[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: The regular meeting of the Medford School Committee will now come to order. The secretary will call the roll.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Mrs. Cunha, present. Mrs. DiDenedetto, present. Mrs. Kress, present. Mrs. Mustone, here. Mr. Skerry, present. Mrs. Vanderbilt, present. They have worked.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Present, seven present, none absent. All please rise and salute our flag.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Also present is our student group, just in time.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Welcome, Justin. 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. We're very proud to have with us tonight members of the Met Republic Schools Fine Arts Department, the holiday music presentation. Take it away, maestro.
[Richard Trotta]: It's a tradition that we always play this tune at this event because it was written right across the square at Simpson's Tavern many years ago about the slag erasers that came right downstairs during the Great Ohio War. I wish everybody a joyous and safe and happy holiday season.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Van der Kloot.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So Mr. Zigny, before you and the students go, first I want to tell you how much I was looking forward to hearing you tonight. So it's made our night. Thank you so very much. I will also tell you it made our night when we went to the orchestra concert at the high school. I don't think you could get another student on that stage. It was unbelievable. As well, myself and some of my colleagues, including the mayor and Kathy Kreatz, we were able to go to the middle school concert as well. And it's just, I felt so proud. And so proud of our students here. You represent us so well. And it's so magnificent that we have this interest in our music program. And it's just wonderful. So thank you very much. Now, Mr. Zigny, though, I actually happen to have something I have to give you. So if you wouldn't mind coming forward. This is kind of funny, but I just happen to be given a donation of drumsticks. from someone who was formally connected and did a student internship at Medford High, and he remembers us so fondly, so here's some drumsticks for you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you so much Mr. Zigney and all members. You're fabulous. We love listening to you and we're very very proud of the rich musical tradition we have in our great city. So thank you and happy holidays.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Ms. Cugno, thank you. I just want to say thank you to all of you. I know that you're only representing the larger group of all the students that are participating in the orchestra, but not only to the orchestra, but to everyone itself, the marching band, the orchestra, the drama club. You guys represent us, and you've done a terrific and wonderful job. The other thing I also want to ask Mr. Zigney, and I know I've mentioned it on record here, is that we did get a donation from Mr. John Costas for the lights. And if we could recognize him, well, if you guys could recognize him, come the new year, that would be really nice because we do have a lot of people in the city, as Ms. Van der Kloot, you know, sometimes when someone else might not need something, it is very valuable to us. So I just want to say thank you to all.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you. I'd also like to make a quick announcement. There's a Black Ford Explorer 7MP588 with your lights on. I hope you hear. It's all set.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: All set? I just want to put that on record. It's all set.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: At this time, I would like to invite Ms. Ann Marie Cuno, vice chairperson of the Medford School Committee, to step forward and conduct the rest of this evening's meeting. Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Good evening, everyone. I need John. Is everybody's mic on? Okay. Put them all on. We're all on. Is everyone's mic on? Yes. So, the first thing on our agenda is the approval of the minutes of December 4th. Moved to approve by Mr. Skerry, seconded by? I just have a couple questions.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to know, in regards to the field trip policy, if the teachers and all the other administrators are aware of the school policies, what they need to follow before they make their field trip. Ms. Nelson, could you help answer that question? I just had a couple of questions from a teacher, and I just wasn't sure if everybody's aware to follow these policies.
[Beverly Nelson]: As you approved it on December 4th, the next day I sent it to the administrators informing them that it was officially approved and they were to get it out to the teachers. We've worked on the forms. You have the preliminary forms in front of you this evening. I did email. our webmaster to put the form, the policy rather, and the forms on the webpage so that it's available to everyone. But my assumption is that the principals did inform their staff about the policy shortly after it was sent to them.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And I just had one more. I just wanted to know from Superintendent Belson if there was an update on the ongoing investigation with the concussion that was on the soccer field on October 11, 2017. Did you hear anything from the superintendent in Barreley? Is there an update?
[Roy Belson]: So I emailed the superintendent in Beverly with the details that I felt were pertinent to the matter. I've given you a quick update the other day. I'm waiting to hear back from him. I did speak with him, and I feel like something will be forthcoming from Beverly very shortly.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. Thank you. Ms. Kreatz, you all set? Yes. And I can now second the motion to approve. OK.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: So Mr. Skerry, motion and the second of Ms. Kreatz. Yes. All in favor? Aye. All opposed? It's affirmative. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Approved to put the minutes on file. approve of bills and transfers of funds. Move to approve them. Seconded by Ms. Van der Kloot. All in favor? Aye. And we need a roll call.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I just wonder if the superintendent or the chief financial officer could It says it's still the generalization, like Medford High School miscellaneous charges. Is there any way that we can get more information when those items are placed on here? It's the first item on page one of six. Those are the student activity accounts. So those are always going to be there?
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Correct. OK. Mrs. DiBenedetto, if I may? Yes. Just so you know, that as secretary, when I sign that, I look through every single one of them to make sure they're proper and in order. And they consistently have been. OK. Thank you. OK, roll call. Roll call for the bills. Mrs. Cugno? Yes. Mrs. DiBenedetto? Yes. Mrs. Kreatz? Yes. Mrs. Mustone? Yes. Mr. Scurry? Yes. Mrs. Vanderkoop? Yes. Mayor Burke? Yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Motion to accept and approve the bill transfers of funds. Passes. Passes. Motion to approve the payrolls. Move approval. Second. Approved by Mr. Scurry, seconded by Mr. Benedetto. I'm a secretary. Mrs. Cugno? Yes. Mrs. DeBenedetto?
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes. Mrs. Kreatz? Yes. Mrs. Mustone? Yes. Mr. Scurry? Yes. Mrs. Van der Kloot? Yes. Mayor Burke? Yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. The motion to approve the payrolls and place on file have passed. Report of the secretary?
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: There is none. There is one, but we'll take it under report of committees. You want to do it under report of committees?
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Yeah. OK. Report of the committee. Which is next? Report of the committees. Committee of the whole meeting. Minutes for December 11, 2017.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So if you would, Mrs. Cugno, I think that tonight it would be appropriate to just quickly say that we met at 6.30 on December 11th. All of us were present, as well as Michael Ruggiero, school committee elect, Paul Rousseau, school committee elect, the superintendent, deputy superintendent, Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Riccadeli, and community members Jen Graham, Michelle Ciccolo, and Franco Leary. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a process for the selection of the next superintendent, to identify the criteria for selection, to review application forms for candidates, and to initiate a process for selection. The superintendent spoke about different items, going over what our challenges would be, what its job description should be, giving us some information about the MASS, that's Massachusetts Superintendent Organization, salary information, et cetera. The outcome of this meeting was that the mayor appointed a subcommittee. She appointed me as chair, Mrs. Mustone, Mrs. Kreatz, It doesn't say here. Jenny. Jen. Jenny. And. Michael. No, and Paul Rousseau. Sorry about that. And we are going to meet this Thursday, December 21st at 715 up at the high school to carry forward our charge of coming up with a questionnaire and also a information document that could be given out to prospective candidates.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, just a clarification, if I may, 7.15 a.m. or p.m.? P.m.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: You're welcome.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: We had talked about a.m. so it's a good question.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: All right. Madam Chair? Also, during this meeting, we turned out some job applications and job descriptions that I asked the members of the committee to look at and review to see if they had any suggested changes. We did receive some from Kathy Brett, and I likewise have some changes. We can circulate them around so that everyone can take a look at them and see if they concur. And then we can send our suggestions to the superintendent to make the amendments.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Just on that topic, I was wondering if the mayor could at some point possibly give us a list of criteria for school committee members to be on the committee and how she's going to make that decision.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: We will all be on the committee for the internal candidate portion of it. So it will be an open session, and it will be all seven of us. And then moving forward from that, only two members will be allowed to be on? And then I handed out a draft application for those that are interested in applying to be on the search committee if we need to go that far. OK, great. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just, I had a question also. So I wanted to know, because I think some of the public community was asking me, you know, why are there only two school committee members allowed for the external search? And I couldn't quite remember the answer. And I wanted to know if if there was any opportunity for there to be an alternate where two committee members could serve for five meetings, and then another two committee members could serve for another five meetings, so that everybody would have an exposure if we get to that level.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: If I may on that one? Yes. When we sat down with Glenn Kuchar from the MASC, the executive director, there are a lot of legal policies that we need to abide by. And so that was one of the reasons that we can't have more than a certain amount of school committee members on that particular committee. If we do, then we also have to discuss as a school committee if you want to waive the rights of executive session, and that means that everything would have to be open meeting. And that's something that you as a committee have to sit down and discuss on that. So that would be one. And the other reason, I also believe that it had come up in discussion if we wanted to alternate people, but it got to the point where it would be very, we're kind of like playing very fine line with that law. And a lot of the things, again, when people are asking us questions like this, it's not because Medford wants to deal with it like this, and I'm not saying it to cover ourselves, but it's actually rules and regulations and federal government that we need to abide by laws. So that was the reason we can't do that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: You're welcome. So Mr. Skerry had a motion to approve. Who was seconded? Seconded. Seconded by Mayor Burke. All in favor? Aye. OK, so the committee and the whole meetings are approved and placed on file. Community participation, Maureen Roney. Roney, I apologize.
[Maureen Rooney]: So I'm here tonight because of my ongoing concerns about the math program test scores at the Columbus. But Mr. Superintendent, I understand that you have an update. I do.
[Roy Belson]: Would you like me to do that instead of speaking to yourself right now? Go ahead.
[Unidentified]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: This evening, I passed out an update based on our discussions about what might be possible in order to provide additional assistance to students at the Columbus. In your packets, you have a much more comprehensive discussion about additional measures that we're doing, but apropos to some suggestions made from the outside, including Mrs. René, I put this memo together to give you a clarification, an update of what additional things we're going to do, and with your permission, I'll read it publicly so everyone can hear it. Do you have a copy? Yes, thank you. As part of our plan to assist students at the Columbus with their mathematics preparation for MCAS 2.0, please note the following. Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who require extra assistance to master the mathematics curriculum will be eligible to receive additional tutoring from paid Medford Public Schools teachers. Students will receive between one and two hours per week based upon their need. It depends on what the student's need is and what kinds of recommendations their individual teachers make. We expect to hire six teachers for two hours each as tutors a week who will be paid by the Medford Public Schools from our budget. This program is planned for 16 weeks starting in January and the projected cost is an additional $6,200. We project that the cost of an extra afternoon bus at the Columbus will be paid approximately $150 a day for a total of $4,800. We're working with our current provider, Easton Bus, to arrange a schedule. We may have to find another provider since Easton's schedule is very tight and additional busing may not be possible through them, although we had discussions with them this afternoon and we think it is possible. But since there are three buses leaving the Columbus each day with different routes, we will have to devise a route that serves the majority of students in the program. And then maybe you need to create a consolidated route. Obviously, buses go in different directions. In order for us to create a consolidated route, there may have to be some different types of stops. The overall cost of transportation, we believe, will be about $4,800. Since there are, well, the overall cost then is projected between tutorial and busing to be about $11,200 for the 16 weeks. There are multiple logistical issues to be worked out and there may need to be some modifications. And we'll make those adjustments based upon multiple factors. We'll keep the school committee informed as we progress with implementation. Things like which teachers volunteer to teach, which days are most appropriate, which days the buses can go and what routes and so on and so forth. So there's a number of things to be worked out in the interim, but this is the basic plan and hopefully that addresses your issue.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I'm going to just ask. OK. So Ms. DiBenedetto and then.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Thank you for handling this so quickly, Ms. DeBelson, in such a proactive way. That's what we hope to be as a committee, find out that there is an issue and be very proactive about handling it so that way it doesn't continue. So thank you for handling it so quickly. I just have a few questions. Based on this map. $150 a day for a bus for a total of $4,800 divided by 16 weeks. That's two days a week for a bus. Is that correct?
[Roy Belson]: That's the way we're planning it right now.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Okay. Also, so since we have a bus at that school and leaving, can the kids in the extracurricular programs take the bus as well home? So that way more kids that can have access to after school activities, since we're already paying $150 per bus, given that if there's enough room, can we look at opening that up, please?
[Roy Belson]: That's a variable we should look at, but I don't want to make any commitments till I see exactly how many students are riding the bus for this particular program, because I just don't know. It could be concentrated in a full bus. It could be that we have a lot of room. So let us get into the weeds, and we'll see exactly what's possible.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And what is the criteria for the students that would be picked for this? Is it their grades? Is it their MCAT scores? Is it a combination of both? What is the criteria for a student to be? Could it be parent requests?
[Roy Belson]: We'll sit with the teachers and the principal to look at which students clearly need it. If a student's doing exceptionally well, then chances are they don't want the help. If a student really needs it, we hope that they will want to participate. I can't make anybody participate. There's some people that maybe don't want to participate who could use the help.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Or there might be a parent that wants their child to participate even though it may look like they're doing well in school, but what they see at home, the struggle at homework is not always the same as it is in the classroom, as I remember it as a parent. So, you know, I would like the parents to have some say and input or at least be able to request it for their child as well.
[Roy Belson]: I think we've got to begin with, let's target the students that we're looking at, and then we can open it up a little bit more. But let's see exactly what kind of response we've got. And I've also got to make sure I've got six teachers that want to do it. And I feel they can actually do that particular work. So there's a few things that variables, like I say, the logistics have to be worked out. And until we actually talk to people specifically at the school and work out some of the details as to how many students would be on which days, there may be some students who want to come one day, some will want to come two days. Got to work it out.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So at this time, I'd like to motion to approve this program and get that going. And I would like a follow-up report the first meeting back in January, since time is of the essence, because MCAS are coming. They don't slow down for anyone. So we want to make sure we get the word out to parents as quickly as we can that this program is going to be taking place. and that they can have some input as well. Thank you so much again and there's a motion on the floor to have this approved and to have an update.
[Roy Belson]: If I can just suggest that, what do you call it, that the update, I can give you a briefer update through email or through some process, but it may take an extra little time to work out some of the logistics. Because remember, next week is going to be a fairly, well this week rather, is going to be a fairly chopped up week with different things going on, and the logistics of getting commitments from people to do things may take a little bit of time in January.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And even if you only have partial update, just either by email or at our next meeting, we want to be kept abreast of this issue.
[Roy Belson]: We'll keep you posted.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Thank you. Ms.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Van de Kloop?
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes, a couple of different things. I just wanted to mention that in our Folders we also received all the other things which are all the other plans adding 15 minutes of math instruction daily And Chromebook practice so that we had a further report which covered additional in school items That would be addressed It also though, I just wanted to clarify. And Mr. Superintendent, I know we're being redundant here, but I understand that you're now committed to having a after school tutoring for the math students paid for by the district, because I'm just clarifying that, because earlier there was a rumor. And so I want to put that to rest. and committed to working out transportation, after school transportation, it sounds like so far, financially, you've committed to at least two days a week. Is that correct?
[Roy Belson]: That's our plan.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: OK. I know that your request would have preferred three. I think two is probably a reasonable place to start. OK, that's great. Thank you so much. And I would like to thank you very much from the get-go. You've been very, very concerned about this issue, Maureen. And I thank you for coming forth and addressing us. And see, I told you it'd be easy. The other thing, too, is, though, I think that, When I went and first met Maureen at the math night, one of the things that just stood out so much that night was when I had a great discussion with some of the teachers. And they were telling me about all the different things our math program could do, but then admitted that not every student had access to that at home. So by providing this after school time, this gives them an opportunity to utilize our math program to the full. So thank you very much, Mr. Superintendent, and thank you, Maureen.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you.
[Robert Skerry]: Through you to the superintendent, thank you for putting this report together Mr. Paulson. It's very comprehensive. I as one member have been very vocal when it comes to MCAS tutoring and I'm glad to see that we're reaching out to the middle schools and helping with their math and other problems. I would ask that you report back to your committee in late April, early May on the trials and tribulations of putting this program in place, see where we can do better, see what works, and possibly incorporate it into the other schools that need this. Can we discuss it? No, thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, and if I may, just for clarification, because I know Mr. Skerry just mentioned middle school, but is it elementary school that we're discussing?
[Unidentified]: Right.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, I just want to make sure of that. I just want to piggyback a little bit on what Mr. Benedetto said. I think it's a great idea if we could utilize the buses when we have students that are staying after school. But with that being said, I just want to make sure that the students that are there for this particular purpose and service are being addressed first in a way. I don't want to kick anybody off a bus, but if this is a program that we're going to be investing in, I want to make sure that everyone gets the best possible opportunity to utilize it the best we possibly can. So with that being said, let's see. Are we going to roll call on, not a roll call, I'm sorry. It was Mr. Benedetto that had put the motion in and Mr. Skerry had second. So all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Chair, since we're expending money, I think we should do a roll call.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Roll call. OK. So on the motion, Mrs. Cugno? Yes. Mrs. DiBenedetto? Absolutely. Mrs. Koretz? Yes. Mrs. Mustone? Yes. Mr. Scurry? Yes. Mrs. Van der Kloot? Yes. Mayor Burke? Yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: OK, seven in the affirmative and none in the negative. We will be passing that and starting up the program as soon as we can. and placed in file. So recommendations to accept the gift to the Robotics Club, Mr. Superintendent?
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call upon Carolyn Joy, who's here, our Director of Mathematics, to come up and talk about the very generous gift, once again, from Dr. Martinez, I'm sure.
[Carolyn Joy]: Good evening, and thank you so much. We are now in our seventh year of the robotics at Medford High School. And the robotics team, every year they participate in what they call a football competition, and specifically design a robotics tournament for students in the New England region. And we're happy to present to you Dr. Ventura has graciously donated some funding, a gift, to the Medford High School to enable the students to participate in this. Ms. Faiza Khan, who's here tonight, is the advisor for the club this year. Ms. Faiza might want to tell you a little bit more about the students and what they've done so far.
[Faiza Khan]: Thank you. Thank you for having me here. It's really an honor to be representing robotics team here. We have a great set of students and they are very diverse. They are very enthusiastic and they came to me and they said that Ms. Chen would like to pass the torch. Would you please take this on? And so here I am. I'm very excited to be the advisor. It's a great opportunity. It's really the kids that are driving me. I appreciate it that they came to me. Dr. Van Scor, Dr. Van Scor has been very generous. He replied back, his secretary replied back to my email within a few hours. And so I appreciate that and I'm grateful for the grant on behalf of the students.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: you. Thank you. Thank you. If you could just make sure that during the year you left students are doing, especially when it comes to their competitions, we'd like to see them.
[Faiza Khan]: Absolutely.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you.
[Faiza Khan]: The competition will be in April. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Motion for approval. Motion to approve. Second. Yes. Roll call vote, please. Mr. Scurry will be speaking first.
[Robert Skerry]: Ms. Joy and your cohort, I'd like to thank you. It's been, during my tenure on the board, every year, Dr. Vanshaw has always come up to help our kids out, and no matter what competition they go to, they always do well. And I wish you well in your endeavors, and I would ask that the school committee invite Dr. Vanshaw to a meeting, and he can present himself to us and to the community for his great efforts. deeds, and I hope he continues for many years to come. And I wish you and your team much success in April.
[Faiza Khan]: Thank you. Thank you. We are deeply honored. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Vandiqua, did you have a question?
[Erin DiBenedetto]: No. OK. Ms. DiBenedetto. For you to the superintendent, could we please send a letter of thank you?
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you. If I'm not mistaken, is this like the sixth year? Seventh. Seventh year. Seventh year. He's done a great job. And again, we appreciate all that he's done, all of them. Yep.
[Roy Belson]: So I just want to make it clear to everyone that the work that the students are doing through the department is not only incredible, but I've been told that at least one of the robots they're creating is going to apply as an internal candidate for my job.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I should have known better than to say yes. It's the office. They're building this for you. So may I interrupt? motion. Second by, uh, Ms. Vander Kloof, I believe it was? Yes.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Roll call, please. Mrs. Cugno? Yes. Mrs. DiBenedetto? Yes. Mrs. Kreatz? Yes. Mrs. Mustone? Yes. Mr. Scurry? Yes. Mrs. Vander Kloof? Yes. Mayor Berger?
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, nine in the negative. We will graciously accept the gift from Dr. Smith. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, report on Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility.
[Roy Belson]: So this is something that's been in the works for a few years. Mr. Trotta has continued to be involved as the director along with Michael Skorka as the coordinator and you have some materials in front of you. I'm gonna let Mr. Trotta tell you about what's here and have some of the students and Mr. Skorka tell you a little bit more because I think this is a terrific project and it's got tremendous implications for the development of our young people. not only as academics, but as full-blown citizens in our community and in the world where I think that's a bigger need these days.
[Richard Trotta]: Thank you, Richard Trotter, Director of the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility, better known as the CCSR. Before I begin the report, though, I wanted to say that I've had the pleasure of working with Ms. Cugno and Mrs. Carey for many years, and both of you have been so supportive of all the programs and the schools. You truly have, you know, been, you know, a real positive influence on what I've been involved with. And so I wish you well. I hope I still see you after you beat the seat. And so thank you for working to help the kids in Medford. Thank you. So the CCR has a mission. The basic mission is to create global citizens who will combat things like racism, bigotry, gender bias, and help promote positive experiences to other students in their own lives. help them become successful in the future. So the students who work in the CCSR, and we have some here tonight, they do positive things in the community. But it helps the community, but it also helps them. And the whole point of the program is to make the world a better place, and you do it one student at a time. We are very active at the high school, and we are spreading the program down to elementary and middle school. Last year, we were very low on funding, so we basically just did the high school as the only major area for the projects. This year, we have a grant from the Cummings Foundation, a $100,000 grant that we obtained, that's allowing us to expand the program and do more things in the school district to help the students and the faculty. So a couple of major things are going on. One is we've awarded 10 mini grants to faculty members to do projects at their schools. We hope a full report later on in the year when they've actually accomplished their work. But right now I can tell you that we have a project that did Thanksgiving meals for needy people with a French class, so using French cuisine. We have, we're organizing a race, a road race to raise money for a charity with some of the students at the high school. We're beautifying the Medford High School grounds by planting fruit trees around the area. So that's an environmental project. We're adding composting to the cafeterias at the high school to teach the students to be environmentally friendly and to maximize the resources that people use and not waste things. We're also helping at the Brook students, helping renovate a play area for other students. So one of the teachers down there is working with us on that and with the school people. So those are some of those mini-grants. Mini-grants, they have to apply for them. They have to show the project and what the outcome is going to be. And you get them by, not competitive, but you have to prove that you're doing something valuable. We also have five total school leader advisors, similar to Mr. Skorka. They're just getting going now, and they're gonna be organizing multiple events at their schools, and provide leadership for the school, but also the students become leaders at that school, and set the role models for other students. And one of the things that students typically do, they look at other students as role models, and if they see them doing positive things, we're hoping that that will spread, and more students will do positive things. So right now at the high school, we have a very active group. I'm not gonna go into that too much deeply, but it's coming up. There were 33 projects going on right now, and so I'll let Mr. Skorka and his students talk about those. So some of the things planning for this year with the grant. Now we didn't have this funding before, so now we've got some new innovations going on. We've added professional development for teachers. We're gonna be offering workshops. We're going to work on SEL, social emotional learning in the classroom, and also ways of technologies that we can use to improve teaching. For instance, one of the things that we feel strongly about is project-based learning. Project-based learning emphasizes student activity in the learning process. It emphasizes students being engaged and actually doing something they have an interest in. We believe by doing this, they will certainly gain a positive result. And there'll be more of an impact on the learning when they're actively involved. So that's one of the things that we're going to do professional development on to help other teachers do that sort of thing, whether it's in our area of focus or their own area of focus. But clearly, project-based learning is a philosophical initiative that we believe in. We also want to provide parents with information. We're going to have some activities at night, speakers and symposium type things that will help parents gain more information about how do you deal with anxiety with students, how do you deal with students who exhibit certain behaviors that might lead to problems with their self-esteem and their resiliency to fight negative activities like drug use and that kind of thing. We're also looking at new strategies in thinking and learning. The mirror neuron is a relatively new concept that students, people, identify with other people by mirror neuron in the brain. We feel that some students in early ages who lack empathy, maybe by going through this kind of a process of identifying with other people who have problems, will help them become more empathetic. So that's kind of a goal at the elementary and middle school. So we're also going to use the money that we have for resources on the web. We're going to provide web resources for teachers and parents about this social-emotional area and about identifying positive activities for parents to use and teachers to use in the classroom and at home to make them, students, more positive contributors to society. And the last initiative was we want to share our mission. We believe that this kind of a program should exist in more public schools, more areas. We spend a ton of time doing academics, MCAS and all that, but there seems to be a need now to do more work in developing character and positive attributes in students that will lead them to be successful and not to be subject to things like addiction and prejudice. I want to, as I finish, I want to thank the superintendent. Actually we, so this mission came and vision came from a conversation we had a few times back when we got the money from Bloomberg. So superintendent is part of the brainstorm behind this thing and he's always supported us and his support has been very critical to our success. And also the school committee, obviously all of you have supported us and I look forward to getting to do more with you guys and back again. You thought you got rid of me? Oh you haven't. Okay, so are there any questions before I pass it on to Michael's book?
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Before I pass it on to anybody else, I just want, I have a couple of questions and that is, how long is this grant for?
[Richard Trotta]: Yeah, it's three years.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And this is our second?
[Richard Trotta]: First.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Oh, OK, because we got it approved last year. So this is, OK, three years. And then, just because it's been such a great program, and already there's been so much going on, at the end of the three years, have they already discussed, like, what the process is going to be, if you're going to be able to reapply for it? So we are going to be able to reapply, or is this, like, one of those, you can't reapply for it for a certain amount of time?
[Richard Trotta]: Oh, OK. I thought we'll get into that one. But we're also not stopping with the Cummings Foundation. We're looking for other resources. You're looking for what? Other resources. We're looking for other venues and foundations to contribute.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And I don't know if this is more of a question for you or for Mr. Skorka, but I know already you have so much on here, but just to throw it out, I know a lot of the time when I've gone to the senior centers, they ask us about our students. And some of the seniors, unfortunately, have not had the opportunity to be with our seniors. with our high school students, I meant to say, with our high school students. So you hear, you know, certain stories. And I've heard this year, you know, well, if you're on the school committee, then why don't you try to teach those young folks some manners or some respect. And when I hear things like that, I get very upset because they're touching my kids. And I know the type of kids that we have. So if you have the opportunity, because I tell them all the time that our kids do have respect and they do have manners, and you'd be very surprised at what our kids do. If we have the opportunity and if you could throw that in your schedule somehow, somewhere, I would really like to see that collaboration going on. I think it would be amazing for them. just as much as it's amazing for us and our kids. I know bringing my own kids with me to certain events that I didn't think maybe, you know, the senior center would be happy to have kids when they were younger, or vice versa. It was amazing when I left there, because they loved that interaction, and my kids actually love the interaction of hearing all these different stories. And it's nice, they're here, they're in our center of our square, they're in the center of the heart of our city. It would be nice for them to know what type of students we have. So Mr. Benedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. I just wanted some more logistics about the grant. Now, I know that Mr. Skorkis, you've retired from the school district, and you're still involved in this project. Is it your intent to stay with it for the next three years? And then does this project and this grant free up any teaching time for Mr. Skorka so he can focus on this or is this after school? How does that whole thing work?
[Richard Trotta]: He has a mini, where he has some students, which is two times a cycle, a mini course. But most of his work is on his own time after school, during free periods. So if he could get freed up a class, that would be marvelous.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Now, does he get paid for his time in addition to his salary for this project? Is that part of the grant funding?
[Richard Trotta]: What's that?
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Is there a stipend for him? Yes. OK. And your son is part of this project? Yes. OK, I just want to make sure that we're not burning out some of our finest and best within the district by having them wear too many hats. And I didn't know if it was something that the school district was partially funding by helping him with that, or if that's a dream in the future. Maybe the superintendent can enlighten me a little bit more of the logistics of all of this.
[Roy Belson]: Obviously, all these programs, we seek outside funding to support them long-term. Originally, the funding came from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Cummings is the next round. It's a three-year grant. We'll be looking to get more money into this activity and expand it and develop it. I might tell you, I think I mentioned it once before, that Mr. Cummings, William Cummings, is going to be a special speaker at graduation this year. And we'll be having other outreaches to different people at different times, because obviously philanthropy is an important piece of what we do in order to keep some of these programs going and to develop them into model programs that can then receive even greater sources of funding long-term. So that's the game plan, and obviously the great work, I think, you know, they'll tell you that they're finalists already in some outside programs, and they're already getting some great recognition. I won't spoil this at this particular thing, but I was told on Saturday night that another one of our programs is going to go national, so I'm excited about that, but you can't find out about it tonight because I can't tell you. But these are the kinds of things we want to do, and as we do these things, You know, we attract sources of funding that are extraordinary and support our efforts to keep meaningful projects moving in addition to our regular academic and educational program.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So my point was, based on the social, emotional needs of so many students that I see, both at the district I work at and our district, and this book of wonderful things that have been done, I just didn't know if we had plans on expanding this program so that way it's like more full-time position for someone from the Method Public Schools to manage because this is a lot. This is a lot of wonderful things and I would just hate for it to go away. To go away.
[Roy Belson]: We just need to develop it over time, you know what I mean, and develop other dimensions to it and create it in a certain way. One of the things that's happening and something I'll tell you about at a subsequent meeting is the Commonwealth Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is launching what they call Celebrating Massachusetts Leading the Nation. And we had a meeting with representatives from the department the other day, and the purpose of it was to identify projects in our school system and some other school systems that would demonstrate how Massachusetts leads the nation beyond testing. Because obviously testing is something that we brag about as a nation, I mean as a school system, not a school system, as a state, as a commonwealth. But there are many other dimensions to education that Massachusetts leads the nation in. And this is a good example of it. And there's some other really terrific examples, our family networks, other things like that, that are really unique and model programs that other people should be trying to do. because they fill the gaps that many communities don't have. So this is one of them, and this will also bring in resources. This is how you do it.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So just as we increase the number of school adjustment Councilors and Councilors and, you know, different behavior lists throughout buildings, this is a positive way to bring that forward. And I think that as a committee, we should really look at positive ways to influence and to enable our children to become leaders. But in order to have that, we need to have people like Mr. Trotter and like Mr. Skorka to lead the way and have these programs and to really invest in this in our committee and I mean in our district. That's my point. I just want to make sure that you know we don't burn out people by trying to do everything and we just want things to be done well.
[Richard Trotta]: I appreciate it. Thank you. Anyone else? Well, okay, so thank you. I'd like to pass the baton to Mr. Skorka and the students. Thank you.
[Michael Skorker]: Hi, good evening, Michael Skorka. I'm the advisor at the High School for the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility. I'll keep this brief. As Rich was telling you, right now at the high school, we have, you have the booklet in front of you, we have just over 35 projects happening. Many of them are at the high school, but a majority of them are happening citywide. And I'm looking at the mayor here. You've met with a lot of our students already. I want to thank you so much for your time. I think you've met with three or four groups already, and you're meeting with another one next week, they tell me. We appreciate the collaboration. I'm thankful for all of your support, Superintendent Belson. Very thankful for your support as well. This is, like I said, a collaborative effort, and we couldn't do it without the support of you. So thank you so much. In addition to the 35 projects or so, we have 84 members at the high school right now. It has grown exponentially since the first year we started to include students. The first year at the high school with student involvement was only 18, so we went from 18 students to 84. And it's growing every single day. I have students coming up to me asking to be part of it. and the club is inclusive of anybody. So anybody who would like to join that is interested in doing a project to help other people, interested in being a positive contributor to society, we're looking for them and we never say no. The point really is I'm really the guide on the side for a lot of these projects. The students approach me with something that they're passionate about, something that they've been thinking about changing or an idea that they had to maybe make the community a better place. And so I sit with them, I've sat with all 84 of them so far, and we come up with a strategy to make that plan happen, to set that plan in motion. Maybe it's meeting with some of you, maybe it's talking to somebody in the building, or maybe it's just really starting from the ground up and seeing where the project can go. All of these projects will happen throughout the course of the school year this year. Many of them, the majority of them, will be finished in May, where we have a fair, As Rich mentioned, we have started the CCSR at four schools now. We're at the Roberts, we're at the Columbus, the Brooks, and I'm forgetting one. And all of those schools will be putting on a fair at the end of the year as well to showcase the projects that they have done. The fair usually takes place in May, and so we like to form, we'll send out a notification when that happens to invite you. I think some of you came last year. I remember, Mr. Scare, you were there. I really want to thank you for coming. I think you saw how passionate the students were and what great work they're doing. Besides that, I just want to let you know, tonight we're going to have really short presentations about some of the projects that are happening now. Some of these projects have already been have already claimed national news. Some have been on Channel 5, which you'll hear from Stella in just a second. And without further ado, before I announce Stella to give the first presentation from the students, does anybody have any questions? Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Scowcroft, I'm really glad to see that your Orchards into the Fells will hopefully come to fruition. As a kid growing up in Medford, where the high school is now, that was once the city infirmary. where indigent citizens in their later years ended up. And before they built the high school, there were pear trees, cherry trees, peach trees, four or five different kinds of apple trees. And it would be really great if we could bring this back to that location.
[Michael Skorker]: We started cleanup just two weeks ago, just to start getting the area cleaned up. We're working with Miss Breda Smith at the high school, and so our goal by the end of the school year is to have that orchard ready to go.
[Robert Skerry]: I'm pretty sure if you contact the Johnny Appleseed Museum in Littleton, they might be able to help you out with some apple trees.
[Michael Skorker]: Thank you very much. Yes.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Go ahead. Thank you. So I see one of the projects is called Benches for Duggar. And I don't know if you realize this, but my, this is scary. She's a new job. He builds beautiful benches and tables. So, you know, you may want to write him up when there's building involved. And I know he recently retired from his job as state auditor, so he does have the time to come and volunteer and help.
[Michael Skorker]: The students. Well, I never say no to help. Anyone will tell you that. So you're hired.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Not that I volunteered them, but you know me. I'll throw anybody. But also, yes, I will. So sorry. I was going to say throw you under the bus, but this week I don't want to say that.
[Robert Skerry]: I've been there before, so it's nothing new.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Also, what I'd like to say is I would like to see some more PR about this. And I know that the transcript is always at our meetings. And I'm wondering if we could highlight one of these groups on a weekly thing with the transcript and see where they are now in the planning stages. And then every once in a while, pop a different group every week. Or some way, since they're here and you're here, I'm hoping that we can push for that to happen. Thank you for the moment.
[Michael Skorker]: Well, I'd like for all of you to join us. We have a Facebook page. It's funny to say that we just finished publishing this book. And so from this point forward on our Facebook page and our Instagram page, and you can feel free to follow us on both, we are posting each project once every three days so that the public is aware of the projects that are happening right now.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So that is great, but a lot of us citizens, especially linking the seniors, as Ms. Cugno suggested earlier, we need to imprint.
[Michael Skorker]: I agree. And Ms. Cuno, if I could mention, one of our projects that's happening right now is called Tech Time. And there are three students that go to the senior center and they teach the senior citizens how to use technology. So for example, how to set up a Facebook, what is Instagram, how to send an email, how to upload a photo, and how to take a selfie was a big one for them. And so they started in September of last year. And so the senior citizens have to sign up for an activity they want to do that day. And so only two signed up on the first day. And those two went back and told everyone else how awesome the session was. And so they went from two. And the next month, they had 20 there. And so they go once a month. And they're still doing it right now.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I did hear about that program. Actually, I had a lady who approached me on that. And she was extremely thrilled. that we were, that you guys were doing it. I'm not going to say we, you guys were doing it. And they were very happy because they actually had the interaction with the young kids and they got to learn something. I guess what I was looking to is that not everyone goes to those classes. So I know that they get together on a Friday at lunchtime, especially around the holiday times. And around the year, they have certain lunches that they do. And I know why, because our kids are in school. But if there's ever that opportunity to go there, just introduce themselves. Tell them what you're there for. And maybe solicit more people for the programs that you're doing. Something like that. That was what I was looking at. I did hear about that. And it's a fabulous program.
[Michael Skorker]: Thank you so much. It's a really great idea.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: That's it? OK. So are we going to introduce the students?
[Michael Skorker]: Yes. I would like to call up Stella Eliopoulos. She's going to talk about her project from the CCSR. Thank you.
[Stella Eliopoulos]: Good evening. My name's Stella. Some of you know me. I'm a senior. I've been a part of CCSR since I've been a senior. One of my regrets of high school is not knowing about it earlier, not joining it earlier. I wasn't fortunate enough to have Mr. Skorka as a teacher, so I didn't hear about it until the spring of last year from one of his students. Immediately, though, I went and I talked to him. I was like, I'm interested. I want to join. And so he kind of got me in for this fall. And it's been a really great way for students that want to be active and don't necessarily have the means to be active and do these projects that they want to do. This is a way for them to kind of, it's a vessel for them to initiate those projects and make a change that they've been hoping to see or that they want to move forward with. And for me, the project that I did It was actually out of state. It was in Houston, Texas. I don't know how much you all know about it. So over the summer, I was at this program in New York through the New York Times, and I met this girl from Houston. We stayed connected when we got back and right around the time the hurricane hit was when her school started and Hurricane Harvey. And so she said a little bit here and there about how it was affecting her and of course we heard it on the media, saw pictures and stuff like that. It was different for me this time hearing this personal firsthand account from someone that I knew, how she was experiencing it. A lot of school was canceled for her. A lot of her friends' houses got damaged. And so I kind of felt that tug of compassion that I hadn't before with something like this. And I wanted to do something. And now that I was part of CCSR, I had been searching for an idea for my project at the same time. I thought that connecting the two would be able to do what I wanted to do with this help for Houston. And so with the help of Mrs. Skorka, Mr. Trotta, and CZSR, I planned a donation drive back in September, I think late September. And school-wide, so I had students, I encouraged students to bring in donations like toiletries, non-perishable items, clothes, different things like that. And at first I was a little worried about students not really being active about the fundraising because I know that that's been kind of a problem in the past. whether fundraisers are very widely known around the school. But I was very pleasantly surprised at the amount of goods that we got. And it was actually so many goods that we didn't have the funds to ship them all down because it was too expensive. So here I got kind of stuck for a little while. And I was trying to figure out how to get them down there. And we reached out to different organizations to see if we could get any help. And the Red Cross, once the Red Cross was like, we can't really help you out in shipping them down there. I was like, oh. I got kind of worried. I thought we were pretty stuck and that we'd have to end up. donating the goods locally, but I didn't want to, I mean, I know that if they were to have gone somewhere locally, they would have been appreciated, but I was intent on seeing my project through. I wanted to get them to Houston. So my dad and I ended up renting out a U-Haul, and we packed up the 10-foot U-Haul, and it was so full that we could barely close the door, and we drove it all the way down to Houston ourselves. two days, and on the third day when we got there, we unloaded the goods at a church that we were able to get in contact with, with a person that my dad knew in Houston. And it was very successful, and now we're sort of still in the fundraising process. And none of it would have been possible without CCSR backing me up, and without their help, and Mr. Trott and Mr. Skorka helping me out. And your father.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And my, yes, and my dad. Very certainly. That's fabulous. That's absolutely fabulous. And hearing stories, and everyone can do it. You don't have to, you know, you made yourself special by doing that. And you also represented the students in your school doing that. Talk about a great way of opening up your heart. And, you know, and opening up your mind that for the sake of, you know, for anybody, it could have been us. It could be us. So if you treat someone like that, it's always going to be successful for you. And lucky enough, you know, you have parents, you have your father who decided that he was going to take this quality drive with his daughter for three days, and then another three days. So that's just wonderful. So anybody else on our committee would like to say anything? Kathy?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, I just want to say thank you very much. And I saw the story shared on Facebook, and I couldn't believe it. And now you're here. It's so wonderful. Thank you so much for doing that. It's incredible.
[Stella Eliopoulos]: I really wasn't expecting it to become as big as it was, but it's all pretty exciting. It was my pleasure. I had a lot of fun doing it and a lot of fun helping. Thank you. Thank you very much. Of course.
[Robert Skerry]: Madam Secretary?
[Stella Eliopoulos]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: of information through you. Where can residents, if they so wish, send contributions to?
[Stella Eliopoulos]: So I have a little blog that I made kind of talking about the trip. And we decided not to go with an online donation system. So if people wanted to donate, they should do so through checks. And one of the posts that I made on the blog is about how to donate. And so you write out the check. you indicate that it's going to Medford CCSR for the Houston relief, and then you send it to the high school with the attention to Mr. Trotta. So we can assure that it gets there. Great.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you.
[Stella Eliopoulos]: I'd like to pass it on to Luisa Barbosa and Rubia Fernandez.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: OK.
[Louise Barboza]: Hi, I'm Louise Barboza. And I'm Ruby Fernandez. Between both of us, we work together on two different projects.
[Ruby Fernandez]: Yes, the ELL program alongside Jenna Agnew, and Medford's Diversity Day alongside our another partner, Sarah Pondockley.
[Louise Barboza]: With Medford's Diversity Day, we work with the mayor's office and as well with the Human Rights Commission. What we plan to do with Medford's Diversity Day is to really showcase the diversity of Medford because we feel like it is not shown as often. And not just with race, we want to show the inclusion as well with disabilities and sexualities as well.
[Ruby Fernandez]: And with our ELL Give Back program, it has been recognized recently, nationally, by the KIND Grant. So we were, out of nearly 200 contesters, we were the top 10. And we're currently finalists for it. And with it, we work together to bridge the gap between new students coming from different countries and the difficulties that they may have doing regular tasks and just getting used to the art culture and the new environment.
[Louise Barboza]: Yeah, so with both of our projects, it really goes with the mission statement of what CCSR is. So CCSR is really to make global citizens and do it one student at a time. And both of our projects are really near and dear to us, because we obviously come from backgrounds. We were both in the ELL program. I mean, we obviously want diversity to be shown throughout Medford and have everyone access to learn more about cultures.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: When you say that you actually, do you, when students come to the school, do you actually approach them and try to like introduce them to other students?
[Ruby Fernandez]: So what it was is that we created a website and it acts as an online database with videos and these videos are made in different languages by students themselves. We try and focus on getting students that have been in the OLB program because it's a way to get back to a program that helped them. And the videos focus on tasks that we know from experience are very different in other countries, such as opening a locker, getting a bus pass, how to get your money order, or submitting any community service form. And currently, we're working on expanding that. So we're editing a lot more videos and including more languages throughout the year. Great. That's great.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: OK. And are you going to pass the baton over to anybody else?
[Ruby Fernandez]: Yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And up next is Kayla Malone. Thank you.
[Kaela Malone]: Hi, I'm Kim Malone, and I'm a senior at the high school. I've been part of CCSR for two years and a half. I originally started helping out some friends of mine who were already part of CCSR doing a mural that they were doing for the club itself. And, you know, from the little snippets I heard about the club, I was very interested because it obviously showed a lot of potential. And also, the people that were already part of it were already making moves, like, making progress. Two friends of mine also created like a newspaper so I was like I want to like do something for the community. So I joined my senior year and we had to create a project and what was it for me and my friends it was a major like there are a lot of issues we're passionate about but one particular one was essentially that uh what is it or Medford itself doesn't really have a lot of black role models in regards to, what is it, like teaching staff in schools and we wanted to create a way to bring black role models to, you know, the young students and what is it, we specifically focused on females. So our project was black female empowerment workshops and our last Well our first one, our first workshop was last week on Wednesday the 13th and essentially we brought in speakers, pharmacists and two biomedical engineers who would discuss their lives, the struggles they face getting to where they are. And also to give advice to the students that were there. And we had a very nice turnout of 20, 30 students. And so far, we've gotten much positive feedback from both the students and faculty that attended. And it would never have been possible without CCSR, because they pushed The club itself pushes and encourages the students involved to find issues that they're passionate about and be able to engage it. And I know definitely that this workshop would not exist if I wasn't, if this club didn't exist. And we have four more workshops planned for the rest of the school year on half days in January, February, March, and May.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: The workshops that you had, were they videotaped?
[Kaela Malone]: Yes, by Mr. Elliot Opulus over there. Of course.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: But are they playing? Are they playing on our studio station? Because that might be something that I think would be very beneficial for all of you, but also to have people see what you're doing, the creative workshops. Something like your workshop is definitely something that could be videotaped. Even what the girls have been doing, I think, is something that would be beneficial if you can't do the whole thing. But even a piece of it, just to really show off what you're doing. you know, going to Texas and seeing the faces and what your abilities have done to other people and just to show their faces and their gratitude and how they react. You know, and the same thing with the girls, you know, having students come in from different countries and knowing that there's this type of, you know, a lending hand, per se, that you're not going to be lost. We're going to be there to help you out. I think it's very beneficial. play that on our station. That would be great. Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yeah, so I think tonight we've heard about three different projects, which are very different. And I thank you so much for coming forward and telling us about your project, and girls also, about your projects. When you look at the project portfolio that the school committee members received, the scope of the projects is really just amazing. It makes me, again, feel so very proud because here we have kids coming up with projects, all sorts of different projects. What a wonderful idea to have role models come in and speak to our students and for you to be interested in that. You know, I read another one, one of our students, and I suspect we'll hear from her gladly so, is concerned about the styrofoam that we use for trays. And I could go through each one because there were so many positive, wonderful projects that kids came up with, and not just came up with, but then went forward and said, we're going to do that. We're going to make a difference. And I think that you've already made a difference. And I'm so proud that you're making a difference in Medford. So thank you very, very much. And I'm just grateful that the CCSR has flourished and taken off, especially. And I know that the leadership has been extraordinarily positive and helpful in this. And so I thank them as well. Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you. Thank you. Just for clarification, Mr. Spock, you had said that you're working with the Columbus, the Brooks, what were the other schools? McGlynn? OK, so everybody's included.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: All right, is there anyone else? Madam Chair, if I could just make just a quick comment. I've gotten to meet several of the groups. And the passion that you've all shown when you're talking about what you've selected to bring to the rest of the school year has been amazing. And also the cross. grades. So it's not just all seniors working together. I've seen seniors and freshmen and just a whole mix that's really been refreshing. So I want to thank you all. I know your advisors are fabulous. Mr. Skorka, Mr. Torati, you're great people and you're really invested in our students and it shows because you're so polished and so mature. So I'm just really, really proud of all of you. So thank you for sharing your stories with us.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you. And thank you, Justin.
[Justin Tseng]: Yeah, I would also like to add that CCSR is an organization that truly makes Medford unique among other communities. I mean, it really helps to stand out. If you just look at all these projects and the projects that we see in the portfolio, and we know that Medford students like to give back, they want to give back, and that Medford is in good hands. It's one of the organizations that's central to so much in our community, and we see it in about everything that we do, regarding schools and even outside of the community. I mean, I remember there was one meeting I was at, and There was just a whole list of initiatives starting in Medford, and almost everyone has attended back in the CCSR. And I just love to thank Mr. Trotta, Mr. Skorka, all the students, all the student leaders for doing so much for our community.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, I pass it. Do we have a motion to approve? I think we're all set, right? Can I entertain a motion to accept this?
[Robert Skerry]: Second.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: By Mr. Benedetto. Second by Mr. Skerry. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay, seven in the affirmative, the report of the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility has been placed on file, thank you. And I just want to throw something out there. I know that everybody said thank you to a lot of people, but this is when we talk about networking. And it was the superintendent, because it was with his networking and going out there and talking to people. And when he hears about an idea that he knows that it's going to benefit us, whether we agree or disagree at times, the superintendent does bring back so much to our city. And this, this particular program, is something that the superintendent definitely worked on. And it was with his networking and finding the people that did it, and showing them there's a reason to come to Medford, and there's a reason of why they should accept us for their grant. So I just wanted to recognize him for that. So thank you. And now for the report statement of interest. Thank you. Report on statement of interest application to NSBA. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: So we heard from the Massachusetts School Building Authority and the statement of interest that was put in place last year, last April, is not going forward in this round. Now, I had a good long chat with executives in the MSBA. And without going through the whole report, a year ago 26 projects were approved based on available funding. This year only 15 could be approved based on available funding. But we were strongly encouraged to go forward, to resubmit, to push the button, get it back in. And I have a feeling that a year from now we'll be in the We'll be in the hunt. Obviously, there's work to be done. We update a few more things than in the proposal. But I think it's going to go forward, and I think it's just a year delay. Just one of those things happens. And sometimes the money coming from the pool is greater or smaller. It just happened to be one of those years. So from 26 to 15 projects, it is what it is.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: Ms. Musto? It says 83 people of school systems applied and 15. Do we know who the 15 are that?
[Roy Belson]: Hasn't been released yet, but when it's released we'll know. I was told by the senior staff and their key people that the fact they came out and visited us on a full blown visit with architects and engineers, that we were very close.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: And then they have a few dates. One date for the accelerated repair is February 16th. Are you going for that one?
[Roy Belson]: We're going for the core program. The core program is April. The accelerated repair, we already got money from boilers for that. It's really a much smaller and more targeted program. This is much more expansive and has longer term values.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: And is there anything you have to do for this application by April that's different than what?
[Roy Belson]: We've got to come back to you for approval. We're just going to look over the application to see if there's any changes we want to make, if there are any things we want to emphasize or modify a little bit. And then we go back to the council and ask them to certify as well.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: So is it that the other people are more in need, that you think the 15 got it?
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. I think that they obviously prioritize by need, but they also prioritize by money. So if you have a project like ours, which could be a very expensive project, they have to be able to fit it in.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: All right. Thank you. OK? OK.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And?
[Roy Belson]: Staff report, please, on file.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I just want to actually, can I ask the mayor a question? Sure. And that is, so you're going to go back to this in April for re-approval or is it going to be starting... No, it's going to go back into the pool. A new application. So a new application means we have to pay the fee again for... No, there's no fee. No fee, just the approval, right? Okay, so I just want to make sure that that's... the way that is, but in the meantime, I know that as a committee, we've spoken about certain things that we want it done, and we were kind of hoping it was going to be incorporated into this. With this not being accepted now, and we don't know when it will be accepted if we go for it in April. What happens to the projects that we were thinking of doing? Are they just going to get postponed until we find out if we're going to get approved, or are we going to look at it as a committee and start really looking at it and saying, we really need to do certain things?
[Roy Belson]: There are projects we'll go forward with, and there are projects that we should try to match up with MSBA because they're very expensive projects. But there's plenty of projects we can go forward. We'll be going to the council on technology in January and a couple of other things. So we're going to keep moving. It's just a question of trying to get somebody else's money to purchase our own resources.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: So with the motion from Mr. Skerry, do I have a second? Second. Second by Mayor Burke. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Six affirmative, one absent. The motion to place the report on file is passed. Report on security cameras.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so this is a report you've asked for. The committee has a much more detailed report. I don't, as a rule, issue anything on security that could lead to someone you know, perhaps interfering with our operations. So the cover report speaks for itself. The committee, if you want to ask me specific questions at some point, please do. But for the general public, let's just simply say that we've spent approximately $200,000 on security camera upgrades and replacements at our schools. Security cameras, especially external ones, are very fragile devices. Over the years, they have been susceptible to adverse weather conditions, unpredictable power outages. The newer models are a little bit more resilient, but are not invincible, and they're not invulnerable. Placement of external calendars, cameras rather, on metal poles outside of the buildings tend to make them susceptible to lightning strikes, so we want to minimize that as much as possible. There are a few cameras We have no choice but to put them on metal walls because of the angle, but we try to minimize that and reduce that. We've contracted with American Alarm to upgrade and replace various cameras district-wide. There's 154 cameras across the district in our nine schools, and believe at this time that we have sufficient coverage to ensure security. Obviously, there's some cameras watching different things that aren't as essential as the main cameras that are watching entrances, exits, and main pathways in the school. And, you know, some of those are still a little bit more work to do, but you can see from the backup report that most of it's being done and will be done very quickly. The maintenance of full security coverage will require that we annually budget significant funding. It's not something that we can just look at every once every five years or four years. It may be approved to set aside funding and a special account to ensure that it will be used each year for upgrades and replacements, as well as other security equipment that's related to that, like the Raptor equipment and things like that, because those things wear out after a period of time. If it's not used in any given year, we can roll it over. and use it in the year that we absolutely need it. Security cameras, I need to emphasize, are only one element of our overall school security and safety response system. We continue to interact with public safety agencies and to practice special situation drills at all of our schools. You have specifics. I would ask if the committee wants to talk to me about any of it, you know, personally. I'd rather not be talking about anything specific about security that might lead someone to game the system at all.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Skaggs. Just a general question through you to Roy. Roy, since the new schools have been built, has anyone done an audit of the cameras and the way they record the daily happening? Yes. I know in some instances, you know, the cameras are there, but they don't, you don't get a full view of what's happening. I think that has to be addressed.
[Roy Belson]: Cameras are two types. Cameras that move and pan an area. Cameras that are fixed on an area. The cameras that move are very expensive, but they're also more susceptible to needing more repair and upgrades. We have upgraded our cameras many times since they were first installed, since 2001 and 2003. The system's changed. They no longer run DVRs. They're now more digital. Other things are different than when they originally were installed. Cabling has to be different. They have to be locked into 911 right now. So all these things require upgrades. And they'll continue to require upgrades as we go forward. So we've got good coverage. Some cameras cover the same area, but they cover it from a little different angle. So, as we talk and we set up a meeting, perhaps we can go into an executive session, allowable for security purposes, I'll give you more detail. But I think at this particular point, we're in good shape, and I think we've moved forward. I appreciate the fact that the mayor has authorized us to spend. for the security cameras because this is a big expense. I also want to thank Christine because Christine did an awful lot of work putting it together with Alan Arena in my office to ensure that we did all the work that needed to be done.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. Through you to the superintendent. So thank you so much for addressing concerns on the security cameras and making sure that all upgrades will be done by mid-January in every single area. I appreciate that as a committee member. I just want to talk a little bit about locking of the doors, especially at our high school building. I know we made some changes and rules. Could you just go over what that is or provide us with an update on that?
[Roy Belson]: Let me provide you with an update rather than try to talk about it. It's a big discussion about doors because even though we lock doors, we have buzzer systems and the like, somebody from the inside could let somebody in. And we've got to make sure that people know that that's not allowed.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And could you look at how the weekends are handled at different buildings and with people using our facilities and how they're locked after? So I'm requesting, actually, requesting motion, I'm making a motion, sorry, brain freeze, to have that report presented to us by mid-January.
[Roy Belson]: I'd like to set up, if I could, a special meeting for this purpose, because I don't want to talk about security in public.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I think that's great.
[Roy Belson]: I just think if we start talking about security, if we start opening up what is and what isn't, it's great.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I think that's a great idea. So I make that motion that we have a meeting, a committee meeting. Committee of the whole. Committee of the whole. Second. on security and doors locked and to school for different things. I think it's so imperative in this day and age. And thank you for all the work that you've done to make sure that we're moving forward in this direction.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, so could I entertain the motion of having a meeting of the whole set up for middle of January?
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we make it as soon as possible? It could be the beginning of February. We want to get the work done and we want to get a lot of other things in place so we can be complete in our discussion.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, so motion is to have a committee of the whole meeting for our security cameras to discuss our security cameras as soon as possible. Made by Mr. Benedetto, seconded by Mr. Skerry. All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes, and we will have a meeting. Did you receive and place this report on file? Yes, sorry. Recommendation to approve school lunch charge, I mean, sorry, charge policy.
[Roy Belson]: We're going to call upon our Director of Finance and Administration to talk to you about this. It's a requirement of the federal government.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Just for clarification, change policy or charge policy?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: Charge. OK. Charging of a meal through the school lunch account. Thank you. Breakfast or lunch, I should elaborate. So yes, we are going to be under our review from DESE, the Department of Education, in February of 2018. This is a reoccurring audit event that happens every three years now. And we will be up for review. As we started to prepare our initial documentation, we realized that we do not have an up-to-date charge policy, which every district is required to have. So we wanted to bring forward a draft copy for review and approval. in regards to when students are going through the line and do not have money for lunch or breakfast that day and or have not qualified or submitted a pre-reduced application. So they would be of a paying status and or a reduced status that still requires money to come through the line for purchase. Again, we have online capabilities so that parents and families can load the funds automatically on a routine basis, get reminders when the accounts are low. So we have to ensure that we have our compliance and that the requirements are directed for implementing and enforcing throughout the school year. So the purpose of this is mostly informative encourage and have the families understand that the meal programs are necessary to maintain a positive balance within each of their students' accounts. So we have charges throughout the district that range from five cents to $55. So in order to be able to pursue them in an accurate way, we need to have our own charge policy identified. So the school lunch program, again, is required to be self-sufficient. It cannot go in the deficit, and it cannot pay for its own overcharges. We need to have something in place documented. So as a whole, as a district, we have a relatively low negative balance in relation to our size and enrollment for the schools, which is very encouraging. So we don't have a significant issue at this time. So we have a district-wide negative balance of about $2,500, and that's, as I mentioned, ranging from 5 cents to $55. So again, some of these families will put funds on, but we need to have a mechanism to be able to remind them to be able to put prompts and have additional resources to reach out. So the recommendation that we are providing and the draft language incorporates the mandatory requirements that we need for this type of a charge policy that follow USDA guidelines as well as school nutrition guidelines here in Massachusetts. So our recommendation at the end of the draft policy is to limit the number of chargeable meals. We've identified three meals for the middle and high school students and five meals for the elementary students. Now again this does not mean that children are going through the line and cannot get a type of meal. They would get an alternate meal such as a cheese sandwich and other items. What it does is it requires that we put prompts in place to notify families again via Email response through the online Nutri-Kid system and or notes home and or reaching out through the guidance departments if there could be some situations at home. So again, reminder to families that at any point during the school year, they can apply for free and reduced lunch. If they are getting services from other entities through the Commonwealth, they would be eligible for free lunch and or reduced capacity. So encouraging that level of participation, if it's not directly a free and reduced application, that they are gaining services in other departments that we would then be able to reach those students. So the document in front of you is in draft form. And we would like to be able to have something in place when we have our review coming up in February.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So just a clarification. On the front page, you say we'll cap the charges at three meals for middle and high school students and five for elementary. But then if I understand it, they can still take a regular meal.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: It's an alternative meal. So if the meal of the day was chicken nuggets and something else, there would be an alternate meal option that would not be the same type of meal, such as a cheese sandwich and or another alternate. So we don't like to have the students come through and be in a situation where they've had a meal, and now they have to return it. So this is where a charge policy comes into place. We are able to prompt them, remind them up front, OK, you've charged two meals. You've charged one meal. You need to remind your parents or guardians that you need money in your lunch account.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: I'm just trying to figure out, first of all, in terms of the alternate lunch, are cheese sandwiches An option for all the time for everybody?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: They do have an option for an alternate during the line, yes.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: OK, because one of the things that we worked hard is not to signal students out.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: No, and again, it's not a factor of free or reduced capacity. This is a reminder that their account needs either attention in terms of pre-funding and or a notification to families to fill out an application that we can get them in that capacity.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So three days in a row is pretty short time. is what I'm concerned about. And I'm just thinking about for a family who's got a sort of short-term crisis, I mean...
[Kirsteen Patterson]: In regard to the high school and middle school level, so we did look at other districts and some of their suggested language. And there are many that do not allow any charges at the high school level. So we tried to be a little bit more flexible and indicate. And again, this is sporadic. If three days in a row, that's usually students can be forgetful. Parents might not have been able to get online. Again, it's a mechanism to flag either the guidance department and or to reach out to the parents in a more formalized manner to be able to say, you know, we need to provide some assistance and unless it's just a habitual problem with a particular student. Right.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Well, you know, obviously my concern is for the student who might have not yet signed up for a reduced price lunch or something, but all of a sudden there's a crisis. And I just wouldn't want them to be in any way signaled out. This is consistent, you say, with other school districts? And we have to have? We have to have a charge policy, yes. Well, I'll be curious what other people think about it.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. I have similar concerns to my colleague. You know, this day and age some families really struggle and paying for school breakfast or lunch is not easy for everyone. Not all who don't qualify for free and reduced have the funds available either. They just might make a little too much money, but not enough for the whole month. And I just feel like children know that children didn't get the same lunch as them. If they're given the cheese sandwich, it is a signal. I know we're providing food, and I appreciate that we do that. It's just a concern for me. I'd like to see the number increase at the bare minimum. I would like to see no number there. And just remind us of the parent, because I hate holding children accountable for things that are out of their control. Sometimes it's not the child, it's the parent's situation. that causes the lack of payment. And having a school lunch person say to you when you're in the line and your friend's next to you, I'm sorry, you've already charged two over. And someone hears it, it's an issue. It's just an issue for me. So I'm not really on board with it as it's written. And again, I wanted to. to go back to the report I requested on December 4th with how many free and reduced lunch applications we received by building, by school. Are we getting the word out to everybody initially in September? I know it's a great undertaking, so I was just still hoping to get that report before we make changes to what we're already doing. So I don't know. I'm still on the fence.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: Just a point of clarification. That's a separate item. This is mandatory for our review. So without this document, that would be a write-up issue. So this is why we're bringing it forward for draft form and discussion in order to, if that's the committee's direction to extend or provide a greater threshold, that's the prerogative of the committee. Just be aware that that could mean additional funds that would have to be addressed and or moved from a different source because the school service budget could not allocate that. When does this draft have to be accepted by? We are under review in February. OK.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And so, as you just clarified, this is something that we have to do because we're being, it's by government? Correct. But the amount is it?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: No. Again, it's a recommendation. This is a draft document for your review and discussion.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: So, excuse me. Ms. Stone? Oh. The first page, the last paragraph under policy is students without meal money on a consistent basis will have outreach provided by the administration to investigate the situation more closely and take further action as needed to assist in providing an application for services. So how, like I'm just thinking the process. So a lunch woman, I'm sorry I don't think there are any men, I'm not being sexist, sees that there's negative balance of $9.75 for the high school student. Correct. dining service will then call someone?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: No. So none of this would transpire in the course of the lunch or breakfast line. This would be outside of that. In the reporting capacity, we would be able to run a negative balance report and identify based on any thresholds that we've established to then reach out. So right now, with nothing in place formally, there's not a mechanism for us to to reach out to those families.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: But when you're saying outreach, are you saying, I'm going to send them because I've gotten it low balance for Nevin at the Roberts? Are you saying someone will actually call and say, is something going on?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: We would call and reach out to the family in that capacity because that would be they would likely not have an account that they're receiving the negative balance accounts. And or if they have, we would say, you've been notified, we need to address this. Or if there's a different type of hardship, let us direct you in the right area for services to be provided elsewhere.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: and will it be your office that will be doing the calling?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: No, this is food service that they have access to the reports and they run them on a daily basis for their number of meals served, all of that activity that they could run on a daily basis.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: May I? I'm sorry. Ms. Van der Klooten, and then we'll go.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Sure. So I think that having some threshold where the account is followed up on, that's not a problem for me. I definitely think that all of a sudden the kid goes through the line and they get a different meal is a problem for me. I would rather them still be able to take the regular meal. I mean, because it still shows up. The follow-up would still be necessary, right?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: Yes, they would be in a negative capacity going through the line.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: I mean, it says here, I mean, because there's a punishment instated in here. The child will be allowed to take a meal, and that meal will continue to be charged to the account at the standard lunch rate based on their meal benefit. So if the meal is three and a quarter, even though they're getting a cheese sandwich rather than chicken nuggets, they're being charged the same three and a quarter. To me, there is a punishment there, and I'm not comfortable with that.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: So it is going in the school nutrition guidelines. So there's nothing occurring that is outside of that context. So again, if it's the purview of the committee, there would be no item that was altered in that regard. That is what is provided as the USDA alternative and or to encourage participation and or looking for additional services and resources in order to possibly get free or reduced capacity. So that's the intent of, and that's the school nutrition program itself. That's not a Medford item that we're. Right.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So I understand that it's important for us to have some thresholds so that parents are contacted. And I understand that the alternative lunch meets the same criteria. But I'm not comfortable with that. Substitution. Don't substitute. So I'm comfortable with saying, OK, flag the account. We need to talk to the parents. That's fine. That makes sense. But I'm not comfortable with changing the lunch for the student. That just doesn't sit well with me.
[Roy Belson]: So I think it's important that you understand one fundamental point about all this. The federal government gives us money to subsidize lunches for free and reduced. If people are getting lunches who are not eligible because they haven't either done the work or haven't, you know, filled out their work or actually been declared eligible, the federal government looks at that as us taking their money to subsidize people who otherwise should be paying. That's where the federal law comes into play. They're concerned, and by the way, there are communities in the Commonwealth that have run up balances of $50,000, $60,000, $70,000. In fact, was it Wellesley?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: Framingham was one.
[Roy Belson]: Framingham, Wellesley, places like that really got slammed because people were taking lunches on a regular basis. So we have to have something. But it has to be reasonable so we can be defended with the feds when they come in and do the audit. But the reason behind it is when they give us a free lunch and they pay for it, they're saying that we want to pay the kid that's eligible. We don't want to pay for somebody who's just never paying. That's the way they look at it. So we've got to find some way to get something on the books. If not tonight, we certainly have to do it early in January. And if you want us to come back with some, you know, something a little less, let's say, severe as far as you're looking at it, that's fine. But we've got to do something that's got to be on the books.
[Robert Skerry]: I move that this paper be tabled.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Ms. Burke, will you withdraw?
[Robert Skerry]: Yes.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you. Christine, could you just explain where in the policy the three meals for middle and high school and five for elementary are? Because I'm having trouble.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: It's not. It's not in there. That was a recommendation. So we need to put some sort of a threshold. So I didn't include it in the draft document. I left it open for discussion. So the draft should include. Yes. Yes.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: I was struggling to find that. Yeah. Right. It's not.
[Robert Skerry]: Me too.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: The policy states is that if you reach zero, you're not allowed to get a la carte items such as a second entree or an additional beverage or snack. Correct.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: So again, in that. Non a la carte is a cheese sandwich? Am I correct? So that would be a meal. So once they, if they're not paying for their regular meal, the item is not, you should not be allowed to charge other items, such as. That kind of makes sense.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: That you can't get extra stuff. Right. If you can't pay for the core lunch. I guess that makes sense. Correct. You're defining the core lunch as, is it just a Tuesday lunch? Are there options? No, I was giving that as an example of an alternate.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you. I guess what Ms. Vanden Heuvel said, if the parents are going to be called anyway, because that is going to be an underbalance, right? They're going to be called and said, gee, you have extra, you have minus balance on this. Does it really matter if it's like, a cheeseburger or if it's a salad, I mean, they're going to be under the amount no matter what, and they'll be notified. So I guess my suggestion for this, and I know that you still want to speak, but my suggestion for this is that why don't we look at this and approve what you need to be approved as far as what we need for the federal government. So we have that piece. But don't approve, make it separate. And don't approve the amount until maybe you could come back with something a little bit better.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: I believe that the amount and or the threshold is what really kind of helps drive what the policy and what we're able to. act upon at that point. We don't have any direction at this point in order to reach out in a true capacity and say, obviously we can take a look at our current negative balances and go from there, but that's just a guideline. So we're looking for something formalized in which they will be looking for as well for the review process. So whether it's just identified as a dollar threshold, a number of meals, this was merely a suggestion for that language. If you want to cap it at $50 per child, again, recognizing at the end of the year that has to be made up every year and cannot be funded by the school lunch program.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Is there a cost difference between the cheese sandwich meal and the other meal that the school system is like paying more for one than the other? Yes, there is. Is it significant?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: It could be. day-to-day. I can't give you an exact amount every day, but if you're serving a cheeseburger versus a peanut butter sandwich, yes, there's a cost differential there. Again, it's based on federal guidelines and what we're required to provide.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: My second question is, can we pass this without changing the food we offer to the children? without substituting the meal, contacting parents after three missed days, reaching out to do all the outsourcing, contacting them to get payment without saying, now you have this separate meal. Can we do it that way?
[Kirsteen Patterson]: I will have to look and get clarification through the SNA if that wording specifically is acceptable. Again, we do have federal guidelines that we have to adhere to and this may be derivative of that because the federal government is subsidizing these meals through free and reduced programs at a much higher rate than the state. So that would have to be closer reviewed.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I'm making a motion at this point that you go back and you look at the guidelines to see if we can accept this without changing the actual lunch that the students get. And if so, great. And if not, how much leeway we have in the number of meals that we need to to a minimum number or the largest number we can put down.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: The leeway of number of meals is really per the committee's. So we could say 20. I'm saying that that was a recommendation based on food service and how we've looked at other communities in that regard. And again, recognizing the cost implication at the end of a year, trying to collect on some of those negative balances. So we wanted to just put something in relatively conservative as a starting point. Again, this is a draft document to review as a first round and certainly go from there.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So the motion's on the floor right now for her to check the wording to see if we can do this and move forward without changing the lunches for any of the students. I need a second.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I second. OK. So by Mr. Benedetto, the motion is to check the wording to the document and bringing it back.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: To see if we can meet the federal requirements without changing the mail options for our students. And second by Mrs. Bandicoot.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: All in favor? If we could also get the actual language that you want inserted into the document, so in policy language terms. of a few different options.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: In terms of a threshold for chargeability? Yes. OK, very good.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: So I guess the motion is to check the documentation to see what it meets, to bring it back to the school committee, and also to make sure that we have the actual terminology on the report. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? The ayes have it. Motion to place this on file for our following week.
[Kirsteen Patterson]: Just one final reminder to our families that this week Stop and Shop has generously donated free lunch to all the students within the district. So on Thursday the 21st. So nobody has to worry about that.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And thank you to Stop and Shop. And thank you to Stop and Shop. to send out a letter of recognition and thanking them. Justin, I think we did. Did you still want to say something on this?
[Justin Tseng]: Oh yeah, I just wanted to echo what committee member said about having to make sure that We're not discriminating against students because they don't have the financial need for a bunch of circumstances. And I was also concerned that the word that you pointed out with regard to having two bunches of different policies charged at the same price. I don't think that's equal, and I think that needs to be reviewed.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you. OK. Negotiations and legal matters, there are none. Okay. And two items under suspension. May I have a motion to entertain? Motion for suspension of the rules. Seconded. Motion to suspend the rules by Mayor Burke. Seconded by Ms. Vanderpool.
[Roy Belson]: So, Dr. Perrault is here. I gave you two reports tonight. One is on the bus situation. The other is on vaping. I don't think we need major discussion tonight, but I want to give you an opportunity to get up-to-date on this, so you're aware of what's going on, and we can follow up and give you additional information as we go forward. Dr. Prowler has met with us today, and we've met with the bus company, we've met with the police, we've done a whole pile of things, and let Dr. Prowler explain the reports in front of you.
[John Perella]: Thank you. Good evening, colleagues. Let's begin, as well, by thanking and congratulating two outgoing members, Mr. Skerry and Ms. Cunha. It's been an honor and pleasure to work with you the past six years. Both of you do the city of Medford dignity and honor in your service. Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you.
[John Perella]: The two reports that I presented to the superintendent are obviously quite different. One is on vaping concerns in the building, as well as some of the Some of the maneuvers we have made to adjust regarding the North Menden bus, I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding those if you like, or I can present them as well if you like.
[Maureen Rooney]: brief presentation?
[John Perella]: Sure. We can begin with the North Manfred Bus. In response to the incident that took place on Friday, December 15th, we have spent many hours meeting to discuss what took place and why it took place and how we best ensure that nothing like that happens again. In the review of our data, we did notice that the North Manfred Bus has not been filled to capacity over the past few months since we instituted a listing and basically we confirmed students who are utilizing the bus during the afternoon. We have also decided to change the location of the drop-off and pick-up for the North Bedford bus. Initially, it had been in the executive loop, which, if you know anything about it, logistically is a concern. There's a lot of traffic during the end of the day in that area. And we do have supervision in that area, but it also encompasses a larger chunk of space. So beginning this afternoon, actually, we changed the bus route to meet in the West Courtyard area where the MBTA buses go. This is much easier for us to control because we have a system in place there with the buses. And today, it went really smoothly. There were 44 members of our student body that took the bus this afternoon without any incident or concern. We also will be meeting with the students who signed up for that bus tomorrow afternoon with the police department to discuss concerns regarding behaviors and appropriate approaches when getting on the bus. For the remainder of the school year, we do have two assistant principals that are assigned West Courtyard area for the busing, so we'll be taking attendance and keeping track of students getting on and off the bus. Of course, we have been in communication with the family concerned over the past four days, and we are working with them to ensure that they get all the materials for furthering their education while the student is out.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. Dr. Perla, thank you for coming forward. Can you just describe what happened? Because we're talking about an incident most people watching at home have no idea what happened, how it happened. And just to clarify for ourselves as well as everybody watching.
[John Perella]: So what took place on Friday afternoon was there were roughly between 30 and 40 students that were in front of the superintendent's offices, and that is usually the pickup area for the North Benford bus, which comes around 2.50. It was a cold afternoon, and as the bus turned the corner to come into the loop, students started to get excited. My understanding is that they were jostling for position for seats that they wanted to sit in, particularly. As the bus came around the corner, it's a very short area where the turn is. Students were pushing. Unfortunately, there were two cars parked in that area, which is a fire lane. Sometimes we have to continuously ask people to move their cars during the afternoon, again, because of the location of where all the administrative offices are. Students, while they were pushing out, one inadvertently was pushed too far out, and as the bus was still moving, it ran over the student's foot. At that point, the student went back to the lawn. The principal was right in the area, not too far away, about 50 yards from that. Walked over, we called the school nurse. The students all got on the bus, then they were taken off the bus. What we did was we were able to get another bus to come quite quickly because we had to have the police department come and the ambulance come as well to keep record of what happened and to basically investigate the situation. The other students all got on the bus safely. We made a phone call to all the families for those students on that bus to just explain to them that there's going to be a late arrival home because of the incident that took place. We worked with the police department as well. We showed them the videotape that we had of the situation, which confirmed the story I just presented to you.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I have a few questions. I've been bringing up throughout this school year some concerns of overcrowding of this bus. And I've been assured that it's not overcrowded. And I've been assured that it's been monitored repeatedly throughout there. Is there someone assigned to stand at this bus stop from this point forward?
[John Perella]: Yes, the bus stop has been changed, so it will be in the area where we have more extensive supervision. There has always been an individual placed in that area, ironically because of concerns regarding vaping that we had spotted in the same exact spot, which is not connected, obviously, to this bus situation. So we have been stretched pretty thin, trying to cover as many areas as we can during the afternoon, which is, you can imagine, is a pretty interesting time period with lots of people moving. But for the remainder of the school year and for the foreseeable future, we will have individuals who will monitor the actual getting on of that bus, that specific bus, in the West Courtyard.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So another concern I have is high school kids are big kids, and they take up a lot of space on a bus. And you add the size of their backpacks, which is like another person, really, another small person, trying to fit on the bus. And maybe that's why a lot of students are trying to push on. It is colder now. Maybe some of the athletic teams are done, and there might be more students taking this bus. I would love to see it closely monitored, and maybe another update in a month as to how that's going, and to follow up with this. We don't want our students hurt.
[John Perella]: Sure. And just to detail, the day of the incident, that bus was not full either. The police department also confirmed that, that there was plenty of space on the bus, unfortunately. And this afternoon as well, there were 44, and the bus fits about 53, I believe.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you for the update. Thank you for taking care of the manor so quickly and effectively, and making sure our student was treated well.
[Unidentified]: You're very welcome.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I appreciate that. OK, Ms.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz, waiting patiently. Thank you for the updated report, Dr. Brower. I also spoke to a couple of parents, and they mentioned to me that over the last week or so, there's been a lot of pushing and shoving every day. And I'm just not sure, did you interview any of the students to find out why that's happening? Is it because? It just seems like it's because it's overcrowded. But I know that particular day, it wasn't. And some of the parents I spoke to said that one parent said that their student was waiting in line, but it was so crowded that their student went off to call for a ride from a parent. It seems like maybe it starts out crowded and maybe it doesn't end as crowded. But I think what I've heard is that students are sitting on the ground in the bus. That's what I've heard. And I've also heard that the bus passes aren't being checked for ridership. And that there's just, for some reason, recently, pushing and shoving going on. So I don't know why, if it's not overcrowded, why are shooting, you know, pushing and shoving to get on the bus?
[Roy Belson]: You know, is it? So let me answer that a little, because we had an interesting discussion with the police. It seems that preferred seating is the back of the bus. they shoved to get to the back of the bus, because that's where they can have a little more mischief, perhaps in some cases. And I say that benevolently, but I mean, they wanna get to the back of the bus, so they're trying to get preferred seating. Normally you like to sit up close and get off the bus faster, but that's not the case. So obviously we have to have a meeting with the students, we have to make it very, very clear that behavior on this bus is really going to be monitored very closely, because You just can't put buses on just simply to, you know, get more of the same, because if they're going to push and shove on an uncrowded bus, they're going to push and shove on the next uncrowded bus. We've got to make sure that they understand that this is something, it's a privilege to ride the bus. We're trying very hard to give them the transportation they want, but they've got to work with us. Everyone has to own the solution. We also worked with the bus company, Christine worked with the bus company this afternoon, that if in fact we needed a backup bus on a given day because it was particularly cold or we anticipated bad weather. So let's say it was a snowstorm and we know that everyone's going to want to ride the bus. we could get a backup bus in that situation. But then it costs us to do that. So we wanna do these things, we wanna have contingency plans in place, but we need the students to cooperate with us. As the headmaster points out, we're gonna have a meeting with them, we're gonna make it very clear. And if you do things you're not supposed to do, you're not gonna ride that bus, we're gonna take you off. The other thing that's a situation for us is that people like to go with their friends. We can't be in a situation where people who don't need the ride home get on the same bus. It just is not workable for us. There's a major expense with that. Especially now, we're talking about adding a bus to the elementary schools. We're talking about other kinds of costs. We've had to add a bus to move some ELL students to the Brooks this year. Transportation costs are not inexpensive. They cost $375 a day for a bus. times 180 days, that's a lot of money. So if we're going to provide services, we expect people to be respectful and we expect them to work with us. So we've gotta keep working at it, no question about it. And the injury is obviously tragic and unfortunate and we've been in contact with the family and we'll continue to be supportive to them. But everyone's gotta own the solution. It just can't be, you know, whatever you do will be okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Are you all set? Yep, I think so. I just wanted to make sure, so are the student IDs going to be monitored to make sure that the students that are going on the bus are the students that are eligible to go on the Fulton Heights bus? I'm not sure, like it does say that there will be administrators out there reviewing student usage of the bus. Are they going to be checking them as they go on?
[John Perella]: Yes, so we have a running list as well. As was reported in the fall, there are approximately 90-odd students who could use the North Medford bus, but at any point there's between 30 and 40 that take the North Medford bus, which creates a unique situation that like the superintendent just mentioned, it could happen that one day all decide that they want to take the bus. But because of the different things that happen at the school with sports and a variety of other reasons why they might not be going home immediately after school, it isn't the case on a typical basis. And back to your original questions, our understanding was that because of the way the cars were situated that day, students were sort of getting to the bus by going between two cars, which caused a sort of a a problem for people behind pushing. And that's basically how it played out. I don't think it's as typical, the pushing part. But it is obviously a concern for us. And we'll be addressing with students beginning tomorrow. And that conversation will be ongoing for the remainder of the year.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And there was just one other concern was what I also heard was that the students were walking in the street along with the bus. So is there anybody going to be right out there making sure that students aren't doing that for any of the buses?
[John Perella]: So that will be happening, obviously, when the new location is in. The North Method bus is unique because it comes later. It comes by itself. So sometimes, you know, the time varies between when it actually arrives. So sometimes it'll come and students will see it and they'll come running from outside the foyer to get to it, where it's now going to be picking up and dropping off. There'd be other buses that would basically file in. So it's much more organized in that sense. So we anticipate that not being an issue, especially because there's no reason to cross the street where the new buses are coming. That's where the faculty parking area is. But where this area is, people are constantly crossing, adults and students, to get into the student parking lot area. So it was just sort of a concerning location where it had initially been. But we think that by moving it, it's going to actually address the core problem.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Justin?
[Justin Tseng]: Yeah, I want to say that I feel that Mr. Bilson's analysis of the situation is completely accurate. From my experience, students push and shove to get on the bus because they want preferential seating. You know, you don't want to walk onto a bus where half the seats are already taken and you don't have as many options. So, I mean, I've been on both sides of the situation where I've been pushed, and I, well, I haven't been shoved, but I'm purposefully shoving. So, I mean, I know what it's like to, why we do this. And, you know, what he says is completely correct. And, you know, it's part of our responsibility as students to understand that, you know, this is a privilege and that we have to be respectful in using it. And I think we should find a way to advance that idea in the schools and within the student body. And I'd like to thank Dr. Peralta for doing that thing. I think moving the location where the bus picks up is very important and it will do us a lot of good.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to say one thing. I want to thank Justin for the first time in my career.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Someone said I was completely correct. First and only. I just want to say thank you to you, staff, for doing it in such a professional manner. And you really did expedite it very quickly. And I just want to say thank you for that, because it was taken under control very quickly with your staff, with the superintendent, And Justin, I stand here and sometimes over the years I kind of think that, you know, what's happening? And then I hear someone like you. And you just make it so refreshing. And you really do make me feel that I'm not crazy sometimes. That we have to be sensible. We're not saying, of course, that this particular situation was the cause of any particular person. But we have to get back to a society where we have to take our responsibilities, that there are repercussions, and that we have to abide by some rules. And we're becoming young adults, and you are going to be leaving the four walls of those high schools, of the high school. So it's very refreshing to hear that you understand you can't just be a free-for-all all the time. So thank you.
[John Perella]: The second topic is vaping and juuling. This is a very concerning topic for, I think, everyone. You know, and I think you're starting to see it infiltrate conversations in homes, and I know I've had that with my children as well. Just to give you a little bit of summary, about six months ago we started to see this on the radar, that this was, this concept of vaping or jeweling was creeping into schools, and we hadn't really experienced it at the high school last spring. But we had conversations about it. We were aware that it was something to be concerned about. In the fall, we began to see it more often in the building. We immediately pulled in some experts and had many discussions about it, including the assistant district attorneys, also the Medford Police Department. We decided pretty quickly that we had to share this information with the faculty of the building. We had faculty meetings where we not only discussed it, but we showed videos of how it's used and we also presented to the faculty items to look at. In fact, I brought one with me today just to show you if you're curious what it looks like. And in that case is a classic vape with a charger, which you can plug into any USB port. And that is actually quite a large one. The Jules is much smaller. In our experience, they're very concerning because they're hard to see, they're hard to find. You can hide them. The odor that emits from it, there is some odor, but it's not something that would alert you to a concern. Sometimes it's flowery or perfumey. This is something also that I'm collaborative with other principals, ten other principals that we meet monthly and this is the number one topic for all of us, talking about how do we deal with it, how do we react to it. So what we've decided at the high school to build a leadership team is, like I said, we've had many conversations about it. The first key was to inform the faculty what to look for and to be aware of this might be happening. We also started to implement ideas from this into our health courses and health classes, specifically on vaping. Right now, presently, there is a public service announcement program, a presentation being created by students for students on vaping. We think that's a real key ingredient. But the thing we haven't done really well yet is begin to share this with the community as a whole. Partially it's because we were still trying to understand ourselves and we didn't feel comfortable basically alarming the community of something that we didn't really truly understand. To that end, we'll be holding a parent forum Thursday, February 8th at 6.30 p.m. where we have public speakers coming in, doctors and other people in the tobacco prevention field as well as the Medford Police Department to begin the conversation with the community as well as the In Plain Sight program that was so successful last year about what it looks like, for instance, where it could be hidden, and what do they smell, and how do you actually identify this as a concern? So obviously we've taken this very seriously, and we're going to continue to take it seriously, and we think the best way to approach this is to communicate with not only the faculty and the community and the parents, but really the students, to sort of begin the conversation with them. If we're not going to teach them about this issue, what are we really doing as professional educators? This is a concern for us. So these are the steps we have taken to date. I'd be happy to continue to update you on the strategies that we create and approach for this concern. And I'd be happy to answer any questions at this time.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Dr. Perola, you said 630?
[John Perella]: Yes, 630. This is also run in conjunction with our school nurse, Tony Vento. So there's a lot of coordination in place for this.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I just wanted to ask real quick, what are the repercussions right now if they are getting caught with it? Is it based on cigarette smoking?
[John Perella]: Yes, so technically it depends on what it is. If it's a tobacco that's being vaped, then of course it would be considered as a tobacco or cigarette. There are times when you can vape other types of drugs, typically marijuana, and that would be treated as a drug.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And could you just quickly, for people that don't know what the repercussion is, what is it, if it's looked upon as tobacco, what are the repercussions?
[John Perella]: So basically, the key to it is communication with the families. We bring the families in, we talk about tobaccos. as a really addictive sort of, it's a disease. So we do punish, there are punishments, but what we find is more important is the communication and really trying to help a student move from, if it's tobacco or drug use, to away from that. And we have lots of different programs that we incorporate into that treatment or that discipline or that consequence. It really depends on the situation and the student. You know, someone who the first time is very different than someone that's a chronic situation. But the real key is to bring the families in and to have an open conversation because what we've come to realize is that we can't actually fix this problem. It's a community problem. So the only way we can to properly address this is in partnership with the families.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And is it addressed the same way if it's marijuana or any other type of drug?
[John Perella]: It would be the same as if we found them with marijuana on them, yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And you're definitely right. You have to bring in the family or the guardian or whoever is dealing with that student. But you have programs that go along with that type of repercussion. Yes. So it's not just I'm suspending you from school for a week and then come back.
[John Perella]: So we moved away from that. What you have 222 a few years back, Well, I should say, in the past, a consequence from something like this could be suspension, could be expulsion. Obviously, that doesn't solve the issue of concerns. And plus, it's, at this point, not legal. So we have to find ways to continue to educate the student. But we also look at this as an addictive problem. And oftentimes, the solution to something like this isn't just punishment. It's working with them to find the solutions.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: When you have these, when you've been having these types of discussions, is it, I'm just curious in knowing if students are thinking because now it's been legalized that it's not as bad anymore? You know, they just don't think it's anything bad anymore because, oh well, it's legal?
[John Perella]: I think there are two pieces to this. One, obviously, with the change in marijuana laws, the way it's viewed in society. I think the technology in these are probably appealing for lots of students. And it's also marketed as sort of a solution to people who smoke. So it's seen as a cure or a help to cure people, which kind of, I think, hid it from us as a concerning, like a problem, I think, in society. So I think there are a combination of factors that probably attract students to it. And also, you know, we hear all kinds of different things. And the principals I work with tell me that there are games to see if you can actually get away with vaping close to somebody. Because literally, if you weren't looking at me and I was vaping, you wouldn't know. You wouldn't be able to smell it. It wouldn't seem like I was smoking a cigarette or a drug. So, you know, it's concerning. You know, there's lots of things that it can be done in ways that it had to find. for us and it's not expensive so how much is like I think that is actually expensive that piece right there I think it ranges from 60 to 100 dollars really the gadget the gadget which is passing yes I thought it was a lot and a lot of these things can be bought online which doesn't require identification so It's definitely, I know the schools take the brunt of these situations and how to handle them, but we view it as a serious community and really a societal issue that we have to work together to address.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you. Madam Vice Chair, if I could. Last year we held in plain sight in City Hall, actually this corner office that's just behind us. And I was amazed at what was in this room and how deceiving these gadgets are. I might have mentioned last month when Team Medford came forward, it could look like a can of hairspray, but really it's not. It's completely empty, and it's just a spot for something else to go in. And he had brushes that have pieces that come out. Every object that you may normally see in a bedroom now has another purpose. And I really urge all parents to come if you could announce the night when you have it scheduled. It's so important to be on top of it and have an awareness that this is happening right underneath your nose. And to just stay on top of it could make the difference between that road or, mm-hmm, Staying on track. So it's a great program. And yeah, if you need any assistance, thank you from us. Please let us know
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Kathy, did you have your hand up?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So Dr. Perrella, over the weekend between Friday and Sunday, the Medford High School Medford Vocational Facebook page, parents were writing just nonstop about the vaping. And they want to know who's monitoring the hallways and outside the bathrooms. And I guess, like you said, it's in plain sight. So a student could walk by you, and then they're vaping just as they walk by you. And I've been told that this is happening, and that people, you know, students are doing, you know, vaping in the bathroom, in the classroom, like Aaron described once before, where they're puffing it right into their sweatshirt, and it's, they're just, it's done in plain sight, almost like right in the classroom, and it's really concerning to a lot of parents. It just seems like, because they're such small devices, very hard to detect, and it's odorless. I mentioned to the parents that we had the discussion with Team Medford, and that Penny was here. And I added the YouTube video and told them exactly what sections that were discussed. And I encouraged them to go to the seminar. And they'd also like to know, when is the student assembly? That was their big question. What did they hear from their children about the student assembly? But I don't think it happened yet. Or did it happen?
[John Perella]: No. So again, our thinking in the past two or three months is to sort of identify the concern. explore it, investigate it, share it with the faculty and the families, and then begin to work with the health curriculum to make sure it's implemented in those areas, and then create conversations around it with the PSAs, for instance, that students are creating for students. So I agree with a thousand percent what you're saying. You know, in fact, as I was mentioning earlier, I was at the principal's meeting in Beverly High School. And as I was leaving Beverly High School, two kids walking in were vaping. As I was leaving, the discussion on vaping. And I actually did, I turned around and walked back in. I was like, can you tell me something? I felt like I was chasing them down the hallway. I was like, these aren't even my students. But it just really bothered me that this is such an issue and a concern. I'm sure Justin could probably tell us a lot more than we know. I'm sure he will. But the big concern for us, obviously, is that they're small, they're portable, they can be hidden. Once they go into a bathroom stall, there's nothing that we can do to find out what's going on in there. You know, as far as we can't go in the bathrooms to that degree, to check in constantly, looking in and out. That happens. We do have the principal go into the bathrooms on occasion, a couple times a day, to check the bathrooms, but sometimes it's not done in bathrooms either. There are a lot of concerns of where it can be done.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I do have a question, like, is it a particular bathroom or area, and could we have, like, Officer Riccardi, you know, monitor that area? You know, if there's, like, a certain bathroom that, you know, this is really happening in. You know, I also read a comment that, you know, that, you know, one parent said that their child was offered, you know, to purchase marijuana. outside the bathroom or in the hallway. So I just don't know if we need to have maybe Officer Riccardi kind of rotate around. I don't know. I just wanted to bring it to your attention.
[John Perella]: Well, Officer Akadi is pretty busy during the day, too. So he does a lot of that. But we can always probably use more supervision and oversight. And I will speak with the principals to really up their surveillance of the bathrooms. But we do think, ultimately, the solution isn't in that direction. It's in communication and education with families. We think that's really the way to address it. Because if not in school, then the minute they leave, I think vaping will continue to be used outside, obviously, the school.
[Roy Belson]: Superintendent? I think that, you know, Dr. Burrell was expressing extremely well is that this is a community thing. Parents, everyone has to be involved. If you put enforcement in one place, they'll go to another place. So just move the location. We've got to change the outlook on the dangers about it and why it's not a good idea. And we've got to work with the merchants, perhaps even to possibly put a city ordinance in to ban the sale of it. You know, it may be something that we can look at and possibly work with neighboring communities to get a regional ban in the area, so it makes it that much more difficult to acquire the materials. This is a comprehensive issue, but it's not going to be done by just having a person chase somebody down the corridor. That may be... nice for a particular situation, but not as a solution to the larger picture.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: The sale is banned to minors.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Just like cigarettes. Yeah. In the city of Medford, for a vote of health.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just, you know, hopeful that maybe it's banned in general, because I don't think it's good for adults either. If adults have it, they give it to the kids at home, just like a beer, you know, your home. Let's have a beer or watch a football game. Let's do this, let's do that. Sometimes there's a sense that if a parent's doing it, it's okay. Gotta get that message across.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Justin, I know you had your hand up.
[Justin Tseng]: Yeah, I think baking is a really serious issue that really came out of nowhere. And it really took hold about six months ago. And I didn't know it was such a big issue until the beginning of this school year. And I think we have to work with different communities. talk about it too, because I know people who've gotten them from Uber or from different cities, and it's just, it's a super serious issue. I think a really effective way we can tackle this, in addition to implementing lessons about it in the health department and with students, is having faculty, teachers talk about it with students too. My math teacher just wrapped up a unit on drug use with our class, and I think it was super, super insightful and super effective. And just having teachers be very genuine about, you know, you shouldn't do this. And actually vaping is, could be, we don't know enough about it, but it could be worse than cigarettes because of the frequency, the high levels of nicotine and the frequency that people use it. And I totally agree. It just has to be a whole community effort. And it's tougher to deal with than cigarettes because it's less visible. But we have to try. And we've been so, so successful with cigarettes in the last 20 years. I think we need to start doing the same things with vaping. And I trust that you and the school community will do whatever we can.
[John Perella]: I'm really happy to hear what Justin just said, because one of our initial strategies was to get the teachers to have these conversations with the students in class. We know that the relationships that they build are much more powerful than a presentation in front of 300 students in an auditorium. So I'm really happy to hear that, because part of the initial training was to inform the faculty what these things were, and how they operate, and the effect that they have on people. So it's good to hear. Obviously, we have a lot more work to do.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I think basically the point of information on this is really the educational piece. But an educational piece not only for, as you said, students and faculty, but this is definitely something that we all have to have our ears and eyes open about. It's unfortunate because it's not a Medford issue. This is a country issue. This is a worldwide issue. But, you know, the bottom line is we're also concerned about our back door and our backyard. So we want to make sure that our kids are safe. And I think just opening up and talking more about it. And, you know, as you said, Justin, we don't have all the statistics yet about this, you know, like we do about the cigarettes. But we don't want to get there either. And the more and more I'm having these conversations about this, it seems that it's almost like a challenge, a challenge that kids are having. just to like, if they can get away with it type of thing. I don't know. I mean, I'm not saying that they don't want to do it, but it just seems like even the example you just gave, that when you were walking by, it's like, OK, could I fool them? Could I get away with it? And I think that has a huge component to it too. But the educational piece of just letting them know, you're right, we don't have the statistics yet. Yeah, they made it legal, but it doesn't, you know. This is what really could happen. And I just think that that's an important piece, but definitely a piece that parents have to be involved in this one.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms. Van Der Poot? Yes, I just wanted to thank Dr. Perella for being proactive on this issue. I think it's extremely important. I mean, I remember when vaping was considered to be healthier than cigarette smoking. And so the idea was that you were stepping down if you were vaping. Clearly, when you presented the last time and mentioned jeweling and the amount of nicotine, I was shocked. And clearly, this has taken on a new concern for us. So thank you very much. You're welcome.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I had a couple questions. Are we tracking how many students, how many incidents are occurring both in school and on the school grounds so we have data? Yes. Have we gotten any flyers like just we were talking about at a last meeting about bullets? about and putting them up through the school like when they equals you know a whole pack of cigarettes like people don't know that kids don't know that they think that this is better when my doctor I mean my daughter is getting her nurse practitioner, and everybody comes in and said, oh, I quit smoking. I'm just so happy. I'm only vaping now. And she's like, no. That is not something to be happy about. It's actually worse for you in many ways. Even without the data, they know that.
[John Perella]: And I think that's particularly terrible for adolescents, obviously. You know, adults, the impact on adults is a bit different than on adolescents. So we are right now gathering up a lot of steam for our presentations to the faculty, the students, the community, through the PSAs, through literature, as well as presentations for the spring.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And we talked about using the Vocal Graphics Department to make those posters. The sooner the better. Let's get that education started. Let's just let them talk about, hey, did you see that poster in the hallway? And then keep moving forward. I would hate to have a kid do it one more day than necessary.
[John Perella]: Agreed.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you for your presentation. And maybe by the end of the school year, you can follow up with some data and what things have worked and what which areas we need to improve.
[John Perella]: I'd be happy to and obviously all of you are invited to that forum as well. I hope to attend. Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Do I have a motion to revert back into the regular meeting? So moved. Do I have a second? Seconded by Mayor Burke.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you very much, Vice Chair. At this point, it is our last meeting of the calendar year, and we have two of our members that will be leaving us. And we'd like to pay tribute to them, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: So we have a number of presentations here. We'd like to make each of them, and it's our custom to give everybody a chance to say something. So we can... Let everybody say something and then make the presentations. That's probably a good way to go.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Ms. Vandekloot. Thank you very much. So I've been thinking about this for the last couple of weeks and really wondering what to say to my esteemed colleagues who are leaving us. First, I'm going to turn to Robert Emmett Scurry, who's been sitting next to me for an awfully long time. We've shared many different instances, but amongst our colleagues from the back, and some of these names won't mean anything to some of you, but some of them will mean a great deal to others. So we sat with Bill Brady, Lena DiGiantomaso, the esteemed Fred Pompeo, Mary Alabirdy, Carol Sharpton, Fred Lasky, Jack the Bulldog Buckley, Ed Nolan, Ron Vining, Beth Fuller, Sharon Guzik, Bill O'Keefe, the Honorable Mike McGlynn, and now our current colleagues, Erin, Mia, Kathy, Anne Marie, and of course Mayor Burke. I don't know if I got everybody, but I think I did. And through that, we've had a lot of different experiences. With Lena, we were climbing on roofs of buildings to check out the roofs. And then we had many, many long evenings as we prepared for building new schools. And I suspect, Bob, like me, your proudest moments come when you go see your name on those plaques in the new schools, because those were incredible, an incredible period of time. Bob, you and I haven't always gotten along. We're not always on the same page. But I know and have never doubted that your heart is in the right place. And this position here and your commitment to Medford and to the students of Medford has meant everything to you and that you have given a great deal of time and energy to the city of Medford and the children of Medford and our families. So colleague. Almost four decades. Almost four decades. Colleague, I'm not quite sure what it's going to be like sitting here without you, and I'm going to miss you. But I know that you will take your time and commitment and energy. Working on behalf of students in Medford will continue. So thank you very much for your service. And now, Mrs. Cugno, you've not been here quite as long as Mr. Scurry, but your impact has been huge over the last, is it 12? 12 years. 12 years. And in that time, we also got to see your family grow up. And that was pretty cool. So because those boys, they were in elementary school way back when, and now they're in college or beyond. And it's really been quite an amazing ride, Anne Marie, hasn't it? Don't do this. I have to. OK. So in that ride, one has to say, I mean, through all of the different things, of course, like with Mr. Skerry, the building of the new schools was just an amazing project. And so many meetings, so many, so many meetings that we spent talking about the bigger picture and then the small picture. And the small picture was the color of the paint, the location of the switches, and then the bigger issues of equity, which was so, so, so important to us. And you were part of that. You were a very big part of that. And it fueled your becoming a school committee member. And we were all grateful for that. You went on, though, to be very active on the state level. First by becoming the head of division two for the MASC, Massachusetts Association of School Committee, and then working your way up to an incredible year as being president of the MASC and representing Medford. I quite honestly believe that, sorry, most of my colleagues here don't really realize what you did during the course of that period of time. But I was fortunate to sit on the board with Anne-Marie and be able to experience her leadership and the amount of work and travel that it took over that time. So Anne-Marie, maybe luckily my voice is giving out. So I just want to thank you as a friend and as a colleague. Thank you for your time and effort. And I know that you will be continuing to give your heart and your love to the city of Medford.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Ms. DiBenedetto. Thank you. I have to find my notes. Oh, here they are. Farewell to my school committee members and friends, Robert M. and Skerry and Ann Marie Cugno. First of all, I want to thank you both for your service and your commitment to the students of Medford. They are why we are here, and you've always put what's in their best interest first. Ann Marie, you've worked hard from the first moment you decided to run for school committee. I think I might have been there then.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: You were there. You were a parent. We were all parents.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: You have done many things that have benefited this city, this great city. A few I want to mention are how you helped develop the summer camp program, You represented Medford very well on the state level, and you made sure our little theater was remodeled so that our students have a professional place to perform and to receive their many awards. You've worked tirelessly to attain what is best for the students and the employees of Medford Public Schools. Thank you for all your years.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Thank you.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Bob, your quiet mannerism and knowledge in history of MedFit have always amazed me. Your passion to make sure our MedFit students have civics in the curriculum has benefited all of MedFit students. You have always looked out for me on this committee to make sure I follow the rules and ask the questions in a manner that I get the answers I need and to not get myself in too much trouble. You also know who everyone is in what their job is, that also has been tremendously helpful to me. I will be calling to ask you many questions, and I'm sure you'll be sending me message of what I did wrong and how to ask it right the next time. So I am so happy to have had the opportunity to serve with such devoted members for the last six years. In closing, I just want to say how much I will miss you, making faces, at me, across the chambers, or beside me, when I go on about an issue, or I ask oh so many questions. And I might miss when you piggyback one of my comments, which happened again tonight, to make sure that the superintendent understands what I meant. I'm grateful to both of you. I'm grateful to both of you for the things I have learned while working with you and wish you great things as you move forward, onward.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Very nice. OK, I'll start with Bob. Bob, I want to thank you very much for your years of dedication. I see your eyes light up when you go to a classroom. I went to a kindergarten classroom with you to pilot at the Roberts Elementary. and we had a blast together. Noah absolutely loves you and he has the same passion for history that you have. I know that I'm going to see you when I stop by my parents house and we go for a walk with my little nephew dog Monty and we you know we'll see you around around the neighborhood and I just want to thank you so much for you know taking time to you know to be a great mentor And when I first started, you helped me a lot. And I just thank you so much for that. It was greatly appreciated. And thank you so much for your years of service. You've just been fantastic in the community. You've just been everywhere. And you just know everything. And yeah, everybody says it. You'll be missed, but I know I'll see you around my parents' house. Anne-Marie, I want to thank you for your years of service and I think Anne-Marie was one of the first people when we first when I first started on school committee she invited me over to her house and I got to meet her whole family and she had coffee and snacks and she was so welcoming. She immediately started telling me okay well there's the MASC and you need to go to one of the meetings to you know the general meeting to find out what the committee does. And Mia, Aaron, and I went to the meeting and we learned a lot of information. You've been at all the events. I've seen you at all of the sporting events, the band, the Italian club, and all that you do for that. And it's just been a pleasure to work with you. You'll be missed, and I know I'm going to see you around town. And I really appreciate everything that you've done to help myself and to teach me. And you've just been a great mentor and friend. You'll both be missed, and I wish you both the very best. Thank you. Thank you.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: This must thanks my stone being re-involved I want to thank you for your service to our city for a number of years on both your parts And I wish you well, and I hope you find Excitement or peace or whatever you're looking for your next stage of your life, so thank you, okay Have you lived in my house? It's like yours.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: We'll pray for peace. I just want to add to both of you, I've served with you in many capacities over all of our terms. And it's always been an honor and privilege to work with both of you. You're professionals. You always put the interest of the kids first. And that's what is most important, being a school committee member. So I relish everything that you've done. And I respect the both of you, and I wish you the best. of luck in the years ahead.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: So having been around a long time, having seen an awful lot of things, and having interacted with both of you in different ways and at different times, I have some perspective. So I'll start with Bob. So Bob, you've been a coach. You've been a teacher. You've been active in the community. You've come from a family with tremendous tradition in public service. An uncle who was a mayor of the city. You had a relative who was an uncle, I guess, who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. You've been on this committee through different periods of time when different activities were going on. You experienced the sting of Proposition 2 1⁄2. You know what it's like to be a teacher who got displaced, so you had always empathy for teachers. And you worked for the state auditor, and you had a really good investigative mind. So when you play Columbo and Mickey the Dunce, we know that you really know what's going on, even though you don't let on that you really know what's going on. And sometimes, you know, it's kind of interesting to see how you play that out. But anyone who knows Bob Scurry knows that Bobby really cares about kids. He does a lot of things that he doesn't take credit for, just quiet on the side, takes care of a kid here, takes care of a family there. And he just doesn't talk about it. But I know about it because I hear about it. And I think that that really reflects on your good heart and your caring. And even though sometimes it looks like you've got that bravado coming on, you're really a soft puppy and you really care about people. And you're really one of these guys that you can always count on for loyalty and knowing what's going on without making a big deal out of it. You were the secretary for the committee for many years. You went over all the bills. Very little got by you, if anything got by you. You know, and you sometimes give me a wink and say, what is this? And I try to dance a little bit, and you give me a wink. And you say, don't do it again. And I remember all those things. So there's a lot of history, Bob. We go back a long way, and I look forward to seeing you around the community and interacting with you. Because I know that while you're not sitting as a member, you'll still be an active citizen and an active contributor to the young people of this community. And that's what it's all about. That's what it's all about, pal. So Ann Marie, you are a person that I've come to know very, very well. You've been very active, you were involved with student sports, you were involved with student activities, very little. went on that Ann Marie didn't get involved in. School councils, you were one of the great joiners of all time. If there was something to belong to, Ann Marie was one of the members who was joining on to that activity. You rose up through the ranks, you became involved in the state association. to the rank of president of MASC, which gave you incredible perspective, and you brought back a lot of very good ideas, and brought back an awful lot of very, very good thoughts to help the school system move forward. You've been a good friend. I can always count on you to listen and to understand some of the perspectives we may have, even if you couldn't vote on a particular issue the way I wanted. But still, you understood it, and you provided good feedback. You're an individual that I will clearly miss along with Bob, you know what I mean, as I feel like you've really contributed and I believe that your involvement at the state level will continue to be an important factor as we go forward in public education. I want to thank you both because it's been a great ride with both of you. As I reflect on all the things that I've come to see, I know that the two of you are among the best school committee members that I've served with, so I want to thank you all. Thank you. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: If we could call Ann Marie up. Congratulations, the Medford Public Schools is proud to recognize Ann Marie Cuno on your many years of service to the children and families of Medford as a member of the Medford School Committee, signed by all of the members. We wish you the very best of luck. Thank you. Thank you. And we'll miss you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I just want to say thank you to all of you. I was going to write something and then there's just not enough time for all of it. This was a decision I made, and it is time for new ears, new eyes, but very important to keep the old ones too. Everybody comes from a different perspective. The one thing that when I started, I started with, I was, the new member. And within the next term, I became a senior member. A lot of friends that year called and said, I think I'm going to run for school committee. And they were lucky enough to get on board. One thing that I really urge this committee to do is keep the private and personal agendas outside that door. and keep what's important in here, okay? I said I was going to do this. So, with that being said, always make the decisions of what the kids need and not about what you want done to someone else. It's very important that it's about the kids, it's about the budget, it's about knowing what your positions on this committee are. I don't want to be disrespectful to any PTOs. I've been there. I've been on the side councils. This is not a glorified PTO. We have to abide by rules, regulations, the state and federal government. And sometimes things seem very easy, but they're not. So with that being said, I just want to say thank you to all of you, to the superintendent who always has his door open. This was my decision, I'm crying. Thank God I didn't get it now. It wasn't because I didn't want to be here. He opened up the door and to the administrators, Diane Caldwell, Beverly Nelson, the principals that I had worked with, the mayor's office, past and present. Dr. Perrella, really all of the principals have always had an open door. When I can't track the superintendent down, I track him down because I will run to his office. And I think there were days that he probably said, oh my God, another idea. What is she gonna come up with today? But all in all, it was just a wonderful ride. And I couldn't have done it without the people back there. Oh my gosh. When I decided to run, it was a family decision. My family has been there through and through, except for the boys tonight who probably were saying to themselves, I wish I was still in school for the next couple of days, because they just got home from college. And Michelle was probably thinking, I wish I had one more final tonight so I don't have to sit here. But other than that, to my husband, to my son, Michael, who came, and to everyone, really, who has always been there for me to make me look good back here. Work with your minds, but really work with your heart. There's no more, I have plenty of life, believe me. This was the relaxing part.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Congratulations. Thanks, it's great to be back. The Medford Public Schools is proud to recognize Robert Emmett Skerry, Jr. on your many years of service to the children and families of Medford as a member of the Medford School Committee. We wish you the best of luck. This man made a buddy bench for the Brooks School. Absolutely beautiful piece of furniture. And I know you always have the kids.
[Unidentified]: Nobody's supposed to know about that.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Always have the kids at heart. But you know what? It's important. You do really nice things behind the scenes, and we appreciate it.
[Robert Skerry]: Anybody needs a picnic table, just let me know. It's been a long, long, long, fun term being a school committee member here in Medford. Roy, I'm not gonna let you sneak out on skates tonight. You know, you've done a lot of great things for Medford, but the only thing that I really disagree with you with, was when you tried to take my soccer field and baseball diamond away. At one point, remember when he wanted to build a school to place that back? But we had a lot of fun. One of the main reasons I ran for the school committee was I wanted to see the schools change. They've done a complete 180. We have beautiful buildings, and I just hope that you guys will keep up and give them the maintenance that they need. It was long overdue with a city this size. I've met a lot of friends along the way. I've had the dubious distinction of working with Bev Nelson. She was my mentor when I taught at the Roberts. I taught at the high school, I taught at the vocational school, and like Roy said, Prop 2 1⁄2 came by, I gave up my coaching job, and I rediscovered myself as an investigator, but I never lost my feelings for education. And that's why I'm here. At one point, one of the members of the fourth estate gave me the wonderful pen name of the laconic one. I found that it's a lot easier to work behind the scenes, make your opinions known, do your homework, do your research, and get things done that had to be done. A few years back, we needed kindergarten aides. It was out there, it was an issue that had to be contended, dealt with. Budget time came, nobody said anything. The 11th hour, I spoke up, and we got our kindergarten dates thanks to Mr. Belson. It was something that the kids deserve. Another thing that I've always been proud of, that I've always fought for the underdog. I've always made sure that kids at the high school that were having problems passing their MCAS test, that we provided the instruction and the tools that they needed to compete in a global economy, finish their education, and move on. But once again, I'd like to thank my family, my friends, the residents of Medford for their understanding and the trust that they placed in me with their children for the better part of the last four decades. And I'm looking forward to getting down to Myrtle Beach, doing some golfing and reassessing where we go from there. I make this place to you and to the audience at home. I will continue to be your voice for public education here in Medford, and God bless everyone, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year, and we'll be back. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Yeah. Just one last announcement to the general public. We will be having our inaugural festivities New Year's Eve morning. So it's Sunday the 31st at 10 in the morning at Medford High School in the Little Theater, followed by a light brunch, light collation at Bistro 49 to showcase Medford High School, its students, its musicians, and just the wonderful things that are happening up there. So please feel free to join us. This is your official invitation. come on down on December 31st. Otherwise, have a wonderful holiday. We will resume back in the new year. So everyone stay safe, stay healthy, and enjoy the short break that's coming upon you. Motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Skerry. All those in favor.
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