2026-10-28 - School Committee

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16:05>> Hey, everybody come to order. I hereby

16:07convene the October 28th, 2026 meeting

16:11of the regular school committee.

16:13Welcome, everybody.

16:15Um I have a couple of quick

16:16announcements at the start of the

16:17meeting. Um,

16:19first of all, the next meeting's going

16:20to be Thursday, November 12th due to

16:22Veteran's Day being on the 11th. So,

16:24we're going to back to a Thursday night

16:25meeting.

16:27Um, and another announcement right now.

16:30>> [clears throat]

16:30>> So, we have eight speakers for public

16:33comment this evening and sometimes we

16:35split those beginning of the meeting,

16:37later in the meeting, but uh, we have a

16:40very full agenda

16:41and so we ask our speakers to please

16:43adhere to the 3-minute limit. Betsy

16:46Fitzpatrick will set the timer to help

16:48us keep track of your time and we'll do

16:50all eight in a row um, at the begin at

16:53toward the beginning of the meeting.

16:55Okay?

16:56Questions, anybody? Okay.

16:58So, we begin as usual with a moment of

17:01inspiration and I am

17:03very pleased to present Carolyn Thall

17:06for tonight's moment.

17:07>> Thank you, Bob. I think thank you. Is Is

17:10my mic working?

17:13>> [clears throat]

17:14>> Does it

17:16Is this Oh, maybe it just has to be

17:18closer.

17:18>> Testing. Testing.

17:19>> Okay. I think it's working. It just

17:21needs to be a little closer. Um,

17:24okay, this is a sort of tough

17:26This is sort of a tough thing. I mean,

17:28not tough cuz there's so much to be

17:30inspired by in our schools. Um, so

17:34um, when I sat down to think about my

17:37assignment from Bob um, to talk about a

17:40moment of inspiration related to the

17:42public schools of Brookline, um, I found

17:45it difficult not due to lack of

17:47inspiration but for too many options.

17:51Um, I am in my final year as a PSB

17:54parent, so I'm going to go a little

17:56nostalgic

17:58um, and forgive me if I wander a bit.

18:01When I think about the notion of

18:03inspiration in our schools,

18:06um, what has ins- and and about what has

18:08inspired me and more importantly my

18:11children,

18:13um, I immediately think of a related

18:15word and notion, aspiration.

18:18Um, aspiration is about reaching, having

18:22goals, being engaged. And when PSB has

18:24engaged my kids, and they've been so

18:27motivated by their teachers and

18:30developed their own aspirations, those

18:33have been great moments of inspiration

18:35for me. So, I'm going to do a little a

18:37little run-through

18:39going back to 2011. 2011, my oldest

18:43child entered kindergarten. There were

18:4526 kids in this class by the end of the

18:48year with 11 native languages. Fabulous.

18:53Um, the teacher, Sarah Yasenao, knew how

18:56to differentiate, which is so important,

18:58I think, in kindergarten because these

19:00kids are coming in at such different

19:02places. And did I mention 11 native

19:04languages? Um, my daughter happened to

19:07be a kid who had figured out how to read

19:09at that point, and Ms. Yasenao would

19:11send her and another girl who could read

19:14out into the hall to read. Um, so they

19:17were allowed to fly, and that was so

19:20meaningful, um, and set this little girl

19:24up, um, to be excited about and engaged

19:27with school.

19:29I'm going to do some personal shout-outs

19:30here, too, which is not to not shout out

19:33to everyone else. Um, in first grade, my

19:35daughter had

19:37retired teacher Mrs. Marcy Prager as a

19:40long-term sub for most of the year.

19:42Complete professional, she was

19:45determined to challenge every single

19:47child in the room and to keep bringing

19:49them up and up and up. Mrs. Prager

19:53taught a unit of her own making with

19:55China as the central theme because she

19:57had traveled to China and been so

19:59inspired herself. Um, she modeled being

20:03a citizen of the world, and the kids

20:05were fascinated.

20:08>> [clears throat]

20:08>> Also first grade for my other child,

20:11Laura Richardson.

20:13Nationally recognized, deservedly so.

20:17Beyond.

20:18Um, she had the kids, and this was like

20:202015, so technology was sort of newer in

20:24schools. She had the kids use technology

20:26video to do projects about a subject of

20:30their choice.

20:31Um, my son made a video about your

20:33brain. And I remember him on the little

20:35video saying, "This is about your

20:37brain." Um, and he blew up a balloon to

20:40illustrate um, an expanding brain.

20:44Very meta.

20:46I think Mrs. Richardson's husband was

20:48literally a rocket scientist.

20:51Um, and also for Mrs. Richardson,

20:54um,

20:54the sky was the limit for her students.

20:57Her belief in the ability of every child

20:59was palpable.

21:02Um,

21:03third grade, Leslie Tomian.

21:06Surely, wherever she goes, Leslie Tomian

21:09is the smartest person in the room.

21:11I remember her telling us at back to

21:13school night that her idea of a fun

21:15weekend was trying to think of new ways

21:17to teach math.

21:19And I will always remember a message she

21:21put on her white

21:24paper board on the last day of school

21:26listing all of the things the students

21:28had done and all of the skills they had

21:30learned that year

21:32and ending with, "You are ready for

21:34fourth grade."

21:36She was telling these little kids to

21:38aspire to greatness. Fourth grade, aim

21:42high,

21:43go out there. You are ready.

21:46Fourth grade,

21:47Alyssa Henry.

21:49I don't know what to say except

21:51consummate professional,

21:53no nonsense. We are going to show up

21:56here and I'm going to have high

21:57standards and teach you so much stuff

22:00and you are going to learn because this

22:02is the Did you have Mrs. The

22:04I'm feeling it across the room.

22:06>> [laughter]

22:07>> Um,

22:08that is the business we are in in here.

22:10She was effective

22:13beyond belief. Um, for the sake of

22:15brevity, I'm going to jump ahead to the

22:17high school. Um, one of my children was

22:21inspired by school within a school. We

22:23are so lucky

22:25to have a humanities focused program

22:29at BHS with SWS. Uh we know that the

22:33humanities are becoming an endangered

22:35species, but reading,

22:38writing, philosophy, and thinking about

22:42one's place in the world is essential.

22:45That's a foundation of intellectualism

22:48and well, our humanity. We could have a

22:51whole

22:52school committee meeting moment of

22:54inspiration um here focused just on SWS

22:58and the SWS staff and leadership

23:02collective, all of you.

23:04Um

23:06Also at BHS, our kids can be in

23:10rock-solid, fact-based, old-fashioned,

23:13lots of work situations, and these have

23:16been equally important and inspiring for

23:19my children. Um I have one child who

23:21really came alive as a learner um when

23:25they entered the sort of notorious A

23:27push class. Um this For this child, this

23:31was the moment we'd been waiting for. Um

23:34that he'd been waiting for to be part of

23:36a community of learners who push each

23:39other and push themselves um aspiring.

23:42Um

23:44So, a common thread when I think about

23:46inspiration and PSB is seeing, and I've

23:50seen it in these years that are coming

23:53to a close, um that when our kids are

23:56engaged, as they so often are in our

23:59schools, and have big goals and

24:02aspirations, they are inspired to work

24:05hard, to do well, to go further.

24:07Hard work feels good.

24:10Achieving your goals feels good, and I'm

24:12so grateful to the many PSB teachers who

24:15brought my own kids along by modeling um

24:20inspiration, aspiration with their

24:22professionalism and dedication.

24:26>> Thank you, Carol.

24:27>> the end

24:28>> Thank you.

24:29And thank you to every teacher in the

24:31Brookline Public Schools. Thank you.

24:34Okay. [clears throat]

24:35Uh second item, consent agenda. I need a

24:37motion to accept the consent consent

24:39agenda, please.

24:41>> So moved.

24:41>> Jesse moves.

24:43>> I'll second.

24:44>> Suzanne seconds. Are there any comment

24:45or questions about the consent agenda

24:47tonight?

24:49Then we will take a vote, Faisal.

24:53>> Yes.

24:53>> Carolyn?

24:54>> Yes.

24:54>> Jesse?

24:55>> Yes.

24:55>> Anna?

24:56>> Yes.

24:56>> Laura?

24:57>> Yes.

24:58>> Sarah?

24:58>> Yes.

24:59>> Suzanne?

25:00>> Yes.

25:00>> Isabelle online?

25:01>> Uh no.

25:03>> Not yet. Okay, Bob, you vote yes. We are

25:05unanimously accept the consent agenda.

25:08Thank you.

25:10Superintendent Bella Wong, your report,

25:12please.

25:13>> Sure. Actually, it's just a brief um

25:17highlights of the last week and this

25:19week. Um so, last week

25:22I was invited by the BEF board to attend

25:26our meeting and address them on the

25:28importance of the system grants. So, I

25:30appreciated being at FRR to do that.

25:33And then Tuesday night, I was invited by

25:36the board of Facing History

25:39um to address my to to share with them

25:42my experience of being a student in

25:44Margo Strom's class.

25:47And um

25:49it was attended by the the Facing

25:52History board, but also the teacher

25:54advisory board. And I saw a former

25:57teacher of mine from another school

25:59district, so that was fun.

26:01But I

26:03was actually very emotional experience

26:05for me to talk about how much um Margo

26:08Strom meant to me as a teacher and also

26:10inspired me to be

26:13the educator I think um that I am today,

26:16a big influence. To be among people who

26:19knew Margo.

26:21Um so, I was afraid I was going to cry.

26:25I didn't, but they all cried.

26:27Um but I I talked about the lessons

26:29learned at that time and how they've

26:31grown with me

26:32and

26:33and influenced

26:36my life moving forward. So, that was a

26:38really great experience. I was invited

26:41to represent Brookline for the City

26:43Council of Great Schools, this new

26:45organization that has started um

26:48and the meeting was in Boston and the

26:50topic was emotional intelligence before

26:53AI. So, the theme of um

26:57that evening, the panel um panelists

26:59were about the thoughtfulness of um

27:02introducing AI to its students,

27:04basically

27:06pausing and being intentional about

27:09that. So, I appreciated that. I also

27:12wanted to um

27:13thank the School Committee. I don't know

27:15that I've ever thanked the School

27:16Committee and and I don't know that

27:18everyone understands why the Thursday

27:20night meeting switched to Wednesday. So,

27:23last week I also got to be part of my

27:27Wellesley Town Band on Monday and

27:30orchestra on Thursday. And I am reminded

27:33to mention this because at the BPO

27:36interview um Brookline Parents

27:38Organization interview on Sunday night,

27:41one of the questions was about hobby

27:43and I said it's it's playing the

27:45clarinet and how important it is for me

27:47because when you play, you can't think

27:50you you're immersed completely in the

27:52music. Yes, Jessie knows this. And um

27:56and how much I appreciate that the

27:57committee changed the night so I could

27:59be part of the orchestra as well. Um so,

28:02both really meaningful respites for me

28:04embedded in the week. Um also

28:07appreciated that the Brookline Parents

28:09Organization invited me

28:11to speak um on various topics. I felt

28:14like it was a really broad

28:17um broad range and I also was honest

28:20that questions around our um

28:24you know, how we're supporting diversity

28:26point of view um in schools, how we are

28:30our

28:31our um

28:32philosophy around use of technology,

28:35around AI.

28:37Um that we are we are still working on

28:40them actively, but it would be premature

28:43for me to articulate a coherent vision

28:45of where we all are representing the

28:47entire district. And so um and also

28:51about rigor.

28:53Um so those those were three topics that

28:55I knew coming into it that they are

28:58things that we're still working on as a

28:59district and coming together about our

29:03our common understanding and how we want

29:05to articulate that. But we're definitely

29:07actively engaged on that. So I anyway

29:10appreciated that opportunity to do that.

29:13I also just just um

29:16um so last week I was able to be in

29:18Lawrence and Baker and Lincoln. And

29:21while I was at Lincoln, I heard there

29:23was going to be a pumpkin thing on

29:25Sunday. So um I have my my I have a

29:29adult disabled

29:31child who's home on the weekends. So we

29:33went we went to the Lincoln pumpkin fair

29:36and I just couldn't believe what they do

29:39to every square inch of that property.

29:42And it was a beautiful day and so much

29:44great energy, students running around

29:47everywhere, every nook and cranny. So I

29:49thoroughly enjoyed that. And then um

29:52also in the week I got to tour

29:55the Pierce building for the first time.

29:58I think it was last week. Maybe it was

29:59the week before, I don't know. But um I

30:02it's the first time I've seen the inside

30:04of what is in development and it's it's

30:07really beautiful. It's going to be

30:09really great and I can't wait for the

30:10rest of you to see it as well um when it

30:13opens. And I was at um Pierce Fisher on

30:16the hill today on another beautiful day

30:19anyway. So just um one of the best parts

30:22of the job is being in schools

30:25um visiting and and also representing um

30:30our wonderful district. So thank you.

30:34>> Thank you, Bella.

30:35>> [clears throat]

30:35>> For those of you who

30:37excuse me, for those of you who are not

30:39familiar with Margo Strom, Margo

30:41Sternstrom,

30:43she was [clears throat] a long-time

30:44social studies teacher at the Runkle

30:45School

30:46in the

30:48middle school and

30:50she received a Title 4C grant from the

30:53federal government to do innovative

30:55education and I met her because I

30:56actually was working under a Title 4C

30:59grant at an alternative school in

31:01Arlington. So, I got to know Margo from

31:04the very beginning of our programs and

31:07um

31:08and she was the founder of that grant

31:10provided her with the foundation for

31:12Facing History and Ourselves, which went

31:14on to be an incredible international

31:17program. So,

31:18Margo Strom, may she rest in peace.

31:23And Bella, thank you for your

31:24transparency about your personal life.

31:27Thank you.

31:28Um [snorts]

31:30okay, [clears throat] now we have public

31:31comment. I think we have eight public

31:33commenters this evening. You have no

31:35more than 3 minutes. Betsy Fitzpatrick

31:38is brutal as the timekeeper, so she will

31:42call you to the podium. You can speak

31:44for up to 3 minutes. If you want to

31:45speak for 30 seconds, that's fine, too.

31:48Go, Betsy.

31:49>> Uh our first speaker is actually online,

31:50Shera Fisher.

31:52You can start now, Shera.

31:55Great.

31:55>> Hi, thanks so much. I'm Shera Fisher at

31:57BHS alum, a town meeting member and a

31:59parent of a current sophomore. My

32:02daughter loves BHS. I want to

32:03acknowledge the wonderful teachers and

32:05administrators and coaches she has

32:06benefited from over the past year and a

32:08half. She has been learning and

32:09flourishing.

32:11I'm here about one course that she took

32:13last year, WISP, which I understand will

32:15be discussed today. Setting aside that

32:17it's unlevelled and and easy, my concern

32:20is the content, errors and bias in the

32:22materials. In the unit on world

32:25religions, the readings on Christianity

32:27and Judaism have numerous factual errors

32:30and anachronisms as well as a repeated

32:32bias underlying the texts.

32:34One reading says Jesus was accused by

32:36the Sanhedrin, the priestly body of the

32:39Jews, brought to trial and condemned for

32:42blasphemy. As they did not possess the

32:44authority to execute Jesus, being

32:45subjects of Rome, Jesus then went on

32:47trial before the Roman magistrate,

32:49Pontius Pilate.

32:51This is stated as fact, no according to

32:53the Gospels, no context. The implication

32:56the Jewish leaders would have executed

32:57Jesus if they could. The narrative that

33:00Jews killed Jesus has been used to

33:01justify violence against Jews for nearly

33:032,000 years. Why is this included and

33:06with no context? And also as an aside,

33:08the Sanhedrin served as a court, not a

33:10priestly body, though some of its

33:12members were priests.

33:13During my exploration of this issue, I

33:15learned that another parent had

33:16identified some of these issues 2 years

33:18ago and was told that one textbook with

33:20some problematic sources would not be

33:21included in the future. However, those

33:23same problematic paragraphs from that

33:25textbook were included verbatim in the

33:27materials my daughter received. So, they

33:29have not been removed and I'm happy to

33:31provide the the passages.

33:33The text frequently treat Judaism as

33:35ending when Christianity begins. They

33:37use outdated or Christian theological

33:39terms like the Hebrews and the

33:41promulgation of the law. They explain

33:44Jewish concepts through Christianity,

33:46even where the Jewish concepts came

33:48first. Factual errors include the origin

33:51of the Sabbath work prohibition and how

33:53often Jewish prayer services take place.

33:56Last December, I shared a five-page memo

33:58with citations with the head of the WISP

34:00course since the same materials are used

34:01course-wide. She was responsive, she

34:04acknowledged the Christian bias, and she

34:06said that some of this some of these

34:08issues are addressed verbally. That

34:09isn't enough. Teachers differ, students

34:11miss spoken points, and since these are

34:13school written texts, the fix belongs in

34:16the texts. She said they would review

34:18the materials, but nothing was complete

34:19at the start of the school year.

34:21In this context, I reached out to school

34:24committee. I want to be clear, I'm not

34:26asking school committee itself to review

34:27the content. It's not school committee's

34:29job, and being elected to school

34:31committee does not make one an expert in

34:33everything taught in high school.

34:34Teachers are indeed the professionals,

34:36but when a concern like this is raised

34:37and the school has not addressed it, and

34:39now it seems even a year ago it was

34:42already raised. Other experts should be

34:44called in. I was recently told that the

34:46materials are being revised and will be

34:48ready before the unit is taught this

34:50year in the spring, but the slides I saw

34:52that will be presented tonight say the

34:54summer curriculum work is complete. So,

34:56I want to know whether this unit was

34:57included and was outside expert review

35:00part of it. I'm asking for three things.

35:02One, qualified outside expert review of

35:04the Judaism and Christianity units. Two,

35:07that corrections are made in the text

35:08themselves in writing. And three, that

35:10the committee gets a a timeline and a

35:12report back before this unit is taught

35:14to this year's students. Thank you for

35:16your time.

35:17>> Thank you, Shira.

35:19Next up.

35:20>> Our next speaker is Justin Brown.

35:27>> Valerie says joined us online.

35:30>> Just try to hold that right there.

35:37>> [clears throat]

35:39>> Uh good evening, everyone. Uh I'm Justin

35:41Brown, uh Lawrence educator currently

35:43serving as president of the BEU. I'm

35:46here tonight in my official capacity as

35:49spokesperson for the union and will be

35:51weighing in on the topic of WISP uh the

35:54WISP discussion slated for later in the

35:55agenda.

35:56If you remember, I was here last spring

35:59to deliver a statement about the same

36:01topic.

36:02Our position remains unchanged. Uh I

36:05want to make crystal clear where we

36:07stand on any move by the school

36:09committee to overstep its role, break

36:13from practice, and continue meddling in

36:16internal the internal operational

36:18workings of the school system.

36:20I'll do that with the following four

36:22points.

36:23First, we believe in the foundational

36:26role

36:27of an elected school committee in our

36:30collective democratic project.

36:32We believe the school committee's job is

36:34to fight for as robust a public school

36:36system as possible

36:38on behalf of all of its stakeholders. To

36:41us, this means standing up against

36:43fiscal austerity and fighting for

36:45increased funding.

36:47To that end, in coming weeks, I will be

36:49reaching out to the school committee

36:50leadership uh to offer an opportunity to

36:53issue a joint statement urging state

36:55leaders to increase funding for our

36:56school district, specifically for uh the

37:00special education circuit breaker

37:02reimbursement amount and fixing the

37:03Chapter 70 uh inflation cap issue.

37:08Two.

37:09We believe in educator autonomy and

37:11academic freedom. Public education is at

37:14its best when educators are able to meet

37:16the needs of their students by

37:17marshaling not only their own expertise,

37:20experience, and skill set, uh but those

37:23of their immediate team members, other

37:25colleagues, and supportive

37:26administrators. We will continue to

37:28defend our existing protections against

37:30any incursions.

37:33Three. Like I said in the spring, we

37:34believe in the process that it has

37:36resulted in the WISP program. It was the

37:39result of an investment in vision, time,

37:43resources, staffing, reflection, and

37:46adjustments.

37:48At a time when MTSS is on everyone's

37:51mind, here is a class that's giving

37:53MTSS. Nothing quite beats educators

37:56given the time and tools they need to

37:58make informed choices about the students

38:00that they care about.

38:02And lastly, fourth, like I said last

38:04spring, we are deeply concerned and do

38:06not believe in the school committee

38:08continuing to meddle and waste valuable

38:10time and energy on this issue. You've

38:12got a group of very talented educators

38:15who have created a strong course and are

38:17saying no notes. Instead of asking

38:19ourselves, what can we be doing to make

38:21sure our educators and students have

38:23what they need in the face of escalating

38:25costs and diminishing funds, you are

38:27continuing to consider a distracting

38:29turf battle with hard-working educators.

38:32There is a process in place that has

38:34worked well in the past and will serve

38:37you well in whatever comes next. Please

38:39use it. No more internal meddling when

38:42bold outward-facing leadership to secure

38:44a robust and fully funded school system

38:46is needed. Thank you.

38:49>> Thank you, Justin.

38:51>> Uh our next speaker is Sarah Schuster.

38:54After Sarah, it will be Britt Stevens.

38:59>> Good evening. My name is Sarah Schuster.

39:02I'm in my 11th year teaching social

39:03studies at Brookline High School. Ahead

39:06of the presentation on West tonight, I

39:07want to speak about the personal toll

39:09this ongoing debate has had on me as an

39:11educator.

39:13First, I want to start by saying that I

39:14love my job. I love teaching and working

39:16with students and I've spent the past 11

39:18years working to become a better

39:20educator. Teaching is challenging work,

39:22but it is also deeply rewarding. At the

39:24same time, this debate has caused me to

39:27question whether the time, energy, and

39:29expertise I put into my work are truly

39:31valued and respected by my community.

39:34Over the past few years, my colleagues

39:36and I have spent an enormous amount of

39:37time and energy defending a course that

39:40we believe is serving our students well.

39:42I would be lying if I said this process

39:44has not taken a toll on me or affected

39:46my work. That time and energy could have

39:48been spent planning, collaborating with

39:50colleagues, improving our curriculum,

39:52and supporting students. Instead, we

39:55have repeatedly had to redirect our

39:57attention away from our job and toward

39:58defending our work.

40:00What has been especially difficult is

40:02the feeling that our professional

40:03judgment as educators is being

40:05questioned and undermined. We are

40:07educated professionals who invested who

40:09have invested years in our training and

40:11practice. We are not asking the school

40:13committee to blindly support a program

40:15simply because teachers believe in it.

40:17My colleagues and I regularly reflect on

40:19our curriculum, make revisions, and look

40:22for ways to improve our courses. We also

40:24seek feedback directly from students and

40:27use that feedback to inform our teaching

40:29and make improvements. We take our work

40:31seriously and understand the importance

40:33of evaluating our work. But, there is a

40:36difference between evaluating a program

40:38in good faith and making the educators

40:40responsible for that program feel that

40:42their expertise is not trusted.

40:45It has been genuinely demoralizing to

40:47feel that the people and institutions

40:49that should be supporting educators have

40:51instead become a source of so much

40:52stress and discouragement. I do not

40:55believe it was anyone's intention to

40:57disrespect the work we have done, and I

40:58know that we all want what we think is

41:00best for students. But when you have

41:03invested years of time, energy, and

41:05expertise into developing and teaching a

41:07course, having that work repeatedly

41:10subject to public scrutiny by town

41:12leaders without sufficient evidence to

41:14justify it can feel deeply undermining.

41:17I am sharing this because I want the

41:19school committee to understand that

41:20these debates have real consequences

41:22beyond a discussion about course

41:23offerings. This process has caused me to

41:26question myself as an educator and has

41:28affected how I experience a job I've

41:30otherwise loved doing for 11 years. I

41:33hope we can move forward in a way that

41:35allows educators to once again feel

41:37respected, supported, and trusted in the

41:39work we do every day. Thank you.

41:42>> [applause]

41:47>> Thank you.

41:51>> Uh I'm Brett Stevens. I'm one of the

41:53coordinators at Brookline High. Um

41:55that's a problem, what you just heard,

41:56so I'm sorry that our colleagues are

41:58feeling that way.

41:60Uh

42:00and I'm going to say with love to my

42:01social studies colleagues, I don't

42:03actually care about WISP personally.

42:05Um

42:06like

42:07I'm not here to defend heterogeneity.

42:11We have leveled courses at Brookline

42:12High. We'll always have leveled courses

42:14at Brookline High.

42:15Uh I'm here to ask us respectfully, cuz

42:18I appreciate how much time you give to

42:20our district, to stop directing so much

42:23time to this one singular

42:25problem. Uh we're using a lot of

42:27institutional capacity, years of

42:28institutional capacity. I've been at BHS

42:31for nearly 20 years.

42:33In the last 10, I've been an

42:34administrator.

42:35In that time, you can imagine I've

42:37responded to all manner of crisis and

42:39kid problem. Not a single time has it

42:41been about no their ninth-grade social

42:43studies curriculum. That's not really

42:45the big problem that exists in our

42:47school. And we have plenty of things

42:49that we could be working on.

42:51Um for what it's worth, I've also known

42:52Jen Martin for nearly 20 years,

42:55uh, very closely as a coordinator for

42:57the last several. I think I speak for

42:59many when I say Jen is the best of us.

43:01She's smart, she's a good listener,

43:03she's fair,

43:04committed, talented.

43:07Uh, I'm concerned when I watch how much

43:09we are continuing to deploy her skills

43:11>> [snorts]

43:12>> towards this thing. Um,

43:15I hear a a Brookline phrase is a

43:17Brookline High phrase like, what problem

43:19are we really trying to solve? I don't

43:21know. I've lost the thread.

43:23Uh, if I understand where we are with

43:25WISP, I wonder if role clarity is a

43:28problem.

43:29Does the School Committee understand

43:30which decisions fall to their authority?

43:32Do we, the educators, understand which

43:34decision decisions fall to your

43:36authority? Um, I don't maybe I don't

43:39anymore. I'm I'm genuinely starting to

43:41feel a little confused. I do know you

43:43made the decision to bring us Bella

43:44Wong. That was the right decision. She's

43:47one of the strongest leaders we've had

43:48in my time in this district.

43:51The decision to listen to her and let

43:53her lead, like logically that would be a

43:55follow-up decision. So, I hope that we

43:57listen to Bella

43:59if we brought her here to lead us. She

44:01is the one with

44:02the role of superintendent. And so, when

44:04I think of who I turn to when I need

44:06help with curriculum, it's it's Bella.

44:08And I believe that the School Committee

44:10is there to support Bella. That's the

44:11district I want to believe in and work

44:13in.

44:14Um, if we don't trust Bella or Jen, does

44:16that mean you don't trust me? Do you

44:18trust our principals?

44:20Do you trust our teachers? If the School

44:22Committee can decide at any time for any

44:25reason to overturn any class, why would

44:27I bring more classes to this body to

44:29approve? Why would I ask teachers to do

44:31more work to design more curriculum?

44:34If I brought a class and it was

44:36overturned by a future School Committee,

44:38who would decide what the curriculum

44:40would be after you overturned the course

44:42that I believed in?

44:44Uh, these are genuine questions. Like,

44:45we're at a crossroads that I've never

44:47seen us at before if I understand where

44:49we are with WISP. And as a person who

44:51loves this district and loves Brookline

44:53High School, that's worrisome to me for

44:56reasons related to how our teachers are

44:57feeling, but also for reasons related to

45:00needing to be collaborative so that we

45:02can do the good work of supporting

45:03students.

45:04So I want to say it's not about WESP,

45:06it's not about ninth grade social

45:07studies, it's about where our work ends

45:09and your work begins and how we do that

45:11work together.

45:13We need to sort that out because there

45:15are things that need our attention and

45:17we're here for the kids and I want to do

45:19good work for them. Thank you.

45:22>> [applause]

45:23>> Thank you, Britt.

45:25Our next speaker Our next speaker is

45:27Josh Strechin, who's joining us

45:29remotely.

45:31Josh, you should be able to turn on your

45:32camera and microphone now.

45:39>> Good evening.

45:40My name is Josh Strechin. I am

45:43parent of two children at the Heath

45:46School,

45:48members of second grade in Miss Joshua's

45:50class and kindergarten Miss Kucher's

45:53class. I'm here tonight to talk about

45:56school calendar. I know that this has

45:58been a hot topic for quite some time

46:02and I know that we were

46:06We were very fortunate to have Dr.

46:08Weintraub and Mrs. Thrall attend the

46:11Heath PTO meeting back on the 19th, on

46:14that Friday. They can attest that when I

46:17say the following comments, I'm not the

46:18only parent that feels this way.

46:21In fact, everybody in the audience

46:23raised their hand and is 100% in favor

46:26for federal and state holidays only and

46:29to remove the

46:31what I'll call tier one

46:35religious holidays.

46:36And I say this as a practicing Jewish

46:39parent.

46:40Both my wife and I are heavily involved

46:42in our temple. Our kids attend regular

46:44Sunday school and attend holidays.

46:47But honestly, I don't think that the

46:49school committee is factoring into the

46:50fact that most parents these days are

46:53dual working households and the

46:57the burden that having these non-federal

47:00and state holidays off

47:02are on the working parents.

47:05Right now, we have to use our PTO time,

47:07which is limited. We have to align it

47:09with the school calendar, and so truth

47:11be told, my wife and I do not have

47:13enough PTO to cover all the days off

47:16outside of summer, you know, take summer

47:18vacations off, but when you have winter

47:20break, you have uh February break, you

47:22have April break, you have all the uh

47:25religious holidays, we just don't have

47:27enough time, and it is a huge burden for

47:29us. I know I speak uh on behalf of many

47:33parents that have been very vocal about

47:35this, and I'm asking that the school

47:37board, that

47:39uh

47:40uh Superintendent Wong really consider

47:43that we only do state and federal

47:45holidays. Again, I am saying this from a

47:47practicing Jewish person who will pull

47:50my kids from school for those holidays,

47:52but we cannot continue to burden

47:54families that will not have kids in

47:57school, and then have to take time off.

47:59I have emailed the school committee

48:02numerous times. You guys have seen many

48:05of my emails.

48:06Um and like I said, I know I'm not the

48:08only parent that feels this way. I would

48:09also like the school committee to

48:12consider, or also uh Superintendent Wong

48:15to consider starting before Labor Day. I

48:17know that that is a divisive uh amongst

48:21the parents, and not everybody's in

48:22agreement with that, but in reading the,

48:25you know, currently now expired teachers

48:27agreement, you guys have the ability to

48:29start school on either the Wednesday

48:32before Labor Day or September 1st,

48:34whichever day is earlier. We are one of

48:37the last starting school districts in

48:39the eastern part of the state. We are

48:41one of the last finishing school

48:42districts in the eastern part of the

48:43state. And I really think that we are

48:46putting a lot of burden on families,

48:48working families, which are the majority

48:50of people that attend our schools, uh

48:52dual working households, and I really

48:53would like the school board to consider

48:55both the removal of the tier one

48:57holidays, and also to start school uh

49:01prior to Labor Day.

49:03I'm not going to take any more time. I

49:05appreciate you considering my comments,

49:07and I would love to talk about this for

49:09much longer, but I want to be respectful

49:11of the time. So, thank you.

49:14>> Our next speaker is Oz Palchik.

49:37>> Good evening. My name is Oz Palchik. Uh

49:39you may remember me from the last two

49:41times I've come to speak about the same

49:42issue.

49:43Uh I understand WISP is on the agenda

49:45today, so I've come to share the

49:46perspectives of myself, as well as the

49:48perspectives of some of my peers.

49:51Some of them were unable to attend due

49:52to other commitments, and many others

49:53did not feel comfortable coming here to

49:55speak and wish to remain anonymous.

49:57Over the past 2 months, I've gotten the

49:59chance to experience WISP firsthand.

50:01Most homework assignments give the

50:02option to choose between mild, medium,

50:04and spicy difficulty levels. I've chosen

50:06the spicy level for every single

50:08homework assignment thus far, and as

50:10Brady noted, it assigns readings with

50:12more advanced vocabulary instead of

50:13going deeper into the topics.

50:15I do want to acknowledge that I'm lucky

50:17to have an amazing teacher. Shout out

50:18Ms. Grub.

50:19My main problem is that the curriculum

50:21is designed to be easy enough for the

50:23less interested students, while also

50:24attempting to challenge the most more

50:26advanced students.

50:28The outcome? No in-depth discussions or

50:30faster-paced classes. All you end up

50:32with is more work.

50:33One thing I've noticed in other advanced

50:35classes, geometry advanced for example,

50:37is that we're expected to come with at

50:38least some level of background

50:39knowledge. We can build off that base

50:41knowledge to tackle harder topics at a

50:43faster pace. And as Akshat mentioned,

50:46the classes are more engaging, fun, and

50:47appropriately challenging. In WISP, on

50:49the other hand, everyone starts from

50:51square one, no matter how much prior

50:53knowledge they may have. But why is

50:54that? Why have we decided as a district

50:56that math, physics, and English are

50:58worth giving a challenge to students,

50:59but history isn't?

51:01It's clear that different students have

51:02different interests, and for students

51:04like me who are interested in social

51:05studies, taking away our opportunity to

51:07be in a more advanced class surrounded

51:08by more motivated kids is simply unfair.

51:11But beyond fairness, don't we think that

51:13history, civics, and understanding our

51:15world is something critical for for us

51:16as the next generation of voters and

51:18leaders to deeply understand?

51:20We will be navigating an increasingly

51:21uncertain and complex world, and

51:23understanding social studies is what can

51:25prepare us as critical and informed

51:26thinkers.

51:28De-leveling social studies shows that as

51:30a district, history is a topic that we

51:31value less than the others, and to the

51:33administrators of the social studies

51:34department, I'm certain that's not your

51:36intention.

51:37WISP has many group projects, and as

51:38another anonymous student recounts,

51:40collaborating can be difficult because

51:42not everyone is on the same academic

51:43level or willing to put in the same

51:45level of effort.

51:47Lacking the challenge in class, many of

51:48us turn to external sources. These may

51:50include joining clubs at BHS such as

51:53Quiz Bowl or Model UN, or even

51:54self-studying AP courses like Max.

51:57These are obviously great things to do

51:58outside of school, but it shouldn't have

52:00to be a replacement for in-school

52:01education.

52:02You may have noticed I mentioned some

52:04names in my speech. If you would turn

52:05your attention to the papers that I've

52:07passed out, I've compiled some accounts

52:08from some peers who are also

52:09experiencing WISP. Thank you.

52:14>> [applause]

52:16>> Thank you.

52:17>> Our next speaker is Lizzie Buel, who's

52:19joining us remotely.

52:23I'll give her a minute here.

52:32>> Hi everyone.

52:33I'm once again speaking in defense of

52:36the WISP core, which I currently teach

52:38at BHS along with US history standard

52:41co-taught.

52:43In meetings last year, I heard a school

52:45committee member ask, "What is wrong

52:47with standard level?"

52:49in conversation about the value of

52:51de-leveling.

52:53I think this may have been intentionally

52:55naive, but all the same, I will do my

52:58best to explain an unspoken culture at

53:01BHS.

53:03First, let me say that I love teaching

53:05the standard level.

53:07They are the classrooms where I have the

53:08most forthright conversations with

53:10students, and often I am most in awe of

53:13their achievement because they overcome

53:16odds that are stacked against them.

53:18These are juniors, however, students who

53:21have chosen to take standard level

53:23because they understand their needs as

53:25learners,

53:26whether as students with disabilities or

53:28who are transitioning out of the English

53:30language education program.

53:35Maybe they're not that into history,

53:37or they need to balance their schedule

53:39with extracurriculars.

53:41They've taken 2 years of history, and

53:43they've had a chance to decide for

53:45themselves.

53:47At BHS, more than 70% of students take

53:50honors or above.

53:52There are only two to three sections of

53:54standard level in any given course,

53:57sometimes even less.

53:59In the hallways, I've heard students use

54:02the phrase,

54:03"So and so takes standard level math,

54:06English, social studies, science."

54:09as a way to demean their fellow

54:10students.

54:12We know that eighth grade teachers

54:15I'm sorry. We know that eighth graders

54:17who are labeled as standard

54:20tend to never leave that level.

54:22If we return to leveled ninth grade, we

54:25are asking eighth grade teachers to

54:27place students in a track they may never

54:29leave.

54:31Does a 13-year-old have the

54:33self-knowledge and fortitude to avoid

54:36internalizing this label in a community

54:39where academic tracking is cultural

54:41currency?

54:43We are asking for 1 year of one core

54:46academic subject that happens to

54:49emphasize the concept of community

54:52for students to learn in a truly

54:54heterogeneous space.

54:56If they are high achievers,

54:58this will be a year when they can choose

55:00the spicy route, while also learning how

55:02to be patient, supportive leaders,

55:05and while absorbing other perspectives

55:07and learning styles.

55:09And all students can focus on learning

55:12without stigma.

55:13Thank you.

55:16>> [applause]

55:18>> Thank you.

55:20>> And our last speaker this evening is

55:22Justin Abramson

55:24who should be joining in a moment

55:26remotely.

55:38Um give me 1 minute here just to see if

55:40he's

55:44He's joining right now.

55:45Uh

55:46he

56:05Sorry about that, Justin. You should be

56:06able to turn your camera and microphone

56:08on now.

56:18>> Apologies. I'd been expecting to speak

56:19later and just got your note.

56:20>> Thank thanks for your accommodating us.

56:22Thank you.

56:23>> Yeah.

56:24Um

56:25So yeah, I just wanted to speak comment

56:26briefly on WISP uh cuz I feel like we're

56:29having the wrong conversation around it.

56:31Um

56:32My takeaway from having reviewed the

56:33presentation is that we have little here

56:35that speaks to the fundamental questions

56:36people have asked around the quality of

56:38the course, its content. We also have

56:41mixed evidence of the course goals being

56:42met.

56:44The data analysis for me appears to

56:45suffer from confirmation bias and a

56:47clear sense of a need to defend WISP,

56:49and I think there's a fundamental

56:51misunderstanding and disconnect in what

56:53the actual ask around WISP is, but more

56:55on that later.

56:56As for the data, the first two slides on

56:58inspection do not support the

57:00conclusions.

57:01Both are favorably attributed to WISP.

57:03However, if one looks beyond the mean

57:04values before and after, the 10th grade

57:07honors enrollment data shows no impact

57:08from WISP for 4 years, then a sudden

57:11discontinuous jump in 25 and 26.

57:14We should be asking ourselves the

57:15question, "Huh?

57:17Why for 4 years did WISP have no impact

57:19and then suddenly in 2025 something did?

57:23What was that? It was likely something

57:25else."

57:29Further, the next slide

57:32gives a positive attribution to AP's

57:33participation in scores.

57:36This was also concurrent with the

57:37introduction of an additional AP history

57:39course

57:40and re-centering of the scoring

57:43which raised the number of four and five

57:45scores on the AP US History exam

57:47nationwide by a factor of two.

57:51These are much more likely to be the

57:53root cause for those results.

57:56I bring this up not to point out that I

57:58don't think WISP is having a positive

58:00impact or to say that it isn't. I bring

58:03it up to say that the data itself is

58:05irrelevant to the question that we are

58:07asking.

58:09It's convoluted by a lot of other

58:10changes both within the school and

58:13without as well as COVID.

58:19I hear consistently inconsistent

58:21feedback on WISP from people I talk to,

58:23which suggests that the course might not

58:26be fine for all students. And I think

58:28we've heard from Oz just now that he's

58:31also asking for more challenge.

58:34In the ELA course, which I think serves

58:36as a model, 2/3 of students choose WISP

58:39or uh choose the ELA unleveled course.

58:42This suggests to me that if we were to

58:44reintroduce the honors course

58:46that we would in fact likely see a

58:49similar breakdown where 2/3 of students

58:51choose WISP and 1/3 choose honors.

58:54The ask is not to eliminate WISP. The

58:56ask is to seriously assess the course,

58:59make it stronger,

59:01and in the meantime offer students who

59:03want the choice and the option of an

59:05honors course

59:06to have that as well.

59:08It's simple. Everybody wins

59:11and nobody's trying to take anything

59:12away.

59:14That's it. That's all I had.

59:16>> Thank you, Justin.

59:20Okay,

59:21that concludes public comment.

59:24Thank you all.

59:26We now move on to presentations and

59:28discussions current issues beginning

59:31with the school improvement report from

59:35the Driscoll School Principal David

59:37Ukeles and next we will have um the same

59:40report the not the same report another

59:42report on the school council from Sarah

59:46Yoon from the Ridley School. So, first

59:49up David Ukeles.

59:52>> Thank you everyone. Good evening. Um

59:54I I just wanted to um

59:57share my um

59:58appreciation for you um

1:00:01recognizing Margo Sternstrom. She was uh

1:00:04somebody who hired me to work at Facing

1:00:05History a thousand years ago and um I

1:00:07really appreciated working there. It's

1:00:09the reason why I became an educator and

1:00:11her program was just outstanding and um

1:00:15that's where I met Marty Sleeper and

1:00:16where I got my first job working in the

1:00:17public schools of Brookline as a

1:00:18paraprofessional at the at the Runkle

1:00:20School. So, um I just wanted to

1:00:23recognize that.

1:00:24So, thank you for having me here me here

1:00:26this evening. Um I am going to go over a

1:00:28review of our school improvement plan.

1:00:31Um

1:00:32Let's see if we can go to the next

1:00:33slide.

1:00:35Um I would like to um

1:00:37recognize our school site council.

1:00:40Excuse me. I uh

1:00:41yeah, our council membership Nicole

1:00:43McLellan, Beth Gilligan, Kyle DeMelo,

1:00:46Cook and Lee Simmons.

1:00:48Uh we have teacher reps Mary Ellen

1:00:50Thorn, Maureen Doherty, Olivia Rael,

1:00:52Svea Bisnette. Uh they all uh

1:00:55contributed in putting together. This is

1:00:56our a one-year um

1:00:59uh school improvement plan for this year

1:01:01and uh we I appreciate all the work that

1:01:04went into putting this together.

1:01:06Next slide.

1:01:08Um before I I go into the budgetary

1:01:10impact, I did have um

1:01:12a couple of highlight notes that you

1:01:14would see in my, um, school improvement

1:01:16plan. Um, I just wanted to recognize a

1:01:19few things. Our middle school students

1:01:20are actively right now involved in the

1:01:23Driscoll Book Awards reading challenge.

1:01:25Uh, students in grades 4 through 8 read

1:01:27and rate the nominated books over the

1:01:28year and then vote for their favorite

1:01:30book in the spring and that book

1:01:31receives the most votes as a DSBA

1:01:33winner. It It generates a tremendous

1:01:35amount of reading throughout the course

1:01:37of the year and I really appreciate all

1:01:39the effort that goes into that.

1:01:40Um, we are also about ready to embark on

1:01:42our Driscoll Book Fair and 100 students

1:01:44in our K-8 school,

1:01:46um, including kindergarteners,

1:01:47submitted, uh, posters to, um, advertise

1:01:51our book fair this year. So, I

1:01:52appreciate that.

1:01:54I also wanted to give a shout out

1:01:55briefly to our middle school students,

1:01:57um, who publish a high-quality school

1:01:59newspaper called the Driscoll Dragonian.

1:02:02If you haven't had a chance to read it

1:02:04or look at it, it is phenomenal. It's a

1:02:06real publication. Um, it's a real

1:02:08newspaper that comes out. Uh, anybody

1:02:11listening to this, please go on to our

1:02:12website, our PTO website, and, um,

1:02:15subscribe to it. It involves, uh,

1:02:17articles written by our middle

1:02:19schoolers, uh, about the school and our

1:02:21neighborhood. They do, um,

1:02:23uh, they they rate restaurants. Uh, they

1:02:26do, um, all sorts of, uh, work around,

1:02:29um,

1:02:29uh, just writing wonderful articles

1:02:31about the Driscoll School, interviewing

1:02:33teachers and the students as well. So,

1:02:34uh, I just want to put give a shout out

1:02:36to,

1:02:37um, our Driscoll Dragonian. Um, also two

1:02:40other highlights I wanted to mention to

1:02:42School Committee is that our lab

1:02:43enrollment at Driscoll has increased by

1:02:44four students this year and we're really

1:02:46proud of that, uh, which amounts to

1:02:48about a 12% increase in our student

1:02:49population in our lab program. And then,

1:02:52uh, Winter House is another one of our

1:02:53district-wide programs that we're very

1:02:55proud of, uh, which has since doubled in

1:02:57size and we're able to, uh, service

1:02:58students from multiple schools around

1:03:00the district. So,

1:03:01um, I really appreciate all the work in,

1:03:03uh, both of those programs.

1:03:05Uh, the budgetary impact that I wanted

1:03:08to, um, just take a look at very quickly

1:03:10is that, um,

1:03:11you know,

1:03:12Driscoll, uh, continues to offer

1:03:14professional development for our middle

1:03:16school staff. Um,

1:03:18Uh I was able to um secure

1:03:22there's some uh professional development

1:03:23funds last year. I'd like to do it again

1:03:25this year to give them some time in the

1:03:26summer to align uh learning, teaching uh

1:03:29incentives, as well as uh code of

1:03:31conduct with common values.

1:03:33And that um we also have continued work

1:03:36with Landmark this year and we it would

1:03:37be beneficial to the success of all of

1:03:40our students if we meet uh before the

1:03:42start of school um

1:03:44this year to agree on strategies that

1:03:46work well with uh all of our students.

1:03:48So, that's why I appreciate uh the time

1:03:50that they work and that's some of the

1:03:51funds that I'll be asking for this year.

1:03:54Um also, because we do partner with

1:03:56Landmark, uh another um

1:03:59part of our budget that we were able to

1:04:00secure last year was uh we

1:04:03because we require certain common

1:04:06supplies for our middle school students

1:04:08uh such as homework binders, dividers,

1:04:10agenda books, pencil cases, Chromebook

1:04:12cases, and classroom binders that help

1:04:14our students organize their work um and

1:04:17develop a sense of consistency from

1:04:19class to class.

1:04:21Um because we require this for families,

1:04:23last year was the first year I was able

1:04:25to um

1:04:26purchase all those materials for our

1:04:28students. That includes um agendas. And

1:04:31that's about an $8,500 ask. Uh sorry

1:04:33about that. Uh at each year.

1:04:36Um

1:04:37and so uh the final uh budgetary uh

1:04:40impact is is that um

1:04:42one of the things I will talk about in

1:04:43this presentation is the number of

1:04:45staffing for our middle school and that

1:04:47uh we have currently 10 sections in our

1:04:49middle school and eight core content

1:04:51teachers teach each each section. And um

1:04:55given this level of staffing right now,

1:04:57uh we're just not able to provide things

1:04:59like um an advisory uh period for our

1:05:02middle schoolers. Um and that we we

1:05:05can't really provide a a a win block um

1:05:08that where all teachers are available,

1:05:09just because each of our teachers teach

1:05:12um multiple grades and they teach five

1:05:14classes per day. So, um that's uh some

1:05:17of the um impact that we have that we're

1:05:19looking forward to this year.

1:05:21Next Next slide.

1:05:24So, our district goal, in order to

1:05:25achieve increase achievement for all

1:05:27students

1:05:28by establishing and implementing and

1:05:29regularly assessing consistent

1:05:31high-quality and challenging curriculum,

1:05:33um we will engage in deep understanding

1:05:36of MTSS. We've already

1:05:38started embarked on that.

1:05:40Um we'll implement use universal

1:05:42evidence-based and tiered instruction

1:05:44interventions that will provide

1:05:46equitable student growth. Um we will our

1:05:49educators will use district-wide

1:05:51literacy and math assessments such as

1:05:52DIBELS, Am Class, and STAR

1:05:54within the MTSS framework to plan and

1:05:57deliver targeted instruction that meets

1:05:59the needs of students and with the

1:06:01foundation in literacy and math skills.

1:06:03And we'll also identify instructional

1:06:06strategies to provide robust tier one

1:06:08and two interventions in math and

1:06:10literacy to increase achievement levels

1:06:12for all students.

1:06:14Next slide.

1:06:17Um so, in order to do this, we will

1:06:19continue the process of scheduling and

1:06:22standardizing daily intervention blocks.

1:06:25Um as we continue to grow in enrollment,

1:06:28we will seek to ensure full staffing for

1:06:30our WIN blocks to allow students to

1:06:32access additional resources where needed

1:06:35with the goal of WIN blocks being

1:06:36staffed by student grade level

1:06:38educators.

1:06:39Um our grade level teams will use

1:06:42district-provided curriculum to

1:06:43strengthen those tier one and two tier

1:06:45two instruction.

1:06:47Uh teachers will use common assessments

1:06:48to identify students in need of

1:06:50improvement or extension in math and

1:06:52literacy.

1:06:54Uh teachers will use protocols within

1:06:56MTSS for collecting and analyzing

1:06:58student data that might include unit

1:07:00assessments

1:07:01and uh

1:07:02as well as other formative assessments

1:07:04from investigations, STAR, and Am Class.

1:07:08And then in grades six through eight

1:07:09this year, we are very fortunate to

1:07:12again partner with Landmark. Uh we do

1:07:14have 13 hours of Landmark

1:07:16consultancy with Adam Hickey uh during

1:07:18the school day to utilize for classroom

1:07:20observations, debriefs, and common

1:07:23planning time. And the focus will be on

1:07:24staff creating consistent classroom

1:07:26routines, teaching strategies, and

1:07:29expectations across the content area.

1:07:32Uh and I already mentioned about the

1:07:33school supplies.

1:07:37So, just where we are as a as a school,

1:07:40um I just wanted to provide you some

1:07:41information about our MCAS scores.

1:07:44Uh right now you could see that uh our

1:07:46students uh meeting or exceeding

1:07:49um

1:07:50the expectations in ELA uh is around

1:07:5367%.

1:07:54Um

1:07:55our student growth percentage is uh up

1:07:58about three points.

1:08:00Um we're we're proud about the 67% but

1:08:02we're we really have some work to do uh

1:08:05in this area. Um

1:08:07we do need to improve in uh essay and

1:08:09writing, and uh my hope is that with the

1:08:12second year uh implementation of fish

1:08:14tank, which uh does allow for more

1:08:16writing um starting with the younger

1:08:19grades, uh that we'll see an improvement

1:08:21in our overall writing content.

1:08:24Um

1:08:25what you can also see in the lower

1:08:27right-hand corner,

1:08:28uh the percentage of students meeting or

1:08:30exceeding expectations in ELA does

1:08:33increase as you move along by grade

1:08:35level

1:08:36um up to a point where 85% of eighth

1:08:39graders uh met or exceeded expectations.

1:08:42Uh but again, we do have areas of

1:08:43improvement um in particular with our um

1:08:46high-need students uh who were at about

1:08:4942% um meeting and exceeding

1:08:52expectations. So, we we certainly have

1:08:54some work to do and hopefully with uh

1:08:56the implementation of MTSS and the

1:08:58ability to look at this data and examine

1:09:00our own practices, students uh teachers

1:09:03will be able to improve those scores for

1:09:05our high-need students.

1:09:08Next slide.

1:09:10Um in math, uh you can see our we had uh

1:09:13a rating of 74% of our students um K-8

1:09:17uh

1:09:17from three to three through eight uh met

1:09:19or exceeded um expectations.

1:09:22Uh that's up 3% from the previous year.

1:09:25Um our student average uh

1:09:27our student growth percentage was uh

1:09:3070.9, which is a uh a really um

1:09:33tremendously high number. Um usually uh

1:09:36average is around between 40 and 60%.

1:09:38So, we our students really did um um

1:09:40improve.

1:09:42Um

1:09:44That's That was up seven points from

1:09:45last year.

1:09:47And um

1:09:48one of the areas that we still need to

1:09:50improve on is again um given uh these um

1:09:55these scores, we do need to improve with

1:09:56our high-need students, which scored at

1:09:58about 56% of our high-need students um

1:10:01met or exceeded um expectations.

1:10:05Uh and if you do look at the percent

1:10:06that meet or exceeded by grade level,

1:10:09you'll see again that there is uh growth

1:10:11over uh each grade level uh to a point

1:10:14whereby eighth grade, 93% of our

1:10:16students met or exceeded uh expectations

1:10:19by eighth grade.

1:10:22Next slide.

1:10:25So, our next goal is to develop and

1:10:27implement a culturally responsive

1:10:29community engagement plan to foster

1:10:30connections among caregivers,

1:10:33um school

1:10:34schools, the district, and the

1:10:35community. And so, our our strategic

1:10:38objective is to bridge the pre-K to five

1:10:40and six to eight communities in order to

1:10:42solidify our identity as a pre-K eight

1:10:44school and maintain continuity between

1:10:46grade levels. And we also want to

1:10:47continue with school-wide traditions

1:10:50that

1:10:51involve our parent community. Um and we

1:10:53have several that um require a lot of uh

1:10:56involvement um

1:10:57of our parents to help support those

1:10:59traditions.

1:11:03Next slide.

1:11:06Um so, in order to do this, we want to

1:11:08continue with traditions such as Arts

1:11:09Equinox, Science Solstice. Um

1:11:12those uh for those of you who are not

1:11:13familiar with those, it's very unique to

1:11:15uh this the the town of Brookline. Um

1:11:17Arts Equinox has started back in the

1:11:18'70s, and we have a full day of the

1:11:20arts. Our elementary grade students are

1:11:23engaged in art activities. Um Um, middle

1:11:26schoolers go off campus, and uh they're

1:11:28able to engage in activities off campus

1:11:31uh in and around the the Brookline area.

1:11:33Um, and it's a full day dedicated to the

1:11:35arts, whether it's dancing, making

1:11:37pottery, um metal work. Students have an

1:11:40opportunity to explore and uh

1:11:42participate in uh an art activity that

1:11:45they might not be familiar with. And it

1:11:47really is an appreciation of the arts.

1:11:49We The school is really about uh

1:11:51appreciation of the arts, and Art

1:11:53Equinox is a wonderful way in which we

1:11:55celebrate that. Science Solstice was

1:11:56patterned after Art Equinox um in the

1:12:00very same way. Uh we have a full day of

1:12:02uh engagement in the sciences. Our

1:12:05elementary grade students

1:12:07I'm sorry.

1:12:08Oh, yeah, our elementary grade students

1:12:10um are engaged in science activities

1:12:12throughout the day, and our middle

1:12:13schoolers go off campus to uh businesses

1:12:16uh such as 123 Batteries. They've gone

1:12:18there in the past, where they get to

1:12:20learn about high-performance batteries.

1:12:21They go off to Boston University, that

1:12:24where they can learn about electronics.

1:12:26We've gone to the earthquake lab over at

1:12:27Northeastern. All of these uh traditions

1:12:30that we have, like Art Equinox and

1:12:32Science Solstice, require a tremendous

1:12:34amount of reaching out to our parent

1:12:35community and communicating with them,

1:12:37and they provide some of these um

1:12:40activities for our schools our students

1:12:42in school, um and they're also in in

1:12:45many cases uh provide us the venues

1:12:48where our middle schoolers go to learn

1:12:50about what it's like to be a scientist,

1:12:52what it means to uh how to become a um

1:12:54how to become a scientist, and they get

1:12:56to ask questions about how they uh

1:12:58decided to become a scientist. So, it's

1:12:59a wonderful experience for our students,

1:13:02and again, it requires uh reaching out

1:13:03to our parent community.

1:13:05Um

1:13:06Parents uh

1:13:07We also prepare students for middle

1:13:09school um

1:13:10in order to ease the transition from the

1:13:12elementary grades to middle school and

1:13:14understand the day-to-day life in middle

1:13:15school. And we do that by um

1:13:18in May and June of this year or next

1:13:20September, we're trying to figure out

1:13:21which date we're going to host this. We

1:13:23have every year we have a um an

1:13:26orientation day for our sixth grade

1:13:28families. It's a big jump and transition

1:13:31for students to go from the 5th grade to

1:13:34middle school, and this is simply just

1:13:36to talk about what life is like moving

1:13:38up to the middle school, moving to

1:13:39another floor, switching classes,

1:13:41um being able to uh have their own

1:13:43lockers, and uh and answer questions

1:13:46about that. It really is just an

1:13:47overview of what life is like as a as a

1:13:50middle schooler. I find it very very

1:13:51helpful. This year we may just move it

1:13:53to May and June so that parents have an

1:13:55opportunity to ask questions before

1:13:57their child moves into 6th grade next

1:13:58year.

1:13:59We also want to continue the tradition

1:14:01to foster the connection between new

1:14:02students and families and the Driscoll

1:14:05School. And within the first few weeks

1:14:06of school, we have a new parent coffee

1:14:09um for uh new families.

1:14:11And we also had grade lunch bunches for

1:14:13students uh who are new to Driscoll

1:14:15School.

1:14:16And then finally, um we are providing

1:14:19increased communication to our middle

1:14:21school families by sending out a

1:14:22newsletter. Uh we've already sent one

1:14:24out in um

1:14:26to September, and our middle school's

1:14:28team just updates our middle school

1:14:30families about um work that uh students

1:14:33are working on as well as upcoming

1:14:35events or uh just really keeping uh

1:14:37families uh informed about what's going

1:14:40on in the middle school. Uh parents are

1:14:42so used to having communications from

1:14:44their classroom teacher that this was a

1:14:46nice way for our middle school team to

1:14:48maintain that sense of communication

1:14:49with our families.

1:14:54And finally, our third goal is to to

1:14:56develop a climate and culture in which

1:14:58all students, staff, and caregivers

1:14:59experience a strong sense of belonging

1:15:01and safety.

1:15:03Um so we uh our objective for this is to

1:15:06identify individuals to needs and social

1:15:08emotional health. Uh we want students to

1:15:10have a sense of belonging, to feel safe,

1:15:12respected, and valued by their

1:15:13classmates and teachers, and to have

1:15:15opportunities to share their unique

1:15:17identity and culture with our broader

1:15:18community.

1:15:23So, our climate and culture team um

1:15:26uh

1:15:26will identify and implement ways to

1:15:28connect students and staff to foster for

1:15:31of belonging and safety.

1:15:33Um and also ensuring middle school

1:15:35students are paired with younger class

1:15:37buddies. So, we we do have uh buddies.

1:15:40We have our fifth graders who work with

1:15:41our second graders. Eighth graders have

1:15:43opportunities to have buddies with our

1:15:45kindergarteners. Um our culture and

1:15:47climate committee also is working on

1:15:50this year uh creating a staff photo

1:15:52board uh so that people can become

1:15:54familiar with who is working in the

1:15:55building. Uh it's a very large school

1:15:58and it's new um and so we want to make

1:15:59sure that students um know who our staff

1:16:02are.

1:16:03And um we also this year we want to Last

1:16:06year we weren't able to uh have our

1:16:08Juneteenth celebration um for a variety

1:16:11of reasons. Um and this year we're going

1:16:13to bring that back. And our work our

1:16:15eighth graders take the lead in that um

1:16:17and putting it and uh providing this uh

1:16:19Juneteenth celebration. It's a wonderful

1:16:22and whole school event where the entire

1:16:24school goes out to the uh dress code

1:16:26field. And our eighth graders um are um

1:16:30uh the African American lead to Latino

1:16:33scholars uh lead this uh event. And um

1:16:37they're able to uh give presentations

1:16:39about the history behind Juneteenth. Uh

1:16:41we have a wonderful feast outside. And

1:16:43so we have a It's it's just a great way

1:16:45for us to bond as a community and as a

1:16:47school. And uh we're going to bring that

1:16:49back this year. And also our eighth

1:16:51graders will uh

1:16:52take kindergarteners to the book fair,

1:16:54which is coming up soon. And then also

1:16:57uh towards the end of the year, which is

1:16:58This was This started last year. Our

1:17:00eighth graders hosted a breakfast for

1:17:02our kindergarteners. So, it was laid out

1:17:04in the cafeteria.

1:17:06Um the It was nicely decorated. Each

1:17:08table was decorated. And our eighth

1:17:09graders sat next to our kindergarteners

1:17:11um as a

1:17:12a early morning breakfast for them. So,

1:17:14it's really nice uh way of uh bridging

1:17:16that gap between our different grades.

1:17:18But it also makes everyone feel part of

1:17:20our community.

1:17:22Um so, another way that we uh

1:17:25support our students. Um for those of

1:17:27you who haven't been to our community

1:17:29meeting, um that's uh and every other

1:17:32celebration that we have, K-2 uh will

1:17:35present uh one week and then the

1:17:37following week will be 3 to 5 where A

1:17:39class will host it and and they'll talk

1:17:41about what they learned that week.

1:17:43Others classes will also uh present. Uh

1:17:46it's all student-run. They get to

1:17:48prevent uh present all the work that

1:17:50they've done that week. Uh but at the

1:17:52end of community meeting uh we have

1:17:54what's called a high five. And so we

1:17:56give a shout-out to students who uh have

1:17:58done something well at that um that

1:18:00week. Uh teachers fill them out. They

1:18:02get a hand that's cut out and they come

1:18:04up to the stage and they go through a

1:18:06line

1:18:07uh with the host class along with

1:18:09teachers and get a high five from us.

1:18:10And it's a great way that's a very PBIS

1:18:13uh program that we have. Um and we're

1:18:15going to try to continue with uh what's

1:18:17called a postcard program for our middle

1:18:19schoolers. Um again a PBIS program that

1:18:21we've started years ago uh where

1:18:24teachers will write out a postcard, a

1:18:26handwritten note to uh families and

1:18:28students about some of the good work

1:18:29that our middle schoolers have done that

1:18:30week.

1:18:32Um we also will look at middle school

1:18:33scheduling um and staffing to identify

1:18:35and corporate times and resources for

1:18:37our 6-8 advisory. That's something that

1:18:39we're going to be looking at this year.

1:18:41And we'll also um identify a group of

1:18:44middle school students who are

1:18:45interested in developing their

1:18:46leadership leadership skills. Uh and

1:18:49we'll meet with this group on regular

1:18:50basis and plan one school-wide event

1:18:52which was which is uh going to be um

1:18:55Juneteenth celebration. We will also

1:18:57have a a team of middle schoolers who

1:18:58will uh do our morning announcements

1:19:01um

1:19:02e- each day. So Um

1:19:04these are some of the ways in which uh

1:19:06we are uh you know, building a strong

1:19:08culture in our school

1:19:10um and really uh build a sense of

1:19:12community.

1:19:16So I just wanted to show you uh from a

1:19:18Panorama some of the data that I was

1:19:20able to um highlight from that. Uh if

1:19:23you take a look at our sense of school

1:19:25belonging

1:19:26uh

1:19:27>> [clears throat]

1:19:27>> going back from 2021, you can see that

1:19:30our numbers up are up uh for from the

1:19:32fall of uh 25-26 to 75%

1:19:37um and by spring they're up around 79%

1:19:39and we still do have students who still

1:19:42need to find a you know a trusted adult

1:19:45and find a you know a sense of um

1:19:47belonging at the school. So, we still

1:19:48have some work to do. Um, but I am uh

1:19:51pleased with this number um and we're

1:19:54constantly looking for ways um to

1:19:56incorporate students into school

1:19:57activity, school events, um make sure

1:19:59that they're seen uh throughout the day

1:20:01and um

1:20:03uh this is something that we're

1:20:03constantly working on.

1:20:05Also, emotional regulation. You can see

1:20:08that our numbers are upwards around

1:20:0979-80% as of last year.

1:20:16Um, and in terms of supportive

1:20:18relationships, uh you'll see that that

1:20:20has also grown over the years for at

1:20:22Driscoll to where uh 79% in the fall of

1:20:25last year students felt like they had

1:20:27supportive relationships.

1:20:28Um, and then 80% by spring. Again, we

1:20:31still have about 20% of students who um

1:20:34are we're we're we still need to work

1:20:36on. And again, through hopefully through

1:20:38our work this year through MTSS, this

1:20:40will be one of our focuses

1:20:42um in terms of trying to help students

1:20:44feel supportive uh here at Driscoll.

1:20:47Supported.

1:20:48Um, and then the last one is

1:20:49self-efficacy. Um, this is uh you can

1:20:52see that it also has grown over the

1:20:54years to where uh 91% of students felt

1:20:57um you know they they they reported uh

1:21:00being having self-efficacy uh at 91% and

1:21:03then 89% in the spring. So, again, some

1:21:06work to do, but um there's uh still um

1:21:09good numbers and our staff works

1:21:10extremely hard on making sure that our

1:21:12students feel like they're competent,

1:21:15that they can ask questions, they can um

1:21:18uh

1:21:18advocate for themselves. And uh so

1:21:20again, through MTSS this year my hope is

1:21:22that we can address not only the

1:21:24academic issues, but um

1:21:26all of our uh student needs, emotional

1:21:29needs, and um and uh

1:21:31uh

1:21:32and all other things. So, uh that's

1:21:34where we are at at Driscoll.

1:21:41>> Thank you, David.

1:21:43We need some comments, questions,

1:21:45please.

1:21:46Laura.

1:21:50>> Thank you, Principal Eukelous. And as a

1:21:52Driscoll parent, thank you and thank you

1:21:54to your staff. My son has been there

1:21:56since fourth grade, part of the lab

1:21:58program, and has felt a intense sense of

1:22:01community and has really been thriving

1:22:03there. Um I was wanted to give you an

1:22:05opportunity to talk a little bit more

1:22:06about what you had in your the budget

1:22:08section. Um you mentioned having the

1:22:11opportunity to work with Landmark in

1:22:13terms of professional development. I

1:22:15myself have also worked with Landmark,

1:22:16but probably a lot of people at this

1:22:18table or out in TV land watching have

1:22:22not. So, I would love it if you could

1:22:23talk a little bit about Landmark, how

1:22:26they are helping your school community,

1:22:28and then dovetailing this to uh

1:22:31supplies. Again, I can say as a

1:22:32sixth-grade parent, thank you for that.

1:22:34Um but if you could talk a little bit

1:22:35more pedagogically about why you saw

1:22:38that as something

1:22:40uh that made sense fiscally for us to

1:22:42do. What are the advantages and how has

1:22:43that helped your community?

1:22:45>> That's a great question. So, um

1:22:47we have been working with Landmark, I

1:22:49want to say 2011. Um and we Anne Larson

1:22:53has been the consultant who we've worked

1:22:55directly with over the years who uh who

1:22:57she has guided our work in lab.

1:23:00Um

1:23:01and uh I was fortunate enough to take

1:23:03the uh lab course that Adam Hickey um

1:23:06uh taught back in I think it was 2013

1:23:09uh where I really got to learn about

1:23:11strategies that are used uh by Landmark

1:23:15um such as using um organiza- first of

1:23:18all, just having organizational binders

1:23:20and um and notebooks. Um having a

1:23:24consistent set of um ways of organizing

1:23:28materials uh in binders, having a

1:23:31consistent pattern of writing your

1:23:33homework down in an agenda, and having

1:23:36that stamped. Um and then having um you

1:23:38know, consistent ways of

1:23:41uh writing down notes, like with

1:23:42two-column note taking. These are some

1:23:44strategies uh that Landmark has

1:23:48shared with us and our teachers have

1:23:50employed over the years. Um

1:23:53One of the one of the things that it

1:23:55does is that for our lab students it

1:23:57again it provides consistency from one

1:23:59class to another. So a student isn't

1:24:03getting to know the system of one

1:24:05teacher and then moving over to another

1:24:06subject and then trying to get to know

1:24:08and understand the system of another

1:24:09teacher. They're very consistent across

1:24:11the board. And there are other some

1:24:13there are some other strategies like

1:24:14using

1:24:16organ- organizers, graphic organizers

1:24:18that also help our students succeed. So

1:24:21what the most important piece of

1:24:25Landmark is is that the strategies that

1:24:27they use for our lab students are not

1:24:29only good for our lab students but

1:24:31they're good for all of our students.

1:24:32And so we made a commitment as a school

1:24:36that we would provide our students

1:24:38middle school students

1:24:40with the necessary materials to have

1:24:42those organizational systems that allow

1:24:46them to be successful in the classroom

1:24:48and to be self-sufficient outside the

1:24:51classroom. This year we are able to have

1:24:54Adam Hickey work with our middle school

1:24:55team.

1:24:56We have I believe I can't remember how

1:24:58many hours. I think it's like 18 hours

1:25:01where he is going to be he's already met

1:25:02with our middle school team to maybe

1:25:04introduce

1:25:05additional strategy. Something as simple

1:25:07as the way he described it was let's

1:25:10let's play around with

1:25:12reminding our students that there's a

1:25:14halfway point in the middle of a lesson.

1:25:16And that's what we're going to play with

1:25:17for a little while and see how that

1:25:19turns out. These are all sorts of

1:25:21strategies that allow our students to

1:25:23become successful

1:25:25you know again whether they're lab

1:25:26students or not but Landmark provides us

1:25:29with that type of sorry

1:25:31that that type of um

1:25:34those strategies and I really appreciate

1:25:37it and that's why we invested in those

1:25:39those materials for our students.

1:25:44>> Other questions, Comments?

1:25:48Jesse?

1:25:49>> Yes, thank you. Um in comparing

1:25:52the students meeting exceeding of ELA

1:25:55and math, they seem to go in two

1:25:57different directions if I heard you

1:25:59right. Meaning that the ELA scores

1:26:02between 25 and 26 actually dropped as

1:26:05well as performance levels. And in math

1:26:08it went uh the other direction. There

1:26:10was actually a significant improvement

1:26:12in math from 25 to 26 as well as

1:26:15performance levels over time. And my

1:26:17question is to what extent do you tie a

1:26:20cause for the ELA dropping 25 to 26

1:26:25after it was slowly increasing? Is that

1:26:27the introduction of new curriculum or

1:26:30some other additional causes that have

1:26:33yet to be remedied?

1:26:35>> Jesse, that's a that's an excellent

1:26:36question. Um I I think we need to dig a

1:26:38little bit further into the reason

1:26:42behind that. Uh we did introduce um

1:26:45uh our new ELA curriculum uh Fishtank

1:26:47last year. It could have been uh so

1:26:50again our our K through 5 teachers uh

1:26:53implemented Fishtank. It was optional

1:26:55for our middle school team. Um so it

1:26:57could be related to an just adapting to

1:27:00a new curriculum. Um that's kind of what

1:27:02I would probably attribute it to. But I

1:27:05think that um most likely with some of

1:27:07the work that we're doing this year with

1:27:08MTSS where we can actually dig into um

1:27:13our lessons that we're providing our

1:27:16students this year, what's working, how

1:27:17can we improve them, and then seeing

1:27:20what the results will be um not this

1:27:23year but you know obviously in

1:27:24September. I think that will probably

1:27:25give us a better understanding of where

1:27:27we are with EL with ELA. I do know that

1:27:31as I had mentioned in my presentation

1:27:32that um our

1:27:35essay writing and our writing um needs

1:27:37to be improved. And I do know that

1:27:40Fishtank starting in second grade

1:27:42provides uh students with a lot more

1:27:44opportunity to write. Um and so I'm

1:27:47really excited to see what our results

1:27:48will be, but I think the only way we

1:27:50could figure that out is to take a look

1:27:52at next year's results. Um but we're

1:27:54we're certainly going to and also uh you

1:27:57know, we can monitor that through our

1:27:58star assessments

1:28:00um throughout the year. So um I think by

1:28:02looking at star assessments and then

1:28:04looking at our MCAS results, we'll have

1:28:06a better understanding of uh

1:28:08why there was a drop. I I think again, I

1:28:10I I would probably guess that's what the

1:28:12reason is that we started a new

1:28:13curriculum, but my hope is that with

1:28:15this new curriculum our second year in

1:28:16involved with it, that those scores will

1:28:18improve.

1:28:20>> Thank you.

1:28:23Kellen?

1:28:26>> Thank you, Principal Uklas. That was

1:28:28great and so interesting. Um I'm just

1:28:31going to sort of second Laura's implicit

1:28:35um

1:28:36happiness with the Landmark stuff. I

1:28:37think we've talked about this before. I

1:28:39would love if we could do that at all of

1:28:41our schools, including the supplies.

1:28:44Going back to binders, touching paper.

1:28:47Um

1:28:48super valuable. And I just want to

1:28:50appreciate the emphasis that you

1:28:53described on on creating a school

1:28:55community, including the connections

1:28:59between eighth graders and

1:29:00kindergarteners. Um that was just really

1:29:03nice to hear and the way that you talked

1:29:05about it. Um

1:29:08really made it clear that this is this

1:29:11is how you're

1:29:12building belonging. Um and it sounds

1:29:14like

1:29:15successful. Um I just love the idea of

1:29:19unifying around a school community.

1:29:22Anytime we can come together and

1:29:24celebrate the things that we have in

1:29:26common, um I think is is great for all

1:29:30of us. So I loved hearing about eighth

1:29:32graders taking kindergarteners to the

1:29:34book fair and the breakfast um and all

1:29:36of your PBIS stuff. So thank you for

1:29:39that.

1:29:41>> Thank you.

1:29:45>> 5 4 3 2 Donna.

1:29:47>> Donna, thank you.

1:29:49Thank you so much, David. I thought that

1:29:51was an excellent presentation and I

1:29:52loved learning more about what's

1:29:54happening inside your beautiful

1:29:55building. Is I wonder is this the first

1:29:58year where

1:30:00you don't have

1:30:02um

1:30:03room for an extra block in middle

1:30:05school?

1:30:07Where

1:30:08>> Well,

1:30:10yes, so to give you a sense, our

1:30:12teachers are right now we have

1:30:15uh eight core teachers for 10 sections

1:30:18and so each of our teachers teach five

1:30:21classes per day

1:30:23um and so it it doesn't allow us to

1:30:28um have our middle school teachers teach

1:30:30an advisory. That was per an agreement

1:30:32with the union

1:30:34a while back and so they can't like plan

1:30:37for and teach another class. So they're

1:30:39kind of at at max there, but they can

1:30:41cover wind blocks. They do cover wind

1:30:43blocks. And our wind blocks right now

1:30:46allow them to meet with students who are

1:30:48in that particular wind block. But yes,

1:30:50it's pretty tight right now and that's

1:30:52that's why I am hopeful that we can

1:30:55work on that as a solution.

1:30:56>> In the in the past have you had advisory

1:30:58for middle school? And this

1:31:00that's just restricted that to the 26-27

1:31:03school year or that's been the case for

1:31:05>> Well, mostly sixth grade. We've had

1:31:07advisory in sixth grade because they

1:31:09have three

1:31:11three block three periods of

1:31:15world language not five not five

1:31:17periods. So it it opened up some time

1:31:19where we were able to have advisory,

1:31:22but given that we now have four sections

1:31:25of sixth grade and our teachers are

1:31:26teaching

1:31:28multiple grade levels. We just don't

1:31:30have the room on the schedule.

1:31:31>> Right.

1:31:31And I thought I saw it somewhere in the

1:31:33presentation but now cuz I wrote down a

1:31:35note but now I

1:31:36now I I can't identify where it is. Did

1:31:38you say that you were

1:31:40um

1:31:41trying to identify time for all content

1:31:44teachers to be available at the same

1:31:45time in sixth grade?

1:31:46>> If we could. Yeah, if we could. That's

1:31:49so that's that's that's more that's

1:31:51actually more challenging than trying to

1:31:53find the advisory because you you really

1:31:54need the staffing to do that.

1:31:56That's just something

1:31:58I have to look a couple years in

1:31:59advance. We do have I mean

1:32:02my hope is that we can add some

1:32:03additional FTE to our middle school. We

1:32:06do have a fourth grade teacher and a

1:32:08fifth grade teacher, one of whom will

1:32:10move up into the middle school

1:32:12section because we have four sections of

1:32:14fourth grade coming coming up. That

1:32:16would that will give us effectively 11

1:32:18sections in 2 years. And so when you

1:32:21have 11 sections, we're still going to

1:32:23need some additional FTE in order to

1:32:26schedule like a real wind block. And in

1:32:29order to do that, you have to have the

1:32:31flexibility in the schedule

1:32:33in order to make that align. So it's it

1:32:35hasn't been something that we've we

1:32:37haven't been able to do it since

1:32:38pre-COVID.

1:32:40And the only reason why we did it

1:32:41pre-COVID was because at that time

1:32:44we had traveling health teachers who uh

1:32:48went to each of the schools and we were

1:32:51able to use that to help us

1:32:53schedule. But since then we just haven't

1:32:55been able to do it.

1:32:56>> Thank you. I appreciate that it's

1:32:58something you're thinking about. Thank

1:32:59you so much.

1:33:02>> Okay, David. I just want to say that my

1:33:03own kids went to Driscoll

1:33:05in the late '80s and '90s and I'm really

1:33:09excited to hear that Arts Equinox

1:33:12continues

1:33:1330 years later and it sounds like you

1:33:17also have the Good News Assembly,

1:33:18although maybe you don't call it the

1:33:20Good News Assembly, but they were both

1:33:22incredibly special times and I love the

1:33:24continuity and the tradition of the

1:33:27Driscoll School. Thank you, David.

1:33:29>> Yeah. You're welcome and you're you're

1:33:31welcome to come by the school. We do,

1:33:32believe it or not, down in our um

1:33:34supply closet, we do have uh the

1:33:37principal um

1:33:39Carol Shraft actually put together photo

1:33:41albums from years ago. So if you ever

1:33:43want to come over and take a look

1:33:45through the photo albums from like going

1:33:47way back in the '80s and '90s, we have

1:33:48those.

1:33:50>> That sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow

1:33:51morning.

1:33:52>> [laughter]

1:33:53>> Bella Wong.

1:33:54>> Yeah, just something really quick. So

1:33:56what um

1:33:57Principal Uqalas identified about not

1:33:59being able to have advisories has been

1:34:02identified as something to look at for

1:34:04the FY20 budget. So, Driscoll is the

1:34:07only middle school that's not able to

1:34:10have advisories.

1:34:12So.

1:34:14>> Okay.

1:34:15You're excused. Thank you.

1:34:17>> Thank you, everybody.

1:34:18>> Thank you, David.

1:34:20Okay, next up Sarah Ewen. Sarah.

1:34:24>> Good evening, everyone, and thank you so

1:34:26much for having me. It's my pleasure to

1:34:28be with you and to present the school

1:34:30improvement plan for Florida Ruffin

1:34:32Ridley School.

1:34:34Um and thank you so much, Betsy, for

1:34:36sharing the screen and taking over slide

1:34:38duty. I appreciate it. Um so, first of

1:34:40all, I want to say a huge thank you to

1:34:44um our school site council. This work

1:34:47was very much a collaborative effort

1:34:49among our teacher representatives and

1:34:52our caregiver representatives. Um part

1:34:55of our team this year for our school

1:34:56site council, we have third grade

1:34:58teacher Katie Judd and first grade

1:35:01teacher Amanda Donahue, both of whom

1:35:03have been in the district and been

1:35:04working at Florida Ruffin Ridley for a

1:35:07number of years. Um additionally, we

1:35:09have Vice Principal Mary Gallant, Sarah

1:35:11Chassner, parent of a second grader,

1:35:13Rayut Broner, uh parent of a first

1:35:15grader and fifth grader, and Joseph

1:35:18Katz, parent of a seventh grader, and

1:35:19Nina Fish, parent of a kindergartner and

1:35:22third grader. I believe they're all

1:35:23watching tonight. So, um thank you so

1:35:26much for being here and uh again, huge

1:35:28appreciation for the team uh for the

1:35:31collaboration that went into this work.

1:35:34All right. So, in a moment, we will dive

1:35:37into our school improvement plan. Just a

1:35:39note that uh when I presented it to our

1:35:41subcommittee last year, we were in the

1:35:44second year of a two-year plan at that

1:35:46point. So, we are now for this year

1:35:48launching a new school improvement plan

1:35:51um on a one-year cycle, very similar to

1:35:54Driscoll School, the presentation that

1:35:55you just heard.

1:35:59Okay. So, for our goal number one, uh

1:36:02the district goal, uh which you heard

1:36:04before from David Youklis, is increasing

1:36:06achievement for all students by

1:36:08establishing, implementing, and

1:36:10regularly assessing a consistent,

1:36:11high-quality, and challenging curriculum

1:36:13delivered using evidence-based

1:36:15practices.

1:36:17Um and I'm sure it's no surprise that

1:36:18similarly at Ruffin Ridley School, we

1:36:21are um focusing a lot of our efforts

1:36:23this year on our implementation of our

1:36:26district-wide multi-tiered systems of

1:36:28supports, the MTSS framework. And so our

1:36:31strategic objective is that educators

1:36:33will engage in professional development

1:36:35to gain a deep understanding of the MTSS

1:36:38framework and implement universal,

1:36:40evidence-based, tiered instructional

1:36:42interventions that provide equitable

1:36:44student growth.

1:36:47And so how we intend to arrive there, um

1:36:52our first strategic initiative is we're

1:36:55um investing in providing professional

1:36:57development for teachers that focus on

1:37:00our MTSS systems to gain a shared

1:37:03understanding of tiered instruction

1:37:05among staff. Um that work has already

1:37:08been well underway. We kicked off our

1:37:11welcome back sessions um on September

1:37:141st and 2nd, including I think it was a

1:37:16total of 5 hours of this work on the

1:37:19MTSS framework. Um and we are um

1:37:23continuing on that journey uh throughout

1:37:26the year. We have several faculty

1:37:27meetings that are dedicated specifically

1:37:29to MTSS work um in addition to

1:37:32team-based meetings and school-based

1:37:34MTSS team meetings. So our goals and

1:37:37benchmarks are that 90% of staff will

1:37:41attend those MTSS staff meetings as

1:37:43measured by attendance in TeachPoint and

1:37:4575% of general educators,

1:37:48ELE teachers, special education, math

1:37:50and literacy specialist staff will

1:37:53report having an increased shared

1:37:55understanding of instructional tiers

1:37:58amongst colleagues as measured by staff

1:38:01surveys. In a school as large as Rough

1:38:04and Ready, as you can imagine, we have

1:38:08such a an amazing group of skilled

1:38:11educators that I feel really fortunate

1:38:13to work with every day. Um and many of

1:38:16us bring a rich background from prior

1:38:20experiences in working with MTSS systems

1:38:24in other districts. And for some of us,

1:38:27it is, you know, um a new system that

1:38:30we're learning. So, um given the the

1:38:34depth and breadth of our staff, we want

1:38:36to ensure that we're able to arrive in a

1:38:38place where we really have common

1:38:41language, shared understanding, people

1:38:44are feeling confident um about, you

1:38:47know, implementing the system with

1:38:49fidelity and its positive impact on

1:38:52students.

1:38:53Our second strategic initiative is that,

1:38:56and this is a little bit of a

1:38:57continuation of some work that we

1:38:59started last year. Um so, piloting the

1:39:01use of UFLI, which is a Unity University

1:39:04of Florida Literacy Literacy Initiative,

1:39:07excuse me,

1:39:08um in 50% of classrooms and intervention

1:39:10spaces to augment students' decoding

1:39:13skills as part of our MTSS system and

1:39:16[snorts] training our K-8 K-8 general

1:39:19education, special ed, ELE, and reading

1:39:23specialists in um some additional

1:39:25science of reading work, um professional

1:39:28development work.

1:39:29And how we will measure that through our

1:39:31goals and benchmarks by June 2027, we

1:39:35want to see that 90% of our educators

1:39:37will have completed the course through

1:39:39Hill for Literacy. Um Hill for Literacy

1:39:42is um widely recognized in the state.

1:39:45They've done work with other districts

1:39:46like Newton Public Schools, um districts

1:39:49across the Commonwealth. They were the

1:39:51DESE vendor that ran the Literacy Launch

1:39:54Institutes that happened this summer

1:39:56throughout the Commonwealth. So, they're

1:39:57a um

1:39:58a DESE proven provider um that we are

1:40:00looking to work with for this purpose.

1:40:04Um and the percentage of FR students who

1:40:06are not meeting or are partially meeting

1:40:09expectations will decrease between the

1:40:12beginning of year and end of year

1:40:15um, STAR and DIBELS assessment windows.

1:40:18And specifically, we're looking at the

1:40:20students who are not meeting

1:40:22expectations, we want to decrease that

1:40:24by 50% and students partially meeting

1:40:27decrease by 33%. Um, a I think an

1:40:30important piece of context

1:40:31[clears throat]

1:40:32for our school is that in the 2026

1:40:37uh, DESEA accountability report, which

1:40:39is a largely based on last year's MCAS

1:40:42data,

1:40:43um, our school met 83% of DESEA targets

1:40:47overall. And our accounted

1:40:49accountability rating with DESEA raised

1:40:52up two points to 92. In both cases,

1:40:57those are the highest that they have

1:40:58been since DESEA began measuring these

1:41:02metrics. So, that's the highest

1:41:04accountability rating that we've had um,

1:41:06since 2012 is when DESEA started this

1:41:09work. And that's the highest percentage

1:41:11of targets um, that we've had similarly

1:41:14since 2012. So, there's a lot of really

1:41:17great work happening with our educators

1:41:19every day um, and we're looking to build

1:41:21upon that and specifically looking at

1:41:24um,

1:41:25further decreasing those gaps with our

1:41:27students who are not yet meeting

1:41:29benchmark.

1:41:30Um, and lastly for strategic

1:41:32initiatives, we want to create

1:41:33school-wide systems for teachers to

1:41:35engage in data protocols, implement

1:41:38tiered instruction,

1:41:40and collaboratively discuss progress

1:41:42towards student learning goals. We're

1:41:45really fortunate this year um, that we

1:41:47have been able to um, make some

1:41:50adjustments to the schedule to

1:41:52incorporate um, MTSS meetings within

1:41:55grade level teams so that they have this

1:41:57dedicated time and space to engage in

1:42:00this work um, which we launched um,

1:42:03earlier this school year.

1:42:05And our goals and benchmarks are that by

1:42:07June 2027, 100% of grade level teams

1:42:11will utilize data effectively to

1:42:13implement tiered instruction

1:42:14interventions during win blocks or what

1:42:17I need blocks, as measured by meeting

1:42:19agendas and data sheets.

1:42:22And that the student growth percentage

1:42:24SGP for historically marginalized group

1:42:27will exceed the average SGP for students

1:42:30in grade levels as measured by the end

1:42:32of the year universal screener. So

1:42:33again, looking at MCAS, STAR, um math

1:42:37and Dibels. And I should note that um

1:42:40the what I need block is new to the

1:42:43elementary level at Rough and Ready this

1:42:46year. Um we have had those in the middle

1:42:48school, but they are new to the

1:42:50elementary school and we are continuing

1:42:52them at the 6th through 8th level as

1:42:54well.

1:42:57Okay, and I have some data and I

1:42:59recognize that some of this is a little

1:43:00bit harder to see in this format, but

1:43:03I'm going to walk us through this. Um

1:43:06so what we're looking at first here is

1:43:09uh upper elementary into middle school

1:43:12um

1:43:13growth data SGP data

1:43:15uh according to STAR, and this is end of

1:43:18the year last year. When we

1:43:20did the majority of the work as a school

1:43:22site council to put together this plan,

1:43:24we were working in heavily with STAR

1:43:26because the MCAS data had not yet been

1:43:28finalized. Um

1:43:30but our MCAS data is similar. So while

1:43:33you do see a bit of a parabola shape

1:43:35there on the right, um the literacy SGP

1:43:39data is actually relatively flat. Um so

1:43:43the earliest data from 2024

1:43:46uh students, the SGP on average was

1:43:48around 53.5%

1:43:51at its peak on the parabola, it was 56%

1:43:55and then again back to 53. So that's a a

1:43:59a change of three percentage points. So

1:44:02it is a change, but not a not a major

1:44:05change. Um but what I wanted to

1:44:07highlight more significantly is what you

1:44:10see at the bottom portion of the screen,

1:44:12which is some of the

1:44:14um risk ratio data, which measures um

1:44:18how likely um students within different

1:44:21populations are to be um at meeting

1:44:25benchmark versus others. So, as you can

1:44:28see on the screen right here for reading

1:44:31for upper elementary into middle school,

1:44:34we have on the left-hand side are

1:44:35students who are English learners, and

1:44:37we have on the right-hand side students

1:44:39who identify as black. In both cases,

1:44:42there is a risk ratio that is above a

1:44:451.0, which is the ideal is a 1.0.

1:44:49Um in the case of the English learners,

1:44:52it's 3.4,

1:44:54um and in the case of students who

1:44:56identify as black or African American,

1:44:591.9. So, as you saw in the language for

1:45:02our goals and benchmarks, one of the

1:45:03things that we're really zooming in on

1:45:05is trying to um work on closing that

1:45:09risk ratio, decreasing those

1:45:12disproportionality uh data points.

1:45:17Thank you, Betsy. And then this is um

1:45:19similarly looking at that reading data

1:45:22for upper elementary, and on the

1:45:23left-hand side you have students who

1:45:25identify as Hispanic or Latino, and on

1:45:28the right-hand side it's students who

1:45:31have disabilities. So, students with um

1:45:33IEPs, individualized education plans.

1:45:36So, on the left for um students who

1:45:38identify as Hispanic or Latinx, the risk

1:45:40ratio is a 1.8, and on the right it's a

1:45:432.1. And again, we are aiming for 1.0.

1:45:49Okay, and then this is um

1:45:52DIBELS data, so looking more at those

1:45:54structured literacy pieces for students

1:45:57who are in the early elementary grade

1:45:59bands. Um same idea, we're looking at

1:46:02the um overall picture, but specifically

1:46:05zooming in on the risk ratio piece. So,

1:46:10on the bottom there, um on the left-hand

1:46:12side. This is students who identify as

1:46:15Latino in the lower grade bands, that

1:46:18risk ratio is a 1.7. And then on the

1:46:21right, um, students who identify as

1:46:23black, it's a 2.4.

1:46:28And then again, the DIBELS data here,

1:46:31and we're looking at, um,

1:46:33additional populations. So, on the

1:46:35left-hand side, you have the risk ratio

1:46:37for students with IEPs at 2.3. And then

1:46:40on the right hand, it's, um, students

1:46:42who are English learners, and that's a

1:46:442.4.

1:46:47>> [clears throat]

1:46:48>> So, that's the baseline data that we're

1:46:50going to be measuring our success

1:46:51against in this particular plan for this

1:46:54year. Um, and now looking at the STAR

1:46:56data for math as well.

1:46:58Um, so in math on our MCAS, we did have

1:47:03some, um,

1:47:05some strong growth this year. Um,

1:47:07similarly with the STAR data, it was

1:47:09reflective of growth, um, across the

1:47:11board this year. Um, and similar to what

1:47:13I heard from Driscoll School, our

1:47:16literacy data overall was a bit more

1:47:19flat, whereas math, we did see

1:47:22improvement. Um, and so a lot of the

1:47:25improvement target data that you saw

1:47:27from the Department of Education is

1:47:29reflective of our growth in math.

1:47:31Um, okay. So, for grades 3 through 8 in

1:47:34math, according to our STAR data, um,

1:47:36you can see on the bottom, um, left-hand

1:47:40corner of the screen, we're looking at

1:47:42in this case, um,

1:47:44the students who identify as black on

1:47:47the left, and then on the right,

1:47:48students who identify as Hispanic or

1:47:50Latino, and we have a respective, uh,

1:47:52>> [clears throat]

1:47:52>> risk ratio here of 2.9 and 2.0.

1:47:57And then for, uh, students who identify

1:48:01as Oh, I think I repeated that one.

1:48:03That's Latino on the left, and then on

1:48:05the right is students who are, uh,

1:48:07English learners, and that risk ratio is

1:48:091.7.

1:48:13Okay. So, our second goal, uh, the

1:48:15district goal is to develop and

1:48:16implement a culturally responsive

1:48:18community engagement plan to foster

1:48:20connections among caregivers, schools,

1:48:23the district, and the community. And for

1:48:25us as a school, we are um saying as a

1:48:28site council that our educators will

1:48:30provide clear, consistent updates on

1:48:32student progress, growth areas, and

1:48:34successes to foster open communication

1:48:38that strengthens family-school

1:48:40partnerships and ensures all parents and

1:48:42caregivers understand their child's

1:48:44academic progress.

1:48:47And our strategic initiatives to that

1:48:50end, um so we are developing a

1:48:53consistent K-8 family communication plan

1:48:56for all students who are not meeting or

1:48:58partially meeting grade-level

1:48:59expectations and receiving some of those

1:49:02tier two and tier three interventions.

1:49:06Um and our goal there is that by June

1:49:092027,

1:49:11educators will provide families with

1:49:13clear, consistent updates on student

1:49:15performance so that families and

1:49:17caregivers have an increased

1:49:20understanding of their students'

1:49:21performance,

1:49:23um and we're measuring that using survey

1:49:25data to families and caregivers.

1:49:28And we've already begun collecting our

1:49:30baseline data in our outreach to our

1:49:32families and caregivers this fall.

1:49:35Next, the grade-level teams will

1:49:36collaborate to provide um uniformed

1:49:39grading practices for report cards and

1:49:42progress reports across grade levels to

1:49:44ensure consistency and and continuity

1:49:46for families in literacy specifically.

1:49:49We're focusing there because of the

1:49:52transition to the Fishtank curriculum.

1:49:55Um we think this is a good opportunity

1:49:57to um really zoom in on, you know,

1:50:00aligning and cohering in that area. So,

1:50:03our goal is that by June 2027,

1:50:05grade-level teams will implement

1:50:07matching grading rubrics that align to

1:50:09the Fishtank rubrics um for ELA progress

1:50:13reports so families increase their

1:50:14understanding of curriculum expectations

1:50:17and student performance as measured by

1:50:19family and caregiver surveys.

1:50:22And third are we want to increase

1:50:25workshops on how families can support

1:50:28their children academically. We're

1:50:29really fortunate at Florida Ruffin

1:50:32Ridley School to have a rich, vibrant,

1:50:34and diverse community. We have families

1:50:36from all over the world. We welcome new

1:50:39families every year.

1:50:42We just received a new family of three

1:50:44students this morning

1:50:46and that's a wonderful part of the

1:50:48culture of our school and we want to

1:50:50ensure that all of our families and

1:50:52caregivers, whether they've been with us

1:50:54for a day,

1:50:56whether they're new to the school in the

1:50:57community, or whether they're continuing

1:50:59on with us and have had several children

1:51:02through our school, we want to make sure

1:51:04that there's a shared common

1:51:05understanding and so this is one of the

1:51:07ways that we are attending to that need

1:51:09this year. So that goal and benchmark

1:51:11looks like

1:51:13by June we're going to host at least two

1:51:16opportunities for caregiver workshops

1:51:19and caregivers and families will note

1:51:21increased understanding of curriculum

1:51:23expectations

1:51:25or universal assessments as measured by

1:51:28those post workshop surveys.

1:51:31I know that you know, it can be

1:51:33confusing if you're not used to the

1:51:36education system in the United States or

1:51:38in Brookline to you know, really deeply

1:51:40understand what is DIBELS and what does

1:51:42it measure and you know, what are we

1:51:45attempting to do through the fish tank

1:51:46curriculum. So I think this will be a

1:51:48really great opportunity for our

1:51:50families.

1:51:53All right and goal area number three,

1:51:56the district goal is to partner with

1:51:57families and the community to create

1:51:59safe environments that promote belonging

1:52:02and our strategic objective educators at

1:52:04Florida Ruffin Ridley School will

1:52:06increase school belonging by using data

1:52:08driven intervention and initiatives

1:52:10and engaging the community to increase

1:52:12whole staff belonging, student

1:52:13engagement, and student belonging.

1:52:17And our strategic initiatives, we want

1:52:19to continue to implement tier one social

1:52:22emotional learning curriculum in our

1:52:24pre-K to eight classrooms and refine our

1:52:26school wide positive behavior

1:52:29interventions and support systems.

1:52:31Um our PBIS system is really robust and

1:52:34wonderful.

1:52:35Um we uh award bees uh given that we are

1:52:39the bees um to students who are

1:52:41demonstrating that they're meeting our

1:52:42school wide expectations. We celebrate

1:52:45these achievements in our community

1:52:47meetings that we do by grade band, K to

1:52:49two, three to five, and six to eight.

1:52:51Um and so the way that we're measuring

1:52:53this in particular is that by the end of

1:52:55the year, we want to reduce disciplinary

1:52:57referrals um when we're comparing with

1:53:00the previous academic year. And we want

1:53:03to also um

1:53:05achieve that SEL instruction will be

1:53:07embedded in both morning meeting

1:53:09advisory and the what I need block, the

1:53:11new win block in K to five, um as

1:53:14measured by administrative observations

1:53:16and walk-throughs.

1:53:17Next, we want to use Panorama

1:53:20student survey data to design and

1:53:22implement programs to increase student

1:53:24belonging, engagement, and mental

1:53:26health, including and not limited to

1:53:29these are some of our hallmarks,

1:53:31uh our Metco boy group which started

1:53:34running in its current iteration last

1:53:36year and has been really successful, our

1:53:39clinical service, our access and equity

1:53:42uh buddy program, um which we started up

1:53:45again last year after a brief hiatus, um

1:53:48our steps to success programming, girls

1:53:51on the run, our buddy classrooms within

1:53:54the grade bands at FRR, and our

1:53:56culturally responsive professional

1:53:58development, um which is a scope of work

1:54:00that we began at the tail end of last

1:54:02year and have been continuing this

1:54:03school year.

1:54:05So, we're going to measure that by the

1:54:06end of the 2026-2027 school year, at

1:54:08least 85% of students in grades K to

1:54:10eight will report a strong sense of

1:54:12school belonging on the Panorama survey,

1:54:15and that uh results falling in the low

1:54:17zone, and low is the language used by

1:54:20the Panorama survey, um

1:54:22for historically marginalized student

1:54:24groups, and we named the groups as they

1:54:27are defined by the Department of Ed,

1:54:29DESE, um, that they will measure as

1:54:32medium or better on our our Panorama

1:54:35survey. So, again, paying attention to,

1:54:38um, our historically marginalized

1:54:39students and ensuring that we're

1:54:41measuring growth as measured by

1:54:43Panorama.

1:54:47Uh, additionally, we're going to have

1:54:48staff continue to engage in culturally

1:54:50responsive professional development to

1:54:51increase staff and student belonging,

1:54:53and by the end of the school year, at

1:54:55least 85% of students in grades K-8 will

1:54:58report that strong sense of belonging.

1:55:00And, um, also, we want to see an

1:55:02increase of staff belonging and sense of

1:55:04community as measured by beginning of

1:55:06the year and end of the year survey

1:55:07comparison.

1:55:09And lastly, we want to increase

1:55:11workshops on how families can support

1:55:13their children socially and emotionally.

1:55:15Um, and what that looks like is, again,

1:55:18thinking by June 2027 that we as a

1:55:21school will will host some caregiver

1:55:23workshops, um, and families and

1:55:25caregivers will note increased

1:55:27understanding of SEL,

1:55:29um,

1:55:30expectations or universal assessments as

1:55:32measured by family and caregiver

1:55:35post-workshop surveys.

1:55:40And here is some of our Panorama, uh,

1:55:42school belonging data, um, again, that

1:55:45was used to inform some of this goal

1:55:48planning. Um, and so, as you can see,

1:55:51overall, um, we've been around the upper

1:55:5570s since 2024, hovering in that range,

1:56:00um, and and we want to see those numbers

1:56:02increase. And then, supportive

1:56:04relationships is around, um, similarly

1:56:07around that area, but we want to

1:56:09continue to grow in that regard.

1:56:14And, um, similarly, breaking it out by

1:56:16student subgroup, so we can see there

1:56:18has been a little bit more variance in,

1:56:21um, our our students who identify as

1:56:24English learners or multilingual

1:56:25learners.

1:56:28And then students with disabilities,

1:56:30again, we want to see some increased

1:56:33growth there

1:56:34um compared with prior years.

1:56:38And um METCO,

1:56:40again, there's been some variance and it

1:56:42was

1:56:44uh higher at the end of last year, but

1:56:45we want to see that to continue to grow.

1:56:49And then this is for students who

1:56:51identify as black or African-American.

1:56:53Similarly, some variance ending around

1:56:56the mid to high 70s, similar to the

1:56:58overall Panorama data, but we want to

1:57:01see that grow this year as well.

1:57:05And this is for students who identify as

1:57:07Hispanic Latinx. Um so again,

1:57:11fairly high in the spring of last year,

1:57:14but we have room to improve and we're

1:57:16and we're going for that improvement.

1:57:23And I think that's the end of the

1:57:24presentation. So I welcome your

1:57:25questions. Thank you.

1:57:27>> Thank you, Sarah.

1:57:30Comments, questions from the uh

1:57:33school committee.

1:57:36Suzanne.

1:57:39>> Yes, thank you, Sarah. I'm Suzanne. I'm

1:57:40not sure we've actually met in person,

1:57:43but it's good to see you.

1:57:44>> Not yet.

1:57:45>> Yeah.

1:57:45>> Good to see you.

1:57:47>> Um I would just want if you could

1:57:48comment. I'm I'm not familiar with

1:57:49University of Florida's literacy

1:57:51initiative UFLI.

1:57:52Is that an additional phonics

1:57:56program? Is that

1:57:58You use that wish wish tank. Yeah, could

1:58:00you say a word about that?

1:58:02>> Absolutely happy to. So that is a

1:58:04curricular resource that is available

1:58:06district-wide

1:58:08um and is being used in other schools as

1:58:10well, including Lawrence School I know

1:58:12has had some focus on that. Um so they

1:58:15do a structured literacy program. So it

1:58:17is phonics, phonemic awareness, um

1:58:19decodables, all of all of the structured

1:58:22literacy components are included in UFLI

1:58:25and we're using it most heavily in the

1:58:27tier two intervention spaces.

1:58:30>> So do we Are we still do Are you doing

1:58:32um in addition foundations?

1:58:35>> Yes, we still use

1:58:36>> So this is a a tier two supplemental.

1:58:39>> It's a supplemental.

1:58:40>> Okay, thank you very much. Appreciate

1:58:42it.

1:58:42>> Thank you.

1:58:52>> Okay, Sarah, go ahead.

1:58:54>> What's up, Sarah?

1:58:57>> We can't let the um opportunity go by to

1:58:59just say that, you know, this is really

1:59:01a great way for us to get to know you.

1:59:02It just feels so meaningful to have it

1:59:04laid out this way, to understand your

1:59:06goals, and to understand like your

1:59:07motivation, and how seriously take all

1:59:09of this. So just wanted to say thank

1:59:11you.

1:59:14>> Thank you. I really appreciate that.

1:59:16>> Oh, Principal Yoon, it it's Donna. I

1:59:18wanted to say thank you as well and echo

1:59:20Sarah's gratitude, but also um take just

1:59:23a few minutes to recognize that you have

1:59:25such an enormously large and complex

1:59:28school community, and so um I think it's

1:59:31um

1:59:33so impressive how you're

1:59:35sort of focused in on your population,

1:59:37and I appreciate all of your efforts.

1:59:39Um and look forward to what you and your

1:59:43school community can accomplish

1:59:44together.

1:59:47>> Thank you, Donna. I appreciate that.

1:59:50>> Sarah, I just want to say when I visited

1:59:51you last spring

1:59:53and you were relatively relatively new

1:59:56to the position, I was super impressed

1:59:59by how familiar you were with the place,

2:00:03with the kids, with the faculty, and

2:00:05with the

2:00:06um curriculum. I mean, you were amazing.

2:00:08So I just want to thank you for being

2:00:10amazing.

2:00:12>> Thank you so much. I really appreciate

2:00:14that. That's quite the compliment. Thank

2:00:16you.

2:00:18>> Okay.

2:00:20Maybe no more comments or questions.

2:00:21Okay, Sarah, you're free.

2:00:22>> Thank you.

2:00:23Thank you.

2:00:25>> Thank you.

2:00:27>> All right, it is warrior time.

2:00:31It is the Brookline High School ninth

2:00:33grade social studies crowd. I don't know

2:00:35who's presenting, but

2:00:37whoever is presenting, come on up. Hi

2:00:39Anthony. Hi Jen.

2:00:42Hi Steph.

2:00:45>> [clears throat]

2:00:48>> Good. Yes. Good. Good evening. Oh, good.

2:00:51I was worried I was going to be talking

2:00:52to a few backs cuz of the new

2:00:54configuration.

2:00:55Uh thanks for having me. My name is

2:00:57Anthony Meyer. Uh I'm the head of school

2:01:00at Brookline High School. I'm going to

2:01:01offer a few

2:01:02uh opening thoughts before turning it

2:01:04over to Dr. Jen Martin and Ms. Stephanie

2:01:07McAllister Poon. Um so um I have been

2:01:11the head of school. This is now my 11th

2:01:13year as the principal of Brookline High

2:01:15School. It's my 23rd year at Brookline

2:01:18High. First as an English teacher uh and

2:01:21then as an associate dean, a dean, and

2:01:23now in this important role.

2:01:25Um

2:01:27I want to just be clear in that the

2:01:28second year of my principalship, I made

2:01:31a series of decisions to support the

2:01:34WISP course and to support the sort of

2:01:36burning down of what was then our ninth

2:01:39grade set of course offerings. Um so I

2:01:42supported those decisions financially. I

2:01:45supported them philosophically. I

2:01:47supported them politically. Um in

2:01:51uh in particular, I supported time for

2:01:54both Steph McAllister uh and for Sarah

2:01:57Schuster um to work on exploring,

2:02:01developing, and refining a new set of

2:02:03ninth grade offerings.

2:02:06Um

2:02:07So WISP was born in 1920.

2:02:12Uh and it is now it was unanimously

2:02:15approved by the school committee as I

2:02:17think you all recognize uh and uh it's

2:02:20now in its eighth year. Um

2:02:23So I support WISP. I support the

2:02:25teachers and I support the larger social

2:02:28studies team. You're going to hear why

2:02:31tonight. It's about its place in our

2:02:34social studies course ecosystem, sort of

2:02:36how it fits in the overall trajectory of

2:02:40offerings. Certainly, its place in our

2:02:428th to 9th grade transition. As I said,

2:02:45I've been here for 23 years and I've

2:02:48heard a lot of talk about wanting to

2:02:50work on our 8th and to 9th grade

2:02:52transition and the myriad problems we

2:02:55have. Um and what I see from the WISP

2:02:58team is action that's concrete, that's

2:03:01evolving, and that is always improving.

2:03:04Um

2:03:06Uh I also you're going to hear about the

2:03:09uh curricular and programmatic efforts

2:03:11the WISP team undertook this summer

2:03:14um and that continue. Um

2:03:17I want to emphasize that our teachers in

2:03:20this course and in all of our courses

2:03:22and um several of you are educators are

2:03:26continuously working on improving their

2:03:28courses. That is the work that teachers

2:03:30do all the time and that's true of our

2:03:33WISP team

2:03:34uh and true of all the wonderful

2:03:35teachers at Brookline High and across

2:03:37this district. Um I'm going to speak

2:03:40specifically and I you heard from

2:03:42several people, but you heard from Sarah

2:03:44Schuster, one of the founders or one of

2:03:46the lead teachers in developing this

2:03:48course, the impact that scrutiny that is

2:03:52fair. It is good to question our

2:03:54courses. It is good to push us to make

2:03:57improvements. And I want to be clear it

2:04:00has an impact. It has an impact on

2:04:02Sarah, it has an impact on our team, and

2:04:05that reverberates across uh our system.

2:04:09So, I want to be super clear. I support

2:04:11Stephanie McAllister. Um

2:04:13she has been in the district for 30

2:04:16years. She has taught all kinds of kids

2:04:19in that time. For the last, I want to

2:04:21say 10 years or so, uh I have trusted

2:04:24her every year to run our teachers

2:04:26mentoring teachers program. She is a

2:04:28model teacher and I say this every year

2:04:31to the new teachers who join us, whether

2:04:33they're in their first year teaching, in

2:04:35their ninth year and made a switch to

2:04:37Brookline, that Liz Crane and Steph

2:04:39McAllister, two Caverly Award-winning

2:04:42teachers,

2:04:43um are awesome because for many reasons,

2:04:47um but because they can teach all kids

2:04:50incredibly well.

2:04:51Um and so, bless you. Um

2:04:54and bless Stephanie. Um

2:04:56Uh so, um that's important as a leader,

2:05:00and I think it's fair to say Steph

2:05:01McAllister and I don't always agree. And

2:05:04there are times where she's critical of

2:05:05my decision-making

2:05:07uh or my approach. Um and yet, I trust

2:05:10her, and I trust what she's going to

2:05:12tell you tonight. Um I also trust

2:05:16wholeheartedly Jen Martin. I hired her

2:05:19when Gary was smart enough to take a

2:05:21leave during '21-'22.

2:05:24Darn you, Gary. But, um I hired Jen in

2:05:26an interim role. I then hired her again,

2:05:29uh I think in advance of '23-'24, to be

2:05:32our permanent forever social studies

2:05:34coordinator. I want to be clear that I

2:05:37meet with Jen very regularly, and I

2:05:40would say in the last 2 years,

2:05:42incredibly uh rare not rarely,

2:05:44incredibly regularly. Thank you. Um

2:05:48Uh I meet with her. I support her. I

2:05:50supervise her. I evaluate her. I'm aware

2:05:54of complaints that come her way, and I

2:05:57really appreciate the way Dr. Fisher

2:06:00framed that complaint um and what she's

2:06:02asking in response to that complaint. Um

2:06:06and that's work that Jen and her team is

2:06:08undertaking. Um and our students, our

2:06:12families, our educators deserve um to

2:06:15have responses and action in terms of

2:06:18changes in our curriculum. And I believe

2:06:20in the WISP team's ability to do that. I

2:06:23think finally,

2:06:25um

2:06:26I want to make clear, and you can hear

2:06:28it in my voice, I am a little

2:06:30uncomfortable, as you've heard from

2:06:32others, about the role school committee

2:06:35might play in our course offerings. And

2:06:38what I hope is that those of you who

2:06:40might be leaning in that direction have

2:06:42some discomfort as well because I think

2:06:45it's going to have impacts beyond

2:06:48I I understand the ask, which is that we

2:06:51offer a world history honors course.

2:06:56I don't know that I'm totally clear why

2:06:58that is the case. I certainly hear words

2:07:01like rigor that are important. I hear

2:07:04about supporting

2:07:06certain populations of learners and I

2:07:09think some of those decisions have real

2:07:11ramifications

2:07:13for our 8th to 9th grade transition, for

2:07:15our 9th graders, for our students, and

2:07:18for our staff. So, with that I want to

2:07:20say thank you. I'm going to sit down,

2:07:22but please imagine me looming behind Jen

2:07:25and Stephanie in full support of their

2:07:27excellent work. So, thank you.

2:07:31>> All right, that means it's me.

2:07:35Hi, everybody. I'm Jen Martin. I run the

2:07:38social studies department. This is not

2:07:39my first time here.

2:07:41Um though I am hoping that we're going

2:07:44to some point come to a resolution on

2:07:46this issue. Um so, thanks for having me

2:07:49back. I wore this incredible shirt cuz I

2:07:51thought it would really pop for our

2:07:53YouTube viewers and for all of you. Also

2:07:56because I I really derive a lot of joy

2:07:59coming and representing the educators in

2:08:02my department and also speaking on

2:08:03behalf of students and thinking about

2:08:05what kind of education we're delivering.

2:08:07So, it's kind of energy I'm bringing

2:08:08tonight. Um so, next slide, please.

2:08:14Perfect. Um as Anthony said, I won't

2:08:16dwell on this. I do just want to remind

2:08:18everybody, I've said this before, but

2:08:20when we created WISP, it is built on the

2:08:229th grade honors curriculum. We took

2:08:24those resources and then we built a

2:08:26class. So, in thinking about whatever

2:08:29decision ends up happening around

2:08:30honors, that is something that I do need

2:08:32everybody to be keeping in mind and to

2:08:34think about as I give my own comments on

2:08:36this. And I have already presented

2:08:38multiple times what the courses of the

2:08:39goals are, but I thought for people at

2:08:41home who might want to access these

2:08:42slides, it made sense to uh put them

2:08:45back up there. Um but I will not go over

2:08:47them now. I'm going to assume that

2:08:48people will read them. Go ahead and go

2:08:49to our next slide.

2:09:01It's right. I'm excited for it. It's

2:09:02going to

2:09:05There we go. Excellent. So, tonight

2:09:07we're going to present the data that we

2:09:09did um our analysis. It's over 10 years

2:09:11of data. Um I think a really robust data

2:09:14showing um that the high school social

2:09:17studies department is doing well. Um and

2:09:20I'll talk a little bit about the caveats

2:09:21to that. Um and we're going to present

2:09:23the summer curriculum work, which Steph

2:09:25will do um as one of the teachers who

2:09:26did that work. And then uh I'll tell you

2:09:29what the department is recommending for

2:09:30next steps. Next slide.

2:09:33All right. So, this slide I'm I'm not

2:09:35going to go through every single thing

2:09:36of it. And actually, it was really

2:09:37interesting cuz one of the public

2:09:39comments was talking about this. So, I

2:09:41will just say that um there's a lot of

2:09:43interesting stuff going on when we

2:09:44analyze the data. One of the things the

2:09:46team had to do was think about the fact

2:09:48that we launched during COVID, the year

2:09:51COVID happened. And so, as you can

2:09:53imagine, the first 2 years were quite

2:09:55difficult to discern what was going on.

2:09:57Um and so, you're going to notice on all

2:09:59the data um charts, it sort of explains

2:10:03what years we're using. And I will be

2:10:05honest, we sat together and confused

2:10:07ourselves as we talked about this.

2:10:08Because you have to do a lot of math

2:10:10about okay, did that class were they the

2:10:13WISP class? Had they made it yet? Etc.

2:10:15etc. And then we also talked about how

2:10:18um using all of the years when WISP

2:10:21started and a class finally got into the

2:10:23thing,

2:10:24also COVID was happening simultaneously.

2:10:26So, what we tried to do was say, let's

2:10:28do the last 3 years. Um and the reason

2:10:30we did that, we did the 3 years before,

2:10:33and so we're doing the last 3 years now.

2:10:35Uh before anybody says that's because

2:10:37you're there was bad stuff in COVID.

2:10:39Actually, the COVID numbers help us. We

2:10:41removed those so that they wouldn't

2:10:42change when I say help us, they the data

2:10:45looks the same as what I'm showing you.

2:10:47They were on a positive trend, um but we

2:10:49just felt like that for us at least we

2:10:51didn't think that it was helpful to have

2:10:53all the COVID years mixed in. Um and

2:10:55then the last thing I will say is that

2:10:58some of the numbers have changed and

2:10:59that's because you wouldn't believe how

2:11:01much uh time it takes to look at all of

2:11:04this data. Um nearly 20,000 enrollments,

2:11:07more than 100,000 grades, getting it

2:11:09right took months to correct. Um we

2:11:11communicated with Open Architects

2:11:13multiple times during this process to

2:11:15say we don't think this is right, we

2:11:16think you're missing a class, and the

2:11:18amount of time it takes to figure that

2:11:19out is actually quite complicated. Um

2:11:21and so some of the numbers I presented

2:11:22in June are not exactly the same. I'm

2:11:24just explaining why that is. Things were

2:11:26corrected. Um and then uh it says right

2:11:29on the slide, we um do not purport to to

2:11:32say that WISP is the reason these

2:11:34numbers are the way they are.

2:11:36We also are aware that the rest of the

2:11:38whole universe is is happening while

2:11:40we're teaching WISP. And I would point

2:11:42you to this kind of social studies

2:11:44ecosystem here. Um all of the courses

2:11:46that are in gold are new courses as

2:11:48well. They happened right after WISP. So

2:11:51we have no idea. Is it WISP? Is it

2:11:53global studies? Is it adding this AP? Is

2:11:55it this elective that we added? We don't

2:11:57know the answer to that and I don't know

2:11:59how we would figure that out, but um I

2:12:01just want to say we we know the same we

2:12:03know that um as it was presented. All

2:12:05right. So, um let's get to the data.

2:12:08My goal is to actually go through this

2:12:11relatively quickly, um so that we can

2:12:13actually hear about the summer work,

2:12:14which I'm really excited about, and

2:12:16because I think people can read the

2:12:17charts and decide for themselves what it

2:12:19says. Um we asked the question, how has

2:12:22the implementation of WISP potentially

2:12:23impacted enrollment in 10th, because

2:12:25that's the next class. Um and the trend

2:12:27was largely positive. Before WISP, about

2:12:3066% of 10th graders were in honors.

2:12:32After, it's about 72%. Standard is

2:12:34falling. Um and then you'll notice on

2:12:36each slide, I pulled out some stats that

2:12:39we discussed. Um and you should know

2:12:41there are like

2:12:43millions of bullet points that we talked

2:12:44about for every single one of these

2:12:46categories um in different groupings

2:12:49etc. So I just wanted to give examples

2:12:51of the types of groups that we were

2:12:52looking at um and anytime there was a

2:12:55stat that was troubling it's included.

2:12:57We did not remove any stat that would

2:13:00make everybody wonder. I think people

2:13:02can see that if they've looked at the

2:13:03data ahead of time. Um okay. So uh

2:13:07largely positive it looks like honors

2:13:09enrollment is up and standard level is

2:13:11down. Um so I mean also that's an

2:13:15interesting way to interpret it as

2:13:16positive. I think our standard classes

2:13:17are doing good job too but you can see

2:13:19there's a line there of when WISP starts

2:13:20and you can kind of see every year and

2:13:22how the trend is moving. Go ahead into

2:13:24the next slide.

2:13:27There was a question about you know is

2:13:29having a

2:13:30a heterogeneous class going to impact

2:13:32our APs? Um no uh it seems like the

2:13:35trend is actually the opposite. Again

2:13:37I'm not attributing that to WISP I'm

2:13:39simply telling you what the stats tell

2:13:41us. Um juniors and seniors are taking

2:13:43more APs. I included how much what what

2:13:46the percentages actually translate in

2:13:47the number of students. Um we know the

2:13:49scores are going up also I'm I'm not

2:13:52attributing that to WISP. I don't think

2:13:53WISP made kids get fives on the AP. No

2:13:56teacher has claimed that. Um we're just

2:13:58sharing that it does not seem that it's

2:14:00having certainly a negative impact which

2:14:02we're happy to see. Um and you can see

2:14:05there are some specific groups that we

2:14:07raise in this slide. Latino students

2:14:09especially are really having a an uptick

2:14:11in their enrollment in APs which is

2:14:13wonderful. Um go ahead to the next

2:14:15slide.

2:14:17This was a

2:14:18This was a hard one to wrangle. The

2:14:20teacher who did this is in the room. Um

2:14:22okay. So as you can imagine one of the

2:14:25things we did was we we literally looked

2:14:26at 10 years of kids' grades and their

2:14:28GPAs and all different groups. Um and

2:14:33you know the trend is largely positive.

2:14:35WISP students um you know post WISP

2:14:37students are earning equal or higher

2:14:39history grades at every grade level. Um

2:14:42overall trends at BHS have remained

2:14:43steady as has the department. We looked

2:14:46to see if grade inflection inflation was

2:14:48maybe part of this. It doesn't appear to

2:14:50explain it. Um, I pulled out a couple

2:14:52interesting stats for people to look at.

2:14:54One particularly interesting one because

2:14:56of a later slide is that we have black

2:14:58students in 10th grade, their GPA is

2:15:00rising, 2.5 to 2.8. But then, it's not

2:15:04translating necessarily in enrollment at

2:15:07the honors level. So, that's a question

2:15:08that we're asking ourselves. Um, the

2:15:10other thing that's really interesting

2:15:12about this one, um, that we think is

2:15:14interesting is that there's something

2:15:15kind of exciting, which is that if you

2:15:17combine the knowledge that more kids are

2:15:20maybe trying more challenging classes

2:15:22and they're getting better grades in

2:15:25those classes, which is kind of great.

2:15:27Um, so we were excited about that. Next

2:15:29slide.

2:15:32This is the big one. This is the one I

2:15:33know everybody wants to see.

2:15:35Um, and here it is. Uh, this was one of

2:15:38the big questions about WISP and our

2:15:40hope was that we would have a positive

2:15:42impact on different groups in the school

2:15:44that were getting stuck, as some of the

2:15:46opening comments were saying, in our

2:15:48standard level classes once they entered

2:15:50in ninth grade. Um, so, you know, the

2:15:53trend is

2:15:55positive, but not for all groups. And

2:15:57so, that's what I'm going to talk about.

2:16:00Um, you know, we have AP participation,

2:16:01as I said, rising for every group. Fewer

2:16:04students are in standard except for our

2:16:06black students. Latino students are in

2:16:08honors and AP in much higher numbers.

2:16:10Students with IEPs go from 31% to 48%.

2:16:14But black students are the one group

2:16:16with fewer honors than before WISP. So,

2:16:19some of that is movement to AP.

2:16:23Okay. But that does not explain the rise

2:16:25in standard. So, I'm, you know, I can

2:16:27say, yes, there are few. Also, if you

2:16:30there's approximately 100, um, black

2:16:32students in each class, so they're kind

2:16:34of like each represents one percentage

2:16:35point is another way to think about it

2:16:36as well. That's not exact, but just a

2:16:38way to, you know, possibly,

2:16:40uh, think about it. So, that's the part

2:16:42we're really focused on. Um, and early

2:16:44numbers this year are encouraging. So, I

2:16:47can't really tell you the numbers yet

2:16:48cuz kids are still kind of moving. I

2:16:49signed a drop form today. So, um I can

2:16:53just tell you that uh you know, at least

2:16:5514 seniors who are black are in AP this

2:16:58year, up from five last year. Um and I

2:17:02know there are questions about uh you

2:17:04know, well, what AP are they taking? Um

2:17:06black students in A push went from one

2:17:07last year to seven this year. So, um the

2:17:10honors numbers look similar. They are

2:17:12much higher. I don't know if that's a

2:17:13problem with the data set that we have.

2:17:15It's making me want to kind of go back

2:17:16and be like, that seems like a dramatic

2:17:18jump compared to what I'm showing you

2:17:20now. So, that's kind of an interesting

2:17:21question, but um either way, we're not

2:17:23shying away from looking at these

2:17:25questions and saying like, okay, so

2:17:27what's going on here? And thinking about

2:17:28who can we partner with? Our scholars

2:17:29program, for example.

2:17:31All right, next slide.

2:17:34Okay, one of our big questions. This was

2:17:36a This was also a very hard one. This

2:17:39chart, this uh bar chart, does not show

2:17:43you the actual difficulty it took to get

2:17:46to this chart. It looks so simple, and

2:17:48yet so many pages and discussions were

2:17:51had to make this for you. Um so, we

2:17:54wanted to know truly, the question was,

2:17:56can we get these standard level ninth

2:17:58graders, where the data showed us

2:18:00clearly before we created WISP, they

2:18:02just kind of got stuck there. So, we

2:18:04wanted to know like, well, so after

2:18:05WISP, is there more movement? Are kids

2:18:07more likely to kind of have a fluidity

2:18:09through their course selection?

2:18:11Um and so, that's what this is trying to

2:18:13answer. Um so, it's kind of following

2:18:15each ninth grade class forward. Um and

2:18:18so, you know, it looks like for the most

2:18:21part, yeah. The trend is positive. Um it

2:18:24it's not world-shattering, but it's not

2:18:26declining either. So, we're we're

2:18:28excited to see that it does seem like

2:18:30kids are moving into different levels.

2:18:32Is that because of WISP? Is it because

2:18:33of global studies? Is it because of

2:18:35other courses we've added? You know, all

2:18:37of that works in concert with each

2:18:38other. It's called a program of study.

2:18:41That's how we created it, you know, as

2:18:42the professionals. Yeah.

2:18:43>> This the what's one doing three?

2:18:46>> Um

2:18:47It's grade levels. My apology. So, it's

2:18:49sophomore. Yeah, it's grade levels. Oh,

2:18:51my first, yeah, that's one of my uh

2:18:53You know, there I was, Jesse. Remember

2:18:55how excited I was about my chart? Uh,

2:18:58all right. That's why I wore the

2:18:59strawberries so that I could just think

2:19:00to myself, "It's all right. I'm wearing

2:19:01a great shirt." All right. Um, the other

2:19:04thing I want to say is that something

2:19:06kind of interesting that came out of

2:19:07this that's not here. Well, I think I

2:19:09might have put it in the box, yeah.

2:19:11Um,

2:19:11I, students with IEPs, they have overall

2:19:14a really interesting trajectory that's

2:19:16increasing, which is lovely. But, their

2:19:1810th grade honors placement was flat,

2:19:20and so we were like, "Why is that

2:19:22happening?" And we had long discussions

2:19:24about it. Um, but their gains are coming

2:19:26later in like 11th and 12th grade. And

2:19:28so, it turns out it kind of makes sense

2:19:30to us like many students with

2:19:31disabilities need more time to build

2:19:32those skills and confidence before maybe

2:19:34taking a leap. We're hoping that WISP is

2:19:36part of the puzzle that gave them a

2:19:37strong foundation, and then they're

2:19:38feeling strong enough by 11th and 12th

2:19:40grade to kind of do something new. Um,

2:19:43but to be clear, the goal in WISP was

2:19:45never to push every student into AP.

2:19:47That is not our goal. Um,

2:19:49our goal is for students to have more

2:19:51mobility coming out of ninth grade, and

2:19:53the data is telling us that for most

2:19:54groups, they do. And um, where that

2:19:57isn't true, we are going to focus and

2:19:59try to understand why, okay? Um, next.

2:20:04This is a great one cuz you just heard a

2:20:06student talking about how they feel

2:20:07about WISP. So, um, as you all know, we

2:20:11have surveyed every WISP class um, since

2:20:13its conception. We've largely tried to

2:20:16keep that survey similar to the first

2:20:18one. We did add some new ones for you

2:20:20this year. Um, but we're careful cuz

2:20:22once we switch it, we can't compare the

2:20:24the uh, classes. Um, here's the deal.

2:20:27Students rate WISP much like their other

2:20:30social studies classes. So, in a typical

2:20:32class survey, like mine, class I teach,

2:20:354 to 8% of students rate the course

2:20:37poor. What that really means is like one

2:20:39to two kids didn't like your class.

2:20:41I'm not going to lie, in my mind when I

2:20:43read them every year, I'm like, "Why do

2:20:44I have so many haters?" I like think to

2:20:46myself like,

2:20:47"I didn't get this one to two kids." We

2:20:49don't know who they are, so it's fine,

2:20:51and it's all after they've left, but I

2:20:53perseverate over it, and I I every

2:20:55teacher here does, too. So, they're all

2:20:56nodding for those of you who are on

2:20:59uh, uh online. So, um

2:21:01that number, 4 to 8% in a normal class,

2:21:05um in WISP, we actually have the number.

2:21:08So, on average, 3.4 say

2:21:12they don't like the class. So, that's

2:21:14within the range of what we see in all

2:21:15of our classes, including our AP

2:21:17classes.

2:21:18Um it's less than one student per class.

2:21:21Um

2:21:22about three in four say that it was good

2:21:24or great.

2:21:25Which of course makes you all wonder

2:21:26about the one in four, which I'd like to

2:21:28talk about as well. I'm going to mention

2:21:29them a couple of times. Um I just want

2:21:31to be honest, it does not surprise us. I

2:21:33feel sometimes like um people who aren't

2:21:37teachers uh hear that somebody is not

2:21:40having the best experience, educational

2:21:42experience, and they're shocked. And

2:21:43they're like, I'm going to resolve that

2:21:45for you. Um 22 years here at Brookline

2:21:48High, um I can just tell you we're not

2:21:51that surprised. Um the reason is because

2:21:53satisfaction depends on a lot of

2:21:55different things. When you're a teacher,

2:21:57you know this. It could be the format,

2:21:59which seems to be the topic that we're

2:22:01discussing tonight. Um but our surveys

2:22:03haven't been able to untangle the why of

2:22:06the one in four kids who are rating it

2:22:08fair, right? So, there's another

2:22:09category, fair. Um our conversations I

2:22:12did a I did a focus group with 30

2:22:14seniors. I have a little bit more

2:22:15insight actually into why they might

2:22:18think this. Um for example, ancient

2:22:20world history turns out is the least

2:22:22interesting content of all of their

2:22:23history courses. They also some of them

2:22:26also complained about the format. It was

2:22:27a combo, and I'm going to talk about

2:22:28that in a second, but this year um in

2:22:31response to the committee, I do want to

2:22:32say we've added uh a couple of questions

2:22:34that have to do with why are you

2:22:36choosing the readings you're choosing?

2:22:37What are your goals? I gave you a couple

2:22:39some examples of the top reasons why

2:22:41kids choose the level that they choose.

2:22:43Um and that's going to help us

2:22:44especially at the end of this year

2:22:45because we did so much work this summer

2:22:48on increasing that and also tying it to

2:22:51explicit connections with your

2:22:52recommendation, which um Steph will talk

2:22:54about. So, next slide, we're almost to

2:22:56Steph here.

2:22:59All right. So, um I sat down with 30

2:23:01seniors

2:23:02um

2:23:03uh and I told them, "Hey, I'm the

2:23:06department chair at uh Brookline High

2:23:08School." They actually knew that. And I

2:23:10said, "I did not make this class WISP

2:23:12that you took." That's also true. I

2:23:14didn't make it. I was not the

2:23:15coordinator at the time. And I said,

2:23:17"But there's a big debate going on and

2:23:19there's a couple different viewpoints.

2:23:20And I don't want to tell you anything

2:23:22about what I think about WISP yet. I

2:23:23just want you to tell me what your

2:23:24experience was like." I had them fill

2:23:27out in writing some answers to questions

2:23:29so I could kind of get a sense, and then

2:23:30we had a really great discussion about

2:23:32it actually. So, um of those 30 seniors,

2:23:3518 of the 30 said, "We should keep the

2:23:38shared ninth grade class." And yes, some

2:23:40had complaints.

2:23:42Um a lot of you have asked me, "Where

2:23:44are the kids who like this course?" Um

2:23:46it turns out that a mixed-level class

2:23:49about very old history does not inspire

2:23:51the masses to come out and speak on its

2:23:53behalf. So, um here are the quotes that

2:23:56I got. Uh and as you can see, um for me,

2:24:00what surprised me in that conversation

2:24:01was the nuance. So, students would say

2:24:04things like, "Yeah, sometimes the class

2:24:06was annoying because I wanted to do X

2:24:08and the kid next to me was doing Y." But

2:24:11then the same kid would say, "But also

2:24:14that was the only class I had my best

2:24:16friend from middle school in because we

2:24:17were divided in all of our other

2:24:19classes." And so, all of the kids, every

2:24:23single one of them, even those who chose

2:24:25bring bring back honors, those who said,

2:24:27"Just keep it as it is," they all could

2:24:29talk about the nuance because they're

2:24:31seniors. And I That's why I chose

2:24:33seniors, by the way. They're at the end.

2:24:35They've chosen all their courses. They

2:24:36can look back and see, you know, how how

2:24:39how does it feel now? Now that you've

2:24:40gotten where you've gotten. Um and so,

2:24:42you know, there's lots of quotes on here

2:24:44for you to consider. I have more of

2:24:46them. I just thought I would choose a

2:24:47few. Um and I tried to represent the the

2:24:50percentage of kids who were saying, you

2:24:52know, had concerns versus those who

2:24:54supported the one shared class. But some

2:24:56things like um I think it was super

2:24:58impactful. It pushed me to continue

2:25:00being in honors and now AP my senior

2:25:02year. Probably looking back going into

2:25:03my freshman year, I would have never

2:25:05thought I was smart enough. Another

2:25:07student said, "Students' future

2:25:08shouldn't be decided at 13. Even though

2:25:10I could handle the honors class after I

2:25:13took after it, I might not have picked

2:25:15it because the label made it seem like

2:25:16it's above my abilities as a student."

2:25:18So, I just encourage you to read the

2:25:19others and to sort of see that students,

2:25:22you know, 18-year-old, 17-year-olds,

2:25:23they there's nuance in the answer. Both

2:25:25things can be true. Okay? All right. So,

2:25:28um I'm going to pass it over to Steph

2:25:30who's going to talk to you about all the

2:25:31summer work that we did and then I'll

2:25:32take it at the end and sort of give you

2:25:34our recommendations.

2:25:37>> Thanks.

2:25:38Hi, everybody.

2:25:39Uh again, uh my name is Stephanie

2:25:41McAllister Poon. Uh I am a social

2:25:43studies teacher. This is my 31st year uh

2:25:46teaching uh at Brookline High School um

2:25:48and my 31st year of teaching um ninth

2:25:51grade world history in some way, shape,

2:25:53or form.

2:25:54>> [snorts]

2:25:55>> So, um I'm going to talk a little bit

2:25:57about some of the curriculum work that

2:25:59we did this summer um in relation to um

2:26:02our WISP curriculum. So, um I think next

2:26:05slide.

2:26:07Yeah.

2:26:10There we go. Perfect. Um

2:26:13So,

2:26:14uh one of our goals with our curricular

2:26:16uh work this summer was in response to

2:26:18some of the questions raised here

2:26:21um last year. And so, we wanted to look

2:26:23at our tiered reading systematically

2:26:25both in terms of how we use them in the

2:26:27course and how we encourage students to

2:26:30challenge themselves appropriately.

2:26:33>> [snorts]

2:26:33>> So, when we began designing this course

2:26:35um almost 10 years ago now, um we wanted

2:26:38to ensure that we read challenging texts

2:26:40um and that they were accessible to all

2:26:42students. Um so, we began by looking at

2:26:45um some of the primary source texts that

2:26:47we used in our honors class and thought

2:26:48about how to bring the same content to

2:26:50students who might struggle with reading

2:26:52those texts. Um so, we created versions

2:26:55that included more vocabulary support,

2:26:57guided reading questions, more

2:26:58bold-faced terms. Um we also created

2:27:01differentiated texts for secondary

2:27:03source readings when the content was

2:27:05more significant than the text itself.

2:27:07Primary source, you want to read the

2:27:08text itself, of course.

2:27:10Um in order to help students understand

2:27:12the different levels of support for

2:27:14texts, we labeled them by the salsa

2:27:16varieties that you've of course uh heard

2:27:18about. Uh a mild reading would be would

2:27:21potentially include all of those types

2:27:23of support, vocabulary supports, reading

2:27:25question guided reading questions. A

2:27:26medium uh reading might have some of

2:27:28those things, whereas a spicy reading

2:27:30would have uh none of those particular

2:27:32text support strategies.

2:27:34So this summer, we wanted to look

2:27:36systematically at our tiered readings in

2:27:38order to do a few things. Um first, we

2:27:40wanted to create some additional

2:27:41differentiated reading assignments.

2:27:44Uh these take a lot of time, as you can

2:27:45imagine, as we read a wide variety of

2:27:47texts uh to find content we want

2:27:49students to learn at different lexical

2:27:52levels of lexical complexity. Um and

2:27:54then we create the vo- vocabulary and

2:27:56strategic reading supports. Um we also

2:27:58wanted to ensure that we had tiered

2:27:59readings evenly distributed throughout

2:28:02the um

2:28:03um school year.

2:28:05Um so that students would be given uh

2:28:08have the opportunity can consistently

2:28:09and routinely be given the opportunity

2:28:11to try the different levels uh to learn

2:28:13about what they need in order to be

2:28:15successful. So a lot of the this is

2:28:17helping them determine as learners what

2:28:20kinds of supports they need uh to be

2:28:22able to get as much as they can out of

2:28:23the course.

2:28:25Um so the other thing we worked on this

2:28:26summer um was to retool our midyear exam

2:28:30this year um to make it more cumulative

2:28:33as well as adding a writing assignment

2:28:35prior to the exam to better assess

2:28:37students' uh abilities. Um our midyear

2:28:40still includes writing, but we wanted to

2:28:41ensure that we had a significant writing

2:28:43piece before the course recommendation

2:28:45season, which is in February-March.

2:28:48So we have an analytical uh writing

2:28:50scope and sequence in WISP um that

2:28:53culminates in a thesis-driven research

2:28:55paper in the final quarter. Um and it is

2:28:58a defining academic task for students,

2:29:00but it can't be used as a metric to help

2:29:01us determine level placement for 10th

2:29:03grade because it comes so late in the

2:29:05year.

2:29:06Um so by making our mid-year exam

2:29:07cumulative and adding a drafted writing

2:29:09assignment um in the second quarter,

2:29:11we've given our students additional

2:29:12opportunities to stretch um and stronger

2:29:15measures to help us do course selection

2:29:17the following year.

2:29:19Um, so this ties into the final thing

2:29:21that uh we wanted to consider as we

2:29:22looked at our tiered readings this

2:29:24summer um and that is uh which ones were

2:29:26kids selecting and why.

2:29:29Um, you all raised the concern last year

2:29:30that sometimes kids need uh you know,

2:29:32greater pressure to choose harder

2:29:34readings. Um, sometimes we think that's

2:29:36true. Uh so we worked as a team to

2:29:38create systems to keep track of what

2:29:40level students are choosing so that we

2:29:42can push them um and see where they need

2:29:45more support.

2:29:46Uh we also made clear to students that

2:29:47we're kind of monitoring those choices

2:29:50um and it will be one of the factors we

2:29:52consider when making course

2:29:53recommendations for 10th grade. Uh we

2:29:55want to ensure that a student who's

2:29:56considering honors 10th grade history

2:29:58has a solid experience with some of our

2:29:59more spicy materials um and feels able

2:30:02to challenge uh take on challenging

2:30:03texts.

2:30:05Um, and this message is clearly landing.

2:30:07Um, I just read a primary source

2:30:09somewhere uh in their medieval Japan

2:30:11unit right now and we read uh the 17

2:30:13article constitution by Prince Shotoku.

2:30:16I'm sure it's uh on your reading list

2:30:17right now by your bedside table.

2:30:20Um, I offered uh students mild, medium,

2:30:22and spicy options. Uh again, the

2:30:24differentiation being uh a lot of uh

2:30:26vocabulary and text support versus none.

2:30:29Um,

2:30:30greater uh edited version uh extensive

2:30:33version.

2:30:34Um,

2:30:35and um

2:30:37so I laid them out so that students can

2:30:39select them and I I ran out of spicys

2:30:41because so many students chose the

2:30:43spicy.

2:30:45Um, they were working with a partner and

2:30:46I suggested that they should work at the

2:30:47same level cuz they were going to do

2:30:48some paired reading out loud and things

2:30:50like that. Um,

2:30:52and I had a few students who um

2:30:55based on their reading level generally

2:30:57and the year their the challenges that

2:30:59they have with reading um

2:31:01would probably have been in a

2:31:04I would have rec- I imagine recommended

2:31:06for a standard level class if we had

2:31:08one.

2:31:08Um, and they chose spicy.

2:31:11Um, and uh, you know, I can only

2:31:14speculate as to why, but uh, what I

2:31:16imagine they wanted was to see

2:31:18themselves as scholars and see

2:31:20themselves as the smart kid.

2:31:21Cuz that's the way they talk about it

2:31:23with each other.

2:31:25Um, so anyway, that's just anecdote. So,

2:31:27these are a few of the areas that we

2:31:28worked on uh, this uh, summer. Uh, we

2:31:30were really grateful to have funding to

2:31:32do this curriculum work. Um, it's the

2:31:33work we do tend to do every year as we

2:31:35continue improve to improve the course

2:31:37and use our experiences in the classroom

2:31:39uh, to inform what needs to be added,

2:31:41removed, or updated. So,

2:31:44that was the bulk of our summer work.

2:31:45Thanks.

2:31:47>> All right, thanks to staff.

2:31:50Um, now Betsy, in an incredible move,

2:31:54you're going to move backwards, too.

2:31:57It's going to be great.

2:31:59Ooh, one forward.

2:32:02Yes. Oh, you know, um, I really

2:32:05appreciated hearing from the principals.

2:32:07And the main reason uh, my kids went to

2:32:09Pierce, so I would have I would have

2:32:10loved a Pierce one, but I enjoyed the

2:32:12other two. Um,

2:32:14that you heard the letters MTSS

2:32:18so many times tonight already. So, it

2:32:21seems like I might have nailed it on

2:32:23this one. I'm feeling really good about

2:32:24this slide. Um, as most of you know,

2:32:27this year our district focus is MTSS and

2:32:30this of course stands actually I'm not

2:32:32even going to tell you. You heard it so

2:32:33many times. Um, put simply, we're trying

2:32:35to find good strong teaching for every

2:32:38student, which is considered tier one

2:32:39supports, and where you can add support

2:32:42for students who need more. And WISP

2:32:44grew out of the same research behind

2:32:46this statewide work, including universal

2:32:48design for learning. And honestly,

2:32:51if anybody in this district wants to see

2:32:53tier one at its best, planned by master

2:32:55teachers, and refined for seven years by

2:32:57a team responding to feedback every

2:32:59year, they should come to a WISP

2:33:00classroom. WISP is the model for exactly

2:33:02what the district is asking every

2:33:03teacher to do.

2:33:05Okay, so, next slide.

2:33:08Um, if you're wondering what do social

2:33:10studies think about after they do

2:33:12something this of this scale? Well,

2:33:14we're worried. We're asking questions

2:33:16like, "Why aren't black students' rising

2:33:19grades translating into more honors

2:33:21enrollment?" This is This is troubling.

2:33:24We are worried about this. Um

2:33:26we didn't even include English language

2:33:28learners cuz what we discovered in the

2:33:29data is that the numbers are so small,

2:33:31we don't know how to make sense of it.

2:33:33Also, English language learners enter in

2:33:35through specialized programs. Sometimes

2:33:37a junior EL student might end up in a

2:33:39WISP class with freshmen. It's very

2:33:42complicated. So, we're having really

2:33:43nuanced discussions about where does

2:33:46where do all of our courses, but

2:33:47especially WISP, play into an EL

2:33:49student's like life at the high school?

2:33:52Um and then our big question is what

2:33:54impact did the summer curriculum

2:33:55revisions had? So, what you just heard

2:33:56Steph talking about, you know, are

2:33:58students going to push themselves more

2:33:59when we attach it to, "Hey, that's going

2:34:02to be tied to your recommendation." Uh

2:34:04early anecdata, remember Mariah taught

2:34:06me that one in our last one,

2:34:08um is that it might it might be. Um you

2:34:11know, we're kind of interested in seeing

2:34:12and then we'll survey them, of course.

2:34:14Um okay. So, let's get to the

2:34:17recommendation part.

2:34:18I would ask for a drumroll, but it feels

2:34:20like it's late. So, um

2:34:23the question you asked us to answer is,

2:34:25"What should the ninth grade history

2:34:26look like going forward? What is our

2:34:28professional opinion?" And so, that's

2:34:29what I'm going to deliver to you

2:34:30tonight. I stand here representing the

2:34:32BHS social studies department, many of

2:34:34whom are sitting here and the rest of

2:34:35them are all online.

2:34:37Um many of these teachers have spent

2:34:40countless hours on this question, okay?

2:34:42We debated every option this summer.

2:34:44We've also debated it in the years since

2:34:46we've had WISP, but we really focused

2:34:49in, okay? As the kids would say, we

2:34:50locked in and we started debating this.

2:34:53Um we played devil's advocate uh one

2:34:55afternoon where we really talked through

2:34:57all of the all of the different options

2:34:58and in the end we agreed unanimously.

2:35:01So, in option one, we're going to move

2:35:03from the right to the left, okay? So,

2:35:05the purple one.

2:35:07In option one, separate the classes, put

2:35:10them in two different rooms, call one

2:35:11honors, call one standard. I want to be

2:35:14completely honest with you.

2:35:16Uh we taught in the old system. Sitting

2:35:18in this room right here, raise your hand

2:35:21if you were here to teach ninth honors

2:35:24standard. Okay, so we have a we have a

2:35:26lot of us here.

2:35:27Um we taught that system. We studied 10

2:35:31years of data and we drew on our

2:35:33professional judgment and all of it

2:35:35points us in the same direction.

2:35:37Returning to two separate levels would

2:35:38mean knowingly rebuilding a system we

2:35:40watched fall short and expecting a

2:35:43different result. It would ask us to

2:35:45unsee what we already know,

2:35:48which is really hard. Um we're actually

2:35:51the only ones in here who have

2:35:54experienced both. No student who's

2:35:56experiencing right now knows what their

2:35:58experience would have been in nine

2:35:59honors. And I don't purport to know

2:36:01whatever student felt about that class,

2:36:02but I just genuinely need you to know

2:36:04that we strongly oppose this. We feel

2:36:06that recommending it would literally go

2:36:08against our professional responsibility

2:36:09to our students. Okay. So, option two,

2:36:13the blue one, this is what we call mixed

2:36:15level. Um one shared class, two

2:36:18different labels. We also weighed the

2:36:20one shared class. Um our department

2:36:22actually uses this model in other

2:36:23grades, so we took that one really

2:36:25seriously. Um but those courses are

2:36:27designed from the start as a mixed level

2:36:29course with different assessments and

2:36:30expectations at every level that WISP

2:36:33was not designed to do. Every WISP

2:36:35student reads the sources from what was

2:36:38our ninth grade honors curriculum,

2:36:39writes the same essays, takes the same

2:36:41tests. The only difference is support.

2:36:44So, picture two students side by side

2:36:46doing the same work. One uses a graphic

2:36:48organizer to get started or needs a few

2:36:49vocabulary words bolded, right? Um and

2:36:52under this option, we would make sure

2:36:54that there's a permanent record telling

2:36:56that student, "Yeah, you did the work,

2:36:58but you're not honors."

2:36:59And that is hard for us. It's hard for

2:37:01us to understand why a kid using a

2:37:03graphic organizer needs to be labeled

2:37:05that way in their first year.

2:37:07For a 14-year-old in their first year of

2:37:09high school, that's the opposite of the

2:37:10confidence we're trying to build. Some

2:37:12of suggested we simply call the students

2:37:14um

2:37:15who chose spicy honors. That's an

2:37:17oversimplification of what our

2:37:18mixed-level classes are. Those courses

2:37:20have separate assessments, as I said,

2:37:22different expectations, they're built

2:37:24from the ground up, and in WISP, most of

2:37:25the assignments are the same for

2:37:26everyone. A few times per unit, they do

2:37:29their salsa options, give students a

2:37:31chance to challenge themselves, and to

2:37:32begin learning about their own style and

2:37:34goals, but our mixed-level courses work

2:37:36well in 10th to 12th. They were designed

2:37:38that way from the start. Students chose

2:37:40them after they've had a year of high

2:37:42school to know themselves as learners.

2:37:44Turning WISP into one would mean

2:37:45rebuilding it from the ground up, which

2:37:47would take hundreds of hours and

2:37:48thousands of dollars. It would bring

2:37:50back exactly what WISP was built to

2:37:51avoid, labeling students in their first

2:37:53weeks of high school before they've had

2:37:54a chance to show what they can do. So,

2:37:56we don't recommend it. Fear not.

2:37:59This department believes in levels. You

2:38:01wouldn't believe it by what I just said,

2:38:03but stay with me. We offer more than any

2:38:06other department at BHS. We are so

2:38:09leveled. I to the freshmen who came and

2:38:12spoke, which I so appreciated, don't

2:38:14worry, you will have so many levels

2:38:16coming your way. Um and I've heard many

2:38:19of you talk about your own children

2:38:20coming up into the different levels. Um

2:38:22we're just want our students to try high

2:38:25school before they take on that label,

2:38:27because as they come from 8th to 9th, um

2:38:30they haven't even done any of it yet.

2:38:31So, something to consider. So, of the

2:38:33four options, we've got two left, as you

2:38:35can see if you're following along with

2:38:36me here. Um that leaves WISP or honors

2:38:38for all. Our recommendation is to

2:38:40continue WISP. Remember that ecosystem

2:38:42you saw earlier? WISP is where it

2:38:44begins, and every course that follows is

2:38:46designed kind of in concert with it.

2:38:48That's how we create a course of

2:38:49studies. Changing it does disrupt the

2:38:52ecosystem. Our 10th grade teachers have

2:38:54never been more prepared for incoming

2:38:56students, because they know exactly what

2:38:57every student learned in 9th grade.

2:38:59We've also just made some real

2:39:00improvements. As Steph just said, this

2:39:02committee suggested that students needed

2:39:04more motivation to choose their spicy.

2:39:06We built it in, linking students' work

2:39:08to their course recommendations. We'd

2:39:10really like the chance to see those

2:39:11changes in practice and keep adjusting.

2:39:13We will keep listening. We will keep

2:39:15acting on what we hear, and keep

2:39:17preparing um every student for what Bob

2:39:19likes to call their dignified next

2:39:21steps.

2:39:22Um, if there is to be an honors

2:39:24designation, honors for all is the only

2:39:27option we would not oppose. It is not

2:39:29our recommendation, but it does keep

2:39:31every student in one class and no

2:39:32student is told that they aren't honors

2:39:34material on the first day of high

2:39:35school.

2:39:37We know not every student loves WISP.

2:39:40In a typical class of 23, about four

2:39:42students rate it fair.

2:39:44Okay? And about one rates it poor.

2:39:47You asked us to make a decision.

2:39:49Decisions mean weighing everything

2:39:51honestly. On one side, you have students

2:39:53who haven't maybe connected, right, with

2:39:55WISP, families who have raised concerns.

2:39:58We have listened to those. Their

2:39:59concerns have shaped our summer work.

2:40:01And on the other side, you've got 18

2:40:03other students in that room. 10 years of

2:40:05data showing the course is

2:40:07presumably working.

2:40:10Their experience also matters.

2:40:12Both are part of the picture and neither

2:40:14one alone should decide the future of

2:40:16this department or the thousands of

2:40:17students still yet to come. Not everyone

2:40:20is going to agree with where we landed.

2:40:21I do respect that. But we weighed it

2:40:24all. Here's where we landed. The team

2:40:25unanimously recommends that the school

2:40:27committee continue WISP as the

2:40:28foundation of our social studies

2:40:29program. Now, um, I've just got two more

2:40:32minutes here, but I really want to

2:40:34separate what was when I'm representing

2:40:35the department and when I'm talking for

2:40:37myself. So, I'm switching over now. If

2:40:39you'll indulge me in a few of my own

2:40:41thoughts here.

2:40:42I was not the department leader when

2:40:43WISP was created. And I didn't build

2:40:46this course. I'm not motivated by being

2:40:49right. Cuz I didn't make it.

2:40:51Um, I'm motivated by getting it right.

2:40:54Getting this right. That's what

2:40:55motivates me. Our process was thorough.

2:40:58The most thorough, I would challenge any

2:41:00other high school class at BHS that has

2:41:04done this much work in responding and

2:41:06saying here is what we saw. Okay?

2:41:09Our analysis is careful. We have done

2:41:11that work and I agree wholeheartedly

2:41:13with the team. This debate hinges on

2:41:15what we mean by rigor. And for some,

2:41:17rigor means more content, faster pace,

2:41:19and an honors title. And those are not

2:41:21bad things.

2:41:22But rigor is more than that as well.

2:41:25It's also reading the Analects of

2:41:26Confucius, wrestling with a question

2:41:28that doesn't have a right answer. It's

2:41:30weighing sources that disagree

2:41:33and asking who wrote this and why and

2:41:34changing your mind when evidence tells

2:41:36you to. It's defending an argument in

2:41:38front of 100 classmates. It's listening

2:41:40with respect to someone who sees the

2:41:42world differently. It's taking a

2:41:43research paper from a blank page to

2:41:46Akbar the Great, the Forgotten

2:41:47Visionary, one of the current

2:41:48submissions from 2 years ago. It's using

2:41:51the past to understand your own

2:41:52community so you can take part in our

2:41:54democracy and above all it's becoming an

2:41:56independent learner with the skills to

2:41:58reach the goals that you set for

2:41:60yourself. By any definition, I don't

2:42:02believe the social studies department

2:42:03has a rigor problem. All of our courses

2:42:07are rigorous. I stand behind every

2:42:08course we teach or as our students would

2:42:10say, I'm standing on business. That's a

2:42:13meme if [clears throat] you don't know

2:42:13it. Only I had a younger crowd, they

2:42:16would have it would have killed. That

2:42:17joke would have really killed.

2:42:18>> [snorts]

2:42:19>> And I know everyone in this room wants

2:42:20the same thing. I know we all want every

2:42:23student to be ready for what comes next.

2:42:25So I ask sincerely, what evidence

2:42:28suggests that an honors label would make

2:42:30WISP more rigorous? We had honors ninth

2:42:33grade. We taught it. We were there. It

2:42:36isn't a new idea. We know what it was

2:42:38like. What is the proof that it would be

2:42:40different this time? We don't have that

2:42:42proof. So it's hard for us.

2:42:44Bob, last year you told the Brookline

2:42:46News that WISP was driven by 30% of our

2:42:48students who are students of color,

2:42:49low-income students, students with

2:42:50special needs and that educational

2:42:53equity means the other 70% matter a lot

2:42:56as well. That's what you said.

2:42:58I agree with you, okay?

2:43:00The 70% matter. Where I disagree is the

2:43:03idea that WISP was driven by the 30%.

2:43:05WISP was built for every student. And

2:43:08the data I shared tonight shows that

2:43:09it's actually serving that 70% too. In

2:43:12fact, many of the gains I reported

2:43:13tonight came from the students outside

2:43:15of that 30% those groups. So remember

2:43:19before WISP, 70% of our ninth graders

2:43:21were already in honors. Those classes

2:43:24were already mixed.

2:43:26Leveling wouldn't create a class for the

2:43:28top few.

2:43:29It would recreate a class for most of

2:43:31our students and place the other 30% in

2:43:34standard labeled before they even had a

2:43:36chance to try high school. If we care

2:43:38about rigor and we always should, here

2:43:41is where our department wants to put its

2:43:43energy, helping students to put their

2:43:44phones down and participate more,

2:43:47teaching them to think for themselves in

2:43:48the age of AI, aligning expectations

2:43:50across all of our courses, something

2:43:52WISP actually already does very well,

2:43:54keeping our courses relevant so our

2:43:56students learn how to navigate a

2:43:57fast-paced and diverse world. This is

2:43:59also about more than WISP. I think you

2:44:02get that sense from the amount of people

2:44:04who have spoken. When a department

2:44:06brings you 10 years of evidence,

2:44:08a unanimous professional recommendation,

2:44:11I'm hopeful that it carries real weight

2:44:13and that it tells educators across the

2:44:16district that their expertise is valued.

2:44:18I wish we were here tonight simply to

2:44:20celebrate the gains with you

2:44:22and to be pushed to keep working for

2:44:24that student writing the 10-page

2:44:26research paper and the student who needs

2:44:27a few words to be defined and to keep

2:44:29closing the gaps that we named tonight.

2:44:32Instead, we're asking whether to return

2:44:33to a system we left behind eight years

2:44:35ago. We understand why these questions

2:44:38are being asked. We've tried to answer

2:44:40it honestly with evidence. We hope the

2:44:43next conversation can be about how to

2:44:44build on what's working.

2:44:46Earlier I said rigor means weighing

2:44:47evidence even when the sources disagree

2:44:49and being willing to change your mind. I

2:44:51hope you saw what I did there. I was

2:44:52really trying to like set you up and

2:44:53then now here we are at the end. Um we

2:44:57all need the skills like that in the

2:44:59world that we live in. We ask that of

2:45:00our students every day. We ask it of

2:45:02ourselves, too. So, I'll close on a

2:45:04hopeful note. I hope that each member of

2:45:06this committee and our whole community

2:45:08will bring the same social studies

2:45:09skills I described to this question.

2:45:11Weigh the evidence with the same care

2:45:13our teachers have brought to it, okay?

2:45:15And if you weigh it all and it and you

2:45:17come to a different conclusion, that is

2:45:19okay.

2:45:21That's what living in a heterogeneous

2:45:22society is like.

2:45:24It's also what a WISP classroom looks

2:45:26like every day. Students who see the

2:45:28world differently, they work through

2:45:29hard questions together, and they learn

2:45:31from one another. So, I'm hoping we can

2:45:33do the same. Thank you, and I'm excited

2:45:35to answer questions.

2:45:37>> [applause]

2:45:38>> THERE'S PLENTY MORE STATEMENTS.

2:45:41>> YEAH, AND actually

2:45:48>> [screaming]

2:45:49>> All right. Thank you. Thank you,

2:45:51Anthony. Thank you, Stephanie. Thank

2:45:53you, Jen.

2:45:54Um the senior leadership team members

2:45:58would also um have

2:46:00We have We have statements that we've

2:46:02drafted that reflect our own

2:46:04perspectives. So, we're not We're not

2:46:06speaking as a

2:46:07like this is a

2:46:09as the team, we're speaking as members

2:46:11of the SLT.

2:46:12Um so, I invite

2:46:14either Karen or Robin to come up first,

2:46:17and then I will I'll be third.

2:46:29>> Good evening, and I want to thank the

2:46:31committee for your ongoing dedication to

2:46:33our students. We all share the same

2:46:36fundamental goal. Providing a rigorous,

2:46:38engaging, and supporting academic and

2:46:41social-emotional experience for every

2:46:439th grade student.

2:46:45Curriculum design, determining both the

2:46:48content of what is taught, and the

2:46:50instructional methods of how it is

2:46:52delivered, is the primary professional

2:46:54responsibility of our teachers and

2:46:56curriculum coordinators. Our educators,

2:46:59as you've heard tonight, are highly

2:47:01trained experts who carefully calibrate

2:47:04these courses to ensure vertical

2:47:06alignment and academic rigor.

2:47:08Currently, our 9th grade course serves a

2:47:11vital purpose.

2:47:12Heterogeneous grouping in this one

2:47:15social studies course has been carefully

2:47:17designed by our curriculum leaders and

2:47:19educators to build academic and

2:47:22social-emotional skills,

2:47:24foster a cohesive of grade level

2:47:26community, and ensure equitable access

2:47:30to high-level historical inquiry with

2:47:32engagement and challenge for all

2:47:34students.

2:47:35A foundational course examining

2:47:37identity, power, and history is not just

2:47:41an academic exercise. It is essential

2:47:44preparation for civic life.

2:47:46These types of spaces push students to

2:47:48think critically

2:47:50and learn alongside peers with diverse

2:47:52experiences and perspectives,

2:47:54pushing their development as informed

2:47:56and civic-minded students.

2:47:59Our students [clears throat] need the

2:48:00tools to navigate complex narratives,

2:48:03understand systemic structures of power,

2:48:06and engage in respectful inquiry-based

2:48:08dialogue with their peers that is not in

2:48:11the abstract.

2:48:13This enriches all students' academic and

2:48:15social-emotional learning.

2:48:17It does not detract. It does not damage.

2:48:21It does not derail anyone's future

2:48:23prospects.

2:48:25There is a profound irony in this

2:48:26dialogue. We are discussing a course

2:48:28designed to help ninth graders navigate

2:48:31power dynamics

2:48:33while simultaneously witnessing the

2:48:35committee's potential desire to exercise

2:48:37unilateral power to erase or change it.

2:48:42The role of the school committee was an

2:48:44ongoing discussion during my first

2:48:46deployment in PSB.

2:48:48And one of the people who frequently

2:48:49raised it was our esteemed former BHS

2:48:52head of school,

2:48:53Bob, as you may remember,

2:48:55you frequently reminded senior

2:48:57leadership myself

2:48:59and my colleague [snorts] Jennifer

2:49:00Fishamulla, who is here to this evening,

2:49:02which is delightful to see you,

2:49:05of our jobs and roles vis-a-vis the

2:49:07school committee.

2:49:09And from your perspective, it was to

2:49:11keep the school committee out of your

2:49:12school

2:49:13and out of your classrooms.

2:49:16And by that, you meant respectfully

2:49:19allowing you and your educators to bring

2:49:21their leadership and pedagogical

2:49:23expertise to matters such as this.

2:49:26And to honor the experience and

2:49:27excellence of our educators. And your

2:49:30educators valued this immensely.

2:49:33So, I would be remiss if I didn't stand

2:49:35up here tonight and do my job.

2:49:38This represents, from my perspective, a

2:49:41significant overreach of the committee's

2:49:43intended role, ignoring the boundaries

2:49:45that Bob, you rightfully championed.

2:49:49Erasing this course or fundamentally

2:49:51changing the design of ninth grade

2:49:53social studies

2:49:54and overriding the collaborative process

2:49:57of educators to design,

2:49:59to respond to critique as they have

2:50:01done,

2:50:02and improve their courses undermines and

2:50:04strips away at the professional autonomy

2:50:07of our teachers and leaders.

2:50:09I don't believe that is what you stand

2:50:11for,

2:50:12nor what we want for the district, our

2:50:15leaders, our educators, and most

2:50:17importantly, our students. Thank you.

2:50:22>> [applause]

2:50:32>> I'LL START BY SAYING OUR EDUCATORS and

2:50:34our my colleagues are always a a tough

2:50:37act to follow.

2:50:38But, I want to begin by acknowledging

2:50:40the thoughtful work of our educators

2:50:43and that they have undertaken in

2:50:45response to the questions and concerns

2:50:47that have been raised about WISP.

2:50:49They have listened to feedback.

2:50:52They have examined course and

2:50:53departmental data. They've reflected on

2:50:55the experience of students, and they

2:50:58have made revisions to provide more

2:51:00consistent opportunities for academic

2:51:02challenge throughout the course.

2:51:04When we talk about continuous

2:51:05improvement,

2:51:07this is the kind of reflective practice

2:51:09we want to encourage and support and

2:51:12that I want to stand behind.

2:51:14I also want to offer a perspective from

2:51:17of my own and my experiences working

2:51:19with adolescents. As many of you know

2:51:21that as a 32-year educator, much of that

2:51:25was spent in an eighth grade classroom

2:51:28and working with students as they made

2:51:29the transition to the high school and as

2:51:31an building administrator at the middle

2:51:34and high school level.

2:51:37Last spring I had the opportunity to

2:51:38have a a conversation with a former

2:51:40colleague who has taught eighth grade

2:51:43for about 12 years after spending the

2:51:46first half of her career teaching high

2:51:47school including AP courses.

2:51:51As we chatted she reflected on how she

2:51:53has grown as an educator the skill it

2:51:55takes to teach a heterogeneous class

2:51:57well which is a very difficult and how

2:52:00intentionally she has worked to develop

2:52:02her craft. And I know those same

2:52:04conversations and reflections are going

2:52:06on in the rooms where our educators are

2:52:08meeting.

2:52:10We also talked about the beauty and

2:52:12brilliance and sometimes frustration of

2:52:15teaching 14-year-olds.

2:52:16And how that same student that just blew

2:52:19you out of the water with remarkably

2:52:21sophisticated thinking and insight

2:52:25can also struggle with the ability to

2:52:27punctuate a sentence or sometimes put

2:52:29their name on a paper.

2:52:30And that who that student is changes

2:52:32from day to day at that point.

2:52:34Um

2:52:36that tension is part of what I have

2:52:38always loved about working with students

2:52:41of this age.

2:52:43It made me stay in a classroom for a

2:52:45long time even as I took on leadership

2:52:46opportunities and what brought me as a

2:52:49building leader to work with students of

2:52:51that age group.

2:52:54I also think it is a reminder of how

2:52:55careful we need to be about the

2:52:57assumptions we make about students and

2:53:00their academic potential.

2:53:02The academic skills we sometimes use to

2:53:04make placement decisions as Jen alluded

2:53:06to how quickly somebody can move through

2:53:09content

2:53:10or what level of support they need

2:53:13um at this transition does not always

2:53:16tell us the full story about a student's

2:53:17capacity for complex thinking

2:53:20or embarking on challenging work.

2:53:24Every year students come together at BHS

2:53:26from eight different K-8 schools

2:53:29bringing with them a range of

2:53:30experiences, perspectives, and academic

2:53:33strengths.

2:53:34WISP is the one academic core academic

2:53:37course that they have the opportunity to

2:53:40learn together.

2:53:42The content, design, and purpose of WISP

2:53:45are connected.

2:53:47It provides a shared intellectual

2:53:49experience where students examine world

2:53:51history through the lenses of identity,

2:53:53status, and power.

2:53:57There is real educational and social

2:54:00value in having everyone at the table to

2:54:02explore these complex and interconnected

2:54:04concepts, establishing a common

2:54:07foundation for subsequent work within

2:54:09the social studies course of study.

2:54:12We have a responsibility as a district

2:54:14to ensure both access and appropriate

2:54:16academic challenge for our students. I

2:54:18don't think anyone in this room

2:54:20disagrees with that.

2:54:22But, I also firmly believe that both can

2:54:25be present in the same classroom

2:54:28when it's done with intent. And, I

2:54:30appreciate the questions that have been

2:54:31raised and the thoughtful way that the

2:54:33social studies department has responded.

2:54:36As we've talked about before, those

2:54:38questions are necessary for us to think

2:54:40about as we continuously improve our

2:54:42practice and the experience of our

2:54:44students.

2:54:46I support the department's

2:54:47recommendation to maintain WISP as a

2:54:50heterogeneous course and allow the time

2:54:52to understand the impact of the

2:54:54revisions that have been made this

2:54:55summer.

2:54:56I also appreciate their commitment to a

2:54:59coherent departmental course of study

2:55:01that builds on this shared foundation,

2:55:03while also providing opportunities for

2:55:05continued academic growth and challenge.

2:55:10>> [applause]

2:55:16>> Thank you, Robin. Thank you, Karen.

2:55:20I um I want to acknowledge that we are a

2:55:24new team, the senior leadership team.

2:55:27And, so as we considered

2:55:30and anticipated the discussion tonight,

2:55:33we each drafted our own statements.

2:55:37And, um

2:55:38we come with this

2:55:40perspectives as we do um with decades of

2:55:43experience

2:55:45and we don't take this moment lightly.

2:55:49And um everything we say is with the

2:55:52utmost respect

2:55:53with the care of the committee,

2:55:56um your attention to this topic

2:55:59and to the community.

2:56:01Um

2:56:03I will just say based on our observance

2:56:07and I think that we each have come to

2:56:10the district very open

2:56:12to what what is of interest to the

2:56:15community

2:56:16um

2:56:17compels [clears throat] us to at least

2:56:19share

2:56:20our independent perspectives.

2:56:23So, mine is um

2:56:26colored by my own experience outside but

2:56:29also within the district.

2:56:31Um so, WISP

2:56:33um has been highlighted for me as a

2:56:35topic of concern since I arrived.

2:56:38Um in my entry interviews with educators

2:56:41and community members, it was clear the

2:56:44topic of WISP, whether it should be

2:56:46leveled or not

2:56:48was um

2:56:50at a very high level of interest. And

2:56:53so, here we are 15 months later.

2:56:56Okay.

2:56:58Well, I committed myself to be open to

2:57:01listening and learning about this. I

2:57:03must admit it troubled me that we would

2:57:07be considering leveling the last

2:57:09unlevelled academic core class in the

2:57:12ninth grade.

2:57:14In my experience amongst several

2:57:16high-performing districts ninth grade

2:57:19English and history social studies have

2:57:23long been held intentionally unlevelled.

2:57:29I believe it is healthier

2:57:34to allow students to transition into a

2:57:37highly competitive high school

2:57:39environment with some unlevelled

2:57:42classes.

2:57:44It was my experience

2:57:47some years ago, I guess before you ever

2:57:49had honors ninth grade, but my

2:57:52experience entering Brookline High

2:57:54School was unlevelled social studies and

2:57:58English.

2:57:59As a non-native English language

2:58:02speaker,

2:58:03I believe it offered me a critical

2:58:07experience to be able to access the

2:58:11advanced, more intensive classes with

2:58:13greater confidence.

2:58:16And I also believe that it created um

2:58:21the start of foundational base of

2:58:24respect and trust for my peers. They

2:58:27came from different backgrounds. It was

2:58:30really important for me to be among

2:58:33peers whose parents had very different

2:58:35career choices

2:58:37than mine. And I think it was important

2:58:39for my peers to be with me.

2:58:43And um

2:58:44the heterogeneity

2:58:46of exposure across peers from all over

2:58:49town

2:58:51remains

2:58:52in my opinion the most important part of

2:58:55my educational experience in Brookline.

2:58:58I cherished all those opportunities.

2:59:02And with hindsight as an adult looking

2:59:04back, I wish I had more of those

2:59:07experiences. I wish I knew more students

2:59:10that were different from me um in my

2:59:13time here because Brookline is that

2:59:14special in the diversity that it offers.

2:59:19Um and so one of the most special things

2:59:20in Brookline is its diversity

2:59:23and and high-quality heterogeneous

2:59:26academic experiences are an opportunity

2:59:31for greater, more um it is a it's just

2:59:35an extraordinary opportunity, especially

2:59:36here in Brookline.

2:59:38And this is a huge part of what makes it

2:59:41a unique and special place to grow up

2:59:44in.

2:59:45I note

2:59:47that when the presentation um

2:59:50was given us there on the I in one of

2:59:53the early slides, you see the map

2:59:56of all the courses. And I was struck

2:59:58that it's a highly leveled department,

3:00:01as Jen noted. It's it's there the

3:00:04pathways. I will say so again, I started

3:00:08in a heterogeneous unlevel class and I

3:00:11went on to take AP US history and AP

3:00:14European history as a non-native English

3:00:18language learner.

3:00:20Um if I had my druthers, I would have

3:00:23more built-in heterogeneous experiences,

3:00:26not fewer. So So I just want to be open

3:00:29about where I come from.

3:00:33I am dismayed by the amount of time

3:00:36the members of the history department

3:00:38have expended

3:00:40to defend the importance of maintaining

3:00:42the last non-leveled all ninth grade

3:00:45academic experience. And I also do

3:00:48appreciate the importance of addressing

3:00:51community concerns. I understand that

3:00:53the members of the committee are

3:00:55representing voices that they hear. So I

3:00:58believe it was our responsibility

3:01:01to address those concerns. But I also

3:01:03feel we've met that responsibility.

3:01:07And then it's time to draw this to to a

3:01:09close.

3:01:10The department has represented their

3:01:12recommendations.

3:01:14Their recommendation after a lot of

3:01:17considered thought, cuz I know they

3:01:18really worked on this and they have been

3:01:21working on this for the last 15 months

3:01:23that I have been here

3:01:25is to keep on working

3:01:28with their course as they have been and

3:01:31will continue and be responsive to

3:01:34community feedback, but to have WISP as

3:01:37it is

3:01:39as an accommodation and and um response

3:01:42to what was asked of them. They have

3:01:45given

3:01:46options, what they looked at for honors.

3:01:50Um the one they are least supposed to or

3:01:53would accept is um WISP as it is with

3:01:56the honors label, but it it really isn't

3:02:00it really isn't what it was meant to be.

3:02:04So, I'm sorry.

3:02:06Um it's not easy for me to um

3:02:12I know I know where some members have

3:02:14expressed themselves. So, it's not easy

3:02:16for me to say something different in

3:02:18that cuz I respect all the thought and

3:02:21what you're representing comes.

3:02:23And um

3:02:25anyway, I appreciate your your

3:02:27listening.

3:02:31>> [applause]

3:02:37[applause]

3:02:42>> I'm the only one sitting at this table

3:02:45who looks around this room

3:02:47and sees

3:02:50some of the most extraordinary educators

3:02:52in the world.

3:02:54I'm talking about teachers. I'm talking

3:02:56about school leaders.

3:02:58I'm looking at Anthony. I'm looking at

3:02:59Hal, Britt, Brian, Steph,

3:03:05John.

3:03:08I I know your work.

3:03:11I worked with you.

3:03:13And

3:03:15listening to Jan

3:03:16and Steph and Anthony tonight

3:03:19just demonstrated

3:03:21how extraordinary each of you is

3:03:25um and how deeply committed you are

3:03:28to our kids.

3:03:30And so, I want to thank you.

3:03:32I guess I want to apologize for being

3:03:34part of making you do all this extra

3:03:35work.

3:03:36Um but I have to be me

3:03:40and you guys have to be you.

3:03:42Um

3:03:44and

3:03:44you know, the fear

3:03:46that I have I'm going to say some things

3:03:48a little bit later. I just But I just

3:03:49have to respond

3:03:51to what I just listened carefully to.

3:03:54Um

3:03:56and

3:03:59I I I guess I fear

3:04:02um

3:04:04you know, lost relationships.

3:04:06Um you know, if I disagree with some of

3:04:08the stuff you guys were saying and

3:04:10representing

3:04:11because I love you guys. You know that.

3:04:14All the people I mentioned and others.

3:04:17Um

3:04:19You were you are hugely important to me

3:04:22in my life.

3:04:24Um

3:04:25So,

3:04:28I'll say a few words later which

3:04:30represent who I am.

3:04:33And I hope that you respect that. Just

3:04:35as I will I respect everything that I

3:04:38heard. And I'm going to acknowledge at

3:04:40the beginning of what I mean and write

3:04:41this down

3:04:43when I was preparing a couple of

3:04:44remarks.

3:04:46But I'm going to acknowledge that I may

3:04:48be wrong

3:04:50in my view, in my perspective.

3:04:53And I'm open to what I heard tonight.

3:04:56Um and I'm going to open up the

3:04:58conversation to all members of the

3:05:00school committee, questions, comments.

3:05:02Suzanne.

3:05:03>> Val, I'll have some questions.

3:05:04>> Oh, Val, go go.

3:05:06>> Thank you.

3:05:07Um

3:05:08first, I want to thank all of the

3:05:10educators

3:05:12uh who've come out tonight, the social

3:05:14studies department, Brett,

3:05:16Anthony, um other deans who are there,

3:05:18folks I can't see,

3:05:20uh our senior leadership team,

3:05:22and everyone who's written into us.

3:05:26I

3:05:28I feel like we are so far afield at this

3:05:30point from

3:05:33the policy and governance role and our

3:05:36lane.

3:05:39I feel like we've lost our way. Um and

3:05:42so I I want to apologize, quite frankly,

3:05:45to

3:05:46um the educators and our senior

3:05:48leadership team

3:05:50who

3:05:51we have put so much on

3:05:54over one class.

3:05:56Um

3:05:58Yeah, anyway, thank you to our educators

3:06:00and our senior leadership team and and

3:06:02for them to be in unison

3:06:05I just think we've all gone far afield.

3:06:11>> Thank you, Belle.

3:06:12Others?

3:06:13Faiza.

3:06:15Did you Suzanne, you just pointed to

3:06:17Belle.

3:06:18Okay, Faiza, go go.

3:06:21>> [clears throat]

3:06:22>> Thank you.

3:06:24Thank you. Um

3:06:26Um thank you. Thank you to all our

3:06:29educators and um thank you, Jen, for

3:06:32being here. Thank you.

3:06:34Um I see um intense amount of effort

3:06:38going to this.

3:06:40And um as someone who does this job on a

3:06:43daily basis

3:06:45I I I hear you. Um creating a course is

3:06:49no joke.

3:06:51And then constantly reflecting on it as

3:06:53reflective practitioners like our

3:06:55educators do, it's even harder. Creating

3:06:58a course is just like giving birth to a

3:07:01child and then

3:07:03maintaining it and constantly improving

3:07:06on it with teacher input all our

3:07:09educators that we respect so much who

3:07:12are in the field who are dealing with

3:07:14the students and um you know, a lot

3:07:17that's going on. Um I'm super grateful

3:07:20to all of you. Thank you so much. Um I

3:07:23and I also want to thank our senior

3:07:25leadership team. Um thank you, Belle,

3:07:27and Robin and um Karen. Um

3:07:31I do have uh some questions and some

3:07:34comments about the what we are still

3:07:37asking. Um thank you, Jen. I'm sorry you

3:07:40have spent so much time here.

3:07:42>> I'm ready. I'm sitting there.

3:07:43>> One way of of looking at it is that we

3:07:46we we want to benefit from your being

3:07:50>> Here I am. Please ask the questions.

3:07:51>> Thank you. Actually, the comment about

3:07:54why aren't black students rising grades

3:07:56translating into honors enrollment? This

3:07:59is something that you reflected on is an

3:08:02area of concern.

3:08:03I was thinking

3:08:05it it could possibly be more than what a

3:08:08course is offering. You know, we are in

3:08:11>> Right.

3:08:11>> You right. It we it could be a

3:08:13systematic and and it probably is the

3:08:16systematic and the institutional

3:08:18oppression that

3:08:20the kids are experiencing. It's the lack

3:08:22of confidence that cannot be just pushed

3:08:26over, you know, to the other side by one

3:08:28course. What we would like to see, I

3:08:32would like to see

3:08:33>> Yeah.

3:08:33>> and and I really appreciate it if it can

3:08:36be done is that if our educators and and

3:08:39I'm not saying it's not happening. It

3:08:41probably is that if our educators

3:08:43continue to encourage the EL students

3:08:45and

3:08:46>> Yes.

3:08:46>> African-American students. It's hard

3:08:48work, but it's going to take years and

3:08:50years and years of this encouragement.

3:08:53Um and that of course I come from a

3:08:55place that we are all humans. We have

3:08:58assumptions. We have biases and we need

3:09:00to constantly keep them in check. And I

3:09:03know as educators we do when we do

3:09:05reflective

3:09:06practice of thinking through our course,

3:09:09thinking through our actions. And what

3:09:11do they say? A teacher makes how many

3:09:13decisions in one day? Incredible. So,

3:09:16thank you

3:09:17>> Thank you.

3:09:18>> for everything.

3:09:18>> Um you didn't ask a question, but I just

3:09:20want to tell you that

3:09:21the way you framed it was perfect

3:09:23because the summer work that we did was

3:09:25to design a data collection tool for all

3:09:28WISP teachers. So, we used to think of

3:09:31our salsa options as just like kids get

3:09:33to decide. Do you want to do it or not?

3:09:35And one of the advantages is like you

3:09:37have you're in the play. Maybe tonight's

3:09:39not the spicy reading for you even

3:09:41though you would normally choose spicy.

3:09:42We like that. We we think it like

3:09:44provides for a healthy

3:09:46mental health as well as other things.

3:09:49Um but we also we're not keeping track

3:09:51really stringently about like so what

3:09:53are they choosing? And so with the

3:09:56recommendations from the school

3:09:57committee, we are tracking it this year

3:10:00and our number one goal was to see which

3:10:03groups do we need to focus on. So, not

3:10:05only do we have a tracking system, we're

3:10:07going to be able to intervene like right

3:10:09at the end of quarter one. We're going

3:10:10to be able to see and look and go, "Ah,

3:10:12okay." When I said we're going to

3:10:13partner with our, you know, with our

3:10:15heads of MECO of scholars to actually go

3:10:18in maybe to a scholars class and to talk

3:10:19with those kids one-on-one and sort of

3:10:21figure out what's going on. Why don't

3:10:22you ever choose spicy? As kind of those

3:10:23early signs so that we don't get to the

3:10:25point of the recommendation process and

3:10:27don't know until it's too late. Um and

3:10:29you're right. Yeah, we're obviously

3:10:31fighting against a current. Um but yeah,

3:10:33I really appreciated that comment and I

3:10:34do think the summer work is going to

3:10:36yield some good results. That's our

3:10:37hope.

3:10:39>> [snorts]

3:10:41>> Thank you, Fraser. Thank you, Jen.

3:10:44Laura.

3:10:47>> Thank you so much. Um as a fellow

3:10:49history teacher, I do believe history's

3:10:50the most important topic every

3:10:53high school. [laughter]

3:10:54Um so, thank you to the work that you're

3:10:55doing. Um

3:10:57I'm [snorts]

3:10:58bringing together several different

3:10:59threads of thought, you know, I I was

3:11:00just recently elected and on the

3:11:02campaign trail, this is something that

3:11:03parents care a lot about. There's a lot

3:11:06of concern. And I I do worry that we are

3:11:11not

3:11:13we're not giving that concern the

3:11:15validity that it deserves and that we

3:11:18are too quick to brush it off as, "Well,

3:11:20parents don't know." Because I think

3:11:22that concern is valid and we need to

3:11:24hear it and it comes from the lived

3:11:25experience of their students.

3:11:27Um and that's where phrases like it does

3:11:29not harm gives me pause because I'm not

3:11:32sure if it's about a course not harming

3:11:34so much as a course propelling forward.

3:11:36And so, that is a place I will that I am

3:11:38I am sticking on.

3:11:40Um the other thing that I would love to

3:11:41hear a little bit more about is you guys

3:11:44have talked about the summer work and

3:11:46the work you've done. I'd love to hear

3:11:47more about like the

3:11:49concrete changes and innovations that

3:11:51have come from this. How does WISP look

3:11:54differently this year versus last year?

3:11:56I am interested in how these changes are

3:11:58designed to help, you know, like you

3:12:00said, maybe prepare kids for

3:12:01higher-level work. And like what is the

3:12:03role of spicy? Cuz I'm I have to say

3:12:05listening to presentation the spicy

3:12:07work, how does that because I'm now

3:12:08confused because I attended back to

3:12:10school night and back to school night we

3:12:11were said we were told that your kid

3:12:12could go into honors without ever taking

3:12:14a spicy reading.

3:12:16And so that I'm really now so if that's

3:12:18true then why would a child choose to do

3:12:21spicy work if you don't get I mean my

3:12:23kid also does the humanities class, you

3:12:25get

3:12:26credit if you do honors. You don't get

3:12:28credit if you do it for on first history

3:12:30and you don't have to do it to go into

3:12:32honors.

3:12:33So I'm confused and I can see why that

3:12:36is bringing a bunch of concern from

3:12:37parents because if I'm sitting here

3:12:39confused and this is the topic and a and

3:12:42a his and a subject that I love so

3:12:44deeply, I can't imagine what our parents

3:12:48listening to this, they're probably more

3:12:50confused than I am. So I would love to

3:12:51give you some chance to clarify and

3:12:53explain.

3:12:54>> Yeah, I'll I'll pass it to Steph to talk

3:12:56about curricular work but um so actually

3:12:59uh there are no

3:13:01uh requirements for levels. So the

3:13:03answer to your question is um every

3:13:05single kid at the end of every single

3:13:06year can decide what class they want to

3:13:08go into. The teacher makes a

3:13:10recommendation. It can be overrid by

3:13:12just a simple email to your guidance

3:13:14counselor that says uh we do not agree,

3:13:16please put them into the other level.

3:13:18And so um it's about parent autonomy to

3:13:20choose for their kids and uh they see

3:13:22the teacher recommendation so that is

3:13:23the answer to your question. Uh whether

3:13:25or not a teacher will recommend your

3:13:28child, that's going to depend on what

3:13:30they choose because how else can they

3:13:32base it off? They're not going to just

3:13:33have a conversation in the hallway and

3:13:34the kid's going to say, well, now I've

3:13:36decided actually I'm really into uh deep

3:13:39readings and you know, so uh

3:13:42you can absolutely take honors with

3:13:43never doing spicy by just having your

3:13:46parent override your teacher

3:13:48recommendation. That's how that happens.

3:13:50Um and it happens frequently, actually.

3:13:52Um and sometimes it works great and

3:13:53sometimes it doesn't. I'm in the middle

3:13:55of signing a lot of forms and I'm always

3:13:56interested in knowing what the

3:13:58correlation with the two are. And so I

3:14:00think there's other coordinators here

3:14:01who also do that that uh leg work where

3:14:03we look back and we go, "Ah, yes. Okay."

3:14:06Um but sometimes it works out great. So,

3:14:07that's actually quite unique to

3:14:08Brooklyn, by the way. Um it is not true

3:14:11in all districts, but that's the answer

3:14:12to the short answer to the first to that

3:14:14question.

3:14:16>> Uh so, I can speak a little bit more to

3:14:19some of the curricular changes that we

3:14:20made. So, a lot of what when we were

3:14:23originally designing the tiered

3:14:25readings, a lot of it was to make sure

3:14:27that very challenging material was

3:14:29accessible to students who had more

3:14:31difficulty with those readings.

3:14:33Um and also thinking about areas of like

3:14:36extension and growth. So, a kid who's

3:14:38really passionate about something and

3:14:39interested in something, like what's an

3:14:41extension activity that they could do to

3:14:43learn more about. Um and so, uh the work

3:14:47this summer was to sort of more

3:14:48formalize and look across our course and

3:14:51say like, "Where are those opportunities

3:14:54happening? And where could we be more

3:14:56systematic to make sure that every

3:14:58quarter, every unit, there are those

3:15:00opportunities?" Um to uh go deeper on a

3:15:04homework assignment if you're

3:15:06interested, um have more supports on a

3:15:08reading assignment wherever you fall on

3:15:11that spectrum. So, really designing

3:15:13you know,

3:15:14a number of new options within the

3:15:19coursework, right? Um

3:15:21and then the other piece that we were

3:15:23looking at was really thinking about um

3:15:27more ways to do that sort of

3:15:30recommendation analysis,

3:15:32um both by the tracking of what kids are

3:15:35actually reading. I mean,

3:15:36I can tell you as a as a teacher, I have

3:15:38a pretty good sense of who's doing what

3:15:41pretty much all the time, even without a

3:15:42tracker. Like, I kind of know, right? I

3:15:44know who's doing what all the time, but

3:15:46to to be more formal about sort of like,

3:15:48"Okay, I can now reflect back to a kid

3:15:50and say, 'Oh, look, this is what you've

3:15:52been doing. Can you talk to me about

3:15:54why?'"

3:15:56Um and there's lots of reasons why.

3:15:58Um but also to uh so, the

3:16:01that was part of it. Uh so, sort of keep

3:16:03track more.

3:16:04Um and also think about uh

3:16:07revising some of the work that they do

3:16:09in the second quarter to give them to

3:16:12give us and them another right more

3:16:16formal writing opportunity that we can

3:16:18then evaluate as part of that process of

3:16:21thinking about

3:16:23level selection for next year.

3:16:25Because so much of the cumulative work

3:16:28that we do, we know our students really

3:16:30well and their abilities really well by

3:16:33the end of the year, but we make course

3:16:35recommendations halfway through.

3:16:38So really wanting to try and think about

3:16:39that as well

3:16:40a little bit more carefully.

3:16:43>> Thank you, Steph.

3:16:46Donna.

3:16:50>> Thank you so much. I really appreciate

3:16:53the presentation and of course all the

3:16:54time and work.

3:16:56I have one

3:16:58hopefully easy question and then maybe a

3:17:00little bit more of a spicy question.

3:17:04>> I love it.

3:17:06Do I get to opt for the mild?

3:17:08Is this a heterogeneous space or not?

3:17:11>> Hey, go for it.

3:17:12>> Some of the

3:17:14um when you did the work over the

3:17:15summer, did you look at some of the not

3:17:18only

3:17:19the methodologies and other things like

3:17:21that, but were you also looking at some

3:17:23of the content and the inaccuracies that

3:17:25Dr. Fisher may have mentioned? Not

3:17:28specifically those, but I'm just saying

3:17:29>> No, we Yeah, we can talk about

3:17:31>> the content for that sort of thing as

3:17:33well?

3:17:33>> No, and in fact when Dr. Fisher was

3:17:35making her comments, there's a confusion

3:17:37a little bit about WISP summer work.

3:17:39WISP summer work was funded by this

3:17:40committee.

3:17:42We were in We were one of the actually

3:17:44one of the only professional development

3:17:46groups meeting in the summer. That's

3:17:48what we used the money for was to get

3:17:49you this report. It was not to do

3:17:52revision of material. So what I think I

3:17:54completely understand her

3:17:56interpretation, which is how did you do

3:17:57all this work on WISP and not end up

3:18:00with these fixed by the end of the

3:18:01summer. And it's actually because the

3:18:03money that I'm using to address those By

3:18:06the way, which I've told her and I will

3:18:09tell all of you. I think you all know

3:18:10this. We are absolutely engaged in

3:18:12fixing the readings. Um we are using

3:18:14grant money for that and that money was

3:18:16not given um to us until actually late

3:18:19in the summer by the state and it can't

3:18:20really be disbursed to teachers. So, the

3:18:22work started right as the school year

3:18:24was starting and I've got a great team

3:18:25working on it and um every everything's

3:18:28going to be prepared for students by

3:18:29that time, but it's not that we um we're

3:18:31doing WISP work and we were like, but

3:18:33not that work. It they're not connected.

3:18:36Um the money the pot of money that

3:18:38involved that work that extra work was

3:18:41came later. That's all. It's a simple

3:18:42explanation. I was able to use my grant

3:18:44money though to hire a consultant who

3:18:46actually did the readings who's

3:18:48wonderful uh Dan Osborne who's literally

3:18:50the best. Um we absolutely adore him and

3:18:53he did the readings uh without looking

3:18:55at what the parent had written. So,

3:18:56yeah, I've done we've done quite a bit

3:18:58of work on it just not the teacher part

3:18:59of it where they're actually writing.

3:19:01They've been reading a ton. So, we're

3:19:02we're we're well on our way.

3:19:04>> Thank you. So,

3:19:06here's a I'm I'm not going to put you on

3:19:07the spot so you don't have to actually

3:19:09answer.

3:19:09>> do it.

3:19:10>> It could be

3:19:11Anthony can I or no one can answer um if

3:19:14that that's also an

3:19:15>> It's my old option.

3:19:17>> [laughter]

3:19:17>> um pass

3:19:18>> I guess what I would say is and I'm

3:19:20going to I'm going to start my question

3:19:22by saying

3:19:24um piggybacking on a little bit of what

3:19:26Laura said. There is we do hear from a

3:19:29lot of families and we do hear from a

3:19:30lot of students and we have Oz in the

3:19:32back there. Sorry, Oz.

3:19:34But um

3:19:35>> Still here.

3:19:36>> that do have feedback on the course or

3:19:39um want to share their experiences. I

3:19:41think and I think I said this last

3:19:42[snorts] time when you were here in the

3:19:43spring, I think we did a disservice both

3:19:45to the course, to you, to the educators

3:19:48in the school by not having the

3:19:49conversation or discussions sooner

3:19:52because there was not really a forum um

3:19:54or a mechanism through which people

3:19:57could funnel

3:19:59feel heard.

3:20:00>> Mhm.

3:20:00>> Okay? And so, what ends up happening is

3:20:02some of these things

3:20:04bubble up. Um and as the school

3:20:06committee for some of us or many of us

3:20:10we it is are questions that are

3:20:12you we hear either on the campaign trail

3:20:14or in our email or when we go to schools

3:20:16or whatnot. And so I guess my question

3:20:19is

3:20:21how do we

3:20:24bring forward

3:20:26these concerns and this feedback

3:20:29without

3:20:31>> [clears throat]

3:20:31>> making not you just I mean the general

3:20:34you feel as though it is overreach but

3:20:38rather truly a discussion where we're

3:20:40saying hey this is what we're hearing.

3:20:43>> Yeah.

3:20:44>> Like how do we do that in a way that is

3:20:47more constructive?

3:20:48>> Oh,

3:20:49what a good social studies skill. Um

3:20:52yeah and I don't know Anthony if you

3:20:53want to yeah great.

3:20:55>> [laughter]

3:20:55>> I'm really I'm willing to answer

3:20:57anything but it's you looked ready so.

3:20:59>> Well, I don't know that I'm ready but

3:21:00[laughter]

3:21:01um

3:21:02Donna I really appreciate the question.

3:21:04I think it's a really important one and

3:21:06Laura I appreciate the way that you

3:21:08framed um that that it would all at all

3:21:12feel like we were dismissive of what are

3:21:15valid concerns about our ninth ninth

3:21:18grade program.

3:21:20I I mean it's a

3:21:22your question is so big.

3:21:23>> Yeah.

3:21:24>> Because I think

3:21:26you know

3:21:27Bella and Karen and Robin and Asa and I

3:21:30had an opportunity to we're going to

3:21:32start in Finland and Estonia

3:21:34uh and um so we had the opportunity to

3:21:37be there and there is incredible trust

3:21:40in schools in those two countries and in

3:21:43educators to deliver um the work that

3:21:47helps meet um state standards or uh

3:21:50country standards. Um so a great deal of

3:21:53autonomy for schools, a great deal of

3:21:56respect and autonomy for teachers. They

3:21:59don't even and this is a fault don't

3:22:01even observe and evaluate their

3:22:03teachers. There is just great trust and

3:22:06over the last several years for many

3:22:09reasons that we all know well and we

3:22:11have different perspectives probably

3:22:13also there has been some undermining of

3:22:17that trust. Some of that is the

3:22:19responsibility of or the fault of school

3:22:22leaders.

3:22:24Some of it is the really hard navigating

3:22:28really hard

3:22:30experiences within our community well

3:22:32beyond. And so I think my fundamental

3:22:35answer on the spot would be

3:22:39you hired Bella and Bella is an

3:22:41incredible leader and an incredible

3:22:43person and she leads the school

3:22:46committee with Aaron. Sorry, leads not

3:22:49the school Bob, you lead the school

3:22:51committee.

3:22:52Um leads the district with Robin and

3:22:57Aaron and Karen. And so I think it to me

3:23:00is that role piece that Karen emphasized

3:23:03around what is the role of school

3:23:05committee. And I think to be really

3:23:08frank, I think some of the advice you've

3:23:10gotten about on courses, I don't agree

3:23:15with that advice and I'm not a lawyer.

3:23:17But I don't agree

3:23:19that school committee ought to be making

3:23:21choices about what courses we're

3:23:23offering. I think it puts you in

3:23:26uncomfortable, discomfiting

3:23:29space

3:23:31and it ripples across the system. So I

3:23:33think we have work to do to restore

3:23:36trust and I Don, I think you're right

3:23:38that some of the delay in having this or

3:23:43these discussions had the effect of

3:23:47projecting a [clears throat] we're not

3:23:49taking your concern seriously. I mean

3:23:52I'll just tell you a very quick and

3:23:54really sad story that to me is a good

3:23:57anecdote. Most teachers on back to

3:24:01school night

3:24:02do a note card activity where they say

3:24:04tell me a little bit about your kid,

3:24:06tell me how I can best support them.

3:24:09And one of our teachers in reviewing the

3:24:12note cards received

3:24:15a note that essentially said I don't

3:24:18trust you

3:24:19to teach

3:24:21and the topic happened to be Judaism and

3:24:23I think it was part of what this very

3:24:25concern

3:24:26arose, but there was a belief and I'm

3:24:29not I the parent was being honest about

3:24:32what their very real concerns were. Um,

3:24:36and that's a really

3:24:38hard that's hard. I feel badly that that

3:24:41parent has that concern that we're not

3:24:44going to deliver what we need to deliver

3:24:47accurately or well. I'm disturbed to

3:24:50hear that Dr. Fisher had heard that the

3:24:53similar concerns that she raised uh

3:24:57were not acted on and so that's work

3:24:59that we have to do and I think some of

3:25:02Jen has an incredible presentation style

3:25:05and can find everything funny um, even

3:25:08the hardest things and I think sometimes

3:25:10that exudes a like we're all set and I

3:25:14think the reality is we've got work to

3:25:16do and I believe the WISP team is doing

3:25:18it, but now I'm getting a little

3:25:20tangential. Um, so those are just some

3:25:23thoughts and I welcome if Jen or others

3:25:26want to, but but I think there's work to

3:25:28do um

3:25:30around engaging with parents and

3:25:32guardians in particular. I would just

3:25:34say you've heard anecdotes on the

3:25:37campaign trail, in your email from both

3:25:41students and parents. I hear them more

3:25:44as parent guardian and community

3:25:46concerns. Um

3:25:49but you have a different role and

3:25:51receive different communications than I

3:25:54do and those are really valid and

3:25:56important. Um, so I think it's in the

3:25:59daily work of educational leadership as

3:26:01a decision at a time, a day at a time

3:26:03trying to make those with integrity, try

3:26:06to communicate the whys of those

3:26:08decisions um, and making sure we're

3:26:11hearing feedback on that.

3:26:14>> Agreed.

3:26:16>> So, I I'm looking at the clock and

3:26:19I used to watch school committee

3:26:21meetings

3:26:22before I was a member of the school

3:26:23committee and I said these people are

3:26:25nuts.

3:26:26>> [laughter]

3:26:26>> They they have these meetings that go on

3:26:28and on and on and we're in the middle of

3:26:31one right now

3:26:33and so

3:26:35I

3:26:36I want to say something

3:26:38and are there other people who have to

3:26:39say something?

3:26:41Jesse has to say something. Suzanne has

3:26:43to say something. Carolyn has and we're

3:26:45going to be here till midnight. No.

3:26:48No, no. I mean if you think

3:26:50we've heard a lot obviously, we're

3:26:52having some discussion. This is you

3:26:54know, obviously tonight we're not voting

3:26:56on anything. It's just a conversation.

3:26:57You guys did the work, you presented the

3:26:59work well and you know, when we have

3:27:02course catalog

3:27:04uh presentations, then we actually vote

3:27:06on the course catalog. That's not what's

3:27:08going on tonight. Okay.

3:27:10Jesse, go.

3:27:13Hang in there.

3:27:15>> Hi, I'll try to be brief.

3:27:17Um in listening to Oz and in listening

3:27:19to students at other school committee

3:27:21meetings who have come and spoken about

3:27:23their love of a history and social

3:27:24studies,

3:27:25I wonder about

3:27:27the issue with

3:27:29leaving those students behind or sort of

3:27:31systematically treating them inequitably

3:27:33by not providing them the strongest, the

3:27:36most rigorous situation that they can be

3:27:38in in order to really fuel the fire,

3:27:40fuel the passion that they come into

3:27:42when they leave eighth grade. Um kids

3:27:44that are you know, 14 going on 15 or so

3:27:47that eight to ninth grade transition can

3:27:49be really fiery in their passion, very

3:27:51energetic about their ideas and for

3:27:53those that we've heard about over the

3:27:54last now my third year on school

3:27:56committee, I've heard this each year uh

3:27:58from at least one student speaker um and

3:28:01as Laura and Donna both and Bob all

3:28:04pointed out, I heard a lot of this um

3:28:06the year I was running in in uh whenever

3:28:09it was 23 22 20 23 and early 24.

3:28:13Um from parents and parent groups and

3:28:15site meetings and all the other places

3:28:17it just came up over and over and over

3:28:20in the sense that it was treating strong

3:28:22students inequitably. That That is to

3:28:24say that a teacher can't really

3:28:26practically that best teachers cannot

3:28:28practically give a certain segment

3:28:31within the classroom their full

3:28:33attention because they've got other

3:28:34students and if you're pairing strong

3:28:36students with

3:28:38less strong students in a in a attempt

3:28:41to help the the the weaker student or to

3:28:45instill civic engagement and other

3:28:47things and leadership skills in the

3:28:50stronger student. That still means that

3:28:52strong student may be learning some

3:28:53things which they might learn in clubs

3:28:54and other places, but we're instilling

3:28:56it within the the history course

3:28:59while they could be moving ahead in

3:29:01their own in all of those students in

3:29:03that tier could be moving

3:29:06ahead in on on on their trajectories.

3:29:09And so when parents, you know, speak to

3:29:10me about this, it's not in math because

3:29:12I think then there'd be an explosion,

3:29:14but in history

3:29:16parents talk to me and I and I read what

3:29:19all everything that comes into the email

3:29:21and I really think very deeply about the

3:29:23about what do you do with a with a child

3:29:26who has a a real strong commitment to

3:29:30learning a subject and they get to ninth

3:29:33grade and they're looking ahead to AP

3:29:35and they're looking ahead to honors and

3:29:37finishing strong and they spend an

3:29:39entire year

3:29:40waiting

3:29:42in a sense. And so that concerns me.

3:29:45So

3:29:46I guess the other thing is is that the

3:29:48data that was presented tonight after a

3:29:50lot of work, I understand. We talked

3:29:52about it back in March and February was

3:29:55didn't really show a significant change.

3:29:58It did show a

3:30:01in terms of the number of students going

3:30:02into

3:30:04AP would have been the same anyway.

3:30:05Those are the strong students. They were

3:30:07they're waiting to get to AP. If there

3:30:08was AP ninth grade, they'd be there,

3:30:09right? Or some kind of accelerated

3:30:12course that meets their skills and

3:30:15creativity and energy level.

3:30:17But it doesn't But it doesn't exist. So

3:30:19what the data did show is that there is

3:30:20a challenge with black students and that

3:30:23we're going to try to understand what is

3:30:24happening. We also talked about whether

3:30:26that is systemic, maybe it's not only in

3:30:28history, but you didn't show comparisons

3:30:30with other

3:30:32courses like math and whatever. I'm not

3:30:34We're not asking you for more data right

3:30:36now. All I'm saying is is that they may

3:30:37be broader as you yourself pointed out,

3:30:40maybe broader than just the history

3:30:42curriculum.

3:30:43And

3:30:44and all the other data really showed not

3:30:46a significant change, you know, in terms

3:30:48of ups or downs in in where in where

3:30:51students ended up. Um which could just

3:30:54lead to the conclusion that, you know,

3:30:56strong students go on to strong course

3:30:59challenges.

3:31:01Students with a little lesser ability go

3:31:02into perhaps make other choices. And so

3:31:06it's just a comment about, you know,

3:31:07what I heard tonight and and my real

3:31:09concern that the the strong students get

3:31:12the absolutely strongest support from

3:31:14our curriculum. Thank you.

3:31:15>> Thank you, Jesse. Susan.

3:31:20>> So a couple of thoughts that somewhat

3:31:23connected, some not, but um

3:31:25one is to say that I actually hear from

3:31:27parents who are either pleased with the

3:31:29whisk or really don't understand what

3:31:32the problem is at all that there is a

3:31:33problem. So

3:31:35I just I know that we hear from those

3:31:37who um are concerned and and want what

3:31:41they call, you know, rigor, more

3:31:44but there are also a lot of parents, I

3:31:45would say the the mass a vast majority

3:31:48of them who I think are pleased. And so

3:31:50that's not to take away from those who

3:31:52aren't

3:31:53who have questions, but is to say we

3:31:55don't really hear from those who are

3:31:57pleased because they got a lot of things

3:31:59going on with dealing with the teen if

3:32:02things are going okay, they're not going

3:32:03to come up and speak at school

3:32:05committee. So that's one thought.

3:32:08Another is I think the school committee

3:32:10has work to do about what it means to

3:32:11stay in our lane. And so what how do we

3:32:14respond to the public when they talk to

3:32:17us about things they consider problems,

3:32:19whether is a day of

3:32:21reckoning, what is day of whatever those

3:32:23days are.

3:32:25Or

3:32:26Yes, all of those.

3:32:28You know, or if it's a course, a

3:32:31particular course, or it whatever it

3:32:34might be, and it's not something that's

3:32:36in our lane, how do we respond to the

3:32:37public? And I think we could do some

3:32:39work around that. Talk about it. How

3:32:41what How should we respond? What What

3:32:43would be a reasonable thing to say? Not

3:32:46that we would agree on saying the same

3:32:47thing, but how do we say that? And how

3:32:50do we let the public know that that's

3:32:51not really something that we're supposed

3:32:53to do.

3:32:55Quick little anecdote. I am friends with

3:32:58some of the teachers that used to work

3:32:59with Bob, and I said, "So, tell me, what

3:33:02was it that made it special, you know,

3:33:04with Bob?" And they said, they said this

3:33:07person said, I'll say they,

3:33:09uh that Bob let us try things. When we

3:33:13had an idea,

3:33:14Bob gave us the autonomy to try it. If

3:33:18it didn't work, we would have a

3:33:19conversation about it. We might change

3:33:21things. We might not do it. But he he

3:33:24didn't you didn't Bob say to them, "Oh,

3:33:27no, I won't let you do that." Or "Oh,

3:33:30no,

3:33:31let's take it to some place else and get

3:33:33a vote on it." You You let If it was

3:33:35reasonable, you let them try it. And so,

3:33:37I think that's in a sense what we're

3:33:39doing here, trusting, I think, what you

3:33:41were saying, that we trust our

3:33:44educators. And I completely trust our

3:33:47educators. I truly do. And I think that

3:33:50we should stick with your

3:33:51recommendation, which is to keep WISP as

3:33:54it is.

3:33:55My third comment, if I could just I do

3:33:58think that MTSS talks about

3:34:00differentiation, which you mentioned,

3:34:03and that includes the whole range of

3:34:05learners. So, it's not just giving extra

3:34:08support to learners who maybe don't have

3:34:11the background that they need. It also

3:34:14talks about differentiation for those

3:34:16students who are at the other end, who

3:34:18come in with a lot of whatever skills

3:34:20they need, and how do we develop that?

3:34:22And so, when I think of MTSS, that's

3:34:25what I think of, both, you know, K

3:34:27through 12, that we talk about providing

3:34:31support and differentiation for all our

3:34:34learners and that I know is a lot of

3:34:36work. I mean, that's really tough to do.

3:34:39It's much easier if you have them

3:34:40leveled because

3:34:42you don't have to do as much

3:34:43differentiation, but it's really

3:34:45critical to the way we are preparing our

3:34:47students all the way K to 8 and then

3:34:49into the high school. And that we should

3:34:52in fact and I think you've talked about

3:34:54that offer support and differentiation

3:34:57for all learners. And I think that

3:35:00you're committed to doing that and I

3:35:01think that's one of our responses that

3:35:03we need to say to the public is that we

3:35:06are committed to doing that. Uh we're

3:35:08not trying to

3:35:09I don't want to say level the playing

3:35:11field. We want to bring everybody in.

3:35:14Everybody can come in and we're going to

3:35:16raise everybody according to their

3:35:18needs.

3:35:19>> Thank you, Susan. Thank you.

3:35:22Kelly, you want to be last?

3:35:23>> No, you're last.

3:35:24>> I'm last. Oh.

3:35:26>> I mean, one more.

3:35:28Everybody gets to speak once, right?

3:35:29>> Well, if you you want to say something?

3:35:31Okay. I didn't No, you have to raise

3:35:33your hand.

3:35:34This is a class.

3:35:36Callan.

3:35:37>> Only

3:35:37cuz I'm trying to Thank you. Only cuz I

3:35:40have all these weird notes that I'm

3:35:42going to now try and

3:35:44say. So, um

3:35:48thanks for being here

3:35:50as always and

3:35:53um

3:35:54I feel like I and I So, first of all

3:35:58it makes me sad and uncomfortable when

3:36:01this start is starting to feel like sort

3:36:04of like a

3:36:05power struggle. I almost feel like maybe

3:36:07we need like a therapist or something.

3:36:09Um

3:36:10there is no vote on our agenda.

3:36:13So, I I don't know anything about sort

3:36:15of

3:36:16voting or not voting, but as far as I'm

3:36:19concerned there's no

3:36:20there's no option before us

3:36:23right now um

3:36:25to certainly get rid of this class and

3:36:28um

3:36:30and I

3:36:31think I you know, I'm really listening

3:36:34to this and we have talked about this a

3:36:35lot.

3:36:37And I think it's a really fair um sort

3:36:40of rhetorical question for us to ask

3:36:42ourselves like, why are we still talking

3:36:44about this?

3:36:45And I guess I'm I'm wondering and

3:36:47starting to think that maybe this WISP

3:36:50has sort of become a proxy

3:36:52for other questions. Um just other, you

3:36:56know, questions that

3:36:58the public has, parents have, students

3:37:01have, underlying concerns. Um maybe just

3:37:06whether it's about changes that have

3:37:07happened, um

3:37:10you used the phrase you wanted to burn

3:37:12down we were doing. So, if people sort

3:37:14of sense a a shift, um and I and as

3:37:18Laura said,

3:37:20I think those are valid concerns. Um

3:37:22whether it's the school committee's um

3:37:25job or role or even capacity to answer

3:37:28those questions, I'm not sure. Um but we

3:37:30are sort of the conduit to the public,

3:37:33so maybe this conversation informs us

3:37:37that we as a school committee, you know,

3:37:40need to have more information or tools

3:37:43about um being able understanding

3:37:45ourselves, um changes and shifts and as

3:37:49everyone has talked about, Bella,

3:37:52you know, has done so much communication

3:37:55and shares so much of her vision and

3:37:59it's just been such a totally different

3:38:02experience for me as a school committee

3:38:04member, um last year and this year.

3:38:09Still we're we're here in this WISP

3:38:11thing, um but I I guess I'm maybe that

3:38:15I'm hoping that, you know, if if WISP is

3:38:18sort of a proxy and there may be more to

3:38:21it, but if it's a proxy for just

3:38:24broader or even specific concerns about

3:38:28changes or, you know, what is on earth.

3:38:31Um

3:38:32I do hear that term used and and

3:38:35sometimes um people from within the

3:38:38school community community are saying

3:38:40like it's a label.

3:38:42Um is it just a label or is it what is

3:38:46happening? And I'm really interested in

3:38:48that question. Um so maybe we can all

3:38:51flag that for future conversations just

3:38:53like

3:38:55in in in an exploratory way, in an

3:38:57important way for us all to understand

3:38:59each other. Um

3:39:01and understand what's happening

3:39:04in our wonderful wonderful

3:39:06high school um

3:39:09that serves our students I think in the

3:39:11round. Um

3:39:14amazingly

3:39:15amazingly.

3:39:17Um

3:39:18So that's sort of a a thought and I'm

3:39:21trying to sort of be positive here. Um

3:39:25because I do think that the the it's

3:39:28it's

3:39:29I think that the

3:39:31um

3:39:33I'm not sure it's the course as much as

3:39:36the concern

3:39:38you know that maybe decisions were what

3:39:41whether they were ideologically driven

3:39:43or academically driven. Um and I'm not

3:39:45sure it's the content I don't think

3:39:49the content

3:39:51is in question. I think maybe the the

3:39:54approach has just been perplexing. Um

3:39:59and it worries parents and students and

3:40:01I feel that's valid. Um

3:40:04you know I'm the first to say

3:40:08how

3:40:09amazing my both of my children's

3:40:11experience has been um at the high

3:40:13school. Um and there've been moments

3:40:17where

3:40:19I felt like is the I'm I'm are are we

3:40:22going to lose them as a learner, one of

3:40:24them.

3:40:26Earlier on. And and that has worked out

3:40:29wonderfully. Maybe that's maturity. I

3:40:31think I probably said this last time.

3:40:33But when you hear your child say like it

3:40:36doesn't matter or it sucks

3:40:39that's a

3:40:40heartbreaking. Right? That's like

3:40:42panic-inducing.

3:40:45Are you going to lose this kid? Cuz we

3:40:47want them to be engaged. So, for me,

3:40:50that's where like the concern comes

3:40:52from. Um and so, again,

3:40:55I I hope maybe we can

3:40:58>> [clears throat]

3:40:58>> sort of look at this and and and go

3:41:01forward with different conversations

3:41:03that might get to some of what's under

3:41:05the surface.

3:41:07>> Thank you, Carolyn. Sarah.

3:41:09>> So, I'll repeat the same to everybody

3:41:10[clears throat] that spoke tonight, um

3:41:12as was said before.

3:41:14And I really feel like you've shown us

3:41:16tonight a kind of a call to the school

3:41:18committee to do what you're doing so

3:41:20well and what um Bella always asks us to

3:41:22do is to put the student learning at the

3:41:25center of everything that we do.

3:41:27And um I noticed you doing that tonight,

3:41:29and I thought about, as you were

3:41:31speaking, the times that I heard you

3:41:33speak about the student that maybe, you

3:41:35know, wouldn't have thought themselves

3:41:37an honor student in ninth grade, that

3:41:38does use the graphic organizer, right?

3:41:41That might be the kid in the group that

3:41:42those really smart kids that show up and

3:41:44tell us how they need honors class might

3:41:46actually roll their eyes to work with,

3:41:48right? And when you talked about all

3:41:50that, I really felt seen tonight. And

3:41:52so, I, you know, I hope that we can

3:41:54follow your lead.

3:41:56And to the idea of the I I think that

3:41:58all students are important, you know,

3:41:59the student that needs the graphic

3:42:00organizer, but the student that is

3:42:02really advanced needs

3:42:04um needs you guys, too. And what you've

3:42:06done well is you've planned a class. And

3:42:10when you plan a class for a teacher, you

3:42:12really offer them the ability to

3:42:14differentiate because you give them the

3:42:16materials that they need. It's a lot

3:42:17different when you're a teacher planning

3:42:19your own classes as you go along, right?

3:42:22And so, I really think that the strong

3:42:25message that you've given us tonight is

3:42:27how this is a class for everybody, or in

3:42:30the ways that it isn't you hope for it

3:42:32to be. And I also hope that it's a call

3:42:34to the school committee to make sure

3:42:35that we do the same. Thank you.

3:42:38>> Thank you, Sarah.

3:42:39Okay, Bob [clears throat] Weintraub's

3:42:40going to be Bob Weintraub, trying to

3:42:41wrap it up. Um this conversation, as you

3:42:44know, is hard for me. I'm used to being

3:42:47a protagonist, and here I feel like an

3:42:49antagonist. Um it's not comfortable.

3:42:53Um as you know, I spent 22 years at the

3:42:55high school

3:42:56innovating at Brookline High, loving

3:42:58Brookline High School, the kids, the

3:43:00faculty, staff, the powerful academic

3:43:02culture, and the very caring social

3:43:05culture. Brookline High School today, of

3:43:07course, remains a truly great high

3:43:10school, a truly great public high

3:43:12school. And by the way, that's due to

3:43:14you guys.

3:43:15Period. All of you who spoke tonight,

3:43:18and the and all of your colleagues who

3:43:20do the work every day, and it's late,

3:43:21and you guys have to get up and go to

3:43:23teach tomorrow.

3:43:24>> [clears throat]

3:43:24>> Okay, one of the reasons I ran for

3:43:26school committee

3:43:27was in response

3:43:29to what I was paying attention to at the

3:43:32high school, and there was an ongoing

3:43:34process where you ultimately, you can

3:43:38correct me if I'm wrong, but ultimately,

3:43:39I think

3:43:40um under the under the leadership of um

3:43:43um

3:43:44the senior director for the high school,

3:43:47um there was a proposal to de- de-level

3:43:49the entire ninth grade.

3:43:51Is that wrong? I mean, that was the

3:43:53There was a conversation about that. You

3:43:54read a book by uh Carol Birkhead from uh

3:43:58Yes?

3:43:59>> I'd push back a little on the

3:44:00de-leveling.

3:44:00>> Okay.

3:44:07Okay.

3:44:08So,

3:44:09>> And I just want to say

3:44:12>> Go, go, go.

3:44:12>> Sorry, I do need to say this, and it it

3:44:14actually relates to Carolyn. Absolutely,

3:44:16you were right to point to that, Jesse.

3:44:17Um I just want to remind everyone before

3:44:19you launch into this, um that

3:44:23WISP was created before that ever

3:44:25happened. We we independently created

3:44:27it, and part of what I think I just need

3:44:28to say this, I wanted to say it right

3:44:30after Carolyn talked, I really really

3:44:33really felt seen by your comment of

3:44:36like, maybe it is about WISP, and maybe

3:44:37it's about more than WISP. But I need to

3:44:39say

3:44:41we're in a room full of educators at

3:44:439:30 at night and that has an impact on

3:44:47us. Like we're just social studies

3:44:48teachers trying to get our course of

3:44:50study going. We can't carry on us every

3:44:53worry of every parent and every

3:44:55frustration they've ever had towards the

3:44:58school district and that's kind of how

3:45:00it's felt. So I just want to say before

3:45:01you lump us in, we were de-leveled

3:45:03before that.

3:45:04>> listen. I can

3:45:06I acknowledge at the beginning I I may

3:45:08be very wrong here. I could be wrong,

3:45:10but I have to be me. So, you know, put

3:45:12up with it for another three or four

3:45:13minutes. So, you've heard me you've

3:45:16probably Anthony has certainly heard me

3:45:17say this. Um when I was the head of the

3:45:19school we every we had the road show in

3:45:21the spring, went out to every elementary

3:45:23school, sold the high school. We wanted

3:45:25100% market share. You're very familiar

3:45:27with all that. Some of you were part of

3:45:29that. Um

3:45:31and at the end of the I did it 160

3:45:33times, I think. Went out to the road

3:45:35show. And at the end of every road show,

3:45:37this is not an exaggeration, parents

3:45:39would come up to me and say, "Thank God

3:45:42that Brookline High School has those

3:45:43honors and AP classes uh because we've

3:45:46just experienced nine years of

3:45:48heterogeneity

3:45:49heterogeneity [clears throat]

3:45:51and many of the parents said, "My kid

3:45:53needs to be more challenged." I'm, you

3:45:54know, so that was that was one of my

3:45:57realities.

3:45:58So,

3:45:59>> [cough and clears throat]

3:45:59>> after many years as a school leader,

3:46:02deeply committed to the core value high

3:46:04academic achievement for every kid,

3:46:08I believe that de-leveling

3:46:11is not the best way to honor that core

3:46:13value. I just that's where I am. Um I

3:46:16also heard as

3:46:18you heard a little bit tonight, volumes

3:46:21over the past few years from students,

3:46:22from parents who had serious concerns

3:46:25about whether the course WISP truly

3:46:27served the academic needs of all

3:46:28students.

3:46:30Um

3:46:31over 160 students and parents signed a

3:46:33petition being you know, being concerned

3:46:35about WISP for those reasons.

3:46:38Um

3:46:39and several year well, actually several

3:46:40years ago I wasn't part of the school

3:46:42committee at the time, but um the

3:46:44English department came here, you

3:46:46certainly remember that, advocating for,

3:46:49um,

3:46:49I think a de-leveled ninth grade class.

3:46:52And the School Committee, not me, School

3:46:53Committee voted 7-2 to reject that. So,

3:46:57this, you know, it the School Committee

3:46:59does those things. Um, you know, it's

3:47:02not called I don't think it's called

3:47:03meddling. I, you know, we have a

3:47:05responsibility to oversee the well-being

3:47:06of the school system. And part of that

3:47:09means pushing back sometimes. We can't

3:47:11We can't be a rubber stamp for

3:47:12everything that comes forward to us. Um,

3:47:15that's irresponsible. You know, okay.

3:47:18So, last night, I was fortunate to have

3:47:21dinner with a former student of mine,

3:47:23Dr. Ramon Gonzalez, who was a student of

3:47:25my doctoral student of mine at Teachers

3:47:27College when I was down there.

3:47:29Um, he was the founder and for 20 years

3:47:34Yeah. He was the principal of

3:47:37Intermediate School, High School 223 in

3:47:39the South Bronx, in the most

3:47:40impoverished congressional district in

3:47:43the United States. Um,

3:47:46and

3:47:47when he came to that school in 2000, I

3:47:50think it was 2002, to to be the founding

3:47:53principal, it was the most dangerous and

3:47:55the most, um,

3:47:57unselected school in the City of New

3:48:00York. Um,

3:48:02and he created a miracle. And he created

3:48:05a miracle by

3:48:08by demanding and

3:48:11basically it's about high expectations,

3:48:12high expectations for every child, and

3:48:16support, support, support for every

3:48:18child. There was summer teaching, there

3:48:21was summer recreation, there was

3:48:23after-school

3:48:24tutoring. He engaged the AmeriCorps

3:48:27program to come in and tutor the kids

3:48:30every day after school. Um, most parents

3:48:33were working at least, you know, one two

3:48:35jobs. Um,

3:48:37he he he described yesterday I I used to

3:48:39leave school for meetings with the

3:48:41Chancellor at 5:00 and the school was

3:48:44full of kids. And

3:48:47so the the magic of what he did it he

3:48:49transformed a school

3:48:52uh from being dangerous and

3:48:54underperforming dramatically to one of

3:48:56the top schools in New York City in a

3:48:58matter of five or six years

3:49:01by high expectations and support.

3:49:03Academic support, social support,

3:49:04emotional support. He he had the the

3:49:07school bought a whole bunch of books and

3:49:09every bodega in the community had free

3:49:12books sponsored by IS 20 IS IS 223.

3:49:17Okay. So he you know I asked him I said

3:49:20I'm I'm going to the school committee

3:49:22tomorrow night. I'm going to talk about

3:49:23WISP

3:49:25um unlevel scores blah blah blah. And he

3:49:26said I don't believe in deleveling. I

3:49:28don't believe in unlevel scores. I

3:49:30believe in launching kids into powerful

3:49:34academic programs with support.

3:49:37You know the calculus project was that.

3:49:40African American scholars like the

3:49:41African American Latino scholars

3:49:43programs like tutorial. These are equity

3:49:45programs that work.

3:49:47Okay? And you do it every day. So

3:49:51my you know so my response to the the

3:49:53possibility of deleveling ninth grade

3:49:57um and you know WISP was there

3:49:59beforehand, you know, is just I think

3:50:02there's an alternative way to reach the

3:50:05kind of results that we want with every

3:50:06child. And as you know equity means

3:50:10taking care of these kids, taking care

3:50:11of those kids, taking care of these

3:50:12different strategies, different uh

3:50:15programs, different interventions. And

3:50:18so

3:50:19let me see what I wrote at the end.

3:50:22Okay.

3:50:26Yeah. So you know finally

3:50:28my concern about WISP, my concern about

3:50:30delevel classes, unlevel classes, um I

3:50:34brought it here.

3:50:35I had a meeting with Anthony, had a

3:50:36meeting with Anthony, Jen, and Bella

3:50:39last spring.

3:50:41And I felt there was a commitment by

3:50:44Anthony and Jen and Bella

3:50:46to come forward like you did tonight

3:50:48with

3:50:50you know with alternatives, with um

3:50:52choices.

3:50:53You know, Brookline High School is

3:50:54defined by academic choices.

3:50:57The course catalog is a brilliant

3:50:59document of choices. And so,

3:51:03I'm an advocate for

3:51:05choices. I'm an advocate for kids coming

3:51:07to Brookline High School after 9 years

3:51:08of of heterogeneity and having a choice

3:51:11for high-powered academic classes. And

3:51:14so, I was hoping and asking that you

3:51:17come forward with a recommendation for

3:51:19WISP. Fine. WISP is

3:51:21I mean, I looked at the curriculum of

3:51:23WISP. WISP was really is really a very

3:51:25interesting

3:51:26course.

3:51:27Um

3:51:29but I wish that WISP

3:51:30there could be a WISP honors.

3:51:33As a choice.

3:51:34You know, WISP regular, whatever, WISP

3:51:36honors, you know, because

3:51:39the finally, the academic culture of a

3:51:41classroom,

3:51:43you know, we talked about the variety of

3:51:44ways that we deal with the kids in WISP,

3:51:46but the academic culture of a classroom

3:51:49is dependent upon kids sort of, you

3:51:51know, on the same

3:51:53on the same academic

3:51:55page. Where they inspire each other,

3:51:58they're engaging with each other. I've

3:52:00heard that over and over and over again.

3:52:02>> That's really interesting.

3:52:03So, you'd you'd like to make sure that

3:52:05all of the um kids that fall into your

3:52:09category are together and the others

3:52:12aren't able to be there. Is that what

3:52:14you're saying?

3:52:14>> That is not the translation, Sarah.

3:52:16>> Okay, can you state then what you're

3:52:17>> No, I'm just saying that

3:52:19in it's First of all, it's hard to teach

3:52:22a heterogeneous class.

3:52:23>> Oh.

3:52:23>> Secondly,

3:52:25I've heard

3:52:26from my own kids, from many other kids

3:52:28that um if they're going to be in

3:52:31school, they want to be in school in the

3:52:33most productive academic culture.

3:52:35And so,

3:52:37a heterogeneous culture is more

3:52:38difficult to create the kind of

3:52:41engagement, intellectual engagement that

3:52:43you have

3:52:45um

3:52:46in a more leveled class. I taught Okay,

3:52:48but I taught Points of View for many

3:52:50years.

3:52:50>> Uh-huh.

3:52:51>> Right? So,

3:52:53that was a standard level class. I love

3:52:56teaching that class. Did the kids love

3:52:58the class? No.

3:52:59Did the Did those kids that I taught

3:53:02engage the way that I wanted them to to

3:53:04engage? Did they read everything that we

3:53:05wanted them to read? Did they read the

3:53:07core bus? Not Not the way you or I would

3:53:11want, but

3:53:13I love those kids. Teachers Teachers

3:53:16love their children, their kids. And

3:53:19And I was You know, I look back on those

3:53:21days and those those classes.

3:53:24I love those classes and I had great

3:53:26relationship with those kids. They knew

3:53:27I loved them. They knew that I pushed

3:53:29them. They didn't want to be pushed. And

3:53:31so, you know, do I think a standard

3:53:32class can work for kids? Of course. Do I

3:53:35think an honors class? Yeah. AP Yeah. It

3:53:37depends on loving those kids, pushing

3:53:38those kids, and expecting a lot from

3:53:40those kids, and giving them the kind of

3:53:42support that they need. I'm done.

3:53:45That's, you know, it's a conversation.

3:53:48Let's move on, okay? Thank you. I mean,

3:53:50thank you for listening and thank you

3:53:51for being here.

3:53:53Um

3:53:54It's one course.

3:53:56Brookline High School's got more than

3:53:57one course.

3:54:11>> [clears throat]

3:54:24[clears throat]

3:54:25>> Okay.

3:54:28We have a presentation

3:54:32>> Sorry.

3:54:33>> We have a presentation on enrollment.

3:54:40>> I was assured everyone was here for me.

3:54:43>> [laughter]

3:54:45>> Justin, come on, man. Come on, Justin.

3:54:48Come on. Come on. A little little tiny

3:54:50bit of love, Justin.

3:54:51Um

3:54:53>> [clears throat]

3:54:53>> All ready.

3:54:56Uh so, with that said,

3:54:58um

3:55:01>> Yeah.

3:55:01>> Yeah. All right. Okay.

3:55:03Uh, Betsy uh has up the slides.

3:55:06>> anticipating you all night.

3:55:08>> Oh, I know. Baited breath, every one of

3:55:10you.

3:55:11Okay.

3:55:13Any who.

3:55:14So,

3:55:15uh Betsy has up the presentation. Um I I

3:55:18really want to make sure I thank uh

3:55:20Megan and McKenna who did really the

3:55:23yeoman's work of this. Um I reviewed

3:55:26most of it. I

3:55:28added one or two slides, but they did

3:55:31the vast majority of the work. And thank

3:55:33you, McKenna. Thank you, Megan. I think

3:55:35it's appropriate to um

3:55:38uh

3:55:39recognize them in public.

3:55:41Uh, so quick agenda. Um these are the

3:55:43items we're going to go through. Very

3:55:44similar to if you were here last year. I

3:55:47I don't think the agenda has changed

3:55:49much. We may have moved one or two items

3:55:51around.

3:55:52There. But did you have your pen up? Cuz

3:55:54okay.

3:55:55Um so, one thing to remember is our

3:55:58fiscal 27 enrollment is not certified

3:56:02yet. It was due Friday the 23rd. Um and

3:56:06DESE kind of gets to these things when

3:56:08they get to them. So, we expect to hear

3:56:11at some point. These numbers may change

3:56:13by one or two bodies depending on how

3:56:16DESE sees certain things. It's not as

3:56:18cut and dry as you might think

3:56:19sometimes.

3:56:21Um so, we're waiting for that.

3:56:24Uh, the next slide, I'm sorry, Betsy,

3:56:26we're two ahead of you. Think we're one

3:56:28ahead of you, sorry. Uh, next The next

3:56:30slide tracks enrollment over time. Uh,

3:56:34interesting, you can see um you know,

3:56:36some slow upward progression, then COVID

3:56:39hit.

3:56:40Um and we've sort of been in this, you

3:56:43know, sort of steady um figuring things

3:56:46out uh for a period of time with some

3:56:48decline.

3:56:50Um [snorts] I I want to make sure it's

3:56:52pretty small, but this chart does not

3:56:55include some of these slides include and

3:56:58don't include certain groups and we try

3:57:01to call that out. DESE has very specific

3:57:04parameters, but we also want to share

3:57:06things like full enrollment. So, this

3:57:09particular slide is what's reported to

3:57:11DESE. It does not include early

3:57:14childhood students under age 3 by

3:57:18October 1st. Uh it also doesn't include

3:57:21our out-of-district students. You'll see

3:57:23that comment at the bottom. It's very

3:57:25small.

3:57:26Um

3:57:27but that gives those numbers.

3:57:29So, then we have elementary enrollment

3:57:31uh by school and grade.

3:57:34Uh worth noting um kindergarten

3:57:37enrollment is lower than we anticipated.

3:57:41Um you will see in later slides that

3:57:43there is a gap between um our outgoing

3:57:48graduates and our incoming kindergarten

3:57:50students. And that makes up a big

3:57:52portion of sort of our enrollment drops

3:57:55and our challenges.

3:57:57Uh going to the next slide.

3:58:01Uh and feel free to stop me. I'm trying

3:58:03to in the interest of time trying to

3:58:05make sure we get through this, but I

3:58:06want to make sure I hit everything.

3:58:09Uh this is our BEAP enrollment by site.

3:58:13Um

3:58:14uh worth noting there are two sites you

3:58:17will see on here, Beacon and Potterham.

3:58:20Those are not um PSB locations. Those

3:58:24are um

3:58:25uh

3:58:26places we rent. Um Potterham is at

3:58:30Temple Emeth

3:58:31and Beacon is Temple

3:58:34>> Yeah.

3:58:35>> Ohr Ovad Shalom.

3:58:36>> Ohr Ovad Shalom.

3:58:37>> Sorry.

3:58:37Working on my making sure I pronounce

3:58:39those.

3:58:40>> That's right.

3:58:40>> Um you know, I think we've talked about

3:58:42there's some conversation about those

3:58:44sites. We'll certainly have some

3:58:46conversations about that later.

3:58:48So, moving on.

3:58:50Um drop from uh yep.

3:58:53Uh the next is uh we thought it would be

3:58:56of interest um and I think Caroline uh

3:58:59mentioned this

3:59:00uh after we shared this. This is the

3:59:03actual sections by school and grade.

3:59:07So, when you look at the calculations of

3:59:10average class sizes and things like

3:59:12that, you would take the total number of

3:59:14students and the number of sections, and

3:59:17that's how you would get to some of

3:59:18those average class sizes.

3:59:21Um [snorts] the middle school, grades 6

3:59:24through 8 in particular,

3:59:27these are based on homeroom assignments.

3:59:29There is some variance when you start

3:59:32getting into um

3:59:34specials in particular, because students

3:59:37move around a little bit. Those should

3:59:39be relatively consistent though. We

3:59:41don't magically add, you know, 100

3:59:44students when that happens, but there is

3:59:46some movement among class sizes.

3:59:51Uh so, K to 8 enrollment class size

3:59:54averages is the next slide.

3:59:58Uh you will see that all of our K to 8

4:00:00classrooms are below guidelines.

4:00:04Um

4:00:05nothing much more to to say here. There

4:00:07are some They are bigger, they're

4:00:09smaller. Uh we are looking at trends,

4:00:12and we are looking at um

4:00:15how we manage classroom space um on an

4:00:17ongoing basis.

4:00:19Jesse.

4:00:21>> Yeah, talking about um classroom space,

4:00:23if we could go the slide that you had

4:00:24enrollment over time.

4:00:26>> Mhm.

4:00:26>> Um I don't know if we can go back two or

4:00:28three maybe.

4:00:29>> Back to enrollment over time? Sure.

4:00:30>> Yeah.

4:00:32>> Mhm.

4:00:33>> One more. Yeah, so I guess my question

4:00:35is

4:00:36um for fairly the same school number

4:00:40number school buildings

4:00:41>> Mhm.

4:00:41>> and reasonably speaking the same number

4:00:44of classrooms, more or less. So,

4:00:48um there it looks like there's a

4:00:50difference of about a thousand

4:00:53seats. From that is that a Is that an

4:00:55appropriate interpretation of that?

4:00:57>> Um

4:00:59it Well, it So,

4:01:01you know, certainly something we want to

4:01:03look at is our space utilization. Uh

4:01:05that feeds into some of the

4:01:07conversations we're having about uh

4:01:09Beacon and Puttenham in particular.

4:01:11Uh

4:01:13it also the reality is that um we are

4:01:17extremely step variable. So, our ability

4:01:21to upon a reduction in some number of

4:01:24students, it's very challenging to

4:01:27necessarily reduce classroom space on

4:01:30that. So, you have to imagine that

4:01:32enrollment is across

4:01:34K all the way up through 12, right? So,

4:01:37you've got 13 grade levels basically.

4:01:40>> Right.

4:01:40>> And then you've got multiple

4:01:43um communities, right? So, spreading

4:01:46that around, it's not out of the

4:01:49question that you could have significant

4:01:52drops. And when we start talking about

4:01:54the potential for big decisions, which

4:01:57gets into the potential conversation and

4:02:00and I I hesitate say this, but things

4:02:02like school closures, start putting

4:02:04those things, those are huge

4:02:06undertakings. Those are undertakings

4:02:08that involve a tremendous amount of

4:02:11planning, a tremendous amount [snorts]

4:02:13of

4:02:14>> um you know, political will and things

4:02:16like that. So, I mean, if I I think if

4:02:19that's where you're getting, there's a

4:02:20much longer process for that. Um and

4:02:24that's maybe much more challenging than

4:02:26sort of just a comment here and looking

4:02:30at some some individual trend data.

4:02:33>> Yeah, um just to clarify, what that's

4:02:34not my behind-the-scenes question um

4:02:37that you mentioned about school

4:02:38closings. I guess what would be what

4:02:40would be interesting to see is what's

4:02:41the the emptiness by school.

4:02:44>> What what?

4:02:45>> What the empty empty seat count by

4:02:46school.

4:02:47>> Yes.

4:02:47>> So, if we're down by a thousand and

4:02:49we've replaced two buildings, um it

4:02:51would be very helpful to know how does

4:02:53that translate, you know, at Hayes, the

4:02:55smallest school, Riddle, the largest

4:02:57school, and the one the other six in

4:02:59between.

4:02:59>> Sure.

4:03:00>> Thanks.

4:03:00>> Sure.

4:03:01Yep. And that I I

4:03:03absolutely

4:03:05>> Um so, we were on um, class sizes. Uh

4:03:09Uh, we can go to the next.

4:03:11Uh, next slide speaks to our native

4:03:14language support program. We thought it

4:03:16was uh, relevant to add this

4:03:19information, um, just so you could see

4:03:22how many students we are um,

4:03:24reaching with this program and how it

4:03:27does impact enrollment at specific

4:03:30sites. So if you look at the number of

4:03:32students for whom NLSP is a zoned

4:03:36school,

4:03:3873,

4:03:39but the majority of students are either

4:03:42there because they're buffered and they

4:03:44were put in put in that school because

4:03:46of NLSP being in a buffer or they're

4:03:49very specifically going there for

4:03:52they're not in a buffer, they're in

4:03:53another zoned area, but they're going

4:03:56there because of NLSP.

4:03:58Right?

4:03:59>> It's And so we're wondering, too, that

4:04:02it's driving It also has budgetary

4:04:04implications.

4:04:06That we might be having sections that we

4:04:08wouldn't have but for the NLSP.

4:04:12Particularly at FRR cuz 23 are not in a

4:04:16zoned or a buffer.

4:04:18Um,

4:04:19so anyway, it's just something for the

4:04:21school community to be aware.

4:04:23And um,

4:04:25>> Yep.

4:04:25>> Okay.

4:04:26>> Yeah.

4:04:26>> W- What could you explain exactly what

4:04:28that program is and how it

4:04:31is different from uh, getting uh, ELL

4:04:35services?

4:04:36>> So we So at um,

4:04:39So at the schools that in the languages

4:04:41that are listed, so for instance, Baker

4:04:44is identified as Korean native language

4:04:49um,

4:04:49support program. And so if you First,

4:04:52you had to be eligible for ELL services.

4:04:55>> Right.

4:04:56>> And if you are eligible for ELL services

4:04:59and your native language is one of those

4:05:02um, six at the top, you could go You

4:05:06could have been enrolled in that school.

4:05:08Um, and so I actually put the program in

4:05:11abeyance this last summer cuz it was it

4:05:14was clear it was skewing the enrollment.

4:05:16Um, so no matter where you live

4:05:18>> Right.

4:05:19>> in Brookline, you could go to the school

4:05:22with that native language, but you first

4:05:23have to qualify for

4:05:25>> Right, but is it a pull-out program?

4:05:28Push-in? You go in?

4:05:29>> It's you're just you're just you're just

4:05:31there for EL you're there you're

4:05:33enrolled

4:05:34>> Right.

4:05:34>> and you're getting your EL service

4:05:36there.

4:05:36>> Okay.

4:05:37>> Should be understood across all eight

4:05:38schools.

4:05:40You can have your English language

4:05:42service no matter where you are. Yeah,

4:05:44across the eight schools.

4:05:46Theoretically, once you are no longer

4:05:49eligible for English language support

4:05:54>> Mhm.

4:05:54>> you can be asked to go back to your home

4:05:57district school, but that's challenging.

4:06:00>> Yeah.

4:06:00>> So, we've kind of created an issue where

4:06:04you've created this program, you have

4:06:05students that are there

4:06:08out of their zone, out of their buffer

4:06:10zone

4:06:11and then you have more students that

4:06:13come

4:06:14that might be eligible for English

4:06:16language support and the native language

4:06:19support program. So So, now you're

4:06:21over-enrolling that school cuz even

4:06:24those students

4:06:26were eligible, they were there and then

4:06:28it's hard to say now you need to go back

4:06:31to your home district.

4:06:33The But I But everyone should remember

4:06:36that you get strong EL service no matter

4:06:39where you're at across the eight

4:06:41schools.

4:06:42And so this is something

4:06:45native language um program started 25

4:06:48years ago and it's just I feel like the

4:06:53school community if you want to keep it

4:06:55you should understand has budgetary

4:06:57implications and if you want to keep it

4:07:01FRR

4:07:03you can see like for Japanese it's in

4:07:05two schools and you can see what's

4:07:07happening with the Hebrew language

4:07:09program at FRR. If you want to keep it,

4:07:12you really should start another site. So

4:07:15this is something for school committee

4:07:17to decide if you want to do this. It has

4:07:19budgetary implications and we're kind of

4:07:21presenting it to you to think about.

4:07:23Yeah.

4:07:24>> Oh.

4:07:25>> Just where the level of I appreciate the

4:07:27level of detail that you're providing

4:07:29now and so I'm guessing that with what

4:07:31you're saying you're sort of previewing

4:07:34that like we'll come back to this.

4:07:36>> Right. Like if you So So school

4:07:38committee

4:07:39>> You're not like asking us to make a

4:07:40decision.

4:07:40>> School committee right. It's It's

4:07:42previewing like and so right now we're

4:07:45already

4:07:46have things that we know we need to add

4:07:49for FY 28 and so we're it's you know

4:07:52it's there there's clearly going to be

4:07:54more things that we would like to add

4:07:56than

4:07:57is affordable.

4:08:00>> So.

4:08:01>> I just wanted to say that in the budget

4:08:03considerations is also transportation,

4:08:05right? Because we transport for these

4:08:07kids, right?

4:08:09>> No.

4:08:09>> I I don't think we do.

4:08:11Okay.

4:08:11>> No.

4:08:12>> No.

4:08:14>> Cuz it's completely cuz you can get that

4:08:17service at your

4:08:19school so it's completely voluntary. So

4:08:21no.

4:08:22>> Um I'm interested in finding out if we

4:08:25know

4:08:27what other districts do have this NLSP

4:08:30program or is it just

4:08:32>> It's unique to

4:08:34It's unique to Brooklyn.

4:08:36>> So yeah. So that makes me think why why

4:08:39do we have this program? Like pros and

4:08:41cons.

4:08:42>> Sorry. Maybe I Sorry.

4:08:44>> Should Aaron continue?

4:08:45>> Yeah.

4:08:46>> Am Are we getting sidetracked?

4:08:48>> Um

4:08:49there's a lot of questions right here.

4:08:50>> Okay.

4:08:51>> Let's go. Question quick.

4:08:54>> I don't have a question. I just want to

4:08:56Can you correct me if I'm wrong, please

4:08:58Bella, but responding to Suzanne's

4:09:00question about what is different about

4:09:02this about um

4:09:05NLSP from

4:09:07the EL program is one is I think I

4:09:10assume that when it was conceived of it

4:09:13was intended to create a little bit of a

4:09:15community. Um But second of all, I

4:09:18thought that

4:09:19the EL teacher is a native speaker of

4:09:23the language being taught that that the

4:09:25students are

4:09:26that also speak native way. So that's a

4:09:28difference.

4:09:29>> Russian language speakers. The EL

4:09:32teacher

4:09:33Russian language speakers. The EL

4:09:36teacher there is a Russian native

4:09:38language speaker.

4:09:40>> What?

4:09:41>> Yeah. So that's part of it. It also

4:09:44affects your hiring.

4:09:46>> All right.

4:09:48>> All righty.

4:09:49So if we move on to average class sizes

4:09:53of BHS, so this is a much more nuanced

4:09:57slide than some of the prior. You'll

4:10:00notice that Hal and Anthony are still

4:10:02here. Um we'll let them answer some

4:10:05questions later. Um couple comments on

4:10:08this. You'll note there are 29 classes

4:10:12with 20 uh of 20 plus students. So with

4:10:16the exception of three performing arts

4:10:18courses, all of these classes, to my

4:10:21understanding, are AP, honors, or

4:10:24advanced courses of some sort. So these

4:10:27this is not by any means the norm. There

4:10:30are specific reasons why some of those

4:10:32performing arts classes would be larger.

4:10:35So you're talking band, you're talking

4:10:37chorus. Well, those teachers want

4:10:39everyone together. They want all of

4:10:41their students in a in one class. So it

4:10:45it's really important to remember that

4:10:47you know, this is this is not way

4:10:49outside the mean

4:10:51um or the norm.

4:10:54So [clears throat] moving on again, Hal

4:10:56and Anthony can answer any nuanced

4:10:58questions.

4:10:59So then we get into how well did our

4:11:02projection perform last year? So when we

4:11:06projected FY27 enrollment um

4:11:10relative to um this year, you'll notice

4:11:14uh there was some variance of 83 total

4:11:17students.

4:11:19Um, that's a variance of about 1.2%.

4:11:22Um,

4:11:23I would factor out the variance and out

4:11:26of district. We frequently, when we

4:11:29project numbers for next year, we're

4:11:32looking at potential cases of students

4:11:35who may go out of district, right? So,

4:11:37we're not It It's not truly a

4:11:40projection. We're not factoring back and

4:11:43doing a rolling average.

4:11:45We're taking a best guess at what our

4:11:47potential placements might look like.

4:11:50So, if you factor that out, the net the

4:11:53net variance is really only about 1.06%.

4:11:58If you look at some of the numbers by

4:12:00Cropper or Nezdek who who who make a

4:12:03profession out of this, they're a little

4:12:06closer, sure. Um, but you know, using

4:12:10sort of the limited resources we have, I

4:12:12think 1% isn't terrible.

4:12:14Um, you know, we're doing the best we

4:12:16can.

4:12:17Um, so then going to the next slide, you

4:12:20will actually see

4:12:22how far apart, for example, Cropper and

4:12:25Nezdek are.

4:12:27Right? So, you know, I thought this was

4:12:30really interesting and and actually

4:12:32Bella recommended carrying it out

4:12:34further, so so we could really see that.

4:12:37And I think it makes sense. So, even the

4:12:39best people

4:12:41in the business of projecting this stuff

4:12:44are wildly different, right? So,

4:12:46Cropper's saying, you know, we're going

4:12:48to go up at some point. Nezdek says,

4:12:50we're going to keep going down. Um,

4:12:53it's hard. We don't have a crystal ball

4:12:55and and everyone's kind of doing the

4:12:57best they can to figure this out. Um,

4:12:59it's worth noting that they do use

4:13:02different methodologies.

4:13:04Cropper uses GIS data,

4:13:06uh, and they impute some things out of,

4:13:09um, policy decisions,

4:13:12um, such as, you know, for example, No

4:13:13Child Left Behind was a factor in in

4:13:16some of their enrollment projections in

4:13:18the past. Um, whereas NESDEC uses

4:13:21something a little more similar to what

4:13:23I've utilized in the projections and I

4:13:25think Susan did in the past, which is a

4:13:26cohort survival rate model.

4:13:29So, we speak to each cohort and we look

4:13:33at past performance and we impute

4:13:36forward based on that past performance

4:13:39of that cohort.

4:13:41>> Just quick question, maybe?

4:13:43Um, is is one of the Yeah, quick

4:13:44question on this one. Is one of the

4:13:45differences between Cropper and NESDEC

4:13:47that NESDEC also uses birth rate?

4:13:49>> Is what?

4:13:50>> Birth rate.

4:13:51Meaning that Meaning that

4:13:52>> But I I Well, I know NESDEC is using

4:13:55birth rate.

4:13:55>> Right. That was my question.

4:13:56>> Um, I

4:13:58believe Cropper I mean, Cropper is

4:14:00looking at birth rates as well.

4:14:02>> Well, the reason I say that is because

4:14:04overall in Massachusetts, birth rates

4:14:05are going down. It's not It's not

4:14:07surprising at all that the birth rates

4:14:08in Brookline are going down year over

4:14:09year for the last five or six years. So,

4:14:11kids born in '27, five years from now,

4:14:14they're going to be less kids. I mean,

4:14:16so this is probably

4:14:18partially the reason, not only I mean,

4:14:20there are reasons of you know,

4:14:22immigration into Brookline, etc. But

4:14:24looking at the state and then

4:14:25Brookline's average goes down about 100

4:14:29over the last couple of years per year

4:14:31of in birth rate. So, maybe an aging

4:14:34community, aging community, less people

4:14:37moving in with young children, migration

4:14:39to private schools, all kinds of

4:14:40different reasons. But if you look at

4:14:41birth rate,

4:14:42you see something that looks very very

4:14:44much like the like the NESDEC

4:14:45projection.

4:14:46>> Right.

4:14:47>> So.

4:14:47>> Absolutely.

4:14:49>> Val has her hand up.

4:14:51>> Thanks. Um, this might be a question for

4:14:54Megan who's been here for a little bit

4:14:56for this.

4:14:57Um,

4:14:58are you seeing, especially in these

4:15:00lower grade numbers, do you think that

4:15:02there's any attribution to

4:15:05um, federal policies on

4:15:09university

4:15:11uh, placement for postdocs and things

4:15:13like that that we used to have many of

4:15:15coming to this country?

4:15:17>> Yes.

4:15:18Um, I

4:15:18>> I can't say that that's for sure uh,

4:15:21happening. Anecdotally, have we had

4:15:23people who are more delayed in their

4:15:25planned arrivals to Brookline? I can say

4:15:28yes, we've had that happening

4:15:30but I don't have any data points that

4:15:33can say that that's the like a

4:15:35significant portion of the decline in

4:15:38these lower grades.

4:15:42>> I'm sorry hey Megan I didn't I I didn't

4:15:44even you were quiet for so long I didn't

4:15:47thank you.

4:15:49>> And I would say also that birth rates

4:15:51are not the best predictor here in

4:15:54Brookline historically

4:15:56the kids who were born in Brookline

4:15:57don't necessarily make it to

4:16:00kindergarten with us very often which is

4:16:02why we've often used

4:16:05different factors

4:16:07beyond just birth rate.

4:16:15>> We're okay?

4:16:15>> Okay.

4:16:16>> Okay, we can pop to the next the next

4:16:19breaks down these projections

4:16:22between elementary middle and high

4:16:24school and you can definitely see

4:16:27some trends emerging so

4:16:30um

4:16:31the first little graph there you will

4:16:33see we are in blue our actual is in blue

4:16:37so we are beneath both Nasdaq and

4:16:39Cropper in the elementary grades in

4:16:42terms of projections.

4:16:44Once you get up to middle school where

4:16:47we're somewhat between but we're closer

4:16:49to Cropper.

4:16:50And then when you get to high school

4:16:53we're still above both.

4:16:56So high school again I think it's those

4:16:58core we it's those cohort shifting

4:17:00through our

4:17:02our cohorts particularly post covid are

4:17:05continuing to maybe decline a little bit

4:17:08the refresh rate in kindergarten

4:17:11is declining high schools holding on

4:17:14those students that have been here are

4:17:15holding on.

4:17:17But

4:17:19we're you know

4:17:21>> You always have a bunch of kids coming

4:17:22back from private schools to the high

4:17:23school.

4:17:25>> Um yeah, so in some of

4:17:29we we provided some information

4:17:32at the very end on

4:17:34summer student registrations and and

4:17:38migration in and migration out. You will

4:17:41actually see

4:17:43uh make sure I have it. The number of

4:17:45students enrolling in mass private

4:17:48schools um has declined

4:17:52on a percentage basis. So students going

4:17:55out to mass private schools uh represent

4:17:59a a lower percentage and a lower number

4:18:02uh than in the past.

4:18:05>> And same for returning. Actually, we're

4:18:07retaining more students

4:18:09um

4:18:11numerically at the high school level.

4:18:14Um they are not going out to private

4:18:16schools at the the numbers that they

4:18:18are, which may have something to do with

4:18:20the economic situation. Um and or, you

4:18:23know, people are just really happy with

4:18:25Brookline High.

4:18:26Both end.

4:18:28>> It's one year though, hard to call it a

4:18:29trend, but

4:18:30>> Yeah.

4:18:31>> Okay. I'm just looking at the clock, so

4:18:34I'm going to move it along.

4:18:35>> Oh, wait. I get less time than

4:18:38>> [laughter]

4:18:39>> You get far less time than that.

4:18:41>> I thought I

4:18:42How's that equitable?

4:18:44>> I'm sorry, Aaron.

4:18:45We love you. It's okay.

4:18:49>> Okay. Um we can move on. So

4:18:53uh I have conducted some projections.

4:18:56This is very similar to what Susan did

4:18:58last year.

4:19:00Um so my methodology,

4:19:02um and I agree with Susan's methodology

4:19:05relative to what was done.

4:19:07My only difference

4:19:09is that I am using a four-year moving

4:19:11average rather than a three-year moving

4:19:13average that Susan used. And the

4:19:15reasoning behind that

4:19:17is

4:19:19typical forecasting uses a five to

4:19:22seven-year moving average if you know

4:19:25the data is relatively reliable.

4:19:284 years ago was COVID, right? So, most

4:19:33people recognize 2023 as being the end

4:19:37of fiscal 23 being sort of the end of

4:19:39the COVID era.

4:19:41And so, the data prior to 23 is really

4:19:45not helpful in formulating real

4:19:48projections and looking at real trends.

4:19:51So, Susan likely used a 3-year moving

4:19:54average. Right? Over the prior 3 years.

4:19:57Because that butted up against COVID.

4:20:00So, I'm extending it out to four,

4:20:02assuming I'm here next year, it will be

4:20:05a 5-year moving average. And I intend to

4:20:07be. This isn't

4:20:08>> Okay.

4:20:10>> [laughter]

4:20:11>> Um so, again, I I think, you know, 5 to

4:20:147 is a good range for us to use. Um you

4:20:17know, 3 to 4 might be a little light cuz

4:20:20you're not really getting like

4:20:21longitudinal trends uh in less than

4:20:24that.

4:20:25Yes, ma'am.

4:20:26>> Can I ask a

4:20:28Very good. Quick question. So, I know

4:20:30that uh town meeting and and other

4:20:33bodies are considering a new apartment

4:20:36buildings, new condos that could be

4:20:37going up in the next few years. Um there

4:20:39could be new building in the Chestnut

4:20:41Hill uh area. Are you taking into

4:20:44account when you're making these

4:20:45projections these potential projects?

4:20:48>> Okay.

4:20:49>> So, we just um the

4:20:51>> The

4:20:52>> town um

4:20:53department uh

4:20:55>> Planning.

4:20:55>> Sorry, planning department. Um just

4:20:58shared with us some development that's

4:21:00going on. Uh Megan and we just got it

4:21:04was it yesterday, Megan?

4:21:06Um

4:21:07>> Yes.

4:21:07>> We're we're we're looking at that

4:21:09information and we will do our very best

4:21:12to incorporate that into this as we plan

4:21:15forward. So, there will be some

4:21:17discussions, conversations about what

4:21:19that likely impact will be.

4:21:21>> Yeah, just

4:21:21>> Am I Am [clears throat] I wrong that

4:21:22historically it's always lower than we

4:21:24imagine it to be when the buildings are

4:21:27planned?

4:21:29The actual enrollment.

4:21:31>> Yeah, probably.

4:21:33Um you know, which I guess if actual is

4:21:36below what our moving average projection

4:21:38is,

4:21:40that actually means that that things may

4:21:42be accelerating a little bit, right? At

4:21:44some point because

4:21:46we're we're pressing beyond what sort of

4:21:49that average is. So, I'm that might be a

4:21:51little

4:21:52concerning disconcerting or whatever,

4:21:55but um you know, again, Cropper I mean,

4:21:58Cropper may have, you know, the magic

4:22:00beans. I don't know. Maybe we will start

4:22:02shooting up.

4:22:03>> Jesse.

4:22:04>> Yeah, just to follow up on uh Laura's um

4:22:07comment. We don't We have no real

4:22:09timeline in town meeting about when

4:22:10these things will be built or will ever

4:22:12be built. These are just plans right

4:22:13now. Even if they started building in

4:22:15the next two or three years, it'd be at

4:22:17least two plus years before then, which

4:22:19would see about 5 years from now. And um

4:22:22most of these house Most of this housing

4:22:24may claim uh a small percentage of

4:22:26affordable housing. Um but we don't know

4:22:28if the affordable housing is going to be

4:22:29filled completely with young families

4:22:31with children. Um and the rents for the

4:22:34other parts of those buildings in order

4:22:36to make the uh finances work out right

4:22:38are quite high. And so, that's again a

4:22:41major focus of us at town meeting uh

4:22:45this month and in the spring will be how

4:22:47do we attract, you know, through various

4:22:50warrant articles that'll look at

4:22:51changing things. How do we attract

4:22:53younger families who are essentially, as

4:22:55we heard at the select board last night,

4:22:57um priced out. And once they once they

4:22:59get to a certain part in their graduate

4:23:01education or whatever, they can no

4:23:03longer afford to to to live here, and so

4:23:05they

4:23:06move move elsewhere.

4:23:08>> Yep.

4:23:11>> So, we're okay there?

4:23:11>> Yeah.

4:23:12>> Projections. Uh

4:23:14So, quick summary slide.

4:23:16Um so, the the first comment relates a

4:23:20little bit to the extra slides we added

4:23:23and then the extra slides at the end

4:23:25that deal with summer migration.

4:23:27Our real challenge and why we move those

4:23:30outside of the main presentation

4:23:33is those

4:23:35we sat down well I sat down being new to

4:23:38this and I tried to track um migration I

4:23:41assumed migration plus the cohort swaps

4:23:46between kindergarten and um graduation

4:23:50should reconcile. Those should match. Um

4:23:53it turns out that obviously when they're

4:23:56just tracking summer migration in and

4:23:59out that doesn't take the rest of the

4:24:01year into account. So you will see if

4:24:04you look at those slides there was

4:24:06actually an a net increase of students

4:24:10in over the summer

4:24:13which then means that during the rest of

4:24:15the year what's happened is that

4:24:17migration has moved maybe from summer

4:24:21to the rest of the year. So if we go to

4:24:24this I I I wasn't wanting to dwell on

4:24:26them but thank you Betsy.

4:24:28Um

4:24:28>> Well okay

4:24:29>> So that's me, right? We have a we have a

4:24:33net drop that that you know it no thank

4:24:36you. Thank you.

4:24:37Um

4:24:39that [clears throat]

4:24:40you know

4:24:40it it would seem to if you look at the

4:24:43cohort difference between kindergarten

4:24:46and graduation it would lead you to

4:24:49believe that we should have an increase

4:24:50if you're looking at this in a vacuum.

4:24:54But we have migration through the whole

4:24:56year.

4:24:57Right? And so this only accounts for

4:25:00summer migration. So what this tells me

4:25:03is our trends have shifted. Our students

4:25:06aren't migrating over the summer as

4:25:08much.

4:25:09At least this year they didn't migrate

4:25:12over the summer they migrated throughout

4:25:15the year and that could be as we've

4:25:17talked about policy shifts things like

4:25:20that that may have caused people to make

4:25:22decisions

4:25:24um

4:25:25in a different time frame than the end

4:25:28of the school year, right? So maybe with

4:25:30less and very intentional planning for

4:25:34their children's education or what have

4:25:36you. I I'm just I'm spitballing a little

4:25:38bit there, but that's one possible uh

4:25:41there are possibly other answers for why

4:25:43that migration

4:25:45um ended up like that.

4:25:48But I just we thought it was an

4:25:49interesting trend, but we The problem is

4:25:52it doesn't really tell the full picture.

4:25:54And if we were to present those slides

4:25:56next year, I would want to do full

4:25:59annual migration.

4:26:01Um I think you know, I think that was

4:26:04put there deliberately at one point to

4:26:06talk about sort of the summer workload

4:26:09that goes on. You can see we have a lot

4:26:11of students even in the summer

4:26:13in and out, and it speaks to the work

4:26:15that Megan and Gayathi are doing

4:26:18all summer and now all year, especially,

4:26:22bringing new students in, um

4:26:23transitioning students out, and tracking

4:26:27that data.

4:26:28Um some of the other summary comments,

4:26:32um as I mentioned, graduating cohorts

4:26:35are larger than kindergarten incoming.

4:26:38Um enrollment forecasts are vulnerable.

4:26:42We just talked about policy decisions

4:26:44and things like that.

4:26:46Um we do have some specific programming

4:26:49such as NLSP that impacts what

4:26:52enrollment looks like at individual

4:26:53schools and class sizes.

4:26:56Um and then some of those advanced

4:26:59classes as we talked about and targeted

4:27:01classes at BHS have impacts. You really

4:27:04can't just look at it as a straight this

4:27:07is our class sizes. You need to, you

4:27:10know, listen to some of the nuance that

4:27:12goes on between those class sizes.

4:27:15Whereas elementary might be a little

4:27:16more straightforward.

4:27:19>> Thank you, Aaron.

4:27:20>> we're good.

4:27:21>> Good. Thank you.

4:27:23>> Thank you. Anything else?

4:27:24>> Carolyn

4:27:25>> Oh, Carolyn.

4:27:26>> Nice and nice and quick, Carolyn.

4:27:28>> Well, I want I have a couple questions

4:27:30for Hal and Anthony. Oh, and I just feel

4:27:32so bad that you're here. I'm so sorry,

4:27:35and it's four nothing, and it's

4:27:37somewhere in the sixth inning, and we're

4:27:39all going to miss it. Um

4:27:42But, I do want And And, you know, no,

4:27:45>> Al, take your shoes off.

4:27:46>> bad that you're still here. Um and I

4:27:48would have liked to have had a separate

4:27:50little meeting during the day

4:27:52>> That was a joke.

4:27:53>> to just ask because it's important to me

4:27:56to understand how BHS is looking for you

4:27:59guys when we start to talk about the

4:28:00budget and your needs. Okay.

4:28:03You answered generally, so it's pretty

4:28:05much as it always is. The 29 classes

4:28:07that have 28 or more students are your

4:28:09APs, et cetera.

4:28:11Nothing

4:28:12>> AP's, advanced classes, classes that

4:28:14>> Nothing new.

4:28:15>> have historic data. Sorry. Classes that

4:28:17we have historic data on, where we know

4:28:18they're going to there'll be some

4:28:19attrition, especially coming up toward

4:28:21the end of the first quarter.

4:28:23>> Um and

4:28:25how many classes overall

4:28:28have 15 or fewer students? And, what are

4:28:31they? Like, are you seeing low

4:28:33>> So, we certainly have some between 10

4:28:35and 15 in performing arts. We have some

4:28:39uh in wellness.

4:28:41One or two, I think there's one physics

4:28:43class, one bio class, one chemistry

4:28:45class that's 15, 14, 15 in that

4:28:48neighborhood.

4:28:49>> just a sectioning thing?

4:28:50>> That's just a sectioning thing, you

4:28:51know, that that's

4:28:53>> Yeah, it's the way it rolled out.

4:28:57>> We added Yeah, we got funding that

4:28:59helped us a lot with physics, and so

4:29:01that helped us to shift

4:29:04uh

4:29:04person over to bio, and and helped to

4:29:07ease some of the the the strain on

4:29:09numbers throughout. Uh

4:29:11but, yeah, there's an individual There

4:29:13are a couple of individual sections here

4:29:14and there are just anomalous sections.

4:29:17>> Um and how did things look this year in

4:29:19terms of students accessing

4:29:22APs? Like

4:29:24Ev- Did everybody get what they

4:29:27hoped for?

4:29:28>> Uh

4:29:29most people got what they hoped for. You

4:29:31know, some people want a lot. You know,

4:29:33a lot of juniors want to be in

4:29:36AP statistics, for example.

4:29:38>> Yep.

4:29:38>> So, we don't have room for all the

4:29:41juniors who would want to be in AP AP

4:29:43Stats to be in AP Stats. So,

4:29:52Based on [clears throat] what we know

4:29:53about attrition from that class, yes.

4:29:55So, we're we're comfortable building it

4:29:58at that number knowing that it's going

4:30:00to come down.

4:30:01>> But no major

4:30:03>> No major. We had, you know, we had a

4:30:04wait we had a very small wait list. I

4:30:06managed the wait list this year. It was

4:30:08a very small wait list. So, there were

4:30:09six unsatisfied juniors for AP Stats.

4:30:13There were

4:30:15uh several unsatisfied students for one

4:30:18of the AP Sciences. Those kids had a

4:30:21most almost all of those kids had a

4:30:24different AP Science that they were

4:30:25already seated in, but they either

4:30:27wanted a second one or wanted a

4:30:29different one than the one they got.

4:30:30When we tried to satisfy all, in the end

4:30:33we came up It was a pretty short list in

4:30:35the very end of kids who didn't get into

4:30:37that course.

4:30:39>> Caroline, I just want to add one thing

4:30:41Hal said that's really important. Our

4:30:43physics numbers weren't looking good.

4:30:45Our classes were looking large and we

4:30:48always have usually have a little bit of

4:30:50money held by admin and finance and we

4:30:53work with Robin, Karen, Bella, and Aaron

4:30:55to say we could really deploy 0.6 FTE

4:31:00and we magically hired somebody and now

4:31:02I look at those numbers and there are 23

4:31:04kids, 24 kids, chemistry, you know,

4:31:07across the board in all of those

4:31:09sections. Similar in chemistry where we

4:31:12cap at 24. So, it was just a really good

4:31:15example of a high-functioning district

4:31:18saying you've got a problem, we can help

4:31:20fix it.

4:31:20>> can have that

4:31:21>> And we'll deploy it quickly and we'll

4:31:22make a hire before the start of the

4:31:24year. So, credit to the district.

4:31:26>> and then it came right. Okay, that's

4:31:28great to hear. And then were there any

4:31:30classes that didn't run cuz they were

4:31:32under enrolled?

4:31:36>> So, we didn't wind up running the uh

4:31:39responding to literature standard level

4:31:41course because there was just not enough

4:31:43kids to make it a viable course. It

4:31:45would have There were a couple of

4:31:47factors involved there, but the numbers

4:31:48just weren't high enough.

4:31:49>> Yep.

4:31:49>> And the climate science and social

4:31:51justice course didn't have enough. It

4:31:54was

4:31:54>> innovation fund?

4:31:56>> It had been. Yeah.

4:31:58>> And so then, sorry, cuz this is a little

4:31:59bigger and again, I would be happy to do

4:32:02this in a different setting.

4:32:03Um

4:32:04I am just always interested in what

4:32:06enrollment is looking like in the

4:32:08relatively new classes, like the

4:32:10innovation fund classes, like um Marcy's

4:32:14class,

4:32:15Justice in Action,

4:32:17the AP African American Studies, the

4:32:20Heritage Spanish.

4:32:23>> So

4:32:24Yeah, the uh Heritage Spanish, I think

4:32:27it's about 14 and 19, 19 in the second

4:32:30year. Uh and there was a we had a

4:32:32scheduling

4:32:33We we had a

4:32:35class that should have allowed

4:32:38a class that that a number of those kids

4:32:40are in sort of blocked out some kids

4:32:42from getting into that class, so there

4:32:43was just a little scheduling little

4:32:45unfortunate part of scheduling for that

4:32:47uh Heritage one. The African American

4:32:50has 35 kids. That's Jen Martin who

4:32:52teaches that. So, she's accepted

4:32:55somewhat begrudgingly, but accepted a

4:32:58larger than normal cohort of kids in

4:33:00that class.

4:33:01>> so it's just it's the one section.

4:33:02>> It's one section, 35 kids. It's 30 kids

4:33:05in the AP side and five kids on the

4:33:07honors side.

4:33:08And the Justice in [clears throat]

4:33:10Action got four four bursting sections.

4:33:13I could have filled to I could have So,

4:33:15that's two social studies, two English

4:33:17sections. I could have easily filled

4:33:20another section just with kids who

4:33:21requested it. So, if we had built more

4:33:24of those uh

4:33:26but we like the model of having the two

4:33:28paired classes. That way they can

4:33:29combine and do it I

4:33:31>> So, an odd number doesn't work.

4:33:33Is that what you're saying?

4:33:34>> Uh right.

4:33:36Uh wait, I'm No, I'm I'm think I'm

4:33:37misspelling the Justice in Action. It's

4:33:39just the one section.

4:33:41Is that right? It's F and G?

4:33:43F and G for both. Yeah, yeah, I'm right.

4:33:44Yeah, F and G for both. Yes. They like

4:33:46having it mashed that way that way if

4:33:48they have a combined uh speaker, they

4:33:50can bring all of the kids in at the same

4:33:52time to uh hear the speaker.

4:33:55>> So, basically those relatively new

4:33:57classes are all thriving.

4:33:59>> Yes.

4:34:00>> Super interesting. Okay. And then is

4:34:03there anything else that you want us to

4:34:05know about

4:34:08enrollment staffing?

4:34:11>> I'll repeat what I've said many times in

4:34:13this body. You'll remember you you know

4:34:14you saw Aaron's slide that shows the

4:34:17decline in overall district staffing and

4:34:19if there was a similar graph that showed

4:34:21the high school, you would see not a

4:34:23decline. So, what I'm sorry, enrollment.

4:34:27Enrollment, sorry.

4:34:28Uh you would

4:34:31you would see that. And so, when

4:34:32budgeting time comes, let's remember

4:34:34that there's been this decline at the

4:34:36K-8 level and no decline at the high

4:34:38school level.

4:34:39>> Okay. Al, Anthony, brilliant job.

4:34:42Scheduling 2,000 2,200 kids with very

4:34:47very little with very few problems. And

4:34:51it's a huge thing and

4:34:53you know, you you do it brilliantly.

4:34:55Thank you.

4:34:57>> Thank you, Bob.

4:34:59>> You're part of it, Anthony.

4:35:01>> I'm not doing this?

4:35:04>> Al calls you across the hall says,

4:35:05"Anthony, help me out."

4:35:06>> I'm really sorry you guys had to be here

4:35:08so late.

4:35:11>> We're good?

4:35:12>> Oh.

4:35:13Megan, thank you.

4:35:15>> Thanks.

4:35:17>> Thank you, Megan.

4:35:21Okay. We're going to postpone the public

4:35:24school public school of Brookline policy

4:35:26manual dis- uh discussion till next

4:35:28time, Suzanne. Okay? And sub- quick

4:35:32subcommittee liaison reports.

4:35:34Curriculum.

4:35:35>> Curriculum is going to meet on November

4:35:3810th.

4:35:40>> Okay.

4:35:41>> Interesting topic to be revealed.

4:35:44>> Okay, great. Diversity, equity,

4:35:45inclusion, and justice, Sarah?

4:35:49Not you?

4:35:50>> It is me, yes.

4:35:52No update. Okay. Finance capital, Jess?

4:35:55>> Yeah, quickly we had we have

4:35:57we've had no meeting since the last one.

4:35:59It's monthly. It's coming up in about

4:36:01early November. And the other part on

4:36:03the capital side was um

4:36:05due to my also being a liaison to the

4:36:06building commission, I would had the

4:36:08privilege of spending morning with Bella

4:36:11and Helen at the Pierce School tour of

4:36:13the new building

4:36:15under construction. It was very

4:36:16impressive.

4:36:17>> Great. Policy?

4:36:19Suzanne?

4:36:20>> Oh, yeah, we have we have a lot to talk

4:36:21about

4:36:21>> Yeah.

4:36:23Right.

4:36:24>> [laughter]

4:36:24>> I will just say before the next school

4:36:26committee meeting you will be getting

4:36:30policies that we're going to talk about.

4:36:31So, be sure to read them.

4:36:33>> Okay.

4:36:34Okay, thank you. Negotiations last night

4:36:36we had a meeting.

4:36:37Think we made some progress. We'll see.

4:36:40Um

4:36:42Any liaison reports?

4:36:44Donna?

4:36:45>> You want to go first?

4:36:46>> Please.

4:36:47>> I'll just do very quickly. Um

4:36:50I forgot. Oh, last Saturday evening I

4:36:53went to

4:36:55METCO's [clears throat]

4:36:56annual "It Takes a Village" evening,

4:36:58which this year was at the Mix in

4:37:01Dorchester. I had the opportunity to

4:37:04talk with a lot of our Boston families,

4:37:07which I um really appreciated. And um

4:37:11I don't remember who I said it to. I

4:37:14said it to someone today.

4:37:16I don't know who it was. Anyway,

4:37:18um many of the METCO

4:37:22parent Brookline METCO parents were also

4:37:24METCO students themselves, which I think

4:37:27um

4:37:28speaks to if it you know, I come from

4:37:33the restaurant business, so it's like

4:37:34repeat business means you're doing

4:37:36something really well. So, I want to say

4:37:37that I

4:37:39I think it speaks to how successful the

4:37:41METCO program is.

4:37:43Um

4:37:44>> Thank you.

4:37:44>> The end.

4:37:45>> Other liaison, Jessi?

4:37:47>> Yeah, Bob and I attended the CPAC

4:37:49meeting last week. The main topic was a

4:37:53presentation by Chief Pastor on

4:37:55procedures when students go missing.

4:37:58There was a lot of detail presented,

4:38:00very valuable slides, and a very

4:38:03spirited discussion with the parents who

4:38:04came plus those online.

4:38:06>> Jen was brilliant.

4:38:08As as always. Any other liaison reports?

4:38:11>> to talk about Pierce next time to lump

4:38:13it all together.

4:38:14>> Okay, great. Thank you. Okay, new

4:38:16business.

4:38:18>> I have one.

4:38:20>> We have new business?

4:38:21>> Go ahead, Jesse.

4:38:22>> Okay, so one of the things that Chief

4:38:24Pastor and I had a discussion about, I

4:38:26think Bob brought it up, was the topic

4:38:27of SROs in the schools.

4:38:30Chief Pastor suggested that the key

4:38:33reasons for bringing SROs back in the

4:38:35schools,

4:38:36number one is school safety given all

4:38:38the kinds of issues that we see around

4:38:39the United States.

4:38:41So while they're not really acting as

4:38:42police officers in a building, they

4:38:44would be technically a first responder

4:38:46if something, God forbid, was to happen.

4:38:48Second thing was early intervention with

4:38:51with students in in terms of building

4:38:53relationships and friendships. Meaning

4:38:55that they come to see police officers as

4:38:58real people.

4:38:59There's

4:39:00There are relationships formed that

4:39:02could be extremely beneficial to all

4:39:04kinds of our kids. And the third was

4:39:06they're specially trained.

4:39:09For example,

4:39:10besides interventions and you know,

4:39:13stopping, for example, fight or violence

4:39:15or things like that, God forbid that

4:39:16should happen. There are other things

4:39:18like a bicycle training for kids whose

4:39:20parents want them to bike to school.

4:39:22They can provide that kind of training.

4:39:24Also stuff with the internet and

4:39:27handling social media. They're specially

4:39:28trained to work with kids, too. So after

4:39:30you build a

4:39:31a collegial and friendly relationship

4:39:33with these officers that don't cost the

4:39:36district any money

4:39:38by the way as well,

4:39:40is

4:39:41an excellent way of building rapport. I

4:39:44know myself and whenever I see a police

4:39:45officer, you know, I'm thank you for

4:39:47your service kind of thing every single

4:39:48time

4:39:49because it's a dangerous business, but

4:39:51that for a small child can be scary.

4:39:54Like these guys go out there and they've

4:39:55got, you know, uniforms and all this

4:39:57other thing. Um but the experience has

4:39:59actually been we heard it from Debbie

4:40:00Hat 2 years ago

4:40:02um when this when I brought this up as

4:40:04well was that um there are very positive

4:40:05relationships that can be uh built as

4:40:07well. Um and it's completely supported

4:40:10by the uh police department uh in terms

4:40:12of their volunteering to um re-engage

4:40:15with the school district to look at

4:40:16bringing them back. So, I would just

4:40:18place uh an idea out there that on some

4:40:21future of school committee we dock it um

4:40:24a discussion about SROs.

4:40:26>> Thank you, Jesse.

4:40:27Um I just want to add to that that um

4:40:30Jen made [clears throat] a very

4:40:30compelling uh argument in terms of if

4:40:33you have a SRO and some child

4:40:35disappears, the the police officer is

4:40:37there. That you don't have to call in to

4:40:39the department and get somebody come

4:40:41there and the police officer knows the

4:40:43kid and um knows something about the

4:40:45kid. And so,

4:40:47in terms of efficiency, um having the

4:40:49SRO there would be very very helpful,

4:40:51according to Jen.

4:40:53Carolyn.

4:40:54>> So, um

4:40:56Sorry, before Suzanne [clears throat]

4:40:58raised and then Faiza, you were

4:41:00commenting on and Bella, you were

4:41:01answering about the native language

4:41:03speaker program. And sorry, I was a

4:41:05little like, let's go, let's go because

4:41:07it was so late and we were getting

4:41:09sidetracked from Aaron. So, sorry. And I

4:41:12would like to raise it as new business

4:41:14anyway just like if at some point we

4:41:16could just get a little I I don't really

4:41:19know what's involved. So, it would be

4:41:21great to just get a little bit educated

4:41:23about what that program is.

4:41:26Um especially if we're going to

4:41:28contemplate

4:41:30>> Absolutely.

4:41:30>> changes. Thank you.

4:41:31>> Okay. [clears throat]

4:41:32Uh any any other new business? Okay,

4:41:35then we need a motion to meet in

4:41:37executive session pursuant to

4:41:38Massachusetts General Law chapter 38

4:41:41>> [laughter]

4:41:43>> for the purpose I have to I have to read

4:41:44it. Uh section 21 for the following

4:41:47purposes. Purpose three, discuss

4:41:48strategy with respect to collective

4:41:49bargaining Brooklyn with the Brooklyn

4:41:51Educators Union A B paraprofessionals

4:41:55because an open meeting will have a

4:41:56detrimental effect on the bargaining

4:41:58position of the committee and the chair

4:42:00so declares and purpose seven to review

4:42:03and approve the minutes from October

4:42:0514th, 2026 and October 19th, 2026

4:42:08executive session meetings. We have a

4:42:10motion from Carolyn second.

4:42:13>> Second.

4:42:14>> Uh Faiza, how do you vote?

4:42:15>> Yes.

4:42:16>> Carolyn?

4:42:17>> Yes.

4:42:17>> Jesse?

4:42:18>> Yes.

4:42:18>> Yes.

4:42:19>> Donna, Bell?

4:42:20>> Yes.

4:42:21>> Bob, yes. Suzanne?

4:42:23>> Yes.

4:42:23>> Sarah?

4:42:24>> Yes.

4:42:24>> Laura?

4:42:25>> Yes.

4:42:25>> Unanimous. We move into executive

4:42:27session. We will not be back in public

4:42:28session.

4:42:30Oh my god.

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