2026-09-08 - School Committee

0:12Good evening everybody. Thank you for

0:15joining us. Today is Tuesday, September

0:168th. It's the Marro Public School

0:18Committee meeting. I'd like to remind

0:20everyone that we are being televised and

0:23streamed by WMCTV.

0:25So, having said that, let's call this

0:27meeting to order at 7:30. Have everyone

0:29rise for the pledge of allegiance.

0:34>> I aliance to the flag

0:38to the republic for it stands one nation

0:42under God indivisibley

0:44and justice for all.

0:46>> Excellent. Thank you all very much.

0:50We shall dive right in with the

0:51superintendence report.

0:53>> Great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good

0:55evening, everybody. Uh good to see all

0:56of you. Um we have a packed agenda

0:59tonight um with many important updates

1:03and exciting news about some potential

1:05new programs. So we're going to jump

1:06right in. Um the first item on my report

1:09is uh a uh thrilling new opportunity

1:13that we're looking forward to bring to

1:15our Malbor High School students um in a

1:18new partnership with our friends from

1:20Asabet Valley uh vocational technical

1:24school regional high school. I want to

1:25make sure you have a very long title.

1:27So, I want to make sure I get the title

1:28right. Uh, and we're thrilled that

1:29you're here this evening uh to speak to

1:32the school committee and to our

1:33community about uh something that uh has

1:36been many months in the making. Um, and

1:38I know our school committee has heard uh

1:41me mention this a few times in a few

1:42different updates, but we have been

1:44working very hard to create uh

1:47additional pathways at Malbor High

1:49School uh for different um career

1:51technical opportunities for our students

1:54with the idea of really making sure that

1:56our students are prepared for uh

1:58post-graduation and really pursuing

2:01whatever experiences and passions that

2:03they have whether it's you know college

2:04or career uh military etc. And so

2:08tonight we're going to be focused a

2:09little bit uh on the career side of the

2:11house and something that's pretty

2:13innovative. Um and uh from our research

2:16I don't think has been done in many

2:18places. Uh and so it really does take a

2:21team to want to come together to do

2:23something uh really creative for uh for

2:26its young people to uh to bring forward

2:28to the school committee what we have for

2:30you in your review this evening. Um,

2:33please know that this is uh really what

2:36we're looking at on the short term as a

2:38pilot, but we do have a grant into the

2:41Department of Elementary and Secondary

2:42Education for a long range proposal that

2:46would help really cement the idea of

2:48career technical education and expanding

2:50those pathways to our uh to our Malbor

2:53High School students. And so, uh, mayor,

2:55I know you're very familiar with this.

2:57you've helped to facilitate many of

2:58these conversations and um excited to

3:01hear from our friends at Asabet tonight

3:02and Lynn Medallu our director of

3:04educational pathways who's been

3:06partnering very closely with the Asabet

3:08team. So I will turn it over to all of

3:11you.

3:15>> You'll be able to hear me. I'll talk.

3:16>> No, you have to go because we're

3:18televised. So that's how

3:20>> All right.

3:21>> That's how the t TV land can hear you.

3:24There should be a there should be a

3:25green button that's on. If not, then

3:27green light.

3:28>> All set.

3:29>> Green means go.

3:29>> All right. Good evening, folks. Uh my

3:31name is Ernest Hul. I'm a superintendent

3:33director at Aspet Valley. Uh first, I

3:35want to make sure I introduce our

3:37Malboro representative and chair of the

3:39school committee this year, Miss Peggy

3:41Ays. Uh Peggy's been with us how many

3:44years now?

3:44>> 11.

3:45>> 11 years. So, and she's done an

3:47outstanding job advocating for uh the

3:49students and the folks of uh Malro. Uh

3:52this is exciting from the standpoint

3:53that uh every year 4,000 to 6,000

3:57students uh miss out on the opportunity

4:00to access career and technical

4:01education. Um that's the demand uh

4:04beyond the available seats that are

4:07currently um afforded in Massachusetts.

4:10And as um innovative ways, expansion of

4:13programs happens um we have an ability

4:16at ASET this year um to utilize oops our

4:22uh program areas in two specifics in

4:25cosmetology and electrical uh which

4:27Christine is going to speak about uh in

4:29our counterpart from Malbero um to be

4:32innovative uh and do something in the

4:34afternoon when our shops are kind of in

4:37sleep mode between the night robust

4:39night programs that we have. Um, so with

4:42that, uh, it's been a long time coming

4:44as, uh, Jason had mentioned, uh, we're

4:47excited about it and if it's an

4:48availability to have more students

4:50access, uh, career connected activities

4:53to have them on a better pathway when

4:55they graduate, uh, that's all about the

4:57mission of, uh, of ASPET. So, I'm going

4:59to turn it over to Christine, and I

5:01thank you for your support.

5:07>> Good evening, everyone. Um, I want to

5:10first say thank you for having me here

5:12tonight. My name is Christine Gothier.

5:14I'm the director of community education

5:17at Asabet Valley and I oversee three

5:20distinct branches. Um, but the one that

5:22we're going to be talking about tonight

5:24is the Asabet Technical Institute. The

5:26technical institute provides career

5:29technical education to typically adults.

5:33What we're doing is opening up looking

5:35at the schedule like Mr. has said and

5:38finding areas where we can open up to

5:40your students at Marorrow High and offer

5:43them CTE career focused

5:47um education

5:49in um in time period that allows for

5:53them to still attend Marboro High School

5:55for graduation completion, attend Aspet

5:59Technical Institute in the afternoon for

6:02their career and technical education and

6:04still have time in the in in the evening

6:07for a balance. Um, so once our our

6:10presentation is up, I can show you what

6:12that's going to look like. Um, but in

6:15creating this, I was very mindful of the

6:17student as a whole and making sure that

6:19they could have a school um, work life

6:23balance because that's that's the key in

6:26order for them to sustain the long term

6:29and achieve their goals um, with this

6:32program.

6:36We're in trouble.

6:38>> Oh boy.

6:40>> I jumped up like

6:41>> Maggie, feel free to help out.

6:54>> So, while we're waiting for that, we'll

6:56we'll talk a little bit about it. What's

6:58exciting is, you know, obviously our

7:00first priority is that our students

7:01graduate. you know, we're looking at

7:03starting with 12th graders and so they

7:05are right on that brink of graduation

7:08and we need to make sure that they still

7:10take get all the credits that they need

7:12and all the coursework that they need.

7:14And so that will be part of finding the

7:16students who are interested and also

7:17making sure that it is all a positive

7:20that there's not going to be any sort of

7:22like whoops, you know, in in June, but

7:24that they're able to do it all. So, one

7:26of the and I'm just going to go because

7:28if this doesn't work, we're going to

7:29make sure that you know

7:30>> I could talk about this all day long.

7:32You know, when we look at the students

7:33schedules, we'll look at what part of

7:35that morning will they be at MHS taking

7:37classes. You know, if they um have very

7:40few classes and credits that they still

7:42need for graduation, then they could

7:44have a truncated schedule coming in a

7:45little bit later since they are headed

7:47over to Asabet around 1:00 to then do um

7:51the coursework there and the

7:53apprenticeship there until about 5:30.

7:55And so we want to make sure that we're

7:56not putting on this, you know, extremely

7:59long day like all of us are having

8:01today, right? Um but allowing them to

8:03have that balance and have the

8:05coursework. And so that is a very

8:07exciting part. The other thing that I

8:08think is great about this partnership is

8:13they have everything that one would need

8:15instead of us having to reinvent the

8:17wheel, right? We don't have and you

8:18could talk a little bit about that

8:20having all of the um the you the tools

8:26>> the facilities facilities utilities.

8:29Thank you. Facilities

8:29>> the instructors that are trained in

8:31these areas that are professionals in

8:33their relative.

8:34>> Yeah.

8:35>> Um

8:37so this little brainchild of mine um has

8:42been quite a few years of work. I'm new

8:44to Valley but this has been

8:49project.

8:51So

8:54go by the slides, but I could talk.

8:57>> So exciting. As great as we look, you

9:00want to look at this.

9:00>> Yeah, you want to look at that. Um, so

9:02this is uh the we're calling it dual

9:04enrollment. It is a pilot program. I

9:07think the key here in my presentation to

9:09you tonight is is to talk about how this

9:11is the pilot. This is literally the

9:14plane we're getting off the ground, but

9:17following behind it is the

9:18sustainability of a partnership grant

9:20like uh Mr. Falco was talking about and

9:24having the sustainability of the

9:27partnership applying Maro applying for

9:29their chapter 74 programming. So this is

9:32a long-term

9:34goal for us. But tonight, I'm going to

9:36specifically talk about the pilot this

9:38year, what we're trying to do this year,

9:40so we can gather data, we can hear about

9:42student experiences, and we can clean it

9:45up to make sure it's perfect as we as we

9:48move forward. Um, so what does this do,

9:50right? Uh, just like Mr. HooL said,

9:53there's a demand for a career and

9:55technical education across the state,

9:57actually across the country, but here in

9:58Massachusetts, there's a lot of kids

10:00that don't get that opportunity. What

10:03this does for a very small number of

10:05kids and hopefully more in the future is

10:07it opens up access to them. So they

10:11they're getting expanded opportunities

10:13through two specific programs,

10:15electrical and cosmetology. We're

10:17pairing with our partner um in Marboro

10:20to make sure that those students are

10:21still getting their academic

10:23requirements for graduation but are also

10:25going to be able to um complete career

10:28and technical education that's going to

10:30lead them directly into the workforce.

10:33And this partnership I want to be really

10:35clear it is with Asabet Technical

10:37Institute. So in a future slide you're

10:39going to see I'm going to talk about

10:40this. It's very much modeled like a um

10:45community college that you pair up for

10:47credit. In that same model, they'll be

10:50attending Asabet Technical Institute um

10:53and not the high school. I just I just

10:56want to be specific with that because

10:57that gets really kind of tangled in the

11:00weeds sometimes with people and so I

11:02just wanted to be clear.

11:04Can I just clarif

11:08is is the

11:09>> um the asipeta technical institute an

11:12accredited

11:14>> institution so that the course the

11:16courses that they're taking are for

11:19credit I mean I know they're leading

11:20towards

11:22>> a certification in the trade

11:24>> yes

11:25>> but are they credit bearing

11:27>> they are credit they're going to get

11:30credit through the high school ours are

11:32lure focused So they're hours based.

11:34They're overseen by the state board

11:36agencies that oversee them. We have to

11:38report to those state agencies um the

11:42curricul they have to follow that

11:43curriculum. They earn hours and we

11:44report those hours back. They'll be um

11:48curriculum that they have to follow that

11:49then will translate to credit for high

11:51school graduation.

11:53>> So they will also receive high school

11:54credit. Yes. So

11:55>> it's basically a twofold.

11:56>> Yeah.

11:57>> Yeah.

11:58>> Thank you.

11:59>> Yes. You're welcome. Um so this is you

12:03me okay uh so a traditional dual

12:06enrollment for high school they go to

12:07high school they commute um complete the

12:09community college and they get that so

12:12for us you're they're going to go to

12:14Marbor High attend technical our Aspet

12:17Technical Institute for their hours and

12:20um all of the credentiing that they'll

12:22need for a career focused pathway to

12:24enter the workforce. They are going to

12:26gain their CTE skills as well as

12:28credentials. Not only will this align

12:30them for lure in the future because some

12:33of these have like steps you have to add

12:35up over time for the different um

12:37programs

12:39but this is going to head them towards

12:40lure but before they get there we're

12:42going to provide them the opportunity to

12:44achieve industry recognized credentials.

12:47So example, OSHA 10, hot works for

12:50electrical, barberide certifications for

12:53cosmetology. Those kind of things

12:54they're going to walk away with

12:56immediately with the goal is completing

12:59their program in lure.

13:01>> So this is the part we were sort of

13:03talking about what their day would look

13:04like that in the morning they would

13:06attend Melbour High School, you know,

13:07and they would start classes there. The

13:09when would depend on what the student

13:11needs to take as far as classes and how

13:13you know what they need for their um

13:15graduation requirements and it would be

13:17an abbreviated academic day. They would

13:19then have lunch with us, leave and go to

13:22Asabet for 1:00 until about 5:30 where

13:25they would take on this coursework and

13:27then at 5:30, you know, they would still

13:29be able to that's more or less the hour

13:31that sports end, you know, if kids were

13:33in sports more or less, right? If you

13:35got an away game. So they'd still have

13:37that opportunity to potentially maybe

13:39pick up a few hours at night of work if

13:40that's what they wanted to do. Hopefully

13:42be able to relax at home a bit. Um and

13:45so we we hope that the day would be

13:47balanced and they would have all of

13:49these opportunities throughout.

13:52>> The program also runs Monday through

13:54Thursday um with their Friday ability to

13:57still be at Marboro High and to get

14:00support or uh any other of the academic

14:04parts or supports that they would need.

14:05Yes.

14:06>> So, quick question though. If we're

14:08talking about a 1 to 530, so then some

14:11of these students would need to

14:14understand that they weren't necessarily

14:16going to be able to participate in

14:18sports, right?

14:19>> Possibly. We're addressing that right

14:20now. We're looking at the students who

14:22are eligible.

14:23>> Okay.

14:25>> All right.

14:26Okay. and then you know which you may be

14:29going to this more but relative to um

14:32the certification

14:35um they'd be meeting certain amount of

14:36graduation requirements but I'm

14:39wondering then is there something that's

14:40going to be needed on that certification

14:42level that would be actually after

14:44graduation that

14:46>> I'm okay we are going to answer that

14:49>> yeah I will get to that

14:50>> awesome thank you

14:51>> you do

14:52>> um for our pilot what we're hoping for

14:55is we want to find up to 20 MHS seniors,

14:59you know, students to be part of it, 10

15:01electrical and 10 in uh cosmetology

15:04and then they would have this

15:06understanding and and my counterpart

15:08here will talk so much more. She's quite

15:10passionate about it. Um about what year

15:12two would look like for those students

15:14because they would go on to finish their

15:15lensure.

15:16>> Um but this way, you know, we would be

15:19able to as you were mentioning try it

15:21out, see what is working. We're seeing,

15:24you know, in a small group being able to

15:26look at what's the parent and family

15:28outreach like, looking at the

15:30transportation, looking at all of these

15:32other pieces in a manageable size so

15:35that we could then grow the program.

15:38>> Um, so to speak on that, you'll see that

15:40there's an asterisk next to cosmetology.

15:42I'm going to talk about both electrical

15:43and cosmo. So cosmetology is in a

15:46thousand hour program. The amount of

15:49hours that these seniors would get in

15:51this pilot senior year is about 600

15:54hours.

15:56With the state board regulations right

15:58now, they are allowed with an

16:01application for um uh an apprenticeship

16:04to work in industry prior to lure with

16:08that certification that I would fill

16:10out. So once they have those 600 hours

16:12and summer comes because we're not we

16:14don't go year round, they would able to

16:16get their apprentice uh application, put

16:18that in and start working in industry,

16:21gaining those skills that they'll need

16:22in a salon. They would then return in

16:25the fall of 27 to complete the remaining

16:28400 hours. That goes from September to

16:30about January, give or take. Um so

16:34that's how they would complete once they

16:35have their thousand hours um and they've

16:38passed all their requirements. um they

16:40can then apply to take the test for

16:42their uh stateboard lure. When it comes

16:45to electrical,

16:47electrical is broken up um into modules

16:49that can also be talked about in terms

16:51of journeymen. Journeyman 1, 2, 3, and

16:54four. through this pilot program for

16:57these seniors in the amount of time that

16:59we have with with thinking about the

17:01schedule adding more of a hands-on

17:03component for them because they are so

17:05new they don't have industry experience

17:07they won't be able to gain that in their

17:08first year I'm adding in more hands-on

17:11in the shop um setting for them they'll

17:15be able to complete journeyman one

17:17that's modules one and two once they

17:20complete that and then summer they

17:22graduate and they and um they finished

17:26the journeyman one program. The goal for

17:28them then is to seek an apprenticeship

17:31um and employment in the electrical

17:33field because with electrical it takes

17:36about about four years for them to

17:38complete not only their theory hours but

17:40then their practical hours that they're

17:41working under a master electrician to

17:43gain all those to eventually get um to

17:47take their test to be a licensed

17:48electrician. So, it's, you know, a

17:50little bit further down the road, but

17:52they'd have what they need to get into

17:54industry, have skills because they'll

17:56have more hands-on experience through

17:58this pilot program and seek employment

18:00and get out there, as well as those

18:02industry recognized credentials that I

18:04spoke of. Um, OSHA, Hot Works, um, and

18:08those things that are really valuable

18:10when they're seeking employment out

18:11there.

18:15>> Uh, this is kind of what you been

18:18talking about. Yeah. So, so can I ask,

18:20so you said with cosmetology to finish

18:23up, they come back probably 3 or 4

18:25months, you know, like first semester or

18:27so.

18:28>> How much longer after they graduate

18:31would they continue coming back?

18:34>> So, till January,

18:36>> would they also till January? No, that

18:39was cosmetology for electric.

18:40>> For electric?

18:41>> Yeah.

18:42>> So, electrical once they're done with

18:44this pilot. Yeah. They're done with

18:45journeyman one.

18:46>> Yeah. And so you can only take um so

18:50many of the theory, you can only take so

18:52many of those hours per year per order

18:55of the electrical board. So it takes

18:57about four years total. So they'll have

19:00the first year under their belt, be able

19:02to be apprentice, they have to get so

19:04many hours working under master

19:05electrician, and then when the timing

19:08fits, so maybe the next year they start

19:10taking the theory classes. their theory

19:12classes in the future would be two

19:15nights a week or so while they're

19:17working and earning hours out there. So

19:19that it would take about three more

19:21years after this program to get

19:24everything together if they kept going

19:25straight through um as well as working.

19:28>> Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

19:29>> Does excuse. Does Dr. Dark provide

19:31journeyman two or three or four?

19:34>> Uh yep. So the technical institute we

19:36provide all of the journeymans. We've

19:38broken them down. Um it still says

19:40journeyman but we're going back to a

19:41module format. It's it's the same. It's

19:43two modules per journeyman.

19:45>> But so they could apply in other

19:47journey 2 three.

19:49>> Yep. But we offer them um through aspet

19:51technical institute also.

19:52>> Right.

19:52>> Yeah.

19:53>> On a cyclical basis. So they tend to

19:56catch it and keep going.

19:57>> Yes.

19:57>> I'm just so obviously going through the

19:59cosmetology program myself. So, I guess

20:01my question to you is when they return

20:02back to the extra 400 hours, is there

20:05going to be a separate class for them

20:07because they won't be or will they be in

20:09the other class with the new possible

20:12two program in the fall?

20:15>> So, they wouldn't be with the Marbor

20:17High School students anymore because

20:18they'd be coming in the evening.

20:20>> Got it.

20:21>> So, they'd be coming with the evening

20:24group that's there and it's a it's a a

20:27numbers balance game. So, right now, um,

20:30we have a full-time cosmetology correct

20:33teacher, but we're in the process of of

20:36hiring looking to hire a technical

20:38assistant teacher who is a licensed by

20:40the state board as a teacher so that we

20:42can

20:42>> because you need the numbers.

20:43>> The numbers got it.

20:45>> Yes.

20:47>> Yeah. Um, so with each of these um,

20:52skills, there's going to be guidance

20:55support, if you will, or counseling

20:57support, however you want to phrase it.

20:59I guess my question is is that um once

21:02the students have graduated from MHS yet

21:06they still have accreditation that

21:08they're going to need. Is that something

21:11where then Asabet then steps in to then

21:14support from a guidance and helping with

21:17some of those apprenticeship needs and

21:19things like that? I just and I'm sure

21:22you guys are probably still thinking

21:23through all of this, you know, but it's

21:25it's it's like the hive mind of trying

21:28to make sure we're not missing how to

21:30make sure we're supporting the these

21:31students.

21:32>> Absolutely. So, we at ASA Technical

21:34Institute, I'm the director, but I also

21:36have an ATI coordinator. Her job is to

21:38organize all of the ATI programs and

21:40kind of oversee some of these other

21:42things. In addition to that, with her

21:44coming on last year, her job was to

21:47organize job fairs and provide career

21:50support, meaning uh interview skills and

21:54uh resume and and um building um kind of

21:57workshops and one-on-one meets with

22:00students. And this is for all of our

22:01ATI, including these student, the dual

22:03students we're talking about to help

22:05prepare them for the interview process

22:07or seeking employment. Um, also our

22:10instructors are are from the field,

22:12right? So they know a lot of the

22:14companies that might be hiring. So

22:15that's another really strong resource.

22:17So even if they know um our ATI

22:20coordinator can help facilitate them

22:22being prepared to go out in that

22:25capacity.

22:26>> And it just sounds like something on our

22:27end. We need to make sure our guidance

22:30group, our counseling group is kind of

22:32prepared to make sure they're talking

22:33the same language with you all. So

22:36>> we have that support system. the whole

22:38way through to kind of help walk someone

22:41through as opposed to, oh my gosh, I

22:43don't know what my next step is. And

22:45sometimes it's scary to even know to ask

22:48or who to ask. And

22:50>> just jump on. Oh, one of the things that

22:53we haven't gotten to yet or I'm sure we

22:55mentioned the program actually runs

22:57Monday through Thursday,

22:58>> right? So the idea is that having these

23:00Friday that we're going to mention, but

23:02having the Fridays

23:04>> actually creates an opportunity for our

23:05students that are in this to get the

23:07extra help and support they need.

23:08>> Okay. So it allows us to really have

23:10those conversations, connect with them

23:11throughout the year and certainly after

23:14they graduate, we're going to drag them

23:16back to talk to students about their

23:17experience to have them, you know, the

23:20the students in the high school to see

23:22what kids did before them and see what

23:24can be done.

23:24>> Yeah. Okay. Great. Thank you.

23:26>> Yeah. Course. So, one of the things we

23:27talked about this a little bit, you

23:28know, this pilot will be so interesting

23:31and we'll be working out all, you know,

23:33any and all bugs if we encounter to

23:34them, right? But we'll be able to see

23:36sort of how the students are doing.

23:38We're seeing how they're reacting to the

23:41schedule, the programming, you know,

23:42we'll have all these opportunities to

23:44check in with them. We're, you know, the

23:47transportation, we're making sure that

23:49that's working. Um, communication is

23:52going to be big. We have already set up,

23:53we're joking that, you know,

23:55>> we're new best friends. we under this

23:56where you know there's going to be daily

23:58communication to make sure the students

23:59are where they're supposed to be or at

24:01least that we're having that

24:02communication so that everyone feels as

24:04though we're supporting them. Um

24:07obviously as as we grow making sure

24:10there's that staffing capacity we want

24:12to make sure this is open to any student

24:14who might be interested who it might be

24:16of interest to them. We want to make

24:18sure that if a student is on an IEP or

24:21any other thing that they have on their

24:23learning plan that we're able to take

24:24that in consideration so that we don't

24:26close this off to any of our students.

24:28Um we also will so we have interested

24:30students currently be reaching out to

24:32them on Monday. We're getting together

24:35and um doing an information night for

24:37the parents to talk about this all the

24:39way through so the parents and families

24:41also know what their student may be

24:43signing up to do and understands that.

24:45That'll just be the beginning of

24:47hopefully a lot of that family

24:49communication.

24:50>> And the key to that parent and guardian

24:53expectation night is we're hosting it at

24:55Asvet Valley. We're doing that to bring

24:57them in to have them meet our staff to

24:59see the spaces. I told um we met with

25:02some high schoolers to gauge interest

25:04and I said the po point of this is to

25:06you know if we have a parent expectation

25:09evening you come with them. This is not

25:11parent teacher conferences where you got

25:12to stand in the hall. you got to be a

25:14part of this process along with your

25:15family. Bring them here. Let's have a

25:17conversation. Let's find out all of

25:19those questions you have and let's come

25:21up with answers. I will say like again

25:24super passionate about this and um you

25:26know first meeting Jay and seeing how

25:28open he was to all of I'm sorry Mr. Do

25:31all this um and seeing how excited he

25:34was about a potential and then you know

25:37having Ernie support Mr. who will

25:39support with all of this. Um, it's been

25:42really exciting. But then we had a

25:44logistics meeting and I met the team

25:46from Marbor High and they're just as

25:48passionate, just excite as excited as I

25:50am. So, um, all of these little things

25:53and I welcome all the questions because

25:55that's going to help us try to problem

25:57solve before we get there. So,

26:00and and I think that that's actually one

26:02of the reasons I was actually asking the

26:04question about athletics or music,

26:06right? try and jump ahead about some of

26:08the things that um I you know I think

26:12about how Marorrow has really been big

26:14about the whole child and just like

26:16we're talking about having that balance

26:18in the evening. I appreciate needing to

26:21have the time frames that people can get

26:23that the skill. I'm also wondering

26:26though how to support the students not

26:30feeling like they're also losing some of

26:32that experience that you sometimes only

26:35get during high school. Um, and so not

26:38to say it's um, insurmountable, it's

26:42trying to like figure out how can we

26:43kind of problem solve to be able to

26:45support

26:46someone that might have those interests

26:48because maybe these still are really

26:50right for the program,

26:53but they say no because they they're

26:55like, but I still want to do this.

26:57>> So, how can we bridge that gap to kind

26:59of help them get there with both of

27:00them? You know,

27:02>> and just not problem solving that right

27:04now, but thinking about that. So if that

27:06is one of those things at least with

27:08this conversation and talking about

27:10Asabet Technical Institute as part of

27:12their community and part of their

27:13options, maybe that's a post-graduate

27:15opportunity. It's not gone. It just

27:18might postpone so they can play their

27:20sport or be a part of the band, you

27:22know, but like let's have a

27:23conversation, let them know what their

27:24options are. And I think that that's the

27:26entire um impetence, right? We want

27:29students to know what's available. it

27:31might not be something they want to do

27:32right now, but we want them to know like

27:33this could be something you do next year

27:35or in two years and just keep widening

27:38their knowledge and their possibilities

27:39of what's out there because sometimes

27:41they only know what they've seen

27:42>> and so this way if this doesn't work for

27:45them, they've at least heard about it.

27:46We get to talk to them about other

27:48opportunities as they graduate.

27:50>> So talk about growth.

27:52>> Yeah. So long term. So we're talking

27:54about the pilot, but we're talking about

27:55now sustainability, right? Beyond this,

27:57what do we do? So, um, Marboro High has

28:01started the process of applying for

28:03their partnership grant through the

28:04Department of Ed. And with that, what

28:07that looks like is they're applying for

28:09chapter 74 programs in both electrical

28:11and cosmetology. That doesn't mean

28:14you're building a wing. That means that

28:17it the partnership is still with ASV

28:19Technical Institute because we have the

28:20facilities, the instructors, and the

28:22experience for CTE education. So um that

28:27partnership is exactly that uh funding

28:29would come through uh Marboro and then

28:33into uh the technical institute or

28:35however it's stipped up. I haven't got

28:37that far in my skill set yet. Um but

28:41that's how it would be sustainable and

28:43looking at that with the growth of this

28:45is now looking at a junior senior

28:48timeline for everyone. this then I was

28:51really specific about it being a pilot

28:52because I know it does seemed like you

28:55know how do we fit this right but we got

28:58to get it going to get the feedback to

29:00then build um so this is our foundation

29:03the pilot uh so the sustained model uh

29:05again it's a little bit of a numbers

29:07thing based off state board and the

29:09ability for an instructor to be with

29:11number of students we are looking at um

29:14with the growth with the um

29:17uh chapter 74 for um partnership is 20

29:22electrical and 15 cosmetology students

29:25per year. Um that would be uh our hope

29:28for next year and then the future.

29:32>> So so just to clarify if we get past the

29:36pilot and we get the grant and we move

29:38forward and the kids start in 11th grade

29:42then they would the cosmetology kids

29:44between 11th and 12th grade would

29:46complete those thousand hours. So they

29:48wouldn't have to come back after

29:49graduation.

29:50>> Yes. Yes.

29:52>> And would they do journeyman 2 if they

29:55were doing practical?

29:56>> The structure would change slightly in

29:59order to do two cohorts of 10 and then

30:02be able to adjust their schedule and it

30:04would still be a journeyman one because

30:05you can't do

30:07>> so you can't do four modules in a year.

30:09>> Yeah.

30:10>> Right. So like but again allowing for

30:12the hands-on component of this piece for

30:15this group of students that won't be in

30:17industry yet is really really valuable.

30:19So building that schedule like that,

30:22>> right?

30:23>> Um so you know annually the 20 and the

30:2615 would that sorry five over a fiveyear

30:29potential that's a lot of students that

30:32would have access to CTE.

30:35Um

30:38yeah, you can tell we have a lot of work

30:39to do.

30:40>> You know, we had an amazing uh

30:41conversation. The seniors had their

30:43senior assembly today and um they came

30:46to chat and talk about the program. Some

30:48many students stayed afterwards which

30:50was great. We have a lot of names of

30:52students who want to talk more about it

30:54and so now we'll get to work with that

30:56this week to really identify those

30:58students that this is a viable option

31:00for. Um and then of course invite the

31:02families and them to our meeting on

31:03Monday.

31:05and it's exciting.

31:07>> Um, and just to I just want to touch on

31:10this a little bit of why I'm so very

31:12passionate about what I'm talking about

31:13right now. Um, so I am a CTE educator by

31:17heart. I might have a different title

31:19now, but that's who I am. I'm a teacher.

31:21I've been in the CTE world for over 15

31:24years. I have seen it change lives.

31:27Period.

31:29And in that assembly today, talking to

31:32that small group, looking at those kids

31:34and having the light go on in their

31:37eyes, being like, "Wait, what? I could

31:39possibly what?" There was hope. There

31:43was really incredible hope. And I I hope

31:46this works out for all of them and all

31:48the future students that, you know,

31:50didn't know that they wanted it or maybe

31:52they did and the they didn't get in the

31:53lottery. whatever road they went down,

31:57they're here and we have an opportunity

31:59to provide them with something they

32:02didn't have an opportunity for

32:03yesterday.

32:06So anecdotally, I have one of those

32:09students that went through Malbero High

32:10and at the age of 20 came back and said,

32:12"If I had to do it over again, I think I

32:14should have gone to Asabet at age 20."

32:18And you know when the kids are in eighth

32:20grade or seventh grade and they have to

32:22make that decision that that's the

32:24pathway that they want to go on. A lot

32:26of kids aren't ready for that to make

32:28that you know discovery about

32:30themselves.

32:31>> What's really great is they get to do

32:33both.

32:33>> Yeah. To be able to have the opportunity

32:36as they get older to, you know, find

32:39themselves and and realize that perhaps,

32:43>> you know, this is an option for them

32:45that they hadn't never considered

32:46before. It's amazing. It's great.

32:48>> And just to add on that, I think one of

32:49the important pieces too is this idea of

32:51expansion and looking at different

32:53opportunities and pathways and options

32:54for our students so that

32:56>> you know they have a chance to explore

32:58something that otherwise maybe they

32:59wouldn't.

33:00>> Um, and

33:02>> I know it was mentioned earlier, but

33:04it's this idea of like dual enrollment.

33:06>> So they are Malbor High School students,

33:08but they are attending the ATI as

33:10technical institute electrical program

33:13uh or the cosmetology program, but

33:14they're still MHS students. And so I do

33:17think it's a pretty creative way to try

33:18to get, you know, sort of like both

33:21bites of the apple, so to speak. Um, it

33:23doesn't put kids in the middle of the

33:25adults arguing over what they should be

33:27doing and where they should be going.

33:28And that was one of the first

33:29conversations that Ernie and I had is we

33:30just have no interest in that.

33:31>> We want to find a way to present

33:33opportunities to our kids.

33:35>> And that was sort of where this came

33:36>> at at scale at five years out, 175

33:39students, great vision.

33:42>> Do more trades open up or is it a

33:46function of it's a program through ATI

33:50which keeps it focused on cosmetology

33:53and the electrical trade.

33:55>> My my dream and my hope

33:58>> on video right now is is growth growth

34:01in multiple areas because we know that

34:03there's high demand not only from

34:04workforce um demands but we also know

34:08>> that there's demands from students. I

34:10want more options and I don't want to

34:12owe a college $300,000 at the end.

34:15>> And I mean that's really where my

34:17>> Yeah.

34:18>> I'm trying not to get carried away high

34:21school, you know, we survey the students

34:22what their interests are. Their

34:23interests change all the time. Um from

34:25when they start in 8th grade to, you

34:27know, whatever. So as we see those, we

34:29want to find the opportunities for them.

34:31And so that's what we'd be looking to

34:33do. Like where are those areas that the

34:35students are really looking for?

34:37>> Yeah. No, that's great.

34:38>> Yeah. am even putting this out there

34:40into the community. You know, I've been

34:41a CTE educator for a really long time

34:44and I know that my counterparts are

34:45always trying to find like I really like

34:47what I do, but I'm not ready to teach

34:49full-time during the day. So, even this

34:51this model has created a new access

34:54point for CT educators. And so, in

34:56saying that,

34:58>> posting for these two and kind of going

35:00through that, I've had a lot of people

35:01reach out and be like, "Oh, are you

35:02going to do this in welding? Are you

35:05going to do this in HVAC?" Because the

35:07interest is there. not only for them but

35:09their industries and being able to do

35:12multi be multiaceted. So

35:14>> Dan, I think you had a question. Yeah,

35:16>> I have a couple of questions and if

35:17they're disjointed, it's because I wrote

35:19things down as I was looking at things.

35:21The couple first of all, what criteria

35:24was used or is being used to decide who

35:26gets to do this program in the pilot? I

35:28realize after that we're going to have

35:30more opportunity, but

35:31>> excellent. So the um first student

35:33interests, right? So first the students

35:36who are looking at this as a career

35:37option who are interested in doing this

35:39and so the guidance counselors were the

35:42first to reach out to students they

35:43already knew had voice that this was an

35:45interest. So that's how we started and

35:47then you know when the kids came back to

35:49school they were talking it up to other

35:51students you know about an opportunity

35:53today was wonderful having them in front

35:55of the entire senior class. So now it

35:57really will come down to looking at

36:00where they are as students and can they

36:01do it? they their number one goal is

36:04graduation, you know, and making sure

36:06that they have those credits and they

36:08have the courses that they need to have.

36:10Um, and so we're looking closely at that

36:12to make sure that they would be able to

36:13take this on. And so, um, we're, you

36:16know, the will, the way, and then, um,

36:19the drive, you know, and really getting

36:21the students involved that way.

36:22Obviously bringing the families into the

36:23conversation as well.

36:26And I'm not sure we can't probably more

36:28our side than your side at. But when

36:32when it gets really popular, which we

36:33know it's going to because everything

36:35we've been doing lately has become very

36:36popular. What determines at that point

36:39you've only got 75 seats and you got 200

36:41kids who want to do it. How how are we

36:43going to work that one out?

36:44>> We're going to bring you in now.

36:47answer that. So with the chapter 74

36:50designation that Marorrow High is

36:52applying for through the partnership,

36:54they are also bound by lottery.

36:57>> Okay.

36:58>> So if and that's not for me to say how

37:01that goes. I mean we can give our expert

37:04opinion if it's you know asked for and

37:06things like that but it would actually

37:08have to go back to that.

37:09>> Yes.

37:10>> So that's actually something we were

37:12discussing when we were talking about

37:14policy,

37:15>> you know. So, we're going to need to

37:17pull a policy together on this. That

37:20would be one of those levels that we're

37:21going to have to address how that

37:23becomes part of the conversation. Dan,

37:25>> it's, you know, but I think we've got to

37:28get through the initial stage to then

37:30move down that path of of the expansion

37:34and and how to wonderfully deal with

37:36that, right? I mean, and I think that

37:39this to me it's this is another

37:41extension of some of the other things

37:42that we've done, whether it's the dual

37:44um the college um early college that

37:48we've offered. Um we had the

37:51relationship with the ambulance group so

37:53there could be EMT certifications and

37:55things like that. I think it's just

37:57trying to understand the population

38:00um that we're talking about and how can

38:02we best serve their needs and broaden

38:05the opportunities just like you're

38:07saying. So this is the tip of the

38:09iceberg and hopefully it can grow from

38:10there. So

38:13>> my question was more of I understand the

38:17lottery. I get that. But my question is

38:19more if we have the lottery spaces are

38:22there and we have more students that

38:24want to do it than we can. Is there some

38:26criteria we're going to be using? I mean

38:29I hate to take a kid who's all excited

38:31about doing something and they tell them

38:32at the last minute sorry we're not able

38:33to to do this right now.

38:35>> So I think you know as it grows these

38:37needs to become conversations we're

38:39starting earlier and earlier. You know,

38:40one of the things where we talk about in

38:42the state, but definitely in the

38:43district is college and career

38:44discussions starting much much earlier

38:46than ninth grade around sixth grade,

38:49maybe even in elementary schools. You

38:50know, having these conversations with

38:52students so that not that they need to

38:54decide what they're doing way down

38:55there, but the idea that you know, this

38:58all leads to something. You know, your

39:00your choices that you have, there'll

39:02hopefully be very many of them. And so,

39:05you know, there are hard conversations

39:07that have to happen sometimes, you know,

39:09but it doesn't mean that it's closed off

39:10to the opportunity. Then we talk about,

39:12well, let's, you know, you really want

39:14this. Let's figure out how we can do it.

39:16It just might not happen with this

39:17program, but after graduation.

39:19>> And just one last question, Mr.

39:22This is probably more on our side than

39:24their side. Um, in terms of the courses

39:26at Model High, I mean, I I are any

39:30courses that would they be would any of

39:32our students be not able to take certain

39:35courses because they're not offered in

39:38the morning time. Like for instance, I'm

39:40not think I'm just thinking sciences. If

39:42you don't do chemistry in the afternoon

39:44and they want to do chemistry for their

39:45science thing, how do we work that

39:48around?

39:50>> That's an excellent question. So, and I

39:52think you know in the pilot having it be

39:53small is going to allow us to sort of

39:55see these on a smaller scale before we

39:56get too large. We once again our our

39:59number one priority is graduation and

40:02making sure that they have the courses

40:04and the credits that they need to have

40:05and then if we're identifying things

40:07like that we need to figure it out.

40:10Yeah.

40:12>> All right. Sounds good to me. Okay.

40:15>> If everything goes according to plan

40:17ballpark start date

40:21>> the 21st of this month would be

40:23fantastic.

40:26But I know things take time.

40:28>> That's our hope be our hope as long as

40:30it's not too rushed. We don't want the

40:32students to get too far into their

40:33current coursework if we're going to

40:34pull them out of that, you know, and all

40:36of that. So, we're trying to be um quick

40:39but not rushing, you know, and make sure

40:42that we get the students who want to be

40:43in it can be in it, um but also haven't

40:46gone so far into their coursework. Now,

40:49>> I was actually thinking the opposite.

40:50the further you delay the hours,

40:53>> right?

40:54>> That was that was the idea behind this

40:57start too is to make sure

40:59>> you know one they don't have to move

41:01around too much or don't get settled in

41:02their ways but also to make sure we can

41:04achieve all the goals that I've kind of

41:06put in place already.

41:08>> This meeting was critically important

41:09and we we couldn't do any of this

41:11without this conversation without the

41:13students having been back,

41:15>> right?

41:15>> Because those one-on- ones are really

41:16important for the kids.

41:17>> Timing is everything. Yeah.

41:19>> Well, the other thing is which I want to

41:22say thank you to MHS to the

41:25administration on pulling together

41:27changes within the scheduling because I

41:29think how the the schedule has gone from

41:33the multi-day and the cascading this and

41:36all of that

41:37>> never do it.

41:37>> It would never have worked. And I

41:40honestly, it's a huge change, but it's a

41:43change that can be really beneficial for

41:46this, but many other things, too. Um, so

41:49I mean, I think it's kind of like

41:51setting setting things up to be able to

41:53work appropriately. So, you know, thank

41:55you for going ahead and doing the work

41:58um to set things up for this to have an

42:01opportunity for success.

42:04>> Anything further?

42:07No. Thank you for your time, Christine.

42:08It's always good to see you here.

42:10>> Thank you,

42:11>> superintendent. Thank you for your time.

42:12Yeah, Peggy, thank you.

42:14>> All right.

42:16>> U next I have an update on our uh

42:19student enrollment for the current

42:21school year. And just a quick uh look in

42:23the rearview mirror at last year's

42:24attendance. Um before I I jump into

42:27that, um we have had a a very strong

42:30start to the 2627 school year. Um, we

42:35have had some hiccups, which we'll hear

42:37at our next meeting in more detail, uh,

42:39with transportation, although I think

42:40those of us that have looked back on to

42:43last year's issues would probably say

42:44they pale in comparison. Uh, but we do

42:47want to get to a point where we have

42:48none. Um, we should be able to get our

42:50kids to and from school. I mean, that

42:52just should not be a heavy lift. Um, and

42:54so we continue to work with NRT to help

42:57them build their capacity so that it is

42:59not a heavy lift. Um, and we're getting

43:01there. Um, but there's still we've had

43:03some issues with uh some double runs.

43:05We've had some issues with alignment of

43:08what our drivers have on their root

43:09sheets don't match with what we had on

43:11our sheets that were posted. There were

43:13some issues there. Um, we did uh today

43:17alone there were eight call outs from

43:19NRT. So, they had eight substitute

43:21drivers, 11 late buses. You know, we're

43:24in day three. So, uh, just know, uh,

43:28that, uh, Muhammad and our

43:30transportation coordinator and our

43:31building principles and and schoolbased

43:33support teams continue to be right on

43:36top of these issues. Uh, and we are not

43:38going to give much wiggle room, uh, to

43:40NRT at all. Um, and so, uh, they have a

43:43big contract with us. We plan on holding

43:45them accountable to that. As we know

43:46from last year, uh, we certainly did uh,

43:49the same. So, uh, again, while these

43:53issues are much smaller in number, um,

43:57we should not have any issues. And so,

43:59uh, we're not going to take it as a win

44:01that we have less. Um, we're going to

44:03keep pushing to ensure that all of them

44:05are resolved. And so, uh, just thank you

44:08to our, uh, to our district and

44:10schoolbased teams for their support on

44:11that as we continue to push NRT.

44:14>> Um, quick question about the sorry,

44:18quick question about the callouts. Um,

44:20is it something that those call outs

44:22were specific for today and different

44:26from last week? Um, I just I want to

44:29make sure we're not seeing something

44:31that's um repetitive and drivers being

44:34moved around to different buses so that

44:36we basically still have the same holes.

44:38They're just moving it around into

44:40different places,

44:42>> you know.

44:43>> Yeah. Are you asking are there the eight

44:44call outs today? Were there eight on f

44:46Thursday and eight on Wednesday? Is that

44:48that sort of thing? or are we in that

44:50same realm? I just want to make sure

44:51we're just getting

44:53>> sorry the shell game.

44:54>> No, no, I appreciate the question. Um,

44:56so I can answer you based on the

44:58information that I have and so I

45:00requested from NRT a full list of each

45:03one of their runs for every school and

45:05who was driving their AM PM and

45:07monitors. Uh, and they were fully

45:09staffed.

45:12>> So yeah, right. But we're not part of

45:14their on as you know that, right? Right.

45:15Like the onboarding process and things.

45:17So like I'm not entirely sure. We have

45:18the list of names, but I can tell you

45:20that our morning communication starts

45:23about 6:15, 6:30, and we immediately get

45:26the list of who's covering what run. So,

45:28either their attendance is lackluster,

45:31uh, or there's something else happening

45:33that we're not sure of yet. Um, but

45:35that's standard practice as far as we

45:37get the uh the bus coverage every

45:39morning. So, if you know I'm covering

45:41your bus cuz you're out, it will say my

45:44name and then the bus number that I'm

45:45covering for. So,

45:46>> but you're also being pulled off of some

45:48other route. Is that That's I guess what

45:51I'm wondering.

45:51>> I don't know if it's another route or if

45:53it's drivers from other um contracts,

45:56right, with different districts.

45:58>> Um Yeah. Yeah. Not sure.

46:00>> I agreed. I just

46:02>> But it could be some of that too, right?

46:04Tier one, tier two, they could be

46:05shuffling the drivers around, which

46:07could be why

46:08>> we end up with delayed runs in their

46:10second tier.

46:11>> Yeah.

46:12>> Because they're moving people from the

46:13first tier. there's late runs from one

46:16tier to the next.

46:16>> There were also a number of reports that

46:19um they were to follow per their bid

46:23structure and their packet, which it

46:26would be great if we could finally get

46:27them on that list um of providing us

46:31some of those reports. I'd be more than

46:32happy to go back and pull those exact

46:34reports that they said that they would

46:36be doing for us because I know you came

46:38in after the fact after all of that had

46:40happened. But I just think we need to

46:44make sure that they're doing what we

46:46need them to do.

46:47>> Yeah, we were in direct communication

46:49with them Saturday, Sunday, and Monday,

46:51multiple times um requesting

46:54information,

46:56>> probably similar to some of the stuff

46:57they're thinking about to make sure that

46:59we're taking them to task on what they

47:01need to do. The other thing is I would

47:02really just love to emphasize for our

47:05community, if you are having concerns or

47:08issues, instead of choosing to go onto

47:11Facebook and start writing social media

47:13posts about concerns, please actually

47:16contact the administration so that we

47:19can actually try and help and solve

47:21something. It's really hard to play

47:23catch-up when we don't really know what

47:26those issues are. But if you help by

47:28going ahead and um getting hold of

47:32initially maybe your building principal

47:33to let them know that a a stop has been

47:36missed or something like that. It would

47:38really help so that we can jump on that.

47:41Finding out about it after the fact and

47:44trying to play catch-up is really really

47:45tough. So, I I would just say for our

47:47community, um please use your adult

47:50voice and communicate effectively with

47:53people so they can try and solve that

47:55issue. Um it would help tremendously.

47:59>> Thanks.

48:00>> Yeah, I just reference that piece

48:02because it does directly connect to our

48:03attendance of course, right? Getting the

48:04kids to school is is um is a top

48:07priority. Um and so um jumping into our

48:11enrollment uh and this changes on a

48:13daily basis. So this was as of September

48:153rd. We are currently currently at 4,214

48:19students um active students uh and we

48:22had about 70 that were still in the

48:24queue. Um so we're hovering about 50 60

48:28students less than we had last year.

48:29We're a little below we were at this

48:31time. Um but not a decrease like we have

48:35seen in in the past. Um and so one of

48:38the things too we did notice this year

48:39we had quite a few late enrollments. Um,

48:42and so those will continue to come as we

48:43move through the next few weeks. Um,

48:46I'm, you know, sure these numbers will

48:48continue to move a little bit, but it

48:50does, uh, show a good indication that

48:52we're sort of stabling or stabilizing

48:55our enrollment, um, similar to last

48:57year's numbers.

48:59Um, with that, uh, Dr. Marter's here

49:03this evening. I know she's partnering

49:04very closely with our um registration

49:07office to really help ensure that we are

49:10moving the registration process along as

49:12quickly and as seamlessly as possible to

49:13get our students uh to school, our new

49:16students to school as quickly as we can.

49:19Um and now so just a quick look back at

49:21last year's attendance. uh you have in

49:23your packets um an overview of our

49:26overall attendance by school and then

49:28the chronic absenteeism

49:31um which is missing 10% more of the

49:33school year. Uh so it's about 18 days or

49:35more. Um we are very pleased with our

49:39results um from last year's efforts

49:41around attendance. Um

49:45our accountability results uh came out

49:48from the department of elementary

49:49secondary education today. they're

49:51embargoed, so we can't get into the

49:52weeds here. Um, but the good news is

49:55this is something we can share because

49:56we track our attendance all the time and

49:58we know our targets because they give

49:59them to us uh in the winter. Uh, so I'm

50:02happy to share that all of our schools

50:04met them. Uh, most exceeded them. So,

50:07um, you you can see that our chronic

50:09absenteeism rates uh, particularly for

50:12GoodNow, Jarwick, Kain, Richard are all

50:15in the uh, low teens. Um and so uh

50:20really pleased with the work that's been

50:22happening across our schools to help

50:24make sure that our kids are uh attending

50:26school daily. Um our challenge spots to

50:29no surprise at the school committee, we

50:31talked about this, I know a few times

50:33and our community who's paying attention

50:34at home, this will probably sound

50:36familiar or Malbor High School and ECC

50:39like our bookends, which is kind of

50:41interesting. Uh but even with that, uh

50:43MHS still met their attendance target.

50:47So, we're happy that um you know, while

50:49there's still a lot of work to do to get

50:51that number down, they they were able to

50:53meet uh the attendance goal that was set

50:55for them by the Department of Education.

50:57So, more work to come on attendance. Uh

51:00but, uh definitely are making some good

51:03headway.

51:06Um, moving on. Um, in your packet, you

51:09also have, uh, this evening, and it will

51:12come, uh, later in the action item

51:14section, but an overview of our updated,

51:18um, organizational chart. And so, this

51:22reflects all of the changes that were

51:24approved in the spring um, and a

51:26realignment of the positions um, as we

51:30have discussed them. And so, um,

51:33hopefully this looks, um, a little bit

51:35better than the one we reviewed in, uh,

51:37I think it was June, which was meant to

51:39just be kind of a thumbnail sketch of,

51:41you know, where the new positions were

51:42going to fall and how we had

51:44restructured them. Um, but you can get a

51:46sense from our new org chart, uh,

51:48exactly how we're laying out the

51:50supports to make sure that we are

51:53bringing as much help and support as

51:55close to the classroom as possible. Our

51:58teachers and students are our number one

52:00priority. And you can see that on our

52:03organizational chart uh as they are at

52:05the very top and all of the structures

52:08um as it relates to the individuals and

52:10positions below are there lifting uh up

52:13our teachers, our classroom supports and

52:16of course our students.

52:18And so uh later this evening I know it

52:20is on um the action items for hopefully

52:23review and appro approval. Um,

52:26so we're excited about u having the new

52:29structure in place and it's been really

52:31uh quite amazing to see this come

52:34together uh not just on paper but

52:36actually see it in action uh has been a

52:38pretty pretty incredible experience um

52:42as we've moved through u the summer

52:43months and into the fall.

52:47Um and lastly from my report uh just a

52:51quick sort of public service

52:53announcement. Um, we have a very

52:55important event coming up on October

52:581st. um that will be held in the Witcom

53:01auditorium at 6 PM. Um we are holding a

53:05Malbor public schools uh safety uh

53:08information in public forum to talk to

53:12our community um our families uh

53:15residents too who might be interested in

53:17hearing uh particularly those who live

53:18around the schools may be really

53:19interested in in those neighborhoods

53:21that are uh kind of adjacent to our to

53:23our buildings uh might be really

53:25interested in hearing about our safety

53:27work. Um, I know we don't spend a lot of

53:29time publicly sharing out all the

53:30details of that. Uh, but on the 1st of

53:33October, we are going to hear directly

53:35from our safety officials, um, that are

53:37going to go through a lot of the

53:39training and overview of the, uh, kind

53:41of program that we use to ensure our

53:44families uh, will receive their children

53:46and their staff members home safely

53:48every day. Um, we're going to be going

53:50through a lot of those same protocols

53:52and um, practices. And so um the first

53:56half of the training we will be working

53:58with uh Sergeant Tingloff from the

54:00Malboro Police. Uh he while he is not a

54:03school resource officer, he is in charge

54:06and assigned to school safety. Uh so

54:09that's kind of interesting. He does a

54:10lot of the trainings and is a very

54:13active member of our safety and security

54:15team uh along with other public

54:17officials uh safety officials and uh

54:19school staff. Um the second half of the

54:22training is um something that we have

54:25requested and have been put have put

54:27together with um a senior supervising

54:30FBI agent from the uh Boston FBI office

54:34um uh uh agent Leblanc. We have asked to

54:38come out and run training with our

54:40families around um the patterns and

54:43trends that are emerging on online

54:46activity game rooms, chat rooms. Um it

54:49is very important that our families plug

54:51into this. Um the activity that our kids

54:54are involved in online while it may just

54:56look like you know roadblocks or some of

54:58the other games the kids are playing uh

55:00in fact is a significant vulnerability

55:02for our youth. Uh there are youth

55:04radicalization groups that are working

55:07diligently to gain the attention of our

55:09children. Um, and uh I was shocked to

55:13learn that uh there are currently uh 15

55:17active investigations in Massachusetts

55:19involving this type of activity where

55:21children have either harmed themselves,

55:23their pets or family members uh as a

55:26result of what they're being asked to do

55:28through this um these frankly their

55:30terror organizations. Um there's about

55:33250 active cases across the country

55:36right now. So, uh, it's important and

55:39we're going to ask our families to, uh,

55:41those who are able to join us to please

55:42tune in. Um, and we'll look to record

55:45the, uh, the session for folks who can't

55:47make it in person. But, um, lots of

55:50important information. It's going to be

55:51about 90 minutes. Um, and so we'll kind

55:54of break it down into two segments.

55:57Okay. So, more to come on that.

56:01>> Jason, can I just share a comment more

56:04an acknowledgement of the consistency of

56:08lots of good efforts showing up on this

56:12single slide of the organization chart.

56:15I know members of the community may not

56:18realize all the detail that goes into

56:20getting us here, but I can remember

56:22conversations from a year ago talking

56:24about Portrait of a Learner. I can

56:26remember conversations from the spring

56:28with a budget proposal reflecting the

56:30redeployment to better meet the needs of

56:32the students and of the community. So,

56:36um, more a statement of the obvious that

56:38what you're sharing tonight is the

56:40culmination of lots of work that

56:43continues to be ongoing, but it's really

56:45exciting to see you and the team stay

56:48focused on the things that you

56:51articulated as north stars because if

56:53you don't, then those aren't the north

56:55star. So, um, from my perspective, keep

56:58keep up the great work. It's exciting to

57:00see it. And I didn't know we changed our

57:01colors to blue.

57:05>> Yeah. So, we're blue and light blue

57:07behind us. Royal blue.

57:08>> I know, but I mean, orange and black.

57:12So, so I I'll just have to get caught up

57:14on our colors.

57:15in all seriousness uh you know I mean

57:17great great work and great to see um

57:20members of the leadership team um that

57:22were more concept

57:24>> um now in place so thank you

57:28>> and it as I mentioned the data is

57:30embargoed so I can't get into much

57:31detail but I think the school committee

57:33and the community will be pleased with

57:34the progress uh strategy is working and

57:38uh very proud of our staff so we'll get

57:40into those details in October

57:42>> excellent anything else from the

57:44superintendent's report. Seeing none,

57:47let's move on. The executive director of

57:50human resources report to discuss the

57:54staffing and vacancy updates

57:57could be at the podium if you want.

57:58There's chairs there. Whatever you feel

57:59comfortable with, go for it.

58:02>> This is good.

58:04Hello, I'm Patty Brown. Um, and I'm

58:06gonna go over the staffing report that

58:09was um handed out tonight. we try to

58:12produce it at the last minute because we

58:13are working on staffing right up until

58:16the end of the day. So at the top of the

58:20report um our total

58:24uh positions that we have open right now

58:25that we are actively and regularly

58:28recruiting for is 49. Of that we have

58:31one administrator that's an educational

58:33team leader. We have one BCBA. We have

58:37nine teachers. I'm going to mention

58:40about the teachers. We have only one

58:43classroom position that is open right

58:46now. That was a last minute uh

58:48resignation that we found out about and

58:50in August. And the rest of the positions

58:53are not like self-contained um

58:57classrooms.

58:58A large majority of them are special

59:01education positions. So, I'll talk about

59:02that a little bit at the end, too. Um we

59:06have three nursing positions. We have 11

59:09behavior tech positions open. We have 12

59:14pareducator positions, two cafeteria

59:17workers, three custodians, two office

59:20support, and five district education

59:22center positions that are open.

59:25Of the um classroom positions, uh we

59:30have several special education teacher

59:32roles that are open that we are actively

59:35recruiting for. We have contacted nine

59:38of the surrounding colleges and

59:40universities that specifically offer

59:43degrees uh to those in ed prep programs

59:46for special education. We contacted not

59:48just their career offices, but we also

59:52contacted their um student education

59:55offices for special education. So, we

59:57reached out to them one by one by phone

1:00:00and by email to try to um recruit. There

1:00:04are a lot of other school districts

1:00:06probably doing something similar, but

1:00:08we're trying to get ahead of it as best

1:00:09we can. Today I had a really great

1:00:12meeting. I want to tie in uh with John

1:00:15Fletcher, executive director for special

1:00:17education. He and I got together because

1:00:20combined with the special education

1:00:21teacher positions, we also have a lot of

1:00:24behavior tech positions and pareducator

1:00:26positions that we are actively

1:00:28recruiting for. and we brainstormed and

1:00:29came up with some ideas uh this morning

1:00:31that we could add to our recruiting to

1:00:34try to get those positions filled as

1:00:36soon as humanly possible. Um I

1:00:41want to pause here and see if anybody

1:00:43has any questions about anything so far.

1:00:49just I guess a clarifying question with

1:00:54that um one

1:00:57teaching position that is a classroom

1:00:59teaching position. Are we satisfying

1:01:01that with some someone that is able to

1:01:04be like more of a long-term sub for the

1:01:06moment kind of thing? Like how are we

1:01:09trying to provide a a little bit more

1:01:12stable solution if that makes sense?

1:01:16It's a high school history teaching

1:01:18position.

1:01:19>> Yeah.

1:01:20>> And there were many, many, many

1:01:22applications for that role. So, this

1:01:25coming the next two weeks, we'll be

1:01:27having interviews with people who are

1:01:29appropriately certified to teach that.

1:01:32For now, um it is being covered by a um

1:01:37a long-term well, a substitute, uh

1:01:40retired teacher who can come in and sub

1:01:42for that. So, it's a qualified

1:01:44individual. So,

1:01:45>> okay, great.

1:01:46>> We're in good shape.

1:01:49>> I'm checking with Sarah Casey, high

1:01:50school principal. Yep. So, we do have a

1:01:52cover. They are getting the curriculum

1:01:54and

1:01:55>> Yeah. And and good instruction. And I

1:01:56mean to say I I love hearing that it's

1:01:59someone that's a retired educator that

1:02:01that I'm guessing probably has some

1:02:03experience here and

1:02:05>> is able to help out and that's

1:02:08fantastic.

1:02:08>> Yeah. We appreciate that, too. Yeah.

1:02:10It's great. She jumped in at the last

1:02:12minute. Yeah, thank you. And honestly, I

1:02:14have to say kudos to a lot of our

1:02:17retired educators in Marorrow because we

1:02:20do end up having their support in a lot

1:02:22of different ways. So, um, that just

1:02:24speaks to the wonderful community of

1:02:26educators that we have. So, thanks.

1:02:28Absolutely.

1:02:31I think that's it for my report.

1:02:35Thank you very much.

1:02:36>> Thank you.

1:02:36>> Thanks, Patty. Moving

1:02:40on to the executive director of teaching

1:02:42and learning report school and classroom

1:02:44support model.

1:02:55>> No, I I

1:03:00have to do something.

1:03:21All right. Well,

1:03:23since you have a copy and I have a copy,

1:03:25we'll jump right in. Um, so,

1:03:29oh, I do have something. I'm Jennifer

1:03:31Ryan uh executive director of teaching

1:03:33and learning. And so we have an office

1:03:35of teaching and learning update for you

1:03:37tonight. Um just some uh sharing kind of

1:03:40how uh the supports are going to go now

1:03:42with the reorganization. You've seen the

1:03:43new organizational chart. And so what

1:03:45does that look like in practice and

1:03:47action in our schools? Um so currently

1:03:50on slide three we have the people. So

1:03:53the office of teaching and learning

1:03:54supports the WHO um is incorporating a

1:03:58variety of new these new teacher

1:03:59positions at the building levels. We

1:04:01have our lead teachers, our EL

1:04:03coordinators and our intervention

1:04:04coordinators and those teachers are all

1:04:06on what we call our big uh building

1:04:08level instructional leadership teams.

1:04:10We've also added academic

1:04:12interventionists and seal

1:04:13interventionists. So every building is

1:04:14now getting that level of support.

1:04:17Um, in the slides you had links there

1:04:19that helped to clarify descriptions of

1:04:21what all of those roles are. And that

1:04:23was just to make sure that all of our

1:04:24building staff were clear um that we had

1:04:26consistency across the buildings as to

1:04:28what these roles looked like.

1:04:30On the following slide is the structures

1:04:32and supports we're using to support

1:04:34these positions. So this is a kind of a

1:04:36variety of meetings um at all levels. So

1:04:39for all of the lead teachers and

1:04:41coordinators, they meet with myself or

1:04:43the executive director of EL services

1:04:45once a month at the district level. That

1:04:47is for us to provide support and

1:04:49training to help guide them in in their

1:04:51facilitation work in the buildings. They

1:04:53will also meet monthly with their

1:04:55building ILT and their principal. And

1:04:58then at the elementary level, we've

1:04:59created a structure for them to meet

1:05:01across the city by grade level so they

1:05:03can have those content and curriculum

1:05:04conversations and bring that information

1:05:06back to their buildings.

1:05:11And then on the next slide, we have our

1:05:13school support model. Um, and this is

1:05:15how the central office team, the

1:05:17executive director team is supporting

1:05:19our principles. So, we've come up with a

1:05:21rotation in order to get into all of the

1:05:23buildings with a goal of being providing

1:05:25that ongoing support um directly to

1:05:28principles, limiting the amount of time

1:05:29we're pulling them out of their

1:05:30buildings and making sure that we're

1:05:32maximizing the time that they have to be

1:05:34instructional leaders in their

1:05:35buildings. So we are rotating through um

1:05:37and visiting them um trying to not to

1:05:40overload them with meetings so we've got

1:05:41a nice rotation going um so that we can

1:05:43kind of get in and see what's happening

1:05:45um and support them where the needs are

1:05:46happening. Any questions on that first

1:05:49part?

1:05:51The only question I had, which I'm sure

1:05:55it's probably going to become a little

1:05:56bit organic as you keep moving through,

1:05:59is um how to find the right time and the

1:06:04balance to be able to make sure you're

1:06:06plugging the holes. you know, like

1:06:07you're kind of getting getting in there

1:06:09at the right time because it's great to

1:06:12have the the structure, but then as we

1:06:15all know, um something happens and that

1:06:19structure falls apart from a standpoint

1:06:21that something needs needs you like two

1:06:24weeks different time. How are you

1:06:28planning on trying to kind of be able to

1:06:31fill that void or not necessarily being

1:06:34able to schedule everything but knowing

1:06:36you're one individual?

1:06:38>> Um, are you referring to like our

1:06:39support on the teacher level or the

1:06:41principal level or both?

1:06:42>> Well, I I think both because I think

1:06:44you're going to have principal level,

1:06:46right? They're seeing bigger picture,

1:06:48I'm guessing. And then also you're going

1:06:52to start seeing the teachers coming back

1:06:55that they're running into X, you know,

1:06:58some kind of curriculum hiccup that's

1:07:01going on and how to be able to kind of

1:07:04get in there to be able to help as

1:07:06opposed to going, oh, we're meeting in 3

1:07:07weeks cuz you and I both know like

1:07:10that's not going to work, right? So, how

1:07:11do how do how do you duplicate yourself

1:07:14in a way of making yourself available to

1:07:16get in there in other ways?

1:07:19>> I think so. like this is going to be a

1:07:20little bit of a learning curve right as

1:07:22we start this out. We are all of the

1:07:24executive directors in every building um

1:07:26every other week, but we have the

1:07:28ability the way we coordinate our

1:07:29schedules to join each other's meetings

1:07:31to get in there weekly if needed um so

1:07:33that we can be pretty responsive to what

1:07:34the principles are asking for. And our

1:07:36hope is to do the sim something similar

1:07:38with the lead teachers um and the

1:07:39coordinators to make sure that we're

1:07:40touching base regularly um and then

1:07:43they're also communicating with their

1:07:44principles and they can communicate back

1:07:45to us. So, we've got a kind of a

1:07:46communication loop going. Um, and of

1:07:49course, we're only on day three, so

1:07:51we'll see how it goes as we get through

1:07:52the month. Um, and we took a pause. We

1:07:54decided when we made the schedule with

1:07:55the principles to schedule it for about

1:07:578 weeks, and then we're going to stop

1:07:58and do a check-in. Is it too much, too

1:08:00little, or just right.

1:08:01>> Thank you. That helps a lot because, you

1:08:04know, I kept on going back and forth

1:08:06between your slide 22, you know. Well,

1:08:08in my Sorry, I'm on on the packet, so

1:08:10that's not going to help you. the the

1:08:12system structure meetings with the then

1:08:15school support model grow goals and I

1:08:17was like going back and looking at the

1:08:19different dates and going okay how is

1:08:21that all gonna work so okay

1:08:23>> and then just one other piece to that um

1:08:26we are available to the principles 247

1:08:29literally so we'll get particularly John

1:08:33um and uh Jen Lipton will hear from

1:08:36schools around student issues and

1:08:37special education issues and they'll

1:08:40just jump in So there are, you know,

1:08:42those kind of just in time things where

1:08:44they need like an answer or help right

1:08:46away. And I I know the committee will

1:08:48recall that was one of the reasons we

1:08:50restructured was to make sure that we

1:08:52could give as much direct support in the

1:08:54moment when they need it. So this

1:08:57structure will be helpful for the

1:08:58ongoing work. But you're right, like

1:09:00there are going to be these things that

1:09:01just happen regularly where they're

1:09:03going to need, you know, support on on

1:09:05all kinds of issues. And that's exactly

1:09:07what, you know, you were hearing, we

1:09:09were hearing was how to make sure that

1:09:11they had somebody to quickly be able to

1:09:14>> get as their backup. No, no, I need you.

1:09:17Yeah.

1:09:17>> You know, so thank you.

1:09:21>> Um for the second half of our update um

1:09:23tonight is around the portrait of

1:09:24learner school improvement plans and PD

1:09:26plans. So just so you all know kind of

1:09:28where our timelines are at, we shared

1:09:30this with our um district leadership

1:09:32last week. We plan to uh plan to present

1:09:35our school improvement plans to you at

1:09:37the October 13th meeting. Um and so we

1:09:39have several district leadership

1:09:40meetings leading up to that. Um but

1:09:43really the big kickoff is next week. The

1:09:45buildings all have their instructional

1:09:46leadership meetings and that will

1:09:48continue the work they started at the

1:09:49leadership retreat on their school

1:09:50improvement plan um and PD plan. This

1:09:54year we're using something called a data

1:09:55story. So I provided that for you as

1:09:57well. And this is just how we're going

1:09:59to guide our work. Um, our data story

1:10:02helps us connect what we know about

1:10:03students to what we have to do

1:10:05instructionally. Um, so making sure that

1:10:07we're always grounded in why we're doing

1:10:09the work, what is the data telling us,

1:10:10and what is the response that we need.

1:10:12Um, so each school will be provided um,

1:10:16executive director of EL provided them

1:10:18with their accountability and and MCCAST

1:10:20data and they'll be working with their

1:10:21instructional leadership team to create

1:10:23these data stories. kind of a

1:10:24visualization um of what is going on in

1:10:27their schools almost like your elevator

1:10:28pitch for your school um but really

1:10:30streamlined kind of one pager piece um

1:10:33and that will be developed through a

1:10:34protocol that we have received from

1:10:37focus schools um same as our portrait of

1:10:39learner work called uh good news urgent

1:10:42news and bold next steps so you may be

1:10:44hearing those terms what's the good news

1:10:45from the data what's the urgent news

1:10:46from the data and then what are the bold

1:10:48next steps that we need to take to

1:10:50address those issues um and make sure

1:10:52that our instruction is wrong. So that

1:10:54is the work that will start next week

1:10:56and start moving us in that direction.

1:10:58>> So you'd be able to see that at a at a

1:11:00school level.

1:11:01>> Yes.

1:11:01>> Great.

1:11:02>> Yep. Each school will create a data

1:11:03story and that will be attached to their

1:11:04school improvement plan and their PD

1:11:06plan.

1:11:06>> That's great.

1:11:07>> Absolutely love the idea of the data

1:11:09story. You know, as someone sorry visual

1:11:12learner here, it it helps. You know, we

1:11:16we kind of, you know, I shouldn't say

1:11:18joke around, but I mean we kind of do a

1:11:20little bit. It's for policies. you know,

1:11:22we need bullet points. Don't give me the

1:11:25book because no one's going to take the

1:11:26time to read through the book. But if

1:11:28you're doing something like a data story

1:11:30and you know, sorry, there's colors and

1:11:32there's a little graphic over here,

1:11:34you're going to start reading it and it,

1:11:37you know, it's going to help you. So,

1:11:39love it.

1:11:40>> Yeah. I love the jar, the, you know,

1:11:43>> sample here. Yes.

1:11:44>> Sample. Um, how often would a document

1:11:48like this be generated?

1:11:50um this at this level annually for the

1:11:52MCCAST data and NWA data but then we can

1:11:55also um update at winter and spring when

1:11:58we get the um NWA.

1:12:01>> Yeah. Also correct. One of the things to

1:12:03that point as you know we have a

1:12:04multiple data meetings with the district

1:12:06instruction leadership team a year and

1:12:08one of the things we talked about was

1:12:09moving away from you know the 15 slide

1:12:12slide deck and it takes two hours for

1:12:14all the schools to present and work

1:12:15through and people are shut off after 20

1:12:17minutes to just one pagers

1:12:20>> and really just summarizing and

1:12:22synthesizing here's where we're at this

1:12:24is what's working this is what's not

1:12:25this is what's next and keeping it very

1:12:27clear focused and simple

1:12:29>> Jason to that point

1:12:32should how should I be thinking about

1:12:34the metrics on that jaw sample slide

1:12:37against the pillars of portrait of

1:12:40learner critical thinker communicator

1:12:42citizen adaptive learner like do do

1:12:44those all triangulate in some way I'm

1:12:47not trying to oversimplify it but if I

1:12:49if I think about portraiture of a

1:12:50learner as like the high points and and

1:12:53the outcome of what good looks like for

1:12:56what what our target is for every

1:12:57student

1:12:58>> then I I see these

1:13:00kind of in the school metrics as

1:13:03really good indicators of how are we

1:13:06doing,

1:13:06>> right? So to that point, what we need to

1:13:09do with our portion of a learner is

1:13:11actually establish and um we may have

1:13:13mentioned this in the spring uh but

1:13:15create grades span rubrics

1:13:17>> to really help us actually put in

1:13:19writing like what does it mean to be a

1:13:21critical thinker in preschool?

1:13:23>> Yeah, first grade, right? Third grade,

1:13:25etc.

1:13:26>> How do you measure it? What does it look

1:13:27like? How do you measure it? And how do

1:13:29you

1:13:30>> how do you make progress

1:13:31>> support it? Right. If there are, you

1:13:33know, areas where it's lacking, what do

1:13:36you how do you figure out

1:13:38>> where the holes are and how to fill

1:13:41those holes?

1:13:41>> Yep. That's exactly it.

1:13:43>> Yeah. No, it's that's, you know, all all

1:13:46great answers. It's exciting to see it

1:13:48come together.

1:13:51>> Um and then the last piece that we have

1:13:52for you is kind of an updated um what

1:13:54our PLC structure is going to look like.

1:13:56So again, trying to streamline um and

1:13:59provide support to the schools as

1:14:00they're getting ready to create their

1:14:02school improvement plans and PD plans.

1:14:04We launched some district level um

1:14:06topics that we wanted to be covered at

1:14:08each building. Um and we're working with

1:14:09principles to provide um the resources

1:14:11for that. So most of our principles will

1:14:13kick off next week PLC's with some data

1:14:15review at their schools and that will

1:14:17again help to inform their school

1:14:18improvement plans and the instructional

1:14:19priorities for the year.

1:14:22So questions

1:14:23>> can I just so the structure of the PLC's

1:14:26like in the elementary schools what do

1:14:29they look like? Is it grade grade level

1:14:32PLC's? Yes. Yep. So at elementary each

1:14:36grade level meets once a week for about

1:14:3740 minutes. Um and the variety of topics

1:14:40that we go through. Again we're trying

1:14:41to really make it it instructionally as

1:14:44focused as possible. Um, so looking at

1:14:46student work, responding to that student

1:14:47work, making the plan for what comes

1:14:49next

1:14:50>> and EL

1:14:52special education

1:14:53>> are all at the table.

1:14:54>> Typical educa, everybody is at the

1:14:56table.

1:14:56>> So all supports for a grade level would

1:14:58attend that grade level meeting so they

1:14:59can have those conversations.

1:15:00>> Excellent.

1:15:01>> At the middle school level and high

1:15:02school level, they're by department

1:15:04>> by subject matter or at the middle

1:15:07school, is it by team or no?

1:15:08>> Um, actually by at the middle school,

1:15:10it's both. They have a team and they

1:15:11have a subject. So they can meet and

1:15:13talk about students um for like student

1:15:15support but they can also meet and talk

1:15:16about English and math.

1:15:18>> Yeah.

1:15:19>> Uh and also uh around grade level

1:15:21content the principles have taken on a

1:15:24separate uh meeting structure where they

1:15:26are meeting with grade level um

1:15:28>> teacher leaders.

1:15:29>> Yes. Uh grade level teacher leaders like

1:15:31kindergarten, first grade, second grade

1:15:32to talk about the curriculum making sure

1:15:34that we're all focused on the same u you

1:15:37know content standards skills etc. And

1:15:39so the principles are um are leading

1:15:42that work uh with an assistant principal

1:15:44uh but not necessarily the one from

1:15:45their building. So they're kind of mixed

1:15:47and matched which is very cool. So again

1:15:49to do some cross

1:15:50>> that's great

1:15:51>> leadership work and yeah

1:15:52crosspollination.

1:15:54>> And are there like at the elementary are

1:15:56there grade level well maybe not

1:16:01elementary like say at the middle school

1:16:03are there grade level teacher leaders in

1:16:06each content area? No. So, at the middle

1:16:09school, there is one lead teacher per

1:16:11core content and their meetings are

1:16:13vertical. So, all of six, seventh, and

1:16:14eighth grade English teachers meet at

1:16:16the same time. They can break out into

1:16:17grade level groups, but they've got one

1:16:19lead teacher that can kind of facilitate

1:16:20that meeting and and communicate with

1:16:22their building principal.

1:16:26Um the only other thing that I don't

1:16:29know kind of came to mind there is um we

1:16:32had talked about at one point trying to

1:16:34make sure that we were um providing

1:16:37opportunity to help on transition if you

1:16:40will. So that when you're moving from,

1:16:42you know, second grade to third grade or

1:16:44fifth grade into sixth grade and and we

1:16:47were passing information along like

1:16:49what's what's your learn, right? So that

1:16:54children are moving through the school,

1:16:56but there's conversation that's able to

1:16:58be had between these different levels.

1:17:01So it's not a blank slate to begin again

1:17:03each year. And it seems like with what

1:17:07you're doing, it it provides a really

1:17:10great opportunity of having that at the

1:17:13end of the school year or beginning of

1:17:15the, you know, next school year to be

1:17:17able to transition that information in

1:17:20the right way with these groups that

1:17:22you've already established.

1:17:23>> Yeah. Our our intervention coordinators

1:17:25are going to be critical in building

1:17:26their data walls and passing that year

1:17:28to year. And then we can now pass that

1:17:29from fifth grade to sixth grade. And

1:17:31we've got a similar system because both

1:17:32groups are are meeting together. So,

1:17:34yeah, we're excited for that.

1:17:35>> Great. Thank you.

1:17:36>> You're welcome.

1:17:38>> Any other questions?

1:17:42>> Thank you.

1:17:42>> Thank you.

1:17:45>> We moving on to acceptance of minutes.

1:17:48Minutes of June 23,

1:17:502026 school committee meeting.

1:17:55>> Move to accept as presented.

1:17:57>> Motion on table and second. Any

1:17:59questions, comments, or concerns for the

1:18:00minutes of June 23rd?

1:18:03Seeing none, all in favor? Motion

1:18:05carries. Minutes of August 25th, 2026.

1:18:10>> Move to accept as presented.

1:18:12>> Motion on the table and seconded. Any

1:18:14questions, comments, or concerns? Seeing

1:18:16none, all in favor? Motion carries.

1:18:19Thank you very much.

1:18:21Public comment. So, any public comment

1:18:23from the team? Don't think we have any

1:18:25outside of individuals, but we'll go

1:18:27with public comment

1:18:29going once. Public comment going twice,

1:18:33public comment by the last and final

1:18:36chance. Good. Okay, moving on.

1:18:41Gift donations.

1:18:45Get the form. She just put the

1:18:48>> That's right.

1:18:50I have one donation

1:18:53for $27,450.

1:18:58Thank you.

1:19:01>> So, it's from the Community Foundation

1:19:02for Metro West Grant. Monies to be sent

1:19:04on materials and programs for Wickcom

1:19:06students activities. Again, it is for

1:19:08$27,450.

1:19:11>> Move to approve.

1:19:11>> Motion on table and seconded to approve.

1:19:14Any questions, comments, or concerns?

1:19:16Seeing the grant for $27,450.

1:19:19Seeing none all in favor motion carries.

1:19:22Thank you very much. Felt like an

1:19:24auctioneer for a quick second there.

1:19:27>> Action items and report. So vote to

1:19:30approve the funding for career and

1:19:31technical education pilot with Aspet

1:19:33Valley Regional Vocational Technical

1:19:35High School. We obviously had that

1:19:37presentation earlier. Is there any other

1:19:38further questions, comments, or

1:19:40concerns? If not, I'll entertain a

1:19:42>> move to approve.

1:19:44>> Motion is on the table and seconded.

1:19:46Again, I'll set with the motion.

1:19:48Questions, comments, concerns? Seeing

1:19:50none, all in favor?

1:19:52Motion carries unanimously with Miss

1:19:55Ryan being out.

1:19:58Vote to approve the Morrow Public

1:20:00Schools organizational chart for school

1:20:02year 2627.

1:20:04You heard that in the superintendent

1:20:06report and seen it numerous times.

1:20:10>> Move to approve.

1:20:11>> Motion on table and second. Any

1:20:13questions, comments, or concerns

1:20:14regarding the organizational chart that

1:20:16was presented earlier today? Seeing

1:20:18none, all in favor? The motion carries

1:20:21unanimously except for Miss Ryan who's

1:20:23out. Vote to approve the Maro public

1:20:26school. Oh, just said that. Just

1:20:27kidding. So, moving on to policies. This

1:20:30is the first read for all three

1:20:32policies. So, JD, physical restraint of

1:20:35students.

1:20:37So um the policies you have in front are

1:20:41uh physical restraint of students which

1:20:43is

1:20:45um a little bit of red line that you

1:20:47have there um that has been gone over by

1:20:50our attorneys and they've specifically

1:20:53asked for us to update and provided us

1:20:56language. Uh the other was uh looking

1:21:01for an update in language around um

1:21:04support of military children which you

1:21:06have

1:21:08um in front of you. And then the third

1:21:10that is here is an um interacting with

1:21:14law enforcement officers engaged in

1:21:16civil law enforcement called the Protect

1:21:18Act. you may have heard recently in the

1:21:21news. Um this was something that our

1:21:23governor had moved forward fairly

1:21:24quickly and um this is something that um

1:21:30I would somewhat request that we look at

1:21:33a suspension of the rules to allow us to

1:21:36vote on this tonight. Um as

1:21:40this is something that they've requested

1:21:41that we get on the books fairly quickly.

1:21:43Now, with this, there are procedures

1:21:46that need to be established, and this is

1:21:49not in our realm for us to be doing

1:21:51procedures, but this sets up the the

1:21:53framework, if you will, so that then our

1:21:57superintendent can work with appropriate

1:21:59parties to get procedures in place, but

1:22:01it's kind of hard for them to really

1:22:03start to get get much going if we don't

1:22:06have the policy in place. So, um, I, you

1:22:10know, I don't need to push, but they

1:22:12are, they did ask that we move forward

1:22:14as quickly as possible and wanted things

1:22:16established by September 1st. Guess

1:22:19what? We weren't going to make that

1:22:20happen.

1:22:22>> Yeah, Jesse was pushing. So, um,

1:22:25>> they were.

1:22:26>> Yeah, I know. So, our normal protocol,

1:22:29just to remind you, is that we do a

1:22:32first read at one meeting and then the

1:22:35two week later we would do a a vote on

1:22:38it. And I don't want to make anyone

1:22:40uncomfortable.

1:22:42So, I don't have to do a suspension, but

1:22:45I am kind of looking around saying

1:22:49thoughts.

1:22:50>> Well, it looks like you put some red

1:22:51lines through, so those reflected your

1:22:54recommendations.

1:22:56There's no brand new. There's no red

1:22:58lines on this.

1:22:58>> Yeah, there's no red lines. This is the

1:23:00third policy. So JD was the first read.

1:23:03JGB is the first read of another policy.

1:23:06And then this is the third policy.

1:23:08>> And this one I had not provided um a

1:23:12section because I have to say that um I

1:23:15I really did want to kind of put it in

1:23:18the right home. Um because while it's

1:23:23to me it could kind of live in a few

1:23:26different locations. Um and I'm not

1:23:29stuck on one section. Um but uh anyway,

1:23:33>> see you have any guidance on that?

1:23:35>> Oh gosh, no.

1:23:36>> Really?

1:23:37>> Not yet. But so this did come

1:23:39>> get on that.

1:23:40>> Yeah, this did come from MASC. So

1:23:43>> yeah, but they didn't tell you what

1:23:45portion of the

1:23:46>> um I think they pushed this out as

1:23:48quickly as possible. Yeah. Yeah.

1:23:50>> There's no policy letters.

1:23:52>> No, that's what I mean. I I

1:23:54>> We meet tomorrow night.

1:23:55>> Yeah.

1:23:56>> So, they were just trying to get it out

1:23:58the door. Um,

1:24:01so

1:24:02would anybody be interested in the

1:24:05suspension or the rules motion? Because

1:24:06I really don't need to make it if people

1:24:09are going to be uncomfortable.

1:24:11So, I'll make it and we'll just see. Um,

1:24:14I'd like to make a motion to suspend the

1:24:16rules to allow for a vote on this this

1:24:19evening.

1:24:20>> There is a motion on the table and I

1:24:21will second it. But let's do any further

1:24:24discussion on the suspension.

1:24:27>> Seeing none, are we in favor of

1:24:29suspending the rules to vote on Anton

1:24:31favor? Okay,

1:24:32>> sure. Suspension carries. So, if you'd

1:24:34like to make a motion.

1:24:35>> Okay. So, I'd like to make a motion to

1:24:38approve the um policy, which more or

1:24:41less is the Protect Act, and allow me to

1:24:44work with the superintendent um to best

1:24:48kind of find its home within our

1:24:50policies. Um also probably having some

1:24:54communication with my friend, Miss

1:24:56Bowden Hener, about um MASC and their

1:24:59thoughts on placement as well. So,

1:25:02motion to approve.

1:25:03>> Okay. Motion to approve on the table and

1:25:06seconded. I would just like to caveat to

1:25:08bring it back just for a second approval

1:25:11just so we know where it goes and so we

1:25:13don't lose focus on

1:25:14>> Could I bring that from anformational

1:25:15standpoint?

1:25:16>> That's fine.

1:25:17>> Okay,

1:25:17>> that's fine.

1:25:18>> And just for curiosity, so in terms of

1:25:22procedures and that sort of thing,

1:25:23what's the timeline do you think on

1:25:25working on that?

1:25:26>> This goes we're going to put a small

1:25:28committee together and start putting

1:25:29them together.

1:25:30>> Okay.

1:25:30>> Think it'll be more than a couple of

1:25:32weeks.

1:25:32>> Oh, really? Yeah.

1:25:33>> Okay. So motion is on the table and

1:25:34seconded. Any further question?

1:25:37>> Yeah. So once you do that and come back

1:25:40and present that to us, then we can look

1:25:42at the policy and just make sure if

1:25:44there's any tweaks that need to change

1:25:46in the policy.

1:25:47>> Agreed. And that's more or less what we

1:25:50had talked about. It's just we needed to

1:25:53kind of move this forward quickly so we

1:25:55had at least something that was um a

1:25:58structure.

1:25:59>> I would say if there's any changes then

1:26:00we'll vote on those changes.

1:26:02>> Exactly. Yeah.

1:26:03>> Yeah.

1:26:03>> Okay. Any other further questions,

1:26:05comments, or concerns?

1:26:10>> Yeah, it's been motioned and second. So,

1:26:11all in favor?

1:26:14It's approved. Okay.

1:26:15>> Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

1:26:18>> So, moving on to reports of school

1:26:20committee subcommittees.

1:26:24>> So, policy um we're still um going

1:26:29through a number of different policies.

1:26:31one being um just a little bit around

1:26:34the cell phone policy. We obviously as a

1:26:37district have moved forward on um more

1:26:39or less a off and away um structure and

1:26:43that we're not really trying to stray

1:26:46from that um thought process, but we're

1:26:49trying to provide a little bit of uh

1:26:52structure to support our administrators

1:26:55uh on the decisions that they need may

1:26:58need to make um around the exceptions.

1:27:01Uh that could be medical, could be

1:27:03something around guidance, could be

1:27:05something to support direct curriculum

1:27:08and instruction. Um because while um you

1:27:12know cell phones, there is data about

1:27:15not wanting to mess up with supportive

1:27:18instruction, we want to make sure that

1:27:21we're not also limiting something that

1:27:23could be beneficial for certain

1:27:25purposes. So, um, we just want to put

1:27:28something in place and not run down the

1:27:31track in a run in the wrong way. So,

1:27:34something will be coming soon.

1:27:36Wait with baited breath.

1:27:38>> Moving and then we wait.

1:27:41>> Exactly.

1:27:42>> And just when you get there, then the

1:27:43states

1:27:44>> it's going to change. What a difference.

1:27:47>> Yeah.

1:27:48>> Anything else for reports for school?

1:27:50We're going to use the non-members

1:27:52forum. Anyone or members forum? Um,

1:27:56members forum, I have reviewed the

1:27:58warrant. I have a couple questions, but

1:28:00nothing that I think would deter from

1:28:03going ahead and signing. And I'll have a

1:28:05little side combo. So, um, and the

1:28:08second was relative to um, sitting on

1:28:12the board of directors with the MIAA, so

1:28:14the athletic association for

1:28:15Massachusetts.

1:28:17um something that I'm going to move

1:28:20forward from our division for MASC and

1:28:24hopefully take it to um the joint

1:28:28meeting of MASC and the superintendent

1:28:31association in the fall is re really

1:28:35making sure that school committees are

1:28:38more aware and understand the

1:28:40ramifications of when um our districts

1:28:46are making the agreement to be a part of

1:28:49the MIAA. What that entails? Um because

1:28:53part of that would be that you can't

1:28:56become disgruntled and go ahead and say

1:28:59sue the MIAA over something and not

1:29:02think that it's not going to come back

1:29:04and affect you all. And in the end, just

1:29:07like if you would think

1:29:10financially that has a huge impact on a

1:29:13district. Um, but there are some

1:29:16concerns by some of us that are afraid

1:29:20that sometimes districts are moving

1:29:22forward without necessarily having the

1:29:24school committees all necessarily

1:29:27understand

1:29:30when something's being done which could

1:29:32have a financial impact. And so we're

1:29:35going to try and do a little bit of

1:29:36education. So, I'm saying it out loud

1:29:38here that um

1:29:41>> so superintendent are initiating suits

1:29:44without

1:29:45>> Well, or sometimes superintendents

1:29:47aren't necessarily initiating. Sometimes

1:29:49it could be someone else going rogue.

1:29:52So, right. So,

1:29:54>> not this one. So, I just want

1:29:57>> Not this one

1:29:58>> that I'm doing something

1:30:00>> and not Jones and

1:30:03that's right. and not this and not this

1:30:05district, but it is something that I'm I

1:30:08you know a little bit of a mission of un

1:30:11making people understand that when

1:30:13you're signing something and saying

1:30:15you're going to be a part of it, you

1:30:16kind of have to take on all the

1:30:18responsibilities of doing it the right

1:30:20way.

1:30:20>> Okay.

1:30:21>> Okay.

1:30:22>> Thanks.

1:30:23>> Emer

1:30:26just going around just want to make

1:30:27sure. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.

1:30:29Good.

1:30:30>> I think the uh the first few days of the

1:30:32high school have been really good. I

1:30:33think uh everyone's just there just a

1:30:34lot of changes just adjusting to changes

1:30:36like I know the schedule like I know

1:30:37Miss Casey watched me walk to my D

1:30:39period history from last year today. Um

1:30:41I definitely got a little mixed up but I

1:30:43think everyone's adjusting. Um but I

1:30:45think uh I think one of the coolest

1:30:47things I've noticed is having the eighth

1:30:48graders at the school. I think the

1:30:50hallways just feel a lot fuller. Like I

1:30:51just walked in the first day I was like

1:30:52oh this is a lot more people than last

1:30:54year. A lot more short kids too. But I

1:30:56think it's been cool. like I was in like

1:30:59u I had to get my computer fixed today

1:31:00and seeing the eighth graders in there

1:31:02and I think it's just cool having him

1:31:03around and I think it's going to have a

1:31:04really good effect on the school. So

1:31:06>> that's great.

1:31:06>> Pretty good.

1:31:07>> Thank you.

1:31:07>> Good.

1:31:08>> Good to hear.

1:31:09>> Anyone else from members forum?

1:31:11>> Nope.

1:31:12>> I would just like to add that the Labor

1:31:14Day festivities happened this weekend

1:31:15and the Malver High School band crushed

1:31:17it again in the parade. So, uh kudos.

1:31:20I'm still in your thunder, Dan. You

1:31:21know, you're always dead. Yeah. Right.

1:31:23So uh kudos kudos to the whole the band

1:31:26department and uh thank you for being

1:31:28there and providing music for a great

1:31:30weekend and uh that's all that I got. So

1:31:33having said that

1:31:34>> move to adjourn.

1:31:35>> Move to adjourn is on the table and

1:31:37seconded. All in favor adjourning.

1:31:40We are journed at 9:01. Thank you

1:31:41everyone. Have a great night.