2026-09-28 - School Committee

01:19There we go. How about that? All right.

01:21It is 7:01

01:24on September 28th, 2026.

01:27Uh we are calling this meeting of the

01:30Somerville School Committee to order. Uh

01:33the city is keeping it very cool in

01:35here. So for those of you who are here,

01:37we deeply appreciate it. And I think

01:40there is hot water somewhere should you

01:42want tea. Um

01:45for those at home, if you see me, my

01:47colleagues, uh those of us up here with

01:50coats on, uh please don't think it is a,

01:54you know, lack of respect for formality.

01:57It is very cold in here. Um

02:02all right. Uh so we are doing sorry. Um

02:09the superintendent can you call the role

02:11please?

02:13>> Yes through the chair. City council

02:16president Davis.

02:20>> Repon

02:22>> here.

02:25Uh, Rep. Lipins

02:26>> here.

02:28>> Rep. Eldridge

02:30>> present.

02:32>> Rep.

02:32>> Eldridge,

02:33>> present.

02:35>> Rev. Green

02:37>> here.

02:39>> Rep. Dr. Stelman

02:40>> here.

02:42>> Mayor Wilson

02:43>> present.

02:44>> Vice Chair Beton

02:45>> here.

02:46>> And Dr. Aman

02:48>> here.

02:50>> With a members present, we have quorum.

02:53>> Thank you. And I will let you know that

02:55uh Rep. Davis did let me know that it is

02:58unlikely that he will be able to join us

03:00in person. He will try and make it

03:01online as he is available. Um all right,

03:05we have a moment of silence and a salute

03:07to the flag.

03:31I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

03:34United States of America and to the

03:37republic for which it stands, one

03:39nation,

03:41indivisible, with liberty and justice

03:44for all.

03:46All right. Um, we have our student reps

03:51here. Uh, Feel free to introduce

03:54yourselves. Uh, let us know what you're

03:57here to talk about. We're stoked you're

03:59here.

04:02>> Hi everyone. Um, my name is Hannah

04:03Baxter. I'm a current 11th grader at

04:05Somerville High School. Um, the past two

04:07weeks have been really fun. The freshman

04:10class has its class officer election

04:12this week and it has been really

04:13exciting to see so much initiative and

04:15investment in the school community so

04:17early on in their high school careers.

04:19Um, homecoming is also in the process of

04:22being planned and the student body has

04:24recently been voting on the themes and

04:26giving its input. Uh, today the robotics

04:29team held its first day of their 10-week

04:32middle school robotics program and is

04:33excited to continue providing STEM

04:36education and all of our sports teams

04:39have been doing exceptionally well,

04:41including many strong victories against

04:43our GBL rivals Medford, including the

04:45girls and boys cross country team who

04:47remain undefeated.

04:52Hi. Um, my name is Ahan. I'm also an

04:5511th grader. And, um, to continue with

04:58the school updates, the the college fair

05:00that the high school hosts will be

05:03happening on October 8th. And last

05:05Wednesday, we had our annual club fair

05:07where around 50 clubs were presenting

05:09their clubs with posters and inviting

05:12people to join. Um, the Highlander

05:14Theater Company recently held auditions

05:16for its production of Our Town and has

05:19begun rehearsing for the show and the um

05:23and we've began um we've began reaching

05:26out to middle schools to establish

05:28contacts and look forward to increasing

05:30communication throughout the year with

05:31their own student councils. And um the

05:35class officers in the high school have

05:38had a few successful efforts in raising

05:40funds. Um, the class of 2028 has reached

05:43out to the armory again to hopefully

05:45have the semi- formal dance there and

05:47the class of 2027 has been looking at

05:49venues and have been planning towards a

05:52successful prom.

05:54>> Additionally, internally as the school

05:56committee representatives for students,

05:57we have been discussing and

05:59brainstorming ideas for how we can

06:01continue to improve Summerville High

06:03School and we would just like to

06:04reiterate our interest in working with

06:06all of you on subcommittees and we

06:07really look forward to doing good things

06:09this year.

06:11Thank you. Yes, I want to let you know

06:13and let my colleagues know. Um I've been

06:15in touch with principal Kirsten about

06:18the work that we are excited to have you

06:20join on the subcommittees. Um there are

06:23certain rules around contact uh between

06:28elected members and our student reps

06:30that uh and one of them is that uh each

06:33of us is going to have to be Corey

06:35checked and make sure that our Corey is

06:36on file with the district. um and items

06:40like that. So once we you know sort of

06:42those boxes are checked um and the rules

06:44are laid out clearly uh we will move

06:48this forward and uh thank you to the

06:51grace from my colleagues. I have been

06:53working behind the scenes to get this

06:54going as quickly as possible.

06:57Um anything else questions from my

07:00colleagues?

07:04Uh you two did great. Thank you so much.

07:07Um, all right.

07:10We are moving on to public comment. I

07:13before we start want to thank Steve D.

07:16Carlo and uh Somerville

07:20Mayor of City TV

07:23uh for

07:25fixing the uh button issue that we had.

07:30It has not come out of the city of the

07:32district's budget. Um

07:36it

07:37uh they put he put in a lot of work,

07:39they put in a lot of work and we are

07:41deeply appreciative and thankful that we

07:43can uh get this going as our community

07:46is used to. So wanted to say that um

07:52before we get started

07:54public comments um welcome. Thank you to

07:58those who have signed up for public

07:59comment. Speakers will be allowed three

08:01minutes to present their material.

08:03Speakers should begin their comments by

08:05stating their name and address or in the

08:07case of a district employee, your role

08:09within the district. The chair of the

08:11meeting after a warning reserves a right

08:12to terminate speech which is not

08:14constitutionally protected because it

08:16constitutes true threats that are likely

08:18to provoke a violent reaction and cause

08:20a breach of peace or incitement to

08:22imminent lawless conduct. Public comment

08:25is not a discussion, debate, or dialogue

08:27between the public and the committee.

08:29Members of the committee will not reply

08:30to public comment during the course of

08:31the meeting, though individual members

08:33may follow up, and items from public

08:35comment may be taken up in future

08:36meetings. The school committee will not

08:39hear personal complaints of school

08:40personnel, nor against any member of the

08:42school community in public session.

08:44Individuals may address topics on the

08:46agenda or items within the school

08:48committee's scope of responsibility,

08:50such as the district budget, goals, and

08:52policies, or the role of the

08:53superintendent. The public is encouraged

08:55to submit comments in writing for

08:57inclusion in the public record. Um,

09:00there's no one here for public comment

09:02in person. And to the best of my

09:04understanding, we have Oh,

09:08>> that I'm correct.

09:11>> So, you didn't sign up before we

09:12started.

09:18>> Sure. You were here.

09:25Um, so you know, uh, there's a signup

09:28sheet at the beginning. It is my fault

09:30for not announcing that. Um, and you're

09:32expected to sign up before 7 p.m.,

09:36>> but thank you for coming.

09:37>> I will certainly do that.

09:38>> Yeah. No, thank you for being here.

09:48>> Thank you so much. Am I good to go? Uh,

09:54one moment, please.

10:04Okay. Um, we have a timer.

10:10>> Okay. You are welcome to start.

10:12>> Great. Joey Ford, 9 Florence Terrace,

10:15uh, Somerville. Um, so I asked you guys

10:18for an ADA accommodation for my son. Uh,

10:21he's disabled. He has Down syndrome and

10:23autism and he alopes and it's very

10:24dangerous for me to bring him into new

10:26places around new faces uh for both him

10:28and everybody around. Um, so I asked for

10:30a simple remote accommodation. You guys

10:33responded. You said, "Oh yeah, you know,

10:35we give remote to everybody. This is

10:37great." But then you shut down public

10:38comment the next meeting. So I wasn't

10:40able to participate. I'm not able to

10:42vouch for my son or uh advocate for him.

10:45So, this is discrimination against him.

10:47Um, I filed a grievance with you guys. I

10:50haven't heard any response about this.

10:52I've also filed an open meeting law

10:54complaint uh because of that meeting.

10:56You're beyond the timeline that expired

10:58on the 23rd. So, that now has to get

11:00referred over to the AG. Um, in 2023,

11:04the Boston Globe requested settlement

11:06agreements from every single district in

11:08the state. Um, I am now continuing that.

11:10I picked up the torch. Um, so everything

11:14that I have requested is all going to be

11:16on my website, parentdatafforest.com. I

11:18myself have not submitted one over to

11:20Somerville, but uh, somebody was

11:22inspired by my work and did submit it.

11:24Um, I hope that you guys actually

11:26fulfill this. Uh, you were one of the

11:29only districts that did not respond to

11:31the Boston Globe. Um, whether that be

11:33through obstructionist behavior or, you

11:36know, I I don't know how you got away

11:38with it because most places gave it. Um,

11:40but I hope that that comes out because

11:41I'm going to come back. I'm going to

11:42read each one of these agreements aloud

11:44uh through this microphone as well. Um,

11:48you should also be allowing out of

11:50towners to speak. It's very

11:52discriminatory. Um, goes against our

11:54first amendment right like uh your right

11:56doesn't end at the town town border. I

11:58would hope that out oftowners would come

12:00and speak and vouch.

12:03Um, and then like if we want to name

12:05names, like that's another thing. Like

12:07viewpoint discrimination is really a

12:08thing. Like if I want to talk about the

12:10poor performance of Mr. Carmona or the

12:13tyranny of Dr. Aman or just how pretty

12:16Miss Davis's smile is. Um, we could say

12:19whatever we want and you can't cut us

12:21off from it. Um, so that's all I really

12:23wanted to say. I appreciate you letting

12:25me finish without interruption and I

12:27hope you have a blessed night. Thank

12:29you.

12:32Thank you. We had one person in person.

12:34Now we have one person online. Is that

12:36correct? Okay. Uh Thomas

12:41Dubet Doo, you are unmuted.

12:46>> My name is Thomas Dubbie. I live um on

12:5190 97R Franklin Street.

12:55Um I am a fourth grade student at Winter

12:58Hill.

13:00Um, I wrote an I like wrote an essay um

13:06which I am going to read aloud. Dear

13:09school committee, how would you feel if

13:11you had nowhere to go to the bathroom in

13:13private?

13:16Winter Hill students deserve better

13:18bathrooms. First, the toilet stalls are

13:21broken. Second, the urinals are also

13:25broken. The toilet the [clears throat]

13:29the toilet stalls are broken.

13:32There is only one boys bathroom for the

13:35entire first and second floor.

13:40Third, fourth, first and first, second,

13:45third, fourth, and fifth grade use it.

13:49We have been like this since I was in

13:53second grade. I'm in fourth grade now.

13:56One stall is fine, two are missing

13:59doors, and two can't lock. We have

14:03nowhere to poop in private, and lots of

14:07students use it, and we've been using it

14:11for a long time. A lot of students are

14:16affected and don't love it. But wait,

14:19the urinals are broken. There are four

14:23urinals. One at the end of the row that

14:26is missing a privacy wall. One that jets

14:29water and we call it the blaster. Nobody

14:33wants to be sprayed with toilet water.

14:36This shows the urinal are in very bad

14:39shape. In conclusions, you should fix In

14:43conclusion, you should fix the bathrooms

14:45for Winter Hill. Thank you.

14:48>> Thank you so much, Thomas.

14:51Uh with that we conclude public comment.

14:55Uh we are on to

15:00approval of minutes. Do I have a motion

15:02for the August 31st minutes?

15:08>> Motion to approve the minutes from

15:11August 31st 20 21st 2026.

15:16>> I have a motion by Rep. Beton, seconded

15:18by Rep. Lipins. All those in favor? I.

15:21All oppose. Any abstensions? Great. All

15:24right. And we are on to the report of

15:25the superintendent.

15:28>> Thank you through the chair. Um we're

15:30going to use the Well, welcome everyone.

15:34Hope uh you have remained dry over this

15:36wet weekend. And uh for those of you

15:39here and at home, um really excited to

15:41be able to share the work that we are

15:44doing in our district. So today the

15:46agenda is pretty simple. We will be

15:49highlighting some of the celebrations

15:50that we have to share with you and also

15:53some of the updates around the strategic

15:55plan that we have for school year 27. Um

15:59we also have with us um director Ariano

16:02who will be and Marisa assistant

16:04director um who McDonald who will be

16:07sharing the part two of the uh special

16:10education report. And we also have

16:13Samuel Gene who is our director of uh

16:16data assessment and accountability.

16:18And so let's move on to actually some of

16:21the things that we want to celebrate

16:22with you. So that's next slide. I wanted

16:26to share with that our new website is up

16:28and running. We have there are so many

16:31strengths on the website especially the

16:34userfriendly features that actually are

16:36accessible allow folks to get more

16:40visual as well as hearing access and

16:43also allows for more um specificity uh

16:48for those who have have cognitive

16:50disabilities. The translation feature is

16:53very simple and uh pretty much every

16:56langu language that you want to

16:58translate into is a matter of just one

17:00click and allows you to access that

17:02feature. uh there's also a claim around

17:06carbon footprint and I don't know don't

17:08have a way to measure that but it's uh I

17:11guess the fact that the information will

17:13be more accessible and the navigation

17:15will be easier you will be spending less

17:17time utilizing energy and the two pieces

17:21of information that I think are really

17:23worth sharing is that we have had close

17:26to 164,000 visitors in our website and

17:30also given the feedback that we received

17:32from the community and our principles.

17:35We made three accessible bottoms with

17:37that have to do with the calendar, the

17:39lunch and the menus when you go into the

17:41website. That's the first thing that

17:42comes up. That's feedback we receive

17:44from families as well as our school

17:46principles. Uh so please um when you

17:50have a minute, visit our website. I also

17:53want to celebrate the fact that our

17:56Brown School was identified by the

17:58department of ed as a school of

17:59recognition and that has to do with the

18:03achievement as well as the gains in all

18:05different subcategories and subgroups.

18:07So that's a big shout out to Principal

18:10Ames as well as all the members of the

18:12Brown community as families as well.

18:15[applause]

18:18And um also for those of you who are

18:20into sports and like to keep track of

18:23records and numbers uh there is a new

18:25app in our ecosystem that you can

18:27actually access anytime. Uh so that is

18:31for the Highlanders Highlanders uh games

18:34and activities. And also I wanted to

18:36just uh remind everyone there's a game

18:39on the November 24 uh Thanksgiving

18:43celebration. It's usually a rivalry that

18:46is worth paying attention to. The

18:47Falcons and the Highlanders will be

18:50having a face tof face at Fenway Fenway

18:53Park. So for those of you who are into

18:55football, please join us on the 24th.

18:58Now I want to share a couple of things

19:00that we have we brought up to your

19:03attention last time and one of the

19:05things that I wanted to highlight is we

19:08started the year with a very clear ring

19:10call around how the intensity of our

19:14work around every student learning in

19:16every class and every day. We also share

19:19a theory of action which was as long as

19:23we respond to data in a much more

19:27strategic way, we won't be able to make

19:29the gains that are needed. So that's the

19:31emphasis that we have this year is how

19:33we respond to data not only at the

19:36classroom level but at the district

19:38level. So the next slide is a sharing of

19:43some of the facts that we shared with

19:44you last time. There are five different

19:46strategies that we share with you and um

19:51the each one of them has somewhat of an

19:53update as to how what we have done so

19:56far. So the first one is about um the

19:59work that we did the professional

20:00development date that we did and we

20:03delve deeply into the question around uh

20:06the timeout and seclusion new

20:08regulations that have been released by

20:09the department of ed. Uh we also um have

20:13been working around data and

20:16instructional work. Next slide or next

20:18click. Um and we wanted to share that uh

20:22we basically have been working with

20:24principles to really map out all the

20:26different impact that has to be um

20:30outlined when it comes to working with

20:31data. Next

20:34um the work around tier instruction or

20:37tier work um is one that is for never

20:40ending. We you know complexity of the

20:42students learning profile sometimes

20:44changes and it requires that we actually

20:47are able to respond to students needs.

20:50We have worked with uh the Boston

20:53Children Hospital uh work around MTSS

20:55that continue to be part of the work

20:58that Dr. um Michelle Shannon is doing

21:01and uh the strengthening of the MTSS

21:03model and how that reflects into the

21:08norming around Xlocks the Xlock in every

21:10building as well as some um exciting

21:13partnerships that we're building with

21:15Ignite to do uh some um uh some coaching

21:20for for not coaching but uh more

21:22intervention for students. Um we're

21:24doing a pilot um at the Argentiano as

21:28well as the Helio School and also

21:30leveraging our partners. Uh we shared

21:32that with you last time. We continue to

21:34work with the bar foundation to really

21:36fine-tune our strategy. Uh just bear in

21:39mind with us this idea of having three

21:41partners at the same time TNTP relay and

21:44the Lynch Academy or leadership is

21:47something that um is not an easy thing

21:50to balance because in some degree the

21:53three of them are competitors and so

21:54we're actually having them in the same

21:56room helping us uh help in the different

21:59areas of work that we have to we have to

22:02um we have to develop some leadership

22:04skills. And then finally the work that

22:07um we have done around dibbles we really

22:10have a sharper eye into into what is the

22:13beginning of data beginning of year data

22:15in dibbles and how we track the impact

22:18um of the growth of students through

22:20that data. Uh so that's the work that um

22:23we just we just concluded this first

22:26round of cycle and now we're working on

22:28making sure that the work that happens

22:31around looking at the data results in

22:34impactful behaviors. Um

22:37I next one I think that the thing that I

22:41just mentioned a minute ago is not

22:43necessarily about outcomes is about a

22:45strategy. Ultimately the outcome is that

22:48every student has access to greater

22:51instruction and to greater learning that

22:54the heavy lift of the learning is

22:55happening by the students. The students

22:58are the ones who need to do the reading,

22:59the writing, the thinking and that's how

23:01we need to actually deliver um with that

23:04in mind. So we will continue to build on

23:08these strategies. I just wanted to share

23:10with you because that's how our

23:12strategies [clears throat] are resulting

23:14in a specific behaviors, specific

23:17habits, specific supports for kids. And

23:19so with that, I am going to

23:23uh close my report in this piece, but I

23:25just wanted to share where we are with

23:27our strategy work. And now I'm going to

23:31welcome um director director of data and

23:36assessment Sam Illigin who will walk us

23:38through our MCCAST results and will give

23:42us an update on the trends and areas of

23:44growth.

23:47>> Thank you Dr. Carmona.

23:53>> All right. Um as Dr. Carmona said I'm

23:55Sam Eligene. I'm the director of data

23:58assessment and accountability for the

23:59district and I'm here tonight to talk

24:02about our spring 2026 MCCAST and

24:04accountability results. All right. So,

24:07just a quick at a glance of some um

24:09takeaways you'll notice through the

24:11presentation. Um some areas of

24:12celebration include gains that we saw in

24:15math for grades three through eight

24:17students across the district. We also

24:19saw a pretty strong improvement in ELA

24:21and math for our students in grades

24:22three and five as well. And every grade

24:25level and subgroup have an average SGP

24:27in the moderate growth range for ELA and

24:29math, which is another area of

24:30celebration. Um, but of course, we

24:33always have areas for continued

24:34reflection and growth as well. And that

24:36includes the lack of movement that we

24:38saw in ELA for students across grades

24:40three through eight in high school, as

24:42well as the persistent achievement gaps

24:44that we continue to see among our

24:45subgroups of students. And in terms of

24:48next steps, um, we continue to, as Dr.

24:50Carmona said, unpack the data to really

24:52understand what are the strategies

24:53driving the improvements that we're

24:55seeing and what are the continued

24:56barriers preventing us from um seeing

24:59improvement in in certain areas as well.

25:01And of course using formative data

25:03throughout the year to continue to

25:04monitor student progress and make adjust

25:06adjustments to instruction um and

25:08instructional leadership. So here we

25:11just have an overview of the

25:12presentation. We're going to first start

25:14out by talking a little bit about

25:15student achievement as well as a DART

25:18comparison. And then we'll dive into

25:20student subgroup performance, student

25:22growth, including a new growth measure

25:23that the state has introduced this year.

25:26And then we'll end with accountability

25:27results and where do we go from here?

25:30Next slide, please. Thank you.

25:33All right. So, starting out with student

25:35achievement. Um, here we have this

25:37table. This is representing our

25:39percentage of students meeting or

25:41exceeding expectations for students in

25:42ELA. Um so you'll see it's broken down

25:45by grade level here. Um the uh second

25:47column there is the percent of students

25:49meeting or exceeding in 2025, so two

25:51years ago. And then we have the

25:53percentage of students meeting or

25:54exceeding in 2026, this most recent

25:56period. And then the next column shows

25:59the percent change. So how do we change

26:01from 2025 to 2026? And then that last

26:04column on the right is how do we change

26:05compared to 2019 precoid. Um and so if

26:09you look across the table here, I've

26:10kind of highlighted a few things that

26:11stick out here. Um so you'll notice that

26:13for grade three, as we mentioned, they

26:15had a tremendous improvement. They

26:17increased 12 percentage points in terms

26:19of students meeting or exceeding

26:20expectations from 2025 to 2026, which is

26:24huge. Um and they're actually now above

26:26where our grade three cohort was back in

26:282019 pre-COVID by three percentage

26:30points. So, very interesting to see. Um,

26:33you also notice that there's a little

26:35red asterisk next to that and those just

26:37represent um areas where we have more

26:39students or on par um percentage of

26:41students meeting our senior expectations

26:43compared to the state average. And so

26:45for grade three um we're currently above

26:47the state average, which is 43% of

26:49students meeting our senior

26:50expectations. And then you'll also

26:52notice that grade five, oh sorry, if you

26:54go back one more, thank you. Um, so

26:56you'll also notice that for grade five

26:57here, um, we saw a 4 percentage point

27:00increase in ELA in terms of students

27:02meeting expectations. And that's also an

27:05area where we're above the state average

27:07at the moment. Um you'll also notice of

27:09course however that for students in

27:11grades four, six, seven, and eight as

27:15well as high school we did see um two up

27:18to nine percentage point decrease in the

27:20percentage of students meeting orch

27:22sorry meeting or exceeding expectations.

27:26Tongue twister. Um and just to note for

27:30reference as well this year DESI

27:32considers any increase or decrease of

27:34two percentage points to be meaningful.

27:36Um, so two or more is what we consider

27:38meaningful and that we've highlighted

27:39here in these tables. Next slide,

27:41please.

27:43So here we have something similar, but

27:45this time looking at math student

27:46achievement. And you'll notice here that

27:49basically most of our grade levels,

27:51right, grades three, four, five, and

27:53six, we saw a meaningful increase in the

27:55percentage of students meeting or

27:56exceeding expectations on the math

27:58MCCAST, which is very exciting for us to

28:00see. um especially relative to the

28:02state's results this year which were

28:04pretty flat compared to previous year.

28:06Um so very excited to see that positive

28:08movement and again grade three we see

28:11that this cohort has um surpassed the

28:14grade three cohort from 2019 in terms of

28:17the percentage of students that are

28:18meeting or exceeding expectations.

28:21And um we also see that for grades three

28:23through eight allto together that there

28:25was a 4 percentage point increase. So we

28:27went from 33%age of students meeting me

28:29or exceeding to 37% of students meeting

28:32me or exceeding.

28:34All right, next slide please. Thank you.

28:37All right, and so here we have our

28:39science and civic student achievement

28:41data. Um so again you'll notice here

28:43that grade five was um an area where we

28:47saw a two percentage point increase in

28:48percent students u meeting exceeding

28:50expectations and that was once again

28:52above the state average. It's also

28:55higher than the grade five cohort back

28:57in 2019 pre-COVID as well. And

29:00unfortunately, we saw a four percentage

29:02point decrease for our students in grade

29:048 in science. And then for our fifth and

29:07eighth grade group combined, um that led

29:09to no change. And then for high school,

29:12we saw a 1 percentage point decrease,

29:14which is not really considered

29:15meaningful change. Um again, we're

29:17looking for that two or more. And for

29:20grade eight civics, we similarly did not

29:22see a pretty substantial change there.

29:25It increased by one percentage point.

29:27Next slide, please.

29:30All right. So, this is just summarizing

29:31some of the key highlights that we saw

29:33in the data just now. So again, areas of

29:36strength including that improved math

29:38achievement, um the grade three

29:40achievement surpassing 2019 precoid, the

29:43strong improvement in ELA for students

29:45in grades three and five, and grade five

29:48science achievement um which has also

29:50surpassed surpassed precoid and then

29:53areas for continued growth. Um, broadly

29:56we would say ELA achievement in students

29:58in grades four through eight as well as

30:00high school um with a particular focus

30:02on students in grades four and middle

30:04grades. And then we'd also consider math

30:07achievement for students in grade seven

30:09in area for improvement and science

30:11achievement for students in grade eight.

30:15All right, next slide please. Thank you.

30:18All right, so here we have this table

30:20which is basically showing a comparison

30:22to our dart districts. Um, DART stands

30:25for district analysis and review tools.

30:27And these are basically 10 comparable

30:29school districts that DESI identifies

30:31based off of um, districts that serve

30:33similar grades spans of students, have

30:35similar total student enrollments, and

30:36key student demographics. And so you'll

30:39see here that we have the percent

30:41meeting or exceeding for ELA, math, and

30:44science here for all of our 10

30:46comparable districts. And you'll notice

30:48that Somerville has the second highest

30:49percentage of students meeting or

30:51exceeding in ELA compared to our

30:53comparable DART districts. We also have

30:55the fifth highest percentage of students

30:57meeting or exceeding for math and the

30:59second highest percent of students

31:00meeting or exceeding for science.

31:03Next slide, please. Thank you.

31:08Wonderful. All right. So, here we just

31:10have a comparison of percent of students

31:12meeting exceeding across our different

31:14student subgroups. Um, so this data

31:17included in this chart goes back to 2019

31:19up until 2026. And just going across the

31:22bottom there, we have students with

31:23disabilities, ELELSs or our multilingual

31:26learners, former EELs or former

31:28multilingual learners, um, our students

31:30from low-income households, our high

31:32need students, and high needs is a

31:34designation that includes students that

31:36are either from a low-income household,

31:38a student with a disability, or a

31:40multilingual learner, or the

31:41intersection of any of those three. Um,

31:43we also have data for our Asian student

31:46subgroup, our black student subgroup,

31:48Hispanic or Latino students,

31:49multi-racial students, white students,

31:51and then all students across grades 3

31:53through eight. And so you'll notice if

31:55you go across the bottom there, the

31:57comparison between 2025 and 2026. And so

32:01we saw improvement for our multilingual

32:03learners and our former multilingual

32:05learners in ELA, as well as our Asian

32:07student subgroup. We didn't see much

32:09change for our students that are high

32:11needs, our students with disabilities,

32:13our Hispanic or Latino students, and our

32:15white students. And then we saw a

32:17decline in achievement for our

32:19low-income students, for our black

32:20students, and for our multi-racial

32:22students.

32:23Next slide, please.

32:27All right. And similarly, here we have

32:29um the data, but just this time for

32:31math. And so we can see that in terms of

32:34improvement, we saw our students with

32:35disabilities subgroup improve, our

32:37former multilingual learners improve,

32:40our high need students, our Asian

32:42students, Hispanic or Latino and white

32:44student subgroups. And then we saw not

32:46much of a change for our multilingual

32:48learners, our lowincome students, and

32:50our black students. And then we saw a

32:52decline in achievement for our

32:53multi-racial students um on math.

32:58And then next slide. Perfect. And then

33:00this is just showing grades five and

33:02eight science again over time for all of

33:04our subgroups where we saw an

33:06improvement for our students with

33:07disabilities, our multilingual learners,

33:10our former multilingual learners, our

33:12Asian student subgroup. We saw not much

33:15change for our high needs and Hispanic

33:17or Latino students. And then we saw a

33:19decline in achievement for our

33:20lowincome, our black, our multi-racial,

33:23and our white student subgroups. And I

33:25want to note again that when I say um no

33:27change, that's really anything that's

33:29less than that 2 percentage point

33:31increase or decrease. Um so it could

33:33have shifted by one point up or down or

33:35it could have just not changed compared

33:36to the previous year.

33:38Next slide, please. Oh, perfect. All

33:41right. And here we have our grade 8

33:43civics data. I do want to note that this

33:45is just the second year that we've

33:46administered the grade 8 civics exam in

33:48the in um across the Commonwealth. And

33:51so comparing to last year's results, we

33:54saw an improvement for our former

33:55multilingual learners, our Asian student

33:57subgroup, and our white student

33:59subgroup. And then we saw a decline for

34:01our students with disabilities, our

34:02multilingual learners, our students from

34:04low-income households, our high need

34:06students, our black students, and our

34:07Hispanic or Latino students.

34:11Next slide, please.

34:13Now, here we have um similar data. This

34:15is high school level data for ELA, math,

34:18and science. And the trends were pretty

34:20similar here, I would say. Um, so we saw

34:23an improvement for our Asian student

34:24subgroup and Hispanic or Latino student

34:26subgroup strictly on science, but then

34:29we saw a decline for most of our

34:31subgroups except for our white student

34:33subgroup and students with disability

34:34subgroup on ELA and math.

34:39Next slide, please. Thank you. And so

34:42now we just want to dive a little bit

34:44into some of our student growth data

34:45here. So here we have average student

34:48growth percentiles. Um student growth

34:51percentile is a measure that basically

34:52shows how one student has grown compared

34:55to peers across the state who have had

34:57similar performance in the past on

34:59MCCAST for math and for ELA. And so for

35:02example, if a student had an SGP and

35:05student growth percentile of 50, that

35:07means that they grew as much as or more

35:09than 50% of their peers who have

35:11performed similarly in the past across

35:13the state. And so here on the left we

35:15have the stream growth percentile for

35:17students in grades three through eight

35:19for ELA and math. And you'll notice a

35:21pattern for math in particular where

35:24it's been a slow increase over the past

35:25three years. So the average SGP in 2024

35:28was 49. In 2025 that went up to 51 and

35:32now in 2026 that was 55. And that kind

35:35of tracks with the increased achievement

35:37that we're seeing for students in grades

35:39three through eight for math as well.

35:41And then for ELA, um, we kind of saw a

35:43little bit of a flatline in terms of the

35:45average SGP for students remaining

35:47around 51. And I do want to note that

35:49DESIE considers a average SGP of 40 to

35:5260 to be moderate growth. Um, so pretty

35:55much all of these SGPS over the years

35:57have remained in that moderate growth

35:59range, but it's definitely a positive

36:00sign to see that increase um, especially

36:02for math. And then on the right hand

36:05side, we have something similar, but

36:06just for our high school students. And

36:08so you can see that our SGP for um ELA

36:11has increased compared to the previous

36:13year going from an average of 48 up to

36:16an average of 52. And then for

36:19mathematics we saw a slight dip from 49

36:22to 47 from 2025 to 2026.

36:27Next slide please.

36:31Now in addition to looking at student

36:32achievement and student growth, it's

36:34also really helpful to look at both of

36:35these measures together. And so here we

36:38just have this plot that basically shows

36:40on the horizontal or x axis student

36:42growth percentile the average student

36:44growth percentile and on the vertical or

36:47y-axis we have percent of students

36:49meeting or exceeding expectations. And

36:51so you can see each of these dots

36:53represents one grade level of students

36:54and the value that's shown there is

36:56their average SGP for that grade level.

36:58And so ideally we want to see um groups

37:01of students moving towards the upper

37:03right corner of that graph right towards

37:05a higher growth higher average growth

37:07but also a higher percent of students

37:09meeting or achieving. So for example you

37:11can see grades five and grade six that

37:13have a little bit of a higher end of

37:16average growth but also um higher

37:18student achievement relative to other

37:19grade levels. And a similar case for

37:21math as well on the right hand side. And

37:24so this is just another way we try to

37:25get a deeper understanding of how growth

37:27and achievement are kind of linked

37:28together and how they're moving.

37:31Next slide please.

37:34Now in addition to student growth

37:35percentile, DESI has also come out with

37:37a new growth measure called growth to

37:39standard. Um now this measure basically

37:42creates progress targets for students

37:43that are partially meeting or not

37:45meeting on the MCCAST. And meeting these

37:47annual progress targets sets students on

37:49the trajectory to reach grade level

37:51proficiency by the end of 8th grade. And

37:54so this year, looking at the progress

37:56targets for our students in grades 3

37:58through eight, we saw that 43% of

38:00students met their progress target for

38:02ELA and 44% of students met their

38:04progress target for math. And so this is

38:07a new measure as we've mentioned and

38:08this is definitely something that we

38:10continue to look at over the years as we

38:12continue to get more data around student

38:14growth and targets.

38:17Next slide, please. Thank you. All

38:19right, so now this goes into our

38:22accountability data. Um, so the state

38:25accountability framework is used to

38:27evaluate public schools and districts

38:29performances in district's performance

38:32uh across different measures. Um and so

38:35you'll see here this is a list of

38:36accountability indicators that are

38:38considered in this framework including

38:40MCCAST achievement on the ELA math and

38:42science MCCAST student growth on the

38:45math and ELA portion of the MCCAST high

38:48school completion which is represented

38:49through the four-year cohort graduation

38:51rate the extended engagement rate and

38:54the annual dropout rate. And then we

38:56also have progress towards English

38:57language proficiency as measured by the

39:00access um WEDA assessment. We also have

39:03chronic absenteeism, which is the

39:04percentage of students missing 10% or

39:06more of days that they were enrolled in

39:08school. And then advanced coursework

39:10completion, which is the percent of 11th

39:12and 12th graders that are completing

39:14advanced coursework. And that includes

39:15things like AP courses, um, IB, dual

39:19enrollment, um, and more as designated

39:22by DESIE. Next slide, please. Thank you.

39:26And so I know this report is a little

39:27bit hard to read. Um, I will say that

39:29this is also accessible on the Desi

39:31Profiles website. If you look at

39:33Somerville and you look at

39:34accountability and it'll be a little bit

39:36easier to read, but here I've kind of

39:38separated at the top you'll see uh in

39:40green brackets the left chunk of this

39:42report is reporting on our non- high

39:44school grade spans and then the right

39:46side of that report is reporting on our

39:47high school grade spans. And basically

39:49for each indicator there's a certain

39:51number of points that are available to

39:53earn up to four. And if you earn zero

39:56points, that means that there was a

39:57decline in this indicator. If you earn

39:59one point, that means there was not much

40:01of a change compared to the previous

40:02year. Two points means that there was a

40:04slight improvement. Three points means

40:06that you met the target. And four points

40:08means that you exceeded the target. And

40:10so because this is a little bit

40:11difficult to see, I've gone a gone ahead

40:13and highlighted some of the areas of

40:15strength in this report and some of the

40:16areas for continued growth. So, in terms

40:19of strengths, we met our math MCCAST

40:21achievement target for grades three

40:23through eight and high school, which

40:24means we earned three out of four

40:26points. We also met our ELA MCCAST

40:28achievement target for high school.

40:31We met our MCCAST growth target for

40:33grades 3 through 8 ELA in math as well

40:35as high school ELA. We exceeded our

40:38progress targets towards English

40:40language proficiency for both non- high

40:42school and high school, which is

40:43exciting to see.

40:45We met our high school four-year

40:46graduation rate and extended engagement

40:48rate targets. And we met our high school

40:50chronic absenteeism target. Now, some

40:53areas where we can continue to grow

40:54based off this report is high school

40:56science MCCAST achievement where we saw

40:58a slight decline. We can also improve in

41:01terms of our annual dropout rate. I do

41:04want to note that the annual dropout

41:05rate is kind of on a one-year delay. So,

41:08this um assessment of this indicator is

41:11based off our 2025 um dropout rate.

41:14and as opposed to our 2026 dropout rate.

41:16So, I do want to keep that in mind. So,

41:18we already kind of can get a sense from

41:20our 2026 data that we have so far of

41:22what direction we're moving in, which is

41:24great. And then in terms of our K3

41:27chronic absenteeism rate, we saw an

41:29increase in that um which also led to us

41:31getting zero out of four points. And

41:33then we saw no change in our high school

41:35advanced coursework completion.

41:37Next slide, please.

41:40Now in addition to this general report,

41:43we also get this same report for each of

41:45our schools in the district as well. And

41:47each of our schools also gets an

41:49accountability percentile. So the

41:50criterion reference target percentage

41:52that's all about how are we making

41:54progress towards the uh accountability

41:56targets that are being set for us? And

41:58then the accountability percentile is

41:59saying, you know, compared to other

42:01schools across the state who serve a

42:02similar grade span, how are you fairing?

42:05And so for the Argenziano school, they

42:07made 70% progress towards their

42:09improvement targets, which is considered

42:11substantial, and they were in the 51st

42:13percentile.

42:15For the Healey, they made 61% of

42:17progress towards targets, which is also

42:19considered substantial, and they were in

42:21the 22nd percentile.

42:24The Benjamin G. Brown School, as Dr.

42:26Carmona mentioned, um was recognized as

42:28a school of recognition by Desi, which

42:30we're really excited to see. Uh so if

42:32you see principal Ames or any of his

42:34educators or um staff at his school, be

42:37sure to congratulate them. Um but they

42:39actually met 84% of their target

42:42percentage for the accountability

42:44system, which is considered meeting or

42:46exceeding, and they're in the 94th

42:48percentile in the state. The East

42:50Somerville met 62% of their

42:52accountability targets, and they're in

42:55the 29th percentile.

42:57The Kennedy met 65%

43:00and they're in the 81st percentile.

43:02The West made 60% progress and they're

43:06in the 47th percentile. The Winter Hill

43:09is in the 50 um made 52% of progress and

43:12are in the 10th percentile. Somerville

43:14High School made 25% progress towards

43:18improvement targets and are in the 36th

43:19percentile. and then the district as a

43:21whole uh made 53% progress towards

43:24targets and districts do not get

43:26percentiles. Now, I do want to note in

43:29addition to um celebrating the Brown

43:32that we do have two schools that were

43:34flagged for accountability purposes or

43:36requiring assistance or intervention and

43:38that includes the West Somerville who

43:40was flagged for their Hispanic or or

43:41Latino student subgroup due to low

43:43subgroup performance and the Winter Hill

43:46due to them being in the bottom 10th

43:48percentile of schools in the state. And

43:50so these are areas of course that we

43:52need to continue to focus and put effort

43:54into. Um, fortunately we also through

43:57this process have gained access to

43:59additional resources to try to support

44:02these schools as they work to address

44:03these areas. Uh, I do want to note that

44:06for the Winter Hill, this is the third

44:10year I believe of this designation and

44:12they have been making progress. So if

44:13you do look at their accountability

44:15report, you can see different areas

44:16where they've shown improvement

44:18including English language proficiency,

44:20math achievement and growth. Um, so

44:22there is movement happening which we're

44:24excited to see, but an area to continue

44:26to support for sure. And for the West

44:30Somerville, um, similar story. We could

44:32see increased growth for the Hispanic

44:34Latino student subgroup, but additional

44:35work to be done for sure to, um, see an

44:38improvement.

44:40All right, next slide, please. Thank

44:42you.

44:44All right. Now, given all this data that

44:47we've just reviewed, um, the natural

44:49next question is where do we go from

44:50here? And so we're committed to using

44:53these data to advance student academic

44:55achievement and reduce opportunity gaps

44:57among our different student subgroups.

44:59Uh we'll continue to present updates to

45:01the school committee on student progress

45:03using formative assessments such as

45:04Dibbles and I Ready to understand how

45:06students are improving over time.

45:09Uh we plan to continue to deepen HQIM

45:12implementation our high-quality

45:13instructional materials by continuing

45:16the launch of new curricula across

45:17subject areas and grade levels and

45:20continuing to focus on just deepening

45:21that process. We also are focused on

45:24creating cohesion around the pillars of

45:26excellent instruction that vision that

45:28we have for instruction of the district

45:30as well as our new instructional

45:31coaching model.

45:33We continue to use intentional

45:35datadriven instruction and leadership

45:37across multiple structures in the

45:38district. So that includes common

45:40planning time with educators, principal

45:42meetings, all admin meetings, curriculum

45:44department meetings, academic cabinet,

45:46and more. And really using beginning of

45:48year data and continuous reviews

45:50throughout the year with principles and

45:52the data team um to drive our

45:55instructional practice and our

45:57leadership.

45:58We continue to focus on supporting all

46:00learners and we're doing this through

46:02things like focused PD on inclusive

46:04practices to make sure that all students

46:06can access their their learning and

46:08their education. Um through I Ready

46:10personalized instruction which is

46:12available to all students in grades

46:13three through eight to support them on

46:14their own um custom learning path as

46:17well as additional math interventionists

46:19to support more students um where needs

46:22emerge.

46:24We continue to also execute a

46:25multifaceted plan to strengthen school

46:27leadership by deepening instructional

46:29rounds with principles by expanding

46:31coaching for principles um by providing

46:34instructional coaching PD through

46:36personalized training for principal

46:38supervisors as well so that they can

46:39further support principles as

46:41instructional leaders in each of their

46:42buildings. And so these are some of the

46:44things that we're um continuing to

46:46invest in and do to try to address um

46:49some of the areas for improvement that

46:50we've seen through the data and through

46:52this presentation.

46:54And with that I will close for

46:56questions.

46:59[applause]

47:04Impressive. That is a lot of data that

47:06you have uh distilled down quite quite

47:11comprehensively. Thank you so much,

47:12Director Allergy. Um,

47:16all right, let's go counterclockwise.

47:20We're going Rep. Libens, Rep. Green, and

47:23we will see who's next.

47:26>> Thank you so much, Chair. Um, I want to

47:30give a huge shout out to, um, Dr. um,

47:33Principal Kirsten. So, if you go to

47:35slide 22, just so you can follow along,

47:38um, one of their, um, school improvement

47:40plans that they presented on last year

47:42was really focusing on chronic

47:44absenteeism with the theory that if

47:47kids, you know, you can't teach kids

47:49that aren't in school. Um, and so, um,

47:53the way MCCAST works is they give you

47:54like points, you know, you can get zero

47:56out of four points. And so if you look

47:58at that gray line where it says um

48:00chronic absenteeism for the students for

48:03the lowest performing students, they got

48:06four out of four points which means they

48:08got all their points. So basically

48:10they're doing making really great that

48:13is a hard thing to get and I really want

48:15to shout out to the work that's being

48:18done at the high school. And they also

48:20received um three out of four points for

48:22all students. So, I want to I just want

48:25to uplift that because that's really

48:27like the goal of these school

48:28improvement plans is really to like

48:31demonstrate growth and yay. So, thank

48:35you.

48:38>> All right, Rep. Green.

48:43>> Thank you. And

48:45I will reach out to you v first of all

48:46I'll reach out to you v email about

48:48doing some one-on-one time because I to

48:49really data geek on this stuff um in

48:52ways that do not work in this format. Uh

48:55but I'll give you one example because

48:56it's a question it's a reoccurring

48:58struggle I have with the way desi

49:00reports out and uses data. Um and which

49:04is how we when we compare multi-year

49:06analysis which I think is the only thing

49:08really that the only thing that's the

49:09best thing is for is comparing trends

49:12over time and at scale but they make it

49:15really hard to do that. Um you know when

49:18you compare what percentage of students

49:20in a particular grade meet your

49:23expectations compared to the year prior.

49:26We're looking at different students and

49:28that tells us something perhaps, but

49:30what I'm more interested in in is if

49:32this year the third the third grade has

49:3552%. I'm using bad examples that's first

49:38year. So, but if this year fourth grade

49:40is 41%.

49:42Next year when they're fifth graders,

49:43what percentage of those kids are now on

49:45grade level? Right? That's how we know

49:47if we're catching up or um and you can

49:50try to do it based on the graph by like

49:52okay so this year is fifth grade last

49:53year is fourth grade and but it's not

49:56it's time soon. So I'd love to get that

49:58data more laid out and I love to see

50:00that data longitudinally so we can

50:02actually see you know when I see this

50:04drop in fourth grade performance is that

50:06a issue with this particular class or

50:09are we constantly seeing fourth grade

50:11being a place where people fall behind

50:13and face that's a different question

50:14problem to solve. So like if we could

50:16really get some of that more

50:17longitudinal like comparing students to

50:20themselves data that'd be super helpful.

50:24>> The chair is okay if I respond to that.

50:25I was that's a really great point that

50:27you raised and that's actually one of

50:28the ways that we do look at the data um

50:31through open architects. We have a

50:33question a key insight that we're able

50:34to look at the data in that way like by

50:36cohort of students and that's definitely

50:38an interesting area. We have these

50:40curriculum department data reviews where

50:41we get together and look at our data at

50:43different points throughout the year and

50:44that's one of the ways that we do look

50:46at it. So like for example, how is our

50:48fourth grade cohort doing over the past

50:50several years or how are our middle

50:51grades cohorts doing over the years? Um

50:53so that's definitely a great point. Can

50:55definitely share data in that view for

50:57sure.

51:03>> Just wanted to add some flavor to that.

51:05I I there is an argument that three

51:08years of consistent good excellent

51:10instruction for a child can disrupt the

51:15pattern of gaps that we have. So uh

51:18students that's why the SGP is also so

51:20important to to us because the students

51:22that actually are making leaps and

51:23bounds in the growth can actually get to

51:27grade level if we have three years of

51:29consistent uh improvement. I called

51:32several of the teachers in our district

51:34whose students were making 70 to 80%

51:37growth in some of our schools. That was

51:39very impressive and I think that's what

51:41we're asking for. U and that's what

51:44we're working towards is like making

51:45sure that that consistency and that

51:48alignment of instruction

51:50um will allow us to disrupt the the the

51:52the gaps that we have. So that's the

51:54aim, but we we do look at that data.

51:59>> Rep. Green, you have a followup. Yeah.

52:00So one, thank you. I love love to see

52:02that coord based data. I think I think

52:04the committee would be better seeing it.

52:06But it's not just the cohort based data,

52:08but it's longitudinal court based data.

52:10Like how is this court doing over five

52:12years compared to the prior courts? Are

52:14we seeing the same places where they

52:15dip? Are you seeing the same places

52:17where where we see drop off? That kind

52:18of thing. Um

52:22I firmly believe and this is why you

52:24know I really talk to you more about how

52:25we can look at this data that MCCAST is

52:29a really bad snapshot but the more you

52:32zoom out the data the the more and more

52:34you see trends that's where it starts to

52:35give you real value. Um so like but

52:38again that's how Desi uses it and that's

52:40how Desi reports it. So, I'd love to see

52:42if we could really think about how to

52:46show that data in a way that actually

52:48will think drives meaningful long-term

52:50student data because I don't think we

52:52look far to find districts that have

52:54made real that have done real damage by

52:56chasing one term, one year snapshot

52:59improvements over actually improving

53:00systems and and things for the long

53:02term.

53:05>> Thank you, Rep. Stillman.

53:09Thank you to the chair and thank you my

53:11colleague Green. Uh and I will

53:15uh I will second several things that you

53:18said. Yes, great

53:20uh great digging deep in the and

53:22presentation of [clears throat]

53:26of the statistics here because because

53:28it was such so clear to me and so well

53:32presented. I also thought about where

53:36how are the cohorts changing over time

53:39and it would be super cool I'm sorry to

53:42be asking you to do work [laughter] but

53:44it'd be super cool to see an out uh to

53:48an overlay of the cohort the

53:50longitudinal changes in cohort by

53:52cohorts with these snapshots and the

53:55snapshots aren't nothing right we're

53:57we're using it and we're using it

53:58relatively effectively

54:01um because we can

54:02we can see growth, but I think we would

54:05learn

54:06so much more and I'm sure that your the

54:09principles and department chairs

54:12probably have a instinct and it would be

54:15great to to see that. The other question

54:17I had was around um tying developmental

54:22um stages of of learning which you know

54:25occur in different typically in

54:27different age brackets or for or for

54:30different things that you're learning

54:31like the first time you're entering the

54:33abstract concept right so that somewhere

54:37in middle school and it would be

54:40interesting also um to to see you know

54:46to to also have an overlay of what are

54:48the types of things that we're seeing

54:51those positive changes

54:54um in math for example and where kids

54:58are not making the ch the positive

55:01changes that we would like to see is

55:05there what's what might be a correlation

55:07in there sorry I have one more question

55:10about um uh seeing a correlation between

55:15when when students have a breakthrough

55:17of English um of reading comprehension,

55:21do we see a correlation with improvement

55:25for math? Is that something that we can

55:29see? I don't know. Thank you for the

55:32chair. Is it okay if I respond? Yes. Um,

55:34so in terms of the first question that

55:36you asked about students and kind of

55:38like their depth of knowledge as they

55:40develop and looking at that looking at

55:43the results through that lens, I would

55:45say yes to that. I feel like to an

55:47extent we do do that by looking at the

55:49item level data and I think that's

55:50something that's really helpful about

55:51MCCAST is being able to go down to the

55:53individual standards or clusters of

55:55standards to understand the patterns

55:56over time. And so I know that's

55:58something that a lot of educators do

56:00during department PDS, during different

56:02school PDs and whatnot to try to

56:04understand what are the bigger patterns

56:05that are emerging over time. Um so I

56:07agree that is really helpful um in terms

56:09of a way of looking at the results

56:10beyond just percentages of students

56:12growing or meeting exceeding

56:14expectations. And then um in regards to

56:17your second question which was about um

56:22I'm sorry, can you repeat that second

56:23one one more time for me?

56:25>> So I just want to note Dr. someone and

56:27that's usually why we ask one question

56:29and then get back in the queue.

56:31So feel free to fire away, but

56:38go ahead. You can keep asking your

56:40questions.

56:41>> Okay.

56:43Okay. Uh Roing, uh Mayor Wilson, and

56:46I'll call myself.

56:49>> Thanks, Chair. Yeah, I appreciate the

56:51conversation about cohorts. Um, and I I

56:54understand that there is a there's a

56:56point to the, you know, these

56:57accountability results that we're

56:59looking at and to standardized testing.

57:02I get all that. Uh, but talking about

57:05cohorts, I think it's important to to

57:07name things that don't get captured in

57:09this. I think about the uh the group

57:12that moved on from the Healey School in

57:132025 that was identified as one of the

57:17most challenging cohorts in the entire

57:19city as kindergarteners. And I think

57:21about what those teachers said when they

57:24were eighth graders in the final parent

57:25teacher conferences, uh, about how that

57:28just how much they love that cohort, how

57:29much that, you know, and it it strikes

57:32you how much kids grow as people and and

57:34that the the work that teachers do

57:36beyond this stuff uh, in terms of of

57:40growing like very very amazing young

57:42people because I watched that cohort

57:44change. I saw it, you know, with my own

57:46eyes. Um so yeah this stuff is important

57:49but also you know forming amazing young

57:51people is also uh really really

57:53important and I don't know how you

57:55quantify that like this just have to

57:57name it.

58:00>> Thank you. I will uh ditto that that I I

58:04think our goal is to put good people

58:06into the world and uh making sure that

58:09you know we are providing them with the

58:13ability to do what they need in order to

58:15be those good people is very important.

58:17Um but it is only one component. Uh with

58:21that in mind, uh in

58:25204,

58:28uh the Oh, you have a question. Great.

58:31All right, you'll go after. Uh in 2024,

58:34I think it was, the state voted to

58:38remove accountability or graduation

58:40requirement from MCCAST. Uh, I'm

58:42probably gonna ask this every time you

58:44do the presentation, but I'm curious if

58:47there's anything that you can infer,

58:49especially at the 10th grade level,

58:52about, you know,

58:55like if

58:58how students did, who took it, you know,

59:02um,

59:04and like if if there's anything that we

59:07can infer like pre pre uh graduation or

59:11graduation requirement and now without

59:13the graduation requirement.

59:15>> Yeah. Through the chair. Um I will say

59:18that uh one of the trends that the state

59:21has observed is kind of of course the

59:23high school ELA and math results kind of

59:26in freef fall a little bit you could

59:27say. Um but ELA more so than math. And I

59:30know some of the reasons people have

59:31speculated is because of the writing

59:33component to the ELA assessment. And so

59:35I know that our at our high school, you

59:37know, they've looked to see how many

59:38students have left different writing

59:40portions or questions blank and that has

59:42increased over the years since that

59:44ballot measure that um removed the

59:45graduation requirement. And so we have

59:47seen ELA kind of drop down a little bit

59:49more compared to math and we speculate

59:51if that's because of the writing element

59:53on the um ELA assessment versus the

59:55math. Yeah,

59:58>> thank you. All right, student rep

59:59backter and then we'll go for a second

1:00:02round.

1:00:02>> Um hi. Um, I just want to say I really

1:00:04appreciate all the work you guys are all

1:00:06doing to help all of my peers and myself

1:00:08be successful academically. I was just

1:00:11curious if there's any trends in the

1:00:12data that suggest that once a student

1:00:15breaks through to being on par with

1:00:16grade level, is there like trends

1:00:18suggesting that they stay up there or is

1:00:20there like typical regression? Like

1:00:22what's the average?

1:00:23>> That is a really good I'm sorry through

1:00:25the chair. That is a really good

1:00:27question actually. Yes, I like that

1:00:29question and I don't have an answer to

1:00:31that off the top of my head, but I can

1:00:32get back to you on that. Yes.

1:00:36>> All right, last chance for first round.

1:00:38Uh, Reputone,

1:00:41>> thank you, Chairu. Really appreciate all

1:00:44the great dialogue around this. Thank

1:00:46you, Director Eligene, for this

1:00:48fantastic presentation. Um, presentation

1:00:50I look forward to every year. Uh, data

1:00:54is critically important.

1:00:56um if you're not measuring it, can't

1:00:59track it, you don't know where you're

1:01:00going to go. Um

1:01:03so, uh I was really curious about

1:01:08the data that you presented on the

1:01:10growth to standard, a new metric. Um

1:01:15you

1:01:17said

1:01:19um that it's a new metric that creates

1:01:23progress targets for students not

1:01:25meeting or partially meeting

1:01:26expectations. These are students who are

1:01:29um a little behind. They're um we're

1:01:32trying to get them um uh to standard to

1:01:36expectations.

1:01:37And

1:01:39this year, 43% of students met their ELA

1:01:42target. 44% of students met their math

1:01:46target.

1:01:48Can you provide any context around where

1:01:52that falls with respect to either

1:01:55statewide or or sort of our similar

1:01:58cohort of districts? Um,

1:02:01and

1:02:03either you or at the podium. um talk a

1:02:07little bit more about what that says and

1:02:11what we're

1:02:13doing based on this data. Thank you.

1:02:17>> The chair, um that's a great question. I

1:02:20also would like to know how we're doing

1:02:22on that measure relative to the state in

1:02:23some of our comparable districts, but it

1:02:26seems like that it's not been publicly

1:02:27reported yet. And so I'm not too sure

1:02:30how we're doing in comparison. But I did

1:02:32ask that question at um one of the state

1:02:34webinars about MCCAST and it sounds like

1:02:36they are hoping to move towards

1:02:38reporting on that but I'm uncertain at

1:02:40the moment. Um but I think in general

1:02:44that measure is kind of helpful in terms

1:02:45of knowing how are we moving students

1:02:48that are not at grade level proficiency

1:02:50yet. And so seeing that we're at 43% for

1:02:53ELA and 44% for math kind of just

1:02:56signals that there's more work to be

1:02:57done to cause movement for our students

1:02:59in those categories. Um, I also think it

1:03:02kind of ties into the question that um,

1:03:04our high school student rep just asked

1:03:06about how do we know like our students

1:03:08that are meeting that expectation

1:03:09staying on grade level? How are students

1:03:11moving between the different

1:03:12proficiencies which is a great question.

1:03:14Um, I think this growth to standard is

1:03:16kind of helping to start answering that

1:03:18question. Yeah, I don't know if that

1:03:20answered the question fully but

1:03:22>> sure.

1:03:24>> Thank you chair through you. um very

1:03:27much answered my question and I think

1:03:30uh my instinct on this is that if we're

1:03:34below 50% for this measure it means that

1:03:36the kids who are farther behind are

1:03:38staying farther behind. Um and I welcome

1:03:43those who have expertise in this area to

1:03:45pipe in. But um

1:03:48I I would love to learn a little more

1:03:50about this metric and how we can use it

1:03:52to inform our our path forward. Thank

1:03:53you.

1:03:58Okay. Um

1:04:02I we're still going first round so I'm

1:04:04going repetone then rep Eldridge then

1:04:06we'll I think everyone's been hit so

1:04:08we'll go lipens then green repetone.

1:04:12>> Thank you through you chair. Thank you

1:04:13for this presentation. Um I appreciate

1:04:16all my colleagues perspective on

1:04:18different ways to look at the data. Um,

1:04:22one thing in particular I'm curious

1:04:24about, and I'm not asking you to go do

1:04:26dives, but how do do we track kind of

1:04:29our variability of data? So, in terms of

1:04:32the superintendent, I appreciate when he

1:04:34brought up the fact that we have some

1:04:36teachers that are like hitting it out of

1:04:38the ballpark and clearly there's

1:04:40communication and happening with those

1:04:41teachers and trying to understand what

1:04:43they're doing. But is that something

1:04:45that we're tracking in terms of how

1:04:46variable our outcomes are just in

1:04:49general?

1:04:53>> Superintendent.

1:04:55>> So you know if you ask U Richard Moore

1:04:58who has done a lot of work around this

1:05:00is one of the that's one of the

1:05:01challenges of public education

1:05:03especially in urban settings is that the

1:05:05variability of outcomes uh from

1:05:08classroom to classroom not even school

1:05:10to school is so wide. And so the day we

1:05:13actually get rid of that variability,

1:05:15that's the day that we will be able to

1:05:18track track a new course for our kids.

1:05:20But it is one thing that we look at. Um

1:05:22and I heard the question about cohorts.

1:05:24There's an element of cohorts. There's

1:05:26an element of because sometimes there

1:05:28are makeups and dynamics of groups that

1:05:30are challenging. Is that right? But also

1:05:32the work that we have to do around

1:05:35responding to kids tears of needs is one

1:05:38that we have to do better. is the is one

1:05:41that we you know like the work with

1:05:42Ignite you know seeing that in some

1:05:44places when you get to grade level

1:05:47proficiency by first grade and it sticks

1:05:50throughout the elementary career it

1:05:52tells you that there are some ways in

1:05:53which we can disrupt that trajectory and

1:05:56so there are tools there are practices

1:05:58that are supports that we are looking

1:06:01for if you look at the comparison with

1:06:03our Dart communities which is similar we

1:06:07are doing somewhat we are at the top of

1:06:09that description ion that's not enough

1:06:11for us because we still don't have 40%

1:06:14proficiency across the board. I think

1:06:17that for me a wonderful goal would be to

1:06:20get to 50% proficiency across uh but if

1:06:24you look at third grade I think for me

1:06:26third grade is the um kind of the the

1:06:29the the canary in in the coal mine is

1:06:32like we are that is a grade level that

1:06:34is has been consistently getting the uh

1:06:37instructional systems that we have and

1:06:39that has is close to 50% proficiency in

1:06:42both math and literacy. So I think that

1:06:44that's uh the question about

1:06:45variability. Yes, that is a challenge.

1:06:47It is an issue of like the alignment as

1:06:50well that we're working with our

1:06:52partners. Um, and that's the work that

1:06:56uh keeps me up at night is making sure

1:06:58that that alignment is is working

1:07:00everywhere.

1:07:03>> Um, through the chair, thank you for

1:07:05that answer. Um, uh, I am curious though

1:07:09is there a type of variability

1:07:12metric we want to keep track of? are

1:07:14something that we want to make public.

1:07:16And I I guess I'm asking the

1:07:18administration to think about that. And

1:07:20if you guys think it's off the mark and

1:07:21explain to me why, great. But I just

1:07:23think some it could be something that

1:07:25could be an interesting data point that

1:07:27we keep track track of. Again, you might

1:07:29have a different point of view and I'd

1:07:31love to hear it, but that could be

1:07:32another thing that we're looking at to,

1:07:34you know, evaluate that we're getting to

1:07:36where we want to go.

1:07:40>> Rev Eldridge.

1:07:43Um, thank you the chair. Sam, thank you

1:07:44so much for a great presentation. You do

1:07:46such a wonderful job of pulling down a

1:07:48lot of data and making it digestible.

1:07:50Um, I really appreciate it. It was a lot

1:07:52to go through and you speaking through

1:07:53it really helped clarify some of the

1:07:55questions I have. So, thank you.

1:07:56Appreciate it. Um, through the chair

1:07:59question for the district. I'm wondering

1:08:01um I'm looking at this last slide and

1:08:02I'm feeling really excited about some of

1:08:04the

1:08:06the fact that we're recognizing that we

1:08:08have some areas of improvement needed

1:08:10and what we're going to do with them and

1:08:12there's a lot of great stuff happening

1:08:13here that has so much potential to make

1:08:16huge impacts for our kids. I'm wondering

1:08:18um how

1:08:21we are able to follow this along in

1:08:24terms of especially our struggling

1:08:25students but some granularity around

1:08:28like who's responsible for it and which

1:08:30students will it reach and like what

1:08:32impacts might it have on staffing like

1:08:35if we might need more or less or

1:08:37whatever it may be um and how we're like

1:08:39watching what's working and pivoting in

1:08:42a way um if we're not seeing those

1:08:45gains. I heard, you know, 50% being

1:08:47something that's important to you and

1:08:48then also heard three years, but also

1:08:50realize that a lot of this like three

1:08:52years is a long time in a kiddo's life.

1:08:54Like if we let things go on for three

1:08:55years, like that's the boat kind of um

1:08:58is gone. Um so I'm wondering like more

1:09:02on that granular level of how we're

1:09:05really able to like follow along and

1:09:07keep a track. I'm interested. I'm

1:09:08excited. We have a lot of great stuff in

1:09:10play and I would love to I guess maybe

1:09:13annual updates are fantastic but like

1:09:15following this along along the data

1:09:17lines that a lot of people have

1:09:18mentioned like how we can watch this

1:09:20unfold before our eyes really

1:09:29>> Dr. Russ Davis.

1:09:31>> Sure through the chair. Thank you. Uh so

1:09:33I I think there's a number of ways. So

1:09:35to start um I think your first question

1:09:38was kind of asking who's responsible for

1:09:41these different buckets. One thing that

1:09:43I think is is true across all of these

1:09:46buckets is this idea of collective

1:09:47efficacy. It is really all of us. We are

1:09:50all working together. Obviously the

1:09:52superintendent, myself, Dr. Beretta,

1:09:55supervised principles. Um so in that way

1:09:58the principal supervisors have a role to

1:10:00play. Obviously the principles have a

1:10:02role to play. Obviously, students have a

1:10:04role to play, teachers have a role to

1:10:06play, families have a role, like we're

1:10:07all in this together, but one of the

1:10:09areas that um

1:10:12that uh kind of outlines some of these

1:10:14groups is is in this, I guess,

1:10:16datadriven instruction bucket. You can

1:10:18see there's principal meetings. So,

1:10:21we're planning these principal meetings.

1:10:23For example, uh Director Elligene,

1:10:26myself and the superintendent planned

1:10:28and facilitated a a deep data dive with

1:10:31principles uh just

1:10:34last week um digging through this very

1:10:37data. Um so principal meetings are are

1:10:40one area, all admin meetings, we're

1:10:42doing the same thing on Monday um coming

1:10:44up. Uh so I guess what I'm trying to say

1:10:46is it's very

1:10:49um it's everyone's hands on deck to move

1:10:52us forward and not just um for improved

1:10:56MCCAST outcomes but for improved

1:10:58learning experiences and our hope and

1:11:01our expectation is that MCCAST will be

1:11:03able to measure that. Um so that was

1:11:06kind of a more all-encompassing answer.

1:11:09Uh but I I really do believe it it's it

1:11:11can't be just one person. It has to be

1:11:13the whole team.

1:11:14Um the second part of your question was

1:11:19how do we follow along? Okay. Was how do

1:11:21we follow along uh along the way? I

1:11:24think there's a a number of ways. First

1:11:25off, I uh the superintendent uh and I

1:11:28and our chief of strategy and operations

1:11:31have been working together to make sure

1:11:33that uh we're purposeful for even the

1:11:36way we start school committee meetings

1:11:38um and regular updates. uh this work

1:11:41that's outlined here is all under the

1:11:44umbrella of our strategic plan. Um and

1:11:46so we're trying to continue to keep

1:11:48updates go happening there. I mean I

1:11:51think ed programs which we have our

1:11:52first meeting tomorrow as you know is

1:11:54another vehicle by which we can go a lot

1:11:56deeper in different subject areas or in

1:11:59different areas here. We can also, you

1:12:01know, plan presentations related to each

1:12:04one of these buckets if that feels

1:12:06appropriate. Um, either in ED programs

1:12:08or at the full. Um, I don't know if

1:12:12there was another question that I didn't

1:12:14answer there, but if there is, please

1:12:16let me know.

1:12:18>> Um, I think you did get most of them. Is

1:12:20um, there plans for Open Architect to

1:12:23support some of this like following

1:12:25along and like what might that be or

1:12:28look like?

1:12:31Uh thank you uh through the chair. Point

1:12:33of clarification open architects uh the

1:12:35family facing open architects um or our

1:12:39dashboard that we have with Tableau.

1:12:42Um

1:12:43>> um I think because I don't have access

1:12:45to the Tableau I'm guessing probably the

1:12:47family facing um dashboard.

1:12:49>> Thank you. I'm not I'm not actually sure

1:12:52about

1:12:53>> Okay. Can I add to the response that so

1:12:56um

1:12:58the so

1:13:01I just want to make sure that folks

1:13:02understand that we have been building

1:13:05layers upon layers. If you think about

1:13:07the just a quick example access was one

1:13:10of those things in which we were keeping

1:13:12an eye on how our MLE students were

1:13:14making improvements. We have two years

1:13:16in which they were flat. the last year

1:13:19really made a big difference greater

1:13:21than most of the state access numbers

1:13:24that was part of the incremental support

1:13:26and pushing pushing what's happening in

1:13:28the classroom how are you collaborating

1:13:30with teachers the ESL teachers are

1:13:31working integrated with the classroom

1:13:34they do co-eing that has been both an

1:13:37idea that started as a co-eing and then

1:13:40tighten and tighten and tighten the

1:13:41precision of how do we support that work

1:13:44the work around open architects is the

1:13:47tool that we're using to look at data

1:13:49and we're asking every principal and

1:13:52every building to actually look at the

1:13:53data look at those increments look at

1:13:55endofear data middle of year end of uh

1:13:59beginning middle and end what do you see

1:14:01what's the difference if the students

1:14:03are coming by January not having letter

1:14:07naming or sound then we have a challenge

1:14:10what is the instruction so the degree of

1:14:12attention and intensity around how do we

1:14:15look at data and what is the response

1:14:17that we have around that is totally

1:14:19different with the work that we're doing

1:14:22this this last year and this year we

1:14:25continue to increase that level of

1:14:26attention. So um I I just wanted to

1:14:30highlight that we continue to work on

1:14:32those incremental moves to make sure

1:14:34that the work keeps on going upwards.

1:14:37And so um and I can name a bunch of

1:14:41things but I don't want to sound like

1:14:42I'm rattling things because it's that's

1:14:45not the point. I think the point is to

1:14:47make sure that we actually have a set of

1:14:50strategies around some of the gaps that

1:14:52we have seen and and again part of what

1:14:55I'm sharing today those six five

1:14:57strategies that I share continue to be

1:14:59part of the work like around the MTSS

1:15:01started with Boston Children Boston

1:15:03Boston uh Boston Boston children's

1:15:07hos

1:15:08>> hospital yeah and so we set that up we

1:15:12continue to monitor uh we go into

1:15:14buildings to make sure that the

1:15:16alignment happens across the board. All

1:15:18those moves actually are intended to do

1:15:21that to create that diminishing the

1:15:24variability, increasing the consistency,

1:15:26built on the buildings that actually are

1:15:28doing it right and continue to circle

1:15:30back on that. So that iteration of that

1:15:33process takes time and um and that's

1:15:37where we are kind of building the next

1:15:39level of support and accountability.

1:15:44All right, we have Repensence and then

1:15:46Rep. Green.

1:15:49>> Thank you through your chair. Um, and I

1:15:51want to give it a shout out to my

1:15:52colleagues because I think your

1:15:54questions and your wonders are so

1:15:56thoughtful. Um, and it helps me kind of

1:15:59think to myself like what do we need to

1:16:01know? And there is so much to know. Um,

1:16:04I want to say something about MCCAST

1:16:06because um, I want to remind us that our

1:16:08students take the MCCAST in spring. It

1:16:10is a oneday assessment and then teachers

1:16:14do not get um their assessments back

1:16:16until like

1:16:18you know September. So now um so when we

1:16:23think about some a platform like open

1:16:25architects what what teachers the the

1:16:27information that we use is we can look

1:16:29and say oh third through fifth grade has

1:16:32been on the rise. we can think, you

1:16:34know, general the things we can say is

1:16:38high quality instruction, right? We've

1:16:39rolled out um illustrative math for the

1:16:41past couple years and now we're seeing

1:16:42gains. But in terms of what Dr. Carmona

1:16:45is saying, I think the most useful

1:16:47information for teachers is really um

1:16:50that day in day out um like formative

1:16:53assessments like end of unit

1:16:55assessments, checkpoints, um that

1:16:57progress monitoring. So um yes, we're

1:17:00looking at MCCAST and thinking what are

1:17:02some domains that um we need to maybe

1:17:05improve on and then we can give that

1:17:07information to the next um grade level.

1:17:10But I know and I have faith that this

1:17:12work is happening within schools. I know

1:17:14that our teachers are now given a lot of

1:17:17additional time to be data informed. But

1:17:20that data usually happens like when

1:17:22we're looking at our kids and then we're

1:17:24being told also we have to support

1:17:26social emotional growth and we want to

1:17:29create caring humans and citizens and we

1:17:32have to teach them math and reading. So

1:17:34I'm just going to give my MCCast speech

1:17:35because I really do appreciate um

1:17:38everything but there's only so much that

1:17:40um MCCAST can tell us. Um so that was

1:17:44not a question. My question was actually

1:17:46about the superintendent's um

1:17:49presentation before about literacy and I

1:17:52know um I it seemed like literacy

1:17:56[snorts] is maybe the story and I'm

1:17:57wondering if we have enough um supports

1:18:01and interventionists and systems to

1:18:03support um that area K through I think

1:18:05it was K through three

1:18:08after my MCAT speech.

1:18:11>> You want to respond to that? Sure.

1:18:14>> Thank Thank you. I'm h I'm happy to

1:18:16respond. First of all, thank you member

1:18:18Lipins rep. Lipins for for those

1:18:20comments. I appreciate um the additional

1:18:22context you provided. I also just wanted

1:18:24to loop back and say that Tableau

1:18:25dashboard that I referenced is the

1:18:27public facing one that's on the um for

1:18:29the strategic plan. So I just want to

1:18:31name that's what I was referencing um uh

1:18:33in my question um or in my um kind of

1:18:36question response. Um so the question is

1:18:39around uh supports needed around

1:18:42literacy. Uh the superintendent

1:18:45specifically referenced Ignite um as one

1:18:49of the new um

1:18:52interventions that we're piloting at two

1:18:54schools this year. Um and that actually

1:18:56comes with their own tutors. That

1:18:58partnership brings tutors um uh through

1:19:02you know kind of supporting um

1:19:05supporting students in that capacity. So

1:19:07it's it it really is a tutoring. It's

1:19:09not, you know, kind of taking place at

1:19:11all for for their classroom teachers.

1:19:13But so with that partnership, we have

1:19:15that staffing and springboard is the

1:19:18other um uh early intervention

1:19:22highdosese tutoring that we have and and

1:19:24for that we use we hire well through

1:19:27springboard hire SPS staff to serve as

1:19:30tutors. Um, one of the key differences

1:19:32is that springboard is after school

1:19:34whereas Ignite is during the school day.

1:19:37Um, but they're both highdosese um,

1:19:39tutoring. So, in terms of staffing, uh,

1:19:42we we do have that covered. I will say

1:19:45that sometimes um understandably um the

1:19:49models that require you know us to hire

1:19:52our own staff sometimes that can be a

1:19:54limitation which is understandable

1:19:56because you know it requires us to and

1:19:58we we're able to cast a wider um kind of

1:20:01net of who's able to apply and become

1:20:04tutors which is helpful. Um but that's

1:20:06something that we can also as we kind of

1:20:08get that off and running I'm happy to um

1:20:11kind of provide an update as I have done

1:20:13in years past around springboard around

1:20:15the number of tutors we have um same

1:20:17with Ignite the number of tutors we have

1:20:19who's interested in tutoring um what the

1:20:21tutoring looks like the curriculum etc

1:20:26>> and part part of the uh the question

1:20:28around resources and interventions and

1:20:30changes and so we have added um making

1:20:34sure that every building has an

1:20:35instructional coach that also kind of uh

1:20:38moves the needle around instruction.

1:20:40When during the summer the we have a new

1:20:44um the literacy program we have uh

1:20:46foundations is also being instituted

1:20:48everywhere. when I was walking into uh

1:20:51at the east they were doing the

1:20:52professional development. I could see

1:20:55that the way that the developer I guess

1:20:58the person was actually highlighting the

1:21:01moves and the instructional changes that

1:21:02need to happen with the new uh the new

1:21:06uh programs that we have or the updated

1:21:08version and and I could see the teachers

1:21:10actually responding to that. So there

1:21:12are some new adjustments that come in

1:21:14with new programs. As you said from the

1:21:16beginning, the work around

1:21:19um high quality instructional materials.

1:21:21It the first thing is basically opening

1:21:23the door to those materials from there

1:21:26to actually make it your own and be able

1:21:29to manage the materials without having

1:21:32to work go around with the instructional

1:21:34materials that there is an

1:21:36implementation dip there and so it takes

1:21:38a little bit of time. Um I am saying

1:21:41that I'm also saying that it's not okay

1:21:43for us still to have our babies be only

1:21:47three out of 10 be ready for you know

1:21:50instru be be be at grade level. So

1:21:52that's not it's not right with us. Um

1:21:54but we are moving the needle and we are

1:21:57actually enacting the right levers to to

1:22:00get to that change. It might look very

1:22:02slow. is not really we want to

1:22:04accelerate as much as possible but

1:22:07that's that's the that's the rub it's

1:22:09like uh growth and change sometimes um

1:22:12you know goes at a different pace

1:22:15>> um just quick followup is ignite and

1:22:17springboard is are these for both math

1:22:19and ELA or is it ELA focus

1:22:22>> I should know maybe

1:22:23>> thank you through the chair these are

1:22:24just ELA focused and it's early literacy

1:22:27highdosese tutoring so it's um uh both

1:22:30are focused in grade one and uh we

1:22:32actually received a grant from the state

1:22:34to support those for this year.

1:22:36>> Great. Thank you.

1:22:37>> All right, we're going to go Rep. Green,

1:22:38then Rep. Eldridge.

1:22:42>> Thank you. Um I kind of sort of building

1:22:45off of Rep. Lipman's points and some of

1:22:49Rep's points. Um

1:22:52recognizing

1:22:54that there are very real limits,

1:22:57especially again at the student level to

1:22:59the value of MCAST data. Um but what

1:23:02there is is again good mass level data.

1:23:06It's really helpful

1:23:10to put say if you could help put these

1:23:12scores and more importantly I think

1:23:15changes in state national and even

1:23:19international perspective like the big

1:23:21news being that there's been a global

1:23:24drop in pizza scores for example um

1:23:28and

1:23:30the opportunity gaps which we have

1:23:31focused on so so intensely over the last

1:23:3310 years are widening nationwide side.

1:23:37Um

1:23:38and I would be curious to know as you

1:23:42you know you're cutting data you're

1:23:43doing tablet if we can if there

1:23:45basically can show you know to like uh

1:23:48and I know it's first year measure so

1:23:50there isn't anything to compare it to

1:23:52but when we can if we can compare those

1:23:54shifts to what's happening nationally

1:23:56what's happening internationally

1:23:59um would be super helpful and when there

1:24:02are places and I'm not even sure there

1:24:04are I'm ask this is actually my

1:24:06If there are if there are districts

1:24:09Yeah. especially at the district level

1:24:10because where we're seeing consistent

1:24:13like multiple year high SGPS

1:24:18are we talking do we know who they are?

1:24:19Are we talking to them to um

1:24:24to Repman's point

1:24:26do their demographers look like ours?

1:24:28because I know for years most of

1:24:31Somerville's test improvements was in

1:24:34large part a reaction of driation not a

1:24:37reaction negative of policies and which

1:24:40is not to be which is not surprising

1:24:42because we know that when you look at at

1:24:43at reading test scores nationally they

1:24:45correlate like at a 0.9 with socomic

1:24:48status. So, as a community gets richer,

1:24:51its test scores go up. And where are we

1:24:54seeing exceptions to that? And what are

1:24:55we learning from them?

1:25:00>> Yeah, I guess basically a to-do list.

1:25:03Sorry.

1:25:06>> Aldridge,

1:25:08>> uh, just a quick follow up on the Ignite

1:25:10and the, um, springboard. Could you just

1:25:11clarify what grades those service? I

1:25:13know you said early, is it K through

1:25:15three or

1:25:16>> Yes, thank you. through the chair.

1:25:17Ignite is only grade one and springboard

1:25:20is a preference for grade one. So once

1:25:23we fill all our grade one allotted spots

1:25:26or um once we

1:25:30once we've ensured that all grade one um

1:25:33students that are eligible

1:25:35are registered and if there's extra

1:25:37seats then we're able to offer other

1:25:38grades with springboard. So each program

1:25:41is a little bit different but they're

1:25:42focused on grade one.

1:25:46Are there any other um uh partners that

1:25:50we're working with or any other to

1:25:51support past those grades that maybe

1:25:53some of the students that haven't

1:25:54received like the benefits of some of

1:25:56the high quality instructional materials

1:25:57we have and like some I know we're like

1:25:59the ship's turning now but you know some

1:26:01of our eighth graders and ninth graders

1:26:02or older kids they unfortunately aren't

1:26:04going to be able to reap the benefits of

1:26:06some of the great work we're doing and

1:26:08um if there was another plan or other

1:26:10thoughts of how we could kind of support

1:26:11those cohorts cohorts too.

1:26:14>> Yes, absolutely. um through the chair uh

1:26:16it's not highdosese tutoring in the same

1:26:18capacity but we did make an investment

1:26:21for example through our multilingual

1:26:22department and with winter hill some of

1:26:24the targeted assistant grant funding so

1:26:26that was because of the accountability

1:26:28ranking DESI did provide us with a grant

1:26:30we were able to purchase um programming

1:26:32like read 180 so this is like um

1:26:35targeted reading intervention

1:26:37particularly for students who are older

1:26:40who are still needing the foundational

1:26:42skills so we did have a a large

1:26:43investment in that um I know that we

1:26:46also had in our special education um

1:26:48Sunday system. I'm sure you can speak

1:26:50more about um any kind of interventions

1:26:52around that. Um but those were targeted

1:26:55for older students um like middle-grades

1:26:59students. Um I know that the

1:27:01multilingual learner department for

1:27:02example did a concerted effort of

1:27:04training um not only um ESL specialists

1:27:09but also um some pair professionals um

1:27:13to support with reading groups in that

1:27:15area. So yeah we we've we're um also uh

1:27:18leveraging um those programs as well. C

1:27:22can I also one interesting data point

1:27:25that actually we didn't get into but if

1:27:27you look at the MCCAST data you look

1:27:30there is an interesting dynamic that our

1:27:33students that are one year below not the

1:27:37two and three years below is close to 30

1:27:39or 40% in some cases there's 30% of our

1:27:43students who actually are at CASP but

1:27:46are close to actually getting to

1:27:47proficiency but often language

1:27:50acquisition

1:27:51or um emotional challenges or um just

1:27:56not getting the right um specificity of

1:28:01what the what the assessment is asking

1:28:02them are in that category. So I you know

1:28:06that that is another thing that is not

1:28:07necessarily students that are way behind

1:28:09that are actually can shift that that

1:28:12directionality of the data but is a

1:28:15subset of a students that need greater

1:28:16precision around the learning. Um and

1:28:19that doesn't you know speak to the

1:28:22overall need of the entire district but

1:28:24it's also an interesting dynamic in our

1:28:26data that is um that's one thing that

1:28:28when I often what I've seen in districts

1:28:31in which second language is is um I

1:28:34don't want to say a barrier but is is a

1:28:36is an element to consider often is that

1:28:39precision and language that is needed

1:28:40and I know that in having a conversation

1:28:42with our director of U Emily um that was

1:28:46the one question that I was pushing her

1:28:48before is like how do we make sure that

1:28:50the clarity about language discussions

1:28:53or pre-re

1:28:55or the strategies around language are

1:28:57consistent across the board and that's

1:28:58an area that I'm curious to see how we

1:29:00actually increase that

1:29:06rep

1:29:11through the chair and uh thank you Dr.

1:29:14Carmona, I don't I don't know. I can't

1:29:16think of a a different phrase, but this

1:29:19concept of cusp, students on the cusp is

1:29:22so important and I think it would be

1:29:24really interesting in particular

1:29:27um because often

1:29:30often they're they're right within

1:29:32reach. And so what are some ways that we

1:29:35can sort of um you know switch up to one

1:29:38one gear higher? Um, but I think that's

1:29:42a really interesting piece because it

1:29:44gets lost. Um, it's not that it got

1:29:46lost, it just didn't there was an

1:29:48attention shine shine shined on it. So,

1:29:51I'm not sure if I'm

1:29:55um, but yes. So, I'm just thinking not a

1:29:58direct request right away, but as you're

1:30:02creating these these great libraries,

1:30:04um, thinking about what that cusp data

1:30:07could look like and what might it

1:30:09correlate with in terms of multilingual

1:30:11learners or any other thing. Thank you.

1:30:15All right, given that it is 8:30, we

1:30:18have another robust presentation of

1:30:19people who have been generously already

1:30:21sitting here for 90 minutes and Miss

1:30:23Eligene has been on her feet for over an

1:30:25hour. Um, unless there's anything else

1:30:28pressing, I'm going to say [applause]

1:30:30deep appreciation,

1:30:35>> superintendent.

1:30:36>> Thank you. Uh, thank you, Sam. and uh

1:30:38the intention of having Sam come in

1:30:40first because it was an easy an easy uh

1:30:43presentation. So now we have director

1:30:47Arjano and assistant director Macdonald

1:30:50and so they have a lot to share and is

1:30:54very exciting. Um but um hopefully we

1:30:58can uh understand and better participate

1:31:01in terms of the uh information that um

1:31:05the director is sharing. But uh welcome

1:31:07to the space and this is part two of the

1:31:09presentation that we had uh a followup

1:31:12from the last presentation we were here.

1:31:15>> Good evening everyone. I'm ILiano the

1:31:17director of special ed.

1:31:19>> Hi I'm Marissa McDonald the assistant

1:31:21director of special ed.

1:31:23>> And if an hour and a half was the easy

1:31:24presentation I'm a little worried but

1:31:27here we go. [laughter] Um before I begin

1:31:30part two, I just wanted to follow up on

1:31:31a few things that came up during the

1:31:33previous presentation

1:31:35and provide some clarification. Vice

1:31:38Chair uh Betone had asked about our

1:31:40overall special education enrollment.

1:31:42During the last presentation, I had

1:31:44stated that the enrollment was just

1:31:46under 18%. I think I believe I said 17.9

1:31:50or something like that. So I went back

1:31:53um because there was a question about

1:31:54the total enrollment and uh reviewed the

1:31:57data a little bit more closely and the

1:31:59number of special of students receiving

1:32:00special education services that I

1:32:02reported was correct. However, I did use

1:32:05the wrong total district enrollment

1:32:07number as a denominator of calculating

1:32:09the percentage. So using the correct

1:32:11district enrollment um it's actually

1:32:1421.1% of our students receive special

1:32:16education services. So, thank you for

1:32:19bringing that to my attention. And um so

1:32:22[clears throat] that percentage is more

1:32:24uh consistent with what we've seen in

1:32:26summer mill in severville over the past

1:32:29uh few years. So I wanted to make sure

1:32:31that I corrected that publicly and

1:32:33provided the school committee with the

1:32:34accurate percentage.

1:32:36Um in terms of uh there was um member

1:32:39Eldridge had as also asked about the

1:32:41number of IEPs that have not been signed

1:32:43and the number that have been rejected

1:32:45IPS that have been rejected or or

1:32:47partially rejected. Um and that

1:32:49information has been more difficult to

1:32:51obtain than we had anticipated. Our

1:32:53current IEP system ed plan does not

1:32:56currently provide us with that kind of

1:32:58report. Um so readily be able to pull

1:33:00that information. But we did reach out

1:33:02to them um and they're working with us

1:33:04to determine a way to retrieve that type

1:33:06of data. So once we are able to obtain

1:33:08those reliable numbers, I will provide

1:33:10the information to the school committee.

1:33:13Um all right. So I would um like to

1:33:16begin by reggrounding us in who we are

1:33:18serving and what our referral activity

1:33:20looked like last year. So as of last

1:33:22year uh school year, we had 263 initial

1:33:25referrals. Of those, 131 students were

1:33:28found eligible. 103 were found not

1:33:31eligible and 29 had meetings that are

1:33:33pending for this fall. Um among students

1:33:36whose eligibility determination was

1:33:38completed, 56% were found eligible for

1:33:41special education services. One area

1:33:43that we wanted to examine was whether we

1:33:46were seeing meaningful uh meaningful

1:33:48differences by race and um and this uh

1:33:51speaks to our disproportionality if if

1:33:54there is any here in Somerville

1:33:55regarding referrals and among the

1:33:57records that where race was available

1:33:59the eligibility rates were very similar.

1:34:01So 50 54% of white students and 53% for

1:34:05students of color um were found

1:34:09eligible. We also looked at it at who

1:34:11initiated the referrals. families as we

1:34:13know um we're the largest referral

1:34:16source followed by schools and then

1:34:18early intervention. Um so referrals are

1:34:21coming from multiple sources and

1:34:23occurring across the district. Next

1:34:24slide please.

1:34:27When we break those referrals down by

1:34:28school we see activity across the

1:34:30district although the volume varies

1:34:32varies uh considerably by building.

1:34:34Capawano for example had 47 referrals.

1:34:37Argentiano and the east each had 46. And

1:34:40at the secondary level, Somerville High

1:34:42School had 31 um initial referrals. So

1:34:46going forward, we want to monitor more

1:34:48than simply just the referral numbers.

1:34:49We want to understand who is referring,

1:34:51who is ultimately found eligible, and

1:34:54whether there are school level or

1:34:55district-wide patterns that warrant a

1:34:57closer look.

1:34:59Next slide.

1:35:02In terms of student um you know, another

1:35:04pieces regarding student mobility. Um so

1:35:07the enrollment no numbers that we have

1:35:09alone don't show us um a lot of um just

1:35:13complete information. So last year 55 uh

1:35:16students receiving special education

1:35:18services moved into Somerville during

1:35:20the school year. These students entered

1:35:22from neighboring districts, other

1:35:24states, charter and private settings and

1:35:27with a wide range of needs and

1:35:29placements. So this is important for

1:35:31planning um for planning perspective

1:35:34because our enrollment isn't static. A

1:35:36student can enter the district during

1:35:38the year requiring a special a

1:35:40specialized classroom only related

1:35:42services, transportation or even at an

1:35:45outof district placement. So when you

1:35:48think about staffing and programming, so

1:35:49when we think about staffing and

1:35:50programming, we have to account not only

1:35:52for the number of students we have at

1:35:54the beginning of the year but also the

1:35:55timing and intensity of students that

1:35:57enter the district throughout the year.

1:36:00Next slide.

1:36:02Um the next section that I'm going to be

1:36:04um talking about um uh moves us to who

1:36:08are we serving and how are our students

1:36:10doing. Um there are areas of encouraging

1:36:12growth. Last year I ready performance

1:36:14for students with IEPs increased by 6.9

1:36:17percentage point and ELA in ELA and 11.6

1:36:21percentage points um in math from fall

1:36:24to spring. whereas the dibbles composite

1:36:27um proficiency remained um comparative

1:36:30comparatively stable. So literacy

1:36:32continues to be an area where we need to

1:36:35uh focus even as we saw improvement in

1:36:38some underlying reading accuracy and

1:36:40decoding um skills. Next slide.

1:36:46Um this year gives us a new baseline.

1:36:49So, our beginning of the year data shows

1:36:5033.9

1:36:52um at at or above grade level on

1:36:54dibbles, 18.9 in the I Ready ELA, and

1:36:5712% in I Ready Math for students

1:36:59represented in these assessments. The

1:37:01value of these me of these benchmarks

1:37:03aren't simply the percentage at what

1:37:06moment in time. We're going to monitor

1:37:08movement across the year, identify

1:37:10school level patterns, and connect uh

1:37:12what we're seeing in student outcomes to

1:37:14our tier one and inclusion practices

1:37:17work. Next slide.

1:37:21Uh MC cascus is another important

1:37:23measure and the achievement data made

1:37:25made clear that we have significant work

1:37:26ahead of us. Among students with IEPs,

1:37:2912.6 met or exceeded expectations in

1:37:31ELA, 12.3 in math, uh 17.2 in science,

1:37:36and 7.9 in civics. Science was clearly

1:37:39our strongest overall subject, but

1:37:41achievement gaps uh remain substantial

1:37:43across all tested areas. So we're

1:37:46looking at these results alongside

1:37:47benchmarks and growth data so that no

1:37:50single measure is being used in

1:37:52isolation. Next slide.

1:37:55In terms of MCCAST growth, you know,

1:37:57this is this is an important slide to

1:37:59give us some additional context. Medium

1:38:02growth for students with IPS was 43 in

1:38:04ELA, 45 in math, and grade seven was an

1:38:07area of relative strength with medium

1:38:09growth of 50 in ELA and 60 in math. So

1:38:13at the same times the slide shows

1:38:15students without IEPs had higher median

1:38:18growth and substantially higher rates of

1:38:19meeting their progress uh targets. So

1:38:23our challenge is twofold. We need

1:38:24students to continue growing and we need

1:38:26that growth to translate into stronger

1:38:28achievement over time. Next slide.

1:38:32So what we're looking here is by school.

1:38:35Um so the picture isn't uniform. There

1:38:37are places where we're seeing relative

1:38:38strengths and others where the data

1:38:40tells us targeted support is needed.

1:38:42Brown's percentage was notably high,

1:38:45although that's a small group of 12

1:38:47students. So, we need to be cautious

1:38:49about drawing broad conclusions from

1:38:50that percentage. Kennedy, for example,

1:38:53shows relative strength in both ELA and

1:38:55math, while other schools show areas

1:38:57requiring continued focus. So, we're not

1:39:00using this information to provide any

1:39:02ranking or anything like that. We're

1:39:03using it to identify patterns,

1:39:05understand what's happening

1:39:06instructionally, and determine whether

1:39:08additional supports may be needed.

1:39:11Next slide.

1:39:14So, as we're moving on to our our

1:39:16programming, this the next um slides

1:39:20show um our students receiving special

1:39:22education services that are distributed

1:39:24across grade levels. So in this um and

1:39:27this connects back to the clarification

1:39:28I made at the beginning. Overall

1:39:30students receiving special education

1:39:32services represent 21.1% of district

1:39:35enrollment. So the population isn't

1:39:37evenly distributed across grades. So for

1:39:39example, we currently have 95 students

1:39:42in grade 5, 94 in grade 7 compared to 49

1:39:46students in kindergarten. This isn't

1:39:48very atypical because as we continue as

1:39:51students continue to access different

1:39:53grade levels at the at the I would say

1:39:55at the third or even second grade is

1:39:57when students really start to show areas

1:39:59of need and therefore referrals may be

1:40:02um may be higher within those those uh

1:40:06grade level bands. So understanding just

1:40:08the grade level differences is important

1:40:10as we plan staffing services and

1:40:12programming. Next slide.

1:40:16So these these slides show where the

1:40:18students are being served and a range of

1:40:20programming we provide. Most students

1:40:21with IEPs are educated in inclusive

1:40:24settings while we we also maintain a

1:40:26continuum of specialized program

1:40:28programming across the district to meet

1:40:30more intensive needs. And we've we've

1:40:33mentioned before programs such as AIM

1:40:35program, our seek program, life skills,

1:40:37kip shift transition, multi-graded and

1:40:39languagebased programming. Um next

1:40:42slide.

1:40:43And we also currently have 57 students

1:40:45in outofd district placements, 24 in

1:40:48public day programs and 33 in private

1:40:50day programs.

1:40:52Our goal isn't simply to have programs

1:40:54but to ensure we have appropriate

1:40:55continuum of services so students can

1:40:57receive the supports they need in the

1:40:59least restrictive setting appropriate to

1:41:02their individual needs.

1:41:04So next slide please. So what are we

1:41:07strengthening here? Um now we're moving

1:41:09from data to what we're actually doing

1:41:11in response. I didn't I'm going to talk

1:41:13about the seek working group because

1:41:14that is something that I've been um

1:41:16involved in. Uh the seek working group

1:41:18is one example. The goal has been to

1:41:21increase meaningful access to grade

1:41:22level peers while maintaining the

1:41:24individualized support students need.

1:41:26Our seek program is our therap is our

1:41:29therapeutic program over at Kennedy that

1:41:32uh provides supports for students in K

1:41:34to sixth grade. Um so we've established

1:41:37grade level home room placements. So,

1:41:39our seat students begin their day with

1:41:41their grade level peers through uh

1:41:43morning meetings or home room. But the

1:41:45important distinction is that inclusion

1:41:47isn't simply putting a student into a

1:41:49general education classroom. Decisions

1:41:52continue to be driven by each student's

1:41:54IEP strengths, needs, and readiness for

1:41:56meaningful participation. This has been

1:41:58a wonderful partnership with our seek

1:42:01staff and our general education staff at

1:42:03Kennedy where they've come together and

1:42:04said, "We want our students to be part

1:42:06of the community, be included more." So

1:42:09that is something that we will continue

1:42:10to to grow as the school year um

1:42:13continues.

1:42:17>> And then I have the next couple slides.

1:42:20Um so last year we um partnered with the

1:42:23summer educators union to bring together

1:42:26general educators, special educators and

1:42:29other staff and additionally we had one

1:42:30parent join us as well to really look

1:42:32closely at inclusive practices in

1:42:35co-eing. Um, one of the major findings,

1:42:39um, was that successful inclusion isn't

1:42:42just a special education issue and it

1:42:44isn't simply a staffing issue. It

1:42:47requires attention to classroom

1:42:49practice, scheduling, common planning

1:42:51time. Um,

1:42:55did I say staffing and clarity of roles?

1:42:58Um, next slide. Um, and then that work

1:43:01kind of um resulted in five priorities.

1:43:04So one, we wanted to expand co-eing

1:43:08models that we had started in the

1:43:10district. We wanted to improve

1:43:12scheduling and shared planning. Um we

1:43:15wanted to provide district-wide

1:43:17professional learning. We wanted to

1:43:19clarify staffing and educator roles and

1:43:22then measure implementation and impact.

1:43:26Um, and this year we're planning to work

1:43:28again with that team and maybe involve

1:43:31some new people and reconvene so that we

1:43:33can monitor implementation and look at

1:43:36feedback and outcomes and continue

1:43:38refining the district's approach to

1:43:40co-eing and inclusion. Um, and

1:43:42additionally, we begin our work with our

1:43:44professional development.

1:43:47Um, so that kind of leads us into our

1:43:50next um slide, which is about um

1:43:53building from the program review. So, as

1:43:56you remember, we've talked about it a

1:43:58couple times, but we did have a program

1:43:59review of our inclusion and special

1:44:01education from Dr. Jenna Rufo. Um, our

1:44:05program review told us that Somerville

1:44:07has strong inclusive structures, but

1:44:10placement alone doesn't guarantee access

1:44:13to instruction.

1:44:15Um the review identified inconsistencies

1:44:19in scaffolding, curriculum adaptation,

1:44:22um differentiation and access to grade

1:44:25level learning. Um and then if you can

1:44:27go to the next slide, I think um and so

1:44:31this isn't designed as a one-time

1:44:34professional learning um series. It

1:44:37really is um multiple professional

1:44:40development combined with um

1:44:42consultation and coaching so that we're

1:44:45actually supporting implementation in

1:44:47classrooms. And if you go to the next

1:44:49slide, I'll give you a little um uh

1:44:52snapshot of the timeline for this year.

1:44:55Um so what you can see here is that the

1:44:58work is intentionally spread across the

1:44:59school year and across different roles.

1:45:02We have begun um this work with

1:45:04administrators and substantially

1:45:06separate teachers um followed by

1:45:08district-wide educator professional

1:45:10development that will be happening in um

1:45:12October. And we will continue to work

1:45:14with educators, administrators, and

1:45:16instructional coaches throughout the

1:45:17year. And the intent is to build common

1:45:20language, common expectations, and

1:45:22sustained implementation rather than

1:45:25have just one isolated professional

1:45:27development series. And just to note, we

1:45:29are working with Jenna to possibly add

1:45:32some more um uh professional learning

1:45:35and consultation and coaching to this

1:45:37timeline, but this is what we have right

1:45:39now. Next slide, please.

1:45:43Um so I kind of we kind of broke down

1:45:45the next couple slides and what Jenna is

1:45:47doing um at the different levels. So

1:45:50this this first one is how we're

1:45:52strengthening tier one. Um, so at the

1:45:55classroom level or the tier one level,

1:45:57we're really focusing on starting with

1:45:59the grade level standard and identifying

1:46:02that, then anticipating what the

1:46:05barriers are for students in that

1:46:07classroom before instruction begins and

1:46:10then providing scaffolds to students

1:46:13without lowering the rigor. Um, and this

1:46:16is for them in order to access and um

1:46:20the the general education curriculum and

1:46:23also still maintaining the goal of the

1:46:25lesson. If we can go to the next slide,

1:46:27I'll show you what we're doing at the

1:46:29substantially separate classroom level.

1:46:32Um, we're applying the same thinking to

1:46:35substantially separate classrooms. We're

1:46:38going to be um looking again right at

1:46:40the grade level standard and then

1:46:42bridging the standards and providing

1:46:44meaningful entry points for students

1:46:46with disabilities who need that um

1:46:49really focused and targeted specialized

1:46:51instruction. Um we're going to create

1:46:53authentic opportunities for students

1:46:55part to participate in their broader

1:46:58school um school community like ILonso

1:47:01said with some of our inclusion um work

1:47:03that we're doing um and building the

1:47:06team capacity. in the next slide um is

1:47:09kind of how we're looking at our

1:47:10administrators and coaches and we're

1:47:12working with them so that they know what

1:47:14these practices actually look like when

1:47:17they enter classrooms and then they can

1:47:19provide educators with meaningful

1:47:21feedback and support. The goal is to

1:47:24build consistency across classrooms and

1:47:27across schools across the district. We

1:47:30can go to the next slide

1:47:32and this slide really captures our

1:47:34approach. Um, so how we're thinking of

1:47:37this work, we learn, we apply, observe,

1:47:41and coach and reflect and refine. And

1:47:44the outcome we're working towards is

1:47:46right in the center of the graphic.

1:47:48Meaningful access, participation,

1:47:50progress, and independence. And this is

1:47:52in this is continuous improvement rather

1:47:55than just a one-year initiative. We know

1:47:57that this is going to be work for many

1:48:00years to come. And if we can go to the

1:48:02next district, we're also strengthening

1:48:04our partnerships with families and we

1:48:07did that through um last year we worked

1:48:09with Apple which is advancing parent

1:48:11professional leadership in education

1:48:13with uh the federation for children with

1:48:16special needs. Um, and so through our

1:48:18participation with CPAC and Apple

1:48:21Institute, we've developed resources for

1:48:23families, including the Massachusetts

1:48:25IEP quick start guide and expanded

1:48:28access to plain language information in

1:48:30multiple languages, and that can be

1:48:31found on the CPAC's website. It's really

1:48:33a wonderful tool and resource for

1:48:34families. Um, and additionally, we also

1:48:38worked to create um an anonymous survey

1:48:41about the IEP meeting experience um for

1:48:46families to fill out after a meeting.

1:48:48And we did that with the Apple

1:48:50partnership. And I'm going to go through

1:48:51a little bit of the data from that. We

1:48:54can go to the next slide. So, what are

1:48:56families telling us? So, we started this

1:48:58survey back in April. Um and as of right

1:49:01now or a couple days ago, there were 59

1:49:05total respondents. Three languages um

1:49:08were um chosen. Um and then nine schools

1:49:12and settings were also um represented.

1:49:16Um across all six questions, I'm going

1:49:18to go into the six questions in just a

1:49:19second, but across all six um questions,

1:49:22approximately 92% of the ratings were

1:49:25either strongly agree or agree. um

1:49:28that's encouraging, but the purpose of

1:49:30the survey isn't just to simply generate

1:49:33a positive number. Um so if we can go to

1:49:36the next slide,

1:49:38we really want to understand what where

1:49:40families are um telling us we're doing

1:49:43well and equally important where they're

1:49:47telling us we can improve. So these are

1:49:49the six questions. Um, so for example, a

1:49:52responses around whether family input

1:49:54and concerns are incorporated into IP

1:49:56and whether data and observations drive

1:49:59decisions showed a little more

1:50:01disagreement than some of the other

1:50:03questions such as understanding the

1:50:06process or understanding the purpose of

1:50:08the meeting. Um, almost every p every

1:50:11response for that one is positive. Um,

1:50:14so we definitely note that there there

1:50:16are areas for improvement and we meet

1:50:18with the Apple team to kind of look at

1:50:19that data, synthesize it, and then put

1:50:21forth some recommendations going

1:50:23forward.

1:50:25Um, and then if we can go to the next

1:50:27one. Oh, I kind of said that. So, the

1:50:29survey isn't intended to be a one-time

1:50:31exercise. We want to continue collecting

1:50:34responses, increase participation across

1:50:36schools and languages, and review the

1:50:38themes um regularly. And most

1:50:40importantly, we want to close the loop

1:50:42with families by showing how their

1:50:44feedback informs our actions. And then

1:50:46the next slide, if there's one message

1:50:49we want to leave you with tonight, it's

1:50:51that our work is moving from data to

1:50:53action. We know that special education

1:50:55demand is dynamic. We have significant

1:50:58referral activity. Students enter the

1:51:00district throughout the year with varied

1:51:02needs and our outcome data shows both

1:51:04areas of growth and areas where we need

1:51:06to res to improve. The response cannot

1:51:09be one program or one initiative. This

1:51:12has to be systemic, stronger tier one

1:51:14instruction, meaningful inclusive

1:51:16practices, highquality specialized

1:51:18programming, professional learning and

1:51:20coaching, and stronger partnerships with

1:51:22families. The data helps us understand

1:51:24where we are. The work we've shared

1:51:27tonight is how we're using that

1:51:28information to determine where we're we

1:51:30need to go next.

1:51:40All right, I give you a lot of credit.

1:51:41That was a lot of information that you

1:51:43went through quickly and clearly. Um,

1:51:48all right. We're going to go

1:51:50counterclockwise again. We're going Rep.

1:51:53Patone, Mayor Wilson,

1:51:56uh, Reputone, and then we'll keep going.

1:52:00>> Thank you through the chair. First, I

1:52:02want to thank you both for being here

1:52:03and uh providing a very broad

1:52:06perspective on the outcomes of students,

1:52:10the programming you're doing regarding

1:52:11beefing up our inclusion as well as you

1:52:14know actually implementing with parents

1:52:17this this data which um around their

1:52:20experience with special education and

1:52:22particular the IEP team meetings. Thank

1:52:23you for all of that. Um I had a

1:52:25particular question and it may be for

1:52:27you and for the superintendent.

1:52:30um super excited about the plan for

1:52:33improving coach co-eing and inclusion. I

1:52:37would love to see at some point what our

1:52:39five-year plan is in terms of what we

1:52:41want inclusion to look like. We still

1:52:43consider ourselves I might be using the

1:52:45wrong language but in a pilot stage or

1:52:47that we're you know doing targeted

1:52:49implementation. But I really would love

1:52:51to see this district have a plan bring

1:52:53it to the school committee explain how

1:52:55we have to invest to make this happen.

1:52:58um and have a vision for us. Um I don't

1:53:01want to be in the position at budget

1:53:02season to be like, "Please, please,

1:53:03please, can we add three more inclusion

1:53:05teachers?" That doesn't feel strategic.

1:53:07And I know all of you are so talented

1:53:09and can be strategic like that. So

1:53:11that's my ask. I don't know if you want

1:53:12to speak to it or um you don't have to.

1:53:15It's just a request

1:53:19through the chair. Um we're actually

1:53:21part of the working group. the inclusive

1:53:23practices working group and co-eing is

1:53:24something that um we want to get to in

1:53:27terms of developing a plan. I think um

1:53:29last year when we met as a team it was

1:53:32really just to try to understand what

1:53:35inclusive practices are what co-eing

1:53:37should look like but it is our

1:53:39commitment through that uh working group

1:53:42that we do develop a three to fiveyear

1:53:44plan for the district in order to

1:53:47strengthen and enhance because there is

1:53:49research there's research to show that

1:53:51co-eing when done right works for all

1:53:54students.

1:53:57>> Thank you. We're going to go Wilson Bone

1:53:59then El George then Green.

1:54:03>> Thanks Sher. Uh three I'm sorry I don't

1:54:04have the slide number off the top of my

1:54:06head but it was the slide that showed

1:54:07the uh eligible students by grade maybe

1:54:10around slide 10.

1:54:13We could jump back to that just for one

1:54:14second.

1:54:18>> I think that was just enrollment. So

1:54:21>> sorry special education enroll. Okay

1:54:22that that's fine. uh through you chair.

1:54:26Is it normal to see that big of a clear

1:54:28jump in fifth grade? Is that typically

1:54:31when we see an explosion of uh special

1:54:33education students?

1:54:35>> It's been my experience that usually in

1:54:37third grade is when you do see an

1:54:39identification. Now, that cohort, I

1:54:42mean, I can look a little bit more. It

1:54:44really depends the the the, you know,

1:54:46size of the class, really depends um

1:54:49what that cohort was in in kindergarten

1:54:51in terms of some of the support. So

1:54:53there's a lot of there's a lot of

1:54:54information that we would have to look

1:54:56for in terms of why that number is

1:54:58relatively low.

1:55:00>> All right. Uh through your chair because

1:55:02I asked because look and there's a big

1:55:04drop there's a low number out there too

1:55:06that jumps out at me which is the the

1:55:08current juniors

1:55:10who would have been if if it's not

1:55:13typical to see that jump in fifth grade

1:55:15then I guess disregard where I was going

1:55:16with this. I was going to point out they

1:55:18were in fifth grade in that that COVID

1:55:20year where we were virtual.

1:55:23Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

1:55:26I'm looking but I I looked at the chair.

1:55:27I looked at the overall class sizes. The

1:55:3011th grade cohort is no smaller than the

1:55:32others. Uh that's just, you know,

1:55:36extremely low compared to the other high

1:55:38school class sizes, which left me

1:55:40wondering why might that be? Why might

1:55:42that cohort be so be be so relatively

1:55:44low compared to the others in terms of

1:55:46special education enrollment? We it's

1:55:48something that I would have to dig a

1:55:50little bit deeper in to kind of take a

1:55:51look and try to find kind of like a root

1:55:54cause as to why those numbers are low.

1:55:59>> Thank you. Uh Rep. Beton then Rep.

1:56:02Eldridge and Rep. Green. Okay. Uh

1:56:05Eldridge,

1:56:07I have two questions. I'll ask one to

1:56:08kind of build off of um Laura's uh

1:56:11question. Excuse me, Rep. Patone's

1:56:12question earlier. uh [laughter]

1:56:15um about the co- um co-taught

1:56:18classrooms, could you clarify for me um

1:56:21what grades they are, what schools, and

1:56:24then also I know there was some

1:56:26discussion um through the um UDL about

1:56:30whether or not those teachers should

1:56:32stay in that grade or they should

1:56:34progress to the next grade with that

1:56:35cohort of students. Could you just catch

1:56:37me up on where we're at with that and

1:56:39and what's currently happening? So the

1:56:41current cla the classrooms that we

1:56:43identified last school year as sort of I

1:56:46don't want to call them pilot classrooms

1:56:47but we were um we were putting some

1:56:49additional support they were the current

1:56:52that were the fourth grade over at the

1:56:53Winter Hill. So now the fifth that

1:56:55fourth grade cohort that moved up has

1:56:58that that co-eing model at Winter Hill.

1:57:01Um it went so it it went with them. The

1:57:03model went with them, but it's a it is a

1:57:05new um special educator that's working

1:57:08with with that group over at the east.

1:57:10That was another that was the fifth

1:57:12grade class. Um so but what East has

1:57:15done given their resources, they

1:57:18actually have a lot more co-eing going

1:57:20on at the middle school level. So those

1:57:22sixth graders, they are they um the

1:57:24fifth graders that we had targeted um

1:57:27for for this model um are getting those

1:57:29that co go co co-eing at in sixth grade

1:57:33currently at the east but I would say

1:57:34that seventh and eighth grade also has

1:57:38um co-eing opportunities in those

1:57:40schools and what we're trying to do at

1:57:42some of the other schools given the

1:57:44current resources is there an ability to

1:57:47have the the special educators do more

1:57:49inclusive opportunities or or do more

1:57:51co-eing with their um general education

1:57:54counterparts. I know AFA they they they

1:57:57at Arenziano, excuse me, they do um they

1:58:00do recommend um grid B supports which is

1:58:03the where you provide the um supports in

1:58:05the classroom. So there are some

1:58:07teachers that are actually co-eing with

1:58:10the general education teachers as well.

1:58:15>> All right. Uh Rep. green and then

1:58:19replicants and we'll keep going.

1:58:23>> Yeah. Um thank you through you.

1:58:27So it it occurs to me um actually to now

1:58:31both Rep and Repel's point that we have

1:58:35committed to expanding co- teaching

1:58:38like basically as fast as the practical

1:58:42transitions of cost and battle practical

1:58:45pedal transitions and training plus

1:58:47funding allow. Um

1:58:51and that that commitment that strategy

1:58:54is

1:58:57Sorry. Was at least at least last year

1:58:59and I can't imagine this year was

1:59:02intention was intentioned with the

1:59:03superintendent's responsibility

1:59:06to to do the best that he can with the

1:59:10budget as given to him with money given

1:59:13to him. Um

1:59:16and so

1:59:18I always expect the superintendent's

1:59:19budget to be fiscally conservative or

1:59:23prudent. That is part of their job.

1:59:26Um,

1:59:27and it's our job as a committee to push

1:59:29for the actual resources needed.

1:59:33It would it'd be immensely helpful to uh

1:59:35Mr. Maton's point if we could get the

1:59:38big picture like this is what we want to

1:59:41do. what does it actually take as far as

1:59:44staffing and funding to do it so that we

1:59:48aren't scrambling to try to push here

1:59:51and there where we find openings, but we

1:59:53actually can say, "Hey, we know that in

1:59:57order to do the coaching model we think

1:59:58is right, we're going to need the city

2:00:00to pony up x amount of dollars and we

2:00:03can make that pace consistently and

2:00:05strategically as opposed to the kind of

2:00:07ad hoc nature we we we took the last

2:00:08year.

2:00:14Thank you. Repens.

2:00:17>> Thank you, chair. This is actually a

2:00:18followup to the co-eing conversation

2:00:20which um I'm very excited about and I

2:00:23too am very interested in hearing a

2:00:25five-year plan specifically thinking

2:00:27about budgetary implications. Um, and

2:00:30I'm I remember specifically last year we

2:00:33had a few teachers come and share their

2:00:36specific cohorts data and they were

2:00:38really excited about um the growth they

2:00:40were seeing. So my question is about can

2:00:42we continue seeing data from um

2:00:46inclusive classrooms that are already

2:00:48using this model just to kind of you

2:00:51know see like how's it going? Was that a

2:00:53one-time you know if we're going to be

2:00:55investing I'd love to you know see how

2:00:57it's going.

2:00:59Thank you.

2:01:00>> I'm happy to provide those updates

2:01:01because I do meet with the um I have a

2:01:04weekly check-in for example with Winter

2:01:06Hill with um Principal Goslin and that

2:01:08is some of the information we do uh look

2:01:10at in terms of here's the co-eing cohort

2:01:13um and where they're at and what we want

2:01:15them to achieve. The other thing that

2:01:17we're also doing is that we're doing

2:01:19walkthroughs with the principles and the

2:01:21department coordinators in a lot of

2:01:22these schools to actually take a look at

2:01:25the actual teaching um and and you know

2:01:29just um um use a a a walkthrough tool to

2:01:32to ensure that these inclusive practices

2:01:35are helping and and it's good data for

2:01:36us to have in order to to plan for

2:01:39professional development where we may

2:01:41see areas of need.

2:01:47Thank you.

2:01:49We're double checking first round Patone

2:01:51and then I assume Eldridge again.

2:01:54>> Thank you. Um chair through you to the

2:01:57team. Um I have a specific question

2:02:01about

2:02:03how we're tracking the data in terms of

2:02:06how we're performing as a district. So

2:02:08there was one data point here in terms

2:02:10of the parents and how they felt. Were

2:02:12we responding in two or three days?

2:02:15>> Yeah, I guess I wasn't

2:02:18on it. Sorry. Um, so data around parents

2:02:23self-reporting and saying, are we

2:02:24responding in two or three days? I'm

2:02:26curious about what kind of operational

2:02:28data. I know a couple years ago we had a

2:02:29hard time. time we had a situation where

2:02:31we weren't delivering what were in the

2:02:34IEPs and it was a staffing issue and I'm

2:02:36curious about what kind of data is makes

2:02:40sense to share in a forum like this in

2:02:42terms of what we're doing operationally

2:02:44and how well are we turning around

2:02:45response and how well are we doing the

2:02:4760 days and how well are we actually

2:02:49delivering what we promised in an IEP

2:02:52like where what are our percentage of

2:02:54exceptions that you understand what I'm

2:02:55getting at um I'm not I'm not asking you

2:02:58to create things that don't already

2:02:59exist I'm sure you are all looking at

2:03:01this all the time. Um, but I think

2:03:03that's the kind of improvement I think

2:03:05for families that's important to make be

2:03:07a little more transparent about.

2:03:09>> So that your your question and and and

2:03:11your ask comes out of at a great time

2:03:13because this school year we're actually

2:03:15going to be engaged in um our tiered

2:03:18focus monitoring which is very specific

2:03:21um audit if you will. I just use the

2:03:23word audit because I think it's it's

2:03:24familiar to everyone with the Department

2:03:26of Education. were part of a group A

2:03:28which means they will be looking at

2:03:30special education criteria. They will

2:03:32also be pulling records to get

2:03:35information on exactly what what you had

2:03:38said um um referral data. They're

2:03:41looking at um IEP processes. Are we

2:03:43answering those um N1 questions or the

2:03:46or the yeah the the the notice to the

2:03:49parents? Are we keeping to with

2:03:51timelines? Um and then there will be a

2:03:53survey that goes out from the department

2:03:55of ed to parents in order to solicit

2:03:57their feedback. And there'll be a full

2:03:59report um at the end of the school year.

2:04:01Also, they also will be coming doing

2:04:03observations, having interviews with

2:04:05select um administrators, the

2:04:08superintendent, myself, some principles,

2:04:10and perhaps even some staff. Um and then

2:04:12there's a report at the end, and each

2:04:14criterion will be rated. I believe it's

2:04:17either, you know, you're meeting it,

2:04:19partially meeting it, or you're out of

2:04:21compliance with it. Some of the

2:04:22preliminary work that we did last year,

2:04:24we did identify an area where um we

2:04:28didn't meet, so we were out of

2:04:29compliance, and that was um being able

2:04:32to do all the evaluations within the 30

2:04:34days. So, that's an area that there's a

2:04:37corrective action that I'm currently

2:04:39working with the department of ed and

2:04:41submitting so that we're tracking that

2:04:43um information. Um that my department

2:04:46coordinators at the buildings are are

2:04:48being accountable in terms of um

2:04:50ensuring that those that the 30-day

2:04:52timeline is being met. Um and it's data

2:04:55that I have to provide um probably on a

2:04:57quarterly basis to the department of ed

2:04:59saying this is what we're doing to make

2:05:01that improvement. So, I I think that

2:05:03this is a great opportunity at the end

2:05:05of the school year to really have all

2:05:07that information and it'll be done

2:05:09through the Department of Education.

2:05:15>> Rev. Eldridge.

2:05:18>> Um, thank you through the chair. Um, I'm

2:05:21not sure who to direct this question at,

2:05:23so if you could just bear with me. Um,

2:05:25for many students and families and for

2:05:27various reasons and barriers,

2:05:29identifying disability 100% of the time

2:05:32is essential, right? I'm wondering how

2:05:35we're supporting our educators, our

2:05:38system as a whole, um when it comes to

2:05:41identifying and referring students for

2:05:42evaluation um to make sure that we are

2:05:46getting it as close to 100% as time

2:05:49because you know there's an immense

2:05:51amount of privilege that comes with

2:05:52being able to ask for an evaluation to

2:05:54be able to know how to navigate the

2:05:56system to I I mean the list goes on and

2:05:58on and I'm just wondering if there's

2:06:00ways that as a body to we could support

2:06:03our educators and the larger system so

2:06:05that the referrals aren't, you know,

2:06:08there aren't as many coming from

2:06:09families and more coming from internal

2:06:11because we all know that the educators

2:06:13are doing the day the work in and out

2:06:14all day and they know this better than

2:06:17most of us do. Um yeah,

2:06:21>> and that just that speaks definitely to

2:06:23the childf find um law and I think that

2:06:26that is something that we have done I

2:06:28know since I've been here to clarify

2:06:30exactly what that means and what the

2:06:32responsibility is for um um teachers in

2:06:36the in in the in in the schools. Um if

2:06:39if there is a suspicion of a disability

2:06:41they are obligated to make that

2:06:43referral. Right? There is no let's go

2:06:45through child study team or MTSS. that's

2:06:48not really what they should be doing. If

2:06:50there's a genuine I think there's an

2:06:51area of disability teachers should be um

2:06:54requesting for that evaluation. Do you

2:06:56continue to do the interventions as

2:06:58we're working through the evaluation

2:06:59process? Absolutely. Yes. But there

2:07:02needs to be more of an awareness. I

2:07:04think I it would be my sort of

2:07:06impression that well what constitutes an

2:07:08area of disability and maybe we need to

2:07:10do a better job of I of of providing

2:07:13some professional development in terms

2:07:14of saying this is what we would be

2:07:16looking at if we're thinking that it is.

2:07:18So if you see it these are some of the

2:07:21markers and that may um that may bring

2:07:24attention to that in order for you to

2:07:26then say geez I really do think we need

2:07:27to move this student um through the

2:07:30evaluation process.

2:07:32add to that. So through the chair, I I

2:07:35do think that as it's not necessarily a

2:07:37special education issue, but more I I

2:07:40know as a teacher, it's always when you

2:07:43see that a student is actually

2:07:44struggling with something, most teachers

2:07:46actually are curious about what what's

2:07:48the gap here. And so I think that the

2:07:50the gap often is in how are our systems

2:07:53to actually uh identify the gaps that

2:07:56students have and elevate those concerns

2:08:00at a different level. MTSS child study

2:08:02team. That's probably where we actually

2:08:05need to strengthen our ability to

2:08:08respond to the data that is in front of

2:08:10us. And so that's the exercise that we

2:08:12need to but it's not necessarily a

2:08:13special education thing, but it's like I

2:08:15know every teacher is concerned about

2:08:16making sure that kids learn and um how

2:08:20do we empower them to actually make

2:08:21those decisions probably or find the

2:08:23tools to actually intervene and make

2:08:25corrections is uh you know is is one

2:08:28thing that I I feel is the next level of

2:08:30work. I also wanted to highlight that

2:08:31for students learning a second language,

2:08:35sometimes a gap in language development

2:08:38can show up like a a special education

2:08:41uh need because sometimes you know

2:08:44that's how language kind of develops in

2:08:46some cases. But uh you know um and so

2:08:49that that makes it a little bit more

2:08:51complicated when when there's a language

2:08:53development piece. Um sometimes it makes

2:08:55it more difficult. But uh the over

2:08:58representation and under representation

2:09:00of a students who learn a second

2:09:02language in a special education is a

2:09:04challenge that we see throughout um in

2:09:06our in our in our nation.

2:09:11>> You have a followup. Okay.

2:09:13>> Um so uh along those lines, what are

2:09:16ways that we can strengthen those

2:09:18systems? Like I'm just trying to best

2:09:19understand what I can support y'all and

2:09:21how I what I can advocate for in terms

2:09:23of how we can like you know best support

2:09:26that system so that we can get it right

2:09:28you know as close to 100% of the time as

2:09:30possible. Um yeah

2:09:32>> yeah through the chair. [clears throat]

2:09:34So uh again we uh a big part of that is

2:09:38making sure that we have the right tools

2:09:39in front of us which that is also you

2:09:42know having high quality instructional

2:09:43materials uh understanding better um

2:09:47when students are not making progress uh

2:09:50and found foundational elements of

2:09:53literacy and math that actually gives us

2:09:55a a clue of why students are not meeting

2:09:58the same or growing at the same level.

2:10:00That's why that beginning of the year

2:10:03dibble's data is critical. If by January

2:10:06I see students are not making certain

2:10:08progress then that's a full trigger. I

2:10:11need to think about what am I doing?

2:10:12What do I need to do differently? Um so

2:10:15I think it's both developing that

2:10:17strength on students recognition or

2:10:20ability to track that data to identify.

2:10:23Um and also you know I think there's a

2:10:25lot of promise on the Ignite model. I

2:10:27think that um having a set of tools to

2:10:31actually provide a next round of

2:10:33intervention for kids uh to make sure

2:10:36that by the end of a certain grade level

2:10:39they are ready those are things that I

2:10:42feel are very beneficial. So once we

2:10:44identify if Ignite is going to do that

2:10:46for us, I think that I would definitely

2:10:48will come to the committee and say, hey,

2:10:51we need to go beyond the pilot of two

2:10:53schools, we need to strengthen it

2:10:54throughout the district. But we are we

2:10:57are in that process right now and we

2:10:58will be um more than eager to come back

2:11:02to you and see the outcomes of that

2:11:03process.

2:11:08>> Thank you. Um

2:11:11yes, I worked on a program evaluation of

2:11:14Ignite that I'm happy to share if you

2:11:16would like to see their results. Um,

2:11:20I have a question. I hope I'm going to

2:11:22phrase this right. One, one of the

2:11:23things that I think is

2:11:28hardest for a lay person to understand,

2:11:31but I think an very important component

2:11:33of what you do. I don't think

2:11:35scaffolding is the right word, but when

2:11:37when the curriculum is adapted

2:11:40for a student on an IEP, like can you

2:11:43give a tangible example of how an

2:11:45educator

2:11:47might do that while still keeping to the

2:11:50curriculum standards in order to meet

2:11:52the needs of the student um especially

2:11:56at like a higher grade level. But I

2:11:59think that's, you know, just in in

2:12:02getting, you know, people to conceive of

2:12:05of the great work that our our special

2:12:07educators do. I think, you know, that's

2:12:09one of the things that has been, you

2:12:12know, really useful that I've personally

2:12:15have been working to wrap my brain

2:12:16around. Does that make sense?

2:12:18>> Um, so there's a couple ways to do it

2:12:20and I think it's starting with what is

2:12:22the goal of the lesson. So, if the goal

2:12:26of the lesson is to compare two

2:12:29characters um within a story that's

2:12:32read, how is that student then going to

2:12:35show that knowledge? Now, one student,

2:12:38one of the groups of the students might

2:12:39be writing an essay. Another group of

2:12:42students might be writing, but they're

2:12:43doing bullet points. This character and

2:12:46this character. Another student might be

2:12:48doing an oral presentation. So there are

2:12:51different ways to really adapt how the

2:12:54student is showing what they know while

2:12:56keeping the goal the same. So I always

2:12:58say what's the goal of the lesson and

2:13:01then from there what are the entry

2:13:03points for that student. Now, if the

2:13:05goal is to write an essay, then

2:13:07everyone's going to write an essay. But

2:13:10this student is going to do it by

2:13:12talking into their computer because they

2:13:14might have difficulties, you know, with

2:13:16um writing um and fine motor skills,

2:13:20whereas another student has trouble with

2:13:22organization and I'm going to provide

2:13:23them with some graphic organizers to

2:13:25support them. Um so, it's always what is

2:13:28the goal of this lesson and then what

2:13:31are then the supports that each student

2:13:33needs to get there. Does that answer

2:13:34that?

2:13:35>> Yes. I I Yes. Thank you.

2:13:39>> Um All right. With that, you've been

2:13:42here quite a while. I'm gonna say thank

2:13:44you [applause] so much.

2:13:48>> Uh Superintendent,

2:13:50>> thank you. Thank you, Marita, and thank

2:13:52you, Eldonso, for your support today.

2:13:54And uh thank you to all of you for those

2:13:56great questions. And we will continue

2:13:58the work of uh making sure that all our

2:14:01students have access to learning. Um I

2:14:04that's the end of my report. Should I

2:14:06shift into the personal report or Yeah.

2:14:08>> Okay. Uh so a couple of announcements

2:14:11around that. Um as you know we have um

2:14:14ongoing leaves of absences. Um you know

2:14:16people get pregnant, people have family

2:14:18needs and so that continues to be an

2:14:20area in which uh we are really assessing

2:14:24uh that ongoing need of the district. Um

2:14:28I also have some promotions to announce.

2:14:30Nikki Sullivan from junior cler clerk to

2:14:33senior clerk um at the

2:14:37uh don't have the school here but is a a

2:14:39switch from uh junior to um junior cler

2:14:42one to junior clerk two uh Darcy Kjama

2:14:46from senior clerk to CTE to head clerk

2:14:50number two so I'm guessing it's an

2:14:53improvement in the or a sophistication

2:14:55of the work that is happening and Lima

2:14:58Basith from building substit itude to

2:15:00senior cleric uh to in CTE. We also

2:15:04continue to hire uh folks in at a scale.

2:15:07Um the the uh workforce program position

2:15:12uh positions are being posted and we

2:15:15have a lot of intermittent substitutes

2:15:17that have been hired between August and

2:15:19September 16. Um but the work of having

2:15:24hiring subs in our district is one thing

2:15:27that doesn't that that is an ongoing

2:15:29thing. So uh if you know of anyone out

2:15:31there who is interested to join uh SPS,

2:15:34please uh pass the name along. But uh we

2:15:37are always in search of uh great quality

2:15:40candidates. Uh and that's the end of the

2:15:43uh personal report.

2:15:45>> All right. Uh well, congrats to those

2:15:48who were promoted and hired. We're

2:15:50thankful. Um we are on to reports from

2:15:55subcommittees. We did not have ed

2:15:57programs but we did have finance.

2:15:59Correct. Okay. Uh so I am seeking a

2:16:03motion on uh B uh finance and facilities

2:16:08from September 16th.

2:16:11>> Motion to accept the report of the

2:16:14finance facility subcommittee for

2:16:16September 16th, 2026.

2:16:20Second.

2:16:21>> All right. I have a motion by Rep. Pone,

2:16:23seconded by Rep. Pone. Uh, all those in

2:16:25favor? I. All oppose. Any abstensions?

2:16:29Great. On to MSBA.

2:16:33>> Yeah, I have a couple of announcements

2:16:35around that. Um, we this in the next

2:16:39coming months, we will be moving from

2:16:41the actual educational vision into the

2:16:44details of the building. And this is

2:16:47basically the work that reflects how

2:16:50students and teacher how teachers teach

2:16:52and how students learn in the spaces

2:16:54that are being created uh this month and

2:16:57actually in two days we the mayor the

2:17:00per Perkins and Isman and myself will be

2:17:03presenting in front of MSBA

2:17:06um actually not MSBA but it's called the

2:17:08FAS meeting is the facilities assessment

2:17:10subcommittee and they will want a report

2:17:13from us in terms of the educational

2:17:15program. Uh Perkins and Isismans will be

2:17:18identifying the components of the design

2:17:20and the mayor of course will be um

2:17:23recognizing this amazing opportunity for

2:17:25for the district. So that's coming um

2:17:28that's coming in two days. uh in October

2:17:31we will be setting up a set of uh focus

2:17:33groups with our staff just to identify

2:17:36what are some of the ways in which these

2:17:38designs and this um program uh ideas

2:17:43really reflect the needs of their

2:17:45teaching and the needs of the kids. So

2:17:48we're going to ground um their feedback,

2:17:50our ideas with their feedback. Um and in

2:17:53December we'll begin the work of uh the

2:17:56exterior design group um that will work

2:18:00on kind of vetting the design elements

2:18:03uh through the s the school building

2:18:06committee. Um and so that's that's what

2:18:08is happening moving really from the

2:18:10vision to the actual details of the

2:18:11program uh and the design in the

2:18:13buildings.

2:18:15So that's that.

2:18:18Um, I have a question. And we have a

2:18:20vote next month. Do we know the details

2:18:24of what it's on?

2:18:26Is that correct?

2:18:26>> No, in October. October.

2:18:29>> October starts Wednesday.

2:18:32[laughter]

2:18:33>> We didn't talk about the vote. There's a

2:18:35vote in February, but I didn't.

2:18:36>> Great. Okay. As long as it's not till

2:18:38February. I thought I heard someone say

2:18:39October. Uh,

2:18:41>> could be. I didn't. That was not a

2:18:43conversation we had today about the

2:18:45upcoming things.

2:18:47>> Great. Okay. I thought someone I'd heard

2:18:49someone say October. I like being wrong

2:18:51on things like that. All right. We will

2:18:54wait till the new calendar year. As

2:18:57look, as long as it's not next month,

2:18:59then we will then we're all set. Um,

2:19:03anything else?

2:19:06>> That's it. I think the ad hoc group and

2:19:08is that something we should kind of

2:19:10discuss as well or we should bring to to

2:19:13the team's attention? Um, the idea.

2:19:16>> So, yeah. So one of the challenges that

2:19:18the city has around giving an update in

2:19:22terms of mobility and access to the

2:19:24location um is grounded on the idea

2:19:28where are the students coming from so

2:19:30where's the catchment area that process

2:19:32is happening at the same time with the

2:19:35SEU and the school committee and so we

2:19:37won't have that clarity around the

2:19:40catchment area that will impact

2:19:42enrollment until the work is concluded.

2:19:45So, what I am proposing and I think I'm

2:19:48going to need some support around that

2:19:49through uh the city and MSBA is that

2:19:51we'll we might have to select a

2:19:53catchment zone, the one that we

2:19:55currently have at the Sycamore site and

2:19:59probably including the Brown as a just

2:20:01to actually get an idea, give the city

2:20:04the tools to be able to delineate what

2:20:07might be a traffic traffic patterns um

2:20:11at the new site. That's still a

2:20:14conversation we're having with MSBA,

2:20:16with the city around how do we answer

2:20:18that information, provide that

2:20:19information because we need to have that

2:20:21information for MSBA.

2:20:25>> Um,

2:20:27to expand on that a little to go in Do

2:20:30you have anything else? Because I can

2:20:31that can flow right into the new

2:20:33business school. Yep. Oh, you have a

2:20:35question?

2:20:36>> Yes. Through the chair. So, I I hear

2:20:40what you're saying. you know, you can't

2:20:41make a traffic plan. You can't make

2:20:43thoughts around parking unless you know

2:20:46what the catchment is, but defining the

2:20:49catchment, I think, is something that

2:20:51school committee does. So

2:20:54figuring out, and I know this might

2:20:55actually be like a conceptual catchment.

2:20:57It's not like the actual final

2:20:59catchment. I don't know what the correct

2:21:01word is, so please come up with the

2:21:02right word, so I'm not calling it

2:21:04conceptual. Um, but anyway, I I my I

2:21:07guess my question is how does that work?

2:21:09what school committee's role period.

2:21:15>> Sure. So I am gonna let that flow into

2:21:18new business and if we don't touch on

2:21:21the answer to your question

2:21:24uh repone do you need to answer before

2:21:28>> following that?

2:21:29>> Great. Okay. So I think what the

2:21:32superintendent was speaking to is we

2:21:34have just assigned the school assignment

2:21:36advisory committee and the school

2:21:38assignment advisory committee is tasked

2:21:41with doing a deep dive on the in this

2:21:44work to make recommendations to the full

2:21:48committee to us sorry to the school

2:21:51committee on uh what are new catchment

2:21:55zones amongst other things but what

2:21:57catchment zones should look like and

2:21:59what enrollment requirements should be.

2:22:01So the rub is that we are not it at the

2:22:05absolute earliest we're anticipating

2:22:07receiving this information

2:22:11like fantasy earliest is June like more

2:22:14likely is a year from now. Um

2:22:18but we have to get information to MSBA.

2:22:21So I think you know we can you know

2:22:25Perkins Eastman is part of this. they

2:22:29are being paid to do this work. Um I you

2:22:32know this is off the top of my head and

2:22:34I am open to other perceptions on this

2:22:38but you know if I presume that they can

2:22:42draft a temporary like catchment zone

2:22:46based on high level estimates based on

2:22:50our current rules that we you know that

2:22:54gets approved by this committee that we

2:22:57turn over to MSBA.

2:23:00uh and then we can let the advisory

2:23:03committee

2:23:05know that this is what was presented to

2:23:07MSBA, you know, as a piece of

2:23:10information as they do this work. Um

2:23:13that's off the top of my head. Like I

2:23:15certainly think it's something that

2:23:16would need to come in front of the body

2:23:18for a vote. Um but I also don't imagine

2:23:23that we want to be negotiating that

2:23:28uh like where

2:23:30lines are, you know, as a as a body. Um,

2:23:35does that make sense to everyone? Are

2:23:36there follow-up questions? Repatone. Oh,

2:23:40Reputone and then repatone.

2:23:43>> Okay. Thank you. Thanks for uh this

2:23:47opportunity to weigh in on what is I I

2:23:51think a very important um matter where

2:23:54you send your kids to school. Um,

2:23:58so we have a policy JCA, controlled

2:24:02choice student assignment plan

2:24:05that we just updated last September as a

2:24:08as a committee. This was what we framed

2:24:11as an interim update

2:24:14uh as we awaited the formation of the um

2:24:18the school assignment advisory committee

2:24:21that you're announcing tonight. Um

2:24:25I I think

2:24:29my understanding and I I welcome my more

2:24:32tenured colleagues to uh correct me

2:24:34here. Um but my understanding is that we

2:24:38don't necessarily have catchment areas

2:24:41that the school committee

2:24:43uh approves. Um, we have proximity

2:24:48schools that the enrollment director

2:24:51assigns based on streets

2:24:54and that is not an area that the school

2:24:56committee weighs in on. Now, we set the

2:25:00policy that governs the enrollment

2:25:03director's work, but uh I think that

2:25:08nuance is important in this context that

2:25:11we don't necessarily need to be drawing

2:25:13lines on a map. Um

2:25:17and all of this is in the context of our

2:25:19broader district's

2:25:21school choice program, right? So, even

2:25:24if you live adjacent to one of our

2:25:27wonderful schools, you can select a

2:25:31school on the other side of town if that

2:25:33better meets your uh uh your students

2:25:37needs subject to the controlled choice

2:25:40portion of the policy. Um

2:25:43so

2:25:45you know if we decide to adopt a

2:25:47catchment area approach as part of this

2:25:49school assignment

2:25:51um sorry advisory committee um then

2:25:56maybe that can be how we approach things

2:25:57moving forward. I just wanted to provide

2:25:59that um a little bit of nuance there.

2:26:02>> Uh I found that immensely useful. Are

2:26:05you okay? Uh Rep. Green and then

2:26:06repetone.

2:26:08>> Yes. To build on um

2:26:10Repatone's

2:26:1298% accurate statement, it is important

2:26:15to note that those proximity zones which

2:26:17the which the Roman director fills in

2:26:20are based in deeply outdated catchment

2:26:23zones that that were originally drawn

2:26:26just for context before powderhouse

2:26:28closed.

2:26:30So yes, and even if we want to continue

2:26:33doing that, we probably should update

2:26:35how we how we the instructions we give

2:26:37the enrollment director because they're

2:26:38wildly out of date.

2:26:41>> Following on that up on that through

2:26:42your chair, appreciate um that 2% that I

2:26:47um I think margin of error. I'm happy to

2:26:50be there. Um,

2:26:53so the policy that we did approve

2:26:57says that every year the enrollment

2:26:58office will review and may update its

2:27:01alphabetical street listings. What I

2:27:04would love to see is a process that

2:27:07governs that update. um that I think

2:27:11would be enormously helpful and would

2:27:14address the inequities and uh the very

2:27:18outdated modes that we have around these

2:27:20historical lines. So that um my

2:27:22colleague Rep. Green pointed to. So

2:27:24thanks.

2:27:26>> Yeah, I appreciate you saying that

2:27:28because that's exactly why I pointed

2:27:29that out is because that is something

2:27:31that if we don't do this time, we'll

2:27:33just be back here again.

2:27:36Um all right rep.

2:27:41So in the context of the MSBA work for

2:27:45the new building

2:27:48I think we have to have care because

2:27:51whatever concept that the Perkins

2:27:54Eastman creates it's not being

2:27:56implemented right now. So I think we

2:27:58have to be very careful about language.

2:28:00So words like temporary that's not true

2:28:03right it's not temporary and that's not

2:28:04a criticism it's more like I don't know

2:28:06what the exact word is but it's like a

2:28:07conceptual

2:28:09>> idea but we have to take care with that

2:28:11because as soon as we start talking

2:28:13about lines or catchments families of

2:28:16course are going to be concerned because

2:28:18they might want to advocate or so I

2:28:21don't know what the answer is here but I

2:28:22just wanted to name that and I

2:28:25appreciate a second I wanted to

2:28:26appreciate um uh representative

2:28:30Beton and um Representative Green, their

2:28:34their kind of detail around

2:28:37the lines and where the lines are. I do

2:28:40think there's going to be a give and

2:28:41take. I do think that and maybe I'm

2:28:42wrong that it's going to be presented to

2:28:44the school committee and saying this is

2:28:45how we're going to change these lines

2:28:46and we may have input based on the

2:28:48community input. Who knows? Um, and I

2:28:51think the accountability to the body is

2:28:52helpful even if we're not voting it in

2:28:55or not because we do own the enrollment

2:28:57policy which is based on the rules. So,

2:29:02thank you.

2:29:02>> Thanks, Rep. Wilson.

2:29:05>> Thanks, Chair. Uh, yeah, just a little

2:29:06background. When, uh, Director R brought

2:29:08this to me a few weeks ago, uh, my

2:29:11reaction was, well, the school committee

2:29:13is actually they're working on this.

2:29:15It's not going to be ready for a long

2:29:16time. How can we basically divorce

2:29:19whatever needs to be submitted to the

2:29:20MSBA as a requirement from the work

2:29:23that's happening around that? Whether we

2:29:25call it, you know, a placeholder,

2:29:27whatever we call it, we need to give

2:29:29them something for this. They're going

2:29:31to look at it and basically say, "Oh,

2:29:33okay." Like, you know, you all aren't,

2:29:35you know, drawing some ridiculous plan

2:29:38here, uh, and they should approve this.

2:29:42Uh but yeah, the goal definitely is to

2:29:44not not leave anyone thinking that that

2:29:47what is submitted to them is in any way

2:29:48reflective of what's eventually going to

2:29:50result in this process. So just wanted

2:29:52to put that on the record here lest

2:29:53anyone think that this is you know has

2:29:55anything to do uh with what's to come.

2:29:59So I think to that point and thank you

2:30:02for that fantastic insight uh reputone

2:30:06is I think and thank you for bringing

2:30:10this up brilliant uh that it is

2:30:12incumbent upon us to sort of present you

2:30:16know Perkins Perkins Eastman as our

2:30:18experts with what we have and say can

2:30:22that be submitted to MSBA like based on

2:30:24your experience and if they say we don't

2:30:29think that will be stamped. Uh then it

2:30:33is incumbent I guess upon us to come

2:30:36back to the body and figure out sort of

2:30:39what's next. But I think

2:30:42you know what we have now given that

2:30:45it's you know still accounts for the

2:30:47powderhouse school like you know we can

2:30:51we can

2:30:53present present what we have with a

2:30:55thoughtful policy that was just uh I

2:30:58almost said renovated that was just

2:31:01re-uped last year. Um,

2:31:06so I I I guess that would be my ask of

2:31:09the superintendent or of director Ree to

2:31:12like, you know, bring this to Perkins

2:31:14Eastman or whatever experts we're

2:31:16working with and say like, do we think

2:31:17this will pass MSBA? And if so, um,

2:31:23let's put it forward and if not, uh,

2:31:25then I presume I will get an email and

2:31:28we can figure it out then. Is that

2:31:32great? Thank everyone for their

2:31:33thoughtful engagement on that. And with

2:31:35that, I am going to thank everyone who

2:31:39applied to be Oh, Mayor Wilson.

2:31:42>> Chair, can I just add should that

2:31:43because I love contingency planning.

2:31:45Should that happen? Should we get a a

2:31:46readout from Perkins Eastman that

2:31:49>> what you know what the superintendent

2:31:51described would would not pass muster

2:31:53with the MSBA. Uh there would be

2:31:55probably some quick consulting done with

2:31:57someone who specializes in this to get

2:31:59it to a point where something could be

2:32:01submitted. But everything I said before

2:32:03still applies. This is not intended to

2:32:05be any sort of reflection of of what is

2:32:07to come.

2:32:08>> Thank you.

2:32:09>> So just to clarify, is it okay for me to

2:32:12come back to

2:32:13>> Just to clarify, so is it okay for me to

2:32:15come back to uh Rich because Rich Raj

2:32:18and I were having the conversation and

2:32:20then back to Turkeymans [snorts]

2:32:22and then find a solution to this as a

2:32:24what is what are we calling it as a uh

2:32:28not a temporary is it?

2:32:29>> Yeah, Dr.

2:32:31I would say it's a concept as opposed to

2:32:33>> conceptual concept concept like

2:32:38>> um great uh

2:32:42all right with that uh I would like to

2:32:46thank those who applied for the student

2:32:48assignment advisory committee. I

2:32:50appreciate the grace of people who

2:32:52applied in June and uh just heard I

2:32:56believe last weekend from me. Um,

2:32:59and I think we had close to 60

2:33:03applicants. And uh, I want to let

2:33:05everyone who applied know that we

2:33:09appreciate it. It was very grueling to

2:33:13narrow it down. Uh, pretty much everyone

2:33:17on this committee like wears multiple

2:33:19hats and that they're either involved

2:33:21with multiple schools, you know, have

2:33:24multiple touch points on the district.

2:33:27uh because we wanted to be sure that

2:33:30with a small number of people uh every

2:33:35school is represented thoughtfully and

2:33:38uh district perspectives are

2:33:40represented. So with that in mind uh the

2:33:44chair of the school assignment advisory

2:33:46committee is Andre Green. The vice chair

2:33:48is Laura Pone. Uh the members are Julia

2:33:53Dalan, uh Rebecca Fagan, Francesca

2:33:56Brokeman, Emily Wilson, Amber Davis,

2:33:59Matt Daniels, Blake Sims, Simony Braa,

2:34:02and Glenda Sto. Uh, you should be

2:34:06hearing from

2:34:09Chair Green and Daniel.

2:34:15>> If you have not yet, yes, one of one of

2:34:16the tools will reach out to you in the

2:34:17next few days. If you have not already

2:34:18heard, you may have

2:34:19>> you should be hearing very soon about uh

2:34:22kickoff plans and

2:34:25we there's been a lot of background work

2:34:27done to get you, you know, interesting,

2:34:31good, thoughtful material to work with

2:34:34um because this is important work and we

2:34:38are deeply appreciative uh for those who

2:34:41are taking the time.

2:34:43>> thank you chair. Uh through you to you.

2:34:46Um, will this information be posted

2:34:47online somewhere on the perhaps the new

2:34:51school MSBA website?

2:34:54>> Yes.

2:34:54>> Great. Thank you.

2:34:55>> I say if you give me until October.

2:35:00>> Yes.

2:35:03Um,

2:35:05all right. That has been taken care of.

2:35:08Uh, we are moving on to the

2:35:10superintendent evaluation. Dr. Stelman,

2:35:13are you all right?

2:35:17That is entirely up to you.

2:35:21Oh, you're presenting. Yeah. No, you

2:35:22feel free to go to the podium. Thank

2:35:23you. I forgot about that. Sorry, it is

2:35:269:35. I apologize.

2:35:43Good evening colleagues

2:35:46um and audience. Um so this is a um

2:35:50overview of the superintendent

2:35:52evaluation process and

2:35:56um I uh have tried to make this

2:36:00relatively short anticipating that we

2:36:03will be at quite late so we'll try not

2:36:06to be too late. So what uh could you um

2:36:09switch this next slide please?

2:36:12Um I wanted to make sure everyone knows

2:36:15that the the information um that is uh

2:36:20in this presentation comes directly from

2:36:22DESIE our department element of

2:36:25elementary and secondary education and

2:36:27also from Massachusetts Association of

2:36:30School Committees uh with a shout out to

2:36:32Alicia Milan who is um our

2:36:35representative and just does a terrific

2:36:38job. Um so um

2:36:43the one of the goals probably the

2:36:46biggest goal of this um presentation is

2:36:50that it's really uh aimed at our at my

2:36:55colleagues and myself um and the

2:36:57superintendent and his team. Um we

2:37:00[clears throat] don't really get to make

2:37:02up this process. However, we do have a

2:37:05lot of choices. Um, and in this

2:37:09relatively short presentation, what

2:37:11we're going to end up is really an

2:37:14agreement that we really need to a agree

2:37:16on um the evidence that we're going to

2:37:20use in the superintendent's evaluation.

2:37:22We're going to use that. We're going to

2:37:24agree. We don't have to agree on it

2:37:26today, but we have to understand that

2:37:28that's the biggest point of what we're

2:37:29going to do because eventually we're

2:37:31going to vote on how we're going to

2:37:34evaluate and that evaluation process

2:37:37includes Dr. Carmona. So, our agenda is

2:37:40pretty short. Um, we're going to go over

2:37:43the procedural steps of the evaluation

2:37:46so everyone just gets a sense of

2:37:50what are we doing and um and it's pretty

2:37:53well laid out. um by DESIE and

2:37:57interpreted by MASC. Um we're going to

2:38:00look at uh very high level

2:38:03superintendent goals and focus

2:38:05indicators. Um we'll take you through a

2:38:07timeline and I know it's kind of late so

2:38:10we may not have much of a discussion,

2:38:12but what we can do is uh elicit ideas

2:38:16around the types of things that you

2:38:19haven't seen in here that you think are

2:38:22important indicators. And that goes as

2:38:24well for Dr. Carmona and his team. So,

2:38:27if we can get Yes. All right. I don't

2:38:30know. That looks very small to me, but I

2:38:32have it on my own screen. I'm sorry if

2:38:34that is small for other people. Okay.

2:38:38Um, so there's two two really

2:38:42independent sets of of procedural the of

2:38:46the procedures that we're going to use.

2:38:48Um and the very first ones we is we are

2:38:51going to have to set goals and criteria

2:38:54and um that's where Dr. Carmona comes in

2:38:58because the superintendent recommends

2:39:00the goals and focus indicators. Now

2:39:03thankfully we have seen them the goals

2:39:07and indicators we had quite a few

2:39:10starting uh last year we've had quite a

2:39:12few um really fantastic presentations

2:39:15from his team and including uh right

2:39:18before the school year started we had a

2:39:22joint um committee between the uh school

2:39:25committee and the superintendent's team.

2:39:28So we are we're setting goals and

2:39:31criteria. Um the subcommittee which is a

2:39:36huge team of one. [laughter]

2:39:41Um so I will present criteria to the

2:39:44full committee for discussion. Not

2:39:46today. These are just procedural steps.

2:39:49Um we will need to discuss this

2:39:51particularly when it comes to both the

2:39:54formative and and summitative

2:39:56assessments. Um but we're gonna just

2:39:59start in part one. We're not thinking

2:40:00about the summitative. We're just

2:40:02thinking about what are the different

2:40:04like when we had um Sam Elligin's

2:40:07um uh slides. That's an example of

2:40:10formative assessment data. Um and then

2:40:13we will have to vote on this and approve

2:40:16those goals and and indicators. Um part

2:40:18two is our assessment and evaluation. So

2:40:22when in the next slide, don't please

2:40:25don't move it yet, but in the next

2:40:26slide, we're going to see um just you

2:40:30know where the midcycle

2:40:32occurs and what's hap what's happening

2:40:34right before and after. Um

2:40:38uh and then um as we'll see in that

2:40:40cycle that the superintendent eventually

2:40:42presents an end of cycle report and then

2:40:45each and every one of us individually

2:40:48writes an evaluation

2:40:50um form and um and just for people who

2:40:55might be listening now or reading or

2:40:57listening to this later, all of this is

2:41:00open meeting law. So you will see every

2:41:02aspect of

2:41:04of the evaluation process. Um after we

2:41:08do those individual evaluation forms um

2:41:12we will complete uh well we'll compile a

2:41:16composite um evaluation. And what what's

2:41:19interesting is that there's not a really

2:41:21specific set of rules about how you how

2:41:24you interpret that composite. So if we

2:41:26have all of the individual

2:41:30um evaluations,

2:41:33we as a as a committee, we will discuss

2:41:36how we bring that together. Fortunately,

2:41:39I am a data nerd and so are many people

2:41:43in this room. So we'll have I think

2:41:45we'll have a little bit of fun. I don't

2:41:47know how fun it will be for uh the

2:41:48superintendent.

2:41:50[laughter]

2:41:52Um but yeah so and then um I don't mean

2:41:55that in terms of outcomes I mean the

2:41:57process. Um and then we will have a

2:41:59final vote um where we uh will present

2:42:03our evaluation. We will discuss it and

2:42:06we'll vote it in a meeting just like

2:42:08this and then um if we can just go

2:42:12quickly to the next slide. Um

2:42:15so

2:42:17before as I said that we we have to

2:42:19agree on what we're measuring. Um so

2:42:23obviously we're not doing it now but

2:42:25there are things that we are uh we don't

2:42:28have choices about. So when we have uh

2:42:30the key standards these are from DESIE

2:42:33um we are looking at instructional

2:42:35leadership management and operations

2:42:37family and community engagement and

2:42:39professional culture. Here are some

2:42:42non-academic district goals. Um, and

2:42:45these are pulled right from um Dr.

2:42:47Carmona's um I don't remember which uh

2:42:51document that was. Um I think it's No,

2:42:54it's the the 2026 27 district goals.

2:42:57Right.

2:42:59Strategic go. Yes. Thank you. Um right.

2:43:03This Okay. So then we've got these

2:43:05family partnership and engagement,

2:43:07leadership excellence, workforce

2:43:09excellence and representation and

2:43:10belonging, wellness, and joy. And what's

2:43:12great about that document is it's got

2:43:14indicators baked into it um that we can

2:43:18decide which ones we want to look at. Um

2:43:21the goals and focus ind um indicators

2:43:25uh are pulled from

2:43:27um yes, and I just referred to one of

2:43:29these. either fold for from these four

2:43:32uh documents, but we can we can choose

2:43:36more we or we can there's lots of

2:43:39information from the district that we

2:43:41can choose from. So um so for example

2:43:44the this the current strategic plan the

2:43:47district instructional focus the super

2:43:50superintendent's performance framework

2:43:53and um as we saw today and like the many

2:43:56many data reports that are ongoing um

2:44:00that look at the cycles throughout the

2:44:02school and on to our last slide.

2:44:10Okay. So this is a cycle and where we

2:44:14started in this cycle was uh in the

2:44:18summer of 2026 and the one not all

2:44:22evaluations start at the summer. They

2:44:25they it's a it's an interesting set of

2:44:28choices that that one has in these

2:44:30processes. What the beauty the beauty of

2:44:33starting in summer 2026 is that um Dr.

2:44:36Dr. Kimono was able to do what we call a

2:44:38look back where you're you're you know

2:44:40you're looking back at all of the data

2:44:43and setting goals based on it. Um so we

2:44:47have quite a bit of um data for that and

2:44:51that data is what we saw started hearing

2:44:53from today about what we're start what

2:44:55we're seeing what are what are the areas

2:44:58of growth or places that we need to work

2:45:00on. Um so in September as we are right

2:45:04at the end this assessment process

2:45:06begins by this conversation

2:45:10um over the next few months we are going

2:45:14to head into a criteria vote where we

2:45:16discuss the performance criteria and we

2:45:20need to vote on it. Um and then uh

2:45:24towards the end of the the calendar year

2:45:26and into January um we are not

2:45:29necessarily

2:45:31doing anything specific other than maybe

2:45:34monitoring as we do. Uh but it's a time

2:45:36for the district that's just full-on

2:45:39implementation

2:45:40um based on the priorities and the new

2:45:43programs and things that they're working

2:45:45on. uh as we shift into February like

2:45:49late January, early February um is when

2:45:53the first sets of data from uh I Ready

2:45:56and Dibbles are um are being released

2:46:00and the

2:46:03um Dr. Kimona and his team uh including

2:46:07department chairs and all of the

2:46:09principles people are starting to look

2:46:11and make make sense of those

2:46:13assessments. So that is really rich data

2:46:16that we get to use as our midcycle

2:46:18formative assessment. We're not voting

2:46:20on anything, but this is really situates

2:46:23us in trying to figure out where we're

2:46:26going in terms of this evaluation. And

2:46:28then um we have this other period of

2:46:31time where we're sustaining this

2:46:33implementation

2:46:34um and gathering more collect collecting

2:46:37more data. Then we move into the end of

2:46:40the school year where we um where each

2:46:43of us uh fills out an evaluation that

2:46:46we've agreed on and we vote um and we uh

2:46:52present it. So that is that is in a

2:46:55nutshell the process of this. And if I I

2:46:59just will say it one more time because

2:47:01it's super important that the what will

2:47:04slow us down um and what might be an

2:47:08obstacle for us is if we can't agree on

2:47:12what um goals and indicators are. I

2:47:15really believe having worked with this

2:47:17group that I don't think that's going to

2:47:19be a problem. But what is really

2:47:21important is that there are going to be

2:47:22things that you are going to want to ask

2:47:24about that hasn't that haven't come up

2:47:28to the surface and that's a good time to

2:47:30bring them up. So uh given that it is

2:47:34very late uh I will say yeah

2:47:39you

2:47:42might be the clearest description of the

2:47:44superintendent evaluation cycle at 9:40

2:47:47something at night that like

2:47:49unbelievable.

2:47:51Um

2:47:54as Dr. Dr. Salman said we will be uh

2:47:59voting in the next couple months on

2:48:03uh on the goals. So um or criteria sorry

2:48:08criteria indicators lots of words. Um

2:48:12but are there questions that we have

2:48:16now? Rep. Patone.

2:48:18>> Thank you. First thank you to Dr.

2:48:19Stelman for putting that together and

2:48:21bring providing us all the overview. Um,

2:48:26I think my questions revolve around

2:48:29we're still parallel processing on long

2:48:31range. And so we're we have a just to

2:48:34give everyone an update more than

2:48:36anything. Um, we're meeting with the

2:48:38it's not called the chief of staff

2:48:39anymore. They're called the chief of

2:48:41strategy and something else. Operations.

2:48:44Thank you. Um uh uh

2:48:48Representative Eldridge and I are going

2:48:51to meet with Miracle Lee uh not this

2:48:53week but next week and we're just going

2:48:56to see how this work dovetales. Uh the

2:48:59one thing I think that was curious that

2:49:01I'm curious about is in this process you

2:49:04said specifically about us voting on the

2:49:06indicators which I know that's the

2:49:08rubric and the matrix and all of that

2:49:09but at some point we have to agree on

2:49:11what the goals are and so you know we'll

2:49:15have to see how this stuff del dovetales

2:49:17versus we could work off what the

2:49:19superintendent has and get input from

2:49:20the school committee. Um, but I really I

2:49:23want this work to be the long range

2:49:24specifically to move be moving faster,

2:49:27but it's it's been complicated. So, um,

2:49:31that's all I'm just putting that out

2:49:32there.

2:49:34>> Um, that's a great reminder. We'll get

2:49:36that on a future agenda. Uh, Dr. Stman.

2:49:40>> Yes. Great. Thank you so much. That's an

2:49:43excellent point. And I think I wasn't

2:49:45clear enough um

2:49:47uh well I yeah I wasn't clear that there

2:49:51are four goals that we that we have to

2:49:55have but we don't have to stop at the

2:49:57fourth. So there is a space for us to

2:50:00put in um long-term long range planning

2:50:03or anything like that. So bring it on.

2:50:09Superintendent

2:50:11>> uh I wanted to thank Emma for for the

2:50:14you know putting this together. I just

2:50:16wanted to say something about goal

2:50:19setting uh the spirit that we have for

2:50:21goal setting for teachers and for

2:50:23administrators is trying to actually

2:50:26identify what is the standard of

2:50:28excellence that we're aiming for and

2:50:30then what is the cl the clarity around

2:50:32how are we going to get to um to that

2:50:34standard of excellence and what is the

2:50:36process of providing feedback. So I am

2:50:38hoping that as you are building your

2:50:41repertoire of what do you think

2:50:43excellence is determined in terms of my

2:50:45my role uh that you can be as explicit

2:50:47as possible so I can actually um act

2:50:50upon the the the work that has to be

2:50:52done and also let's try to inform that

2:50:55with what is the literature out there

2:50:57about what are the biggest levers that

2:50:59we have for improvement uh especially

2:51:01for the superintendent. So I u I welcome

2:51:04the feedback. I'm always a learner but

2:51:06um I just want to make sure that we also

2:51:09incorporate also the science of of uh uh

2:51:12feedback as well as targeting targets

2:51:15for for the superintendent. So um I you

2:51:18know really excited to look forward to

2:51:20make sure we work together on this and u

2:51:23um thank you.

2:51:25>> Thank you. And I'd like to also uh

2:51:29credit Dr. Stelman on pulling that

2:51:31together expeditiously. Um, okay. Moving

2:51:36on to bill roles. Do I have uh

2:51:43a motion for June, July, and August bill

2:51:45roles?

2:51:47>> Motion to approve the bill roles from

2:51:49June, July, and August.

2:51:51>> Second.

2:51:52>> All right. I have a motion by uh Rep.

2:51:55Beton, seconded by Rep. Lippens.

2:51:58Any discussion? All those in favor? I.

2:52:02All oppose. Any extensions? Okay. Field

2:52:05trips.

2:52:10>> I move to approve the following field

2:52:13trip. From October 14th to October 16th,

2:52:162026, 38 students from the West

2:52:19Somerville Neighborhood School will

2:52:21visit the outdoor classroom in Grten,

2:52:23Mass. Travel by bus. Cost to students

2:52:27$344.

2:52:30>> Second.

2:52:30>> All right. Okay, I have a motion by Rep.

2:52:33Beton, seconded by Rep. Lipens.

2:52:36Any questions?

2:52:38Uh, Rep. Beton.

2:52:40Sorry, I know it's late. Um,

2:52:44I'm excited about this field trip.

2:52:45Excited these kids get to go. Um, I

2:52:51noted a couple meetings ago, we also

2:52:54approved another field trip from another

2:52:55school um headed out there. And I just

2:53:00wanted to point out in the field trip

2:53:04slip that was provided to us that the

2:53:07PTA will provide scholarships to

2:53:08eliminate the financial barriers for any

2:53:11student who cannot afford that price

2:53:13tag. So um I I just I think that's worth

2:53:17noting and I want to thank the PTA for

2:53:19their support. Um I also think it would

2:53:24be great um

2:53:28to have uh I know there was some

2:53:31discussion. Sorry, my brain is foggy

2:53:34right now. Um there was some discussion

2:53:36last year around

2:53:39um looking surveying the different field

2:53:42trips at different schools and thinking

2:53:45about the different offerings that we

2:53:46had for field trips um

2:53:51and thinking about how we approach them.

2:53:54And u I just this coupled with the other

2:53:58one at the Argentaniano that um was

2:54:01subsidized for all students really

2:54:04brought it crystallized in my mind that

2:54:06that uh that work was happening. So I

2:54:09would love just to request love an

2:54:11update at some point on that work.

2:54:13>> Dr. Smith,

2:54:14>> thank you. Uh and through the chair, we

2:54:17we did actually roll up all of the

2:54:19information at the end of last year. Um

2:54:22it was requested by the PTA and so we

2:54:25shared that with them. Happy to share it

2:54:26with the committee as well.

2:54:28>> Thank you.

2:54:30>> Thank you. All right. I have a motion by

2:54:34uh Rep. Bettonone, seconded by Rep.

2:54:36Lippens. Any further comments? All in

2:54:39favor? I.

2:54:40>> All opposed. Any abstensions?

2:54:43Great. Congrats to those kids at the

2:54:46West. Um donations.

2:54:50Uh Mega um I'd like to make a motion for

2:54:52the superintendent

2:54:54to um accept with gratitude the

2:54:57following donation um monetary from an

2:55:01Chung in Arlington, Massachusetts for a

2:55:03value of $250 for the uh Somerville High

2:55:07School Orchestra. And point of order,

2:55:09may I read the comments of the donation?

2:55:12Okay. Because it is very sweet. Um

2:55:16it is said this.

2:55:17>> Oh, actually, sorry. We need a second

2:55:18before you can do that.

2:55:21>> All right. I have a motion by Rep.

2:55:23Lipen, seconded by Rep. Eldridge. Sorry.

2:55:25Go for it.

2:55:26>> Oh. Um, so here's the comments which I

2:55:28found lovely. Um, this group gift from

2:55:30All My Ladies and their partners is

2:55:32intended for Somerville High School

2:55:34orchestra in honor of extraordinary um

2:55:37string teacher Joe Sadler on her 50th

2:55:39birthday.

2:55:41>> Just wanted to read.

2:55:42>> That's beautiful.

2:55:45>> Uh, thank you for that. Any further

2:55:47comments? All right, I have a motion by

2:55:49Rep. Lipid and seconded by Rep.

2:55:50Eldridge. All those in favor? I. All

2:55:53opposed. Any abstensions? Okay. Another

2:55:56grant.

2:56:02>> Oh, sorry. I move to accept uh the

2:56:06grant state grant from the career techn

2:56:08initiative for uh CT at scale in the

2:56:12amount of $759,711.73

2:56:16to help fund the automative automotive

2:56:19electrical programs.

2:56:22>> I have a motion by Rep. Green, seconded

2:56:24by Rep. Eldridge. Do we have any

2:56:26comments, questions?

2:56:29All those in favor? I. All opposed. Any

2:56:32abstensions? Congrats to CTE. We are

2:56:35moving on to community or calendar items

2:56:37for members.

2:56:40Uh we'll go Rep. Eldridge, Mayor Wilson,

2:56:42and Reputone.

2:56:46Thank you through the chair. um wanted

2:56:47to inform my colleagues and also the

2:56:50community that I have reached out to the

2:56:53chair of rules to make a suggestion um

2:56:57to explore a transition policy to

2:56:59support our students, our educators and

2:57:01our families. Um with a lot of very

2:57:04large transitions coming up in the

2:57:05future uh Brown moving a language based

2:57:08classroom um and also looking back at

2:57:10our previous transitions with the AIM

2:57:12program. Um, I'd love to um I I was

2:57:15reaching out to suggest um how we could

2:57:18um support our families, our educators,

2:57:20and our students in an appropriate like

2:57:22governance role when it comes to um

2:57:24transitions.

2:57:26>> Thank you, Mayor Wilson.

2:57:28>> Thanks, Sher. Uh Friday night is senior

2:57:30night for Summerville High football at

2:57:32Dillboy Stadium at 6 PM where they're

2:57:34taking on North Quinzy. So, uh I'll ask

2:57:37everyone to come out and support a team

2:57:38that is full of seniors.

2:57:42All right, vice chair.

2:57:44>> Thank you, chair. Through you, uh, I

2:57:47want to invite the community in ward 7

2:57:50particularly to come out um October 1st,

2:57:53this Thursday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at

2:57:56the West Somerville Neighborhood School.

2:57:59The mayor is hosting a new neighborhood

2:58:02connect meeting. This formerly the city

2:58:04hall community meetings and I think

2:58:06before that resistat. Yeah. Um, so you

2:58:10know, it's turtles all the way down. Um,

2:58:13but really excited for this opportunity,

2:58:15um, to connect with city staff, with the

2:58:18mayor, with elected officials, um, with

2:58:21other city leaders. Uh, free pizza. Come

2:58:25on out.

2:58:26>> Thank you. Uh, I'm going to go Rev Green

2:58:28and then follow up. Mayor Wilson,

2:58:32>> actually through you to the mayor since

2:58:34on this topic. I know we asked in the

2:58:37spring about how the dates were

2:58:38selected. Um, and we were assured that

2:58:41would be worked on. So, it was my great

2:58:44great surprise and disappointment when I

2:58:45was in Albuquerque for work to learn the

2:58:47day of about the W4 one. Um, and I'm

2:58:51just wondering if there's some way we

2:58:52can structurally improve this

2:58:55for next time.

2:58:58Chair through you. I can talk to your

2:59:00ward counselor about that. Uh

2:59:05I'm I'm sorry that happened

2:59:10>> thank you Mayor Wilson. Uh and then Dr.

2:59:12Stman

2:59:13>> chair. I was just going to point out uh

2:59:14there there's an earlier uh neighbor

2:59:16connect meeting happening in W five on

2:59:19Tuesday. Just want to give some love to

2:59:20W five. I know I I think uh member

2:59:23Patone likely will be there. I'm

2:59:25guessing she's she's in almost all

2:59:26these. So, uh, everything said about

2:59:30seven applies to five except the date.

2:59:32>> Okay.

2:59:33>> And the locations at the Kennedy School.

2:59:36>> Dr. Stone.

2:59:38>> Okay.

2:59:40Um,

2:59:42Reputone.

2:59:43>> Thanks again, chair, through you. Um,

2:59:47remember at the beginning of this

2:59:49meeting, we had some public comment. It

2:59:50was a long time ago. Um, there was a

2:59:53student who spoke. I just want to

2:59:54congratulate the student for I I love

2:59:57hearing students speak. Um

3:00:02Thomas, thank you Thomas. Um that was

3:00:06really

3:00:08upsetting to hear what you had to share,

3:00:09but I'm really glad you shared it with

3:00:11us um about the bathroom situation at

3:00:13the Winter Hill to the administration. I

3:00:16would love an update on that. Um, I

3:00:19imagine that a city councelor who was

3:00:22listening to our meeting will add that

3:00:24to city council and it will end up at

3:00:26the school building facilities and

3:00:29maintenance subcommittee and we will

3:00:30discuss it there. But if we could have

3:00:33um an update on that uh at a future

3:00:37meeting, I would be grateful. Thank you.

3:00:40>> Thank you.

3:00:44>> All right. Um, we are on to upcoming

3:00:48meetings. Our next meeting is in one

3:00:51week on October 5th. As a reminder, that

3:00:55meeting is starting at 6:30 p.m. because

3:00:58we are going to be celebrating so many

3:01:02prof folks who have gotten professional

3:01:04teacher status and uh new administrative

3:01:08staff. So, we're very excited for that.

3:01:12There will be sheetcake or maybe

3:01:13cupcakes, but there will be uh processed

3:01:16baked goods uh and other things to

3:01:19celebrate. And uh we will then see a

3:01:22summer school overview presentation. I

3:01:24think it was of this past summer, not of

3:01:27what anyone can expect in summer of

3:01:292027.

3:01:31Um anything else superintendent or

3:01:34assistant superintendent we want to

3:01:36touch on? All right, just really

3:01:37hammering that 6:30 p.m. start time. Uh,

3:01:41with that, vice chair, there are

3:01:44condolences. There are

3:01:48the school committee

3:01:51uh sends its deepest condolences to the

3:01:54families of Anthony

3:01:57Vearello,

3:01:59retired metal fabrication teacher at

3:02:01Somerville High School where he served

3:02:03from September 1st, 1988 to February

3:02:0620th, 2020.

3:02:10and to the family of Steven Gardner,

3:02:13father of Susan Gardner, first grade

3:02:15teacher at the Benjamin G. Brown School.

3:02:25>> We are adjourned.