2026-09-23 - School Committee

00:55Good evening. My name is Rachel

00:56Shreport, chairperson of the Shrewsbury

00:58School Committee. Welcome to our meeting

01:00for Wednesday, September 23rd. Tonight's

01:02meeting is being broadcast live on Celco

01:04channels 29 and 329 and streamed live on

01:08Shrewsbury Media Connections website.

01:10Thank you to Mark, Sarah, and Shrewsbury

01:12Media Connection for their assistance

01:14with our broadcast this evening.

01:15Tonight's meeting will be rebroadcast on

01:18SMC's website and their YouTube channel

01:21between now and our next scheduled

01:22meeting. Um the first item on the agenda

01:26is public participation. Tonight we have

01:29received two requests to speak a public

01:31participation. So do we have those who

01:34are gonna speak?

01:37Okay. Um

01:41Hari, do you want to go first?

01:44>> All right. Um so what we will do is um

01:48you will each have three minutes to

01:50address the committee.

01:51>> I think we're part of the same team like

01:54so we just have like one item to speak.

01:56Okay, that's fine. Um, you will have

01:58three minutes to address the committee.

02:00All speakers are encouraged to present

02:02their remarks in a respectful manner.

02:03Yeah. Public public participation is not

02:05a time for debate, nor is it a time for

02:07response to comments made by the school

02:09committee. The absence of a response

02:11from the school committee should be

02:12understood as adherence to procedural

02:14rules, not as an agreement, endorsement,

02:16or acquiescence to the speaker's

02:18statements. Um, so before you begin,

02:20first of all, welcome. Um, could you

02:22please state your names and addresses

02:24just for the record? Yeah, my name is

02:27Sapna Krishnan. I am from 17 Sinclair

02:29Road in Shbury.

02:31>> Uh my name is Surya Raas Swami, 10 Satan

02:33Drive, Shbury.

02:34>> Perfect. Okay, go ahead.

02:37>> All right. Thank you first of all for uh

02:39letting us speak today. Um I've been a

02:41Sushbury resident for more than two

02:44decades and um I'm a parent. Um I teach

02:47an a traditional Indian classical dance

02:49form called Balanatim. is more than

02:512,000 year old dance form and lot of

02:54children come to me to learn this dance

02:56form uh to understand the mythology

02:58involved to understand the intricate

03:00movements and I have had the privilege

03:02of having many students over the years

03:05um most of my students are from Shbury

03:07some are from nearby towns and uh an

03:10important part of uh learning this art

03:12form is the performance that's the most

03:14exciting part for all children and uh

03:17that's a performance brings the

03:19community together and um you know

03:22people understand the different cultural

03:24backgrounds and what this art form uh

03:27brings for for us and all that. So uh

03:30for most of our programs we I end up

03:32going to different towns. Um um last

03:34month I had a program I did it in

03:36Worster High School. Uh next month uh I

03:39have another program which I plan to do

03:41in Harvard High School. So uh I end up

03:44going to different towns, different

03:45auditoriums. I don't get Shoesbury

03:48auditoriums. Um so I want to request um

03:52the town to uh let us use the Shbury

03:54auditoriums and a big part of our

03:58cultural celebrations is food. So I want

04:01to request um the committee to uh let us

04:05provide food in the cafeteria. I

04:07understand um that you know we should be

04:10focusing on cleanliness, safety and

04:12things like that. we are ready to work

04:14with the shoay guidelines. Um so um that

04:18way we bring the different communities

04:21um you know instead of giving uh rental

04:23money to some other town I would rather

04:25give it to Shbury for the town usages uh

04:28because we keep having a lot of programs

04:31and uh you know we will be following the

04:33guidelines and the rules that the school

04:35tell us and normally um after an event

04:38we just we clean up the whole place and

04:41keep everything in the trash and do a

04:43basic cleanup and then leave normally

04:45And we appreciate the work uh the

04:47custodians do behind too. So this is my

04:51earnest respectful request for the

04:53Shbury committee school committee to um

04:56consider uh our request of using the

04:58auditorium. We have beautiful auditorium

05:00but we never get to use it. We have

05:02requested many times but again food is a

05:05food restriction is another issue. So um

05:07our earnest request is to consider this

05:10um you know um our request to you know

05:14use the um auditorium and the venues and

05:17uh let us give the provide the food also

05:20in the cafeteria and a lot of people

05:23like Indian food and they like our

05:25culture and the backgrounds and the

05:28dances that we showcase. So you know we

05:31bring inclusivity there and we bring the

05:33community together there. So thank you

05:36so much for letting me letting me speak.

05:38And this Surya, you want to say add

05:40anything? Surya?

05:40>> Yeah, we're not asking for unrestricted

05:43access. We understand the intent behind

05:44the existing policy. We are just asking

05:46if we can find a reasonable middle

05:48ground. We'll use the spaces but uh only

05:50we'll use food only in designated areas.

05:54Uh we we'll be responsible for like

05:56supervision, clean up, trash removal and

05:58any other. And we also willing to give

06:01out like some deposits and fees like you

06:03know that that could be used if if in

06:05the event that like something happens.

06:06So thank you for your consideration

06:08today.

06:10>> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for

06:11bringing this forward. Um we will

06:13definitely um we appreciate hearing from

06:15residents um about any of our policies

06:17and we will certainly take your um

06:19comments under consideration.

06:20>> Thank you.

06:21>> Thank you so much.

06:22>> Thank you.

06:24>> Okay. The next item on our agenda

06:26tonight is chairperson and members

06:28report. Colleagues, do we have anything

06:29to share this week?

06:30>> I'm happy to share that our master plan

06:32steering committee had our first meeting

06:34last week. Um, and we do have myself as

06:38the chair of that committee. So, I'll be

06:40sure to give um updates as things

06:42progress.

06:43>> Congratulations.

06:44>> Thank you.

06:46>> Anybody else?

06:47>> No. Okay. Uh, the next item on the

06:50agenda is superintendent report. Dr.

06:51Ostrander.

06:52>> Great. Thank you. Um, so for the

06:54superintendent report tonight, I have

06:56several positive events and achievements

06:58that I wanted to share with everybody.

07:00Um, so on behalf of the student, staff,

07:02and administration at Oak Middle School,

07:04I wanted to express our gratitude to the

07:06917 Society for their generous donation

07:09of individual pocket constitutions. Our

07:12eighth grade students were thrilled to

07:14receive their own copies, which served

07:15as a wonderful hands-on complent to the

07:17Constitution lessons that we held on

07:19September 17th. Um, we also wanted to

07:22say congratulations to staff and

07:24students at Maple and Maine who were

07:25recently honored with an access award

07:27from the Shrewsbury Commission of

07:29Disabilities. This marks the second time

07:31they that they have received this

07:33distinction. The first was in 2024 and

07:36again this month. And we are just so

07:38very proud of their continued um

07:39commitment to accessibility and

07:41inclusion. And a special thank you to

07:44Shrewsbury High School for their

07:45outstanding efforts in hosting Colonial

07:47Way, uh, which is a pregame community

07:50festival featuring local food trucks,

07:52interactive displays, and studentr run

07:54games. And specifically, I'd like to

07:56shout out, um, assistant principal Brian

07:58Laaporto and athletic director Jay

08:00Costa, and the many club adviserss and

08:03students whose creativity, engagement

08:05made this event a real success. Um, I

08:08was able to bring the youngest

08:09ostrander, uh, who tried out every

08:12booth, um, and ate some Chick-fil-A. So,

08:14everyone was happy. The game was great.

08:16The outcome was awesome. Um, and it was

08:18really great to engage in the community

08:20and just to see all the student

08:21leadership is just really powerful.

08:24Um, and finally, I wanted to share just

08:26a brief update on the progress of my

08:27entry plan. Since inviting the community

08:30to participate in listening sessions,

08:32I've received a strong initial response

08:34with 35 staff members signing up for

08:37listening sessions and 69 caregivers who

08:39have already signed up. Um, so we have

08:42every school already represented in our

08:44district. Um, but we want to be sure

08:45that there is as many voices as

08:47possible. So, I will be rescending the

08:49RSVP link out again next week and I just

08:52encourage um, people to stay invested

08:54and involved and interested and join a

08:55session. Um, and that concludes my

08:58superintendent report this evening.

08:59>> Great. Thank you.

09:01>> All right. The first time scheduled

09:02appointment for tonight is the

09:04appointment of a student representative

09:06to the Shrewsbury master plan steering

09:08committee. We were originally going to

09:09have um um two members from the planning

09:13board come and join us tonight, but they

09:15were unable to come. So, I'm just going

09:16to give a little bit of background on

09:18what the master plan um steering

09:20committee is. Um and then we are going

09:22to meet and appoint our student

09:25representative. So Tasa, do you actually

09:27want to come up and just sit at the

09:29table while I go through? Okay. Um, so

09:33as some of you may know by now, we did

09:35have a meeting um in July when we

09:37appointed Miss Torres, but the town of

09:39Shrewsbury is initiating initiating an

09:42update to its comprehensive master plan.

09:45The town's master plan serves as a

09:47community vision that establishes

09:49long-term decision-making guidance for

09:51Shrewsbury's physical development. This

09:53will include critical areas such as land

09:55use, housing, open space, natural

09:57resources, recreation, economic

09:59development, transportation, and public

10:01facilities. The master plan steering

10:03committee has been established to

10:04oversee the entire initiative in close

10:07cooperation with the planning board. The

10:10master plan steering committee will be

10:12responsible for hosting public workshops

10:14and meetings and individual members may

10:15be assigned to subcommittees to focus

10:17deeply on um specific aspects of the

10:20plan. So, the school committee was asked

10:22to appoint one of our members as well as

10:24a student representative to serve as our

10:26official representation on the master

10:27plan steering committee. At our July 8th

10:30meeting, the school committee voted to

10:32appoint Nicole Torres as our school

10:33committee representative. Um, she and as

10:36she said, Miss Torres was elected the

10:39other night to serve as a chair. So, we

10:41are now fulfilling tonight the ask by

10:43the town by appointing a student

10:45representative. I had previously

10:47requested that the school committee

10:48delay appointing a student rep until the

10:51school was back in session and I could

10:52reach out to Mr. Bizidlo, our SHS

10:55principal, to find a student candidate.

10:57Um, Mr. Bizidlo and Miss Wen brought a

11:01candidate to the committee, Tasa. Um,

11:04Tasja Mandala. Tasa is a member of the

11:06class of 2027 and recently served as our

11:10boy state representative over the

11:12summer. So, he's here tonight.

11:14>> [clears throat]

11:14>> Um, so Tasa, if you want to introduce

11:16yourself and share maybe a couple things

11:18about yourself and then we can we can

11:20appoint you.

11:21>> Uh, yeah. My name is uh, Tasa. I'm uh,

11:24currently a senior at Shrewsbury High

11:26School. Uh, last year I went to Boy

11:29State which was a a political science

11:31like government sort of camp for a week.

11:35Mhm.

11:36>> It it was really it was an interesting

11:37experience and I think I learned a lot

11:39that I could take back into the

11:41community and uh some more things about

11:44myself. Uh I do a lot of music uh in my

11:48free time. I'm part of band. Uh I do a

11:50lot of stuff with SSMA uh Triam United

11:53Sound. So that's kind of my my circle

11:56>> and uh yeah, very excited for this

12:00opportunity and working with you all to

12:02improve the improve sharing in general

12:05because while I'm not going to be here

12:06for a while, I'm not for for very long,

12:09I'll say. Yeah. But but yeah, I've lived

12:12here for basically my entire life and I

12:15just want to see the town improve and

12:17become better, you know, because there

12:18are things we can work on.

12:19>> Okay.

12:20>> So we're happy to have you. Does anybody

12:22have any questions for Tasa?

12:25>> I just like to thank him for serving.

12:29>> Thank you.

12:30>> Um, okay. So, thank you for joining us

12:32tonight. Um, you had a lot of praise

12:35come from Mr. Bisville, Miss Wen. U, so

12:37we're excited to have you as part of

12:39this opportunity. Um, Dr. Astra, do you

12:41have anything before we

12:43>> I just wanted to thank you for your

12:45input. I think as we think about the

12:46future of Shrewsbury, it's important to

12:48include our youth and your voice. So, I

12:51encourage you to collect um information

12:54from your peers as appropriate and

12:55necessary to help um build this plan and

12:58we're glad we have your perspective. So,

12:59thanks.

13:01>> Okay. So, um we do need to take a vote

13:04on this. So, may I please have a motion

13:06that the school committee vote to

13:07appoint Tasja Mandala as a school

13:10committee student representative to the

13:11Miss Shrewsbury Master Plan Steering

13:13Committee.

13:14>> So, move second.

13:15>> Okay. Moved and seconded. All those in

13:17favor, please do so by saying I. I thank

13:20you. The motion carries.

13:21Congratulations.

13:24>> You will now serve as our student

13:25representative.

13:27>> Thank you.

13:27>> Thank you.

13:28>> Thank you.

13:29>> Okay. Um the next uh agenda item is

13:34under policy and it is a second reading

13:36of a proposed policy policy 637

13:40interacting with law enforcement

13:41officers engaged in civil law

13:43enforcement also known as the protect

13:45Act. A reading of proposed policy 637

13:48was presented at the school committee

13:50meeting back on September 9th. The draft

13:52was posted for public viewing and

13:54feedback and was reviewed by our legal

13:56council in advance of a planned vote by

13:58the committee at tonight's meeting. No

14:00changes have been made to the original

14:02draft presented um on September 9th. Um

14:08I did not receive any feedback. Did you?

14:10>> I did not.

14:11>> No.

14:11>> Okay. Um, I'm just going to quickly just

14:14do a reminder about the policy for those

14:17who maybe didn't hear about it on

14:19September 9th or didn't see the policy.

14:21Um, at its core, this policy is about

14:24ensuring that our schools remain safe,

14:25welcoming, and accessible places for all

14:28students to receive their public

14:29education. The Protect Act places

14:32specific limits on civil law enforcement

14:34actions on school grounds during the

14:36school day, during school drop off and

14:38pickup, before and after school

14:40programming, and school sponsored

14:42events. In general, civil arrests,

14:44including federal immigration

14:46enforcement, cannot take place during

14:48those times unless there's a judicial

14:49warrant or judicial order or unless

14:52otherwise required by state or federal

14:54law. The policy also establishes that

14:56our superintendent will follow the

14:59procedures and guidance provided by the

15:00Commonwealth for how schools should

15:02respond if civil law enforcement

15:04officers seek to enter the schools or

15:06interact with members of our school

15:07communities. For families, the most

15:10important takeaway is that this policy

15:12reinforces our responsibility to provide

15:14every student with access to a safe and

15:16welcoming public education regardless of

15:19their immigration or citizenship status.

15:22It also gives our schools clear

15:23procedures for responding to civil law

15:25enforcement activity in a way that is

15:27consistent with state law. Um, so as I

15:31mentioned, our legal council has

15:32reviewed this policy.

15:34Um, colleagues, did we have any

15:36questions or comments before we went for

15:38a vote policy?

15:41>> Um, okay. Then we would need to take a

15:43vote on this. Uh, may I please have a

15:45motion that the school committee vote to

15:47adopt new policy 637 interacting with

15:50law enforcement officers engaged in

15:52civil law enforcement, the protect Act,

15:54as presented.

15:56>> So moved. Second.

15:58>> Moved and seconded. All those in favor,

16:00please do so by saying I. I.

16:03>> Thank you. The motion carries. So the

16:05policy will be on our website and also

16:07all policies are kept there's a um a

16:10physical printout kept in the school

16:12department um office.

16:16Okay, the next item on our agenda is

16:18under finance and operations and it is a

16:21transportation services report. Mr.

16:23Gerardy and Miss U are here tonight and

16:25we will report on transportation

16:26services at Shrewsbury public schools

16:28that includes information on the

16:30district's contract with a

16:31transportation

16:33uh current wrership bus registration and

16:35late bus service. A report was enclosed

16:37in the packet. We are also fortunate to

16:40have AA transportation division manager

16:43Mr. Bob Shioalier here tonight to join

16:46Mr. Jardy. Miss you. Welcome.

16:48>> Thank you.

16:49>> Thank you.

16:50>> Let me just while we're getting set up

16:52here, um I am Chris Sherardy, assistant

16:54superintendent for finance and

16:56operations. Um I'm going to allow April

16:58and Bob to introduce themselves and

16:59their roles.

17:00>> April, you assistant finance operations

17:02manager. Bob Shioalier, manager of the

17:05AA Transportation Lake Street, across

17:07from uh the grocery store market basket,

17:12soon to be a car wash, [laughter]

17:15>> whatever else,

17:16>> whose name tag is sitting on my desk.

17:19[laughter]

17:20>> All right. Thank you for having us this

17:22evening. Um this is our annual

17:24transportation um presentation to the

17:26school committee. Uh we've been up and

17:28running for a few weeks now. Uh we began

17:30our transportation planning back in

17:32April and uh we have gotten through our

17:35registrations, we've gotten through

17:37opening day and we've gotten through

17:38pretty much our first three weeks of

17:40school. So we thought this would be a

17:41nice time to come to the committee uh

17:43share uh a presentation on kind of the

17:46robustness of our transportation program

17:49and provide you a holistic feel of what

17:52um transportation looks like for our

17:54Shbury public schools.

17:57So we offer many different types of uh

17:59transportation services uh both for our

18:02public education, for our special

18:04education and for other schools in town.

18:07Um so on the left hand side of the

18:10column we have the bus service the

18:11largest being our regular day uh which

18:14includes our industry special education

18:16and our late bus. This is what we call

18:18our home to school transportation.

18:21And on the right it shows the the vend

18:23well it shows our vendor which is

18:24primarily AA transportation and we do

18:27have some of our own Shoesbury public

18:28school vans and then in the notes

18:30section it shows the different programs

18:32that it services.

18:35We have our out of district special

18:36education and our vendor here is varied.

18:39Primarily who we use is the Asabet

18:41Valley Collaborative. We are in a

18:43contract with them and other communities

18:44to share uh the cost and wrership across

18:48our um region. Um, with this contract we

18:52use AA transportation and we used NEMO

18:55are the two providers through them but

18:57also through our out of district

18:58transportation we also do use um Angie's

19:02transportation and a few other uh

19:04one-offs uh when we need things such as

19:07McKinventto rides where we're

19:08transporting students to and from uh

19:11Shbury schools or Shbury community uh to

19:14the schools in which they are attending.

19:16April is a master of coordinating these

19:18transportation rides. Uh when we get

19:20someone to call um and and the students

19:23starting tomorrow and we need to

19:24transport someone from Lemonster to

19:26Shbury or vice versa. Uh Lemon uh April

19:29is um the president of MAPT which is our

19:33uh transportation uh community here in

19:36the state of Massachusetts. And she has

19:38lots of great connections. she'll pick

19:39up the phone and she'll have that uh

19:41transportation ready for that student by

19:42the next day and often with a shared

19:45ride which we're sharing costs with

19:46other folks which is great.

19:48Uh we offer our athletic uh competitions

19:51extracurricular, our music and travel

19:54and that's AA transportation and

19:55sometimes we use our SPS vans if those

19:58vans can fit the group that is that is

20:00going. We have again our Mckin Vento

20:04homeless transportation uh which I just

20:06spoke to um with which April coordinates

20:10uh through her office there. We have our

20:13summer pro um school programming which

20:14is prim which is AA transportation uh

20:17they provide all of our summer um

20:19programs transportation for all of our

20:21summer programs. And then we have our

20:23field trips and AA transportation uh

20:26provides those um buses for our field

20:28trips both in district and when they

20:31when they travel further away.

20:36So it's

20:37uh it's tricky to it's funny to hear

20:42that we are in year four of our start

20:44time changes. Uh so uh back in 23 24 um

20:49you know before we we did our start shot

20:52time changes we had some real challenges

20:54with our pime primarily our morning

20:56routes. We had we're were picking

20:57students up really early in the morning.

20:59Um and part of the planning of pushing

21:02the start times back was to provide

21:04students with more time in the morning

21:07and uh not being picked up in the dark,

21:09you know, all the time um when they had

21:11a a further bus route. Um when the time

21:15change did go into effect, uh you can

21:17see pri uh p prior to uh our earliest

21:20pickups was 6 6:13 in the morning.

21:24>> Um the earliest pickup time post the

21:26start time change and work with a

21:28transportation. You know, we meet every

21:31summer saying we are not going to have

21:32any students picked up before 7 o'clock

21:34a.m. And um our average start time is

21:377:07. Um our average pickup time is

21:417:07.

21:43uh this averages 48 more minutes of

21:45sleep um than what they had prior to. So

21:49that's something that I think our high

21:51schoolers we realized our high schoolers

21:53needed when we when we did the uh

21:55studies there.

21:56>> And then our middle school again uh the

21:58they were being picked up as early as

22:007:13 and now we're um our earliest

22:03pickup is 7:39 with a 7:46 average. um

22:07they get additional 31 minutes of time

22:10in the morning for sleep for you know

22:12breakfast and things that uh can really

22:14help them get ready for the day.

22:17>> So important stuff there.

22:22Okay. So as we look at this we have uh

22:25students who attend many different

22:26schools which are the school districts

22:28on the on the left. Um the Shbury public

22:30schools is our uh hometoschool

22:33transportation. Um, so you can see in

22:36each of those categories, we've gone up

22:37mostly in most all categories. Uh,

22:40except for St. Mary's, we're just down

22:42by two.

22:43>> Um, but we we have, again, this shows

22:46the robustness of our transportation

22:48program. Um, we are supporting students

22:51to get to their schools regardless of

22:53it's Shbury public schools, our

22:55vocational schools, our private schools,

22:58um, Monttoauri and and whatnot. And I'm

23:01going to let April speak to uh the big

23:03chunk that we're speaking about tonight

23:04is really our home to school

23:06transportation. Our 39 big buses that uh

23:10we see traveling across town each

23:12morning and each afternoon.

23:15>> Good evening um dear committee. Um so

23:19you can see from the chart that um we

23:22have been consistently working very hard

23:24to make sure the kids get to school

23:26safe. number one. Number two, on time so

23:29they don't miss any learning time. So

23:31which is very very important. So this

23:34year uh we started bus registration on

23:37April 2nd, not April 1st, April Fool's

23:40Day. People think we're kidding. No.

23:42[laughter] So April 2nd, we started the

23:44whole bus registration process. And from

23:47April 2nd to June 30th, which is a

23:49deadline, I remember I sent out six

23:51reminders. People probably got sick and

23:53tired of me reminding people, but I know

23:55that you can Everybody needs a little

23:57bit reminder. [snorts] So everybody's

23:59busy. Parents are super busy. I want to

24:01thank all the parents this year because

24:04your effort is definitely make a huge

24:06difference on our workload aa and mine

24:09like so different. I remember last year

24:11I have the historical chart like every

24:14year like week by week how many uh

24:18registrations we have received. So if we

24:21look at the end of June, which is the

24:23last day, June 30th, um last year we

24:26only got 3,58 registrations and this

24:30year we got 3,819.

24:33>> So that's a huge difference. I remember

24:35last year was so busy. Last minute we

24:38got 900 new registrations. We have to

24:40add all those on the bus. Almost all the

24:42old middle school students, like whole

24:44school we need to add on the bus last

24:47minute. So it was so so so bus. Last

24:49year was probably the worst year and

24:51then we said we need to learn a lesson.

24:53So this year we did something different.

24:56So instead of just posting like a

24:58reminding from me, I actually want to

25:01thank all my team members who helped

25:03like the principles put on the weekly

25:06newsletter and Beth McCollum put that on

25:09the weekly um Shoesbury bulletin, school

25:13bulletin and also uh Miss Kathleen

25:16actually helped me post on Facebook

25:17parents groups and everywhere like we

25:20just want to reach everybody and we also

25:22took one step further this year uh

25:24instead of waiting for the free reduced

25:26uh like low-inccome families to to do it

25:29by themselves. We actually took that job

25:32over. Whoever didn't register by the

25:34last like five days, we start

25:36registering for them. So that's why we

25:38get the number so high. We didn't need

25:40to worry about like charging them late

25:42fees or do whatever their income is

25:44already low. So we want to we don't want

25:46them to end up being in that situation.

25:49>> So that all those effort really worked.

25:52That's why like you know buy now like we

25:55get everything done 100 100% now. All

25:57the kids should be on the bus if you are

25:59not on the bus yet because you're new

26:01you just registered. So we are we are

26:03really proud [snorts] of the whole

26:04collaboration with AA transportation

26:07like we're constantly on tax phone calls

26:09emails all the time like every day

26:11multiple times. Hope always say April

26:13used up your quota today. [laughter]

26:15I mean like yeah it's really constant.

26:18We want to have that relationship that

26:19we can we feel comfortable and confident

26:22we are working together to make sure all

26:24the kids can get on the on the bus on

26:27time. And the first couple weeks even

26:29though the some of the kids might not be

26:31on the bus list but we didn't miss any

26:33kids say you know exclude anyone saying

26:35you you're not on the list so you cannot

26:37ride. We already instruct the drivers to

26:40make sure get all the kids on the bus so

26:42they can go to school.

26:44So as of now we already have 4,172

26:49and want to report to you also mock

26:52center started to have kids um already

26:56so we already started registering we

26:57added bus stop there again so we

27:00probably will have more later in the

27:02year so it it's really a very successful

27:06story this year I want to thank all the

27:08team effort that we have thank you

27:12>> as you can see our historicals. We've

27:14been pretty steady around just over

27:164,100ish

27:18students uh since um you know postcoid.

27:22Uh we're up a little bit from last year

27:23and and that's that's good you know and

27:26um you know it's good to know that we're

27:28able to offer this service for our

27:30families who need it.

27:33>> So we have about 500 5,900 students. So

27:36it's a pretty large percentage of our

27:37students who do who are registered for

27:39the school bus.

27:42So our transportation budget for the

27:44current year uh we are in year four5 of

27:47our contract with AA transportation uh

27:49contract uh began in August 2023 and it

27:53concludes in August 2028 and over the

27:56course of this contract uh we [snorts]

27:58have a 6% annual increase over the term

28:00of the contract.

28:02Um you can see here our regular day uh

28:05our home to school is our largest uh

28:07portion of our budget. Um special

28:10education in district transportation

28:12again we have budgeted for1,128,364.

28:16Our special education out of district

28:18transport transportation which is

28:21primarily grant funded and and um this

28:24is just under $1.9 million.

28:26our vocational transportation, which are

28:29I I have a slide a little bit further

28:31along in in [snorts] the um slideshow,

28:34just under $200,000.

28:36Field trips, athletics, extracurricular,

28:38kind of all the other things that happen

28:40outside of our day-to-day uh just over

28:42$500,000.

28:44And our late bus program uh costs

28:46$82,661.

28:49that began during uh COVID with our

28:51ESSER funding and we did move it into

28:53our operating budget a few years back

28:55because of how um you know how positive

28:58uh that program has been for our

28:59community. So all in all our

29:01transportation budget is 7,33

29:04uh,752.

29:07It'll eb and flow. We'll add buses and

29:09decrease buses as needed. Uh but this is

29:11what's budgeted and we'll see um we'll

29:14monitor this as the year progresses.

29:17Our

29:19bus transportation fee uh remains at

29:21$300 for the second year. In FY26, we

29:24did reduce the fee from $320 to $300. In

29:28FY27, um school committee decided that

29:30we would maintain [snorts] that $300 fee

29:33uh for for the current year with the

29:36family cap being at $900. Uh prior to

29:39FY26, um the $320 fee, uh the family cap

29:44was $960.

29:46Um, and it's important to note there is

29:47no transportation fee for students who

29:49qualify for free free and reduced lunch.

29:53And April, I believe that number is just

29:55over a thousand students. Um,

29:59>> yeah, we actually

30:00>> just just about over a thousand students

30:02uh qualify for free transportation for

30:05the regular education transportation and

30:07just over 500 students qualify for free

30:10transportation due to their IEP needs.

30:14>> [snorts]

30:16>> average cost per rider. So, what this

30:17slide does is it basically shows that

30:19the transportation fee does not cover um

30:22the full transportation costs. Um we

30:25have 4,161

30:26indistrict students that are currently

30:28registered. That's our home to school

30:30number and our total budget for that

30:33home to school transportation is just

30:35over $3.1 million. So, the average cost

30:38per student for those 4,161 students

30:42would be $762. [snorts]

30:44If every student had to pay for their

30:45transportation, regardless of their um

30:48financial ability, it would be $762 to

30:51cover the full cost of the

30:52transportation. So, clearly that's not

30:54the case. Uh so, we use both the fee to

30:58offset the the uh the transportation

31:00costs and then we have a pretty sizable

31:02operating budget of transportation to

31:04make sure that we're paying for our

31:06transportation.

31:10So, our vocational transportation, there

31:12are three schools in which we have

31:14students who attend. Um, Lester High

31:16School has 37 riders currently being

31:19transported to Lester. That is one bus

31:21and the cost for that uh bus for the

31:23year is $11,945.

31:28Aset Valley, we have eight riders this

31:31year and we're able to support those

31:32students by using one van. That van is

31:35$64,300.

31:37And we have one student who attends

31:39Norfolk Agricultural. Um, April is good

31:42enough to find a shared van. Um, so it's

31:45half of that 64 of 300 is 32,150

31:49uh for that trip to to Norfolk totaling

31:52just under $200,000.

31:57Our bus turn that over to April.

32:01So I know that this is always high

32:03demand because during the summer parents

32:06already started calling me even when

32:08when when will the late bus start. So I

32:10think parents probably count on those

32:12because a lot of working like both

32:15parents work they count on the lake bus

32:18service. We are proud to partner with AA

32:21and this has [snorts] been very very

32:24smooth operation.

32:26So according to what we have according

32:29to the statistics like last year we have

32:32three buses for the high school three

32:34buses for the uh middle school level. So

32:37we call that red bus uh blue bus green

32:40bus depends on the zone where they are

32:43and we have the chart on the website so

32:46that parents can before they register

32:48using the Google form they can see which

32:50is the closest bus stop. We don't do uh

32:54like school to home reg uh bus

32:57transportation because of it's like so

33:00big a d such a big district and there

33:03are so many kids riding. So that's why

33:05we create the community bus stops. Um so

33:08the parents will look for what's the

33:10closest bus stop for the kids.

33:14So you can see from um the slide that um

33:19we use a Google form. Uh the Google link

33:22was also emailed to the families. We

33:25sent to all the all the districtwide and

33:28also the school principles share

33:30[snorts] in their newsletter every week

33:32about the late bus registration. So we

33:35are proud. This year we started um this

33:38past Monday, September 21st is already

33:41uh in full operation right now at the

33:44high school or middle school level. Each

33:46um high school has three buses, middle

33:48school has three buses. Um and we'll

33:52always keep monitoring the writers and

33:55um we have the total writers count. So

33:58you can see from what we have last year

34:00the data shows that average high school

34:04uh writers per week is 98 and middle

34:07school level is 72 writers per week and

34:10the district-wide the daily average was

34:1254 writers. So usually during the

34:16program time like for high school like

34:18extracurricular sports events and all

34:20those um we'll see more riders. So

34:23beginning and at the end of the school

34:25not that many but we keep the bus

34:27running just to help all the families.

34:29Um, if any parents have any questions,

34:32they already, you know, they can always

34:34call me, email me, and they can I can

34:36help them pick the closest bus stop if

34:39they have they're confused about where

34:41or what bus to ride and um what's the

34:44closest bus stop, they can always reach

34:47me.

34:49>> Thank you.

34:50>> Thank you. All right, so that's our

34:52presentation for this evening. Uh, we're

34:54happy to answer any questions or

34:56thoughts that you might the school

34:57committee might have.

34:59Colleagues, any questions or comments?

35:01Mr.

35:03>> Just like to thank you for the report.

35:04Um, always great to hear that it's been

35:06off to a good start this year and like

35:08to thank you, Mr. Shiovalier, for your

35:10continued partnership with our district.

35:12We're very fortunate to have such a

35:14strong relationship with your company.

35:16Um, I did have a question about the late

35:18buses. Is it still only three days a

35:20week that we offer late bus service?

35:22Correct. It's And it's um if you could

35:24just explain that it's it's for because

35:27Tuesdays there's not usually things

35:28after school. Is that correct?

35:30>> Correct. When we first initiate this

35:32program, we're looking at like we had

35:34meetings with high schools and middle

35:36schools and look at like what days would

35:38be mostly used. So that's why we decided

35:41it's Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays,

35:44three days a week.

35:45>> Great. And Thursday is a staff meeting

35:46day. So we typically don't schedule

35:48things for those days. and Fridays. I

35:50can see why

35:50>> this weekend.

35:51>> Yeah. So, and it's just great to see the

35:54daily ridership rate and then the

35:56average rates at both schools and how

35:58high it is and

35:59>> just I'm I'm so fort I think it's very

36:02um you know it's wonderful that we've

36:03been able to continue this program

36:04because it's really well used and it

36:06just opens up opportunities for students

36:08that might not be able to stay after

36:10school due to a ride or you know so I

36:13just think it's you know it's wonderful

36:14to see the the high numbers.

36:16>> It's a great equity piece for us.

36:18>> Absolutely. Yeah.

36:19>> Yeah.

36:19>> And we already have like I have the

36:21numbers like as of today we already have

36:24108 high schoolers registered.

36:27>> 108.

36:27>> Yes. And middle school already have 57.

36:30So it's already like people are on it.

36:32As I said it's high demand.

36:33>> Yeah. Just started Monday. [laughter]

36:35>> That's wonderful. Great. Well, thank you

36:37very much.

36:38>> You're welcome.

36:39>> Mr. Russy

36:40>> question. First off, thank you for the

36:41report and thank you for all that you

36:43and your teams do to keep this uh thing

36:46moving. There's a lot of moving parts. I

36:47know every year it's very seamless. Uh

36:49so appreciate the uh the work. Uh April,

36:52you had mentioned the the increase in

36:53registered uh uh

36:58students uh went from if I'm not

37:00mistaken you said like it was from 2024

37:02was like around 3,000 and then about

37:053,800 uh last year that registered.

37:08>> So what I use was the like by week

37:11ending like June 30th like the last day.

37:14>> Gotcha. How many students were

37:16registered? So last year we only had

37:193,58

37:21>> by June 30th,

37:22>> right?

37:23>> Yeah. But this year we had 3,819.

37:27It's almost 800 difference. So that's

37:30that just make our job so much easier. I

37:32would love to see that continue for the

37:35future years.

37:36>> If everyone I always remind people,

37:38could you please register by June 30th?

37:41Every time.

37:42>> Yeah. [laughter] Yeah.

37:43>> Was there was anything done differently

37:45this time around in terms of

37:46communication like more frequent updates

37:48or

37:48>> I think it's just like globally

37:50everybody is trying to help team

37:53teamwork. I think uh Facebook posting

37:56helps because we try to reach every

37:58parents from every channel.

38:00>> Sure.

38:00>> Because some people probably don't have

38:03like don't check email all the time. Uh

38:06I really think it's a whole like aspect

38:09whole like channel various of channels

38:12of communication.

38:13>> Yeah, I was going to say just it's like

38:14about a 26% increase right in in the

38:17amount of people registered.

38:18>> You think about maybe it was just more

38:21awareness like more communication you

38:23know it seemed to work and

38:24>> it's consistency too.

38:26>> Yeah. We [laughter] made a concerted

38:26effort this year because what happens is

38:28by June 30th, we we close it down on

38:30June 30th. In the month of July, we

38:32don't offer transportation because

38:34that's when we start our route planning.

38:36When you open it back up in August,

38:37there's a late fee. We don't want people

38:39to have the late fee, but we have to

38:40incur that because there's a lot of work

38:41that happens uh right up to the start of

38:44the day. That at the start of the school

38:45year, that requires additional support

38:47to get those students registered with

38:49such a short window of time. Um so our

38:51goal really is to have as many people

38:53registered by June 30th which gives us

38:55the full summer to plan. Um [snorts] so

38:57that was our concerted effort this year.

38:59Last year our numbers were very low by

39:01June 30th and we said we need to do

39:03something about that. So the

39:04communication tool that you know that

39:07what we did this year was just getting

39:09out to more people more frequently and

39:11it seemed to work.

39:12>> It definitely worked. That's great.

39:13Thank you so much.

39:14>> You're welcome.

39:18>> I have a couple questions. Yes. So, oh,

39:22thank you, Miss Wu. I think um I echo

39:24the same uh multiple email reminders

39:26helped

39:27>> because I was one [laughter] of I was

39:29one of the late uh registers last year.

39:32I learned my lesson. So, [laughter]

39:35this year I was like looking for those

39:37emails. But then um that communication,

39:39constant communication, especially

39:41because it's summer, it's easy to ignore

39:44those emails uh when you are away from

39:46home. But I think the constant reminder

39:49helped for sure u for us for sure. Thank

39:53you. Um and one question Mr. to Mr.

39:55Gerard. So and with the out of district

39:58transportation so we're mostly absorbing

40:00through

40:03federal grants. So do we know how much

40:06of the proportion is absorbed by the

40:08federal grants and what impact that

40:11might have this year with the grants

40:14that are

40:15>> right. Yeah, that's a well timed

40:16question. Uh, so we are at the point now

40:19where the federal grant is not going to

40:21absorb all of our out of district

40:22transportation.

40:24>> Um, so and and what I think the state

40:26realizes this, the state's starting to

40:28provide a larger transportation

40:30reimbursement percentage because they're

40:32realizing that communities are um that

40:35the out of district transportation costs

40:37are kind of outpacing communities

40:40ability to keep up with it. So, uh, I

40:43think what we will be seeing in budgets

40:46moving forward is we're going to have

40:48greater reliance on the operating budget

40:49to support, uh, out of district

40:52transportation with with less reliance

40:55on the federal grants.

40:57>> So, that's that's going to be a a

40:59[snorts] big piece, I think, of our

41:01budget for FY28 and then moving forward

41:03from there, I think it's just going to

41:04become a reality.

41:06>> Okay. Thank you. And, um, my my couple

41:09questions to Mr. Cavar a cavaler. So one

41:12is uh regarding mostly regarding safety.

41:15Um so a lot of parents reached out

41:16regarding uh whether our school buses

41:19have a GPS so that they can monitor um

41:22their in and out where it is actually.

41:24And the second piece is u regarding the

41:27cameras because I think um recently I

41:30saw so many people just rushing through

41:34although the bus is uh fully stopped and

41:38the red lights are blinking. It it

41:40happens not necessarily in the town but

41:42across the country. It looks like at

41:44alarm level channel show them all the

41:46time. Right. Right. They're they're not

41:48fun to watch.

41:49>> Um I know last year we had um our police

41:53department followed some of the bus

41:56routes. So I don't know whether it's

41:57happening this year again. Um but I'll

42:00I'll so we have whether we have GPS on

42:02the buses. Is it accessible to parents?

42:05um whether we have cameras on the buses

42:07that can capture these u rash drivers.

42:11[laughter]

42:11>> Um answer the first question. There is

42:13not a GPS system that is accessible by

42:17parents.

42:17>> There's an internal GPS that is part of

42:20the system we use internally. If

42:22somebody was to call from a school 1378

42:24bus 22 how long till he clear we can

42:27look and see where the bus is, how long

42:28it's going to be. That's internal.

42:30>> All right. Um, I know a lot of parents,

42:32especially for the younger kindies for

42:33second, third grade, they put Air Tags

42:35in their in their shoes, in their

42:36backpack. A lot of them, I see them when

42:38I'm rolling up on their phone looking.

42:40It cuts down on the calls. It does help,

42:42but there is not something that we can

42:43make public in that arena.

42:46>> Um, each bus is equipped with four

42:48cameras,

42:49>> two out, two facing out, two on on the

42:51driver and the students. There's one

42:53that's on the left side outside the bus,

42:55camera facing down the side of the bus

42:57with the intention of being able to

42:59monitor what's happening with regard to

43:01buses coming up and down that left side.

43:03>> Um, it's a tough challenge with regard

43:06to people running the stop signs.

43:09>> Um, what I have seen on YouTube, what

43:11I've seen on different districts is

43:12there are places where when the the

43:14police have an understanding of where it

43:16happens a lot, they set up stings.

43:18>> Okay? Where when it happens out, they go

43:20and get them,

43:20>> right? Because what we've been told, not

43:23necessarily by the town, but a lot of

43:25questions from drivers, what's going to

43:26happen? Here's a plate number.

43:29>> It's tough because it's already

43:31happened. An accident wasn't attached to

43:33it. So, and it's also a safety issue.

43:35The driver is to keep safety watching

43:37the children driving and delivering, not

43:38worrying about

43:39>> if nothing happened. It's it's very

43:41serious, but if nothing happened, it's

43:44>> it's a tough situation. We'll get the

43:45license plate, but to follow up with

43:47that without the police actually

43:49monitoring like they do once or twice a

43:51year falling behind the buses, right?

43:52>> But if there's um a way that maybe we

43:54can work with the police where they

43:55understand where it happens a lot,

43:57>> do some stings and once people start

43:58getting a ticket, I think it might

44:00change a little.

44:00>> Okay. Thank you.

44:01>> Of course.

44:04>> [snorts]

44:04>> Um, thank you to our transportation team

44:07and to AA. Um, getting our students,

44:10thousands of students safely to and from

44:12school every day. I think transportation

44:15is taken for granted when it works well.

44:17Um, but there's so much that goes on

44:19behind the scenes to make that happen.

44:20So, thank you for doing that. I'm really

44:23excited about the late bus, the numbers

44:25on the late bus, and that's really

44:26encouraging because I think, you know,

44:28for us as a committee, one of the

44:30reasons that we wanted to absorb that

44:32cost into our um our budget was that we

44:36wanted this to be an equity piece that

44:38we didn't want the inability to get a

44:40ride home or the ability to afford being

44:43able to ride a bus get in the way of

44:45students who needed academic support or

44:47wanted to be a part of the team. Um, and

44:49to have so many students signed up

44:51already by the third week of school is

44:53is a great thing. So, I appreciate the

44:55work that goes into that and making sure

44:57that we have a late bus and that there's

44:58enough spots um and buses that are for

45:03the students. I have a couple couple

45:05questions um I think one maybe for Bob.

45:09Are there particular routes

45:12um or schools that um like that are

45:15consistently more challenging? Are there

45:17like certain routes in in Shrewsbury

45:19that in the afternoon traffic builds up?

45:21So, we're seeing like longer bus rides

45:23and is that across the district like

45:26high school, middle school, like who's

45:28being affected by that?

45:30>> Anybody on route 9 or Route 20?

45:33>> It's a challenge. I I experienced it

45:35today. I was doing great on time coming

45:36to be

45:37>> got to shoot for that 3:45 no later. I

45:39was at the satellites on Lake Street

45:41turning left seven minutes. I'm like

45:44it's killing me. Yeah, that is a

45:46challenge and the drivers will tell you

45:47that. Yeah. Um overall,

45:49>> uh the high school's probably um on time

45:52as far as that 7 o'clock start time. We

45:54start dropping at the high school 7:20,

45:567:30, 7:35, they're on to the middle

45:59school. Um first week everything's a

46:01little slower with the with the little

46:03kids, but overall the challenges are

46:05short of weather. um some of the roots

46:06that um have the the lights the lights

46:09the Lake Street light at on

46:13it's it's tough but some of the uh and

46:15we're anticipating some some issues at

46:17um at the new market basket um um what's

46:20going to happen there I hopefully there

46:22is a plan for more lanes because it

46:24really does cause a juggernaut right now

46:25so we'll see what happens but to be fair

46:27it's a lot of the the challenges with

46:30regard to uh being on time uh with

46:32regard to a lot of the um route 9 route

46:35money at some of the um other locations

46:37with traffic, with paving, but overall

46:40>> our drivers are pretty good with the

46:41shortcuts. They know how to get around a

46:43lot of that. And you know, we work with

46:44new drivers. We say in in a couple of

46:46weeks, maybe a month, we'll start

46:48showing you a couple little But for now,

46:49stay on the route.

46:50>> Yeah.

46:51>> You know, it's really important they

46:52stay on the track, pick up the kids, but

46:54you know, sometimes Holman is a nice

46:55little cut through. [laughter]

46:58>> But yeah, we do find our way around. And

47:00you know, I'm proud of them. They do a

47:01great job. you know, bar, but you know,

47:02a red light will be your your uh

47:05>> killer.

47:06>> Yeah. Um so, in the report, I know that

47:09we we didn't bring it up tonight, but in

47:11the report, there were um five

47:13elementary bus routes that were arriving

47:16at the schools uh about 3:45. Are those

47:20because of some of the routes that they

47:22have to like the route 20, Route 9, or

47:25is that because you know, middle schools

47:27running a little bit?

47:28>> Are you referring to last year or the

47:29first couple weeks now? first couple

47:31weeks.

47:31>> Yeah. Um that this is the big first

47:33month where there's a lot of tweaking.

47:35The drivers come in with the new routes,

47:36the changes, and we collaborate.

47:38>> Uh for example, bus 10, we changed what

47:41he was doing with regard to getting out

47:44of his middle school run earlier so he

47:45can get a bill if we shave seven

47:47minutes. So that is a continual and God

47:50bless hope in April. Okay. They work in

47:52concert because you know a couple

47:54minutes makes a difference.

47:55>> Yeah. you know, but we have that five

47:56minute grace on both sides and it makes

47:59a difference because there's a lot of

48:00different reasons why, you know, we need

48:02that time. But the first three weeks,

48:03it's challenging, but I could say, you

48:04know, it hasn't been that bad. We've

48:06we've had worse

48:08>> for sure.

48:08>> We've had worse. But yes, there are

48:10challenges. Um many of them. And then

48:12you and then in New England, waiting for

48:13the snow and ice.

48:15>> Hey, now

48:16>> I've been pretty consistent since we had

48:19changed the start times. Yep. Um what

48:21our biggest struggle is is our window

48:23between um dismissal of the middle

48:26schools and the elementary schools has

48:28shortened since prior to the start time

48:31changes. So there's just where there was

48:33a little bit of wiggle room for those

48:34stop lightss. Right now it's just really

48:36up against it.

48:38>> Um so that's we we are constantly over

48:41the course of the year monitoring those.

48:43>> Um we'll keep an eye on those five buses

48:45now, but we'll keep an eye on all of the

48:46buses [snorts] moving forward because it

48:47really is tight.

48:49Another factor at middle school level is

48:51it's really the bottleneck because

48:55middle school area you cannot align all

48:57the buses like the high school does.

48:58>> Yeah.

48:59>> So it has to come into two tiers. If the

49:02bus make the first tier is at least

49:04eight minutes earlier than the second

49:06tier because after the first tier leaves

49:10then the second tier start to line up.

49:12So it takes time to load all the

49:14students like from two different

49:15campuses. Oak students usually run to

49:18make the bus that get showered like the

49:19at the very front because I observed the

49:22whole operation. Um so that's the best

49:25option we've found so far to have two

49:27tiers. So if we find out like buses get

49:31to elementary level too late. We try to

49:34see is there any way we can make it come

49:36to middle school earlier

49:38>> like the first year make the first year.

49:40So if it makes first tier the high

49:42chances it's going to get to the

49:44elementary school before 3:45. So we

49:46we're constantly monitoring behind the

49:49scenes. People probably don't know we

49:51are doing it. We are constantly

49:52monitoring like when the bus gets to the

49:54school.

49:55>> Actually that kind of ties into my last

49:57question is that if there was a bus

49:59which happens you know every once in a

50:01while that is running significantly late

50:03or there's an issue it breaks down

50:04whatever the case may be. What is the

50:08chain of command from bus driver to AA

50:11to the to the schools to families?

50:14Because I mean, we've been I've had

50:15times that it seems like you're getting

50:18an email almost immediately, like the

50:19bus is like a minute late and you you

50:21see that, oh, the bus is running 15

50:23minutes late or whatever. So, what does

50:24that look like, you know, for

50:26especially, you know, elementary parents

50:28who might be waiting at a bus stop and

50:30they're like, what's going on? What does

50:32that chain of command look like?

50:33>> Starts with the driver. Let's say it's a

50:35breakdown.

50:36>> Driver to dispatch. Dispatch will do one

50:39of two things depending on the situation

50:40with the bus. If the bus is broken down,

50:42we need to send another bus. We'll have

50:43a bus there within seven minutes from

50:45the garage.

50:46>> And another scenario, if another bus is

50:49empty for whatever reason and close,

50:51we'll drive over to a rescue, keep it

50:52rolling, get the kids going.

50:54>> Um, and then dispatch and hope will talk

50:57to April because she's the arm with that

50:59email.

51:00>> So, we work in concert where it lifetime

51:03it happens. We're dealing with that

51:04right now.

51:05>> And if there's a manager like myself out

51:07there, I'll make myself available.

51:08>> Okay. But it goes from um rescuing,

51:11getting the children moving again, and

51:12then letting April know, she'll let the

51:14parents know. And the schools involved,

51:16too,

51:16>> because they get the first calls a lot,

51:18too.

51:18>> Yeah.

51:18>> Yeah.

51:19>> April to then school principles. Um, and

51:23then either April or the school

51:25principal, secretary is putting that

51:28communication out through our parent

51:29square to the nice thing about the

51:31parent square is that we can send it to

51:33just that bus,

51:33>> right?

51:34>> Um, sometimes it's that bus for multiple

51:37routes, but um,

51:38>> we can get it to the parents pretty

51:40quickly.

51:42>> Thank you.

51:42>> Go ahead. Yep.

51:44>> I have quick follow up on the um

51:48uh signal signal taking seven minutes to

51:50turn the left.

51:52>> Yeah. Yeah.

51:52>> So is there something that we can

51:54coordinate with the police department

51:57say I think they they have a specific

52:00time timers right. So during the school

52:02school hours or bus route hours,

52:05>> the left turns are much more quicker

52:08>> or longer burn on the greens, get more

52:11cars through. I believe because they're

52:13state roads.

52:14>> So Route 90 and Route 20 are state

52:16roads. Um but we have because Beiel was

52:18a big issue with that where

52:20>> um

52:21>> it was the beginning of last year, the

52:23light coming down the hill from Beiel to

52:26Route 9 was painfully fast. uh where

52:29like you could maybe get two or three

52:31cars through it would turn red and it

52:33just start to back up pretty quickly

52:35between parents and buses leaving around

52:38the same time.

52:39>> Um we were able to have we spoke with

52:41our police department. They were able to

52:43connect with the state and they made a

52:45change on those within I think it was

52:47within two days they were able to uh

52:50reset the lights.

52:51They run some our police department,

52:54what I came to learn being in this

52:55position is they're running kind of

52:56traffic flow uh studies all the time

52:59around different lights and and what's

53:00the best use of them. Um so I know that

53:03they are doing, you know, center of town

53:05is a big one,

53:06>> right? Trying to get buses up to Spring

53:08Street School through the center of town

53:09can be really painful at 3:30 in the

53:12afternoon. Uh so I know that they've

53:14done some studies on like how the

53:15traffic patterns work best there.

53:18>> Thank you.

53:21Dr. Arander, do you have anything to

53:23add?

53:24>> I just wanted to say thank you this

53:25evening for your report. It's a really

53:28complex operation that you are all um

53:30working together to make sure that our

53:32students get to school on time and get

53:34home as close to as schedule as

53:37scheduled. Um and I know that there's a

53:40couple of routes that are still have

53:42have some snafoos, but I know with the

53:44Tyler's efforts that it will be run

53:46smoothly soon. Um, and I just want to be

53:48sure that we also shout out Hope, who is

53:50the magician on a transportation side

53:53that works with April so closely and and

53:55I know that the communication between

53:57the two of you is just so important. So,

53:59I have a lot of confidence that these

54:00routes will be remedied soon and again,

54:02thanks for all your efforts. It's been

54:04great so far.

54:05>> Thank you.

54:06>> Thank you.

54:07>> Thank you.

54:09[snorts] Okay, the next item on our

54:11agenda is also under finance and

54:13operations and it is a FY27 personnel

54:17update. Um, Miss Kelly Sadiki, our

54:19district's executive director of human

54:20resources, will present a report um

54:23describing personnel processes and

54:25provide information on new hires,

54:27transfers, and promotions in the

54:29district for this school year. A

54:31detailed report was in our packets for

54:33this week. Welcome, Miss Sadiki.

54:35>> Good evening. Thank you for having me

54:37this evening.

54:38I'm going to set up my um screen sharing

54:41here before I get started. Great. There

54:43we go.

54:54Perfect.

54:57So, I'm really happy to report that we

54:58had a very strong hiring season once

55:00again this year. Um,

55:04I want to start first by just showcasing

55:07our new hires to the district. Um, these

55:10this is an exceptional group of

55:12educators. I'm so proud to have been a

55:14part of the team that brought these

55:15folks on board here in Shrewsbury. Um,

55:18and really excited to have the

55:19opportunity to work with them.

55:23So, take a glance at our talent

55:26acquisition activities over this year.

55:28As you can see, we had 104 total

55:30appointments. Uh, and that's reflected

55:32by 52 professional educators, 36 PAR

55:36educators, eight district leaders, and

55:38then eight folks who are district or

55:41school-based staff. That might be

55:42something like an athletic trainer or a

55:45director of food services, that type of

55:47a role there. Um, these appointments

55:50that are outlined here don't include

55:52things other than our food service

55:54director. They do not include our food

55:56service staff, extended learning staff,

55:58any of our long-term substitutes that

56:00are less than full year, or any building

56:03or day-to-day substitutes. We still also

56:05have some positions in pro in process.

56:09As I reported last year, special

56:11education and world language were two of

56:12the most challenging position types of

56:15positions for us to fill. And I would

56:17add to that English language education

56:19for this hiring season. Um, we still

56:21have the ELE position in process

56:24currently, but our special education and

56:26world language positions have been

56:28filled.

56:29We have four positions this year that

56:31are currently being filled by uh

56:33long-term substitutes.

56:37Here's a breakdown of our U appointments

56:41by category and some context around

56:44that. So about half of our hires were

56:46professional educators and a little more

56:49than half of those were people who were

56:51already within the district who moved

56:53into other roles whether it be moving

56:55from a pareducator role, a long-term

56:57substitute role or educators that were

57:00just changing roles within that unit A

57:02position or category. 36 PAR educators

57:07that that represents year- round hiring

57:09and that hiring even continues and may

57:11even be higher than when I put this

57:13report together last week. Um and that's

57:16five different types of par educator

57:18roles that we're hiring into there. our

57:20eight district leaders. Um, five of our

57:23district leaders were promoted from

57:24within Trusbury public schools and three

57:27of them are new to the district and uh

57:30once again our school or districtbased

57:32staff evenly split with four new hires

57:35and four transfers or promotions and

57:37that brought us to our total of 104

57:40hires.

57:45>> [snorts]

57:46>> This slide represents some of our

57:49internal movement, which is um very

57:52exciting for me to be able to report.

57:54Like I said, um more than half of our

57:56professional educator positions were

57:58filled by folks who are known to the

58:00district. 63% of our district leaders

58:03were promoted or transferred into their

58:05roles. and about half of our uh district

58:08or school-based staff were people who um

58:11were hired as a result of transfers or

58:13promotions. So that combined represents

58:17our strongest source for hires being our

58:20internal employees. And that makes

58:23Shrewsbury I think really special

58:24because it really shows that people who

58:26come to our district want to stay in our

58:29district and they want to grow within

58:30the district as well.

58:33um

58:36eight of our professional hires again

58:38either pared educators or long-term

58:40substitutes who were promoted into their

58:42roles and um I think you know just

58:45further demonstrated once again by our

58:48district or school-based positions as

58:50well and that goes from central office

58:52to some of our extended day and other

58:54types of positions as well.

58:58So diversity has long been something

59:01that has been very important here in

59:03Shrewsbury and that's something that's

59:05part of my core values and is very

59:07important to me as well. And I am really

59:09pleased to share that about 24% of our

59:13professional staff identify as a race or

59:17ethnicity other than white. um and 44%

59:21of our PAR educators, which brings us to

59:23about 35% of our overall hires this year

59:27um are represented by um a diverse

59:31category.

59:33I just going back to this for a moment.

59:35I think I would be remiss by not sharing

59:38that while we've made significant

59:40progress in this area, this is an area

59:43that we continue to work really hard at

59:46and ensuring that our workforce

59:49continues to move in the direction of

59:52representing our community at large.

59:56So some of the steps that we're

59:58undertaking uh to meet that goal include

1:00:01the inclusive outreach. So encouraging

1:00:04applicants from a wide variety of

1:00:05backgrounds. We are calling people out

1:00:08in our external job postings um to apply

1:00:11to come and work here particularly if

1:00:13they represent um a diverse group. Um

1:00:16and also of course our internal um

1:00:20recruitment efforts as well. Um we have

1:00:23an equitable selection process and

1:00:25that's a process that really predates me

1:00:27but continues to be reinforced and

1:00:30talked about. uh that the screening

1:00:33committees are representing varied roles

1:00:35whether it be parents or uh school

1:00:37leadership, students when possible. Um

1:00:40sometimes district leadership staff as

1:00:43well and we complete an antibbias

1:00:45exercise for each hiring process as

1:00:47well.

1:00:49Some things that we're really focusing

1:00:50on this year and some things that we're

1:00:53already being focused on but I want to

1:00:55call out include our PAR educator

1:00:56development. So this is something it it

1:00:59ties in with our uh efforts around

1:01:02coherence across our district leadership

1:01:04meetings and um the human resources team

1:01:08and our district leadership team are

1:01:10working closely together to review

1:01:12training requirements for our PAR

1:01:13educators. strengthen that initial

1:01:16onboarding so that para educators feel

1:01:18prepared and with the knowledge and

1:01:20skills that they need to be successful

1:01:21right from the beginning and then

1:01:23supporting ongoing development to

1:01:25support retention of our para educator

1:01:27staff.

1:01:29I believe that that is going to help

1:01:31strengthen our para educator to teacher

1:01:33pipeline.

1:01:35uh promoting pathways for PAR educators

1:01:37to move from that role to professional

1:01:40positions and I know that that will help

1:01:42increase our diversity in our staff as

1:01:44well because our PAR educator group

1:01:46tends to be our most diverse group of

1:01:48staff

1:01:48>> and many of them come with so many

1:01:51skills and um knowledge and training um

1:01:54in their previous work and um it's a

1:01:57great opportunity to tap into that.

1:02:01So a little more about our selection

1:02:03process. So it starts of course with the

1:02:05recruitment our internal and external

1:02:07postings

1:02:09uh our diverse committees that I've

1:02:10already talked about a bit and then the

1:02:13assessment process of evaluating our

1:02:15candidates through the interview and the

1:02:16demonstration lessons and verifying the

1:02:19information that they provide to us

1:02:21whether that be their references, their

1:02:22background checks, ensuring that we only

1:02:25bring the most qualified people into the

1:02:28district. Um and that leads to our

1:02:30selection of the most qualified

1:02:31candidate. Every candidate that we hire

1:02:34meets with um Dr. Ostrander and myself

1:02:38uh for professional level roles and we

1:02:40review our mission and values and some

1:02:42of the the core things that are make

1:02:44Shrewsbury special and the standards

1:02:46that we uphold for our staff and our

1:02:48students as well.

1:02:53So there's been a lot of work that we

1:02:55have been doing related to

1:02:58the employee experience and streamlining

1:03:01some of our systems and that that ties

1:03:03into our commitment to the optimization

1:03:05of resources.

1:03:06So some of the things that we have

1:03:08implemented that many of these began

1:03:10last year whether it be the employee

1:03:12self-service platform that's a platform

1:03:15where staff can update their information

1:03:18or make changes to their information as

1:03:20needed and they can also access tax

1:03:22information and things like that. The

1:03:24employee onboarding is something that we

1:03:26piloted last year. It was a little bumpy

1:03:28last year. It was smoother this year

1:03:30although not bump free.

1:03:32um that eliminated most of the paper

1:03:36hiring forms and allows us to send a

1:03:38link for uh employees to begin their

1:03:41onboarding process online and they enter

1:03:44their information directly into the

1:03:46system and it eliminates that duplicate

1:03:47entry that would be needed if an

1:03:50employee is or a new hireer is filling

1:03:51out paperwork and then one of our staff

1:03:53is entering that information for them.

1:03:56it does require a significant amount of

1:03:58time on the back end once those forms

1:04:00are received for us to review them and

1:04:03if they're incomplete or have errors

1:04:05sending them back. So, um while it is an

1:04:08efficiency and it does reduce the

1:04:10opportunity for uh system error or

1:04:13implementation of um sorry, what am I

1:04:16saying here? Um like typos and things of

1:04:19that nature. Uh it certainly does

1:04:22require some review and revision on the

1:04:24other end as well. On the whole, I think

1:04:27people have had a good exp a better

1:04:29experience this year than last year with

1:04:30that. Some of the things that we learned

1:04:32last year have shaped how we're

1:04:34communicating about that on boarding

1:04:36process this year and informing people

1:04:39of some of the things that that we

1:04:40learned that they need to be aware of as

1:04:42they undertake that process this year.

1:04:44And of course, our absence and

1:04:46substitute system, which has automated

1:04:48the process for employees to record that

1:04:51they're going to be either out sick or

1:04:53taking a personal day that day. and it

1:04:55instantly begins the process of

1:04:57searching for a substitute to cover

1:04:59that. And that has been uh that has

1:05:02created a lot of efficiency particularly

1:05:04at the building level where we do not

1:05:06need to have people making phone calls

1:05:09and you know uh trying to get

1:05:11substitutes to come in at at 5 or 6

1:05:13o'clock in the morning. So that's been a

1:05:15game changer particularly at the

1:05:17building level.

1:05:18>> [clears throat]

1:05:19>> All of these things together combined

1:05:21with the implementation of time sheets

1:05:23that our staff are our our release staff

1:05:25are completing has necessitated us

1:05:28creating some new standard operating

1:05:30procedures and addressing some bugs that

1:05:32we have identified over the last year or

1:05:34two. Um, and now we're in the process

1:05:37really of evaluating

1:05:40where there's time savings and

1:05:42efficiencies being realized and how we

1:05:44can capitalize on that.

1:05:46>> [clears throat]

1:05:46>> We're continuing all this year- round

1:05:48recruitment particularly related to par

1:05:51educator roles um and working to

1:05:54strengthen retention and also those

1:05:56internal career pathways as well.

1:06:00None of this would be possible without

1:06:02the work of our district leaders who um

1:06:05led these interview processes along with

1:06:08educators, parents and students who

1:06:10served on search committees.

1:06:12um our central office employees, the HR

1:06:15and IT teams, our payroll teams, and our

1:06:18partners at the town hall have been

1:06:21essential to us being able to implement

1:06:24these new softwares and create

1:06:26[clears throat] these new standard

1:06:27operating procedures and work through

1:06:29some of the growing pains that come

1:06:30along with this. And I want to also um

1:06:35give a special thank you to all of you

1:06:36here um on the school committee and the

1:06:39folks of Shrewsbury who continually

1:06:41support our schools and uh you know our

1:06:45gratitude to all of you

1:06:49have any questions

1:06:51questions.

1:06:52>> Thank you. Um it's particularly exciting

1:06:54to see so many people in district um

1:06:57that we're really reaching from within.

1:06:59I just have a couple of questions if I

1:07:01can.

1:07:02or the um data that you have about 35%

1:07:06um of our newly hired staff identifying

1:07:08as non-white. I think that's very

1:07:10exciting. How close is that in terms of

1:07:13being reflective to our student

1:07:14population?

1:07:17I think we still have work to do on

1:07:20that. Um I could certainly separate out,

1:07:22you know, by race and ethnicity to get a

1:07:24better sense of what how that compares

1:07:26to our demographic data. I I think we

1:07:28still have work to do there,

1:07:30>> but it's getting better.

1:07:31>> It is getting better for sure.

1:07:33>> It's great. And then if I can ask um

1:07:36>> separately, do we have any data on our

1:07:38rate of attrition within the district if

1:07:40we're taking out people that are

1:07:41retiring? Um

1:07:43>> but the the employees that we have

1:07:45>> like turnover rate, preventable

1:07:47turnover, I don't know that we have any

1:07:49great data yet, but we probably have it

1:07:51available. I would just need to analyze

1:07:54it a little bit.

1:07:54>> Okay. Thank you.

1:07:56>> Sure. Thank you for the question.

1:07:57>> Yeah.

1:08:00>> Oh, no.

1:08:02[laughter]

1:08:02>> You can fight it out. [clears throat]

1:08:05>> Sorry. Um, thank you. I think it's um

1:08:08it's very impressive that 54% of the um

1:08:12hiring is uh internal fail. Um that is

1:08:15very encouraging for sure. Um I always

1:08:18look for the other side. So, so 46% we

1:08:22are not able to fill internally. is that

1:08:25whatever it is to the remaining

1:08:26percentage, right? So, did you get a

1:08:29chance to review what positions or

1:08:32qualifications that are tough to fill

1:08:35internally and where we should focus so

1:08:37that way we can develop that pipeline

1:08:40better?

1:08:40>> Sure. Well, I think that's a great

1:08:42question. One of the things that comes

1:08:44to mind for me are our special

1:08:46educators. Th that is a role that has

1:08:50historically been challenging to fill.

1:08:52Uh special education teachers and we we

1:08:55know that we have a high number of PAR

1:08:56educators that are supporting our

1:08:58students who have learning disabilities

1:09:01and are uniquely qualified to work with

1:09:04those students and

1:09:07that PAR educator to teacher pipeline

1:09:09would be a great avenue for us to pursue

1:09:11to help people on that pathway.

1:09:16So do we have a timeline on when when

1:09:18this pipeline from para educators to

1:09:21professional teaching going to get

1:09:24implemented or when when we can see the

1:09:25first uh line of data set?

1:09:28>> Sure. Well, we've already started

1:09:29working on it. Our one of our first

1:09:32district leadership team meetings of the

1:09:34year consisted of people breaking out

1:09:38into subgroups to tackle some of the big

1:09:40rocks that we're working on as a

1:09:41district. And this is one of them. So

1:09:44Lindseay Stashowski and I are working

1:09:46collaboratively with some members of our

1:09:48district leadership team to again and

1:09:51I'll go back to the slide so I can talk

1:09:53to you a little bit more about it.

1:09:55Number three here on this slide. Uh we

1:09:57are actively in the process of reviewing

1:10:00the training requirements that we have

1:10:02currently in place for PAR educators

1:10:04including the initial onboarding to see

1:10:08speaking of attrition do we do people

1:10:10have what they need to be successful in

1:10:12the role or you know I haven't seen real

1:10:15data yet that says people are unprepared

1:10:17and therefore are leaving but there may

1:10:19be areas where we can improve and help

1:10:21people feel even more prepared. So we're

1:10:24starting that process now and I would I

1:10:27would say that only if we can keep our

1:10:30para educators and develop them can we

1:10:32move them along in that pipeline. So

1:10:34that's important first step

1:10:36>> in that process and from there we are

1:10:39going to be looking at uh the

1:10:41qualifications of our PAR educators.

1:10:43Some of our PAR educators are highly

1:10:44skilled and highly educated individuals

1:10:47who need assistance in navigating what

1:10:51it would look like to become a teacher

1:10:52here. So that's something that's going

1:10:54to be an important next step in that

1:10:56process.

1:10:57>> Wonderful. Thank you.

1:10:58>> Sure.

1:10:59>> Yeah. Just to add to that, I've been on

1:11:01three cycles of the PAR negotiations and

1:11:03uh just these are dedicated employees,

1:11:05really great knowledge and you know

1:11:08committed to the job that they're uh

1:11:10doing and always looking for

1:11:12opportunities I think and I I really

1:11:14encourage that para teacher pipeline. I

1:11:16think the more we can expose what's

1:11:18available, the path that they need to

1:11:20take to get to that next level, I think

1:11:22is important. I think I mean it's very

1:11:24telling in terms of just the hiring in

1:11:26general over the last summer, you know,

1:11:28the internal candidates being that

1:11:29strongest uh source of of hire says a

1:11:32lot about the district and the people uh

1:11:35and being able to retain that

1:11:36institutional knowledge I think for the

1:11:38district is is valuable. But yeah, PAR

1:11:40educators definitely there's there's

1:11:42there's a really strong uh um [snorts]

1:11:46uh team there, right? And uh really have

1:11:49enjoyed working with them over the

1:11:50years. So I think that's great. Uh and

1:11:52the the employee experience improvements

1:11:54I thought you highlighted were great.

1:11:55And you mentioned that uh the onboarding

1:11:57was piloted last year, but it's is it in

1:11:59full now? It's like to everybody

1:12:01everybody.

1:12:02>> Yes. So our intention was to have that

1:12:05fully implemented last year and we had

1:12:07some real challenges with

1:12:09operationalizing it. Some technical

1:12:11challenges on the software end.

1:12:13>> Yeah.

1:12:14>> Um from our vendor. This year it's been

1:12:17much smoother and like I said we we

1:12:18learned a lot along the process. Small

1:12:20things like if you step away your your

1:12:24information is likely not going to be

1:12:25saved,

1:12:26>> right? We didn't know that last year.

1:12:28And you know, it was frustrating if

1:12:30you're spending 30 or 40 minutes on a

1:12:32process and you step away to find your

1:12:33social security card and you come back

1:12:35to find that you your information hasn't

1:12:38been saved. So, we did a lot of

1:12:40reverting to paper last year. And I'm

1:12:42really excited to let you know that we

1:12:43didn't do any paper onboarding this

1:12:45year. So, it was all handled

1:12:47electronically. And part of that was

1:12:48just frontloading the information of

1:12:50saying these are the things that you're

1:12:51going to need to have available to you.

1:12:53Please plan to gather them. It will take

1:12:55you up to 60 minutes to complete this

1:12:58and if you step away your information

1:13:00will not be saved. So at least people

1:13:01are in the right headsp space and are

1:13:03not feeling like they're going to chip

1:13:05away at it in multiple sessions.

1:13:07>> Yeah. Just the reduction in the

1:13:08administrative task, the time saved and

1:13:11then empowering the uh the employees to

1:13:14make these changes, you know, that it's

1:13:15accessible that to them to make on their

1:13:17own. I think it's great. Um so yeah,

1:13:19thank you for the report.

1:13:20>> Great. Thank you.

1:13:21>> Y' like to also thank you for the

1:13:23report. It's very heartening to see the

1:13:25internal uh promotion of a lot of uh

1:13:28people. I'd also like to, you know,

1:13:30comment on just the rigor of our

1:13:33screening process for our new employees

1:13:35and how helpful it is to have a big

1:13:38thank you goes out to all of the people

1:13:40that devote a lot of time um you know

1:13:43staff, families, people you know that

1:13:45help out with these screening committees

1:13:47um which is so important um in the

1:13:50process. I did have a question about the

1:13:52um substitute um software and how that's

1:13:56been going. Um was that piloted last

1:13:58year and is that now in full force this

1:14:00year?

1:14:01>> That's correct.

1:14:02>> Okay. Yes.

1:14:02>> And has that been working out? Is that

1:14:04on a building per per building level?

1:14:07Like each building has its own um portal

1:14:10that you log into or how does that work?

1:14:12So I it it's one overall portal and on

1:14:15the back end we can if we have a certain

1:14:18substitute that only wants to work at a

1:14:20certain building we can build that out

1:14:22on the back end so that or if there's a

1:14:26person who only I have one substitute

1:14:28teacher that comes to mind that only

1:14:30wants to substitute for art. He doesn't

1:14:32want to be contacted if there's another

1:14:34type of a position available. we can get

1:14:36that granular on the back end as needed

1:14:38for people and um you know if there's um

1:14:42any matching issues we can deal with

1:14:44that very quickly as well. So it's it's

1:14:48been a very nice way to allow people to

1:14:51put their absence in and get that

1:14:53process started. I would say that I

1:14:56heard just this week one of our um

1:14:59secretaries said that they are seeing

1:15:02many more of their um absences being

1:15:05filled very quickly without having to

1:15:07get on the phone. Of course, there are

1:15:09still some times where you might need to

1:15:11get on the phone and contact someone,

1:15:12but I think that's the exception, very

1:15:14few and far between.

1:15:16>> Yeah. Thank you.

1:15:19>> Um I would like to thank our HR team and

1:15:21the very very many people that are

1:15:23involved in this. I think um you know

1:15:25when it comes to hiring it seems like

1:15:27such an easy process right you have an

1:15:29opening you post it you hire and that's

1:15:31it but between um the recruiting and the

1:15:35interviewing the selection process we

1:15:36have a very thorough uh process and then

1:15:39even after we've selected who it is then

1:15:41you know going to you for the onboarding

1:15:43and really you know um and this is you

1:15:45know huge credit to you too when you

1:15:47came on um really revamping a lot of

1:15:50some of the past work that maybe was

1:15:52started but you've really made it your

1:15:54own to make it easier. Um, thank you for

1:15:56your team's work on that.

1:15:57>> Thank you.

1:15:58>> I'm struck by the amount of internal

1:16:00mobility that we've had. Um, clearly we

1:16:02are reaching out. We're getting great

1:16:05hires and they're choosing to stay and

1:16:07really make a career be being in

1:16:09Shrewsbury. So, this is that's positive

1:16:11to me. Um, one question that I have is,

1:16:15um, I don't think that you necessarily

1:16:17touched upon it, but so Schoolring still

1:16:20tends to be like our main way of

1:16:23[snorts] reaching out to candidates.

1:16:24Yeah. Right.

1:16:25>> Um, are there other recruitment

1:16:27strategies that we've tried that is

1:16:30reaching candidates that maybe we

1:16:32wouldn't otherwise have reached? Have we

1:16:34been trying anything different just to

1:16:36get some of these different you know the

1:16:38diversity or the you know with world

1:16:40languages like maybe we reached out to

1:16:42certain places that maybe other

1:16:44districts didn't do.

1:16:47>> That's a great question. I would I would

1:16:49say that in addition to school spring

1:16:52indeed is also a a place where Indeed is

1:16:56interesting because there's two ways of

1:16:58utilizing Indeed. So there's the passive

1:17:00way. So any position that we post on

1:17:01schoolspring is scraped by Indeed,

1:17:04>> meaning it's generally available for

1:17:06people to view on Indeed. You may have

1:17:08to really search for it because we're

1:17:10not paying for it to be there in that

1:17:12way.

1:17:12>> And another way is, you know, whether it

1:17:14be PAR educators or food service staff,

1:17:17our food service director, payroll

1:17:19positions, we tend to use Indeed for

1:17:21that and sponsor those jobs. So that

1:17:24comes at somewhat of a cost, but it's

1:17:25necessary in order to get the exposure

1:17:28that we need from candidates. So that's

1:17:30another avenue that we utilize. But I

1:17:32think what you're getting at more is

1:17:34maybe being creative about accessing

1:17:36college students and and that type of

1:17:38thing.

1:17:39>> We do have

1:17:41many students who are coming in and

1:17:43doing their student teaching with us,

1:17:44their pre-ervice work and that type of

1:17:46thing, which is a great program. And I I

1:17:48believe that there is more that we can

1:17:50do, particularly knowing that special

1:17:52education, world language, English

1:17:54language education are roles that are

1:17:56difficult for us to fill. We could

1:17:58certainly do more with being proactive

1:18:00with connecting with colleges and

1:18:02universities, particularly in this area.

1:18:04We we're so rich with um institutions

1:18:07right here in central Massachusetts that

1:18:09we could be partnering with.

1:18:10>> That's something for us to consider next

1:18:12year.

1:18:13>> Okay, perfect. Thank you. Um Dr.

1:18:16Astrander, do you have anything to add?

1:18:18>> I do. Um, thank you so much for your

1:18:21report this evening. I think, you know,

1:18:23we we have exemplary educators here in

1:18:25Shrewsbury and they're really the

1:18:27foundation of what we are able to

1:18:29accomplish. And I know um when I have

1:18:32been meeting all of our new members, our

1:18:34new professional staff and PAR educators

1:18:36over these opening weeks, I'm just

1:18:38continuously impressed with um the high

1:18:41quality education that they have, the

1:18:43practices and skills that they bring. um

1:18:45to to our our district and um bringing

1:18:48on 104 new staff members is certainly no

1:18:51small effort and I'm de I'm deeply

1:18:53grateful to uh the HR team, Kelly who's

1:18:56here tonight, Avita Anderson and Lindsay

1:18:58Lindsay Stski, our administrators and

1:19:01the hiring teams. Um, I'm also really

1:19:04looking forward to the work that our

1:19:05district leadership team is doing as a

1:19:07subcommittee to continue to think about,

1:19:09you know, how are we building that um,

1:19:12you know, para educator to professional

1:19:14staff pipeline. We're really going to be

1:19:16digging in more deeply into alternate

1:19:18avenues for lenture. You know, Kelly

1:19:21said it this evening, but we have so

1:19:22many people who have, you know, college

1:19:24degrees in an area outside of education

1:19:28or maybe it's a college degree they had

1:19:30um or received in another country. And

1:19:32it's thinking about, you know, how do we

1:19:33really capitalize on the really

1:19:35intelligent and qualified individuals

1:19:37that live within our community who want

1:19:38to serve our schools and our students um

1:19:41and who represent our community so well.

1:19:43Um so we we are still looking for ways

1:19:46to to do that. I know that there are

1:19:48grants from at the state level um this

1:19:51idea of like a grow your own um that we

1:19:53can tap into or even ways that we can

1:19:56support people who maybe need to go back

1:19:57to school um helping them find the

1:20:00avenues for doing so. Um and you know

1:20:04one of the best ways I've actually heard

1:20:05of is using some of our high school

1:20:08students who are graduating from high

1:20:10school. They're going into education

1:20:12programs. You know that idea of like

1:20:13signing days for college athletes. It's

1:20:16like these could be our future

1:20:17Shrewsbury educators. So, I think there

1:20:19are some really exciting ways that we're

1:20:21thinking about continuing um you know to

1:20:23become a more diverse staff and and

1:20:25certainly, you know, take the people

1:20:27within our communities, PAR educators,

1:20:30um families, etc., so that we can we can

1:20:33really grow. So, I'm excited that

1:20:34Kelly's leading this work for us um with

1:20:36the HR team and um it just shows that we

1:20:39have a really strong supportive culture

1:20:41um that's that's ready to keep doing

1:20:43this great work for our students. So,

1:20:45thanks.

1:20:46>> Thank you.

1:20:47>> Thank [snorts] you.

1:20:48>> Thank you.

1:20:50>> Okay. Um, our next scheduled item on our

1:20:53agenda is also under finance and

1:20:55operations. Um, and it is a program

1:20:57update and vote for the Sherwood Middle

1:20:59School Extended School Care Program. As

1:21:03the committee may recall from earlier

1:21:05presentations, the Sherwood Extended Day

1:21:07program has been steadily declining over

1:21:09the past several years. At the meeting

1:21:11on September 9th, um our director of

1:21:13extended learning, Karen Isacson,

1:21:15summarized a pilot afterchool dropin

1:21:17program at Sherwood only called Beyond

1:21:20the Bell, and she noted the program's

1:21:22anticipated structure, and she

1:21:24recommended a fee schedule to us. The

1:21:26report was posted for public viewing and

1:21:28comment after our last um school

1:21:31committee meeting. Miss Isacson is not

1:21:34here with us tonight, but um Dr.

1:21:35Ostander and Mr. Jordy are here to

1:21:37answer questions the committee may still

1:21:38have. Um, I did not get any feedback

1:21:42from families or anything from Miss

1:21:44Isacson. Did you?

1:21:45>> I did not.

1:21:46>> Okay. Um,

1:21:49does anybody else have any questions or

1:21:51comments before we would need to take a

1:21:53vote on this?

1:21:54>> No.

1:21:56>> Okay.

1:21:58All right. So, um,

1:22:02as long as this passes, I would actually

1:22:04like to get an update maybe in January

1:22:06on how the program is being utilized.

1:22:10Um, just so we can kind of see like in

1:22:12the first couple months if there was

1:22:14some interest. Um, okay. So, we need to

1:22:17take a vote on this. Um, may I please

1:22:19have a motion that the school committee

1:22:20vote to approve the Sherwood Middle

1:22:22School Beyond the Bell pilot program and

1:22:24fee schedule as presented on September

1:22:269th, 2026?

1:22:28So, so moved.

1:22:30>> Second.

1:22:31>> Okay. Moved and seconded. All those in

1:22:33favor, please do so by saying I.

1:22:35>> I. Perfect. Thank you. The motion

1:22:37carries.

1:22:40>> All right. The next item on our agenda

1:22:42falls under new business and it is a

1:22:45bullying statistics and prevention

1:22:47report. The bullying prevention and

1:22:49intervention policy indicates that the

1:22:51superintendent or designate shall report

1:22:53annually to the school committee

1:22:54regarding the frequency of bullying

1:22:56behaviors during the prior school year

1:22:59and to update the committee regarding

1:23:00steps being taken in the schools to

1:23:02minimize such behaviors while promoting

1:23:05the continuous improvement of our

1:23:07learning environments. Dr. Ostrander and

1:23:10Mr. Brian Callahan, our assistant

1:23:12superintendent for [snorts] well-being

1:23:13and community systems, will provide a

1:23:15presentation on this and take questions.

1:23:18Um, this is this is Mr. Callahan's first

1:23:21official Shrewsbury School Committee

1:23:23meeting. I'm sure he's attended many

1:23:26Westboro ones in the past before though.

1:23:28So, welcome.

1:23:29>> Thank you. Good to be here. I'd like to

1:23:31also just compliment the hiring

1:23:33practices. [laughter]

1:23:35>> Well, you would know.

1:23:38>> You choose well. [laughter]

1:23:40Um so thank you for providing us with

1:23:42time on the agenda this evening um to

1:23:44talk to you about bullying prevention

1:23:46and intervention. This is part of policy

1:23:49712. Um it indicates that annually the

1:23:52superintendent shall report to the

1:23:54school committee about the frequency of

1:23:56bullying behavior in the prior year and

1:23:58the actions being taken to minimize

1:24:00these behaviors so that we can support

1:24:02continuous improvement. I did ask Mr.

1:24:05Callahan to join me this evening because

1:24:07in his new role he really has um

1:24:09oversight and support and thinking about

1:24:11our bullying prevention title n for our

1:24:15student population and of course just

1:24:17building our social emotional learning

1:24:19and climate and culture across all of

1:24:21our Shrewsbury schools. So we felt it

1:24:23would be helpful to talk to you about

1:24:24this together. [snorts]

1:24:28So before um we discuss specifics about

1:24:31the frequency um we wanted to first

1:24:33revisit the definition of bullying under

1:24:35state law and local policy and it's

1:24:38really important that we do so um

1:24:40because bullying is considered the

1:24:42repeated behaviors that cause physical

1:24:44or emotional harm. Um and these

1:24:48situations um can also when we they are

1:24:52reported to us we take each report

1:24:54seriously. However, in order to be

1:24:57considered bullying, they need to meet

1:24:59this criteria. And that's important for

1:25:01us to talk about before I share the

1:25:03frequency with you. Um because if they

1:25:06do not meet that criteria, um it likely

1:25:09lands under this second topic area,

1:25:11which is conflict. Um one-time disputes

1:25:14or disagreements between students that

1:25:16are two-sided or interactions may be

1:25:19repeated by both parties. um these

1:25:22actions of an individual group um may

1:25:24break the student code of conduct. And

1:25:27so I want to be clear before I share

1:25:29this information with you that um every

1:25:31allegation is is fully investigated and

1:25:35likely um even if it's not considered

1:25:38bullying as it doesn't meet that

1:25:39repeated behavior standard. If a student

1:25:41breaks a code of conduct, it's taken

1:25:43very seriously. And just because it's

1:25:45not called bullying um to the statistics

1:25:48doesn't mean that there wasn't

1:25:50intervention uh restorative practices,

1:25:53discipline, suspension, detention um

1:25:56applied in those scenarios. But when

1:25:58we're reporting to the state, we must

1:26:00follow um the guidelines for for calling

1:26:03it bullying.

1:26:05So this table reflects data across the

1:26:08last three years tracking the total

1:26:10number of allegations and those

1:26:13particular allegations that did meet the

1:26:15strict legal criteria to qualify as

1:26:18confirmed bullying. And last year we had

1:26:2143 allegations of bullying in 18 um

1:26:25instances in which it was confirmed

1:26:27bullying. Um again most importantly each

1:26:31allegation is taken seriously. it's

1:26:33investigated thoroughly. Uh we are still

1:26:36continuing to use the online platform um

1:26:39where people can submit um tips or

1:26:42information about bullying. Oftent times

1:26:45those are anonymous and we take those

1:26:47just as seriously as those that are

1:26:49provided to us in person. Um so again

1:26:52everything is taken seriously and and

1:26:54investigated thoroughly. Um so overall

1:26:57there was a decrease in allegations. Um

1:27:01however there was a similar number in in

1:27:03qualifying um of bullying.

1:27:07So um any case of bullying I want to be

1:27:10clear is is really concerning to us and

1:27:13it's not something we want to happen.

1:27:15And although this is a relatively small

1:27:17number given that we have about close to

1:27:19a 6,000 student population. Um each each

1:27:22instance is one that we we want to be

1:27:26sure doesn't happen again. Um, so again,

1:27:29any inappropriate behavior or behavior

1:27:31that breaks the student code of conduct,

1:27:33whether or not it qualified here um as

1:27:36bullying in the last school year was

1:27:38handled um by administration very

1:27:40thoroughly.

1:27:41>> And and I think it's important to note

1:27:43that it's addressed promptly as well

1:27:45when it is reported. Um I think it's

1:27:48also important to note that um [snorts]

1:27:50these cases even when they're sort of

1:27:52adjudicated uh they are monitored um

1:27:55either by a school counselor, an

1:27:57assistant principal or someone that's

1:27:59close to the case perhaps um you know

1:28:03even the building principal as well. So

1:28:04those those cases uh because we know

1:28:07that through student conflict whether

1:28:09it's bullying or not sometimes never

1:28:11really goes away until it's fully

1:28:13mediated. Um and and I think our

1:28:16administrators and school counselors

1:28:17have done a nice job from the feedback

1:28:20I've received and the things I've

1:28:22observed even at the start of this year

1:28:25um that those things are monitored

1:28:26pretty closely as well even after sort

1:28:28of dealt with.

1:28:33Um also as part of our policy we need to

1:28:37report on the disagregated data and um

1:28:41this year we do have some

1:28:42disproportionality in um gender in which

1:28:46there were more male students who

1:28:48represent a higher percentage of both

1:28:50the allegations and the confirmed cases

1:28:52of bullying. Um, in the disagregated

1:28:55data, I in the analysis, I did not see

1:28:58any disproportionality based on race or

1:29:01ethnicity. And this is information that

1:29:03we'll be using in our efforts to

1:29:05decrease um bullying and conflict at the

1:29:08school level with our administration to

1:29:10think more about how are we how are we

1:29:12supporting um our male students in

1:29:15making different um decisions uh if they

1:29:19encounter conflict um and decrease those

1:29:23bullying behaviors

1:29:24>> in in allowing those school personnel to

1:29:27target the support um necessary to

1:29:31address those issues um with those

1:29:33students whether it be some adviserss or

1:29:36sport coaches at the high school or or

1:29:39again counselors perhaps at the middle

1:29:40school as well.

1:29:43>> So we're most excited this evening to

1:29:45share with you all the proactive

1:29:47initiatives our staff works diligently

1:29:50um across different um departments and

1:29:54um specialties so that we can be sure

1:29:56that we're creating a culture where all

1:29:58students feel safe. Um so Mr. Kelly is

1:30:01gonna talk about that.

1:30:02>> Yeah. Um I think that's one of the most

1:30:04important things to highlight is um you

1:30:07know the the context around this is much

1:30:10more than just the data and the numbers.

1:30:12Um it's what is being done to support

1:30:15students um from the time that they

1:30:17arrive at our schools um to the time

1:30:20that they you know leave and even

1:30:22somewhat in between um when things

1:30:24happen outside of school that get

1:30:26brought into school. you know, what are

1:30:27the staff doing to um to support those

1:30:30students and what are the students

1:30:31sometimes doing um to support each other

1:30:34as well. So, um quite a bit of proactive

1:30:37initiatives are taking place and have

1:30:39been taking place and we've got some

1:30:41ideas and goals for uh for the future as

1:30:44well. But um um speaking from what I've

1:30:47observed, we started this summer um with

1:30:49the SLT summer retreat where we brought

1:30:52in um uh attorneys from Murphy Hess to

1:30:58me and Leah and they conducted a

1:31:00training for um for our building

1:31:02administrators and um that was also um

1:31:07done a couple years ago as well

1:31:09especially with the secondary

1:31:10administrators. Um we also have brought

1:31:13in um Dr. Elizabeth Englander who

1:31:17specializes in bullying and uh cyber

1:31:19bullying and anti-bullying efforts.

1:31:21She's from the Mark Institute. Um all

1:31:24preK to 12 staff will be trained by

1:31:27October 9th. Um we've done half the

1:31:29staff on day two of the school year for

1:31:32staff. Um and we'll do the other half of

1:31:34staff on October 9th during the PD. Um

1:31:37and again I think the the importance of

1:31:39that is recognizing what those um some

1:31:43might call smaller or gateway behaviors

1:31:45uh can do to um prevent um the major

1:31:49student conflict or bullying activity

1:31:51that that may exist in in you know um

1:31:54our schools. Um we also I was present

1:31:57when um Mr. Jeff Lane presented at the

1:32:01new educators orientation. um he took a

1:32:04full hour to dive into um you know those

1:32:08things that he has come across um and

1:32:12some of the statistics and data from our

1:32:15students regional health survey results

1:32:17um grades 6 through 12 um so I think

1:32:21that that's important to note. I think

1:32:23also um the student curriculum and

1:32:26direct skill instruction that's taking

1:32:28place uh our wayfinder seal and our PBS

1:32:31practices across all buildings and

1:32:33classrooms uh are explicitly teaching um

1:32:38those very important interpersonal

1:32:40skills that allow people to communicate

1:32:42because oftentimes conflict and when it

1:32:45rises to bullying is is oftentimes uh um

1:32:48inadequate communication between two

1:32:50people might disagree or two groups.

1:32:52groups that might disagree on something.

1:32:54So, um, health lessons in grades 5 to

1:32:5711, which I'm sure you've heard about,

1:32:59teach those important skills as well,

1:33:00such as active listening, constructive,

1:33:03uh, conflict resolution, and so much

1:33:05more. There are at the secondary level,

1:33:08especially in Shbury High School,

1:33:10schoolwide assemblies. There's two per

1:33:11year for every grade level. Um, I know

1:33:14work is being done in our teams at our

1:33:16middle school, and they literally go

1:33:19over what the definition of bullying is.

1:33:21Um they cover how to recognize it and

1:33:23this is from the peer piece. How to

1:33:25report it. Um what the consequences and

1:33:27impact can be not just disciplinary

1:33:30consequences but um social impact and

1:33:32what it can do on um you know the person

1:33:36who is receiving sort of uh is at the

1:33:38end or excuse me on the you know on the

1:33:41negative end of a comment or things like

1:33:43that. And I'll share a specific example

1:33:45from the program at Oak last year called

1:33:47Ryan's story. Um, but there are a ton of

1:33:51efforts being done in our schools from

1:33:54our elementary grades all the way up to

1:33:55our high school um that um really

1:34:00highlight the importance of talking

1:34:02openly and honestly about um bullying,

1:34:06student conflict, but more importantly

1:34:08teaching those important skills on how

1:34:10to um how to communicate better and in

1:34:13those interpersonal skills. U but I

1:34:16mentioned Ryan's story. I spoke with the

1:34:18administration at Oak uh this week to

1:34:21try to get a um sense on what the impact

1:34:23was for some of those um some of those

1:34:26students and uh there's a couple of

1:34:28quotes that that um principal Barack uh

1:34:31shared with me and um these are right

1:34:34from students and the work that um that

1:34:36the staff did with assemblies. They did

1:34:38pre-assembly lessons. They did post

1:34:40assembly lessons. And um one student

1:34:44commented, uh uh I didn't know rumors

1:34:47could be more hurtful than getting

1:34:49punched.

1:34:50Another student said, "Uh, until today,

1:34:52I hadn't really thought much about who

1:34:54else may read my private emails or

1:34:57instant messages or text messages,

1:35:00right? Nothing's really private in those

1:35:02cases." And then the third student um

1:35:05said, "I hadn't really thought about how

1:35:07my instant messages or text messages may

1:35:10affect someone else." Um so when we're,

1:35:13you know, having programs that get to

1:35:18uh illustrate the importance of empathy,

1:35:20I think we're doing something pretty

1:35:22good and students can be impacted that

1:35:24way. I think these responses um seem to

1:35:27connect well with some of the key

1:35:29messages from that story, that Ryan

1:35:31story, uh around empathy, the impact of

1:35:34online behavior, speaking up, um knowing

1:35:37when to um go to a trusted adult. All of

1:35:40those things are so important,

1:35:42especially at those those ages of um

1:35:45grades, you know, five to eight

1:35:47especially. Um but I think in the end,

1:35:51you know, we we've built some really

1:35:53good momentum over the last couple of

1:35:54years. Uh and I know there have been

1:35:56some incidents that you know has really

1:35:58caused quite a bit of um pause and

1:36:00reflection and um updating of policies

1:36:03and trainings and um it looking

1:36:07obviously I wasn't here at the the last

1:36:09couple of years but knowing um how our

1:36:11administrators are are really highly

1:36:16sensitive um to something around student

1:36:19conflict or bullying is been um nice to

1:36:22see. They take it very seriously. Um

1:36:25working with again um our our lawyers

1:36:29around a eight-step process uh to

1:36:32investigate these thoroughly. Uh

1:36:34updating their communication um

1:36:36practices around um families being

1:36:39involved from the start um to the end

1:36:42and doing it in a very personal level.

1:36:46um whether it be in-person meetings or

1:36:48phone calls but also through formal

1:36:50communications as well to try to give

1:36:52some sense of conclusion to an incident.

1:36:55Um but basically our PBS work PBIS work

1:36:59is is is um gaining some good momentum.

1:37:03I think the um um seal and wayfinder

1:37:08work is also starting to take hold. Um

1:37:11the trend I think is heading in the

1:37:12right direction. I think the numbers in

1:37:14the report show that. Um, and I think

1:37:18that anytime that we can really develop

1:37:22u strong interpersonal and communication

1:37:24skills in our students and and almost

1:37:27put a sign on the things that kids are

1:37:30anxious about um such as will someone

1:37:33like me or do I have to walk down the

1:37:35hallway and hear someone say something

1:37:37about what I'm wearing? like when there

1:37:39can be solid interpersonal and good

1:37:41communication skills built and developed

1:37:43into our students, um you see a huge

1:37:46reduction in some of those behaviors.

1:37:49And I think we're seeing that. I think

1:37:50it's I think it's reflective in um last

1:37:53year's uh survey data. Um I think it's

1:37:57close to over 1500 students took that

1:37:59regional health survey data uh survey.

1:38:02Um, and we ask very specific questions

1:38:04about, you know, in the last 12 months,

1:38:07were you bullied? Where were you

1:38:08bullied? If you answered yes, um, what

1:38:11are you most uh, worried about attending

1:38:14school? Um, and and you know, bullying

1:38:17is very low on that list actually. Um,

1:38:21stress, anxiety, peer pressure, and peer

1:38:24relationships actually are higher. um

1:38:28and the response rate uh than bullying

1:38:30is um but still it's not something to

1:38:34say we're fixing or fixed. Uh we are

1:38:38fixing it and we are continuing to

1:38:39address it with good training um

1:38:44good skill development in our students

1:38:46and um continuing to work proactively

1:38:49rather than reactive.

1:38:53>> That's great. Yeah. Um to summarize, you

1:38:56know, the the allegations continue to

1:38:59remain very low. Um we continue to be

1:39:02committed to ensuring that we are

1:39:04putting every preventative measure in

1:39:06place to support our students, their

1:39:08social emotional needs and their

1:39:10behavioral needs. Um and we are

1:39:12continuing to build uh the SPS staff to

1:39:15be sure that we're helping them um with

1:39:18the skills and uh tools that that they

1:39:21need to foster a culture of belonging

1:39:22for all of our students. Um, I wanted to

1:39:25highlight in particular Elizabeth

1:39:27Englander who came to see us um this

1:39:29fall and our secondary staff were the

1:39:31first to be trained um and engage with

1:39:34her professional development and she

1:39:36spoke a lot about um the influence of

1:39:39social media. Um just digital engagement

1:39:42that happens after school hours. um you

1:39:45know the way that kids are connecting

1:39:47looks different now and that that social

1:39:50aspect that we used to kind of turn off

1:39:52at the end of the school day when we

1:39:54went home it just continues. So thinking

1:39:56about that the the level of anxiety that

1:39:58that um adds to our population of

1:40:01students and stress um but also how can

1:40:03we combat that for kids um and how can

1:40:05we create a culture where you know we we

1:40:08put our phones down and we eat lunch

1:40:10together for example um or if we have a

1:40:12conflict instead of you know shooting

1:40:14off a a text message take some time um

1:40:17think about how you say and what you say

1:40:19and I I think our staff is doing a

1:40:21really great job through advisory um and

1:40:25making deep connections with students

1:40:26where they feel like if they have a

1:40:28conflict, they have a concern, they're

1:40:30worried about bullying, they will come

1:40:32and report that to a staff member they

1:40:34feel close to or they're coming on

1:40:36behalf of a friend to say, "I have a

1:40:38friend I'm concerned about." Um, so I

1:40:41think, you know, the secondary staff in

1:40:43particular is has done a really great

1:40:45job in fostering a culture where kids

1:40:47feel um they can report to adults

1:40:51>> and we got work to do. Uh still uh I

1:40:54think you know providing resources to

1:40:55families so there's a sense of real

1:40:58strong sense of

1:40:59>> [snorts]

1:40:59>> um shared responsibility around some of

1:41:01this work because again um through

1:41:03either technology, video games or just

1:41:06the way you know sometimes um life gets

1:41:09the best of um families and and people

1:41:12outside of our schools. you know, we

1:41:14want to be able to partner with our

1:41:16families and students so that um so that

1:41:18they're practicing those skills in their

1:41:22homes and and in their social circles

1:41:23outside of schools as well. So sharing

1:41:26and that responsibility is a is a goal

1:41:28of ours for this year too.

1:41:32>> So that's the information we have for

1:41:33you this evening and we are happy to

1:41:35take questions if you have them.

1:41:37>> Do we have questions or comments?

1:41:41Um, thank you for this. Certainly not

1:41:43comfortable, but definitely necessary.

1:41:46How, um, out of curiosity, are we

1:41:49comparing to, um, other districts so

1:41:52that have similar student population to

1:41:54ours? Because I look at these numbers

1:41:56and they feel so low,

1:41:58>> uh, which is great, but that's not a

1:42:01complaint at all. Uh, but just wondering

1:42:03how we compare to other districts that

1:42:05have a student population of our size.

1:42:09I can do more investigating. Um I think

1:42:13on the end ofear MCCAST we end up we

1:42:16have vocal data and the vocal data is

1:42:19essentially asking students to share

1:42:21their voice about stress, anxiety,

1:42:23bullying um if they feel seen and valued

1:42:26in their schools. And so some of the

1:42:27vocal data we have access to to compare

1:42:30between districts. Um but I have not

1:42:33[clears throat] gone in specifically to

1:42:35look at at bullying. Um, but we do tend

1:42:38to have like really high social

1:42:40emotional connection and belonging in

1:42:42our schools. Um, and when we were doing

1:42:45the Panorama data surveys, for example,

1:42:47we we are above the national norm and

1:42:50belonging. Um, which would lead me to

1:42:52believe that we are likely we likely

1:42:54have less bullying than maybe local

1:42:56districts, but I don't want to say that

1:42:58as factual information. I would want to

1:42:59compare further. Um, but I don't know if

1:43:02you have anything to add. Yeah, I I was

1:43:04going to say that I think that's a

1:43:06question that we need to um you know,

1:43:09maybe look at um and and

1:43:13not sure if the state actually releases

1:43:16that data. I know they they take it. We

1:43:18have to report it each year um at the

1:43:20district level to to the state. Um but

1:43:22that is something that we can certainly,

1:43:24you know, look at because I'd be curious

1:43:26about that, too. Um,

1:43:32>> yeah. No, thank you for the report. Uh,

1:43:33it's noticeable that the allegations of

1:43:35bullying is at a three-year low if

1:43:37you're looking at the the chart

1:43:38provided. And one of the questions I was

1:43:40thinking prior to the meeting and you

1:43:42answered it is around with the numbers

1:43:45being so low around allegations like how

1:43:48do we ensure like students feel

1:43:49comfortable reporting it? But you it

1:43:52sounds like it's within the curriculum.

1:43:54It's it's like you said fostering a

1:43:56culture of you know if you see something

1:43:58if you hear something say something and

1:44:00it's I mean it sounds like that's just

1:44:02an ongoing process right

1:44:04>> for sure and I think you know we are

1:44:07using social emotional surveys over the

1:44:09course of the year and we do ask

1:44:11questions um about bullying on those

1:44:14surveys and we do provide the option for

1:44:17students to take things anonymously and

1:44:19then at the end we also provide an

1:44:21option to say like tell us who you are

1:44:22if you want us to check back in with

1:44:24you. And I think having built-in touch

1:44:26points over the course of the year also

1:44:27provide us an opportunity to go to a

1:44:29student and say, "Hey, you said you

1:44:31wanted to talk with somebody. Um, we're

1:44:33checking in with you." So, I think the

1:44:34the touch points within a year also help

1:44:36to keep keep the numbers lower because

1:44:38kids feel connected.

1:44:40>> Absolutely. And I I think you you also

1:44:41mentioned too, I mean, the the whole

1:44:42social media thing, the the digital

1:44:45citizenship part of

1:44:47>> the role here is is this just adds

1:44:49another layer to it, right? I remember

1:44:51when my my son uh was part of the iPad

1:44:55pilot program in the very beginning and

1:44:56they they talked about being good

1:44:58digital citizens and at that time I

1:45:00wasn't really understanding what that

1:45:02meant and you know here we are like 10

1:45:0415 years later and uh it it is just such

1:45:07an important piece of this whole thing

1:45:08and it it adds more complexity to this

1:45:11to this uh job of mitigating

1:45:14>> bullying. So yeah thank you. Yeah, I

1:45:17think good communication skills and

1:45:20emotional intelligence actually are, you

1:45:22know, better predictors of long-term

1:45:24success in students. And again, from my

1:45:27review and just the seven, eight weeks

1:45:30that I've been here, um the last few

1:45:32years, Shbury has done really good work

1:45:36um as a district prek to 12 um and even

1:45:40beyond uh to um you know, to make sure

1:45:43that those

1:45:45those skills are being taught in a very

1:45:48explicit way with also access to

1:45:51reporting and support and those valuable

1:45:53connections. Um so um I think the the

1:45:57foundational pieces are there uh to

1:45:59continue to make sure that this trends

1:46:01in that right direction. Um and and

1:46:05that's work that we again look forward

1:46:07to keep doing because our kids are

1:46:09responding well to it even in our in the

1:46:11surveys especially those older students

1:46:12that you know have a maybe a higher

1:46:15maturity level. um it could speak to

1:46:17maybe some experiences as a 17 18 year

1:46:20old and maybe a 12y old like their their

1:46:23responses are are very valuable and I

1:46:25know um our staff look at that.

1:46:28>> Sure. Great. Thank you.

1:46:29>> Yeah.

1:46:32>> Um thanks for the report. I think thanks

1:46:34for all the proactive initiatives that

1:46:36are being implemented or being um

1:46:40implemented over the years now from now

1:46:42on is will be very helpful. Um so the

1:46:45data looks

1:46:49encouraging but but at the same time

1:46:51also uh a little

1:46:54uh

1:46:57have some uh questions related to the

1:46:59like so having fewer number of uh

1:47:03allegations is encouraging and that's no

1:47:05matter right that's good but then as Mr.

1:47:08Minsky mentioned um uh how we can make

1:47:11sure that students are confident in

1:47:14reporting because if they see those on

1:47:17the low numbers and then

1:47:19>> um

1:47:21they come out and report the al whether

1:47:24it's allegation because we starts with

1:47:26an allegation right so how can how to

1:47:28make sure that students are more

1:47:30comfortable given this scenario so

1:47:32looking at the data if I may sometime

1:47:34dig into that so allegations have

1:47:37improved improved over the across the

1:47:39school um level elementary, middle

1:47:43school and high school. Right? So which

1:47:45means they're now more either lesser

1:47:49allegations

1:47:51or they're not confident that it will

1:47:54turn up into

1:47:56>> a valid

1:47:58action or they're much more uh informed

1:48:02now based on all the proactive trainings

1:48:04that are that are being implemented. uh

1:48:07and it's ongoing efforts are very well

1:48:09working.

1:48:10>> Um and then on the qualified bullying

1:48:14side, I think there are good number of

1:48:17cases that are like at least at the

1:48:18elementary level and middle middle

1:48:19level.

1:48:20>> Um so with the high school, that's where

1:48:24it gets uh

1:48:30>> Yeah. Yeah. So

1:48:31>> so I don't want to someone see it. Okay.

1:48:33I there's no bullying in there but uh so

1:48:37maybe it's not taken seriously or u uh I

1:48:42don't want students not to come forward.

1:48:44>> Yeah.

1:48:44>> Whether it's it's maybe it's a conflict,

1:48:46right? But still I want them encouraged

1:48:50to come forward so that we can do the

1:48:52due process and then

1:48:53>> Sure.

1:48:54>> I'm going to tap on to what you're

1:48:55saying a little bit just because I I I

1:48:57know where what you're saying with that.

1:48:58I think something that maybe we've heard

1:49:01is that there may be bad behavior that

1:49:04won't won't necessarily meet the legal

1:49:06definition of bullying. So, you know, it

1:49:08would still show up as, you know, at

1:49:10with the high school a zero number. Um,

1:49:12but there is, you know, maybe some

1:49:14families that are not comfortable

1:49:16reporting it because they're they don't

1:49:18think something's going to be done with

1:49:19it, right? Um, maybe in their mind

1:49:22they're doubting maybe it's not that big

1:49:24of a deal. like I I want to report it,

1:49:26but maybe maybe maybe we're

1:49:27overexaggerating it. Um or some people

1:49:30are just figure, well, nothing's going

1:49:32to get done anyway. It's not bullying,

1:49:34so what are they going to do about it? I

1:49:35think there's I don't want to say

1:49:36mistrust, that's not really the the the

1:49:39right word, but I think there is

1:49:41>> um if it's not bullying, does it just

1:49:44kind of get swept to the side? and that

1:49:45we want to make sure that we're

1:49:47encouraging

1:49:48>> families, students, that if you're

1:49:51experiencing something that doesn't feel

1:49:54right to you. If it is repetitive

1:49:57um behavior, if it's a one time you had

1:50:00a really bad you know whatever it is

1:50:02that students should feel students and

1:50:04families should feel that there are

1:50:07tools out there whether it's the online

1:50:09form where whether it's calling

1:50:12um you know the principles the assistant

1:50:14principles whatever whatever it is that

1:50:17whatever you say will be taken seriously

1:50:21and there is followup to that. I think

1:50:22we want to make sure that people don't

1:50:25feel like it's getting swept under the

1:50:27rug just because it's it's not showing

1:50:28up on a report like this, right?

1:50:31>> Yeah. Exact. So that's the thing. So

1:50:33it's one one thing is to see make sure

1:50:35that students are comfortable. Uh so I

1:50:38can go and report no matter what. U if

1:50:40it's a bullying or allegation then we do

1:50:42the d you the staff uh the appropriate

1:50:47due diligence will be done and then

1:50:48reported out. But we we need to

1:50:52So how to how to back up this data with

1:50:56a secondary method so that we what we

1:51:00are seeing is re is what it is if it

1:51:03this is beautiful uh if it that's the

1:51:06true scenario right it is the data tells

1:51:09what it is.

1:51:09>> Yeah.

1:51:10>> But if there is is there a secondary way

1:51:13to support this

1:51:15>> so that we have two two data points or

1:51:18two ways of co validating the

1:51:20information. Yeah.

1:51:21>> And builds confidence in the students

1:51:23and also for the families.

1:51:25>> Yeah. So the way that we um track this

1:51:28information and when we were building

1:51:29this report for you this evening is that

1:51:32I could personally go in and look at

1:51:34each of the allegation reports, each of

1:51:36the investigations that were completed.

1:51:38Um and we've been doing some

1:51:40consultation as a leadership team to say

1:51:42like is this one bullying? Why is it?

1:51:44Why is it not? So in training we're

1:51:46doing some scenario work to to think

1:51:48about coherence and alignment. So what

1:51:51we might consider bullying let's say at

1:51:52the middle level would also be

1:51:54qualifying at the high school level. Um

1:51:56being sure that we're following the

1:51:57legality in the letter of the law and

1:51:59and making sure that we have consistency

1:52:01and coherence there. Um additionally you

1:52:04know we are doing these social emotional

1:52:07surveys over time um so that we are

1:52:10checking in with kids and we do have

1:52:11data points to understand where conflict

1:52:14is. Um I think the on the flip side we

1:52:17are also um if you look at the

1:52:19discipline data at the numbers of

1:52:22students who have had a a consequence um

1:52:25such as a detention or have engaged in a

1:52:27restorative practice with a peer. That

1:52:30information is a separate data set that

1:52:32shows us there is much more engagement

1:52:34and discipline and difficult

1:52:36conversations and partnerships with

1:52:38families that is much higher than this

1:52:40number. um including you know

1:52:43allegations and qualifying for bullying

1:52:46um meeting the legal standard. But I

1:52:48will say um we we have really great

1:52:53students and families who are also um

1:52:56very invested and partner with our

1:52:58schools really well. Um, so I would say

1:53:02when we are seeing gateway behaviors,

1:53:04one thing our teachers are doing is

1:53:06they're reaching out to families really

1:53:07early and saying, you know, I had a

1:53:09conversation with your child about fill

1:53:11in the blank. Um, we did teach our

1:53:14teachers, you know, one of the best ways

1:53:15to respond is like a 9-second response

1:53:18where you see something as small as eye

1:53:20rolling when someone in class is

1:53:22answering, you know, a question or you

1:53:24didn't want to see that person raise

1:53:25their hand again. Like eye rolling is a

1:53:27gateway behavior. So, we've taught

1:53:29teachers this is the 9-second response.

1:53:31If you notice a trend of this student

1:53:33acting in this way, please contact their

1:53:35family. So, I think teachers, you know,

1:53:37don't hesitate to also engage in

1:53:39difficult conversations with kids, which

1:53:42then turns um, you know, the bullying

1:53:44statistics down. Um, and I think because

1:53:47they've had so many lessons, students

1:53:48are also holding one another

1:53:50accountable.

1:53:51>> So, I would say, you know, we don't

1:53:54necessarily have a a specific data point

1:53:56for you. It's it's a few different data

1:53:58points which is discipline um

1:54:01connections with families and um just

1:54:04the lessons we're we're doing to prevent

1:54:06the bullying.

1:54:06>> Yeah. Um I think that's well said and

1:54:10I'd add that um especially at the

1:54:12younger grades, parents are the ones

1:54:14probably coming forward to report those

1:54:16incidents. Um and

1:54:20the there's a greater likelihood that if

1:54:23if if in fact conflict or bullying is

1:54:25taking place that probably close to 100%

1:54:28of the times it's going to be reported.

1:54:31Um I think that decreases significantly

1:54:33as the students get older. Um social uh

1:54:37impact uh unfortunately conversations at

1:54:40home and and the the child I I've

1:54:43experienced this being you know in a

1:54:45high school for 20 plus years. Um

1:54:47sometimes the decision is made as a

1:54:49family not to report something because

1:54:51they feel in fear that it's going to

1:54:53make it worse even if it's something

1:54:55small. Um and um and that that's you

1:54:59know part of it. It's not all of it but

1:55:01it's part of it. Um I think um in in the

1:55:05survey last year um our 12 to 18 year

1:55:09olds, so that's grades 6 to 12, um 45%

1:55:13of the students um who were bullied

1:55:16reported that they were bullied um did

1:55:18notify an adult at school um about the

1:55:21incident. Now, that's not 100%. Um,

1:55:25that's a strong number um for all of

1:55:28those reasons that I mentioned earlier

1:55:29of why people may not report it,

1:55:31especially at the older levels. Um, but

1:55:33we we need to work on that and we need

1:55:35to make sure to um

1:55:38>> um chair's um point that you know

1:55:41students and families need to know that

1:55:43they can come forward on these things

1:55:45that there is a supportive network. It's

1:55:47not always could be punishment um but

1:55:49oftentimes it's restorative especially

1:55:51if it's something that is you know easy

1:55:53to deal to work with and mediate between

1:55:56the two students before it becomes

1:55:58repeated or um even worse. Um so

1:56:01>> and I would say you know in connection

1:56:03to we do want families to come forward

1:56:06we want students to come forward. We do

1:56:08take every allegation very seriously.

1:56:10There is a process and there's also

1:56:12communication within that process. So

1:56:14there's also no guess um guessing games

1:56:17for families about you know was my

1:56:19student alleged um to be a bully for

1:56:21example. That's just as important as

1:56:23supporting the victim so that you can

1:56:25remedy the behavior and it doesn't

1:56:26happen again. Um so and the anonymous

1:56:30reporting form has been really helpful.

1:56:31We've had several already this year.

1:56:34>> Yeah.

1:56:36>> And just one other point too if I may

1:56:38before your next question. Um obviously

1:56:40we can't look at the zero because we

1:56:43don't know who they are right but we can

1:56:44look at the 11 and we should look at the

1:56:4611 in terms what are those

1:56:48>> you know circumstances by which they

1:56:50even came forward um why didn't it um

1:56:54and I can tell you that when this number

1:56:57surfaced um principal Bizidlo that was

1:57:00the first question that he asked of his

1:57:02team and he and I have already spoken

1:57:04about that as well. So again, they're

1:57:06highly sensitive to this uh topic. Um

1:57:09and and they are following um to to a

1:57:12letter um the eight-step process that

1:57:15was laid out a couple years ago, which I

1:57:18think is solid and can be tweaked and

1:57:20improved a little bit too.

1:57:21>> No, no, that I totally agree. So the

1:57:23once one thing is um as you mentioned

1:57:25like middle school families get involved

1:57:27they raise the issue and then even then

1:57:31we have a sign good good good number of

1:57:34vali bullying cases in the middle school

1:57:36right

1:57:37>> um I think in this high school

1:57:40um I think in the health and

1:57:43that subcommittee that we there's

1:57:46students talking about buddy system

1:57:48where they can if they are not

1:57:50comfortable reporting something they

1:57:53have faced there is a trusted adult or a

1:57:55buddy they can talk to and then they

1:57:58report is that system working or is it

1:58:01is it

1:58:03>> so that is a skill that I know is being

1:58:05taught in those health classes that I

1:58:07referenced earlier grades 5 to 11 that

1:58:09um you know again they're getting really

1:58:12granular in some of these things um in

1:58:15terms of what you can do to report it

1:58:17yourself or report it with a friend um

1:58:19because sometimes all it takes is a

1:58:21little bit of courage

1:58:22you know, for the student to team up

1:58:24with someone else to go and talk to

1:58:25their school counselor or an assistant

1:58:27principal or fill out the form online um

1:58:31or even speak to a parent about it. It's

1:58:32hard sometimes for for, you know, 13,

1:58:3514, 15 year olds um to talk to parents

1:58:38about getting picked on or being bullied

1:58:41and things like that.

1:58:42>> So, yeah, I think the buddy system is

1:58:44still in place. I don't know how

1:58:46effective it is, but that's a question

1:58:47that I can ask.

1:58:48>> Sure. Yep.

1:58:50>> One last with the anonymous reporting.

1:58:53Um so so I can see like a high school

1:58:56level it gets tab like social emotional

1:59:00things come into play and um a fear also

1:59:03comes into play right

1:59:04>> but um with the anonymous reporting why

1:59:06that we don't have

1:59:10more so without with anonymous reporting

1:59:12I would expect more more even if it's

1:59:15not a qualified bullying

1:59:17>> there should [clears throat] be a more

1:59:19reports

1:59:22>> well and I I think some of it is um

1:59:26there may not be as much to report. Um

1:59:29and and who knows? It's hard to know. Um

1:59:32but I will say, you know, um we have

1:59:35gotten reports over the weekend that we

1:59:37start investigating on a Saturday

1:59:38evening. That's happened already once

1:59:40this year. Um we have had we had a

1:59:43report this morning. Um that those

1:59:45reports when they come in anonymously,

1:59:47they they go to the central office team.

1:59:49They go to the building team in which

1:59:50the report was made. They're not only

1:59:53high school reports. There are some

1:59:54other um other places. And what we've

1:59:57also noticed is that it may be a family

1:59:59reporting for another family.

2:00:01>> I was having a conversation with my

2:00:03friend. It sounds like her son is being

2:00:05bullied. Could you please look into it?

2:00:07This is who the person is. So, in in

2:00:09terms of the anonymous reporting, we're

2:00:10tending to see that it really is someone

2:00:13reporting on behalf of another person.

2:00:15Um I will put a plug in that um

2:00:18sometimes the anonymous anonymous

2:00:20reporting can be difficult because there

2:00:23isn't enough information and then we

2:00:25don't know who to reach back out to to

2:00:27say like tell me more.

2:00:28>> Um so we we did receive um an anonymous

2:00:33uh tip and we weren't able to follow all

2:00:35the way through on it because we you

2:00:37know it was like two people are doing

2:00:39fill-in- thelank. it's upsetting to

2:00:41someone else, but none of the names were

2:00:43used of the students involved. So,

2:00:46sometimes I would say that the

2:00:47allegations we could likely count them

2:00:50in the in the tracker. Uh, but because

2:00:53we didn't have enough information, we

2:00:55didn't count.

2:00:56>> We may not have counted that particular

2:00:58scenario. So, I think we have some work

2:01:00to do with the anonymous bullying forum

2:01:02in particular um to ask more specific

2:01:04information so we can always be sure

2:01:06that we can um investigate as thoroughly

2:01:10as possible. Um but we we are getting um

2:01:15a decent number of those but they it

2:01:17doesn't mean they're always a secondary

2:01:18level.

2:01:19>> Of course.

2:01:20>> Yeah.

2:01:21>> No. Um so I just want to make sure that

2:01:24families and students are confident in

2:01:26raising the whether it's bullying or not

2:01:29bullying that's up to the due diligence

2:01:31the team defines it but

2:01:33>> raise the concerns

2:01:34>> bring it forward to the uh school

2:01:37administration then follow through I

2:01:40think

2:01:41>> um yeah but a secondary data set would

2:01:44also like complimentary data should

2:01:48benefit in the long run. We can continue

2:01:51to think about that. And um I think you

2:01:54know one of the things we've talked

2:01:55about is um

2:01:57>> continuing to support administrators and

2:01:59having thought buddies um for those who

2:02:01are doing investigations, doing bullying

2:02:03investigations with two administrators

2:02:05so that you have a second person to

2:02:06check um check your thinking when you're

2:02:08thinking about if it qualifies or not as

2:02:11well as a professional checkpoint. So we

2:02:14can think about complimentary data to

2:02:15collect that. I'm confident that all

2:02:17this all these practive trainings will

2:02:19will definitely turn up very positive.

2:02:22Um but yeah, we want to be zero

2:02:26tolerance on bullying. But um at the

2:02:28same time, we don't want

2:02:32students feel okay, we my complaint will

2:02:34go nowhere. So I don't rather skip it.

2:02:37We don't want students to be in that

2:02:39situation either.

2:02:40>> We agree.

2:02:41>> Or families.

2:02:42>> Or families. Yeah.

2:02:43>> Right. Yeah,

2:02:44>> exactly.

2:02:46>> Thank you.

2:02:47>> Just just very briefly, I just wanted to

2:02:49thank you uh both for the report. I just

2:02:51think it's very important as especially

2:02:52as we start the year to kind of, you

2:02:54know, talk about this. And I just I want

2:02:56to just make sure that we we highlight

2:02:59again that this is a legal definition of

2:03:01bullying that we're addressing. That's

2:03:04it's it's [clears throat] a very

2:03:05specific definition and it doesn't the

2:03:08the things that we're saying are don't

2:03:10qualify. It's not meeting a certain

2:03:12definition. So, but these al you know

2:03:14conflict and all of these allegations

2:03:16are being investigated. Um, I would like

2:03:19to also just say, you know, welcome you

2:03:21to the district as well. And, um, I

2:03:24think one of the the really great things

2:03:27that we do in Shrewsbury, I think, is

2:03:30developing really positive school

2:03:31cultures. And I think that's really the

2:03:33basis for the efforts that are being

2:03:36made in this area. and especially with

2:03:38some of the programming like the

2:03:40advisory and things of that nature where

2:03:43students can develop great relationships

2:03:45with trusted adults and buildings so

2:03:47they feel comfortable approaching

2:03:49people. I think that continuing to

2:03:51emphasize that work and I think all of

2:03:54these things just show what a real

2:03:56thoughtful overall approach that the

2:03:58district is taking to addressing

2:04:00bullying and student conflict. And I'm

2:04:02very pleased to see all of the training

2:04:04that's been implemented this summer. um

2:04:07the you know the training with our legal

2:04:09team, the training with uh Dr.

2:04:11Englander. I think all of these are

2:04:13really great steps to just kind of you

2:04:15know set set the year off to the a right

2:04:18start with all of these you know um

2:04:20really thoughtful ways to kind of put

2:04:22this front and center making sure that

2:04:24all these things are being addressed in

2:04:26a really um thoughtful and uh proactive

2:04:29way. So thank you both. Appreciate it.

2:04:33Um I also want to thank um our building

2:04:36principles and our assistant principles,

2:04:38our athletic directors who you know all

2:04:41of our trusted adults in the buildings

2:04:43that um these are difficult

2:04:46conversations to have, right? We don't

2:04:48like to see bad behavior in the

2:04:50buildings, but we know that it exists.

2:04:52Um and that is again, you know, why we

2:04:55put such an emphasis on building

2:04:56positive school cultures that we want

2:05:00students to have trusted adults in the

2:05:02building that maybe they are too

2:05:03embarrassed to tell their friends that

2:05:04they're having an issue with somebody

2:05:06else or maybe they can't go home and

2:05:08tell mom and dad what's going but you

2:05:11know you might be able to go to your

2:05:12math teacher and say like I have this

2:05:14this thing and they can kind of walk you

2:05:16through it and maybe you know maybe

2:05:20that's another path to reporting But um

2:05:23I think also it came up in in some of

2:05:25the discussion is that I think it's

2:05:27really important for families in the

2:05:29school to partner together on this.

2:05:31Right? So if behavior is happening at

2:05:34school

2:05:35that

2:05:37those at school, teachers, assistant

2:05:39principles, whoever may witness this

2:05:41behavior, they may give you a call home

2:05:42and just say, "Hey, this is this is

2:05:44happening. Just heads up." Um, but I

2:05:46think also for families too that if you

2:05:48your student's doing a daily check-in

2:05:50with you at the end of the day and

2:05:52there's just something that's just not

2:05:54sitting right with you, like they're

2:05:55just, you know, again, it was that look

2:05:57that the student got, it's okay to reach

2:05:59out to the school and say, "This is just

2:06:01I don't know what it is, but could you

2:06:03keep an eye on it to sort of um try and

2:06:06prevent

2:06:07>> bigger issues from happening?" Um, the

2:06:10district has done a tremendous amount of

2:06:13work with PBIS. Um, and I know that it's

2:06:18it's something that some people are

2:06:19like, well, why is that important? It is

2:06:22important. And, you know, we look at

2:06:24especially when, you know, when the

2:06:26elementary schools come and we do so

2:06:27much with PBIS and the the kids get

2:06:29tickets and they're so excited for good

2:06:31behavior. Um but that that is building

2:06:34them as better leaders, better community

2:06:37members that hopefully by the time that

2:06:40we get up to the high school that those

2:06:42those allegations that there was only 11

2:06:44allegations of bullying at the high

2:06:46school and zero turned into maybe that's

2:06:48an accurate number. Um but there's a

2:06:50tremendous amount of work that goes into

2:06:52this and I appreciate all of our our

2:06:54staff in the buildings that work day in

2:06:56and day on out on this. this is not this

2:06:58is not the teaching that they

2:07:00necessarily do but this is just part of

2:07:02the day and this is part of of of being

2:07:04a teacher and connecting with students

2:07:05and it's it's a lot of work that goes

2:07:07into it but um I also do you know to the

2:07:10what you were saying too I want families

2:07:13to feel that they can report

2:07:16any issues to the school um they can use

2:07:20the form they can do whatever they'll be

2:07:23taken seriously and I guess maybe um you

2:07:26know with the form determine how to

2:07:27report. How are we how are we

2:07:30communicating that at the high school

2:07:32level, at the middle school level, at

2:07:34the elementary school level that

2:07:36students know I know where to go? Um

2:07:40whether it's on my iPad or if I'm at

2:07:42home or whatever the case may be or a

2:07:44families, how do I know if my student

2:07:46comes home? What do I do? Because there

2:07:48may be some families that it's

2:07:51uncomfortable to reach out to the

2:07:52school. They don't know where to start.

2:07:54How do we communicate that out so that

2:07:56people feel like if this happens, I know

2:07:59exactly who to go to and that it'll be

2:08:02taken care of?

2:08:03>> Yeah, for sure. I think we do that in

2:08:04our parent orientations and curriculum

2:08:07nights. I think principles are doing

2:08:09their best to communicate it in their

2:08:11weekly communications that come out. Um,

2:08:14and you know, it's right on the front of

2:08:16our district website. Um, and it's there

2:08:18for a purpose. Um, because we want

2:08:20people to know like you don't have to go

2:08:21searching for it. It's on our homepage.

2:08:23you can click it and we get it

2:08:25immediately um in real time. So, I think

2:08:28we can continue to message that for

2:08:30people um in our communications and um I

2:08:33know that my next superintendent updates

2:08:35coming on the first Friday of October

2:08:37and I will um be sure to add it there as

2:08:39well. And at the bottom um of many of

2:08:42our principal letters is actually a a

2:08:45direct link under important links um to

2:08:47have it there at all points in times so

2:08:49families can feel like they they have a

2:08:51voice even if it's Sunday.

2:08:53>> Yeah. and schools aren't open.

2:08:58Anybody else? No. Well, thank you.

2:09:01>> Thank you.

2:09:01>> Thank you. Thanks for your time.

2:09:05>> The next item on our agenda is the

2:09:07approval of minutes. The minutes from

2:09:09the school committee meeting held on

2:09:11September 9th were uh to 2026 were sent

2:09:14to us for review. Does anyone have any

2:09:15changes or revisions?

2:09:17>> No.

2:09:17>> No. Okay. Seeing that there are no

2:09:19changes, these can be marked as accepted

2:09:21as distributed.

2:09:23We do need to go into executive session

2:09:25tonight. So I will need a motion to

2:09:27adjourn to executive session uh for the

2:09:30purpose of a for the purpose of

2:09:31addressing general law chapters 3A

2:09:33section 21A7

2:09:36to comply with or act under the

2:09:37authority of general any general or

2:09:40special law or federal grant in aid

2:09:42requirements purpose 7 open meeting law

2:09:45general law chapter 30A sections 22FG

2:09:49for the purpose of reviewing approving

2:09:51and or releasing executive session

2:09:53minutes. B for the purpose of addressing

2:09:56general law chapters 30A section 21 A3

2:09:59to discuss strategy with respect to

2:10:01collective bargaining or litigation if

2:10:03an open meeting may have a detrimental

2:10:05effect of the bargaining or litigating

2:10:07position of the public bar body and the

2:10:09chair so declares purpose three the

2:10:12Shrewbury Education Association units A

2:10:14andor B the Shrewberry Parrofessional

2:10:17Association andor the cafeteria workers

2:10:19association and C for the purpose of

2:10:22general law chapter 3A section Section

2:10:2421A1 to discuss the reputation,

2:10:27character, physical condition, or mental

2:10:29health rather than professional

2:10:30competence of an individual or to

2:10:33discuss the discipline or dismissal of

2:10:34or complaints or charges brought against

2:10:37a public officer, employee, staff

2:10:39member, or individual. Open meeting law

2:10:41complaint purpose one, where

2:10:43deliberation in an open meeting may have

2:10:45a detrimental effect on the bargaining

2:10:47position of the public body and return

2:10:49to open session only for the purpose of

2:10:51adjoining for the evening. May I have a

2:10:53motion?

2:10:54>> So moved.

2:10:54>> Second.

2:10:56>> This requires a roll call vote. Miss

2:10:58Torres. Hi.

2:10:59>> Mr. Wensky.

2:10:59>> Hi.

2:11:00>> Mr. Vallega.

2:11:01>> Hi.

2:11:01>> Miss Busher.

2:11:02>> Hi.

2:11:02>> Myself. More. I. Thank you and good

2:11:05night.