[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: The Medford School Committee will now come to order. Mr. Secretary, please call the roll. Present. Six present, one absent. All please rise and salute our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Approval of the minutes of the November 7, 2016 meeting. Motion for approval by Ms. Disceri, seconded by Ms. Kreatz. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? Minutes pass. Approval of bills, transfer of funds. Motion for approval by Ms. Disceri, seconded by Ms. Van der Kloot. Roll call vote, please.
[Robert Skerry]: Ms. Munoz? Yes. Ms. Mondero? Yes. Ms. Kreatz? No.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Yes, 6 in the affirmative, 0 in the negative. Motion passes. Approval of payrolls. Motion for approval by Mr. Skerry, seconded by Ms. Cugno. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Report of Secretary. MASC Delegate Assembly Report. Good evening.
[Robert Skerry]: On Wednesday, November 2nd, I had the opportunity to attend the Mass. Association School Committee Delegate Assembly in Hyannis. The meeting began at 3.15 in the Ballroom in the Conference Center. There were representatives from school committees across the state in attendance to review and take action on the four items brought forward for the 2016 MASC Resolutions Committee. The Delegate Assembly overwhelmingly supported each resolution. As your delegated, I voted in the affirmative on each item. As directed by my fellow members in the school committee, I and several other delegates from communities across the state emphasize the importance of ensuring the funding of the foundation budget, Resolution 1, be sufficient to cover all communities. The key words were equitable and adequate. It was recognition that all communities must benefit from any increased funding of the foundation budget. This is especially true since funding must come through the legislature back to our cities and towns. If communities are left out, then there won't be enough votes on the floor of the House or the Senate, and there won't be an appropriation that we can live with. Resolution two dealt with tax reform. This was seen as an important way to fund the foundation budget. There was great support for charter school reform, also a lot of anticipation for the ballot question and the charter cap lift was expressed. The resolution on social and emotional well-being of students was heartily endorsed. It was the main theme of the conference. I wish to thank you for the opportunity to serve as your delegate. It is important that Medford have a voice in MASC decisions.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you very much, Mr. Skerry. Ms. Cuno. Is there a motion on the floor to receive and place on file this report? So moved by Mrs. Van der Kloot, seconded by Ms. Kreatz. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion passes.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms. Van der Kloot. I do want to thank my colleague for attending and voting for us. I also attended and we had the opportunity to talk down there. And as usual, it was, you know, interesting to hear people's discussion about the various different resolutions. So thanks, Bob. Very good. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Report of committees. None. Community participation. Is there anyone that wishes to speak? None. Report of superintendent. Report on project 351. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, this project has been going on for a number of years. And this year, once again, the governor's office and through its project 351 is sponsoring student ambassadors from our middle schools to attend a project activity on Martin Luther King Day and then do a year of community service. I'm going to call on our two principals, Paul DeLaver and Jake Edwards, if he's here, to introduce these students and talk a little bit about the program.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Mr. DeLaver.
[Paul D'Alleva]: Good evening, everyone. My student is in route. Um, so I was hoping that maybe I could postpone my speech until he arrives.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: If that's okay.
[Paul D'Alleva]: Great.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you. Motion to table seconded by Ms. Kreatz. All those in favor. All those opposed. Motion carries. Recommendation to approve service learning trip to Dominican Republic. Motion for approval by Mr. Skerry.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we have representatives from the company that runs the trip and our deputy superintendent is prepared to answer any questions you may have. Remember last year we had a trip to Ecuador and we then had a trip to Washington and we had some things we have to do, but we've worked on making sure that these things are in place. So let them present and then you can ask any questions you might have.
[Beverly Nelson]: Certainly. So this evening we have Tori, who was one of our, Tori Glasser was one of our guidance Councilors, and Courtney from EF, which is the company that's sponsoring the trip. This trip, as the superintendent said, we had a similar, or Tori ran a similar trip two years ago, was very successful. It's interesting that some of the siblings of those students who went on the trip two years ago want to go on this trip. So Tori put together the report, giving you the details of the trip. Courtney's here to answer any questions on the company side. So if you have any questions about it, we'd be more than glad to take them for you. Mr. Skerry.
[Robert Skerry]: Madam Mayor, I'd like to thank Ms. Glasser for her efforts on behalf of our students. And as we all know, there was a slight problem the last time a group trip was planned in Washington due to national security. And I just want to make sure that all the students know that they do have to buy insurance. And I was just wondering if through you, So you've met a mayor to the representative of the company, what the cost of that, uh, trip insurance is.
[Glasser]: So it was $155. Um, and it was outlined for them. So I, it was mandatory for every student. So it's part of the total.
[Robert Skerry]: I want to make sure they know upfront that they, they do have to purchase insurance just in case.
[Beverly Nelson]: Yep. And I outlined that. Great.
[Robert Skerry]: Thank you.
[Beverly Nelson]: Tori's also communicated with the parents several times, so it's crystal clear as to what the, you know, liability is and all of that.
[Robert Skerry]: So we wanted to make sure that they wanted to make sure that everything was, I didn't want to take them out of the country without them getting the insurance.
[Glasser]: It wasn't an option for me.
[Robert Skerry]: Great. Thank you.
[Glasser]: Thank you. Miss Cugno.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Hi. And thank you. The trip was very successful a couple of years ago. We heard a lot from the students that participated. It was really nice to hear. I believe just a point of interest is that when we spoke about the trips, especially outside of the country, or even within the country, I believe we had, as a school committee, had said that one of the mandatory things was to have insurance. Thank you. I guess the question is at what point, to what point do the kids get a refund if anything does happen? Will the insurance kick into that or do you work with the insurance company to do that?
[SPEAKER_06]: It all depends on the reason behind the cancellation. So our insurance, the $155, covers tour cancellation for medical reasons. For example, if they were hospitalized and they received documentation that they couldn't travel. It also covers things such as if their parents were deployed or loses their employment. So as long as they're able to provide the documents that go in line with the insurance policy, then they will receive a refund within six weeks of their cancellation.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: A full refund?
[SPEAKER_06]: Minus the $95 initial deposit and the amount that they pay for the insurance as long as they're canceling the reasons underneath the insurance policy okay, and what about if there is a situation like unfortunately there was a situation because of
[Ann Marie Cugno]: of safety reasons basically, that was the bottom line. Is that something that would be covered?
[SPEAKER_06]: Absolutely. We have something called our peace of mind policy and it's actually a free policy on everybody's account and it basically states that if there's something going on in the world and you don't feel comfortable and confident with your decision to travel, you work with EF to come up with other arrangements. So we're able to tweak an itinerary to avoid a certain city, we're able to push back travel dates or change your destination altogether. This obviously was something that really came into effect with things that happened over the last year. We've worked with every single school district on an individual basis to figure out what would be best for their group. Some groups kept their plans as is. Others decided to make those tweaks as needed.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: If you make the tweaks as needed, and let's say the majority of the students can go on the trip, but there happens to be one or two who cannot make that particular change of date or whatever the case may be, are they entitled to a refund?
[SPEAKER_06]: So we didn't do refunds. What we did was future travel vouchers. And what the schools did in that case is they were able to sell those to those individual students for future travel years.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: What about if we have a senior?
[SPEAKER_06]: We have a future travel plan, like a voucher, so that they would be able to utilize it for the underclassmen. When changes are happening last minute, you know, one main part of EF is that we want to make educational travel affordable and accessible to as many students as possible. So we really encourage planning early so that we can secure the best prices and pass those directly on to the students. So in the event that there's cancellations last minute, we work really closely with the airlines to be able to provide an option. Unfortunately, you know, giving a full refund, for a variety of different reasons is not an option. We've been able to secure these future travel vouchers, which has made school districts that we work with across not only Massachusetts, but the United States as a whole, happy in that sense.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, well, thank you. I appreciate that. And I was just looking. Do we have a price?
[Glasser]: Yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Did I not see it?
[Glasser]: The back, total ship cost. 2880. That's including the deposit and the insurance.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Oh, I apologize.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: OK, thank you, Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. Do you have an idea of how many students will be participating?
[Glasser]: We have 20 registered students.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: OK, and did you open that up to the vocational and Curtis tough students as well? OK, 20 students and you'll have enough chaperones, I'm assuming.
[Glasser]: Yes.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Okay. And what grade levels?
[Glasser]: They are grades 10 through 12. So it was open to anyone at the high school last year. Ninth graders who are now 10th graders signed up. So some parents did have questions about middle schoolers coming, but we just kept it at the high school, so they're in grades 10 through 12.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Yeah, I think those are two different groups of different abilities.
[Glasser]: Yeah. So I was most comfortable with students being in the grades.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. This cuts. Hi. OK. I think it sounds like a great trip. I wanted to know I was looking on the website and some of the questions it said, you know, were to make sure, you know, where the embassy is, where the hospital is. So do you know and are you close to these?
[SPEAKER_06]: So with all of our programs, we have a full-time EF field director that's with the group 24-7. Not only are they with them while they're on the program, but they're locals of the area. And so whenever we are contracting out these NGOs and international charities that we partner with, we make sure that they're in close proximity to the nearest hospitals and clinics.
[Kathy Kreatz]: There was one other item I read, and I don't know if this is true, but it said that if somebody was going to be hospitalized, The hospital would only take cash and it might cost up to $100,000. And I know that the insurance that you're getting is only up to $35,000. So I wasn't sure. And I don't know, like I said, this is the internet. I was just Googling information on how safe is traveling to the Dominican Republic and just different types of things you could click on. You know, I wasn't sure if there was any factual information about that.
[SPEAKER_06]: I mean, we have, what we can do is submit the entire policy for the medical side of things, if that's what you're, I'm not sure what you cited, so I wouldn't be able to speak to that specifically, but we partnered with one company for our global travel protection plan, and we've been using them, as a company, we've been in business for 50 years, and we've been using them exclusively, and so they're usually handling our student groups. We also, being a large global company, in the event that something like that did come up, we are there as well. So, of course, we could never expect for a student to pay $100,000 out of pocket.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, and I didn't know if, like, the hospitals only accepted cash and, you know, there wasn't that available.
[SPEAKER_06]: There's situations, you know, in the event that that came up, that's why we're there on the ground. We would never put, you know, a student in a situation where they would, you know, in the event that they needed medical attention, the question would never be, do you take credit card or cash and say, you see this student and we'll handle all of that on our end.
[Glasser]: And in Ecuador, I did have two students that had to go to a clinic and they didn't, no money came out of their pockets.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: It was covered as a part of the fund.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms. Van der Kloot. Hi. First, Ms. Glasser, thank you for organizing this and working with our students. I do have a couple questions. I'm curious whether it's a private charter airline or a regular airline?
[SPEAKER_06]: Regular. We use all the major airlines.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: All the major ones. Is the Zika virus an issue in the Dominican Republic?
[SPEAKER_06]: Right now, there's a travel alert for Zika in all the Central and South America. What we do do is, in the event that that moves to a warning, we would throw in our peace of mind policy, which would allow you to make those changes. What we've learned from following the CDC very carefully, there's no advisory about not traveling to the Dominican Republic or to Central America unless you are pregnant. And then in that case, they say to speak with your health care provider, and take extra precautions around where and when. And there's no advisory telling US citizens not to travel to these countries.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: My last question is, I'm just curious. It looks like you're going to be staying in the Central Mountain region at some point. Where are you staying? What sort of accommodations are the kids in?
[SPEAKER_06]: That's great. Actually, if you wouldn't mind, I can grab. I brought some sample hotels. I'm going to tell you just quickly some of the things that we look for when we're contracting hotels. Number one, safety and security. That really is in the forefront of our mind with all of our programs. Are they willing to take student groups? Can they room three to four students per room, private rooms with private bathrooms? I personally went on this program two years ago with a team of educators and administrators from across Massachusetts, and I can tell you I stayed in all the same hotels that your groups will be staying in, and they really are wonderful hotels for students. We make sure that they are obviously, as I mentioned before, in a safe area, and in an area where kids will have something to do after they come back from their service. So they'll have a common room where they'll be able to do their reflection, or some of the hotels may have a pool that they can enjoy after hours. But let me just grab the sample hotels, and I can pass those around so that you can see. OK.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: As you're doing that, I'll just mention that I also went on a service trip to the Dominican Republic about five, six years ago, and it was an incredible experience.
[SPEAKER_06]: And you know what, to give Massachusetts as a whole kind of a little shout out is the reason why we created these service learning programs was really because of educators and administrators having the need and want for programs that would provide students with skills. service, and also leadership development. So EF as a whole, you know, we've been in business for 50 years now, and it was about 10 years ago that we put together a administrator roundtable focus group and said, what should we be thinking about as a company? What should be next? What can we offer to help you prepare your students to be global citizens of the world? And what came out of that meeting was service learning. And so now we have not only service learning in the Dominican Republic, but in seven other countries. And they're all in different types of service buckets. educationally focused service learning, environmental and community development, where students can receive five hours up to 25 hours of service, which if your school has that built into your graduation requirement, they will receive a certificate after they get back outlining those hours of service that they received while on one of these programs.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: I believe there's a motion. I'll second the motion.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Ms. Cugno. Just to go back to the safety part of it. You said that there's a chaperone that comes from the area. Will they, he, she, stay at the hotel?
[SPEAKER_06]: Absolutely. So they are with our field directors are local of the area and they are with the group 24 seven from the second they land at the airport to the second they go back to the airport to head back home. So, um, we have the, obviously the leadership chaperone team here, but in addition you have this local expert who's with the group the entire time.
[Unidentified]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_06]: And it's great because they're able to provide the local knowledge and insider perspective to all things related, not only to service learning in the Dominican Republic, but the Dominican Republic as a whole.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay. And on the peace of mind, um, add the portion of that. Is there an extra coverage by any chance monetary coverage on that as far as like As my colleague was saying, if God forbid, someone has to go to the hospital. Do you know if there's extra coverage on that?
[SPEAKER_06]: So our peace of mind policy is different than our global travel protection plan. I know we have a lot of different things that we throw out there. But our peace of mind policy is a free policy, basically, on everybody's account, basically saying, if there's something going on in the world and you don't feel comfortable and confident with your decision to travel, we'll work with you to tweak the arrangements. Our global travel protection plan is more or less our travel insurance. So it's the medical and accidental, the baggage and property, tour cancellation and interruption, and flight delay. So that is the 155 that all the students from Medford, actually, they have that already built into their program.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: There was a situation, but it had nothing to do with a group that went out for an educational piece of it. It was more a group of students after they graduated high school. that did go down to have a nice time before college. Unfortunately, there was a situation where parents had to take their, well, the parents weren't there at that moment, but the child did have to go to the hospital. And there were a lot of different complications because of the language and things like that. We're always making sure that there's extra coverage and make sure that there is the insurance that's part of it. But knowing that there's actually a chaperone that's part of the local part of it, that's a huge part. Because unfortunately with that particular group, there was no one from the agency that they had used or the group that they had used. that was actually down there. So I think that's a great piece to this.
[SPEAKER_06]: And I think that's why we continue to see schools partner with EF is obviously we pride ourselves on being able to offer the lowest prices in the industry, but that's not why people continue to travel with us. It really is our safety and security behind our programs. We have a giant worldwide network. We have over 500 schools and offices with over 40,000 staff worldwide. So no matter where we're sending students on programs, not only will they have that one tour director, but we have a local office of people there able to help in the event that something comes up.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you.
[Glasser]: So just one really nice thing, our tour director in Ecuador, she was with us the whole entire time, and she also knew the needs of the community, so at the end of the trip she asked the students, they all get EF backpacks, and she said, if there's anything you don't want to take back, you don't want to keep this backpack, if you have extra clothes you brought that you're not going to use, and a lot of the kids donated some of the things they brought with them, and they're like, yeah, I don't need this, let me donate this, let me make some more room for souvenirs, so they got to give back in another way to the community.
[SPEAKER_06]: It really is. Yep, all the students will receive an EF backpack and whether they choose, that's a great idea actually about donating it. But I've been with EF for 10 years now and I'm a product of traveling abroad at a young age. I had the opportunity to travel to Australia and New Zealand when I was in high school and it really formed me and molded me into who I am. So I think allowing this program is obviously wonderful, but I do want to just highlight, as I said before, I did travel down to the Dominican Republic two years ago, and I was so inspired, and this has never happened in my ten years, that I tried to get a student group organized in my own community to go down to the Dominican Republic. Because it was just what I saw and what I experienced and what I felt after I left just made me want to do more and be a better person. So I think, you know, I'm really excited to see your students go, but also encourage them to come back and share with the school committee, as it seems like they did with Ecuador, to make you all part of this, because you're all, you know, doing your part in helping them see the world and become better global citizens.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Excellent. Thank you very much. There's a motion on the floor for approval. Roll call vote, please, Ms. Scurry. Yes, six in the affirmative, one absent. To approve the service learning trip to Dominican Republic. Wonderful. Thank you very much. Motion for suspension of the rules to report back on item one, report on, I'm sorry, report on project 351.
[Paul D'Alleva]: Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Thank you for having me back. As you know, Project 351 is a community service project where representatives from the middle school meet with the 351 districts. It's done over the Martha Luther King weekend as well, and they develop a service project that comes back to the community. And the process in picking an ambassador is opening it up to the school, getting teacher recommendations, and I'd like to introduce Marvin Michelle, who is going to be representing the Andrews Middle School this year for Project 351. I just briefly want to read off what's said about Marvin, and you can definitely ask him any questions that you'd like. It was a great pleasure to announce that the Andrews had nominated Marvin Michelle to serve as our ambassador for Project 351. Marvin has been enrolled in the Andrews since the fall of 2013. He distinguished himself immediately as a person who was most filled with passion, enthusiasm, and excitement being a student at the Andrews Middle School. Our initial impression of him did not abate as the years progressed. Marvin has earned great respect from the faculty by being critically open-minded about expanding the parameters of the overall operation of school. He has a quality that makes him motivated and motivates others, and his dedication and accountability do not sway either way. He's been actively engaged in the community activities in which he's been involved in outreach and organizing. These activities have allowed him to demonstrate and refine skills that will benefit any community. Marvin is an optimistic person who finds solutions in times of crisis. His fellow students look for him for advice. But he's also fun to be around. Work gets done, but at the same time, new avenues of thinking are opened. He pursues the goals of his groups with passions without letting his own needs or interests get in the way. Marvin is an exceptional person who has earned the school recognition for commitment to others and his service to the community. His cooperative spirit, his compassion for the well-being of all, and his flexible style make him an outstanding person who is destined for significant accomplishments. And everything that said is definitely true about this gentleman that is next to me. So I'm honored to have him represent the Andrews for Project 351. And ask him anything you'd like.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Congratulations, Marvin. Wonderful job. And we also want to congratulate Josephine Rizzo, who was selected from the McGlynn Middle School as well. But would you guys like a picture? Can I take a picture of you two? Absolutely. Is that OK, Marvin? Absolutely. Get close. All right.
[Paul D'Alleva]: This is great. Can you tweet it, and then I can retweet it, and then we'll be good.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: We got it. So Marvin, you make sure you come back and tell us all about it. Of course. OK. Give us a report on your experience, and we'll see you on MLK Day. You'll be speaking on that day as well? Yep. Wonderful.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Ms. Cugno. I actually had the pleasure of participating in that day a few years back and it was just a wonderful, wonderful day. I can't wait for you to come back and tell us all about it because it's probably something that you're not expecting because it wasn't what I was expecting of that day. And to see the amount of students that are there and to see the students that represent not only us, but really cities and towns across the state of Massachusetts and to work together for such a wonderful cause. I'm very proud of you and for the other student, Josephine, but really looking forward for you to come back and share what you did that day with us. Congratulations. Very good.
[Paul D'Alleva]: Thank you very much.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Motion to receive and place on file this report. Motion by Mr. Benedetto, seconded by Ms. Kreatz. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion passes. Report on Veterans Day program.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we'll call upon our Director of Humanities, Dr. Piazza, and the Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Riccardoli, to tell us about Veterans Day.
[Chiesa]: Good evening. Good evening. To commemorate Veterans Day, the Humanities Department and the Office of the Veterans Services worked collaboratively together to sponsor the Veterans Speaker Program. In its 16th year, the program provides all of our high school students with the opportunity to interact with veterans. The veterans visit the classrooms to discuss their combat and non-combat experiences, and the program is enormously rewarding for the faculty, the veterans, and the students. This year, our Veterans Day speaking program took place on Thursday, November 10th. It was co-coordinated by Director of Veterans Services, Ernest Lindsey, myself, and our lead social studies teacher, Nicholas Kane. The day began at 7.30 in the morning in the superintendent's conference room. We had donuts and coffee that was generously donated by Dunkin' Donuts in West Medford, and then we had sandwiches and various salads for the veterans provided by food services. As a special touch this year, we had Noah Kreatz, a junior student at the Medford Vocational Technical School, organize his exhibit of war memorabilia. He had helmets, uniforms, and newspapers with headlines of World War I and World War II, and the veterans very much enjoyed seeing this. It was a very special touch to our program. Throughout the day, we had 16 veterans this year visit over 45 classrooms. They were able to discuss their time within their combat and non-combat experiences, and it was a wonderful experience for the students. Many of our veterans are graduates of the Medford High School and Medford Vocational Technical School. Many of them have come for years, and they selflessly donate their day off from work often, and we're very grateful to them for that. This year's program really provided students with an authentic experience for the opportunity to learn more about what they're studying in school. Oh, and I failed to mention that Mayor Burke and school committee crets were able to come and see some of the presentations. I was able to watch many of the presentations this year, too, and it was very touching and very moving, so it was a great day.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: I got to sit in on acting Sergeant Charlie Huntnett of the Medford Police Department's presentation, and he did a fabulous job. The kids were engaged, and he had a slideshow, a PowerPoint going on. It was very interesting and a lot of good questions from the students.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Miss Kreatz. Oh, thank you. Um, thank you everybody for the program. It was, it was a great program. I enjoyed it. And, um, Noah just wanted to say he really enjoyed it and looks forward to doing next year's program.
[Chiesa]: Oh, good. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We want him back.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So, uh, Mr. Benedetto, um, for you, Madam, um, Bamberg to the superintendent, um, Mr. Belson, can we send a letter to all the veterans and, um, with our appreciation.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: They've already gone out. I believe last.
[Chiesa]: Yeah, they do. And the classes write the thank you notes, which is even more special to the veterans because they kind of in those 56 minutes, they really develop a nice rapport with the students. So, the students enjoy writing it as well. So, absolutely, we do do that.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Okay.
[Chiesa]: Thank you.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: That's great. And I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman who stormed the beach at Normandy this Veterans Day. Oh, really? And boy, it's amazing some of the stories that these people have. I'm very grateful for the years of service, and I'm very grateful that they share their experiences with our children. Could you please tell Mr. Kane how happy we are that he and you run Ann Bernadette? run such a great program for our students.
[Chiesa]: Thank you. And Ernest Lindsay, he did a fabulous job as well. So I'll send along the thank yous.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: That interactive learning and learning across age is really something that students remember forever. It was wonderful.
[Chiesa]: It was a great day, as it always is. But it was wonderful. Thank you. Thank you all for your work on this. Thank you.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms. van de Kloot. Yes, I was just thinking, I remember Charlie when he was in high school. and I remember him at the pep rally, and it's so nice to have seen how he's grown and matured and now is giving back to our community in so many ways. There's something very special about it. I also just want to mention that while I was not able to attend, I know about Noah's interest in World War II memorabilia, and it's truly phenomenal, and so I'm really appreciative to him son of school committee member Kathy Kreatz that he is sharing that with people and I just think that's fantastic.
[Chiesa]: It was very powerful as the veterans were coming out to actually see the memorabilia and just to watch their eyes and see the reaction. It was very special touch to the day which is always a great day. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you very much. Thank you. Promotion by Ms. Van der Kloot to receive and place on file this paper. All those in favor. All those opposed. Motion carries. Recommendation to approve reasonable use policy. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: I don't remember members of the committee. Um, the advance of technology requires that we improve our policy with regard to use of technology. Uh, the current policy is attached to the cover page. It's called the acceptable use. policy, but it's much thinner than the one that we have developed since that time. However, tonight we have Mr. Trotter and Mr. Arena with us who work on our technology. Alan is the network administrator. Richard is the director of media and technology. But we'd like to table it tonight because some additional information has come to our attention from the ACLU and some other groups. We want to match up the information to make sure that we've covered all the bases and make sure that there's nothing that we've missed. We want to be careful that different groups have different issues. There are some other things that are moving forward, but we do want to address this as an issue. So what you have in front of you, look it over and give us any feedback you have. And we will continue to research some of the latest stuff that's come out only this past week and determine whether or not we've missed anything that we think should be included or something that should be worded differently. Mr. Trotter and Mr. Arena are here if you have any preliminary questions. Otherwise, I recommend we lay it on the table.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Motion by Ms. Kreatz to lay this paper on the table until our next school committee meeting, seconded by Ms. Cuno. All those in favor? All those opposed? The motion passes. Thank you both for coming. report on joint M a S C M a S S conference.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent, Madam Mayor, members of the committee, um, conference was great, but our deputy superintendent is going to issue this report to you. There's a lot of attachments and you'll find at the back. There's also a financial accounting that was asked for the previous meeting.
[Beverly Nelson]: Nelson, the M a S C M a S S conference that's held annually was held this year in hyenas from November 2nd to the 5th. There were a variety, a large variety of workshops that took place that focused on important current topics in education. School committee members, Paulette van de Kloet, Robert Scarry, and Anne-Marie Cugno attended various segments of the three-day conference. Superintendent Bellison, Assistant Superintendent Caldwell, and myself also were in attendance. And what we try to do at these conferences, because as you can see from the full agenda I gave you. There's a lot of things going on simultaneously as we try to divide and conquer. So we kind of, you know, make a plan where we attend different things and come back together and share as much information as possible. It makes it more efficient. Some of the highlights from the workshop, there was a section or segment, a workshop on the new MCAS 2.0. We learned some new things about it. It's being called the Next Generation MCAS. And again, it will be administered to all students this year, grades three through eight. We know that they are moving more and more towards total computer-based testing, as each year it's going to accelerate. This year, as you know, we are asked to test online, test by computer, the students in grades four and eight. And I know that Andrews is going to do all the grade levels. And then the subsequent year, the different groups, the different grades increase. And that is in the PowerPoint slides that I've attached from Jeff Wilson, who's deputy commissioner for DESE. It's a very ambitious, I think, program. And again, all, everyone should be testing on computers, all the different subjects and all the different grade levels by 2019. That's their ambitious goal. They're gonna score using four levels. It's not the old advanced, proficient, needs improvement and warning. We understand from that meeting it's partially meeting expectations, not yet meeting expectations, meeting expectations, and exceeding expectations. So that's what we've been told. One of the things that we did learn is there's still a lot of questions to be answered. So for example, are they going to test the same science subjects at the high school? They weren't sure. Are they going to add a social studies test? to the MCAS cohort of testing, they're not sure. And then they're also saying, should we move the high school competency determination, the graduation requirement, and move that to a grade 11 test? So there was still a lot of questions. There were some, there were many people from the western part of the state that really were quite upset with the ambitious rate of accelerating this computer-based testing because They were saying that they don't have the infrastructure. We're actually, you know, we're trying to get there, but we're well ahead of those communities. They told us stories that, you know, sometimes kids are sitting outside the library in snowstorms trying to access the Wi-Fi. So, again, how they're going to bring everybody in the state to this level so quickly remains to be seen. Other workshops, again, as Mr. Skerry pointed out, the focus of the conference was social and emotional. And we attended sessions dealing with that. Sheila Dennery, who works with Children's Hospital and the Boston Public School, discussed her work with teachers. And one of the things that's very interesting is that in teacher training today, there's really nothing on social-emotional. So teachers are going into classrooms where they may have a lot of training in behavior management and other pedagogy, but very, very little in social-emotional. And they're trying to turn that around. And so Sheila's working with Boston teachers in providing PD for the teachers on how to deal with students in the classes. And one thing I felt that was really encouraging is they're putting together an online program called TAP that we'll all have access to down the road so we can actually plug our teachers into this online training and so they'll have the benefit of it as well. So that was a very interesting session. As well, Jessica Minahan is always very interesting and she has a wealth of very practical suggestions for dealing with students who are having issues in the classroom. She's written several books. Her PowerPoint slides are attached as well to the report. Many sessions dealt with legal updates as well as some of the issues that schools are currently dealing with. And again, we had the opportunity to meet with many vendors, some of them we already are working with, School Brains was there, we had an opportunity to talk with them and there's one issue that I wanted to resolve and they were very attentive to that. We also, the superintendent talked with people on technology and the idea that there's additional funding that we might be able to tap into, so that was very beneficial. And, Again, some of the other vendors, I won't go through all of them, but again, there's a great deal of information that can be gleaned just by visiting the different booths at the conference. So, I've attached, again, the full agenda for the conference. You can see all the various workshops. The slides from the MCAS 2.0, slides from Jessica Minahan's presentation. And I think the superintendent, you've attached some additional things as well. So if anyone has any questions that I can answer.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Ms. Cuno. Thank you. Um, I don't really have questions. I just, I guess on the record as usual, I'm frustrated with the, you know, the new next generation MCAS. Um, I just wanted to be on record that again, it's frustrating because there are never any answers. They just kind of always put the cart before the horse. And I just want to make sure that our students are not the ones that are caught in that. Um, you know, it's important that they do recognize and that they do see that they have, they have to grandfather students in to certain places before they go ahead and just change everything because you can't, it's not fear. It's not fear to our students that are graduating. And I know I brought this up a few years ago when they were talking about park because they came and they spoke about it. And again, they had no answers to the questions. Um, I was on the board of DSC, on working with the park and again they had no they didn't have any answers. So my concern is always and I'm sure it's not just mine but my colleagues and everyone here is when they are changing everything around to make sure that at least we incorporate the students that are already taking the ones that they're taking and not incorporate them into something that our kids will not have a chance in passing.
[Beverly Nelson]: Well the high school test the grade 10 will remain what they call the legacy MCAS, which is the old MCAS. And again, through, you know, the year 2002, 2021 will be the first cohort of students. Those are our eighth graders now that will have to take the next generation for competency determination. And the feeling was that will give these kids in the grade eight, because they don't take the test in grade nine, an opportunity to at least experience the test before they have to take it for real. So, again, It is a fast pace, and this is the only time I can remember that we have put in place a test that hasn't been piloted for a couple of years. The original MCAS test, that was piloted for two or three years. Now we're just saying, here it is. And they don't even have worked out. I have a problem with some of the categories that they're going to rate the kids. What does that mean exactly? You know, meeting expectations versus not yet meeting. How many do they not have to meet? It's very vague still. And for them to be going this quickly and putting this in place, we have to just see what happens. We're going to advise that we have a large, a long window for testing. The English can be pretty much all, take place all during the month of April, and the math during May. So we're going to suggest that when we schedule these tests, we don't schedule it for the first week in April. We wait and see what's happening around the Commonwealth to see if there are some problems, and we'll schedule like it's starting the second week in April. And the same with the math.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And the other thing that they need to, I mean, again, this is something that I've spoken about the last few years is that they come out and they keep on saying that this is great. All our students are going to take this exam online. It's going to be great for our administrators. We're going to, you know, get the test scores back. But no one's come up with a solution of how we're going to handle that because the budget line for technology is huge. And it's huge across this whole state. And not only the state, but it's going to be across the nation. And so they really need to start working on what they're going to do to cover this. Because the way I feel about it, I said it a few years back, is that I basically feel that if we don't have the proper technology and honestly I know I'm going to get a lot of feedback from this is that I'm not saying that our technology is the best but when you do go to a conference like that or you go to a national conference and you hear the stories that we hear and they're saying we're going to implement this across the board it's something that they really need to start thinking about because technology I mean look at your own homes or where you work, if you're working outside of the school system, it's constantly, constantly changing. And I just don't want to see our children, again, being set up to fail. It's almost like, you know, giving them a piece of paper and saying, here you go, you can take a test, but oops, I'm not going to give you the pencil. Well, that's almost like the technology. And again, I will be, I will say it again, that I'm very happy about how we're doing our technology in our city. We've tried to be as advocate and advanced as possible, but it's impossible sometimes to keep up because we're talking about a lot of money. And, um, I mean, they keep on saying, I know last, was it last year or the year before, maybe through you to the superintendent, maybe that, um, the governor had given us was like a hundred million dollars or something like that. But it sounds like a lot of money. But when you're dividing it up throughout the whole state I mean it ended up being what like ten thousand dollars or something if that. So again this is what we need to advocate ourselves as a committee and let others know.
[Beverly Nelson]: We are being very proactive in planning for this. We visited a group of us visited the Burlington public schools which have been kind of trying to do the online stuff early on and we've learned a lot of tips. as to things that worked and things that didn't work. So we're trying to be very proactive in getting as much information as possible as we move into this. Thank you.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. Thank you for your report. I really appreciate it. It looks like there was a lot of great topics in here and I saw some that, you know, that Kathy Medaglio, the Director of Special Education might benefit from learning from. I'm wondering how that, how the information from this conference gets to our department heads. Is that through you, like?
[Beverly Nelson]: At our meetings. We had, we haven't had our meeting, we have our next administrative meeting on December 6th, yeah, December 6th. So what we do, things that are most urgent, I mean some of the MCAS stuff is already out because that was important to get a jump on that. But what we usually do is we share this information at the next administrative meeting. Kathy, we see every Monday morning if there's anything critical. There were a lot of workshops around special education, the safe school issues, gay, lesbian, the gender issues. That was a huge topic as well. So it all gets disseminated more quickly to those who are directly involved, but eventually to all the administrative staff.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I know I'm, I'm pushy and I asked for this report and I also asked how much we pay on this conference. I also have great respect for it for one reason. I know that the, a lot of the money that came into our school department for our science labs came from, um, your, your team attendance. at the conference because Mr. Belson came back from one of the conference with this idea and about the grant and he was on fire to make sure that that happened. And I know that we have our science labs because of it. So I do see value in it, but it as also as my job, I need to make sure that we're, we're using funds appropriately. And that's why I always ask how much we pay for it, how many people are going, is it a value? What is the money actually paying for? Are the right people going? I just want to make sure that we're just straight out and honest and communicate. We do pay. We do spend $3,500 to send people to this conference. And I trust in the administrative team's judgment that this is necessary and helpful for our district. And I do believe that the $13 or $14 million we spent on our labs that was 60% funded by the federal government was because of this conference. Am I correct? Mr. Bellson? Yes. What did you bring back this year? What are the big things?
[Roy Belson]: Well, one of the things that, you know, was in here that you should notice is the fact that we've identified through tier two of the E-rate about 700,000, it could be as much as 800,000 that we can access. And we'll start applying for that after the first year when the window opens. And that's a match. That's 60% of the cost of what we pay. So we do our capital plan, we can hope to get as much as $800,000 against the capital plan for technology enhancements, which will be well worth the thing. And then there's a couple of other technology items in here that also are fundable. So that was a, probably the biggest financial takeaway. Another thing was to look at roofing. I think I mentioned it in here a little bit, uh, because obviously we were looking at roofing going down, down the future. And some of the roofing applications now are, very, very good and they're less expensive than some of the previous roofing and they can be done much more quickly. So becoming familiar with that is a real important thing. Um, there are some legal things that are coming up that are really questionable that we need to get in front of. Uh, you know that we just had an election and that with that election, ESSA is, you know, is going to be looked at by a new administration, how it's going to be implemented, how it's going to be changed. Uh, some of those things were talked about in great length. Uh, there are things that are still unknown. Uh, you know, we, we just can't know, but people are speculating on them. So I think there's a lot of takeaways from this that you just can't do when you're not talking to people face to face. When you're talking to somebody over the telephone, the conversations, they're good, but they're not great. When you're talking to somebody face to face over a cup of coffee, you can get an awful lot of information, especially if they're working on this, uh, on a regular basis.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the report. You all set?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I'm sorry, just... Oh, those are... Oh, thank you, probably. Hi. Oh, I just want to know about the MCAS. Was there any discussions about rolling it out to the schools? Like, any plans on how they're going to handle it where it's really not determined? Like, are there any workshop sessions for students and to get them acclimated?
[Beverly Nelson]: you know, it just seems like, you know, we don't know what it's going to be like, you know, well, you know, our, our directors are on top of this. Uh, we know the types of questions will be pretty much park-like questions. So we have already, I know that, um, Dr. Kieser and Mrs. Joy have put out some practice materials for teachers and also, um, Jeff Wilson, the deputy commissioner, uh, mentioned that there will be some practice tests coming out. But they better get them out quickly because, you know, and again, there are still some unknowns, but I think we have a good handle. We're not just sitting by waiting. We're out there trying to work. And we also, one of the other important pieces to this is that our technology curriculum, we want to make sure that teachers who are teaching the technology are teaching the kids the skills they need to to be successful. We found from Burlington experiences and other communities that many children who took the online testing simply didn't know how to use the tools. So we have to make sure that they're not going to be, you know, graded down because they can't use the computer itself. So we're working with the technology department to make sure that the skills they need are, they practice ahead of time.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Do you also think that, because I know sometimes parents will ask or they wonder if more time is spent doing MCAS than on regular education and curriculum. Do you think, you know, with the testing that's going to go on, like mostly in April and May, you know, will it be more extensive and will there be, will it be, you know, stressful for the students with the regular coursework and the MCAS and the the prep work, and I'm just curious.
[Beverly Nelson]: Well, we're gonna try to contain it. I think when we do our meetings next month, we're going to recommend that the principals try to contain it in as few sessions as possible. So I don't think it's gonna be any more at the grade levels three through eight. What I'm concerned about is down the road with the high school, because if we had gone with the park, which was an option, it would have been an 11th grade test, but that test was designed to determine if kids were college ready. So if we had gone the park route and taken that assessment at grade eight, grade 11, then those youngsters, many of them, would have to take the ACCUPLACER, which is the placement test for the state colleges. But now they're talking about, Jeff Wilson was talking about having a 10th grade test, which would be the competency determination test, and then having this 11th grade test as an additional one. That bothers me because so many of the kids who Well, we don't have a lot of kids that don't pass in 10th grade, but they've got to take the retest as juniors. And the other thing, too, if they move the whole test in high school to grade 11, that's problematic, too, because if a student doesn't pass in grade 11, they have a very limited opportunity to retest. You know, if a student doesn't pass in grade 10, they have two opportunities in grade 11 and two opportunities in grade 12 before graduation. But if we test in grade 11, they're only going to have two opportunities in grade 12. So that, to me, the high school testing is problematic and how they're going to do the science down the road. They may not have a chemistry option. It might just be introductory physics and biology. But these decisions haven't been made. So we can only speculate. Yeah. It frustrates me, too. I'm not knowing the answers, but thank you. We're trying to be proactive. We're trying to visit other communities, see what the problems are computer-wise. technology-wise, and then our directors are pretty savvy with the content, and they've been working with teachers on that, so. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Ms. Van der Kloot.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: As you know, I was at the conference and spent quite a bit of time there. I think that the only thing which was unfortunate was that more members of the committee were not able to come this year, because it's not only about talking about the the issues at hand or attending the different conference sessions. It's also about networking, talking to other school committee members, having a chance to talk about issues with your colleagues while you're there. It's difficult because, for me, it was three days off from my own job. But it is really worthwhile in the long run. And I hope that next year that more people will be able to attend. Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Ms. Cugno. Um, definitely agree with my colleague. Thank you for all the reports and everything that you brought. I did have the opportunity to go down and also point of information to Mr. Benedetto as far as, uh, if you're interested in getting anything from the conference itself, it's downloaded on MASC right on. on their website. So, and again, I can't reiterate it enough. I think they sound like an old record. I think Paulette and I both sound like old records, been saying it for 12 years. The date for the conference has already been scheduled for next year. It's something that you really, especially members who have not got down to really go down, as the superintendent says, yes, you can look up certain things online. Yes, you can get the information, but sometimes really meeting with that person on a one-to-one basis, especially like vendors or as My colleague said, sitting down with the colleagues from all over the state, you really get to speak to each other, and you do bond, and you do, you know, over the years, become friends, and you can really vent on what's working for you, what isn't working for you, which way are you going, which way should, you know, and it has been very beneficial. So I will get off my soapbox, but, again, look at the date for next year. It's not a surprise. It comes every year, just like Thanksgiving. So, you know, we all take our vacation time. Unfortunately, I had used up most of it for other school committee member things, and I wasn't able to go as I usually go. But again, it's very beneficial.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Mr. Benedetto. Thank you, Mayor Burke. I just had a question. You mentioned school brains and how you got to speak to the vendor when you're down there. So I just wanted, um, not directly to you, but to the superintendent, an update to make sure we're still on track and how it's going. Just a quick update. I know it's not on the agenda, but since you mentioned it, it doesn't hurt to ask.
[Roy Belson]: I think we're making good progress. I think, you know, a couple of tweaks here and there, but I think we've broken through the initial gridlock of trying to get some of that stuff to happen. And I think you start to see things take fuller shape in the next little while.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And are all the teachers now trained and up and using school brains?
[Beverly Nelson]: And what they have to use so far, which was the gradebook, the attendance. I have not heard any grumbling, so that's a good sign. I know I hear things that people were unhappy. The one issue that we talked to the vendor about had to do with the health services and Tony Vento had expressed to me some issues and they were going to hopefully they did get in touch with her right away afterwards and work them out. Um, I haven't heard, I think the teachers are comfortable unless I am missing something in parents on, on ready to be put online.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Point of information, Ms. Cuno. Parents have already told me that they're excited because they're actually on, they finally got on. So I know that the high school you've been on. So parents are definitely on.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: What about the elementary schools, Mr.
[Roy Belson]: elementary elementary, you know, it was going to be a little bit later because they're in a different position right now. They don't get report cards the same way the, uh, the others do, but, uh, we'll roll that out, uh, fairly soon. I think Diane can answer that specifically.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: That would be great. Some parents have asked me in the recent past. So I thought I'd just ask since someone mentioned it.
[Beverly Nelson]: We have two guests. Paul has been very helpful with, um, the school brains. And I don't know if you want to, I know there were some issues initially with people. getting parents getting registered but I'll let you speak to that.
[Paul D'Alleva]: So the plan that we had implemented was we all sent out letters with usernames and passwords so the system allowed us to create usernames and passwords for families. We made sure you look because what happens in the system sometimes kids were just registered for the Andrews but then you had several siblings as well. So I would say the families that have multiple siblings in different schools, including elementary, have that access right now. But the elementary is a different version. For example, like the grade books that we're using for the high school and the middle school have values, while the elementary report card does the standards base. So the most that you're really going to see for an elementary student will be mostly attendance.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: They're about homework. Well, like teachers posting homework.
[Paul D'Alleva]: So for the middle and high school, because this is a two way communication via putting your assignment in there, grading your assignment, and then the parent has the ability to do that. Like I said, I'm not in the elementary world and as as much as I am for the middle and high school, but that's being posted. from what I see. And like Ms. Cugno said, those letters have gone out. I've had plenty of parents that have contacted me, very happy and excited that they're able to view things. And if they run into problems, I've been more than able to help them through it.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I also want to thank you for taking this on and helping our community.
[Paul D'Alleva]: It was important.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Yes, it is very important. And your time and expertise is appreciated.
[Paul D'Alleva]: My pleasure.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Ms. Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I just want to share a point of information I've been on. And you can see the full calendar, absence days, assignments. There's a link directly to the teacher, the grades. They matched up to the report cards that we just got at the high school. I needed to have another person added to my profile, sent an email. The profile got updated. It's really been really smooth. And I can't even access it from my phone. Yeah, it's mm-hmm
[Paul D'Alleva]: And that's another good point of the system is, as Coretta said, the fact that we only had information of what was given to us from our old system, which probably needs to be updated as well. So parents that do have the ability to get on have that ability to also adjust things like they've changed their email. That happens all the time kind of thing. So they have that ability to do it and we can look and improve changes that are being made so that we have the updated information as well, which helps us as well on our end.
[Diane Caldwell]: very good so the elementary you will definitely be able to see the attendance as well as the standardized report cards but we're going to open up open up that parent portal piece probably at the beginning of the in January 2017 we just kind of wanted to wait to see how the middle school in the high school roll out and then I'll send a memo home to all families and let them know absolutely sure Well, we've had to import the report cards into school brains from the elementary end. And it's been a little bit difficult because it didn't always transition the way we wanted it to. So we're continuing to work on that. And as it is now, I'm just getting emails that the reading stages weren't put in the right places. So I'll have to get to work on that tomorrow. But Paul has been a lifesaver. He's been working very hard on this. Thank you.
[Unidentified]: Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: There's a motion on the floor for, to accept this report and place it on file by Ms. Cugno, seconded by Ms. Van der Kloot. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion passes. Report on legalization of marijuana with recommendation for legislative modifications. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee. Um, as you know, the, Marijuana question passed the ballot in this past November by about 54% of the voters who actually voted. And one of the big questions, obviously, is there isn't enough regulatory guidance. When you look at some of these ballot questions, they're very blunt instruments. They can only ask for one thing up or down. And they don't really spell out all the things that are inside that need to happen in order to make it work well. The Speaker of the House, the Senate President, and the Governor have all expressed their concerns, the Attorney General. about the lack of regulatory assistance that they have going forward. But they can't do much between now and January because they're in an informal session and all you need is one legislator to object and the matter can't be discussed. And obviously there are people that don't want to talk about it right now. So I expect that in January, uh, the legislature will take this up in earnest and the governor will fall quickly and there'll be a lot of support for regulatory, uh, help. Uh, currently it's under the state treasurer, Deborah Goldberg for implementation, but it's unfunded. She has no funds for it in order. She have any appointees to her commission and this is scheduled to go in effect December 15th. So There's obviously some concerns about that. So there's a lot of different concerns that we have. I mean, obviously, the medical marijuana piece is better regulated, and that's already in place. But the recreational marijuana issues are not regulated at this point. So what basically I'm saying, it's imperative that school committees, school officials urge the legislature and the governor to take the necessary action to prevent the misuse of this substance. You know, we talk about opiates, we talk about all these things. Well, I look at marijuana as a gateway drug, especially when young people can get access to it. Now, the minimum age is 21, but if a 21-year-old has it, I'm not sure that he or she is going to keep it from their friend who is 16 or 17. And I have a feeling that You know, there were issues associated with that. So here are some of the things that I would want to write to our legislators on behalf of the committee. And there may be others that we can add to it. And the first is to provide a local opt-in provision. Right now, it's opt-out. And in order to do it, you have to schedule a referendum vote that could be a year later. But I want to make them put it opt-in, which means you have to, as a community, decide to actually accept the rule for your community. That's one. It would mirror the Colorado law, which is currently in place, and we think that's a good piece to have. 70% of the communities in Marijuana ban their local areas for distributing it, so that's just an idea. The second thing is substantially increase the tax rate. Right now it's 3.75. At that rate, while it might generate some money, it won't generate enough money for enforcement. It won't generate enough money for control. It won't generate enough money for data collection, for the kinds of things that have to go forward in order for us to modify and improve the law as we go forward. So we think that the legislature should increase that tax, maybe even double it, in order to ensure that there's sufficient funds to regulate recreational marijuana. We think they should eliminate the homegrown provision. The provision as it currently stands will not adequately be enforced. Who's to know who's going to go in whose home, and to get warrants to go in people's homes to see if they've only got six plants, or how they're using it, or whether they're putting it in brownies, or whether they're putting in these kinds of things and distributing it in ways that cannot be easily detected. The other piece on this is that the way the marijuana is grown today, The intensity of it is much stronger than it was years ago. And we don't know if it's going to be spiced or spliced, if you will, with other substances in certain venues that may be at home. We can't control it. So we think the homegrown piece needs to be looked at in order for us to protect underage students and underage people. or anyone in particular. We think they need to strengthen the Control Commission to better understand the impact and to effectively regulate the industry. The Commission should have a staff that collects data to inform future modifications that may be necessary to protect public safety. If you don't have data out there as to what's happening, whether there's connection between recreational marijuana use and other drug use, you don't know what's going on. You don't know if you're helping or hurting what's happening. So the initiative petition process, like I say, can be a valuable part of the democratic system. However, it's a very blunt instrument, and it needs to be refined. We obviously will respect the will of the people, as we do with all initiative petitions. And the legislature very rarely overturns the will of the people. But there's no reason why they can't modify it and refine it. And I think the interest is there on the part of the leadership. So what I'd like to do is draft a letter to our legislators on behalf of the committee and the school department administration with these suggestions and hope that they will take action as swiftly as possible at the turn of the year when the legislature goes back into formal session.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Motion for approval of the recommendations made by the superintendent by Ms. Cuno, seconded by Ms. Kreatz. Roll call vote.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto. I'd want to see any such letter before we approve the letter. I'd want to see a draft of that.
[Roy Belson]: I can bring that to you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: On the motion that the letter be drafted. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion passes. Report on Medford Public Schools disciplinary statistics.
[Roy Belson]: So the state just released the disciplinary statistics from 2015-2016. Medford is well below the numbers for the state on average. I've given you some of the reports that I was able to download offline. We need to do a little bit more analysis, but we're well below. I gave you some categories that would give you some ideas about different areas, whether it be substance abuse, marijuana, physical theft or assault or anything of that type for you to look over. We'll do a bigger report going forward, but I wanted you to have something to look at. I think some of our initiatives in terms of providing additional programs for youngsters, rather than sending them home, have worked. And we'll continue to work, and we need to strengthen them going forward. But I think those things are positive steps for us, and I think it shows in the results, and we'll continue to show in the results going forward.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Great job. Mr. Benedetto. Um, I, when I was reading through some of this, um, the, the student group that really, um, stood out to me as high needs. And what is, what is exactly the definition of high needs in this?
[Roy Belson]: Well, high needs as a, as a conglomerate group, it could be economically disadvantaged. It could be special needs could be ELL. Uh, it's, it's a grouping that sort of as an omnibus for all the different groups that are identified as disaggregated groups. And, uh, we try to, uh, you know, understand that. But sometimes it's hard to know who's in the group because you don't know who they've included in the group. But I think it's pretty much the youngsters who fall into groups like special needs, EOL, economically disadvantaged and some other groups that might be lesser known.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I really feel like this, this data is, it's extremely helpful in supporting our children that are having disciplinary issues and identifying the first step for helping them. So, um, I'm glad that you're going to look at this data a little more closely and whatever plans you come up with. I'd really like a report back on it.
[Roy Belson]: We will do that. And as you know, we've talked about this as adding programs, these, you know, opportunities for opportunities for change and things like that. There are alternative insights which keep kids from being, let's say sent home and given some additional help or counseling. So that's what we're pushing towards. That's what we're going to try to keep doing. Uh, budgets permitting obviously. And, uh, I think that that, reflected in our numbers.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: In my experience working within schools is that a lot of disciplinary issues are based on either social emotional or the fact that they're struggling academically and they would rather act out in a behavioral way rather than have their peers or even their teachers lose respect for their abilities or you know they just want to stay In control and that's how they act out so that nobody sees that they're struggling academically so identifying those students That's why the emphasis on social emotional
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you. Very good. Miss Cugno, I just threw you to the superintendent. I know that Dr. Perella and his team actually had a couple of things going on the last few years at the high school. One of them was instead of sending students home and getting them suspended, he had them actually in more of a. One-on-one type of situation the opportunities to change right and then last year he was talking about this year of this academic school year that they had started another program Nexus and that was the one I I forgot the name of it So I apologize, but I would like an upgrade an update on that if possible to say we've been on We've been in school for a few months. I'd like to know like numbers. How's it going?
[Roy Belson]: You know probably halfway through the year Let's give it a half a year to really
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, after the holidays or something, but I would like to see that.
[Roy Belson]: Sure.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Ms. Van der Kloot.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes. In looking at the data, there's one thing to me which is a little unclear. It uses the entire population, 4,529 students, but it doesn't break it down into levels. I mean, so you could assume or jump to the conclusion that all of these things are taking place at the high school, which there are not many. I want to be clear about that. But that's not necessarily true, or perhaps I don't have the data that tells me whether they're high school or middle school.
[Roy Belson]: We will break it down further. This came out just at the end of the week, and we just sort of wanted to get it out because it was being announced. But at the same token, we have more time to break it down now.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So the data, as far as I'm looking at it, would be more helpful if we were to break it down between elementary, middle, and high. We can do that.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Very good. On the motion to get a further report broken down by elementary, middle school, and high school. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Motion to receive and place this report on file. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Report on school system guidance on national election results. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: So I received a number of phone calls from a number of you and others with regard to the election results that took place on November 8th. And school systems around the Commonwealth and around the country received multiple inquiries from parents and citizens regarding classroom discussions about the recent national election results. And concerns were raised about some teachers or staff who might introduce their personal opinions and feelings into what might be considered a very charged current topic leading to possible conflict. As we know, elections are a fundamental element of democracy. The process of elections and the substantive issues are a legitimate part of citizenship education. We can't eliminate either process or substance from our schools and our classrooms. And naturally, discussions must be age appropriate and devoid of any hostility for expressions of opinion. There can be no discussions that are racist and discriminatory towards any group. And adult personnel must ensure that inappropriate comments are not introduced or perpetuated. So on Wednesday morning, November 9th, I sent out an email to principals, which is listed here, and I wanted to read it so if the public did not see it, they understand, because you've asked me sometimes. Do people know this? I mean, we try to put it out, but obviously not everybody reads everything that we have. So I wrote, colleagues, last evening, citizens elected a new president of our country. I recognize this election was extremely contentious and polarizing. Undoubtedly, there are many strong feelings among faculty, staff, and students. It's extremely important that we do not engage in divisive discussions that can inflame feelings and behaviors. As educators, we must strive to help our students understand that we have a democratic process and that we need to go forward in a constructive way to support our country and our people. There's no room for hate messaging. Our students must learn that in this country, we accept the constitutional process that transfers power after a legitimate election. This does not mean there can be no discussion of the election. Any discussion must be respectful and constructive. Thank you for your attention to this guidance, and I signed it. Our principals were expected to instruct their faculty and staff of the above expectation. And I've not received any information from principals that inappropriate discussions have taken place in our classrooms at this time. So we'll continue to emphasize this. We'll continue to allow people to discuss the electoral process. They want to discuss the electoral college. They want to discuss popular votes. They want to discuss states. They want to look at reasons why people vote. That's one thing. But there's no room in the schools, in the classroom for adult personnel to encourage students to be hostile about any result or in the light we have, we have to get on with business. So that's the message that's out there and we'll continue to monitor what takes place over the next while.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you, Mr. Superintendent. And even Thursday when we attended the veteran ceremony that was spoken about earlier this evening, it was made clear that to stay away from this topic, the students and the teachers have all been kind of addressed through this email, and that let's just deal with the Veterans Day topic at hand and not delve into the high emotions that have been running. But I think one of your lines in here really sums it up. There is no room for hate messaging. And I think that message is loud and clear from not only the superintendent, but the city, school committee members, et cetera. So we just really need to strive to raise it up, raise the level of conversation up, and treat all people equally. So thank you. On the motion to receive and place on file this report, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Recommendation to approve graduation date for MHS and MVTHS class of 2017. So it's our standard. It's our standard. It's going to be June 7th.
[Roy Belson]: June 7th at the Gancher.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: 6 p.m. with the Wednesday evening. Mark your calendars, people.
[Roy Belson]: By the way, we do this in part this early, and I'll tell you why we do it. Not only to help people plan, but once we walk into a day, if it snows, we still can get the days in, you know, even if the even if the there aren't 12 days between graduation and the last day for seniors. So we walk in with the state in case we have extra snow days and the like. That's why we do it so quickly.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Is there a motion on the floor to accept this date for graduation? Ms. Cugno, seconded by Mr. Skerry. All those in favor? Oh, I'm sorry. You moved it for us. Mr. Skerry moved it for us. Ms. Cugno. Seconded by Ms. Cugno. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. We have one.
[Roy Belson]: Do we have old business, but it wasn't listed?
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Oh, we do have old business. OK.
[Roy Belson]: There's two items there. One is the crossing guards, and the other is how it's paid. It's not listed for us.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Motion to place negotiations and legal matters to the end of the agenda, authored by Ms. Kreatz, seconded by Mr. Skerry. All those in favor? All those opposed? That will be placed at the end of the agenda. Old Business is an update on the crossing guard issue that was raised at the last meeting. It had to do with the Felsway location, in particular, Two locations on the Felsway actually, one at the base of Fels Ave and one at the base of Fulton Street. I know that the superintendent has been in touch with Mr. Representative Donato. And also I spoke with Commissioner Roy of the DCR and he said that he had the engineers go out and they do not see any issues with extending the time limit on the push button. They said that that was too, people complained that it was too short to get across the entire Felsway, which is quite a wide road. So he said that that will be addressed. He was going to call me back to give me an exact date. I asked him about the crossing guards, and he said that they're really trying to get out of the crossing guard business. And I did mention that there could be a couple of locations that may be lower visibility, that if possible, if he could relocate a crossing guard that's currently in Medford. maybe to this location, and then we could potentially change the bus route to address the fewer children that are affected in a different location. He was going to go back to the drawing boards and talk to his people to see if that's a possibility. And I know Ms. Kreatz, you have an update as well?
[Kathy Kreatz]: A similar update. I heard from Matt Hartman in State Senator Jalen's office, and she, you know, with some good news that they are going to add some additional time on to the crossing light, where you cross over at the corner of Fulton Street and Felsway. They're adding on an additional seven seconds to give people more time to get across. I would still recommend that you cross over to the next island, press the next button, and then cross over, rather than trying to make it all the way across five lanes. You know, just for safety, it's just a good idea. I didn't get a date on when that's going to happen, but he's going to be calling back. So we'll get the word out.
[Roy Belson]: Representative Donato emailed me back today saying his meeting is scheduled for next for the first week in December with DCR. So he's going to do it. By the way, on this particular thing, my handwriting undoubtedly, uh, We'll get Donahue to speak up for us as well.
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: Whoever Donny was name and address of the record, please. Hi, I'm Cheryl Rodriguez. I live at 21 Park Street. And I guess I want to ask a question through the chair. I don't believe that there actually is a button to push in the middle of the road. So if you get stuck on the island and run out of time, I think you're stuck on the island.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Yeah.
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: I just wanted to throw that out there that I don't believe there is a button in the middle.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: But I think the added time will be sufficient to get across the entire cycle because right now it's what, 12?
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: I'm also hoping that if they wish to get out of the crossing guard business that maybe we'll consider getting in the crossing guard business.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Well, we are in the crossing guard business and we would have to do an MOU, memorandum of understanding, in order to take over their location. or their street in particular. So we will have to review that. Obviously, we didn't build that into this year's budget, but we certainly will take a look at it for next year.
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: Thank you for your consideration.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: You want to address that here? Mr. Greenspan, we also have a report that was asked for in regards to the American International College. Mr. Superintendent would like you to address it.
[Roy Belson]: So you have a copy of it, you know, that you requested this and it takes a while for us to get answers from ethics, but there was a question about a potential conflict of interest in regards to American International College, AIC.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: And Mr. Greenspan wrote a lengthy report to this committee dated November 14th, 2016, in which he Would you like to thank you, Mayor?
[Greenspan]: Mr. Belson did contact my office a while ago, informing me that the committee had asked some questions as to whether or not there was a potential conflict of interest in connection with the school district leasing facilities to American International College and teachers or administrators working for the college. Uh, after review of the statutes and some of the regulations, uh, I've written a report to the committee dated November 14th. Uh, and I've concluded, uh, after reviewing the sections of the statute, the conflict of interest law and, uh, the regulations promulgated by, uh, the ethics commission, uh, that there would be no conflict of interest, uh, for our teachers or administrators to work for AIC. These issues and questions are very fact-specific based on the facts that I've received from the superintendent, which are in the report. Only the superintendent is involved with the negotiations, maybe with the business manager. Teachers do not have any preference in terms of the hiring process. And one of the regulations which I attached to the report uh, specifically provides, uh, that a public employee can hold an additional paid position, uh, with the, with a second employer where the only impediment to the employment arises because the second employer occupies premises pursuant to a contract or agreement with the public agency. Uh, so based upon that regulation and a review of other sections of the statute, uh, it's my opinion that there is no conflict.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you, Mr. Greenspan. Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. Thank you for your report. Um, so did this report go through the state ethics commission? Cause that was what was requested at the time that the report was asked for.
[Greenspan]: I spoke with the commission. They did not issue the opinion, but I did speak to an attorney at the commission.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Uh, did he email you his, um, his,
[Greenspan]: They did not write an opinion, but they did reference to me that regulation that was attached, but there was no written opinion from the Ethics Commission. My understanding was that the committee wanted an opinion from me.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I didn't know they wanted a- No, it was to get an opinion from the State Ethics Commission. That was what was requested, but I have no problem with this. I just want to make sure that we're open and honest with all dealings, with any businesses that are also renting community schools, and that it's out there so that there is no impression by anyone in our community that anything is other than forthright. And that's really the request. Intent because I have great respect for the people that work in our community But we just need to make sure everybody in our community understands where we stand We're open and honest years. We run this international college school in our building Some of our administrators and some of our teachers are employed there. We are well aware of it They only work for them at those hours and not during school hours that we're renting them at the same rent and and time and usage as we rent to other people, just because our employees are there. There's no deals given. I just want it to be clear. Like, honestly, that's what I'm looking for. Communication, transparency, and putting it all on the table so that there's no little innuendos or questions asked. And if they are asked, we can stand up here and answer them directly and honestly. That's the intent of of requesting this information. And I know sometimes it seems like there's more behind it, there really isn't. So given this, are we charging them the exact rate or we're charging other people that are using the same time and amount of our facility?
[Roy Belson]: So by our rules, people who have extended use of our facilities can negotiate some of the rates, that's by our rules. And so we take about $60,000 a year from them for about five sessions of maybe 20 courses that are run during the year. So that's pretty consistent with what our revenue would be. And we obviously update it over time as they use facilities. If they use more facilities, we'll charge them more. If they use less, we'll obviously modify it down. So we consider that consistent.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So in your opinion, the people that work for this program It's not interfering with their day job and their day job's not interfering.
[Roy Belson]: In fact, at this point in time, I don't think there's anyone in our faculty or administration that's actually teaching a course right now. So I mean, it happens sporadically, but if it happens, it could happen.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And it's not just teaching, it's administrating, too, as well.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, same thing. The only contact that we do with them is through our offices to set up the contract for use. And then after that, If they want someone or the person has to be selected by them, by the way, we don't have any, any, let's say ability to influence who they select. You know, so I don't tell them who to tell you who can teach.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So, so I feel like the intent of my request has been fulfilled. So thank you for the report and thank you for your time. Mr. Greenspan.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Is there a motion to receive this report?
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Motion to receive.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Seconded by Ms. Van der Kloot. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Mr. Superintendent, wanted to make an announcement?
[Roy Belson]: Just a couple of quick things. Um, I want to pass this out to each of you. Um, this is a, um, something that I want to pass it down. Something that I acquired yesterday when I was in Newport. Um, It's a good timing kind of thing, because what it is is a letter from George Washington to the first Jewish synagogue in America in Newport, Rhode Island. But there's also references to Washington speaking to other congregations of other denominations in 1890, 1790, rather. It's particularly appropriate because Washington at the time was asked whether or not there would be any discrimination in America against religion. And if you read the letter from Washington, which is perhaps one of the most famous letters of all time, and I wanted to share it with you because I've got copies, he basically said that in this country, he's going to get the actual wording that there would be no toleration of bigotry and there would be no allowance for discrimination. And it's a very useful kind of thing because it predates the signing of the Bill of Rights by one year. In 1791, New Jersey, on the same date as yesterday, the 19th of November, was the first state to sign the Bill of Rights. And as we go through a period where we sometimes hear people saying things about hatred and other issues that we talked about tonight, it goes right back to George Washington, who says basically, For happily, the government of the United States will give bigotry no sanction, and to persecution no assistance. It requires that only they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving all the occasions of their effectual support." So he's basically saying, no bigotry, no discrimination. And I think it's absolutely totally appropriate at this time as we see some of the hateful activity that sometimes has found its way into our country in recent times. So I just thought you might enjoy it. It's also some listings of other congregations that he spoke to. It's quite impressive that this place survived as long as it is in its original form, pretty much original form, going through several periods where it was not allowed to exist by different groups, by the British and by others. So just something that you might have and could use in your work.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Another thing that I just want to mention is in your folder. Susan Altman, who did the mural at the Roberts, also did a mural for the Family Network recently. Gorgeous, beautiful. When you get a chance, go take a look at it.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Well, we can't say she did the mural.
[Roy Belson]: The kids did the mural.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: The families all put the mural together.
[Roy Belson]: She guided the mural. And it was really terrific. I saw it the other day. And really, it shows a transformation of, you know, of how things work, how families work and transform themselves, how communities transform themselves. It's quite, quite something to be seen. And it'll be displayed in the family network, uh, in this hole in the wall that they had. So it's the hole in the wall project. So I think you, um, should see a plus you've just received.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: We also have a display in on the second floor staircase, um, towards the Harvard health side of the building. There's a display that Ms. Altman put together that's on our wall there, as well as a couple of others throughout the building, and they rotate monthly. So all you artists out there, students alike, if you'd like to petition to have a display, feel free. Just contact the office, and we're moving them monthly.
[Roy Belson]: And you also know that tomorrow, the Curtis Tufts is lunching, starting at 11.30 for hors d'oeuvres and 12 o'clock for their annual dinner or luncheon, if you will. OK. You're all invited. The pep rally is on Wednesday. I think it starts at 11 o'clock, OK? And of course, on Thursday, we'll, of course, beat Malden. Of course, why wouldn't we?
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: At Malden.
[Roy Belson]: At Malden.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: We do have a couple of other papers that are on the agenda.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we have some other papers. Yeah, that's right.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: New business, school committee resolution. Be it resolved that the Medford School Committee express its sincere condolences to the family of Manfredo Scaramuzzo. Mr. Scaramuzzo was the father of Rita DeCarlo, director of foreign languages. And also under suspension, be it resolved that the Medford School Committee express its sincere condolences to the family of Denise Riley Bates. Ms. Bates was the mother of Medford High School hockey coach, Sean Bates. If we could all please rise for a moment of silence. Thank you. I also just wanted to note a couple of dates. This Saturday, the Jingle Bell Run. You can see that the trees are being set up as we speak, but Saturday is the Jingle Bell Run. And the proceeds go to the schools, the different various schools in the city of Medford. And so that takes place at the American Legion. On November 30th, City Hall, we're having our holiday glow where we'll be lighting up the building as well as turning on our trees and everything else. So please come on down, Wednesday evening, November 30th. And then the Jingle Bell Festival runs from November 30th on to December 4th. So please come down, support the local charities that this great initiative goes toward, in particular the Buddy Cohalan Center for Alzheimer's. So please make sure you come on down. And also we want to wish everyone a very happy, peaceful Thanksgiving this Thursday.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms. Van der Kloot. Madam Mayor, can I just ask for a clarification on the time on Wednesday? What time does it begin and what time do you... I believe it's 4.30. And what, how long do you expect it to run? It will go till 7.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: And then Thursday night, there will be a vigil from the Grace Church to City Hall for overcoming addiction. Friday night, the scouts, girls and boys, will be down having an event here as well. So we're trying to increase participation each of the nights during the Jingle Bell Festival. And so hopefully you'll have a chance to come on down. And I'm sure it will look much different next time you see it.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I just want to just piggyback on the letter that the superintendent put out to everyone and also to The letter he just presented us for Washington George, Washington I was listening to something today and it really dawned on there's been a lot going on. I Don't want to get into politics. Actually. I'm actually asking people to put politics aside on Thursday and have your family together, enjoy family, enjoy that time. I've heard so many crazy things from me that people are trying to avoid other people, are not inviting other people. And you know what? Political life aside and everything else, really take part of Thanksgiving. And I'm asking everyone just to have a safe, happy Thanksgiving and just really put the political agenda aside because nothing changes the way you are, nothing changes our ethics as people, nothing changes the morals that we have, the way we raise our children. So that was my thing for wishing everyone and really thinking about it.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: And the last item on the agenda, negotiations and legal matters. Is there a motion to go into executive session? Motion. Seconded by Mr. Skerry. Roll call vote, please.
[Robert Skerry]: Yes.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Yes. Six in the affirmative, one absent. Motion is approved and we will adjourn after executive session.
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