17:2829%, that's only a 2% increase, that's

1:17:31not an acceleration. So that's going to

1:17:32widen an achievement gap and we're not

1:17:35seeing when we look at comparisons that

1:17:38we're headed in the direction we want to

1:17:39head um relative to our peers. However,

1:17:43we have more students exceeding than we

1:17:45did in prior years. So for those

1:17:48students for whom school is working,

1:17:50it's working quite well. However,

1:17:52unfortunately, it seems to be not

1:17:54working as well for more of them too.

1:17:57Now these are the low-income graphs for

1:18:00elementary math cohort performance at

1:18:02elementary school. So [clears throat]

1:18:04again, you're only getting the dot for

1:18:07third grade. The dot for third grade um

1:18:10on the current

1:18:13fourth grade class is hiding underneath

1:18:15one of these 72%ers.

1:18:18Um it's like it's right here underneath

1:18:20this this 72%. Um and then this one is

1:18:22like 75%. So you couldn't quite see it.

1:18:26But right here, this really concerns me

1:18:28because our current fourth grade

1:18:31low-income students in math only met an

1:18:34exceed standard of 11%.

1:18:37And so we want to see that trajectory be

1:18:40quite different. This is why we This is

1:18:42one of the many reasons why we want to

1:18:43do some math um review work this year.

1:18:46And we're also not super thrilled with

1:18:49sort of the all over the placeness of

1:18:51these lines. Um we want that trajectory

1:18:54to be headed in a positive direction.

1:18:56Last year it was. Last year we had seen

1:18:58some pretty significant gains. For this

1:19:00year's

1:19:01um

1:19:02for current fifth grade cohort, we saw a

1:19:05really positive jump.

1:19:07So, that'd be last year's fourth

1:19:09graders.

1:19:10But then the third graders had a really

1:19:11hard time. I'm not sure what the exact n

1:19:14is here, either. And that can have a

1:19:16pretty big impact. But regardless, 11%

1:19:19is not reassuring.

1:19:21Um for chronic absenteeism for our

1:19:23non-high school students, we were fairly

1:19:25even.

1:19:26Um but we saw a really significant

1:19:28decline in attendance for our black and

1:19:30African-American students last year at

1:19:33the non-high school grades. So, this is

1:19:36inclusive of middle school.

1:19:38Um and we need to do some deeper dives

1:19:41into what some of these trends are, and

1:19:43I'll talk a little bit more about

1:19:43chronic absenteeism towards the end of

1:19:45the presentation.

1:19:47So, that's elementary school.

1:19:51Moving on to middle school.

1:19:53Um some of the results we have we're

1:19:55celebrating that I'll speak to

1:19:57um are in ELA, math, and science,

1:19:59showing some strength overall. Civics

1:20:02definitely showing some strength

1:20:03overall. Uh we see see some growth for

1:20:05our students with IEPs in mathematics,

1:20:07and some gap closure for our um seventh

1:20:09and eighth grade black and Hispanic

1:20:10students in ELA and math.

1:20:12So, [clears throat] sixth grade overall,

1:20:15um we were seeing

1:20:18uh pretty like pretty stable results.

1:20:20We're not seeing anything dip

1:20:22significantly.

1:20:23Um and they're fairly strong results,

1:20:2622% above the state average. An SGP of

1:20:2860 is very

1:20:30solid. Um and so, these are positive

1:20:32results. We, you know, are only slipping

1:20:35less than what would be considered

1:20:36statistically significant, so that's

1:20:38stable. In math, we're seeing some

1:20:40growth that's really positive. A little

1:20:43bit of a jump in SGP overall, and then

1:20:45I'll talk about some jumps in SGP we see

1:20:47elsewhere.

1:20:48Um, with 20% of our students exceeding

1:20:50standards, which is higher than we've

1:20:52had

1:20:53in recent history. Um, and some jumps,

1:20:57um, versus the state average in SGP.

1:21:00They're significantly above the state

1:21:01average and in scaled score. So, uh,

1:21:04this scaled score is continuing to grow

1:21:07on average over time, and that's a

1:21:09positive outcome. And then in science,

1:21:11similarly, we're also seeing a positive

1:21:12trajectory, uh, with 25% of students

1:21:15exceeding,

1:21:17um, and how however, you know, and more

1:21:20students bumping up into the proficient

1:21:22range, um, and also moving relative to

1:21:26some of our comparisons and relative to

1:21:28the state, uh, a jump in meeting

1:21:30exceeding of three points versus the

1:21:32previous year.

1:21:34Now, civics.

1:21:35We're number one in civics this year,

1:21:37which is very exciting. So, yes, I've

1:21:39put stars all over this one.

1:21:40Um, this was

1:21:43really very validating for our civics

1:21:45team. Uh, we saw uh, improvement over

1:21:48last year's results, which were already

1:21:50fantastic, and 37% of our students

1:21:53exceeded standards on the eighth grade

1:21:55civics test. So, that There are things

1:21:58that we can learn about what's happening

1:22:00in eighth grade civics, for sure, and

1:22:02we're already working on how to make

1:22:04sure that we do that, and how and how

1:22:06and how to make sure that we are doing

1:22:07some of that learning. Um, because this

1:22:09average scaled score of 520 is just

1:22:11really quite out of this world. Um, so

1:22:13good for the kids, good for the

1:22:14teachers.

1:22:16In eighth grade ELA, we're also seeing

1:22:18some gap closure. So, if you look at the

1:22:21trend line here, this line is moving up

1:22:24for our black and Hispanic students

1:22:25faster than this line,

1:22:28but both lines are going up. That is

1:22:30what it looks like when an achievement

1:22:31gap is closing.

1:22:33Um and so that is a positive trend in

1:22:36ELA.

1:22:37This So that was our current eighth

1:22:39grade class, so that's last year's

1:22:40seventh graders. And then this is

1:22:42current ninth grade math, last year's

1:22:45eighth graders. If you want to see all

1:22:46of the other groups, you can go look at

1:22:49the other deck. Um but here there is

1:22:51also a very, very slight overall trend

1:22:54of closure.

1:22:56Uh but this group here has kind of

1:22:59wandered around a bit. Um so when we say

1:23:01inconsistent outcomes for our black and

1:23:03Hispanic students, there's some

1:23:05inconsistency in there. And I think

1:23:06teasing these apart into the two

1:23:08separate subgroups

1:23:09could help us understand what's

1:23:11happening there.

1:23:13Um and you know, we'd like to see that

1:23:15even out. There is a positive three-year

1:23:17trend and trajectory. Um and there was

1:23:21like one year where we saw a

1:23:23particularly positive jump, but it

1:23:25didn't sustain itself. So looking into

1:23:27why um would be some of the work that

1:23:29we'd want to do next.

1:23:30Middle school areas for growth. Uh one

1:23:33is that we have some pretty stubborn

1:23:34achievement gaps for our students with

1:23:36IEPs in middle school.

1:23:37Um despite some overall improvements for

1:23:40the cohorts as a whole, and then in

1:23:42science we didn't see the same trend as

1:23:44we saw in math and ELA for our black and

1:23:46African American students. And our

1:23:48low-income gap is widening here as it is

1:23:51in almost all of the grade levels.

1:23:53Uh so in ninth grade ELA, our students

1:23:56with IEPs are both showing improvement

1:23:59over time. So we've moved from 40% five

1:24:02years ago to 51% and 75%

1:24:05um in the um no IEP group to 90%. So

1:24:11improvement for both groups is

1:24:12fantastic. However, this is quite a

1:24:14stubborn gap that is not getting any

1:24:16smaller.

1:24:17Um so, you know,

1:24:19I would rather see everyone improving

1:24:21than not. However,

1:24:23um we would also like to see the

1:24:24acceleration. We have not quite figured

1:24:26out how to do that yet. And then this is

1:24:29an example of a gap getting wider. We

1:24:31have stable outcomes for our students

1:24:34with IEPs in last year's eighth grade

1:24:37math cohort, but we have significant

1:24:39improvement for our students who don't

1:24:41have IEPs. And so we'd like to see the

1:24:44opposite um

1:24:45happening here cuz that's what would

1:24:47close the gap. So this is an area for us

1:24:48to continue to interrogate. We do think

1:24:51that providing some access for our

1:24:53students to high-level coursework has

1:24:54been a positive move. We think making

1:24:56sure that is informed access and that

1:24:59families are able to make uh choice that

1:25:02is informed by data and informed by

1:25:03their students' experience in the math

1:25:05class will have further positive effect

1:25:07on some of these um outcomes. It's good

1:25:09that we're not losing ground for our

1:25:11students with IEPs. However, we don't

1:25:12seem to be gaining it either.

1:25:14In eighth grade science, we've seen a

1:25:16pretty sharp decline um for our black

1:25:18and Hispanic students in the middle

1:25:20level. And so we want to interrogate

1:25:22that. Um 10% over the past uh 5 years.

1:25:27>> [clears throat]

1:25:27>> Again, these are year-over-year data, so

1:25:29it's different group each year and some

1:25:32cohort effect could be explaining some

1:25:34of that if you think about the numbers

1:25:35of students we're talking about. It's

1:25:37not a huge number of students.

1:25:39But one of the things we've started

1:25:40talking about a lot is doing this work

1:25:42one small group of students at a time

1:25:44and it doesn't really matter if it's

1:25:45only a few. It matters. Um and we don't

1:25:48want to see a trajectory that looks like

1:25:49this. So we need to work on that.

1:25:52In eighth grade ELA for our low-income

1:25:54students, um this is an example of a gap

1:25:57getting wider

1:25:58um in very much not the way we want to

1:26:00see it because this group's scores are

1:26:03declining in the wrong direction. And so

1:26:06we need to interrogate that and how to

1:26:08turn it around.

1:26:10And then this is that same group but in

1:26:12science um where we're seeing some

1:26:15success. So sometimes

1:26:18when we look at a particular group, we

1:26:20see an outcome that is concerning, we'll

1:26:23look at the other subjects and say, is

1:26:24there somewhere where we're seeing some

1:26:25success? In eighth grade science for our

1:26:28low-income students, um contrary to what

1:26:31we saw for African-American black

1:26:32students, middle school science and

1:26:34social studies had an exception to the

1:26:36rule for low-income students. It's the

1:26:37only place where low-income students

1:26:39improved. So, we want to take a look at

1:26:41that and see why. Um see, you know, what

1:26:44is working so well for this group of

1:26:46somewhere between somewhere around 50

1:26:48students um who might be in this

1:26:50category. This is a tricky group to

1:26:52understand because this is highly

1:26:54confidential information.

1:26:56And so, we do not share all focal group

1:26:59information with all of our teachers. We

1:27:02don't share low-income information in

1:27:04large part because it's very protected

1:27:06information. Administrators might know

1:27:09what a student needs, but our ability to

1:27:11target this sort of explicitly with

1:27:13staff is compromised um by some of the

1:27:16confidentiality and sensitivity of the

1:27:18data. At the same time, I've argued many

1:27:20times that we can be more targeted in

1:27:24what we're doing, and so that's

1:27:25something we're actively talking about

1:27:26right now.

1:27:28Um and then for civics, our low-income

1:27:30students also saw a significant

1:27:32improvement. Um and I think a lot of

1:27:34that has to do with the nature of the

1:27:35kinds of instruction that happened in

1:27:37science and civics. It's very hands-on.

1:27:39It's very applied. Um and it's providing

1:27:42some elimination of access barriers for

1:27:44some of our students who are in

1:27:45low-income families.

1:27:48All right, high school.

1:27:49Um we have several high school results

1:27:52that show a mixed picture. And so, there

1:27:55will be sometimes celebrations and

1:27:57alerts on some of these slides. We have

1:28:00steady achievement and strong long-term

1:28:02cohort performance in ELA, um despite

1:28:04the fact that the state has seen some

1:28:06really dramatic declines in ELA

1:28:07performance um for high school students.

1:28:10We have some strong growth and cohort

1:28:12level improvements in math as well. Um

1:28:14and are really glad we've done some of

1:28:15the pathway work we've done because we

1:28:17think that that is having a really

1:28:18positive impact on math outcomes um and

1:28:20math access for students, particularly

1:28:22when they get up into the upper levels,

1:28:24which wouldn't be reflected in MCAS

1:28:25scores. We're seeing gaps close for

1:28:27students of color in ELA. Um and then

1:28:29all students in reported focal groups

1:28:31are accessing a lot more advanced

1:28:32coursework, and we've seen reductions in

1:28:34chronic absenteeism for everybody at the

1:28:36high school level as well.

1:28:37Um so, this is what I mean when I talk

1:28:39about the state's sort of trajectory

1:28:41here. It is not a positive one. Um and

1:28:44so, we are pleased that we have held

1:28:47relatively steady against that decline.

1:28:49However, we would really like to not see

1:28:51a reduction in the percentage of

1:28:53students meeting seeing standards. These

1:28:55are year-over-year. So, you got a

1:28:57different group of students that you're

1:28:58comparing against. Their uh SGP was

1:29:02right around the 50 range, uh which is

1:29:04about where you want to see it, between

1:29:0540 and 60 is

1:29:07standard SGP. Um and it's higher than

1:29:10the state average. However, we would

1:29:11love to see this in

1:29:13go up a little bit more. We do have more

1:29:15students who have exceeded standards in

1:29:17ELA overall at the high school. And this

1:29:19is what the ELA cohorts look like. So,

1:29:21this is current 10th graders is this

1:29:23light blue line, which is very positive.

1:29:26Um and this is the 11th grade line

1:29:30here. So, that'd be the group that

1:29:31tested last year, and they held pretty

1:29:35steady from 79 to 78. So, while there

1:29:38was a 3% dip in the year-over-year, that

1:29:40cohort only saw a 1% dip from when they

1:29:44were in eighth grade, and that's not

1:29:46statistically significant. And then this

1:29:48is the current 12th graders, um who held

1:29:51steady as well at high school when they

1:29:54took the test a couple years ago.

1:29:58And then this is 10th grade math. Um and

1:30:00here we've seen some really significant

1:30:02improvement, uh particularly in SGP, in

1:30:05the percentage of students exceeding and

1:30:07meeting standards, um a really big jump

1:30:09in the percentage of students exceeding

1:30:11standards, and far fewer students

1:30:12meeting not meeting or partially

1:30:14meeting. Bye.

1:30:16You don't want to look at numbers

1:30:17anymore? I understand.

1:30:19Um it's really reassuring to see this

1:30:22growth trajectory doing what it is doing

1:30:24here in mathematics,

1:30:26um and for us to see the jump of eight

1:30:29um points in SGP uh even though we're

1:30:32only at 1.0 on students meeting and

1:30:34exceeding standards.

1:30:36And high school math, these are the

1:30:37cohort trends, and this is that growth

1:30:39trend. So, this was that same 11th grade

1:30:41group when they were in sixth, seventh,

1:30:44and eighth grade, and then here they are

1:30:47um on last year's outcomes. And that's a

1:30:49positive indicator that some of the

1:30:51adjustments, perhaps to math course

1:30:53pathway access, has had a positive

1:30:55impact on closing some opportunity gaps

1:30:57for that group. They have more access to

1:31:00um some courses that might be providing

1:31:01them with a little bit more foundational

1:31:03knowledge to take that uh 10th grade

1:31:06MCAS test.

1:31:08Current 10th grade ELA um for students

1:31:10who are black and Hispanic, we've seen a

1:31:12very small

1:31:14um reduction of the gap. It's not super

1:31:17significant, but it's there,

1:31:20um and that's positive because that

1:31:22means that you're seeing more

1:31:23improvement at a faster rate for

1:31:25students in the target focal group.

1:31:28And then for students in 10th grade ELA,

1:31:30this is probably the best example of a

1:31:32gap closure graph that we have in the

1:31:34data. This is not last year's testing

1:31:36group, but this is a group that will

1:31:39take um another

1:31:41assessment this year.

1:31:43And so, we're going to be watching

1:31:45closely to see how this year goes for

1:31:48this group, um but it's a positive

1:31:50trajectory for them overall. They were

1:31:53in ninth grade last year. They will test

1:31:56this year. Um and they've had a gap

1:31:58closure through middle school that was

1:32:00really significant, um and honestly it's

1:32:03almost closed, which is a positive

1:32:05outcome. So, we're hoping to learn from

1:32:07that cohort and understand what it is

1:32:09that has worked so well for them.

1:32:11Um, for at the high school we really saw

1:32:13a significant improvement attendance,

1:32:15too. So, every single group um,

1:32:17exceeded, met, or improved against the

1:32:21target. Uh,

1:32:22students with disabilities only improved

1:32:24below the target, so received two points

1:32:26as opposed to three or four, um, but

1:32:28still reduced chronic absenteeism by

1:32:302.1%. Um, so this is a positive trend.

1:32:33It's going to have a positive impact on

1:32:34outcomes. Um, we would like to see that

1:32:37keep going.

1:32:38Oh, wait. Sorry, that was advanced

1:32:39course work completion. They're more or

1:32:41less the same, so um, except these are

1:32:43negative numbers. So, advanced course

1:32:44work completion is going up. Great,

1:32:46including students with disabilities,

1:32:48which is lovely, and we'd like to see it

1:32:50hit the target. This is chronic

1:32:51absenteeism, I'm sorry. These are

1:32:52negative numbers. Negative numbers are

1:32:54good in this case because that means

1:32:56that you have less chronic absenteeism.

1:32:58Here, we exceeded targets for all of our

1:33:01subgroups with the exception of Hispanic

1:33:02or Latino where we improved below

1:33:04target. Um, Black African American is

1:33:06not reported because it's a smaller

1:33:08group. Um, less than 5% at this level.

1:33:12High school areas for growth. So, in

1:33:1410th grade science,

1:33:15we saw a dip. It's significant. So did

1:33:18the rest of the state where it's more

1:33:20significant, and that's why

1:33:22you see two of five here because we take

1:33:25the physics test and not every district

1:33:28does, and only 69 here because we take

1:33:31the physics test and not every district

1:33:32does. Um, we're relatively stable with

1:33:36regards to how many students are

1:33:37exceeding standards, but fewer students

1:33:39were proficient. And so, we need to do a

1:33:42little work to understand what this data

1:33:45is telling us, especially against the

1:33:47statewide data on the physics test in

1:33:50particular. I'm sure that you might have

1:33:52some questions for Dr. Janger when he's

1:33:53here about 10th grade science, um,

1:33:56cuz this is not the direction we want to

1:33:57be headed in year over year or cohort

1:33:59results.

1:34:00In 10th grade ELA, students with IEPs,

1:34:04we also saw some declines.

1:34:07We are, we believe, seeing some of the

1:34:09effects that other districts saw last

1:34:12year of the lack of required MCAS.

1:34:16The state statewide last year, there

1:34:19were a number of students who who didn't

1:34:21take it. We did have AHS get designated

1:34:24as requiring assistance or support due

1:34:27to several subgroups not taking the

1:34:29test, not participating in the test. And

1:34:33we haven't done the analysis yet on who

1:34:36was present for it and who wasn't, but

1:34:37that can have a really big swing on

1:34:39outcomes when it's a relatively small

1:34:41subgroup. So, it's possible that some of

1:34:43these outcomes are

1:34:45due to participation. We do have an

1:34:49overall positive trajectory over

1:34:50multiple years, but a really significant

1:34:52decline in outcomes year over year for

1:34:5425 to 26 for students with IEPs in ELA.

1:34:57So, this went from 49 to 38, even though

1:34:59it was a 34 back in 2022. We just

1:35:02certainly don't want to see a year over

1:35:03year like this after we saw such

1:35:05significant improvement over the past

1:35:07several.

1:35:08So,

1:35:09it remains to sort of be understood what

1:35:13the impact of participation is. One

1:35:15thing that I also talked to Dr. Janger

1:35:17about is the fact that we have we've

1:35:18been retaining so many more students in

1:35:21our programs at the high school and

1:35:23sending fewer students to

1:35:24out-of-district placements. What that

1:35:27means for us is that some of our

1:35:28students should be taking an MCAS Alt,

1:35:30which is a different kind of test, and

1:35:32we have not done a lot of that

1:35:34in Arlington, and so that's going to be

1:35:36an ongoing conversation, I think, with

1:35:38Ms. Elmer, Dr. Janger, other members of

1:35:40our team about how to support that

1:35:42because it can be a little bit more

1:35:43comprehensive of a process,

1:35:45and we are retaining more and more of

1:35:47our students, and so that might require

1:35:48different accommodations for MCAS.

1:35:50In grade 10 math, uh, we also in

1:35:54low-income saw more students who are

1:35:56low-income drop below that, um, line of

1:36:00proficiency, which is not what we want

1:36:02to see. And we saw a really significant

1:36:05decline, um, over the last several years

1:36:07for our low-income students at the high

1:36:08school in their math performance, um,

1:36:11year over year. So, that is concerning

1:36:13as well. Something we definitely need to

1:36:15take a look at and understand better for

1:36:18this group of about 40 to 50 students.

1:36:21Um, we had seen a really positive trend.

1:36:24It looked like a closing gap for 10th

1:36:26grade math.

1:36:27And last year's, um, cohort saw this

1:36:30slide. And so, when we look at these

1:36:33data, it looks really dramatic. When we

1:36:34look at the cohort data,

1:36:36we see the positive trajectory we were

1:36:38on, and then we see an impact that last

1:36:40year had. It is statewide, um, and we'd

1:36:44like to think that we're impervious to

1:36:46some of those trends because of some of

1:36:48the work that we've been doing in the

1:36:49district.

1:36:50And it appears we are not, um, and we

1:36:52need to better understand why we're

1:36:54seeing

1:36:55such a downslide like that, and if

1:36:57there's something we can do differently

1:36:58to support these families.

1:37:00Um, in grade 10 physics,

1:37:02um, our low-income students, we also saw

1:37:05more students in the not meeting

1:37:07category, um, and we're also seeing, uh,

1:37:10not, you know, not a negative trajectory

1:37:12over 5 years, but not a positive one if

1:37:15we just look at the last few years.

1:37:17And so,

1:37:19understanding what the impact of that is

1:37:20on particular cohorts will be important

1:37:23over the next several months.

1:37:25Um,

1:37:27for our ML students at the high school,

1:37:29we also saw a drop in performance over

1:37:32time and proficiency.

1:37:34And so, this is why some of the outcomes

1:37:37you're seeing on the accountability

1:37:38report, um, have zero points in the

1:37:40attaining proficiency category for high

1:37:42school, uh, it is because, you know, of

1:37:44our students who have been MLs,

1:37:47for you know the last

1:37:50two to three years

1:37:52they weren't attaining proficiency last

1:37:55year at a rate any higher than 31%. This

1:37:57is where you'd hope to see them making

1:37:59significant progress. Attaining

1:38:01proficiency is right around that two to

1:38:03five year mark. Um and so disaggregating

1:38:05some of this by language, understanding

1:38:07what the impact of attendance has been

1:38:09potentially on this group of students

1:38:11will be important um

1:38:12in the near term.

1:38:14More data about some of these

1:38:18um that is worth knowing. We went and

1:38:20looked at attendance by grade level. And

1:38:22one of the things we were looking for

1:38:23here is what are the months where we see

1:38:25the lowest attendance rates? And what

1:38:27are the grade levels where we see some

1:38:28of the lowest attendance rates?

1:38:30Um December absences are not super

1:38:33surprising when we get into the winter

1:38:35months. So for us to see lower

1:38:38attendance rates in December and

1:38:40February is is not that surprising.

1:38:42February is about the flu.

1:38:44We know this. That's where we always see

1:38:47more sick days

1:38:48um and students out with illnesses.

1:38:51December is very frequently, as is

1:38:53November, about travel actually.

1:38:56And one of the things we have heard from

1:38:58some families we've spoken to who

1:38:59struggled with attendance is that they

1:39:01really need to travel to see family in

1:39:04other parts of the world. If you look at

1:39:06our language statistics, we have

1:39:07families from all over the world. And

1:39:09that travel is important to their

1:39:11families, to their cultures, to their

1:39:14um

1:39:15you know, to their being able to see

1:39:17people they love and care about. And so

1:39:18we do have families that will leave for

1:39:20stretches of time in December. And um

1:39:23that is more frequently what what is

1:39:25driving some of these absences than

1:39:27illness, though we do also start to see

1:39:29the beginning of flu season in December.

1:39:31I also want to note that there were only

1:39:33a few grades where there were more than

1:39:37three months

1:39:38where the attendance rate dipped below

1:39:4195%. First grade,

1:39:43third grade,

1:39:44sixth grade,

1:39:46eighth grade,

1:39:47and 12th grade.

1:39:48Um, now,

1:39:5112th grade, I think we we can blame a

1:39:53little bit of senioritis

1:39:55right here on what's going on.

1:39:58Um,

1:39:59but for some of these other grades, what

1:40:00worries me about this is that first

1:40:02grade is absolutely critical to learning

1:40:05how to read.

1:40:06>> Mhm.

1:40:06>> And

1:40:07for us to have 4 months in first grade

1:40:10of students

1:40:11dipping below that 95% mark um, is an

1:40:14indicator that there's some work to be

1:40:16done with some of our first grade

1:40:17families around the critical nature of

1:40:21the learning that happens in first

1:40:22grade. Um, because attendance improves

1:40:25in second grade.

1:40:26And then we see a little bit more of a

1:40:27slip in third grade. And third grade is

1:40:29an interesting one mostly because of how

1:40:31critical third grade is. Third grade is

1:40:32the first grade where testing happens.

1:40:35Um, it's also

1:40:36the grade where more critical thought

1:40:39expectations start to be layered into

1:40:41the curriculum. Um, students are doing a

1:40:44little a lot more comprehension work

1:40:46when they hit third grade, less phonics

1:40:48work. Um, they're doing more complex

1:40:50math

1:40:51um, skills. And then when you hit fourth

1:40:53and fifth grade, they're really doing

1:40:55deep comprehension work. Sixth grade

1:40:58is a critical grade here in Arlington.

1:41:01It's a critical critical grade grade

1:41:02everywhere where students are switching

1:41:04schools.

1:41:05Um, but sixth and eighth are the two

1:41:07edges of middle school and these are

1:41:09transition grades.

1:41:11And

1:41:12to miss school in those grades starts to

1:41:15set up a pattern that we will see carry

1:41:18in high school.

1:41:19And so,

1:41:21um, it worries me a little bit that one

1:41:23of our highest absentee grades last year

1:41:26was eighth grade and one of my first

1:41:28questions once we get through tonight is

1:41:31to go look and see if that is a trend

1:41:32and a pattern. Um, or whether that is a

1:41:34cohort based pattern. So, what we have

1:41:36not done is cohort based attendance

1:41:38trends uh, to understand if we have

1:41:40particular grade levels to target, but I

1:41:42do know that this is common in first

1:41:44grade

1:41:45and that third grade can be a difficult

1:41:47grade. So, it wouldn't surprise me if

1:41:49it's common in third grade.

1:41:50I'm not sure if this is frequent for

1:41:53eighth.

1:41:55It would not surprise me if it's

1:41:56frequent for sixth.

1:41:58Um and so, these are some target areas

1:41:59that we can take a look at when we do

1:42:01our chronic absenteeism work. I know

1:42:03that our principals are very closely

1:42:05monitoring these because we've seen a

1:42:07really significant impact when we target

1:42:09attendance with families and ask them,

1:42:12what are the obstacles? What can we do?

1:42:14Um and we're starting to see the

1:42:17positive

1:42:19outcomes of doing some of that work and

1:42:21so, um we want to keep that up, but

1:42:24we're going to take a look at some of

1:42:24these grade levels and try to understand

1:42:26better what's happening with them and

1:42:27whether that's trend over multiple

1:42:29years.

1:42:30I also wanted to take a look at who our

1:42:32low-income students are and how many of

1:42:34them have compounding factors impacting

1:42:37them um because we saw such a dramatic

1:42:40trend for our low-income students this

1:42:42year uh that was downward. We saw many

1:42:46who

1:42:47are excelling and doing quite well, but

1:42:49we saw many who are not. Um and so, we

1:42:52wanted to ask, right? Was it What does

1:42:54this group look like? Um and so, what we

1:42:57have found is that 38% of our low-income

1:43:00students have IEPs versus 16% of others.

1:43:04More likely to have a disability if you

1:43:07are coming from a low-income household.

1:43:10Um

1:43:1158% of those students with an IEP

1:43:15and who are low-income are also

1:43:18chronically absent. So, those two

1:43:20together

1:43:22can

1:43:23be correlated with chronic absenteeism.

1:43:25I'm not going to say one causes the

1:43:27other cuz I don't think that's the case.

1:43:29I think these are layers that when you

1:43:31put them together create really

1:43:32significant obstacles for students.

1:43:34For our black and Latino students, 39%

1:43:39of them are also low income versus 8% of

1:43:43others. And so that those are layers

1:43:46that more frequently go together. Same

1:43:49is true for our English learners. Of our

1:43:52chronically absent low income students,

1:43:55only 15% are not in some other focal

1:43:57group.

1:43:58And so what we were asking here was

1:44:00what's predictive?

1:44:02And what can we understand to be the

1:44:04different layers

1:44:06that might impact how a student's moving

1:44:08through school, how they're experiencing

1:44:10school, how they're experiencing

1:44:12academics, and what supports we might

1:44:14want to put in place.

1:44:16But our biggest takeaway from this is

1:44:17that our low income students are often

1:44:19carrying more than one of our focal

1:44:21group identities. And so there might be

1:44:24needs attached to multiple of those at

1:44:26one time.

1:44:27I also really want to thank one of our

1:44:30central office team members, Nora Mana,

1:44:32who did the analysis work on some of

1:44:35this putting up against focal group

1:44:39data, chronic absenteeism data

1:44:42against one another because

1:44:44this would not this analysis wouldn't

1:44:46have been able to happen if she hadn't

1:44:47done it. So she did a lot of deep diving

1:44:49into this for us and very grateful for

1:44:52all of the work that she put into it.

1:44:54One of the questions we also wanted to

1:44:55ask was what is the impact on meets

1:44:57exceeds if a student is in a focal group

1:45:03and also is chronically absent. And the

1:45:06takeaway here is that our focal group

1:45:07students will are sort of more heavily

1:45:10impacted by absence than our students

1:45:14who are not in focal group for all sorts

1:45:16of reasons tied to the advantages that

1:45:18come with not

1:45:19having one of these focal group

1:45:21identifiers in your life.

1:45:23And so if there is absenteeism attached

1:45:27and you're struggling with belonging in

1:45:29school,

1:45:30then chronic absenteeism might be

1:45:32greater and your likelihood of exceeding

1:45:35standards on MCAST would go down. In

1:45:38other words, so this is just the

1:45:39trajectory um of meets exceeds

1:45:43likelihood if you're not in a focal

1:45:46group versus if you are and if that

1:45:47you're then also struggling with

1:45:49attendance.

1:45:50For low-income attendance patterns, um

1:45:54one of the things that we know is that

1:45:57there's about one in six low-income

1:45:59students who have missed 20-plus days

1:46:02versus for students who are not in that

1:46:04focal group, about one in 26 would miss

1:46:0820-plus days.

1:46:09So,

1:46:10students who are in a household that is

1:46:13struggling with finances is far more

1:46:15likely to miss more days of school. At

1:46:18different ages, this is for different

1:46:20reasons. So, one of the things we know

1:46:21just from speaking with families who are

1:46:23struggling with absence, sometimes this

1:46:24is about transportation, sometimes this

1:46:26is about work, sometimes this is about

1:46:29um sort of the resources to support a

1:46:31student's ability to sort of regulate

1:46:34themselves to get to school depending on

1:46:36it depends on the age. Sometimes this is

1:46:37about the student working. Um and so,

1:46:40there's a number of factors that go into

1:46:43why

1:46:44a low a student from a low-income

1:46:46household might be more likely to miss

1:46:47school. But,

1:46:49we know that they are far more likely to

1:46:51miss school than other students and so,

1:46:53the supports required for that sometimes

1:46:54means putting transportation in place

1:46:57even if it isn't regulated and expected

1:47:01and we have done that. Sometimes it's

1:47:02putting after-school care in place even

1:47:04if it's not required or they didn't make

1:47:06it through a lottery and we've done

1:47:08that. Um but, finding each of those

1:47:11things that might support it takes some

1:47:13time.

1:47:14When we have fewer of these students, it

1:47:15gets a little easier to do that and so,

1:47:19we put a little more effort into that

1:47:20over the last few years because we've

1:47:21had a little bit more capacity to do so,

1:47:23but we still have more students with

1:47:25more needs now.

1:47:27Uh particularly at the younger grades,

1:47:29which I'll show later on in my update.

1:47:31Um what this is showing is the outcome

1:47:34of a regression analysis, which asks, of

1:47:36these variables, which one is most

1:47:39correlated? It is not asking what's

1:47:41positive, it's asking what's correlated.

1:47:44And the answer is that focal group

1:47:46membership is more tightly correlated

1:47:50with outcomes in ELA and math on MCAS

1:47:54than absence is.

1:47:56But, absence is a compounding factor.

1:47:59So,

1:48:00in essence, if a student is a member of

1:48:02a focal group, that is more likely to

1:48:05impact their school experience and their

1:48:07outcomes

1:48:09statistically

1:48:11than is

1:48:12absence alone. But, absence will

1:48:15compound the impact of that.

1:48:17And when you layer these things

1:48:20together, when a student has multiple of

1:48:22these things

1:48:24making their lives harder at school or

1:48:26at home,

1:48:27then they're more likely to see the

1:48:29impact of that in some of the outcomes,

1:48:30we're more likely to see achievement

1:48:32gaps that get greater. I do think we've

1:48:34had more students

1:48:37be in more of these categories all at

1:48:40once over the past few years as the

1:48:42range has widened of inequity

1:48:45in society,

1:48:47in Arlington, and

1:48:49you know,

1:48:50as much as I hate to say it, probably in

1:48:52our schools because we're not immune to

1:48:55the effects of that. And so, you know,

1:48:57if a family is struggling in one area,

1:48:59the likelihood that they also then

1:49:01struggle with a disability, or then also

1:49:04struggle with uh income, and then also

1:49:06struggle with absence is going to be

1:49:08higher. And so, that's some of what this

1:49:12is saying, but absence on top of is

1:49:14going to significantly compound the

1:49:16impact of some of these things.

1:49:19We did create a simple attendance

1:49:20guideline for families and I'm going to

1:49:21work with our team to share.

1:49:24Um, our caution zone really is in that

1:49:2510 to 19 absence range and so that's

1:49:27what we've been using as sort of a

1:49:29target uh for partnering with families

1:49:31when we start to see a student uh move

1:49:33towards that 10 absence depending on

1:49:35what time of year we're in, I will pull

1:49:37a family in, build a plan, talk to them

1:49:39about what it is we can do. The good

1:49:41news is that we have so few families by

1:49:44school

1:49:45and by grade level who are kind of in

1:49:47this zone throughout the year that it's

1:49:50getting

1:49:52um more manageable for us to address as

1:49:53we've seen chronic absenteeism go down.

1:49:56So, you know, when we had so many

1:49:58chronically absent families, it was

1:50:00really difficult to make a plan with

1:50:01each one of those families and then see

1:50:03it through and do a follow-up and so and

1:50:04so on and so forth. It's becoming more

1:50:07systematized. We have new programs that

1:50:10can help us with notification and then

1:50:13we have um more administration and

1:50:16support staff at the elementary level

1:50:18um and middle and high that can pull

1:50:20families in and have a conversation with

1:50:22them about what supports might be

1:50:23helpful. So, that has been

1:50:25uh a major factor in some of the

1:50:27improvements that we've seen and now we

1:50:29know that we have some target areas that

1:50:30we can take a look at.

1:50:32So, just a few takeaways and next steps.

1:50:34Results are showing us that we've had a

1:50:36laser focus on access to grade level

1:50:38instruction that is having a positive

1:50:39long-term impact despite a a few slips

1:50:42for some focal groups that we see in the

1:50:43results.

1:50:44So, we want to double down on some of

1:50:46that attention. Last year I will say uh

1:50:49attention shifted a bit towards um

1:50:52budgetary concerns and worries about

1:50:54what might happen next year and this

1:50:56year we are steadfastly focused on

1:50:58instruction. I will also say that even

1:51:00though some of um some of the adults'

1:51:03attention might have been on the budget

1:51:04last year, I was also not worried about

1:51:06the fact that our schools knew what our

1:51:09priorities were and that uh our leaders

1:51:12were protecting teachers' abilities to

1:51:13do their work in the classroom with

1:51:15students. However, there was some

1:51:16uncertainty last year. Um and I think

1:51:19this year we're really looking forward

1:51:20to doubling down on our attention to

1:51:22instructional moves that improve student

1:51:23outcomes.

1:51:24Um results show that science and social

1:51:26studies are defying the odds in cases,

1:51:28and so there are some examples of some

1:51:30gap-closing instructional moves that we

1:51:31can learn from our science and social

1:51:33studies teachers and teams.

1:51:34So, we want to keep expanding

1:51:36student-led, hands-on, project-based

1:51:37opportunities for students to apply

1:51:38their learning. We see that students

1:51:40thrive when they do that. We see more

1:51:41students move from, you know, proficient

1:51:44to exceeding when we do that, and we see

1:51:46more students move out of the lower

1:51:48bands of um not meeting when we do that.

1:51:52So, we're going to do more of it. Um we

1:51:54also know that our layers of

1:51:55disadvantage are compounding academic

1:51:57challenges. Um and that some of the work

1:51:59we've done to

1:52:02support access and opportunity has meant

1:52:05that a rising tide lifts all boats. So,

1:52:06we like even where we aren't seeing a

1:52:09gap close in a lot of cases, in most

1:52:11cases, we are seeing improvement for our

1:52:13focal groups. We want to keep that up um

1:52:16and interrogate the areas where we don't

1:52:17see that happening, and keep removing

1:52:19access barriers by balancing classes,

1:52:21caseloads, keep expanding student

1:52:23agency,

1:52:24keep thinking outside the box whenever

1:52:25we can, and protecting equitable

1:52:27systems. A few things we're doing to do

1:52:29that, I just wanted to

1:52:31celebrate. Um we have a lot of students

1:52:34in science doing some really cool stuff,

1:52:36and there they are showing you slime um

1:52:39that they've made, and the fun that

1:52:41they're having. This These are some kids

1:52:42at Bracket who are in kindergarten and

1:52:45wrote um letters to the principal about

1:52:47some of the things that they need to see

1:52:49happen in their schools, um and I

1:52:51happened to be in the office when one of

1:52:53their letters got delivered to uh Dr.

1:52:55Vice and with advice for her to follow.

1:52:59Uh very important advice. Um and then we

1:53:02are also working on getting better at

1:53:05learning cycles at the school level, at

1:53:07the grade level team level.

1:53:09Some of the work we've done to balance

1:53:12our caseloads, balance classes is

1:53:15helping us think about okay, did that

1:53:17work in a quicker way. So we can

1:53:20iterate, we can assess, we can adjust

1:53:23and then do another small action to

1:53:25adjust something to see if that works.

1:53:27And so we're trying to get out of just

1:53:29year-long annual cycles and goals and

1:53:31into shorter cycles

1:53:33that include a lot of data analysis and

1:53:35the principals are working on how they

1:53:36do that at each of their schools and I'm

1:53:38sure you'll hear about it in the school

1:53:39quality plans this year.

1:53:40Our results show that we're really great

1:53:42at civics, which is not a surprise

1:53:44probably to anybody in this room. So

1:53:46we'd like to do more of it and that

1:53:48means

1:53:49doing for us a lot more learning about

1:53:52how content is related to community, to

1:53:54have a content, giving students more

1:53:55opportunities to come weigh in on

1:53:56policies for example, more opportunities

1:53:59to go out into their community and

1:54:00connect what they're learning with the

1:54:02world that they are living in because

1:54:03we're seeing the impact of that is

1:54:05positive. We're learning that when we

1:54:08really listen deeply to families and

1:54:10students and each other, we're able to

1:54:12overcome some really significant

1:54:13obstacles. That's something that we saw

1:54:15last year. It is hard to target a

1:54:18low-income population. It is not

1:54:20impossible. It does mean that you have

1:54:22to have very careful plans and

1:54:26conversations with families about what

1:54:28might help them, not make assumptions

1:54:30about what will or won't be a support.

1:54:34And you have to open your ears and

1:54:36really listen to people. So we're

1:54:37working on building partnerships. That's

1:54:39our theme for the year.

1:54:41We're working on saying the thing that's

1:54:43hard to say in conversations. I'm

1:54:45actually working on that

1:54:47directly with the

1:54:49our families, some of our families who

1:54:51were you're talking to us from CPAC

1:54:52today. Really respecting the varied

1:54:55expertise in the room and recognizing

1:54:57that you don't have all the answers and

1:54:58then asking questions of those who

1:54:59might.

1:55:01And we're all the results are also

1:55:03showing that the deck is stacked more so

1:55:05for some students more so than it was

1:55:07now um, than it was a few years ago.

1:55:11But, we really don't neglect all

1:55:13students when we do what is needed for

1:55:15some students. So, one of the things I

1:55:17said earlier is that we're trying to

1:55:18build our capacity to

1:55:20to

1:55:21build our comfort with doing this work

1:55:23one student at a time. Sometimes a a

1:55:24principal or leader or a teacher will

1:55:27struggle when there's a student who's

1:55:30demanding a lot of attentional resources

1:55:33or a family or a group of students in

1:55:36their class

1:55:37and sticking with that, understanding

1:55:40that

1:55:42time and attention now

1:55:43will lead to greater success in the

1:55:44future

1:55:45is worthwhile.

1:55:47Is something that we're sort of building

1:55:48a muscle around this year.

1:55:50And hoping that that allows us to pull

1:55:52the levers within our influence to

1:55:54really make a difference for a family

1:55:55and turn something around if we can.

1:55:58Um, and if we can't to go look for the

1:55:59resource that might.

1:56:01So, because we're going to do more

1:56:03civics, um,

1:56:06we're you know, trying to get as many

1:56:07opportunities to share some of that work

1:56:09out into the community as we can.

1:56:11Probably maybe have the some of them

1:56:13come here. We had our partnership panel

1:56:15um, on opening day and we're holding

1:56:17community forums throughout the year to

1:56:19speak to some of our families who were

1:56:20here talking about the bullying policy.

1:56:22We have a bullying forum um, slated for

1:56:26spring that we're planning and we hope

1:56:28to bring some of our administration to

1:56:30that and talk about some of the very

1:56:32things that I know were in letters that

1:56:33they sent to all of you and that we'll

1:56:35probably talk about when we talk about

1:56:36the bullying policy here in a minute.

1:56:38Um, and then we also really want to make

1:56:40sure that we're building our collective

1:56:42capacity in the classroom to make sure

1:56:44that all students can participate

1:56:46whether that means flexible seating some

1:56:47of which you can see here in a second

1:56:48grade class that I visited earlier this

1:56:51week um, or you know, varying up the way

1:56:54students engage with the content through

1:56:56manipulatives

1:56:57uh, making sure that all of our students

1:56:59can

1:57:00do the cognitive work of a grade level

1:57:02standard even if they can't all do

1:57:04exactly the same task uh is some of what

1:57:06we're working on.

1:57:07Uh one of my one of the leaders who was

1:57:09working on this with me said, you know,

1:57:11we can't change our students'

1:57:12circumstances overnight, but attendance

1:57:15is a lever that we can move and it

1:57:16matters most for students facing the

1:57:18biggest gaps and I thought that was well

1:57:20said. Um so, we're going to focus on the

1:57:22things that we can actually have an

1:57:23impact on.

1:57:25And with that, I will very happily stop

1:57:28talking and let all of you discuss and

1:57:32or ask some questions.

1:57:36>> Miss Hayes Campbell?

1:57:37>> Uh [snorts] yeah.

1:57:38Um

1:57:41So,

1:57:42I read the I read this report and then I

1:57:44read DESI's dashboard

1:57:46as well.

1:57:47And

1:57:49some things stood out to me as we're

1:57:51seeing

1:57:53these disparities in our Hispanic and

1:57:57black students and low-income students.

1:58:00And we're not seeing much improvement

1:58:04>> Mhm.

1:58:05>> in the deficits among these groups uh

1:58:08year over year.

1:58:09>> Mhm.

1:58:09>> And what strikes me is that

1:58:13these are not large populations. Black

1:58:16and brown students make up about 3%.

1:58:18Hispanic students make up about 7%.

1:58:20Low-income makes up about 11%. So, I'm

1:58:24curious as to we introduced our equity

1:58:27plan in roughly 2022-2023.

1:58:31>> Mhm.

1:58:33>> If we're not Boston, right, where where

1:58:36these problems are pervasive and

1:58:38deep-rooted and everywhere.

1:58:41I'm curious as to

1:58:45what isn't working where we can address

1:58:493% of the students, 7% of the students,

1:58:5311% of the students. And these groups

1:58:55overlap.

1:58:57What and how have we not identified

1:59:00what's broken in three in the three

1:59:03years we've had this plan? And I know

1:59:05Margaret is one person.

1:59:08But I'm curious if it's like if it's

1:59:11ability

1:59:12in the classroom to address these

1:59:14problems. If it's will.

1:59:17If it's just the wrong PDs in the wrong

1:59:20programs. Is it a lack of perspective?

1:59:24Because it feels fixable

1:59:27when we're talking about numbers under a

1:59:29hundred

1:59:31in spaces. When we're talking about one

1:59:34brown kid in the class

1:59:36of 15 or 20.

1:59:39And also at the same time our discipline

1:59:41rates

1:59:42for these students are still high

1:59:45compared to their white counterparts.

1:59:47So I'm I know that you mentioned that

1:59:50principals are seeing a challenge in

1:59:52addressing individual families and

1:59:54things like that. What are the supports

1:59:56that you need to get to this? Cuz it

1:59:58feels fixable cuz these aren't a lot of

2:00:00kids.

2:00:04>> I'm looking at hold on. Pulling up the

2:00:06big

2:00:07deck.

2:00:16So

2:00:19a couple things. There are

2:00:26the biggest challenge if you look at

2:00:27some of those data and you disaggregate

2:00:29by group is for our African American

2:00:32black students.

2:00:34Our Hispanic students

2:00:37that is less true for so I'll separate

2:00:39the two.

2:00:40Um

2:00:42there's not

2:00:48If the question is what do we need, I

2:00:50think

2:00:51comprehensive professional development

2:00:53around

2:00:56the biases that enter into academic

2:00:59spaces

2:01:00specifically is a lot of what is needed.

2:01:03And I'm not the only

2:01:05I heard other superintendents say the

2:01:06same thing in a call not too long ago.

2:01:09A lot of the PD that's available

2:01:12is not it's either about

2:01:16academics

2:01:17or about race and ethnicity in society.

2:01:20It's very rarely about how these two

2:01:23come together.

2:01:24There are some offerings. The pandemic

2:01:28dramatically reduced

2:01:30what was available.

2:01:32One of the things that we used to lean

2:01:33very heavily on was ideas.

2:01:35Um and we've run courses, we've run

2:01:38cohorts.

2:01:39It is not

2:01:42as easy to run those cohorts now, in

2:01:44part because they're not offering as

2:01:46many opportunities to do so statewide.

2:01:49In part because it is

2:01:51expensive professional development and

2:01:52in part because it's very time-consuming

2:01:54professional development for our

2:01:55teachers. So, what would help is the

2:01:57ability to bring that

2:01:59on-site.

2:02:01And

2:02:02and even then

2:02:04that professional development is largely

2:02:07about culture and race and ethnicity in

2:02:10society and how that operates.

2:02:12Not about how that

2:02:15I know they've worked on this and

2:02:17they've worked to make this stronger,

2:02:18but not about how that plays out in an

2:02:21academic space when it comes to belief

2:02:23systems about what students are capable

2:02:24of.

2:02:25We've seen the greatest impact for our

2:02:27black and Hispanic students in places

2:02:29where we've eliminated opportunity gaps

2:02:31or opportunity barriers is a better way

2:02:34to say it. So, where we've said we're

2:02:37not going to limit who can sign up for

2:02:39this class

2:02:42on any indicator, understanding that

2:02:45more frequently our black and Hispanic

2:02:47students will also have an IEP, for

2:02:48example.

2:02:50Then

2:02:51we will have more students potentially

2:02:52participate in something like that.

2:02:56Challenging themselves, achieving

2:02:57higher, and so on. And so that that

2:03:00barrier might challenge a belief system,

2:03:02but it doesn't break it down.

2:03:04>> Mhm.

2:03:04>> And so then you're working sort of on an

2:03:06individual basis to break down biases

2:03:09that in a lot of cases can be invisible

2:03:12to the individual.

2:03:14And

2:03:15bringing them up, whether this is about

2:03:18dis- it doesn't matter which group this

2:03:19is about, but this disability income

2:03:23it's not

2:03:25always conscious.

2:03:27And surfacing it

2:03:29can be very

2:03:30threatening to the individual and can

2:03:34reverse the impact you're trying to

2:03:36have, can actually have the opposite

2:03:38effect.

2:03:38>> Mhm.

2:03:39>> So

2:03:42my answer to this is

2:03:44vague and it's not great. We do have

2:03:47some cohorts of black and and Hispanic

2:03:49students who are closing we're closing

2:03:51gaps for. They are more frequently at

2:03:52the secondary level.

2:03:55Our students at the elementary level

2:04:00are walking in with a different profile.

2:04:03More of them have IEPs

2:04:04earlier in their school trajectory, so

2:04:07they have added layers

2:04:09um attached.

2:04:11I I'm speaking in some generalities cuz

2:04:12I can't get into specifics.

2:04:16The MECO program is shifting.

2:04:19That is also something we're noticing

2:04:21and that is not all of our black and

2:04:22Hispanic students,

2:04:24but it is a proportion of them.

2:04:27Um one of the things we're noticing is

2:04:29that far more students coming through

2:04:30that program have IEPs

2:04:32or have significant disabilities, and

2:04:34this is something that

2:04:37districts around us are also trying to

2:04:40figure out the why behind.

2:04:42But it doesn't matter because they're

2:04:43our students. Once we accept them,

2:04:45they're ours and we work with what we

2:04:47have to do what we can to support them.

2:04:50And they're coming in with more of these

2:04:52layers attached.

2:04:53Um that impact their ability to engage

2:04:56at grade level.

2:04:57That will not improve

2:05:02entrenched perception or bias where it

2:05:04exists.

2:05:06It can exacerbate it.

2:05:08So. [clears throat]

2:05:12I don't have an answer for you. You're

2:05:14right. It's a group that should be

2:05:16perhaps easier to target.

2:05:18Uh resources for professional

2:05:19development, time

2:05:21for it

2:05:22is lacking.

2:05:24Um a deeper understanding of what some

2:05:26of the factors are that are more social

2:05:28and are tied to programmatic adjustments

2:05:31or perceptions and changes in who and

2:05:35roles in particular programs

2:05:37I think is also part of it.

2:05:39Um

2:05:43I can't say a whole lot more without

2:05:44getting into specific cases, so.

2:05:46>> Yeah, I guess my I guess what I'm

2:05:47looking for is to see if as we analyze

2:05:50this report and and think about what an

2:05:53action plan looks like.

2:05:56When

2:05:57>> [clears throat]

2:05:57>> if any adjustment needs to be made in

2:06:02our equity plan, in

2:06:05>> [clears throat]

2:06:06>> the way we've we've sort of tasked our

2:06:08access and engagement committee or task

2:06:10force in a lot of this work.

2:06:13What are the checks and balances after

2:06:14you take in a PD? Who comes back into

2:06:16the classroom and make sure it just

2:06:19wasn't something that educators took,

2:06:22said, "Okay." Checked it off a box and

2:06:24are actually implementing in the

2:06:26classroom. So that that's what I'm I'm

2:06:28looking for as part of like when you go

2:06:31back to your team and say we look at

2:06:33these numbers. And I agree MECCA is

2:06:35changing, but a lot of these numbers

2:06:38look very similar to 5 years ago.

2:06:41Look similar to 10 years ago in terms of

2:06:44these disparities among African

2:06:46Americans and their experience and kids

2:06:48of color and their experience in

2:06:50Arlington.

2:06:52And so that's the discipline rates is

2:06:54for one, right? Like that number has

2:06:56always been high disproportionate to

2:06:58white counterparts. So what I what I'm

2:07:01saying is like I'm thoughtful around

2:07:04what are you going to do

2:07:07when you go back to your staff and look

2:07:08at these outcomes reports and say these

2:07:11specific groups are the ones that are

2:07:13struggling and have been struggling for

2:07:15some time, what do we need to change?

2:07:18What do we need to make different? And

2:07:21if we do a PD, how do we follow up on

2:07:23that change?

2:07:25That's what I'm That's what I'm thinking

2:07:26about because I think if a parent looks

2:07:28at this deck

2:07:31and our CPAC parents are very vocal and

2:07:33we get that,

2:07:35but like if a parent looks at this deck,

2:07:37they want to know what's what are we

2:07:38doing about this?

2:07:40And what?

2:07:41Now I will say on the other hand to

2:07:43balance this the these comments is that

2:07:45it's great that for the majority of

2:07:48students in Arlington public schools,

2:07:51they're doing great.

2:07:54But I worry about the signal it says

2:07:57when we celebrate

2:07:59the majority

2:08:01and leave the rest of the kids behind.

2:08:03That's my worry about that.

2:08:05Because we because because if we keep

2:08:07doing that

2:08:09and historically, and I'm I'm speaking

2:08:11anecdotally, like we continue to

2:08:12celebrate the majority of the kids and

2:08:15say, "But you know, we'll deal with the

2:08:17other group." It It It worries me that

2:08:21it feels like we're kicking the can on a

2:08:22problem that can be solved.

2:08:25That's That's what I'll say about that.

2:08:27>> So,

2:08:29Mhm.

2:08:31when the state sets targets, they set

2:08:33gap-closing targets.

2:08:34>> Mhm.

2:08:37>> And they measure some of that against

2:08:39how the rest of the state is doing.

2:08:44We've in a lot of these cases, we've

2:08:46we're meeting targets.

2:08:49We're not better than we We asked

2:08:51ourselves to be better than ourselves.

2:08:52>> Mhm.

2:08:53>> That's where we saw a decline this year.

2:08:59At the same time,

2:09:03I appreciate what you're saying about

2:09:06what some of these data looked like 5

2:09:07years ago, and they don't because there

2:09:11have been closures of

2:09:13gaps in a lot of places for our black

2:09:16students.

2:09:19One of the things I'm going to do with

2:09:20the team is go back and say, "Okay,

2:09:22where that happened? Why?

2:09:24Do we understand why? What made the

2:09:26difference there?

2:09:27Is it because we

2:09:29took that barrier away? Is it because

2:09:31more of our teachers had access to this

2:09:35particular set of professional

2:09:36development? Is it because this

2:09:38curriculum is making a really

2:09:39significant difference for students? Is

2:09:41it because this cohort of students has a

2:09:43higher proportion of students with

2:09:45these many more layers of disadvantage

2:09:47attached, and so we need to better

2:09:49understand what the impact of that is?

2:09:51So, the the first set of conversations

2:09:53is about what do we know about these

2:09:55cohort of students. The cohort data is

2:09:57far more informative

2:10:00than the year-over-year

2:10:03for understanding the gap closure or

2:10:05not.

2:10:05Because if we know that we're seeing gap

2:10:08closure for ninth grade, but not for

2:10:09fifth,

2:10:12then we need to interrogate what we're

2:10:13doing at fifth.

2:10:15If we know we're seeing it for ninth

2:10:16grade because we eliminated this

2:10:18opportunity barrier in ELA, for example,

2:10:21but now we don't see that same thing in

2:10:23math and we need to ask what we're doing

2:10:24in math.

2:10:26Um

2:10:27we have bright spots here.

2:10:29worth

2:10:32doing more of in that place. You just

2:10:34have to make sure you actually target

2:10:35the right action. Otherwise, you're

2:10:37going to do the wrong thing.

2:10:39Um

2:10:40the other thing that that people need to

2:10:43do is more partnership with families.

2:10:44And so a lot of what I have been doing

2:10:46is coaching principals through that so

2:10:49that if we are in a position where

2:10:53where

2:10:55you know, at odds with a family

2:10:57that we are not

2:10:59writing anything off.

2:11:01But we're leaning back into the

2:11:02difficult conversation or we're asking

2:11:05if our biases are getting in the way of

2:11:07our judgment on a disciplinary decision.

2:11:10Um

2:11:11we do that constantly, but this year's

2:11:13focus on partnership has come up in

2:11:15multiple conversations with

2:11:17principals on the phone on specific

2:11:19cases that are particularly challenging

2:11:22because the student is struggling with

2:11:24multiple

2:11:25different layers of challenge in class

2:11:28and their family is, too.

2:11:31So, I'm going to keep doing those

2:11:32things.

2:11:34And

2:11:36we're going to take a look at the places

2:11:37where we see success

2:11:39and try to figure out what worked there

2:11:42so we can do more of it, which is

2:11:43something we've been doing over the last

2:11:45several years. And doing that over the

2:11:46last several years is why our chronic

2:11:47absenteeism is so much

2:11:49lower

2:11:50than it has been in the past.

2:11:56>> Mr. Harden.

2:11:57>> Oh, I'm

2:11:57>> Oh, you raised your eyebrows.

2:11:59>> I didn't know if that [laughter] was the

2:12:00question.

2:12:01>> Uh Mr. Slickman.

2:12:02>> Okay. Uh

2:12:04two questions. What one

2:12:06cohort

2:12:07did I notice was an issue?

2:12:10Uh

2:12:11our students who are

2:12:14new to the district or have less time

2:12:17enrolled in our schools and

2:12:19rather as compared to somebody who

2:12:21started less in kindergarten. Have we

2:12:23disaggregated the data looking at

2:12:27uh students who are transferred at at

2:12:31the least a tenure in the district,

2:12:32particularly in the upper grades?

2:12:35>> Particularly in the upper grades is that

2:12:36what you're asking?

2:12:37>> uh

2:12:38obviously there's more of a time gap if

2:12:41if a student arrives at ninth grade,

2:12:44there's

2:12:45uh nine years of uh

2:12:48schooling else where.

2:12:49>> Yeah. Um I have not interrogated it to

2:12:53to the like leveled extent, no. We have

2:12:56had um

2:12:57welcome We had a welcome event for uh

2:13:00ninth grade families this year before uh

2:13:02back to school night at the high school

2:13:04because of the volume of new ninth grade

2:13:06families that we had and I think that

2:13:07was actually a suggestion that came from

2:13:08the committee and it was a great one. Um

2:13:10so Dr. Janger implemented that this

2:13:12year.

2:13:13Um we do notice that the longer a

2:13:16student has been in the system, the less

2:13:19likely they are to see a decline. Um we

2:13:22also took a look and saw like how many

2:13:24students last year

2:13:27saw a decline in their performance

2:13:29across subject areas, how many saw an

2:13:30improvement? Far more We had far more

2:13:33who saw an improvement last year than

2:13:35who saw a decline, which is

2:13:36fantastic. Uh for those who saw a

2:13:38decline, one of the next steps is,

2:13:40"Okay,

2:13:41what vocal groups are those students

2:13:43in?" We haven't disaggregated that yet.

2:13:45Um

2:13:46what grades are they in? Cuz that tells

2:13:48us where to then target some of the

2:13:49instructional work that we know we need

2:13:51to do.

2:13:52And

2:13:54but back to your question, um

2:13:56there's about a tipping point around

2:13:58three years

2:14:00where

2:14:01once they've been in the system for

2:14:02about three years, you're far less

2:14:04likely to see a

2:14:06see sort of

2:14:08you know, mixed outcomes for a student.

2:14:11Um and those those first couple of years

2:14:13are critical and when they would join in

2:14:15those first couple years is critical. In

2:14:18the you know.

2:14:20It can be more mixed actually at

2:14:21elementary. So when I was digging into

2:14:23this we can we can say you know

2:14:26show me the results for students who

2:14:27have been here for 1 year for 2 for 3

2:14:29for 4 for 5.

2:14:31At elementary if they join they're more

2:14:34likely to see a lot of movement in their

2:14:36scores.

2:14:38If they join right around middle it's

2:14:41more likely to be stable. This kind of

2:14:42makes sense cuz they're older by then.

2:14:44They've had the foundational knowledge

2:14:46built at another district or not. And so

2:14:49if they come in struggling.

2:14:52Chances are it's going to be harder to

2:14:53turn that corner with them and so we

2:14:55need different strategies for it.

2:14:58But.

2:15:01That's not quite answering your question

2:15:02I don't think.

2:15:03>> Well I I I

2:15:05wouldn't expect you to have an answer

2:15:07answer off the top of your head.

2:15:09I mean the one thing philosophically

2:15:12is that we have no control over what a

2:15:16child knows when they walk through our

2:15:17door.

2:15:19But we do have control over how much

2:15:22they learn when they're with us.

2:15:24So that.

2:15:26The first thing I'm looking for whenever

2:15:28I see the scores are the growth numbers.

2:15:31And traditionally the district's been

2:15:35been very good growth numbers.

2:15:37But.

2:15:39We're we're moving our students forward.

2:15:43So.

2:15:46Comparing.

2:15:47Students in social groups.

2:15:50And their growth numbers.

2:15:52I think I think it's really.

2:15:55More important than outright

2:15:58achievement.

2:16:01For for we're dealing with things that

2:16:03we can control. The other question I

2:16:05have is I was sort of surprised

2:16:07on the attendance report

2:16:10that we had

2:16:12um

2:16:13a bulge in November

2:16:16um with uh trips at

2:16:20um

2:16:22>> Not as many, but

2:16:23>> Yeah. I mean, when I was working in law,

2:16:26we used to get these in January.

2:16:29Um

2:16:30>> [clears throat]

2:16:30>> uh

2:16:31the people would get uh leaves uh

2:16:34after uh after December 23rd and come

2:16:37back sort of middle of January or late

2:16:40January if they're going

2:16:42to

2:16:43visit relatives or family abroad.

2:16:47Um

2:16:49I'm wondering if this if this is big

2:16:51enough that we should be questioning our

2:16:54calendar around Thanksgiving time.

2:16:57>> What's your theory about November, Mr.

2:16:58>> Well, there's a reason parents call it

2:17:00no school November.

2:17:01>> I I I wonder

2:17:01>> So, we have a professional development

2:17:04day.

2:17:04>> Mhm.

2:17:05>> We have Veterans Day, which is

2:17:07extraordinarily disruptive most of the

2:17:09time. And then you have Thanksgiving,

2:17:12and it is less expensive to travel in

2:17:14November than it is in December. So,

2:17:16this is like purely anecdotal, but it

2:17:18doesn't surprise me with especially with

2:17:20international travel that

2:17:24you know, given the number of families

2:17:27we know for whom that is like a real

2:17:30like life thing, that that you might

2:17:34look at November and say like they're

2:17:37missing fewer days because there are few

2:17:40you know, like if you try to like plan a

2:17:42trip that includes that professional

2:17:44development day and

2:17:46Veterans Day. I I don't know what I have

2:17:49no I like obviously this is anecdotal,

2:17:50but it it actually doesn't surprise me

2:17:53at all that November is is an issue.

2:17:56>> I'm not surprised by that for the same

2:17:58reason. I'm not surprised by that

2:17:59either. If you You at January, Mr.

2:18:01Sledgehammer, it's it's closer to the

2:18:0295% mark than

2:18:05say September is up in the 97s, May is

2:18:07up in 96, 97, so is April.

2:18:10>> Mhm.

2:18:10>> So, some of that in January is illness,

2:18:13some of it's some of it's ongoing

2:18:14travel.

2:18:16Um we we start to see flu season really

2:18:19dig in in January and February, so.

2:18:22>> Yeah, and well, we had a couple of uh

2:18:26groups that were really big on extending

2:18:29that December vacation well into

2:18:33January.

2:18:34>> We've had a long conversation with

2:18:35families too about about

2:18:37>> Mhm.

2:18:37>> that uh that we where we try very hard

2:18:40to sort of first of all empathize and

2:18:42understand and emphasize the importance

2:18:45of those months cuz they're right in the

2:18:47middle of school year.

2:18:47>> Mhm.

2:18:48>> And some of the impact that that can

2:18:50have if families are going to travel

2:18:52anyway, we have some rules around if

2:18:55it's for a certain length of time, you

2:18:57know, have

2:18:59some tutoring there or go to school with

2:19:01their cousins for a couple of weeks.

2:19:04>> Mhm.

2:19:04>> Um just to have that experience if

2:19:06nothing else. Um but, you know, we

2:19:09we are we have been more actively

2:19:11trying to discourage some of that

2:19:13because we're still working on

2:19:15curriculum during those weeks and

2:19:16months, so.

2:19:18>> I hear you.

2:19:20But uh but uh

2:19:22the numbers are

2:19:24uh overall uh

2:19:27good. We're we're seeing progress and

2:19:29yes, I'd to see those those gaps close

2:19:32as well.

2:19:33But uh

2:19:35uh I I thank you for the thoughtful

2:19:37presentation.

2:19:39>> [clears throat]

2:19:39>> Uh Mr. Carden.

2:19:41>> Thanks. Um so, yes, thank you for all

2:19:44the work that went into the deck and the

2:19:45analysis. I know

2:19:47um it was a lot of work. Um

2:19:50hopefully the new tool was a little bit

2:19:51easier for you.

2:19:53Um

2:19:54I I do think

2:19:55uh

2:19:56it's so much data that it's almost too

2:19:58much, right? So, I do think the one

2:20:01thing that would be useful for us, as we

2:20:02talked about, there were some areas

2:20:04where gaps were narrowed, and there were

2:20:06some areas where there weren't. They're

2:20:08scattered in the variety of slides. It'd

2:20:10be nice to have somebody sit down and

2:20:12sort of have a bullet list of

2:20:14this this is where it improved. It was

2:20:17just a cohort. This was where it has

2:20:19improved for several cohorts, so we know

2:20:21we're doing something right.

2:20:23These are the other areas where things

2:20:25are

2:20:26nothing's happening. We need to work.

2:20:27So, I think that kind of analysis, if

2:20:30there's somebody to do it, would be very

2:20:32helpful. Um

2:20:34uh

2:20:35you know, we we have a little bit of an

2:20:37opportunity, you know, our kindergarten

2:20:39class size is the lowest it's been in 20

2:20:41years. I checked the data. So, we have,

2:20:44you know, with the administrative team

2:20:46and the in the in and the um

2:20:49special ed team, basically staying the

2:20:51same size as our elementary schools

2:20:53downsize, um

2:20:56we have an opportunity to to sort of

2:20:58utilize those resources to to to very,

2:21:01you know, focusedly target kids who need

2:21:03help at at the elementary level and get

2:21:06them there. So, maybe that's something

2:21:07we can focus on in the next couple of

2:21:09years.

2:21:10Um

2:21:11and I do want to congratulate the

2:21:12district. I mean, overall, it's

2:21:14important to recognize our success. We

2:21:16we've done very well in the in not just

2:21:19on the raw scores, but on those

2:21:21achievement measures, which are very

2:21:23hard to understand, very complicated,

2:21:25but they're really designed to measure

2:21:27how well a district is performing, and

2:21:29and we we've done we're doing we're

2:21:31doing very very well there. So, thank

2:21:33you. Congratulations.

2:21:34>> Thank you.

2:21:37Mr. Herman.

2:21:38>> Thank you. Um

2:21:41Mr. Herman said something that I was

2:21:42going to say, which is that, you know, I

2:21:42think overall, it's important to say

2:21:44that we're doing well. I I do want to

2:21:45thank uh Ms. Handscaperthar for her

2:21:48questions. I would say,

2:21:49based [clears throat] on my experience

2:21:50here, this is

2:21:53I don't

2:21:54for the recent years

2:21:56we have more data and more analysis of

2:21:58this

2:21:59the cohorts and the focal groups than

2:22:01we've ever had before.

2:22:03So, that's like a I see that as a you

2:22:05know, one of the things that Liz has

2:22:06brought here that that's we're talking

2:22:08about these issues. We may not be

2:22:11addressing I mean I'm and I'm and we're

2:22:13talking about them and I think the

2:22:14district leadership is trying to address

2:22:16them, but it's the first time we

2:22:18past couple of years we've had so much

2:22:20data to look at. So, I think that's a

2:22:22good thing.

2:22:23Um

2:22:25and though there's clearly work to do.

2:22:27It would be helpful

2:22:30if

2:22:31Dr. Homer could kind of like isolate the

2:22:34the top things you're going to be

2:22:35working on over the next like

2:22:37I don't know so many months.

2:22:40Kind of like a I don't know if there's

2:22:41an action plan or something is there cuz

2:22:43I I agree with Lynn there's like so much

2:22:45data here.

2:22:45>> Yeah. So, the biggest I was

2:22:49attempting to do that in the last few

2:22:50slides but my brain was mush and I

2:22:52imagine everybody else was too.

2:22:56So, anyway

2:22:56>> The biggest thing honestly is

2:23:00more opportunities for sort of data

2:23:03informed inquiry adjustments to actions

2:23:07at the school like for schools,

2:23:10teachers, groups [clears throat] of

2:23:11teachers, grade level teams.

2:23:13So, when I showed that cycle

2:23:16map

2:23:17we've designed instructional leadership

2:23:21professional development around specific

2:23:23indicators chosen by our leadership team

2:23:26on things they really want to learn. One

2:23:29[snorts] of those is students are doing

2:23:30the majority of the work of the lesson.

2:23:32So, we're going to go into classrooms

2:23:33and say and ask ourselves are students

2:23:35doing the majority of the work of the

2:23:36lesson here?

2:23:37We're going to look at the standards and

2:23:38make sure that our leadership team

2:23:40understands what the standards say. So,

2:23:43if we need students to be doing the

2:23:44majority of the work of the standard of

2:23:46the lesson, then that means that they

2:23:48are meeting the cognitive demand of the

2:23:50standard for that lesson. Which means

2:23:52that that the leaders need to understand

2:23:54what the cognitive demand is. If If

2:23:57leaders can walk in and do that well,

2:23:59then we will be more calibrated in our

2:24:01feedback. And then we will be more able

2:24:03to say, "You know, we had

2:24:05most of the students doing the majority

2:24:07of the work of the lesson in this class,

2:24:09but we're noticing a trend when, you

2:24:11know, for a particular group of students

2:24:14not even being asked perhaps to do the

2:24:16majority of the work of the lesson

2:24:17here." We have That's one indicator.

2:24:20We're going to do one cycle there. We're

2:24:22going to do one cycle around

2:24:25um

2:24:25support mechanisms and differentiation

2:24:28in the classroom.

2:24:29Uh which is to say, "How are we

2:24:32including all students in the lesson and

2:24:34adapting instruction to meet the needs

2:24:36of all students in the lesson?" If all

2:24:37students can't access a specific task,

2:24:39how do we

2:24:40design the task in different ways?

2:24:42And the guy the the goal here is not to

2:24:46assess we're watching or teachers cuz we

2:24:48go to multiple classrooms, but to assess

2:24:50our own ability to ask to like assess

2:24:53against that question, "Do we see the

2:24:55same thing?

2:24:56Do we understand what we are looking

2:24:58for?" So that we can then go develop

2:25:00professional development that helps our

2:25:02educators

2:25:04to also build that lens when they're

2:25:06designing lessons and when they're

2:25:07implementing them. So the goal is really

2:25:09about our learning. There will be three

2:25:10cycles of that on three separate

2:25:12indicators,

2:25:13all from DESI instructional indicators

2:25:17that are specific to deeper learning

2:25:19work, which is tied to our strategic

2:25:21plan.

2:25:22We're doing that cycle

2:25:24as a way of practicing cycles.

2:25:27So as a way of looking at data,

2:25:30processing the data, so that they can

2:25:32then go also back to the schools and

2:25:34lead cycle

2:25:35based work, which is to say a data

2:25:37cycle.

2:25:38You know, ask a question,

2:25:41go see what you can find. Go try

2:25:43something. Bring information back. Bring

2:25:45student work back. Bring student

2:25:47outcomes back from an assessment.

2:25:49Reflect on what you did differently.

2:25:51Reflect on what the impact was that you

2:25:53hoped that you would have.

2:25:55And whether or not you had that impact.

2:25:57Did you have that impact? Yes, no, maybe

2:25:59here but not there.

2:26:01What do I want to adjust? Go try that.

2:26:04Bring data back. Go try that. Bring data

2:26:05back. Like over and over and over again.

2:26:08When you act faster,

2:26:10you have a bigger impact.

2:26:12That's the work of this year.

2:26:14We just had a uh admin institute on it

2:26:18um on October like 15th in the afternoon

2:26:21with the full leadership team including

2:26:23teacher leaders who were leadership

2:26:24workshop and we talked about

2:26:26[clears throat] and planned around that

2:26:27at leadership workshop. So, when I say

2:26:29we're doubling down on the instructional

2:26:31work this year,

2:26:32that's what that is. We're modeling it

2:26:34in admin PD. We're going to model it

2:26:36again in teacher PD.

2:26:39Built into all of that,

2:26:41first of all, there was a language

2:26:42around focal groups.

2:26:44Parents can come and talk to us about

2:26:45focal groups. They talk to us about

2:26:46focal groups. They They know who they

2:26:48are. They know which what our focal

2:26:50groups are. So do our educators. So,

2:26:52there's a shared language now that was

2:26:54not there 3 years ago.

2:26:57That helps us have this conversation

2:26:59because we will have teachers come to us

2:27:01and say, "We're not doing well by this

2:27:02focal group. Help us out here." Or we

2:27:04know this isn't working for this focal

2:27:05group.

2:27:07The fact that that is the case is huge

2:27:10because

2:27:11we can work with that and know we're

2:27:13talking about the same thing.

2:27:15And that's what's leading to some of the

2:27:16gains that we're seeing and I hear you

2:27:18that

2:27:19you know, one of the things I was trying

2:27:20to do in this presentation too was make

2:27:21sure

2:27:23it didn't look like I was trying to

2:27:25highlight all the good so I balanced the

2:27:27slides out a bit and took several out of

2:27:30the

2:27:31positives

2:27:33which I'm now regretting a little bit.

2:27:35Um but I think

2:27:36you know, laying out where we saw gains

2:27:41where we saw gains plus gap closure

2:27:43is something I can maybe ask an AI agent

2:27:46to do or try to figure out how to do

2:27:48myself. This is all public data, so

2:27:50um

2:27:51>> Well, I mean this is a 284 slide that

2:27:54paper is not

2:27:54>> It's not short. No, this wasn't short,

2:27:56so

2:27:57>> uh

2:27:58uh you know, I did the best I could to

2:28:00review it before the meeting. Let's

2:28:01leave it at that.

2:28:02>> I I'll see what kind of summary I can

2:28:04do.

2:28:04>> you. I mean it was Jesus, this sucker is

2:28:06this a big one.

2:28:08>> There's a lot to go through.

2:28:09>> Yeah. Wasn't I not supposed to say that

2:28:11on tape?

2:28:12>> And I don't want to be untransparent

2:28:14either about places where we need to do

2:28:15some more work because

2:28:17>> No.

2:28:17>> you know

2:28:19I showed you the things that worry me.

2:28:21Um, and

2:28:23there are a few of them, so.

2:28:26>> All right.

2:28:26>> Is that something

2:28:27Um

2:28:28Thank you.

2:28:29Um

2:28:31I the my brain is still sort of taking

2:28:34all of this in. I Well, one thing that

2:28:36the

2:28:37the attendance

2:28:39graphs and sort of the way that they

2:28:40relate to [snorts]

2:28:41um

2:28:42the outcomes was really telling to me as

2:28:46someone who experiences

2:28:48students not coming to school and what

2:28:50that looks like.

2:28:52I hope that families can kind of see

2:28:54that and and appreciate um the the

2:28:58consequences of not being at school. I

2:29:00also appreciate, and I know we've had

2:29:01these conversations in the past about

2:29:03what principals are doing to get

2:29:06students to school where where that's a

2:29:08challenge, and it's nice to hear that

2:29:09there are fewer of those

2:29:11um students where we need to target. Um

2:29:14that

2:29:15the just based on all of what other

2:29:17people have said, I'm

2:29:20I'm trying to think about how we as a

2:29:22committee can can like cycle back on

2:29:25this cuz I think, you know, you shared

2:29:27or these are the things that we're

2:29:28working on. You know, I wrote down

2:29:30instructional leadership teams. I wrote

2:29:32down how are these conversations

2:29:34developing in schools. I know that

2:29:36I assume that you know, teachers are

2:29:38having these conversations that

2:29:39principals are having their

2:29:40conversations with their

2:29:42um teachers about their school data. I

2:29:44know we'll hear about that with the

2:29:46school quality plans, but

2:29:48I don't like

2:29:50I feel like we we have all these

2:29:51presentations, but don't have this

2:29:53opportunity to sort of

2:29:55cycle back to

2:29:58what that's looking like until next year

2:30:00when we get this presentation again and

2:30:03it does may not feel like, you know, we

2:30:06closed the gap completely. Um

2:30:09So, I I don't really have a question. I

2:30:10guess I'm just sort of

2:30:12>> [laughter]

2:30:12>> So, verbally all of what I will about

2:30:14that thought.

2:30:16I won't say question, I guess, but

2:30:18is I've thought about that, too. Um one

2:30:21of the things I wanted to include here

2:30:23was some data from our just our first

2:30:26round of like early literacy assessment.

2:30:28Because what it's showing is that our

2:30:30students are starting out in our their

2:30:33first rounds of literacy assessments in

2:30:35kindergarten and first grade in a much

2:30:37better place.

2:30:39So, that's really reassuring. Like when

2:30:40we see there are places where we see our

2:30:42third graders, particularly in in the

2:30:45MCAS scores, particularly in some of our

2:30:47focus groups, really struggling either

2:30:49with that test or on that day or with

2:30:51like MCAS is one snapshot assessment.

2:30:55But what we're seeing in our DIBELS data

2:30:58is really reassuring.

2:31:00Um and so, I was hoping to put some of

2:31:03that up like here's where we were

2:31:04several years ago when we first ran this

2:31:06assessment, here's where we are now in

2:31:08our start as a starting point. And one

2:31:10of the conversations we had several

2:31:11years ago was like, "Oh my gosh, how do

2:31:13we even intervene? There are too many

2:31:16kids in the intervene zone."

2:31:18Um and we don't we like that is not the

2:31:21conversation anymore. It's more like,

2:31:23"Okay, how deep into the maybe it would

2:31:26be helpful, we're not quite sure, do we

2:31:27go? And now we have teachers who are

2:31:29saying, "I'll take this small group, you

2:31:31know, during all block."

2:31:33So, that's a really big deal because

2:31:36that's because we've eliminated gaps by

2:31:39having kids all in the classroom during

2:31:42core instructional time.

2:31:43Um

2:31:45but I didn't get it into here. But

2:31:46that's something that's cyclical.

2:31:48Like in aggregate, we could look at that

2:31:50cyclically.

2:31:51>> And all that

2:31:52>> Attendance we can look at cyclically

2:31:54throughout the year. There are certain

2:31:55data points that we actually can track

2:31:56throughout the year. MCAS is not one of

2:31:58them.

2:31:59Uh but there are other ones that we can,

2:32:01and so I'd be happy to think about that

2:32:03and CIAA and what kind of capacity we

2:32:06might have. And I have to thank Nora

2:32:08again because I agree with you, some of

2:32:10that analysis that put some of these

2:32:11against these statistics against one

2:32:14another is the most powerful and it's

2:32:16just that we don't have a lot of

2:32:17capacity to do that, but she did a great

2:32:18job with it.

2:32:19So,

2:32:20uh maybe we have team members that want

2:32:22to take some of that on and can help us

2:32:25do more of that cycling at the district

2:32:26level. I would

2:32:28I would like to.

2:32:30>> Yeah, I I think that would be helpful.

2:32:32Like when block like when groups and

2:32:34things like that that's another thing.

2:32:35So, I just

2:32:36and I know my my brain is on elementary

2:32:39and just what things are happening at at

2:32:40the secondary level, too, but

2:32:42>> Mhm.

2:32:44Thank you.

2:32:44>> Yeah.

2:32:46>> Anyone else?

2:32:48>> Thank you. I don't have anything to say

2:32:50that the rest of the committee didn't

2:32:52say already except that um

2:32:55I do I think the more that we hear about

2:33:00the responses to how we act on

2:33:04this data, like in between the times

2:33:06when we're looking at the data, I I

2:33:08mean,

2:33:09you know, we work hard to pack we're

2:33:12working hard to pass the meetings with

2:33:14this kind of substantive um

2:33:18substantive material, but we do have

2:33:19some room in like a month or so maybe we

2:33:22can come back and talk about some of the

2:33:26conversations you are already start

2:33:28you've started to have post outcomes

2:33:29report with

2:33:31>> Yeah.

2:33:31>> the rest of leadership.

2:33:32>> Well, I think some of these questions

2:33:33like to the principals they they can be

2:33:35more concrete in some cases.

2:33:37>> Yeah.

2:33:37>> Um

2:33:38>> When they come for their SQPs so ask

2:33:40them.

2:33:41>> [clears throat]

2:33:42>> Um okay, we are on to

2:33:46uh policies. Uh Mr. Schlickman, do you

2:33:49want to take this? The first one is J1

2:33:53J1CFB.

2:33:55>> Great.

2:33:55>> JICFB

2:33:56>> JICFB, sorry.

2:33:58>> Okay, for JI

2:34:02JICFB

2:34:04Um

2:34:09Our attorney noted that uh

2:34:13we're required to have a policy

2:34:14surrounding uh

2:34:17um

2:34:19I I would say both in the same grouping.

2:34:22For JFCV,

2:34:23the teen dating violence.

2:34:26Um

2:34:27Our our attorney noted that we should

2:34:30have a policy here according to state

2:34:32law. So

2:34:34uh

2:34:35she worked with the uh superintendent to

2:34:38take a model pol-

2:34:40a couple model pol- model policies

2:34:43including the one from MASC and work up

2:34:46something that she felt

2:34:48aligned with the laws. Secondly,

2:34:51um

2:34:53we circle with the prevention

2:34:59and

2:35:00did some tweaks in that to align with

2:35:03state law current state law and align

2:35:06with current practice. So that's what

2:35:08you're looking at right now.

2:35:11Um this is a first read so we'll we

2:35:13won't do anything with this tonight.

2:35:16But if uh

2:35:18but if members do want to

2:35:21uh consider aspects of either of these

2:35:24policies,

2:35:26we can either work through amendments to

2:35:28second read or um

2:35:30ask for the uh policies and procedures

2:35:33subcommittee to work through it again.

2:35:37>> Um did you want to I have one note. Uh

2:35:40one of the pieces that we discussed

2:35:43actually in subcommittee,

2:35:45but

2:35:47that and that I meant to change before

2:35:50the new version went up uh for tonight's

2:35:53meeting was about notification of rights

2:35:57um to report to PRS.

2:36:00Um and it's a what

2:36:03we were going to put in and then I

2:36:04realized um thanks actually to some of

2:36:07our community members who wrote to us uh

2:36:09that I that had not made it into the

2:36:11version that had been uploaded was that

2:36:14we're going to be informing parents and

2:36:16guardians of both target and alleged

2:36:18aggressor involved in bullying

2:36:19investigations about their rights. That

2:36:21was the intent from the policy

2:36:23subcommittee meeting. So, that's

2:36:25corrected in the version that's online.

2:36:27Um I know that

2:36:31you know, this aligns this is straight

2:36:34from Attorney Minott's recommendation.

2:36:36Um this aligns with what is in the

2:36:38bullying intervention and prevention

2:36:39plan, which is our procedural

2:36:41documentation.

2:36:42Uh I know that

2:36:45um

2:36:46members who were here, families who were

2:36:47here, um have raised examples of

2:36:49inconsistency, and we are very open to

2:36:52that feedback um and have been

2:36:54responsive to it.

2:36:55And I can also understand the desire to

2:36:58have um perhaps some

2:37:01stricter language in policy. We're very

2:37:04open to thoughts. This is only first

2:37:06read, as Mr. Schlickman noted. Um

2:37:10I will say investigations

2:37:13My expectation is the investigations are

2:37:15completed within 14 days and the

2:37:16families are gotten back to in a timely

2:37:18manner. And investigations follow the

2:37:21trail.

2:37:22So part of the reason why

2:37:24I would prefer the policy not have

2:37:28uh an end time is because I do not want

2:37:31a principal to rush an investigation if

2:37:36there are factors that are requiring

2:37:39them to do follow-up or preventing them

2:37:42from doing follow-up.

2:37:43>> [clears throat]

2:37:43>> So

2:37:44I would prefer to put that 14 days in

2:37:46the intervention plan

2:37:48versus

2:37:49in policy.

2:37:52So

2:37:54we can discuss that. One other thing I

2:37:55want to note is that there was some may

2:37:57language in there about who may be

2:38:01interviewed.

2:38:02We would always interview We always

2:38:04interview the kids involved. Um

2:38:06the may is more about those

2:38:09external like it's about the threads

2:38:11that you follow in an investigation. So

2:38:16that's intended to say we may go as far

2:38:18as these people in an investigation.

2:38:21Not we won't necessarily in interview

2:38:26the target and alleged aggressor because

2:38:29we would always do those two. Um so if

2:38:32there's a desire to clarify that

2:38:34language, happy to. Um

2:38:37the may is about the

2:38:39others involved that may be

2:38:42um interviewed. We will not involve more

2:38:44people in an investigation than we need

2:38:46to

2:38:47because that widens the scope of the

2:38:50investigation

2:38:52involves more people and has potentially

2:38:54longer-term outcomes and ramifications

2:38:58for everybody involved

2:39:00regardless of the outcome.

2:39:01And so

2:39:03extensive involvement of many, many

2:39:05people is not advised.

2:39:07Um if you can avoid it.

2:39:10Because sometimes these allegations can

2:39:12follow regardless of whether or not we

2:39:14substantiate.

2:39:17And that's some of what we're trying to

2:39:18guard against and what I think some of

2:39:20the families have concerns about.

2:39:26>> Just two questions.

2:39:28Am I allowed to ask questions?

2:39:29>> Yes.

2:39:29>> Okay. Sorry.

2:39:30Um

2:39:32>> [clears throat]

2:39:32>> When was the last time we updated our

2:39:34bullying policy?

2:39:36>> The policy?

2:39:38>> Yeah. Has it ever been updated?

2:39:39>> Not since I've been here.

2:39:40>> I was just curious. And do we I know we

2:39:44probably

2:39:45>> 2021.

2:39:46>> 2021.

2:39:47>> Oh, I wouldn't have been here.

2:39:47>> policy here.

2:39:49>> Probably new.

2:39:49>> I don't know what the what the updates

2:39:51were, but that's what it

2:39:52>> Okay. So it says the

2:39:53>> Thank you. I appreciate that. Um and

2:39:56when we track bullying instances,

2:40:02are we seeing any trend up or down? Or

2:40:06I'm just I'm I'm thoughtful around like

2:40:09like as if when we updated in 2021, did

2:40:12we see

2:40:13the instances go down so that maybe

2:40:16further clarification would also improve

2:40:18the outcomes or make it worse? I'm I'm

2:40:21I'm just trying to think about what that

2:40:23looks like.

2:40:24>> So I don't know when in 2021 this was

2:40:27updated. I do not recall the update. So

2:40:29if this was in spring of '21, that was

2:40:32before my tenure. If it was in the fall,

2:40:33then it was among the first things that

2:40:35happened when I got here. Um so I can't

2:40:37really speak to whether that

2:40:39precipitated an adjustment. Um I can say

2:40:41that we adjusted about 2 years after I

2:40:45arrived the um prevention intervention

2:40:48plan.

2:40:49At that time we started doing regular

2:40:52professional development for

2:40:53administrators who are conducting these

2:40:54investigations, who you know, are

2:40:57responsible for making the

2:40:58determinations. Um and we do that

2:41:01periodically now, and we have to update

2:41:03that prevention intervention plan every

2:41:052 years. And so, our attorney reviews it

2:41:07every couple years.

2:41:09Um,

2:41:10uh, Dr. Thomas is the sort of bullying

2:41:12lead for the district. She will consult

2:41:14with families if they have a challenge

2:41:16with how one of these turns out. Um,

2:41:19they can speak with her. It's not

2:41:21appealable once a principal has made a

2:41:23determination.

2:41:24Um, but it it is something that like

2:41:27she'll work through with them if she

2:41:29feels like a situation needs to be maybe

2:41:31reopened or something else looked at or

2:41:33if there needs to be more PD, we'll go

2:41:34and do that. Um, I will say

2:41:37we've

2:41:38we will

2:41:41substantiate

2:41:44more often than we might have before.

2:41:48Mostly because

2:41:51there wasn't a lot of substantiation

2:41:55of these.

2:41:56And that was a major concern that I

2:41:58heard from a lot of families. Um,

2:42:01prior to us doing the dig in on the

2:42:04prevention intervention plan. It wasn't

2:42:05that it was never substantiated, but

2:42:07there's a lot of worry for

2:42:11for principals, for teachers, for a lot

2:42:13of people involved in these about

2:42:14substantiating because it puts like it

2:42:17has to be logged. It's a label. It

2:42:20worries families.

2:42:21Then you have to think about how to mend

2:42:23the relationship and that's hard to do

2:42:25once you've said this is bullying.

2:42:28Um, and we don't let these follow fam

2:42:31like kids through their existence in our

2:42:34schools. And we like have to report

2:42:38allegations and findings to the state.

2:42:41In aggregate, we don't have to, you

2:42:43know, they don't they don't get all the

2:42:44paperwork. They don't have all the

2:42:46details. Um, but the mere fact of that

2:42:49can be intimidating to families. So,

2:42:51um,

2:42:53we wanted to make sure that people had

2:42:55faith in our process.

2:42:56And so, we've been really intentional

2:42:59about making sure our ministers know

2:43:00what the definition is, know how to

2:43:02assess against that definition.

2:43:05Um, we have a lot of cases that get

2:43:06really tricky, and no matter how you

2:43:07determine a bullying case, somebody's

2:43:09unhappy about it.

2:43:11It doesn't matter if it what the outcome

2:43:14is. Somebody really won't like that

2:43:15outcome. So, we get a lot more PRS

2:43:17complaints on bullying incidents than we

2:43:19do kind of anything else.

2:43:22Um, and then, almost no matter how you

2:43:24determine it,

2:43:26the relationship between two kids can be

2:43:28really damaged for a long time after.

2:43:31And the more adults talk about what

2:43:35happened outside of the confines of the

2:43:38case, the investigation, and the

2:43:39findings,

2:43:41the more damage can last for those two

2:43:43kids.

2:43:45Um, the more kids talk about it, the

2:43:46more the damage can last for those two

2:43:47kids. And I think those are Those are

2:43:49the hardest things about these cases.

2:43:52That lives in the implementation. It

2:43:54lives in um, how we're thinking about

2:43:57using that term bullying. It lives in

2:44:01families understanding what bullying

2:44:03really is, and versus what

2:44:06neurodivergence is, versus what

2:44:09um,

2:44:09you know, kids learning how to interact

2:44:12with each other is when they're still

2:44:14developing and their brains are still

2:44:15developing.

2:44:16Um, and those are some of the

2:44:17conversations we want to have when we

2:44:18have this forum because

2:44:20I do think there are

2:44:22there is a tendency to jump

2:44:25to this is my child's being bullied

2:44:28um, because you're afraid for them. I

2:44:29understand why.

2:44:31Um,

2:44:33and

2:44:35we wish that we could do a little more

2:44:38um, healing, proactive, restorative work

2:44:42when some of these cases come up. There

2:44:44are times when that is not appropriate.

2:44:46I just want to name that.

2:44:47Uh, but

2:44:49you know, the more of that we could do,

2:44:50I think the

2:44:53better

2:44:55we could address some of the challenges

2:44:57that come up when it comes to bullying.

2:44:59Understanding fully that

2:45:01you know, there are times when it is

2:45:02bullying. We have to name that and we

2:45:03have to have consequences for it. We are

2:45:05very liberal with safety plans. I will

2:45:06say that. We do safety plans whether we

2:45:08substantiate or not. The law says we

2:45:11have to do it if it's substantiated.

2:45:13We'll do it if there's just a rift in a

2:45:15relationship and we need to break from

2:45:17each other.

2:45:18So,

2:45:19>> Can you Can you

2:45:20>> explain what that A safety plan?

2:45:21>> Yeah, what that means.

2:45:22>> So, it's different. They're very um

2:45:25sort of customized to the situation.

2:45:27Um sometimes they they'll go as far as,

2:45:30you know,

2:45:31these two are not to be around each

2:45:32other at all. And sometimes they will be

2:45:35a lot more sort of nuanced.

2:45:37Um

2:45:38you know, we're not going to sit

2:45:38together at lunch anymore.

2:45:40Uh sometimes

2:45:42the you know, we we'll usually work with

2:45:44the family to help establish like what

2:45:46would be safe or work with the student

2:45:48like tell it depends how old they are.

2:45:49Tell us what would feel

2:45:51uh better at school, what would help you

2:45:53be able to sort of

2:45:55get through your day and feel like this

2:45:56is an emotionally safe environment and

2:45:58then

2:45:58um sometimes we'll do restorative work,

2:46:01apologies, acknowledgements of harm

2:46:04done.

2:46:05Uh

2:46:06that's sort of separate from the safety

2:46:08plan. But safety plans can include a lot

2:46:10of different features in them.

2:46:12Um and sometimes it's as simple as

2:46:16a check-in with the social worker on a

2:46:17routine basis for a period of time.

2:46:19Uh and then the law requires and the

2:46:21policy requires that we're consistently

2:46:22checking in on the

2:46:24needs and whether or not that safety

2:46:27plan is continued to be needed over a

2:46:30period of time. So, they always contain

2:46:31like a

2:46:32end point check point. Um

2:46:35it can be scary for families to hit that

2:46:38check point

2:46:39um and let go of safety plans. So, that

2:46:42should be a meeting and a conversation.

2:46:44Um

2:46:45not just sort of the safety plan's over

2:46:47now.

2:46:48So, we try to do that, too.

2:46:50Um

2:46:51but there needs to always be sort of

2:46:53that

2:46:54reassessment with the administrative

2:46:56team of whether or not we're going to

2:46:57continue to do these measures cuz they

2:46:59can be a little restrictive, too.

2:47:00They're

2:47:01Um we do also implement this policy in

2:47:05our after-school programs, the ones we

2:47:07sort of own, they're part of ASP.

2:47:11Uh which is not a requirement for some

2:47:12of the other after-school programs. One

2:47:13of the things we do see is that the more

2:47:15unstructured time of after school can

2:47:16sometimes exacerbate a bullying

2:47:18situation.

2:47:19Um and so we've our after-school staff

2:47:21have also been trained in some of these

2:47:22policies.

2:47:24That's a relatively new thing cuz we're

2:47:26starting to see that that was more

2:47:28pervasive.

2:47:29>> Yeah.

2:47:30>> And so we pulled them in.

2:47:39>> Mr.

2:47:39>> Yes, sir.

2:47:40Back again.

2:47:42>> [clears throat]

2:47:43>> Based on everything that Do Do you see

2:47:44sort of

2:47:46recommending any changes in the wording

2:47:47that policy or is it sufficient for you

2:47:49You You You and your team to do it your

2:47:50job?

2:47:51>> The recommended changed language

2:47:54[clears throat]

2:47:55is coming from Attorney Meinhold. It is

2:47:57what I would recommend. I did make that

2:48:00adjustment to informing parents and

2:48:03guardians of both students of their

2:48:06rights.

2:48:06>> Yeah.

2:48:07>> Um but we had talked about that in

2:48:09subcommittee.

2:48:09>> Yeah.

2:48:10>> I think I you know

2:48:12I can take anything back to Attorney

2:48:14Meinhold and ask

2:48:15>> Yeah, but

2:48:15>> what she would recommend.

2:48:17I I do understand why there is not

2:48:19language in here around

2:48:22like

2:48:24for the for the the consequences of

2:48:27these investigations for a student who's

2:48:29accused of bullying are very real. I

2:48:31would just want to name them. And this

2:48:33worries This is why we didn't have a lot

2:48:35of substantiated cases um

2:48:39especially with younger students before.

2:48:42And

2:48:43I can understand why in the legal

2:48:45terminology it doesn't address that

2:48:47because it almost be counterintuitive to

2:48:49the desire to have people report

2:48:51bullying cases if you're worried that

2:48:53there's going to be

2:48:54some kind of

2:48:57consequence for that

2:48:59or protections for the student accused.

2:49:01Like it it would be a little bit

2:49:02contradictory within policy language. I

2:49:05I can understand why it's not there.

2:49:07And I think that is something that needs

2:49:09to be taken into consideration and I

2:49:10think that that can be procedural.

2:49:13Um

2:49:14we also have

2:49:16policies against retaliation.

2:49:17And I think that those cover

2:49:19>> Yeah.

2:49:21>> [snorts]

2:49:21>> Uh

2:49:21>> [clears throat]

2:49:21>> but but what that does require is that

2:49:23people tell us if they feel like there's

2:49:25retaliatory action being taken

2:49:28>> Okay.

2:49:28>> against the child who is when it wasn't

2:49:29substantiated.

2:49:32>> I

2:49:33I wonder if So, I'm looking at at cuz

2:49:36what the couple of things in the

2:49:37communications we got from community

2:49:39members that like

2:49:42resonated with me were

2:49:45um

2:49:47this idea of promptly versus an amount

2:49:49of time um because I can if you're in it

2:49:53like that is like a

2:49:55super challenging. I do know that at the

2:49:58end of that paragraph it does say at a

2:50:01minimum the principal or their designee

2:50:03shall contact the parents or guardians

2:50:05as to the status of the investigation on

2:50:07a weekly basis. I think I don't know if

2:50:10what if there is a emphasis of like this

2:50:13that cuz I think that to me that's the

2:50:15important thing is not having parents We

2:50:17had We had a community member say that

2:50:19they sort of didn't hear anything for

2:50:21weeks.

2:50:21>> Yeah.

2:50:22>> And I don't think I don't think that is

2:50:24okay. I also think that it isn't totally

2:50:27and I don't know what Attorney Maynard

2:50:29would say about this.

2:50:30It isn't totally clear

2:50:33in the language when it's talking about

2:50:36parents and families, who the parents

2:50:40and families are we're talking about,

2:50:41right? We heard from like are they the

2:50:45parents of the target or the parents of

2:50:48the person who is

2:50:49being uh like even in that statement,

2:50:51that sentence I just read, right?

2:50:53>> Which one are you on?

2:50:54>> So, I'm on the So, it's on the second

2:50:57third third page.

2:51:00Um

2:51:02there's a

2:51:03uh

2:51:04paragraph like

2:51:06six seven uh

2:51:08The investigation shall be completed

2:51:09promptly. The parents or guardians shall

2:51:11be contacted on completion of the

2:51:13investigation.

2:51:16Informing And And that is not I can I

2:51:18can imagine being a family reading this

2:51:21and not being clear as if

2:51:23with whether they are the ones

2:51:26being protected, represented in this

2:51:28language. And I don't know if it's

2:51:30simply related to the paragraph that you

2:51:33want the the language you already talked

2:51:35about changing, about making sure that

2:51:37all parties are informed. I

2:51:39[clears throat] do think that the

2:51:40language is very much directed towards

2:51:43the people reporting the bullying. I

2:51:45understand why,

2:51:47but given everything we've discussed

2:51:50about the harm these allegations can do

2:51:53to

2:51:55to everybody in the process, if it

2:51:58wouldn't make it make sense to just be a

2:52:01little more clear that we are concerned

2:52:04there's not a presumption of guilt,

2:52:06which I think if you were reading this

2:52:07as a parent of somebody who'd been

2:52:09accused, it could feel that way.

2:52:11>> Yeah.

2:52:12We inform both sets parents per

2:52:14practice.

2:52:16The law does not require that. I imagine

2:52:19that this language

2:52:22probably would have read target.

2:52:24>> Mhm.

2:52:25>> Um

2:52:26not both. And I had changed the language

2:52:29below to be both. Let me talk to

2:52:31attorney

2:52:32about how best to clarify that. I can

2:52:35say on several of the cases that have

2:52:37been most recent.

2:52:38When we're doing an investigation with

2:52:40students, we tell their families.

2:52:42Because that's what we should do.

2:52:44>> Right.

2:52:44>> Um and and why?

2:52:47>> But given that like some of what we're

2:52:48dealing with in this and in many of the

2:52:51issues that we address is not about what

2:52:53has happened in the last several months

2:52:55or year, it is about historic

2:52:58you know, building trust.

2:53:00I think it's it's worth thinking about.

2:53:02>> And I do want to note that I agree that

2:53:04waiting for multiple weeks without

2:53:06hearing back is not acceptable and that

2:53:08that was reported and that that was

2:53:09addressed.

2:53:10>> Good.

2:53:12>> Does that sound right?

2:53:14So

2:53:15one just administrative it

2:53:17in at least in this marked-up one, it

2:53:19feels like there's a just a duplication

2:53:21of us

2:53:23phrasing

2:53:24two paragraphs above

2:53:26this the investigation like shall be

2:53:28completed promptly.

2:53:31It says

2:53:31>> I see it. Yeah.

2:53:32>> Okay. So I just

2:53:34>> I don't know if that's a

2:53:35>> Okay. Um

2:53:37I'm [clears throat]

2:53:38>> There's a sentence in there

2:53:41where a couple of words were cut.

2:53:45Uh

2:53:47I just [clears throat] have to get on

2:53:48the right version because I'm looking at

2:53:49the current one.

2:53:51>> Uh

2:53:52there's a clean version, too, right?

2:53:55>> I I need to look at the change version

2:53:57so that

2:53:58there's a paragraph on the

2:54:04Um I don't have page numbers here. But

2:54:07uh

2:54:08there's a paragraph that starts with the

2:54:10word a person.

2:54:12>> Yeah, with a lowercase A?

2:54:13>> With a lowercase A.

2:54:15>> Yeah.

2:54:15>> There there were five word or five or

2:54:18six words that were cut out in the cut

2:54:20and paste.

2:54:21So the current policy which should be

2:54:24maintained is confidentiality

2:54:27shall be used to protect the person who

2:54:31reports bullying.

2:54:33>> Right, but that's

2:54:35that's in like in the paragraph above.

2:54:37>> Yeah, I see it.

2:54:38>> And then it I think it's just a

2:54:40>> It's a it's a duplication. It's a Here,

2:54:43it's right here.

2:54:43>> Yeah. Yeah.

2:54:44>> So

2:54:44>> So the second

2:54:45>> Right.

2:54:46>> Right, we need to cut this part out.

2:54:47>> Yeah.

2:54:48>> I got it.

2:54:48>> Okay.

2:54:49>> Um

2:54:51the part that makes this so

2:54:53I just told you.

2:54:56We

2:54:58we inform both sets of parents there's

2:55:00an investigation going on.

2:55:03We'll tell them it's a bullying

2:55:03investigation. But this part

2:55:06and this is the law.

2:55:09Makes those difficult conversations

2:55:11sometimes because we can't by law

2:55:15divulge a whole lot of information about

2:55:18who reported it,

2:55:19what they reported, etc.

2:55:22We can tell the family

2:55:25generally what was reported

2:55:27in terms of a

2:55:29behavior

2:55:30um that might have been concerning. We

2:55:33can ask

2:55:34the family

2:55:35you know, what information they have.

2:55:37Does it sound like it makes sense based

2:55:39on what you see at home?

2:55:41Are there concerns you have

2:55:43about their experience at school? And

2:55:45we'll do that. But But there's not a lot

2:55:48that cuz we do need to protect the

2:55:50person doing the reporting. That is

2:55:52intended to

2:55:54provide

2:55:56support for reporting so that we're not

2:55:59in the dark about it. So

2:56:01uh but as per practice we do inform

2:56:04both. And I've talked to Attorney

2:56:06Meinhold about how to capture that and

2:56:07we need to correct this by deleting that

2:56:10chunk right there.

2:56:13>> The other um I'm I'm sort of trying to

2:56:15reconcile this policy with the bullying

2:56:19and intervention plan,

2:56:20>> Mhm. which

2:56:22that cuz when I Haynes governor said

2:56:25when's the last time this bullying

2:56:26policy was

2:56:29edited

2:56:302021 but it's so it's the intervention

2:56:32plan that we are supposed we as a

2:56:35committee are supposed to approve

2:56:37annually. Is that correct?

2:56:38>> No, no, we're supposed to review it.

2:56:40>> Okay.

2:56:41>> This is that's the procedure. So

2:56:43>> Okay, well that's

2:56:43>> we have to update it every 2 years.

2:56:45>> Every 2 years? Cuz that was something

2:56:47that we got

2:56:49Yeah, this got

2:56:50>> Not the committee.

2:56:51>> Not the committee. Okay. Okay, so that's

2:56:53what I was

2:56:53>> no, so we we like it was a finding in um

2:56:57shoot

2:56:59It was a PRS complaint actually.

2:57:00>> Yeah.

2:57:01>> Okay.

2:57:01>> that was that was the non-compliance was

2:57:03that it had not been updated for a month

2:57:06overdue. And so we went and updated that

2:57:08was when we did that.

2:57:09>> Okay, and so at this point it was

2:57:10October 2025 so we have an another year.

2:57:14>> additional rounds. We have one more year

2:57:15on this one.

2:57:15>> On the one that's there. Okay.

2:57:17Um

2:57:18so cuz some of the

2:57:20I think some of the things some of the

2:57:22concerns that we heard from community

2:57:24members

2:57:26are included in the

2:57:28plan but sorry, what's the formal what's

2:57:31the

2:57:33prevention and intervention plan um and

2:57:37so I guess I'm just trying to think

2:57:38about the like

2:57:40the big picture policy versus the

2:57:42nitty-gritty of the intervention.

2:57:44>> The day-to-day implementation is the

2:57:46plan.

2:57:47>> Right.

2:57:47>> What the

2:57:49PR what a PRS agent will do is compare

2:57:51what we did our procedures against our

2:57:55procedures that plan and our policy.

2:57:57>> policy.

2:57:58>> We have a discrepancy.

2:58:00A couple and they're that's why the

2:58:02revisions actually between some of

2:58:04what's in the plan and what's in the

2:58:05policy. In some cases the policy is more

2:58:07restrictive than the plan and I would

2:58:09rather go in the opposite direction.

2:58:10>> I agree. I guess that's what I'm I'm

2:58:12trying that's what I'm trying to

2:58:14to look at.

2:58:14>> Cuz this doesn't get revised as often.

2:58:16>> Be, right. And

2:58:19if the plan is uh if it has many more

2:58:22steps, then we would want that to be

2:58:24more specific than the broad policy. Um

2:58:27cuz

2:58:28I I I think people brought up important

2:58:30things like how many, you know,

2:58:32promptly versus a specific number of

2:58:34days, but

2:58:36it seemed I I

2:58:37though and then

2:58:39protecting

2:58:41you know, what gets put in in writing.

2:58:43>> Mhm.

2:58:44>> Um

2:58:46versus

2:58:48>> I would find it much easier to put some

2:58:49considerations. So, the the plan is a

2:58:51guide for our administration.

2:58:53When I point them at something, I point

2:58:55them at that plan.

2:58:56That is what we train against.

2:58:58Putting something about

2:59:00the considerations

2:59:02that need to be taken into account for

2:59:04students with disabilities, for example,

2:59:06is it should go in the plan because

2:59:09that's the implementation guide.

2:59:11And that's the lens I need an

2:59:12administrator to have when they're

2:59:14weighing

2:59:15what's going on

2:59:16with some kids who are involved in a

2:59:17bullying case.

2:59:19Um and so I and I can think with

2:59:21Attorney Minor about that and about how

2:59:23best to do that

2:59:25in a way that keeps us compliant with

2:59:27the with the law, but I think they're

2:59:29raising valid points about

2:59:32the implementation of an investigation

2:59:35and how [clears throat] it plays out and

2:59:37the impact of that on both students

2:59:39involved.

2:59:40And I would want that to be in

2:59:41essentially the training material guide

2:59:43that I tell them to make sure they read

2:59:45every time they open a case.

2:59:46>> Yeah.

2:59:47Okay. That yeah that that's that's just

2:59:50I'm trying to

2:59:51parse those two apart. Approve a policy

2:59:54>> Okay.

2:59:54>> Thank you.

2:59:56>> Ju- just you know, um when anytime we

2:59:58deal with days or timelines,

3:00:01you know, if you're in the middle of

3:00:02March where we're going to school at 5

3:00:05days a week consistently,

3:00:08uh

3:00:09that that's pretty easy to deal with,

3:00:11but you often have cases that happen

3:00:14around

3:00:15vacations and the school year.

3:00:18And so that when you start tagging

3:00:21a day counter [clears throat] or a week

3:00:23counter on the policies,

3:00:25uh

3:00:27it can be problematic going forward. And

3:00:30then then then then you get into the

3:00:31case where you say, "Okay,

3:00:33are are we going to do this on No, count

3:00:36the number of school days or are you

3:00:38going to count the days?" And

3:00:41uh

3:00:42so that

3:00:44it's usually best in in terms of the

3:00:46policy to maintain

3:00:51language that

3:00:52uh conveys the urgency

3:00:54uh to do things rather than putting a

3:00:57specific day counter in there.

3:01:04>> So, we don't need to

3:01:06take any action right now.

3:01:08>> Uh there's no action to be taken as of

3:01:10the first reading.

3:01:10>> Okay.

3:01:12And did we

3:01:14Did Did anybody have anything to say

3:01:15about the teen dating violence?

3:01:17>> No.

3:01:18>> Okay. [clears throat]

3:01:20Okay.

3:01:21Um so, we will have the This will be on

3:01:23the agenda for second read at our next

3:01:26meeting. Next on the agenda is

3:01:28discussion and possible approval of

3:01:30Katie Khan to Envision Arlington.

3:01:32Envision Arlington. Okay. So, um I have

3:01:35had to

3:01:37understand how this appointment works.

3:01:39This is technically the superintendent's

3:01:41appointment. It's not a school committee

3:01:43appointment. Um and

3:01:46but and but it is approved on the So,

3:01:49also

3:01:51uh Jim Feeney, town manager, has an

3:01:52appointment to this committee. And I

3:01:56guess typically that appointment has

3:01:57been approved by the select board in the

3:01:59past. Um and I didn't know that until

3:02:01now. So, we've had appointees to

3:02:04Envision Arlington. Envision Arlington

3:02:06has not

3:02:07um like had a a major project in recent

3:02:11years. They'd had some strategic

3:02:12planning that they had done um

3:02:15a while back. Uh but they do the annual

3:02:17survey every year and we've had

3:02:20an appointee to it who

3:02:23actually was on our leadership team, has

3:02:24since left the district and so there was

3:02:27an opening a vacancy as of last spring.

3:02:29Um

3:02:30Katie Kahn has had expressed a lot of

3:02:33interest in being uh involved with the

3:02:36schools and uh has some experience with

3:02:39strategic planning work. Um and had

3:02:42asked if there were any opportunities

3:02:44available. Um and I actually have two

3:02:47appointments. And so

3:02:49um I would like to make sure we have

3:02:50someone on the Vision Arlington

3:02:52Committee and so I'm recommending Katie

3:02:54uh who had been involved with the

3:02:55override campaign, um had expressed

3:02:57interest, and actually had I think

3:02:59>> She was one of our applicants for the

3:03:00last year.

3:03:01>> for the school committee position.

3:03:03>> Yep.

3:03:04>> Um and so had been looking for an

3:03:06opportunity to serve the district. Um so

3:03:09I'd like to recommend her as appointment

3:03:10number one and then I'd like to put out

3:03:12to families um interest in serving on

3:03:16Vision Arlington and get a little more

3:03:17information from them about what some of

3:03:19the upcoming projects are going to be

3:03:21uh for that other appointment. Um if,

3:03:24you know, there are

3:03:26any further questions about how this

3:03:28works. I actually have also asked the

3:03:29town clerk um about sort of what the

3:03:33typical process is for other appointees

3:03:35and she wasn't sure, but I think that

3:03:37that she did indicate that the Vision

3:03:39Arlington group was trying to get

3:03:42clearer about sort of the process for

3:03:44determining who should be on the

3:03:46committee. Um

3:03:48and

3:03:49they were going to get back to me with

3:03:50some of that. So I think there's ongoing

3:03:51work. I couldn't find like bylaws that

3:03:53explain how these are appointed um

3:03:56or approved

3:03:58when I was looking and the town clerk

3:04:00was able to point me to those either,

3:04:01but I think they're working on getting

3:04:02some of that documentation together. But

3:04:04regardless, there are two appointments.

3:04:06I'm recommending Katie for the first one

3:04:08and then going out to the community and

3:04:10bringing a second one to you at some

3:04:11point this year.

3:04:13>> Mr. Carr

3:04:14>> So, it came up in my Google search. It

3:04:16says two

3:04:17Arlington Town of Arlington residents

3:04:19appointed by the Superintendent of

3:04:20Schools with the approval of the School

3:04:22Committee for 3-year terms.

3:04:25>> Great.

3:04:26So, we've had a 3-year term?

3:04:28Where is that on the town website?

3:04:31I searched the town website, not Google.

3:04:32I should search Google.

3:04:33>> I searched Google too when you when I

3:04:34first when you first put it on the

3:04:36agenda and I got confused as to whether

3:04:37it was our appointment or yours. That's

3:04:41I think I found exactly what Mr. Carr is

3:04:43looking at.

3:04:44>> Yeah, it's it's buried in Novice, so it

3:04:46comes up in the Google search.

3:04:47>> Ah, got it.

3:04:49>> It was a warranted article for town It

3:04:50was a warranted article for town meeting

3:04:52that established

3:04:54>> Okay.

3:04:55>> Vision 2020, which is now Envision

3:04:57Arlington.

3:04:58>> Okay.

3:04:59So, we need a motion to approve your

3:05:01appointment?

3:05:02>> Yes.

3:05:03>> I move that we approve the

3:05:04Superintendent's appointment.

3:05:05>> Second. Uh roll call vote. All in favor?

3:05:09>> I.

3:05:09>> I.

3:05:10>> All against?

3:05:11>> Think.

3:05:12Congratulations to Katie Carr.

3:05:14>> Yeah.

3:05:15>> I don't know.

3:05:16Um Mr. Schweizer, finance report.

3:05:21>> Uh good evening School Committee. Uh

3:05:23thank you for your time tonight. Uh

3:05:25as we present the first finance update

3:05:26for fiscal year '27.

3:05:28Um if we go to the second slide for the

3:05:31agenda to set expectations in that

3:05:33portal you will have received

3:05:34documentation that looks familiar to

3:05:36what I was providing at the end of last

3:05:37year. You'll find the finance report

3:05:39memo that has some additional

3:05:41commentary. You'll find the slides and

3:05:43then also the single page report for the

3:05:45revolving accounts. We'll briefly review

3:05:47that methodology in which the projection

3:05:49was made. I'll review the adjusted

3:05:51balance as I present the report, which

3:05:53I'm happy to say only has a few

3:05:55uh adjustments you'll see in the chart.

3:05:56One, I think cuz it's early in the year,

3:05:59but also two, we were a little bit more

3:06:00intentional in how we were budgeting and

3:06:02directly encumbering into revolving

3:06:04accounts and circuit breaker for our

3:06:05offset. So, I'll speak on that a little

3:06:07bit more in a minute. And then, lastly,

3:06:09I will wrap up this update speaking to

3:06:12our revolving accounts. I do have a

3:06:13little snapshot of that one pager, um,

3:06:16just to kind of highlight where we ended

3:06:18some of our balances in revolving

3:06:20accounts last year entering this year

3:06:22and how that could inform ongoing

3:06:23discussions this year for the budget

3:06:25build for 28. Uh, next slide, please.

3:06:29So, as always, uh, again, just setting

3:06:31expectations here and kind of setting

3:06:33the stage,

3:06:34uh, to ensure the integrity and

3:06:35transparency of the report, the

3:06:37budgetary actual and encumbrance column

3:06:39information you see in all of the

3:06:41reports is

3:06:43are numbers pulled directly from MUNIS.

3:06:44There's nothing that's manipulated there

3:06:46and that will always remain the same. To

3:06:48briefly go over the methodology of

3:06:50projections for the payroll related

3:06:52object codes, these are in the same

3:06:53manner as we performed towards the end

3:06:55of last year using a support and offline

3:06:57analysis,

3:06:58um, of our current roster, position

3:07:00control, and also review of some

3:07:01vacancies. Uh, for non-personnel budget

3:07:04lines, we have historically presented

3:07:06that all schools and departments will

3:07:07spend the operating budgets fully um, at

3:07:10this point in the year as it is this

3:07:12early in the year, I think that's still

3:07:13appropriate. So, that's the methodology

3:07:15there. And as I mentioned briefly, the

3:07:18FY27 build was made a little bit more

3:07:20intentional and direct in naming exactly

3:07:22which accounts we were charging direct

3:07:24offsets to. So, for example, building

3:07:26rentals account is covering a portion of

3:07:28our anticipated electricity costs, half

3:07:30of our custodial cleaning supplies

3:07:31budget, and all of our snow related

3:07:33expenditures. And then, further, circuit

3:07:35breaker this year wasn't covered to

3:07:37directly, so that's why as a financial

3:07:39report one or two,

3:07:40um, that's not on the budget, that's

3:07:41still a pending reclass. So, it's a

3:07:43little bit cleaner there for this

3:07:45update. So, on the next slide, I just

3:07:47briefly review the

3:07:48kind of adjusted balance. So, as the

3:07:51projected projection methodology takes

3:07:53into account actual payroll information

3:07:55in the minutes as of the data I pulled

3:07:57the report, which was October 14th, the

3:08:00personnel listed in the report are only

3:08:01the current employees. So, I will always

3:08:04maintain some sort of add back into the

3:08:06budget for projected vacancies at this

3:08:08time. And so, you'll see there in the

3:08:09red section. And then for the

3:08:11adjustments out, um there's only two

3:08:13there. One's nominal. The main one to

3:08:15speak on is the timing of the FY27 IDA

3:08:19240 grant uh being approved. We didn't

3:08:22get the award until October 14th. That

3:08:24was the same day that I pulled this

3:08:25information. So, what we intended on

3:08:27budgeting in that category is still on

3:08:29the minutes data.

3:08:31Once we set that up, perform the PO

3:08:32changes, reclassifications, and that

3:08:34will free up about 1.6 on the budget.

3:08:37And that's how you get to the adjusted

3:08:39bottom line.

3:08:40>> Sorry, can I ask a quick question? So,

3:08:42you're you're adding you're

3:08:44the proposed vacancies will cost us

3:08:47money?

3:08:49>> So, like in theory, if those projected

3:08:51vacancies were actually employed, they'd

3:08:52be up in the chart above. And that 505

3:08:55would look more like negative

3:08:581.1.

3:09:02>> So, the

3:09:03>> So, I'm projecting it as an additional

3:09:04charge to the general fund. So, as if it

3:09:06was in the chart above, but right now

3:09:07those are vacant.

3:09:10But then I'm all in the green. I'm also

3:09:11>> So, you're going to fill the vacancies?

3:09:13>> Correct. Yep. So, there's a sensitivity

3:09:15of about 0.5 for all those.

3:09:18Yep.

3:09:19>> Yeah. It's just I I wouldn't want to

3:09:20present data assuming any vacancies

3:09:21aren't going to get filled uh cuz this

3:09:23is a projection.

3:09:24>> Okay.

3:09:27>> Does that make sense?

3:09:28>> Yes. I'm just wondering about our

3:09:29vacancies because we're

3:09:32not having trouble hiring.

3:09:34>> No. [snorts] I I can try and pull the

3:09:36minutes speak more to it. I think

3:09:38>> I'm not trying to put you on the spot,

3:09:39but

3:09:39>> No, no. And I it was a one of the review

3:09:41of the report. Maybe Rob can speak to

3:09:42it. I think I had a list of about 11.

3:09:44>> Yeah, there aren't that. We are actually

3:09:45just hired a couple uh people who were

3:09:48on the vacancy list.

3:09:50Um

3:09:51and there were a couple in facilities.

3:09:54Um

3:09:55but there really aren't

3:09:58that many vacancies. Um

3:10:00>> Yeah, I think it was 11 and then at this

3:10:01time two timing like it's a year-round

3:10:03position.

3:10:04Um I only have 18 or 17s or so payrolls

3:10:07projected, you know. It's a timing of

3:10:09the year. The methodology that at least

3:10:11how I have presented vacancies is

3:10:12similar to last year.

3:10:14Um

3:10:15and I believe in the next report we'll

3:10:16be in the highlights, so.

3:10:19So much for that.

3:10:20Um if we can go to slide five, yep. So

3:10:23here just a summary of the ending

3:10:24account balances.

3:10:26I started doing the one-pager and that's

3:10:28been on every update since the spring to

3:10:30help our discussions when we're

3:10:32reviewing last year's

3:10:33current year budget but then also

3:10:34building up FY27.

3:10:36It shows revenue and expenditures and

3:10:38therefore the beginning and ending

3:10:39balance in each fiscal year since '22.

3:10:42Um there was intentional effort years

3:10:43ago to start spending some of these down

3:10:45intentionally but the plan kind of had

3:10:47to land and it had to land last year.

3:10:49So we started '26 with a carried balance

3:10:52into '26 with about a quarter million

3:10:54dollars.

3:10:55When I got here in November, uh a bulk

3:10:57of that about 165 you can see was in

3:10:58building rentals but that was nearly

3:11:00down to zero because we had to pay some

3:11:01prior year bills. So effectively we

3:11:03weren't even carrying much into last

3:11:05fall. Uh happy to say that here starting

3:11:08FY26 we were able to carry at least 433

3:11:11[clears throat]

3:11:11uh with about 300k of that in the

3:11:13building rentals. So one I just just

3:11:15want to highlight that we're entering

3:11:16FY27 in these accounts at a better place

3:11:18than we entered last school year. So I

3:11:20think that's good news to kind of

3:11:21highlight. And then number two as I kind

3:11:23of alluded to is a bulk of that is

3:11:25within building rentals. Um some of that

3:11:27was supported by the final transfers at

3:11:29the uh July School Committee meeting

3:11:31last year. But I just wanted to

3:11:33highlight that you know that account and

3:11:35circuit breaker are kind of the only two

3:11:36places we have

3:11:38initially to look at to if you know

3:11:40know, go south. So if we experience

3:11:41another winter like we did last year, or

3:11:43if, you know, a significant repair was

3:11:45needed and we were short capital funds,

3:11:47we'd be looking at that account or

3:11:48circuit breaker. So, I'm just happy to

3:11:51Not often I get to share good news or

3:11:52good information on finance. So, when I

3:11:54get to do so, I I just want to highlight

3:11:55it, but again, we've discussed revolving

3:11:58account balances a little bit in

3:11:59subcommittee last year. I'm sure we'll

3:12:01continue to do so this year, but just

3:12:02wanted to share with this with the whole

3:12:04committee. This is kind of our starting

3:12:05point for the fiscal year, what we're

3:12:07carrying forward to kind of help frame

3:12:09and provide context for future updates

3:12:11during this year, as well as the budget

3:12:13built for 28 going forward. And so, with

3:12:16that, thank you for

3:12:18the time for the update um to speak on

3:12:20that topic in particular, and then I

3:12:21welcome any questions.

3:12:24>> Questions?

3:12:27>> Thank you.

3:12:29>> Um superintendent's update.

3:12:36>> Okay.

3:12:37>> Uh consent agenda?

3:12:40>> I have I think I have an update first.

3:12:41>> Superintendent's update is first.

3:12:43>> It's short.

3:12:44I promise.

3:12:45>> [clears throat]

3:12:45>> Um all right. Uh we have a few upcoming

3:12:49events. One of them is a town and school

3:12:51community budget forum this time next

3:12:53week uh in the discourse lab at the high

3:12:56school. Um we hope that families and

3:12:59other folks in town residents will join

3:13:01us to learn about municipal and school

3:13:03revenue spending priorities, the town's

3:13:04budget process. Uh folks can join

3:13:07virtually or in person. Feel free to

3:13:09submit questions ahead of time or ask

3:13:11live.

3:13:12Um and we are we also experimented with

3:13:14a feature in Parent Square where you can

3:13:16RSVP right in the app. Um and so, that's

3:13:19helping us keep track of who might be

3:13:20coming as well. So, if that's easier for

3:13:23you than scanning the QR code, you can

3:13:25do it that way, too. Um and truly we um

3:13:28are just sharing some information in a

3:13:31moment where we're not in

3:13:34the need to vote forever, right? So,

3:13:36um the town manager and I are very much

3:13:38looking forward to that. We've worked

3:13:40quite closely together through last year

3:13:43and and since we've

3:13:45you know, been working together on the

3:13:46budget and we look forward to sharing

3:13:48some of what that looks like

3:13:49um in partnership with one another at

3:13:52this forum.

3:13:53Um I'd also like to say congratulations

3:13:54to our food services team for receiving

3:13:56a New England Food Vision Prize. That is

3:13:59a prize that comes with a $60,000 grant,

3:14:02which is not an unsubstantial amount of

3:14:04money to support a project that was

3:14:06proposed by the team. The project's

3:14:08titled Local Harvest Community Flavors

3:14:10in Arlington Public Schools Food

3:14:12Expansion Initiative to continue

3:14:14diversifying our menus. Um I heard

3:14:17recently that they had uh fresh seafood

3:14:20fresh fish from Seaport on the menu one

3:14:22random Thursday. Um so, they've got some

3:14:25really cool stuff going on. I know they

3:14:27were here last year to update on it, but

3:14:29um

3:14:30maybe we need them to come and tell you

3:14:31about their incredible project uh that's

3:14:34being funded by this prize. We also have

3:14:37our Warm-Up for Winter event. Um we've

3:14:39held this for the last couple of years

3:14:40running. That will be on Tuesday,

3:14:42November 10th. Families can come join us

3:14:44here at Central Office to find um some

3:14:47warm winter wear that's been gently used

3:14:50at no cost to families. Um I know my

3:14:52kids go through coats like it's going

3:14:55out of style. So, um if families have

3:14:58uh

3:14:59um outgrown coats that they would like

3:15:01to donate, they can bring them to the

3:15:03Welcome Center um at any time. We're

3:15:05looking for

3:15:07um any gently used stuff that uh

3:15:10maybe doesn't fit your kids anymore um

3:15:12and that will keep everybody warm

3:15:14through the winter months. It was very

3:15:16well attended last year and we're

3:15:18looking forward to doing this again.

3:15:22Um I also had a few updates on just

3:15:24stuff that is um that I've been up to

3:15:27that I might seem good for the School

3:15:30Committee to know about. I was not here

3:15:32at our last meeting, in part because I

3:15:34was at a Leading Now Superintendent

3:15:36convening in Austin, Texas. Um this uh

3:15:39professional development opportunity for

3:15:40superintendents is application-based.

3:15:42It's all philanthropically funded. Um

3:15:44and it's essentially a learning

3:15:46opportunity for superintendents to learn

3:15:48from other superintendents all across

3:15:50the country. Um and then it also comes

3:15:53along with some professional learning

3:15:54opportunities for members of our teams.

3:15:56Once you're a fellow, you've kind of

3:15:58done the cohort experience. They do two

3:16:00cohorts each year for about 6 months. Um

3:16:03then you have opportunities to learn uh

3:16:05in an ongoing sense and to receive some

3:16:07coaching support from veteran

3:16:09superintendents. Um and then they will

3:16:11also convene periodically throughout the

3:16:13year and offer workshops for folks in

3:16:16specific central office roles. So, I'm

3:16:18looking forward to learning more about

3:16:20it. I've really just been to the

3:16:21convening and one of our initial um

3:16:23online sort of check-ins. Uh but it was

3:16:26great to be there with other folks who

3:16:29are um equity-centered, student-centered

3:16:31leaders trying to do some of the same

3:16:32work that we are and get some cool

3:16:34ideas. Uh and it's, you know, an added

3:16:36bonus that it costs the district

3:16:38absolutely nothing for me to participate

3:16:40in this. Um so, I was very happy to have

3:16:43that awesome opportunity.

3:16:45Um November 4th through 6th, I will be

3:16:47going to the MASS/MASC joint conference

3:16:50in Danvers, Massachusetts. Um that will

3:16:52be before the next time the committee

3:16:54convenes, and so maybe we'll have some

3:16:56updates from the presentations. Um I'm

3:16:57doing two presentations this year with

3:16:59members of the committee. Uh one with

3:17:02Mr. Steelman and Dr. Janger and Lori

3:17:04Cowles, our architect from HM FH, on

3:17:06building belonging and partnering um

3:17:08around transforming the student

3:17:10experience through the construction of a

3:17:11new high school. So, we'll be talking

3:17:12specifically about how some of the

3:17:13decisions made in the design of the high

3:17:15school help contribute to belonging and

3:17:17sense of belonging and, you know,

3:17:18students' connection to school here at

3:17:20Arlington High, including some of the

3:17:22programming that we've built out over

3:17:24the last few years.

3:17:25And then the second one, um Mr.

3:17:27Schlickman will be moderating. Dr.

3:17:28Allison Namias joining me for that along

3:17:30with Doug Lyons, the Wakefield

3:17:32superintendent, Maureen Cohen, who's the

3:17:34Mendon-Upton superintendent, Kristen

3:17:35DeFrancisco, the Stoneham

3:17:37superintendent, and one of her school

3:17:39committee members, Jamie Wallace. And

3:17:41that presentation will be on staying

3:17:42strategic and collaborative in times of

3:17:44scarcity and structural deficits. All of

3:17:45us have been through an override

3:17:48in the last few years or in

3:17:51Doug Lyons' case has been working on the

3:17:55collaborations with the town around

3:17:56revenue and appropriations

3:17:58conversations. And so, we want to talk

3:18:01about what are some of our experiences

3:18:03have been with that

3:18:05in, you know, different contexts with

3:18:07school committee members who have helped

3:18:10us through and supported us through some

3:18:11of that. So, I'm really looking forward

3:18:13to both of these. I think we have some

3:18:14really cool work that we've been doing

3:18:16here to share.

3:18:17It's an honor to be accepted with two

3:18:19presentations this year and to be doing

3:18:21so much of that with some of you.

3:18:23And then, also just an FYI that this

3:18:25year I'll be serving on the Mass

3:18:28Superintendents' Association Legislative

3:18:30Committee. This is a group that does

3:18:31advocacy around specific legislative

3:18:34initiatives

3:18:35and agendas that are important to

3:18:38superintendents across the state. Also,

3:18:40the MASS Women's Educational Leadership

3:18:41Network. I've been on that committee for

3:18:43several years. They plan an annual

3:18:44conference

3:18:45and a networking and professional

3:18:47development opportunities for female

3:18:49superintendents and leaders statewide.

3:18:52And of course, serving as a board member

3:18:54on that board and enjoying my

3:18:58collaborations with colleagues there.

3:18:59And then, finally, October 1 reporting

3:19:02is almost certified. We will be starting

3:19:04a deputy superintendent search before

3:19:06too long as we know Dr. Ford Walker

3:19:09has informed us that she'll be done this

3:19:10year with [clears throat] us and then

3:19:12looking for new adventures. I'll have an

3:19:14upcoming search update before long, but

3:19:15for right now, I'll be meeting with

3:19:17members of different groups of

3:19:18leadership team to talk to them about

3:19:20the role,

3:19:21um, what it is that we really want to be

3:19:23working on the next few years, and what

3:19:25uh, we need to see in the next person

3:19:27who steps into that position to get a

3:19:29sense of what the team is looking for.

3:19:32Um, I also wanted to note that, um,

3:19:35it there are just some statistics we are

3:19:37able to take a look at in some

3:19:38[clears throat] of our platforms.

3:19:40Um, and this is just a chart that shows

3:19:42the classes with the biggest change in

3:19:43the number of students or percentage of

3:19:45students with IEPs in 2016-2017.

3:19:48Um, and some of that is like cohort size

3:19:51will influence this if you have a big

3:19:53class matriculating, uh, but it also

3:19:55does have a pretty significant impact on

3:19:57kind of how we have to schedule and

3:19:59adjust for service provision. Um, and

3:20:02it's notable, I think, that some of our

3:20:05um, larger increases are kind of

3:20:07reaching the middle schools now uh, as

3:20:09we're doing some of the work around

3:20:10balancing class sizes, um, or class sort

3:20:13of dynamics around students with IEPs

3:20:16for our contract provisions. So, it's

3:20:19worth noting, um, where some of our

3:20:22biggest shifts are for some of our focal

3:20:24groups, and we can do this on multiple

3:20:26different measures. So, if there's ever

3:20:27any interest in that, I'm happy to share

3:20:28more.

3:20:29Um, also worth noting that, uh, these

3:20:31are demographic populations by grade

3:20:33level. I had shown this as part of the

3:20:34outcomes report last year, and I hadn't

3:20:36included it this year, but I did include

3:20:38it here. Uh, just to note that our, um,

3:20:41youngest grades are some of our most,

3:20:42uh, diverse classes still, and that that

3:20:46is working its way matriculating up

3:20:48through our middle grades now. Um, and

3:20:50so, you know, even as we And I will also

3:20:53note that some of our elementary and

3:20:54middle school outcomes are some of our

3:20:56strongest,

3:20:57um, and

3:20:58that's a good indicator that our

3:20:59diversity is what makes us great. Um,

3:21:03at the same time as we pay attention to

3:21:05groups that might be

3:21:07disadvantaged by the way the world

3:21:09works, unfortunately.

3:21:11So, we're proud of our diversity, and we

3:21:13have a lot of it in some of our younger

3:21:15grades, and

3:21:17uh, your enrollments are in your packet,

3:21:18and that's from last week.

3:21:20So, that's all.

3:21:22>> Consent agenda.

3:21:24All items listed with an asterisk are

3:21:26considered to be routine and will be

3:21:27enacted by one motion. There'll be no

3:21:29separate discussion of these items

3:21:30unless a member of the committee so

3:21:31requests, in which event the item will

3:21:33be considered in its normal sequence.

3:21:35Warrant number 27087, October 10th,

3:21:372026, $986,215.73,

3:21:43and school committee draft meeting

3:21:44minutes, October 8th, 2026.

3:21:47>> So moved.

3:21:48>> Second.

3:21:49>> All in favor.

3:21:50>> Aye.

3:21:50>> Aye.

3:21:51>> All opposed. Nobody. 6-0. Thank you.

3:21:54>> I love not having to do a roll call,

3:21:55though.

3:21:56>> Uh subcommittee liaison reports. Dr.

3:21:59Allison Ampy is not here, and we have

3:22:01not met in budget.

3:22:03Community relations, Mr. Thillman.

3:22:05>> No report.

3:22:06>> Uh

3:22:07CIAA, Ms. Easton.

3:22:09>> Uh we have a meeting scheduled for

3:22:10November 18th.

3:22:12>> Facilities, Mr. Thillman.

3:22:13>> We have a meeting scheduled for November

3:22:1519th.

3:22:16>> Policy and procedures, Mr. Schlichtman.

3:22:18>> Uh you saw some of the product of our

3:22:20work earlier tonight.

3:22:23>> Uh earlier tonight, school building

3:22:24committee.

3:22:25>> No report.

3:22:26>> Addison building committee.

3:22:27>> No report.

3:22:29>> Liaison reports, announcements, or

3:22:31future agenda items.

3:22:33Nothing. We are

3:22:35um going to move to executive session to

3:22:39discuss strategy with respect to

3:22:41collective bargaining or litigation if

3:22:43an open meeting may have a detrimental

3:22:45effect on the bargaining or litigating

3:22:47position of the public body and the

3:22:48chair so declares.

3:22:50Um this is

3:22:51uh AEA unit A contract negotiations, and

3:22:54to review and possibly approve

3:22:57uh executive session minutes from

3:22:58September 24th, 2026.

3:23:01>> Before we do that, let me just make your

3:23:04correction. Uh

3:23:06I examined Robert's Rules. There's one

3:23:09instance where we need an absolute

3:23:12majority of the committee to vote and

3:23:15that's to go into executive session.

3:23:17Otherwise, the CM

3:23:19majority of people uh

3:23:22uh voting actively voting so that

3:23:25>> Okay.

3:23:26>> if abstentions do not count in that

3:23:28instance.

3:23:29>> Okay.

3:23:30>> But it's bi- it's bi-law dependent or

3:23:33policy dependent in this case. Uh

3:23:36this is the one place where we need to

3:23:38have an absolute majority.

3:23:40>> So the field trip's good.

3:23:42>> The field trip's good.

3:23:42>> We got to get four votes here to go into

3:23:44executive session.

3:23:46And some of us are a little tired

3:23:47[laughter] and we're going to vote no.

3:23:49>> I move that we go into executive session

3:23:51for the purposes stated in the agenda.

3:23:54>> Second.

3:23:55Uh all in favor.

3:23:56>> I vote

3:23:57>> How about you, Mr. Alston? Sorry.

3:23:59>> Sorry.

3:23:59>> I spoke too soon. Ms. Handscome, are you

3:24:01voting?

3:24:01>> Yes.

3:24:02>> Mr. Carden.

3:24:02>> Yes.

3:24:03>> Mr. Sealman.

3:24:03>> Yes.

3:24:04>> Mr. Slickman.

3:24:04>> Yes.

3:24:05>> Ms. Eckstein.

3:24:05>> Yes.

3:24:06>> And the chair votes yes.

3:24:07>> We're not

3:24:07>> We will not be returning.

3:24:09>> returning.

3:24:11>> [music]

3:24:18[music]

3:24:25[music]

3:24:31[music]