[SPEAKER_30]: We'll call the roll.
[Burke]: President, seven present, none absent. All please rise and salute our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Approval of the minutes of May 6, 2019. Motion for approval, Mr. Russo. Is there a second by Ms. Kreatz? Ms. DiBenedetto.
[DiBenedetto]: Question of a report being presented. Could we just add it to the outstanding reports list? It was the cost analysis for the dyslexia screening. Could we just add it to the list of reports due to us? Will do. Thank you very much. On the motion for approval of the minutes.
[Burke]: All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Approval of bills, transfer of funds, and approval of payrolls. Motion. Motion for approval, Ms. Van der Kloot, Mr. Benedetto.
[DiBenedetto]: Mayor Burke, I have a question. There was, sorry, I'm saying hi to all our students. On page three or four, I had a question under trustees of Boston College. Is that outside special education tuition, or what type of tuition is that?
[Patterson]: Correct. I think I've asked you that before. That's outside special education. That's all. I just needed clarity. Thank you.
[Burke]: Very good. This motion for approval on the floor by Ms. Handifuld is there a second? Second. Seconded by Mr. Benedetto. Roll call vote please.
[Burke]: Yes. Yes. 7 in the affirmative, 0 in the negative. Motion passes. Report of Secretary. None. Report of Committees. None. Community Participation. Jennifer Swain, Styrofoam Trays. Good evening. Can you name and address, please, for the record? Good evening.
[SPEAKER_28]: Thank you. My name is Jennifer Larson-Solwin, and my husband's going to try and hook up the projector here while I'm beginning. There are a few images I'd like to share with you. I'm delighted to be speaking tonight. I'm a resident in Fulton Heights. I'm a lover of the fells, a swimmer in Wright's Pond, and a mother of two kids at Roberts Elementary, Zane and Lila. And it's for them and their peers that I'm here this evening. I was asked to speak on the topic of styrofoam trays being used at elementary schools and other district schools for lunches and other meals. In respect of things that are green going on already in Medford, there's plenty. There is a designated green community that we've been honored to join. There is a Go Green Medford initiative housed right here at City Hall. There's a Harvest Your Energy Festival. There's a new plastic bag ban going on this summer. I've heard from a friend that herrings and bald eagles have returned to our waters. And at our schools, we're upgrading to LED lighting, according to Alicia Hunt, community gardens, and my kids chatter about Earth Day observations at the school. But I'm here for one major reason today. And that is because every week our kids see thousands of styrofoam trays, like these, carted off to the landfill after one meal is eaten on them. And it's an alarming trend, really, how many of them are accumulated over time. Why are Styrofoam trays used here in city schools? Well, primarily, they're very cost-effective. Instead of having to wash them, you can buy them very cheaply, one-off. It's lightweight and they don't shatter when you drop them. They go right into the bin rather than being washed. Nobody recycles them because it's not cost effective in the least, and I've heard one study that it composes about 30% of landfills in our country. Scientists don't really know for sure, but the best guess is that it takes about 500 years for a styrofoam tray to decompose or break down, and it actually doesn't go away. It basically breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces as you see in that image there. And they become sort of prone to wildlife consumption. Microplastic ends up in the seafood that we eat, the water we drink, and in the air that we breathe. Styrofoam also contains a substance called styrene, which is on the NIH's list of human carcinogens. And we're serving food to our children on it every day in the city. Styrofoam is also a petroleum product, which is a non-renewable energy. The plastics industry is a huge contributor to climate change. So there are many trends in response to this threat to eliminate styrofoam. Our much loved Commonwealth tradition of stopping by Dunkin' is going to be a new experience because they're phasing out styrofoam cups. McDonald's has already eliminated cups in January of last year, and they're going to phase out styrofoam from their products entirely by 2025. States and cities around our country are also eliminating them. And just a few days ago, the state of Maine created a ban on styrofoam throughout the state. Last year, my daughter Lila in kindergarten, she was lucky enough to have Ms. Gas as a teacher. She and the rest of her classmates took on this research project of measuring the consumption of styrofoam trays and plastic straws at the Roberts. So here's a picture of some of her classmates measuring a stack of them. To get a visual, it's not represented here, we don't have an image unfortunately, but they apparently had to stack the 255 daily used trays at the Roberts. They stacked it in a stairwell because it was too high to get a visual in the classroom. And it reached beyond the ceiling. So here's a little back of the envelope math. If we consider the 10-foot ceiling to be sort of the average height, and we multiply that by 180 days in a school year times the six years that it might take a child to go through kindergarten all the way through fifth grade, it would reach the height of 10,800 feet, which is two miles high. So over the six years that Leila in her kindergarten class attends the Roberts, It would be 14 and a half prudential centers high. So the Prue is 750 feet tall, one, two, all the way up to 14. That's how many styrofoam trays would get used in just one school over six years, and that's 549 kids. How many kids are in the district? 4,352, according to one study. a data point that I found earlier today. I've also footnoted in some of the material that is at the disposal of the school committee on some other consumption of styrofoam trays that Retta kindly shared with me. So I believe it's up to us that phasing out the use of Styrofoam in our public schools is not only possible, but it's also a moral imperative. You'll hear from kids in a moment, but I fancy that these kids are our local Greta Thunbergs. Greta is a 17-year-old Swedish girl who launched a worldwide youth movement to call attention to the need for radical policy changes to address climate change. Greta has said, we need to wake up and change everything. and she's shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize. Kids are asking us in this moment, the adults, to listen to them and to make changes. I know there will be challenges in making the switch at the Roberts and in the entire district. Surely it will take funds in the short term. We took a quick look at issues that would involve reusable trays, places to dry them, aprons, goggles, perhaps additional staff to manage the washing and drying routine. But I'm confident that we have both the smarts in this room and the resources to figure out a way forward that shows our kids that we care for and are planning for their future. As the proverb says, we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. I'm going to invite my son, Zane, to come up and speak briefly.
[SPEAKER_33]: Hi, my name is Zane Sullen. I'm in fourth grade at the Roberts. I'm here to talk to you about the styrofoam trays. When I walk into the cafeteria, here's what I see. I see 20 tables almost completely filled with kids. The big tables have seven kids that go into the lunch line. The little tables have four kids that go there. Kids through the line get their meals, putting food on styrofoam trays. When they're done eating, the kids walk over to one of the four trash barrels and throw away what's left. This scene gets repeated five times every week. People think it's gone, but it goes into landfills and spills into the sea. I'm not on the school committee now, but I may be one day. I'm asking you to help us make a change and phase out Styrofoam from the Roberts and all public schools in our district. This earth is my home. There's only one. We have to take care of it.
[SPEAKER_28]: How about I start for you, okay? So my name is Lila Sawin. I'm in first grade at the Roberts. Last year, when we worked on a project called Plastic Pollution, we were surprised at how high the styrofoam tray tower got. Now when I see my friends in the cafeteria throwing styrofoam trays away, I feel sad because I know it ends up in oceans and landfills. At the end of the year, we invited parents and grandparents to a presentation on our work, and we sang a song called with my own two hands. And here's a little bit of that. I can change the world with my own two hands. I can make it a better place. I can make it a kinder place. I can clean up the earth with my own two hands. I can reach out to you with my own two hands. You and we have the power to make this important change.
[SPEAKER_30]: Thank you.
[9sF78fOJr5I_SPEAKER_61]: Thank you. Paul, could you put the lights on?
[Burke]: Ms. Van der Kloot is blinking.
[Van der Kloot]: So thank you so much for your presentation, Jennifer, Zane, and Lila. I want to tell you that this is actually not the first time it's come before the committee. It came many years ago, I'm guessing 10, 15, and at the time we actually had trays but used Styrofoam plates. And at that point in time we did a cost analysis and it was determined that it was too expensive. Well, now lots of years have passed and I am so happy you're bringing this to us again because it's not too expensive to save our earth. And I really appreciate you speaking up on this issue. I think we're going to need to ask for that we do a study in terms of what the cost of, what our options are. It may be an option to go back to reusable trays and water, but that, of course, also means expenditures using water. So there's many factors that we have to look at. But we're at a prime place now. We appreciate the work of our very young activists. There's nothing that can bring it home like seeing that stack of trays and then understanding how that adds up over the course of a year. So thank you again for your presentation. I'll make a motion that we send this question to committee and that we do a study and we report back by the end of the year.
[Burke]: There's a motion on the floor to send this paper to committee for study. Second. Ms. DiBenedetto, second on the floor as well.
[DiBenedetto]: I second Ms. Van der Kloot's motion and I agree. that time has changed, awareness has changed, and we need to look at other resources. So I second Ms. Van der Kloot's motion and ask for a roll call vote. Mr. Ruggiero.
[Ruggiero]: Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. Serving issues like this is why I ran for school committee. I really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. I would like to suggest that once we move forward and remove or find a better option for our community that we all can agree on, that you find something else that you think should be improved and you keep doing it. Because this is one of the most exciting things about serving on this board. So please keep speaking up. Your voice is welcome here. Thank you.
[Burke]: Great job. Mr. Russo.
[Ruseau]: Yes, thank you for that presentation. I was wondering if we might consider amending this to include all single-use plastics in our entire school system.
[Burke]: We're also looking at the breakfast bags. So that's another item that's being looked at right now, removing them. Very good. On the motion that a report be done, a study be performed, advising us of the options available, And hopefully we can have that back in the next three weeks or so so that we can make some budget decisions.
[SPEAKER_30]: Roll call vote, please.
[Burke]: Yes.
[Burke]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The motion passes. Thank you, Zane, for that information. It was very helpful. Thank you. Thank you, Zane. Ms. Millstone, a motion for suspension of the rules to take a paper out of order. Is there a second by Ms. Van der Kloot? All those in favor of suspension of the rules? Aye. Anyone against? Hearing that, we'll take item number two, recognition of Medford Middle School String Ensemble. Ms. Dizigny.
[a7nti5izX0Y_SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, thank you. This is the 10th year in a row that the Medford Middle School String Ensemble, under the direction of Sophia Chang, has brought back a Medal of Excellence for their participation in the prestigious MICA, which is the Massachusetts Instrumental and Chorus Conductors Association Music Festival. On Saturday, April 6th, they competed at Foxboro, which is one of eight sites across Massachusetts, along with more than 200 other ensembles, in front of a panel of distinguished judges, and they were awarded a silver medal for their fine performance. Mrs. Chang founded this group in 2009, and since that time, the ensemble has earned seven gold medals and three silver medals. The students practice not only during the school day, but rehearse for many hours before and after school in order to achieve the superior level of success that you are about to hear. So, we'll turn it over to Mrs. Chang and the string ensemble.
[Burke]: That is so impressive. Unbelievable. Awesome job. Awesome job. It's hard to believe you're middle schoolers. Fabulous. I'm awestruck. Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Van der Kloot]: So, Ms. Cheng and students, And Mr. Zigny, a lot of people ask me a lot of the time why I want to be on the school committee. And I say to them, you know, it can be really rewarding. And they look at me. But I want to tell you, it's really rewarding. Thank you so very, very much.
[DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. Many years ago, both my children were in the high school orchestra. And when Ms. Chang first came to the district, she taught my daughter how to hold a bow. And the beautiful way in which she looked at each and every detail with the students from day one leads to this beauty that we've all witnessed here this evening. So to Ms. Chang, thank you for your dedication to the students So since I've lived here, Mr. Zigney has been part of the orchestra, and there's over 100 children in our high school orchestra. And many of us in this room have had children go through it. And I also thank him for his dedication for all the years of service throughout our community, because this is brilliance. This is amazing. I had the I was invited by one of your students to come to their concert at the McGlynn last week. And my husband came with me, and he hasn't heard Medford's orchestra play in a few years. And he was blown away at the expertise of the students in this group and how they've developed over these 10 years. You make us proud. You make us all very proud. Thank you.
[Kreatz]: Ms. Krux. Yes. I also want to say thank you. I attended, along with most of my colleagues, most of the spring concerts and the winter concerts, and they're just all, like, phenomenal. Everything is just perfect. I brought my mother to one concert. She loves coming. She loves to hear the violins. And thank you, Mrs. Zigney. Thank you, Ms. Chain, and the entire finance department for everything. Thank you all.
[Van der Kloot]: I failed to mention one other group that we want to express our appreciation and we didn't say thank you to the parents because the parents make sure that their kids are brought and picked up and from all the rehearsals and you know they're listening probably to the same piece of music many times sometimes and you know when you start in fourth grade it's a little rough at the beginning but my it's it's so worth it and thank you so very much for supporting your children in this endeavor, obviously it's so well worth it.
[Edouard-Vincent]: I am a lover of the arts and last week I had the opportunity to not only hear the strings at the McGlynn and the week before that at the Andrews and I was bragging and saying that we have the Medford Pops. So we should be on the lookout. We have wonderful, talented musicians. in Medford Public Schools. Again, I want to thank all the students, thank the teachers, Mr. Zigney's direction and leadership, and again, a special thanks to the parents for supporting your children and encouraging them to be the best that they can possibly be. Thank you again.
[Burke]: We have certificates of achievement. The Medford Public Schools is proud to recognize Melissa Antoine for receiving the 2019 Micah Silva Medal. Melissa... Maram Bensabar. Ashtim Kapionkalofi. Thank you for that music. Andre Duratee. Andre Duratee. Ariella Nectar Eforo. Penelope Green. Sophia Hernandez Jessica Holmes Samuel Keith. That's an elevator. That's a good idea though. Vina Lay. Owen Lau Gabriella Marks Moran
[Edouard-Vincent]: Amy Nguyen. And Cindy Nguyen.
[Burke]: Cindy. Emily Pio. Tenzin Rinchen. Greta Rubenstein Rankin Benjamin Sears Darren Truong....(Applause from crowd...) Kaitlyn Truong....(Applause from crowd...) Adrienne Wu...
[SPEAKER_27]: Thank you. Congratulations.
[Burke]: Thank you all so much for sharing that music with us tonight. Thank you. Ms. Chang, would you like to say a few words?
[Unidentified]: for the administrators and all the panelists, for all the driving, and my students, whether they're using it as a classwork, and for preparing the teachers.
[Burke]: It's a motion on the floor to revert to the regular order of business by Ms. Mustone, seconded by Mr. Russo. All those in favor? All those opposed? We are now back on the agenda. Next up we have Ms. Sharon Hayes, ELA MCAS. I saw her come in.
[Hays]: Good evening. Hi. Hi. Hi, my name is Sharon Hayes. I am a parent of one, soon to be two, students at the Roberts School, and I am here tonight to re-ask some questions that I've had about our performance on the 2018 MCAS, especially the third, fourth, and fifth grade English Language Arts Assessment. In October, I attended the Committee of the Whole meeting during which the 2018 MCAS results were presented. At that time, I spoke of my concern that although the scores and progress were presented in a very positive light, my interpretation as a parent and an educator was that the scores on the ELA test were disappointing. It was indicated that a more in-depth analysis of the MCAS results would be presented at a future school committee meeting. And in January, I sent an email to describe my concerns in further detail. The follow-up meeting was then held on March 18th. At that meeting, however, I was disappointed to find that many of my questions were still not addressed. And so I followed up with another, more detailed email on April 2nd. I will briefly summarize some of my concerns and questions from the email, focusing on the elementary ELA MCAS results. First, the March 18th meeting was described as a more in-depth analysis of the test scores. And a great deal of information was presented, but the analysis continued to be focused mainly on the average score of the district at each grade level, which obscures the fact that there are significant differences between the elementary schools and among some of the subgroups. Second, there was little to no discussion of the significant demographic differences between the student populations of the four elementary schools, differences that research has shown to have considerable impacts on academic performance. The Brooks School's demographics are significantly different from the other three schools across four subgroup categories. Brooks has significantly lower percentage of economically disadvantaged students, of high-needs students, of students who are English language learners, and of students for whom English is not their first language. So one of my questions is, how are these differences being addressed? Third, across all three grade levels and all three test years shown on the Department of Ed website, despite changes in test design and administration, Brooks outperforms the three other elementary schools, often by a large margin. Overall, students at the Brooks also make more progress from one grade level to the next. So another question I have is, have any staffing, resources, materials, or programmatic changes been considered based on this data? Fourth, the data suggests that there are grade levels at individual schools in which fewer than half and in some cases even fewer than a third of the students are reading at grade level expectations. This is very concerning not only for the students who are struggling to read, but also for the other students in those classrooms because the teachers will have to alter the pace and delivery of what they teach in order to meet the needs of the class. How is this being addressed? Finally, the ELA MCAS anchors standard analysis data that was provided at the March 18th meeting clearly suggested that the writing standard is the area of greatest need in K-8. How is this being addressed? Has Medford adopted a specific writing program for K-8 or even K-5? These are some of the most urgent questions that I felt I asked in my email and I hope to receive a response or to hear about just kind of what your thoughts are about some of these issues and whether there are other assessments we have in the system that might refute some of these results. Thank you.
[Burke]: Dr. Edward-Vincent.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Yes, so to your first comment about the difference in outcomes between the Brooks School and some of the other schools, there are definitely differences, demographic differences between the different schools that we have. But with that information, there are a lot of factors that you would not be able to take into consideration. or that you wouldn't be aware of that we take into consideration. So, for example, with staffing, where you are asking what would be done in terms of a difference in outcomes, some schools have higher EL populations, some schools have higher students with disabilities. Some schools have higher students, a greater number of students of high needs. So depending on what those needs are of the students, the teachers have to make accommodations. When I look at the data and the progress of the students, I am looking at it holistically, the whole picture. So I know that we cannot compare every school one school to another school exactly because they're not the same. They don't have the same exact makeup. Although they're taking the same assessment, they are getting different results. As I look at data, I look at how are we doing with student growth as a district, how are we making gains, and I look at those gains. I'm going to look, for example, at the Columbus. When we look at the MCAS data, which is one assessment, in ELA, this is their aggregate data. At the Columbus School, they exceeded their target. So you have to understand that each school is given its own target. So we're not comparing one school against another school, but each school's being compared to itself. So in this assessment, looking at the accountability report, In 2017, the number was 492.3 for achievement, and the school moved to 494.9. It exceeded the state target by a change of 2.6. Granted, it's not the same rate as some of the other schools, but I look at what Desi is saying, and in ELA, combined at the Columbus School, they exceeded their target. That's for all students. For African American and black students, they improved, but it was below target. So there was an improvement of, or a change of one point, but it was below the target. So the original achievement scores were 483.8 in 2017. It was 484.8 in 2018, a change of one point. The state's target was 485.4. So the school received two points. But it improved, but it was below the target. So I look at each school to see where are they exceeding targets. At the Columbus School for students of Hispanic or Latino descent, they've exceeded the target. And there was a change of a 4.6 increase. And so I look at that. This is an ELA. If I look at the math, once again, at the Columbus, they exceeded the target. It was 483.6 in 2017, 489.7 in 2018. There was a change of 6.1. The target was 485.4, and we were talking about 168 students that were tested. They exceeded the target. In mathematics, They exceeded the target for African-American students and Latino students. In science, that was an area where we did see a drop. There was a change of 10 points. The reason, the state declares that we declined in science. We are aware of that. Economically disadvantaged, also there was a decline there. For student growth percentile, we were below target. in both ELA and in math there. For our English language proficiency, or our students who are English language learners, we exceeded the target. In 2017, the rate was 38.3. In 2018, the rate was 62.3. It was a change of 24 points. The next target's going to be 70.2, and that's in regards to 53 students. For students that were formerly English language learners, the original rate in 2017 was 38.3. In 2018, it was 62.3. Again, it was another change of 24 points. They exceeded the target. In terms of absenteeism for all students, there was an improvement, but it was below target. So in 2017, the rate was 9.4%. In 2018, the rate was 8.2%. There was a change of 1.2%, the target being 7.5. That's regarding 330 students. So I want to say, I know that you're asking about the 2018 data. Myself and my leadership team, we look at the data of our students, we look at the data of all of the schools, and we do make necessary accommodations. When you talk about moving staff, we do have teachers who are vested, who have committed to the buildings that they're working in. And just because you're not seeing identical outcomes does not mean that you're seeing a difference in the quality of the work or the teaching an instruction that is taking place. So I feel sometimes when there's an ask about why is one school doing better than another school, which may have higher needs or a different population, that may have more economically disadvantaged students, it sometimes feels like there's a judgment being made on a school that is lower performing. We are working collaboratively as a team to look at our data, but later today we are going to be talking about all of the assessments that take place, not just resting upon one assessment that is given by the state. We know it's important and we need to continue to see the needle move. We are committed to moving the needle in the right direction, but I do not want it to be something where we are trying to pit one school against another school when we're not comparing apples and apples.
[Hays]: So I just want to make clear, I was not in any way suggesting that it had to do with teaching, the quality of teaching at any school. In fact, one statistic that you stated is more my concern, that we know that research says that economics, the economically disadvantaged are the ones who struggle the most in school, that has the greatest impact. We also know that that number of students in this district is not disproportionately at certain schools. And so those schools are going to have a more difficult time and may not do as well in the MCAS. So that was my question, was more looking at the demographics, not in any way suggesting that the teaching quality was different at different schools. And it's not my intention to pit schools against each other. But the demographics are what they are.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Where the demographics are changes, we do have schools that have greater numbers of Title I staff, which again, that's part of the funding where those schools will be targeted to get additional supports. We have staff members who are in the process of pursuing grants. to see if we can get more social-emotional support for some of our schools that have students that have higher needs in the areas of social-emotional learning and wellness. So there are things that we are doing as a district to support those schools. But all schools are being supported. The principals are here. They work collaboratively with their staff. We're not able, again, When we think about the different schools and we think about the populations that are at schools, we also have neighborhood schools at the elementary level. And so you cannot change some students that may not be in an area or they may receive assistance for housing so that those students may not be as economically disadvantaged as others. But we are finding ways to support those schools. Thank you. Thank you.
[Burke]: Thank you.
[DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto, you talked about the decrease in the science curriculum, and this year we have just adopted a new science curriculum, so we're hoping to see growth in the next few years. Usually when you adopt a program like our ELA or our math program, which we've gotten, which we got in the last few years, It takes an average of three years to see any progress on an MCAS or a standardized test because it takes years of instruction for the students to learn the new vocabulary and move forward in those areas. So even though we got our programming early and we're starting a little early with training, we'll see that in the next few years with science. And we should be seeing that in the English language arts program, because we did invest about four years ago in a new ELA program. And we should see that growth among all subgroups because of that programming, because students have had it for consecutive years. And as they grow up, and if we don't, then we have to realize that maybe that's not the right program. So that's a good way to look at what our curriculum is and make good choices going forward, and I applaud you for coming forward and advocating for the students in your school. We need to see more of that here at school committee, and I appreciate it. It's not always easy to go there and speak. Thank you for your time.
[Burke]: The next item under community participation, Ms. Charlene Douglas, president of the Medford Teachers Association, is with us, along with other teachers, in regards to a school committee meeting from, I believe, two weeks ago. May 6th. And as we spoke, Mr. Russo would like to say some words first. Absolutely.
[Ruseau]: I'm sorry. At our last meeting of the Medford School Committee, I made offensive comments about the teachers of our district, specifically the elementary teachers. I made comments that were both disrespectful and factually incorrect, as well as hurtful. My comments do not reflect my true feelings about the teachers of our district, including those my children have had through the years. I was upset by the presentation that was just given to us, in particular the information about the percentage of children with dyslexia that, if treated early enough with systemic instruction, could overcome their diagnosis altogether and become fluent readers. This was news to me. I strongly believe that our district needs to put the necessary resources into early identification and remediation before children have had a chance to fail. I do not blame teachers for the situation we are in, but rather this sits squarely on the shoulders of the school committee and our budgetary responsibility for professional development and funding appropriate curriculum. I want to be clear that I have long held and continue to hold that the teachers of my children have been, without exception, incredible, talented, and caring professionals. And I have no reason to not believe all of the teachers in Medford are similarly exceptional. I sincerely apologize for casting such inappropriate comments upon the very people that have invested their careers in caring for and teaching my children and all of the children of Medford. I am especially sorry for the hurt I have caused to my children's teachers. As I reflected on each of these amazing teachers that have played such an important role in my family's life, my comments became even more upsetting, and an apology seems inadequate. I can only say that I will do my best to do better in the future. I will do better by being more deliberate, but also by looking at root causes of why I have certain feelings and thoughts before using the position of a school committee member to speak. I think the parent perspective is an important one to have on the school committee. but clearly I have room to grow in separating my roles whilst participating in official activities. Again, I sincerely apologize for making these comments and hope that I can work with the teachers of Medford in the future to collaboratively improve our education system and do whatever I can to remove barriers and give teachers the space to teach.
[Charlene Douglas]: Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Douglas. Shalene Douglas, 414 High Street, Medford, Mass., President of the Medford Teacher Association. So we accept your apology. And I did share it. When she sent it to me, I shared it with every staff member. So they had it prior to this meeting. That being said, teachers were really deeply and emotionally upset by these statements. So tonight, our goal here is to set the record straight, to inform the school committee as to what our elementary reading program looks like. Tonight you will hear from four teachers in regards to the reading program. Ms. Jane Mattuccio, a kindergarten teacher at the Brooks. Teresa Castagnetti, an ELL teacher at the McGlynn. Meredith Mason Crowley, an LD reading specialist from the McGlynn Middle School. And Julianne Anderson, an elementary moderate special needs teacher at the McGlynn. She is also a resident, a parent, and a proud former student and graduate. of the Medford Public Schools like myself. I'm so proud to be here tonight, this evening. Not only did I teach for 32 years in this district, but I am a literacy professor at Lesley University for 17 years. And I teach phonics training, the foundations of literacy, content-based reading, and the theories of reading. Those are the three courses I teach. And I teach an average of four to five courses a semester, both on campus, off campus, and online. And I've been doing that for 17 years. Tonight, I'm going to provide each and every one of you with a statement from the International Literacy Association that I provide to my students and to parents, explaining the position statement of what phonics instruction looks like. I ask you to please read this and digest what phonics instruction is, because phonics isn't all about A, A, B, B, C, A, K. It's not all about that. It's much more. phonics instruction involves etymology, morphology. Phonics instruction is taught in all grades. It's in the Common Core curriculum. It is a standard called the Reading Foundations. If our teachers did not teach it, then it would be in their evaluation and they would be in the needs improvement category and unsatisfactory category in which you all know would have a 30-day plan that they could actually remove the teachers if they were not teaching phonics or doing their job. So these are the facts. The Reading Foundation's phonics, as I said, is in the Common Core and in the Mass Frameworks. The Journeys Program, adopted by you and the Medford Public Schools, is a phonics program embedded within the program. Dr. Irene Fountas, who worked on the Journeys Program, has her own phonics book that goes along with this program. And I know that many of my teachers have purchased this book out of their own pocket. to ensure that phonics is taught. We have reading specialists on the special education staff that teach phonics to our special ed population using programs such as Wilson, Orton-Gillingham, and those are the programs for students who need that specialized services. Those services are not for every student. I am OG trained. I went through Mass General many years ago, and I also took it at Lesley when I was very, very young. And at 62, Orton-Gillingham has been around since 19... I believe it was 38 when it first came out. What else can I tell you about the phonics? We have an RTI phonics targeted into venture groups at the elementary level. So we are teaching phonics. What we were upset with, Mr. Russo, is where did you get the facts that we don't teach phonics? That's what teachers were upset about. You stated that it was a boring subject. Sometimes not everything can be pomp and circumstance. Sometimes it's rote in memory. And sometimes we just have to do that. And when we're looking at OG and we're looking at Wilson, it is memorization. We have to know the spelling rules, the 10 basic spelling rules. Do you all know that? I don't know. OK. Have you ever been in a classroom in our school and actually witnessed a phonics lesson? Have you reviewed the Journeys program? These are our concerns, and I am going to let the teachers now speak to these other things that they do, since they are the experts and they are in the field. So I'm going to ask Jane Mattuccio, kindergarten teacher from the Glynn Elementary, to please come forward.
[SPEAKER_07]: Good evening. Good evening. I'm Jane Matucci. I'm an 18-year-old Medford resident, first grade teacher. But we do work as a team. We follow the journeys program. Part of the journeys program is letter sounds, recognition, digraphs, phonics every week. We follow that. We use words their way, which is another tool we use to assess, to group, to find where we need some remediation. And I know personally I've taken courses, Orton-Gillingham courses myself, so I bring that into the picture every week of the school year. Even at the end of the school year when the kids were playing games, we're doing letter sounds, we're reading every day. So I just wanted to bring up the fact that the elementary school teachers are certainly following journeys and using the tools that you've provided for us. Thank you very much.
[Charlene Douglas]: Before I ask Teresa Castagnetti to come up, our ELL specialist, I just want to state something else that needs to be very, very clear, that as an eighth grade English teacher, we teach syllabication, we teach prefixes, suffixes, all of those, that's all phonics, that's all phonology. Our ELL teachers teach it a great deal, and our foreign language teachers, it is the basis of some of their main curriculum that they teach. So without further, Teresa Castagnetti, ELL.
[SPEAKER_38]: Teresa Castagnetti, 23 Cushing Street, Medford. Graduate of all the Medford public schools. I don't want to tell you how long ago that was, because they are no longer there.
[SPEAKER_02]: But my child was also a graduate of Medford High School, as was my husband. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for giving us this time to speak this evening and to accept Mr. Rousseau's apology to the Medford teachers. I know how difficult it must be for you to have done that. We're all human. Everyone says things from time to time that we wish we didn't say and can't take back, and especially when it evokes passion topics such as our children. As an elected representative of the community, you have a duty and an obligation to your constituency, and I'm quoting from your letter, to separate yourself from your roles while participating in official activities. So portraying teachers in a less than desirable light sends a very bad message to the community, to parents, students, and others in the community. I'm very proud to be a Medford resident and a Medford teacher. I've worked in the district for 42 years, I can't quite bring myself to retiring because I love this job. I love my colleagues. I love my department head. I love my principal. But most importantly, I love teaching the children of Medford. I love the diversity, the rich culture, and the enthusiasm that they bring to school with them every day. And I am not unique. In this district, all of us, we all give of ourselves in our free time. both before and after school, during summers when we offer extra help to students who may need it, or just to be an ear for some that we know may be going through a difficult time. In this district, we have teachers who routinely supply their classrooms with materials purchased out of their own pockets. We have teachers who have brought in clothing, shoes, toys, food, and books for their students because we know that we are here to educate the whole child, and those things are things that they might not have otherwise. This district is very fortunate to count among our ranks people like Ms. Chang, who's just fabulous. Elementary teachers with multiple advanced degrees and certifications, guided through professional development that they have paid for. We have teachers who are mentors, coaches, trainers of teachers, supervising practitioners for colleges, area colleges such as Tufts and Lesley, teachers who have been sought out by the Department of Education for their expertise to sit on panels and advisory committees, teachers who write curriculum, teachers who volunteer for math teams, literacy teams, teacher assistance teams, a whole host of areas where our expertise as Medford teachers shines. We have a number of elementary teachers in Medford who have distinguished themselves at the local, state, and national level in just the past five years. We have a 2014 Millikan Foundation Award winner. Only one teacher in the whole country wins that $25,000 award. And I am proud and fortunate to call this distinguished teacher my colleague, Ethel McGlynn, most adored grade 5 teacher, Mr. Anthony Petralas. This district can also count among its ranks two MatSol Teachers of the Year, one in 2015 and the other in 2019. This award is only given out to one teacher in the state each year. I am also proud to call my colleague, Christine Hengston at the Roberts School, the 2019 Maxwell Teacher of the Year, who was congratulated by this very committee two weeks ago in this very room. So, yes, Ms. DeRusso, to quote your letter of apology, we are incredible, talented, and caring professionals. And I thank you for acknowledging that publicly this evening. And I assure you and all in this chamber, we do teach phonics. I invite any member of the school committee to visit my classroom at any time to watch me teach a phonics lesson. I teach English as a second language. We also teach a lot of phonics. I have K1 and 2, second language learners, so we're very heavy on phonics. I'd be happy to provide any of you with my evaluation binders for the cycles 2014 to 2019, if you would care to view them. I was going to bring them here this evening, but they're quite heavy. But my teaching of phonics and other skills is evidenced by photographs and student work samples. In closing, I again want to acknowledge Mr. Rousseau's apology and to thank the school committee for giving us the opportunity to speak this evening. I appreciate your willingness, and I'm going to quote you again, to work collaboratively to improve our educational system and recognize the school committee's budgetary responsibility for professional development and funding appropriate curriculum. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_14]: Good evening. Hi. I'm a special needs teacher at the McGlynn. I've been there since the school opened. And I've been teaching direct instruction phonics. And it's been my life's work. When I began in Medford at the Brooks Elementary School in 1987 as an LD teacher, I had children assigned to me who could not read. whole language replaced the more traditional method of reading instruction, including phonics instruction. Children with learning disabilities struggled with this approach. I went out in search of how to teach them. I found the Reading Disabilities Clinic at Mass General Hospital. I spent a year learning the Wharton-Gillingham reading program and method. OG is a direct instruction reading method widely recognized for dyslexics, and I paid for the training myself. In subsequent years, when it was clear that the reading laws were not working for our learning disabled students, Medford Special Education began in-house training of reading intervention programs. Project Read, Stevenson, and Wilson, all OG spin-offs. And at one point, our former assistant director said to me not long ago when I bumped into her, I thought you'd turn and run when you'd see me coming because I always had another reading method for you to learn. Today, and over the last several years, emphasis on providing in-house professional development in reading methods and relevant topics related to modification of instruction for special needs children with reading disabilities in general education classrooms and with special needs teachers has fallen away. We've just recently seen an 18-minute video, and while it's a video, it's certainly not enough. Our high school has one Wilson teacher, and her job has been complicated by scheduling issues and over-reliance on her as the go-to evaluator and diagnostician. My middle school, when our new reading specialist was hired to develop the RTI program, requested funding for training in Wilson this year, she was told that there were no funds available. She has paid for her training and her materials herself. This is a school with 60% high-need students. She should have this training, and her interest should be applauded and supported. As for myself, when I requested funding to attend the Dyslexia Association Conference in 2017, at which the research was being presented that was the basis of this law, I was denied. We need to look at how we are providing services for children with reading disabilities in Medford. In the OG community, early intervention has always been the recommended and maintained approach for years. As Dr. Gobbs says, The same approach for teaching dyslexic children is appropriate for other learning disabled children too. At the elementary level, we should be looking at the models for delivering specialized reading instruction to our students with reading disabilities, not letting the push-in method for all reading instruction take over the district, the direct instruction method often delivered in individual and small groups for specialized reading. So Mr. Rousseau, I say to you, phonics has been here in Medford, but we need to do more. It has come to, and it has to come from the top down in a collaborative approach, in a working relationship with teachers. The trends to delay referrals, limiting intervention, and having no regular in-house professional development to discuss and address reading issues. has to come to an end, and I understand your frustration, and I hope that you use that to help make a change here. I appreciate your desire to make the right choice, and I appreciate your recognition, all of you, to take your time in choosing a screener. But right now, there are children who are struggling with reading problems in our classrooms, and they should be prioritized in your upcoming budget. Providing our specialists, co-teachers, and classroom teachers with the needed materials and professional development is what needs to happen to get the job done. I think in this way, you will have fulfilled your commitment to the children of Medford. Thank you.
[Charlene Douglas]: Thank you. Thank you, Meredith. And now, Julianne Anderson.
[SPEAKER_15]: Good evening, thank you, and hello. I appreciate you giving me this opportunity to speak here tonight. Again, my name is Julianne Anderson. I am a special education teacher at the McGlynn Elementary School. I am a resident of Medford 220 Grove Street, as well as a former student of the Medford Public School System. I am a parent of two children who have also attended the Medford Public School System. Currently, I work with students in grades one, two, and three. providing specialized instruction for math, ELA, as well as reading. I, too, am certified in Oyton-Gillingham. I did attend Mass General Hospital Institute of Professional Learning and received a certificate for advanced degree in reading. I am trained in Wisnia CAP reading program, as well as Wilson and Oyton-Gillingham. All of these trainings I have paid for myself to keep abreast of the current research and methods that would best support the students whom I work with. As far as the instruction and implementation of Orton, Gillingham, or Wilson, they are both a direct and explicit multisensory approach to reading that relies on scope and sequence. Spiraling back from the previous day, mastery of skills by creating a solid foundation before moving on to the demands of the next expectations in reading. Over the years, the school system has come up short with the funding to provide all students the materials they need to successfully access the curriculum, as well as the professional development for all teachers to meet the needs of the current changes of the students in our district. Currently, at the Columbus and the McGlynn Elementary, we still have part-time kindergarten powers. As a committee, you agreed two weeks ago that the intervention needs to happen as early as kindergarten. As the demands for DESE and the potential screening for dyslexia will impact how these teachers provide our instruction, the question I pose to all of you, will the school committee provide funding for the full-time powers required to provide the support to all kindergartens, not just at two, but at all four? We talk around and we throw these words, equality, collaboration, and achievement. Our elementary schools are not equal. As the demographics within Method change, so do the needs of all our learners. We need to educate the families of the importance of education, of putting down the cell phones, turning off the video games and the TVs. Pick up a book and spend the quality time reading with your children and having conversations about the stories they have read. We have acknowledged the concern for the social-emotional learning of all our students. And we have provided and started beginning with programs and community outreach. We need to step up and do this as well for the academic components. We need to, as a community, come forward and help these parents, educate them, and provide them with the tools necessary to educate them and support their own children at home. In the city of MedFed, teachers are mandated to teach the programs that this committee has adopted and approved that you felt were beneficial for all learners. Phonics is embedded in the Journeys Reading Program. As a teacher, we don't get to pick and choose what we teach. We are mandated not only by the district, but as well as by the state. In my career, I have never observed a teacher refuse to teach phonics or make a comment that phonics is boring. Please come and speak with teachers before making comments that imply that we don't care, that we don't do this because it's boring. Please feel free, and I extend this invitation to all of you, come to my classroom. I'm on the second floor at the McGlynn Elementary, room 245, the end of the hallway. Show up. observe how I teach phonics on a regular basis. Don't just show up during Read Across America. Don't just show up when we're doing an ice cream social or an academic award so you can get that photo opportunity because it's an election year. Show up, show us that you care, and provide us with the support, the funding that we need to provide this opportunity for our children to be successful. They are the future. They are our leaders. They will be the ones that will be taking care of us down the line. If we don't help them now, then, you know, it's... So I just thank you for your time, and I appreciate this opportunity.
[Charlene Douglas]: So what are we asking? We are asking you, the school committee, to advocate for meaningful, fully funded PD. This year was the first year there was a $5,000 budget item. Previous years, it's been $1,000, $2,000. $5,000 for a district of this size. It's insulting. I'll say no more. We have a PD committee that meets. Wonderful. We have all these wonderful ideas and we put all these wonderful things forward, but we have nothing to work with. Nothing comes from nothing. King Lear, William Shakespeare. Get it? We need it. We want it. We will attend. Please attend our PD meeting this Thursday in the high school library. What's the center it's in? The CCSR Center from 3.15 to 4.15. Hear what we have to say. Hear what we want. To advocate for more funding, special ed, to meet the needs of our special needs students. The Fund Me campaign. Get out there. We need funding. Tell your legislators. We were there, marching, Thursday, Thursday night, marching. We want funding. Method stands to gain $4.2 million if you get out there. Join me. Join our crusade. Be a part. Be a part of us. Criticize us if we do something wrong, absolutely. But don't criticize us when we're fighting every day for the wealth, healthy, and safety of our children. You know, we did a wonderful school safety committee. What happened to that committee? Anyone want to talk about that? What happened to the AIP school climate survey conducted at the McGlynn Middle and Elementary School? I had to beg to get it. What's going on there? We'll be drafting a letter to you regarding that. And we encourage you, the school committee, to come and talk to us. Talk to the teachers. As Ms. Anderson so eloquently put it, the only time I ever saw any of you, many of you, during my 32 years was at a social event. No one, not one school committee in 32 years entered my classroom. I encourage you and ask you. And you can reach out to me. My cell phone number is 781-771-1098 personally. You want to talk to teachers, reach out to me. I'm available. I'm retired. I'm available. And consequently, I do not live in Maine. I live in Medford. I go to the weekends in Maine. Yes, I have a lovely home in Maine. But I am with my niece and my sister working with them. And my nephew and my niece will be attending the Method Public Schools. And I want to be proud. And I am proud. I am proud of the teachers in this district. And I have met numerous teachers, 17 years teaching in Lesley. If you don't think I know what good teaching is, I challenge you to come to me. I'm fired up. As you well can see. And I'm passionate. I have always been passionate. So I retired from the 8th grade classroom, but I didn't retire from what I love, and that is teaching our youth. We have a 50% attrition rate of new teachers. Look at our mentoring program. Let's make sure they stay. I know Diane has a few things to say, so I'll let Diane speak. And I can talk about morale, but I'll wait.
[Caldwell]: So I'm starting out by saying I don't have her passion right now. But I want you to know that Julianne Anderson was a student when I was at the Dames School. I think Julianne were I? I just want to talk from an administrative point of view. We, too, were very surprised by the comments that were made. And actually, Mr. Russo and I had an in-depth conversation about it a few days afterwards. and he apologized then as well. But I want you to know, I want teachers to know, it is our sincere hope that you know that you're supported by the administrators, that we try to listen to the needs that you have in your classroom, and that we want to work with you on a regular basis. Teachers in Medford worked tirelessly, coming in early and staying late. And beyond the end of the day, teachers have also been in our schools on weekends and arrived way before the year began to set up their classrooms. I know because I've been in the classrooms, and I see them there during the summer. I was a Medford teacher long before I was an administrator. I was an elementary teacher at the Dames School, no longer here. And I was a high school teacher at the Curtis Tufts. So I walked 30 years in the teachers' shoes. I know and understood their frustration. Medford teachers are the backbone of the education, of our education. Their dedication, perseverance, day in and day out, make Medford great. Thank you.
[Charlene Douglas]: So I want to thank you all for listening. And, you know, I mentioned the word morale. And I just want to say that it is important for teachers to feel that they are appreciated and that they make a difference. And I know they do. I know what out-of-pocket expenditures are. And by the way, we can only deduct $250 of it right on taxes, as you all know. So we're impassioned. My teachers that spoke tonight obviously were impassioned. There were many who wanted to speak, but we limited it to four, and we tried to get a variety within that. Morale is very important. This year, Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent and I have worked together on some issues concerning teacher morale. There are some concerns that you will be hearing about regarding teacher morale through the grievance process. And, you know, there are things that, there are ways that you treat people, and how we treat them is extremely important. You know, sometimes when teachers are sick or ill, and that sickness is caused by anxiety or stress. And there are times in this district where those teachers have been looked upon as not having a disability, but rather as having a weakness. And I hope that is resolved. I hope that when someone loses a loved one and they take a bereavement day, that we remember that day. You lose that loved one and you're putting in for that day. You know, you don't know, and I speak from experience, you don't know which end is up. Don't ask me eight months later who died. It's hot enough to do this. And our payroll office is asking for that information. So I ask you to treat my teachers with respect, and the same respect they give every single one of you. Thank you.
[Burke]: Mr. Ruggiero.
[Ruggiero]: Thank you, Mayor Burke. One issue I heard come up reputedly in your state, Charlene, was the professional development funds being rejected. Could you give me a sense of how often this happens?
[Charlene Douglas]: All the time. OK. Do you want to know that most conferences I went to as a teacher, I think they were paid for maybe three in my 30, maybe five, all right, maybe six. But no more than that. I paid for my own. I paid for all my own professional development, all my training, all of that. I have to say that this committee did approve in negotiations, you know, funding for college graduate credit, and that is being used like you can't believe. I think, Ms. Riccardelli, how many people did we have to turn away because we don't have enough funding?
[Ricciardelli]: I think in the summer semester there probably
[Charlene Douglas]: 12 or 13 teachers that we couldn't even provide them with that. That's how much every dime is being used and we need more. These teachers want to... And the summer is when we do it. Let's be honest. I'm teaching two online courses. Do you know who's in those courses? Teachers. That's when they're doing it, during the summer months. That's when they're learning about the theories of reading or the fundamentals of reading or the content-based reading. That's when they're doing it, the summer. So on a regular basis, it has been a struggle in Medford. And I'm not blaming the current administration, but it definitely has been a struggle within our district. And we've asked for funding. And you can ask the people on that PD committee. I hate to put you on the spot, Ms. Audra Cashin, but I know you're here. Audra, how much professional development would you say that we asked for and what was one of the main things that happened?
[KVKsAf7NizM_SPEAKER_02]: They couldn't sustain it.
[Charlene Douglas]: So we did it. The PD committee did the PD development. That's not our job. We're advisory. We did it. Mitzi Galanti, myself, Liz, I can't remember who else. There were so many of us. We did that PD. Teachers came. Seventy-two teachers came and were excited and wanted more. And we presented it. Can't sustain it. Does that answer your question?
[Ruggiero]: Absolutely. Thank you. Mayor Burke, I'd like to make a motion that we have a report on the percentage of professional development funds that are requested from us and what percentage we actually give to teachers. As a former educator myself, I know how valuable professional development time is. So I'd like to see that in writing as a report, please.
[Burke]: There's a motion on the floor for a report on people that have applied.
[Ruggiero]: The percentage of teachers that have applied for professional development monies
[Charlene Douglas]: I don't think I'd be able to pull that together. I mean, I really personally, I don't think you can pull that information. Because once they apply, it's denied, it just goes away. You know what I'm saying? I think it would be more advantageous for us to determine how much money and what are we doing to make sure that the money is being provided to the teachers to get that professional development. We did that, and I think that's more realistic. So I think that's more realistic. Do an analysis?
[Burke]: Superintendent will do an analysis.
[Ruggiero]: Is it, so if a teacher places, thank you, I mean I appreciate it, I just want to get a sense of what's happening. So if a teacher makes a request for a conference or a class in the summer, that teacher's application must still be on file somewhere, correct? Even if it's rejected, or not?
[Ricciardelli]: So I think we may be talking about a couple of different things. So there is a tuition reimbursement program that began with the contract negotiations, I believe, two years ago. I think we're in the third or fourth year of that. We're in the fourth year of that. And Charlene and I go through the applications together. The amount is dictated by what is in the contract. So there's $14,000 that's allocated for the summer semester, $13,000 for the fall semester, and $13,000 for the spring semester. So when someone does not get approved for that tuition reimbursement, it's either because the course doesn't qualify, because it's not a graduate level course, and or perhaps because it's first come, first serve. So in the case of it was either 12 or 13 who did not get tuition reimbursement for the summer semester, it was because of the date that their application came in. I believe all of them had the qualifications.
[Ruggiero]: It's not that they passed the expiration date of the application. It's just they weren't the first in the door. Is that what you're saying?
[Ricciardelli]: That is correct.
[Ruggiero]: So the teachers applied properly.
[Ricciardelli]: They applied properly. The deadline was May 1st. In this case, we had some people apply as early as, I believe, it was the first week in February. So an application that came in, I believe, on April 23rd, even though it was in the window, was long in the line and they did not get approved for the funding. Because it's not an infinite amount of money, it's $14,000. So we spend until we hit the limit that is in the contract. What I think Charlene and I can say from the perspective of the PD committee, we are asking for more money. I've shared this with the administration. We're looking for more money to deliver PD to the teachers on PD days and on the days that we have conferences on the early release days and other in-district generated events. That is different from the outside courses that teachers take at universities. So I just want that to be clear, that when we talk about someone being rejected, it may be within the context of the tuition reimbursement program.
[Ruggiero]: So someone, let's say they went to Mass General Hospital and they wanted to receive special training to help our dyslexic students, that wouldn't necessarily be covered.
[Ricciardelli]: So Mass General has its own college, which has a great reputation. They offer graduate level courses. So if someone applies through tuition reimbursement, and we have approved that, and they apply and the money has not been exhausted because there haven't been so many people applying in front of them, then they'll get funded. It's a maximum of $1,000 per year per teacher.
[Ruggiero]: Yeah, it would be very helpful to me just to, and thank you very much for this information. Thank you very much for sharing your concerns. I just want to make sure that we can see something physical so we can actually move forward with an educated decision. If we have 100 teachers applying for 10 spots, that's unacceptable in my opinion.
[Burke]: Could you please come to the podium just so people can hear you?
[Charlene Douglas]: I think my voice is always strong enough. It is, I know it is. So I think one of the things too, the teachers are speaking to is like conferences, for example, like the reading conference or the math conference and various conferences. Many of us have put in for that and we don't even ask to be reimbursed. We'll pay for it ourselves. We just want the day and they're denying us that professional day. And I know that's happened with Liz, you spoke to the AP and Meredith, you know, yeah. We end up going, many of us take personal days to do that. We don't take sick days, but we do take personal days to do that. But we have been denied. So, and I'll let her just speak to you.
[KVKsAf7NizM_SPEAKER_02]: Hi, Liz Deneu. I teach social studies at the high school. We haven't really heard from the high school level yet, so I just thought I want to chime in for a minute. So some of the content areas can be particularly challenging to get professional development. I'm a social studies teacher. It's frequently lumped in with literacy, but there are some very distinct issues coming up, specifically with civics and 21st century learning. And my own experience has been as a teacher of advanced placement, and as someone who recently developed a new advanced placement course, I wanted to attend an advanced placement training. They're costly. They're typically held in faraway places. The one I wanted to attend was in Las Vegas, and I thought, you know what? The district doesn't have the money and the resources to do that. So one way that I tried to do a workaround was to actually apply to become an AP reader. If you're a reader, all of your expenses are paid. And then you go and you read exams and you also receive complimentary training from the AP board. So you can come back and sort of be a train the trainer, right? So I would have gone and I would have done the reader thing for human geography, which is a new course I'm teaching. And then I would have come back and provided professional development and resources to my own staff of, I think, 14 or 15 at the high school. And then obviously gotten the opportunity to see exams written by students nationwide, which would have helped me prepare for my own students here in Medford. And regrettably, despite the fact that the conference would have been paid for, the expenses would have been paid for, there was a per diem for food, it was going to be held, I think, in Cincinnati this summer, it was denied. And the reason that I got from my building-based principal was, well, he just couldn't afford to have me out of the building for three days in June. And I said, well, we're talking about a conference day. There are permanent substitutes in the high school. I just would like the opportunity to get this information, and it's at no cost to the district. And it was at a time of year when, because I'm a teacher of mostly seniors, it would have been two periods that would have had to be covered. So it just was an unfortunate thing. And I understand why it was done. It was done because there was a policy in place where no one was going to be approved, and it was sort of a, you can't cherry pick, right? You're going to have to make it fair for everybody. But I feel that the loss was greater than the loss would have been for the two periods a day. And that's something that's happening at least systemically in my building.
[Ruggiero]: I mean, I've taught AP Calculus, so I know it's not so much always just the mathematics, but it's also the ability and getting the educational instruction to teach at a high level to high school kids who are sort of in between being at college ready. So I know those classes are particularly challenging. In terms, I would like to also, in addition to the report, I'd like to suggest that we review the policy in place. Because, I mean, your particular case, it seems like we should be allowed a little bit of discernment, you know, especially for seniors in June. I was just thinking the benefit would have been pretty big to the system as a whole, and just to have that experience, to read the AP exams, see what they're looking for, go back and tell. On our teacher, we have a huge AP offering in my school.
[KVKsAf7NizM_SPEAKER_02]: You know, that's a lot of kids.
[Burke]: Thank you.
[Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. Oh yes, most of the questions were answered about the professional development. I was curious as to why it was turned down when teachers had submitted for it. So is there any type of grants that can be written to get additional funding for professional development that maybe that money could be pooled and accessed by the teachers for special conferences that they might want to go to single-day events or evening events, or is that something that's already being done?
[Edouard-Vincent]: I think we can always try to pursue grants. Off the top of my head, I couldn't say which particular grant funding would be able to support additional professional development, but I'm definitely not opposed to it.
[Burke]: There is a motion on the floor by Mr. Ruggiero that a study come back on that topic. Seconded by Mr. Benedetto. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you all for being here this evening.
[Hays]: Thank you.
[Burke]: Thank you. Thank you. You've got to keep moving.
[Unidentified]: Okay. Updates and comments.
[Burke]: motion for suspension you want you want to say that Mia?
[SPEAKER_10]: Ms. Krentz is making a motion to move the Medford PTO and PTG's annual update out of order.
[Burke]: There's a motion on the floor for suspension of the rules to take paper number seven out of order. This is seconded by Mr. Ruggiero. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Item seven, report on Medford PTO PTG's annual update. We have to fix the thing. Good evening. Your name and address for our record please. Whoever is speaking.
[Ruggiero]: Amber, is the podium microphone on? Oh, I'm sorry.
[SPEAKER_38]: Kathy's still on.
[Unidentified]: The display to cast.
[9sF78fOJr5I_SPEAKER_61]: Okay, everyone, I think we're all set. Thank you so much to Superintendent Edouard-Vincent for inviting the four elementary school PTOs and PTGs to come and present tonight. Thank you, Mayor Burke and members of the school committee for having us. We're here to present the annual reports for each of the four elementary school PTOs. As you may recall, the four PTOs began a fundraising collaboration in 2018, which became known as the Citywide Elementary PTO. At that time, and that relationship has gone so well, we decided to be efficient and present to you jointly tonight. We met for the first time in Jenny Graham's dining room last summer to talk about the ways that we could work together to support our four schools. And some of our goals that we talked about at that time were sort of developing relationships across the city and also developing ways that we could collaborate together to fundraise to support our PTOs and the sort of very important work that we're doing. We're having some trouble sliding over, so Rocco's helping me out here. But what I will tell you is that we have had several very successful fundraisers that I'll recap. And the goal really here was to both develop a relationship and also to fundraise to amplify the support that the PTOs are already providing and have historically provided to each of the schools. We'll be hearing a little bit more about what each PTO has done at their schools this year, but first let's recap the fundraising effort. This year we put on two fundraisers. In October we launched the Win a Disney Vacation Raffle. We offered a grand prize of a Disney vacation worth $5,000 cash, and there was a second place prize as well. Over the course of the two months, the group raised over $20,000, and each school received over $4,200 from the net proceeds. It was a really great way to kick off the working relationship between the schools, across parent organizations, teachers, and working with the principals. Thank you so much to all of the parents and student volunteers. We had dozens and dozens of them helping us promote this raffle across the city throughout the fall. They put in hundreds of hours of work to make this a success. Thank you also to Jenny Graham for serving as the co-chair of the event for me. Our second fundraiser that we put off was the Harlem Wizards game in March. Thank you to Cheryl Rodriguez, who I think is still here, for serving as the event chair and for all of your work, Cheryl, to kick off this event. It was truly an event for kids and parents to remember alike. On the day of the event, each of the four elementary schools had an in-school assembly with a visit from the Harlem Wizards basketball players. That was super exciting and we were thrilled that all of the students were able to participate. That evening, we had over 900 people attend the event, which was in the Medford High Gym. They watched some fantastic basketball. They had a dance party at the end. We had parents and students there selling concessions and souvenirs and tickets and so forth. And I think the event was a tremendous success. Each school raised over $2,600 in net proceeds from that particular event. As you can see on our slide presentation, there were many, many organizations. and people who were involved, local businesses, we're not going to name all of them, but this was really, I think, truly an excellent first year collaboration. We've already been working on our plans for next year based on how successful this year has been. We want to be sure that this collaboration can keep moving forward with a clear scope, one that best manages our goals and our potential growth based on the volunteer capacity that we have. We're all parent volunteers, teacher volunteers, who are really thrilled to put in this time to grow this collaboration. We've met a few times to discuss how this year went, how to talk about the operating norms that we have and what we would like to put into place for next year to make sure that we can continue to grow and manage our fundraisers successfully. One of the exciting things that each of the four PTOs is currently reviewing a memorandum of understanding between the four elementary schools. That's currently in draft form, but one of the really exciting things is that we proposed a name that we think more officially suits who we are, the Citywide Elementary Alliance. And so now I'm going to turn it over to the representatives from each PTO in the Alliance to talk about their school's efforts this year. Thank you.
[Graham]: Hi again. I'm going to talk about some of the activity that we've done this year at the Brooks, and I want to start by saying a huge thank you to this committee. for their support. This is our second year presenting to you guys. And last year we talked at length about the state of the grounds at the Brooks specifically and also across the city. And that picture on the lower right is a picture of our new field, which we were able to break in just in time for field day. And it has truly been a game changer. So thank you to this committee for all the support that you provided and to the mayor for helping make this happen in collaboration with the PTO. So we're back this year. And what we decided to do as a collaborative group is talk a little bit about what has been going on in our buildings this year, but also try to be efficient in the things that we want to talk to you about for consideration, because they truly are shared concerns. So we sort of decided to divvy things up, but I want to say that from a perspective of what happens in the Brooks building, we 100% support what you'll hear from all the rest of the schools in terms what their priorities and concerns are for you guys to consider, and I think that goes kind of all around the four elementary schools. We're all very lined in sort of what the opportunities are. Our leadership team changes every year, and so this year we welcomed Mitzi Galante to the co-chair position, and Mike Allen will be cycling off for a bit. And we have a new monitor because our monitor only serves for one year at a time, and the rest of the committee stays in place for next year through an election process. Our spending recap looks a lot like what it has looked like in past years. On the left side, you see the recurring costs. So it's things like in-school enrichment. And we divvy up the enrichment budget across all of the grades. So there is the same amount of money being spent, albeit perhaps different amounts of things happening in the different school grades. We support field trips and teacher supplies, which are sort of the next significant component of our budget, field day, library resources quite specifically, and then sort of a hodgepodge of additional items. Last year we talked to you about establishing our version of a grants committee process, which is really a process for the community to talk to us about. what they think is important and how we might spend money when we are able to raise in excess of our operating budget. This year we authorized $5,000 in spending, and that money will be spent across Chromebooks, reading intervention and teacher resources, coding mice for the technology classes, phys ed equipment, and stage and performance equipment. The field remediation contribution also happened in this fiscal year, so it's on there, but that's sort of happened in the middle of the summer, so it doesn't have a great home. So far this year, we've raised about $45,000. About 10% of those funds are generated from corporate sponsors, and the remaining 90% is raised across a variety of events that happen in our community, particularly with event attendance and activity participation. Fall Fest is one of our biggest fundraisers. We've already set the date for next year on October 20th. And the read-a-thon trivia night and our annual talent show are the biggest sources of fundraising for our community. Other than that, we do talk about favorites like our ice cream social, our open mic nights, which are really amazing. I'm always so shocked at how fearless little kids are in front of a microphone. So there's lots of other things that we do across the year, but we really try to create a balance of events from a fundraising standpoint so there is truly something for everybody. One of the things that I wanted to talk about tonight from a consideration perspective is that, especially hearing a lot of the conversation already this evening about English language arts reading support, the libraries at the elementary level are woefully understaffed. We have a part-time librarian that supports four elementary schools, and it is near impossible for her to make any forward progress. I think there are three issues in the library as I see them and as we have discussed sort of as a PTO. One is that a part-time person cannot possibly support four elementary schools, that an identifiable library curriculum does not exist at all grade levels. And frankly, it's unfair to think that our part-time resource is going to ever have the capacity to build a meaningful curriculum for the library given the huge administrative burden that she carries in her part-time capacity across four schools. And the third thing, and I would say sort of this is in order of importance, but the third thing is that there is no meaningful budget from the district to purchase new library books. So when the science curriculum rolls out, how is the library being sourced with books that are relevant and appropriate to that activity? And what does happen in practice is that you know, PTOs like ourselves and I think all the other elementary school PTOs provide lots of support in that area. But it's sort of a parent-driven approach versus an educator curriculum-driven approach. So I think there's a lot of opportunity in the library. Even if we could get to two headcounts so that each librarian could focus on two buildings, it would be a light year of difference from what happens today. I mean, the poor librarian, Ms. Lannan, is just driving all over the city, covering people who are out, trying to handle all the administrative activity in each of the buildings. And I think when we talk about English language performance, a real meaningful library experience in a building can really be a game changer for kids who are struggling. And somebody who can help them learn to love to read on their own and for pleasure can be a really important aspect of what needs to happen to kind of bring those kids along. I'm going to turn it over to the Columbus now for their report.
[Ingrid]: Hello. My name is Ingrid Moncada. I'm a resident. I have three kids in the Columbus School. I'm a part of the PTO board. This is Christina. She's also part of the PTO board. We both do enrichment in the PTO board. All right. Basically we have different committees, fundraising, enrichment, grants, writing, and events. And right now our board is eight people. They usually stay for at least two years, and then we vote for new members of the board at the end of the year. So this week we'll vote for new members. All right, so the focus of our spending is enrichment, also supporting the teacher staff, and also doing community events. So most of the spending is in school enrichment. We have activities per grade, and then we also have assemblies for the whole school. We also do field trips. We try to do two field trips per grade. We do a fun day in June coming up. It's an all-day event when we have a performance and then outdoor activities for the whole school. We spend some money on teacher supplies. We do some school events and then other administration expenses.
[Cristina McCorty]: For this year, this is a recap of the grants we were awarded. To supplement what we fundraise, the grant writing committee reaches out to get outside grant funding so we don't always have to burden our school community. So for this school year, we received two Medford Art Council grants, both were for cultural enrichments. We also received the Arts Alive Medford grant for a third grade songwriting project, which is with local musicians who have done this project at other schools and were able to bring it to our school this year. And then we also got the Tufts Neighborhood Fund grant, which we're using to enrich our science night. We were able to use the money to offer free food for the event, which is nice. And also we were able to give the teachers some money to use for their class presentations.
[Ingrid]: All right, so this year we fundraised about $38,000. This includes all the contributions from the citywide events that they talked about before. There's different sources. So we have community events. We also have direct donations. And we did the read-a-thon, just like the other schools did. We have book fairs. We have the election day bake sale. We have restaurant nights and a few other things to try to do different fundraiser things so then every parent can pick whatever they want to do instead of doing everything. We also have community events. We have an asking social. We have about maybe four movie nights a year. We do, at the beginning of the year, we do a welcome play date and we do back to school scavenger hunt. We have a giving thanks event in November that is really, really successful. It's really fun. Okay, I'm just going to go in different order. Because the other thing that I want to talk about is the clubs. So we do after school clubs. We call them enrichment clubs. And we have four sessions a year. We have in the fall, then the winter, and we have two sessions in the spring. And in this year, we did about 40 different clubs. And our focus is so we want as many students as possible to join these clubs. So we try to do the modest price, and we also have a flexible fee. So we offer scholarships for the kids who cannot afford clubs. The clubs are also self-funded. So we accept donations specifically for clubs, and we ask for the fees such that all the other fundraising events in the PTO, they don't have to fund the clubs, because we can fund them just by fees and donations. Oh yeah, we have under 40 clubs, that means each club runs with one or two volunteers per club. There's a lot of parent involvement and a lot of volunteers that make these clubs possible. We do grant writing, like Cristina was talking about, for enrichment activities. It's mostly for assemblies and for big things. We do enrichment for field trips. And we also do major support for school library resources. So we have a lot of parent volunteers in the library that help at the library. And we do two book fairs a year. And this year, we were able to purchase 200 books for teachers and library, which I I think it's a great accomplishment. And also, this is our first year as a 501c3 organization, so that was a transition process because we needed to learn a lot of things to make it possible. I think all the other elementary schools already had that, and this is just a new thing for us. Oh, that's it. We didn't have a slide to talk about the issues that we wanted to bring out to the school committee. time to do it, but we do think that the building grounds and the playground need some work. I didn't have a picture of it, but our playground is really not usable right now, not only the surface, but the playground equipment and the structures are just broken, and it's sometimes dangerous for the kids to play, and it really, really needs work.
[Cristina McCorty]: I just was going to say that in the last few years, what I noticed is things will break, and they'll either just stay broken, or they'll just be taken away. And that's sometimes after someone gets hurt. So there was a glider, and it was just a broken glider. And then someone got hurt, and then the metal got taken away, but nothing was replaced for it. Same thing with another structure that was a wobbly climbing structure. It got so wobbly, a parent hurt herself, then that structure just like disappeared. So it would just be nice to see, you know, that there were people responsible for like checking the grounds and so things could, and actually fixing things also. And in a timely manner, because we've had, like we had a whole winter, or I should say like a fall through winter without a slide, because there was a crack in the slide and we appreciated that it was getting fixed, it was just unusable and slightly dangerous because there was like a cinder block propping up plastic. That's probably one of the issues.
[Ingrid]: That's one of our big concerns, yes. All right, turn it over to Maglene. Thank you. Thank you so much.
[RCBmbH4HOvE_SPEAKER_00]: Hello, my name is Bailey Shindell and I'm excited to be here tonight as a representative of the McGlynn Elementary PTG. Last year, our organization went through a huge overhaul. We rewrote our bylaws to bring back a committee structure and restructured our executive board. This year has been about building a foundation for a strong parent-teacher organization for the McGlynn community. We've had a lot of help in this venture. I want to thank all the volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make this year a success for our students and community. This includes our executive board, committee leadership, the teachers, and everybody who's just been willing to show up for us. I want to specifically thank Renee Hanley, who has basically lived at the McGlynn doing the good work at the PTG this year. I also want to take a moment to recognize the efforts of the Citywide Elementary Alliance. Not only did working with this group help us to meet our financial goals for the year, but the members of this group were an invaluable source of information and support for the PTG. I am so proud to be part of this group who is working to add value for all Medford students. The PTG is committed to bringing enrichment opportunities to the community at the McGlynn. This year, 78% of our spending was on student enrichment, which includes field trips, in-school presentations, fun day, and after-school programs. Another 13% of our spending has gone to community outreach, which includes our teacher-driven projects program. This year we started giving small grants of $200 to promote innovation and engage teachers in the community. This program has been successful in bringing many of our teachers' ideas to life. We supported flexible seating in classrooms, Ms. Lasky's hydroponics garden, Ms. Smock's 3D printing project, Grants have also been used to add math games to the kindergarten classrooms and games for students to play during lunch. We hope to continue this program next year and bring more of our teachers' creativity into the classrooms. At the beginning of the year, the PTT decided to raise the field trip budget from $10 to $15 per student. Our hope was this would help to create more opportunities for out-of-building student enrichment. We set the goal of raising an additional $5,000 this year so that we could get the field trip budget up to $20 per student for the 2019-2020 school year. With the help of the Citywide Alliance, we have reached this goal. Other notable McGlynn fundraisers are our family fund nights, which have the dual purpose of raising money and bringing together our community. The McGlynn has also had its first read-a-thon this year. We were pleased to have 114 students participate, which was higher than we expected for our first time out. Mr. G.S.' 's class read 7,238 minutes to win a pizza party. These are just a few of the many events and fundraisers our organization has sponsored. There are many things for us to be proud of this year. I've already mentioned the raise in the field trip budget, the read-a-thon, and the teacher-driven projects program. We have also launched a website to keep our community informed by giving them weekly updates. We ensured that each grade went on at least one field trip and had at least one in-school presentation. We recruited room parents for every classroom, and we started bringing after-school enrichment to the McGlynn students. We piloted the Escape the Classroom Math program with Michael's help. And we brought in Playwell for a Lego club. Seeing teachers and parents pool together to make all this possible gives me optimism for the PTG's future. One of the challenges we have faced this year is the raising prices of school buses for field trips. In September, the first graders were able to go to Smollick Farms for the cost of $800. This month, the first graders went to the Children's Museum for $1,005. This is just the bus cost. When talking to teachers, we have noticed that the base rate for the bus has increased at least $10 a year. Additionally, it seems that there is inconsistent pricing for buses accessible for people with disabilities and extended hours. There are also complaints about the bus service. For example, the September trip to Small Oak Farms, one of the buses left with the student lunches on it. Those students had to wait over a half hour to have their lunches when we were already on a tight schedule. Over 50% of our field trip budget this year has gone to pay for buses, and this does not take into account that some grades have received grants to help defer bus costs. My question to you, the school committee, is what can we do about the monopoly Eastern Buses has on our field trip travel? Are there other transportation options? Can we negotiate some kind of reduced rate? How can we spend more of our fundraised money on student enrichment and not just transportation? I want to thank the school committee for taking the time to listen and being a huge support for the McGlynn community. The McGlynn Elementary looks forward to working closely with the school for the years to come. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_34]: Hi, I'm Melissa Maywell and this is Melissa DeMeo. Okay, and we're both from the Roberts. First thing, we just wanted to show a nice slide of our new playground surface. And again, thanks to Cheryl and the CPA for the transformation. If you haven't seen it, come on down and check it out. It's nice, it's bouncy, it's clean. The kids love it, it's safe. So we're very excited about that and we hope that all the other elementary schools will also get the same surface redone and for safety mainly, and also just to make sure we have equity among the schools. The first, so this is our leadership team. We have seven people on the executive board. Ms. McKay is our teacher liaison, and we have some event chairs. And we have lots and lots and lots of volunteers, so it can't happen without all of our volunteers. Anything else on this? So for our spending recap, in-school enrichment, we have about 16%. If you want to know the numbers, I can always send that to you. It was over $3,000. We got anything from the Museum of Science to come, author visits, Curious Creatures, Zoo New England, the Hands on History presentation regarding the American Revolutionary War, Mass Horticultural Society, plant mobile program, a puppet theater, just to kind of give you an idea of what enrichment that ties into the school curriculum that comes into our schools. The field trips, the transportation, we estimate over $6,000 for buses. Teachers, staff, supplies. We've bought many supplies, and we actually may have to look into expanding that, unless there's room in the budget, hopefully. Because a lot of times, the teachers will put out and ask parents to bring in things. So that typically is what... Well, they won't ask them to bring in things. Notice that there's certain things needed and the parents will bring it in like tissues or anything like toilet paper rolls, simple things like that. And for books, we actually do really well in our book fair, and we used $6,878 in scholastic dollars to buy books for our library, classrooms, a birthday book for every child in the school, and some books for the fifth graders on their reading list. And also, you know, teacher-staff appreciation and lots of other little things that happen. We also bought iPads this year, and primarily they're for any supplement that the kindergarten teachers may want for their activities. And we have rugs. We actually bought seven rugs, and that cost was over $3,000. No, no, no, it was over, like, 2,600. And I think we discussed this a little bit, but these rugs had never been changed. And teachers will buy their own rugs. And they're just disgusting. And these are kindergarten kids that they spend 90% of their time on these rugs. And cleaning was not going to change them. And actually, I think Cheryl started a GoFund for it and then we decided to chip in and get rugs. And then the other teachers want them too. So we have to see, look at our budget and see if we can do that. But also if that's something maintenance can do or I'm not sure what really the school committee could do for that. We've gotten a bunch of grants, Medford Arts Council for trombones for $700, for Art Night for $650, for a songwriting workshop for $1,000. And we've also got Tufts Neighborhood Service Project, $250 for Field Day, and Science Night in the fall, we got $500. Let me see, I'll go next. So our fundraisers, we actually did amazing at Jingle Bell. We got close to $10,000. So besides the Wizard and the raffles, that's our highest fundraiser and big community event. Readathon, we got over $4,000. We actually went online this year, which was really good. Charleston wrap we did well over 3,000 we have a lot of community Roberts community You know ice cream socials movie night trivia night, and then we also do a lot of free activities because we're I We want to make sure that there's kids can come, and not even if it's $2 for movie night, we want something completely free. So we had a free science night, which was teacher-led. And again, PTO is a parent-teacher organization, and they're definitely a part of it. They're there making up all these science experiments. They're at night doing all this work. A free family game night, a free family fun night, a free art night with the grant, walking Wednesdays with walking school buses and incoming play dates, just trying to make it more of a community within the Roberts. We do have a Facebook page if any of you want to go on it. It's public Rockin' Roberts PTO. We have an email distribution list for our parents. We send information. We also have a website and we send flyers. And there's still people that don't know about an event. But I think that's always the case. So the last slide is we have technology in schools. It was just good to try to get some numbers on some Chromebooks, because as we know, that's very important. The Roberts has 563 students in the fall, so that may not be completely accurate. 100 Chromebooks, which we have 25 per cart, and the district bought 50, and the PTO bought 50. 25 of those were funded by a Lowell's two-box grant. And I just want to add, it's important to look at the schools and how they use them, because in our school, the first floor is K and 1, so there's no carts. But then there's a cart on the second, a cart on the third, a cart on the fourth, and an extra cart. But we have five fourth grade classes. and five fifth grade classes. So we do have a large number of older students who are using these Chromebooks for MCAST and learning and such. So the need is definitely there. Columbus, we didn't get those numbers yet, but hopefully we'll get those. McGlynn, they had 90, which is 30 per cart, and the district purchased all of those. And the Brooks has 118 Chromebooks, and the district purchased 50 of those. So I think it's just important, again, to have equity among the schools and make sure we all have the technology that we need in our school system. And I think that's it. Did you have anything else? Thank you.
[Graham]: And I just wanted to say thank you to all the parents who have been in the room since 7 tonight to be here to show you guys that we all do really believe in the things that we're telling you and there's a whole bunch of folks in the room from all the elementary schools across the city here tonight for this purpose. Thank you.
[Burke]: Thank you. Do we need it again? No? We do have one other. The next one.
[Van der Kloot]: Ms. Van der Kloot. So first I want to thank the parents for being here this evening, and I also want to thank them for all the work and time they've invested into their schools. Overall, I edited up, it was $143,000 worth of different activities, events, books, Chromebooks, things that were funded. by the PTOs or PTJ for their students and their schools. So it's truly fantastic. I'm going to mention the transportation issue. The field trips are part of our negotiations with the bus company, which happens every three years. And it is disheartening because that number always just goes up. It's one of the reasons why In some cases, it's better if an outside resource can come into your school rather than you busing the kids out. But we all know, of course, that it's really great to give kids different perspectives and bus them out. So that one, we'll look again when we talk about our transportation. Again, I think we've got one more year. Is that right? Yeah, we have one more year. So that contract will come up in the next year. If you do have a problem, and I trust that anybody who did would immediately report it, because I'm disheartened to hear about the issue like with Smolluck Farms, but that should immediately be brought to the attention of Christine Patterson, who will then follow it up for you. So again, thank you so much for all of your work. I do see some equity issues that were raised, and I think we need to talk about them a little bit more in terms of the number of Chromebooks that the district has supplied versus the PTO has bought. Because in some ways that seems like, gee, I think that's a district responsibility. There is one thing I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled that the elementary schools are working together and that you've formed this alliance. However, as the former head of the Medford Home and School Association, which lasted four years, and I'm a little concerned about the exclusivity only to elementary schools. years go on quickly. And I fear that by just containing it to just the elementary schools, that you're really writing off some of the most involved parents that have been part of you. And you might not think about it right now because maybe your child's only in third grade, but before you know it, they're going to be in sixth grade. Why would you seek to exclude those parents who are very active or who might be very active or who have been very active. Rather than limit it, I would prefer to see it grow. And I realize that for the different projects there might be different ways that maybe it's not equitable for the middle schools if they're part of it to receive as high an amount of money. But maybe on some other projects, they would be equal partners. I really think you need to give that some consideration and take a look at that. I know it's probably a lengthy discussion. We can't do it all here. But I'm throwing out my two cents and saying, please don't limit. Please increase, become more inclusive, not less. It's a wonderful, wonderful resource. You have people talking to each other, which is just so great. You know, schools finding out which things worked at your school, which doesn't. And again, the combined resources, that Disney project alone, what a great, great thing. So those are my two cents, and I hope to talk to you more about that at some other time.
[Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz. Yes. I just want to thank everybody. the PTO, the PTG, the teachers, the administrators, for all the great fundraising and efforts and enrichment that you do for all of our schools. The presentation was incredible. I think all of us have been to many of the events at each and every one of the schools, and they're all just incredible, amazing, and you do so many great things, and thank you. I can't thank you enough, and I enjoy going to each and every one of the events, and I know everybody here does. Thank you very much.
[DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto. Thank you, Mayor Burke. First of all, I want to thank everybody for waiting so long. It's been a long night already, and we have a ways to go. But I want to talk about enrichment and the opportunities you provide our children. Some children learn new things because you're taking time raising money. They experience things that they wouldn't necessarily experience. They get new books and get to read about faraway lands. The things that you do matter to people's lives. And I just want to really tell you how much, as a school committee member, when you buy books for a library, that touches my heart, because our budget only goes so far. So the work you do enriches not only the children's heart, but also helps us as school committee members when we run out of dollars and we wish we could buy those brand new books that everybody's talking about. or send kids to a museum that the school budget just doesn't have the funding for. So as a member, I thank you for that. Playgrounds, we saw great work with one of our playgrounds, and that was parent-driven, and that was Cheryl, and well, actually, two playgrounds got improvements this year. And we need to move forward with that, and this committee has made that a priority. Just so you all know, that is on our master plan our capital improvement plans, and we do take that seriously, both for safety, both for physical ability for kids, and we want kids to get outside and have time to play. It helps the rest of their day, and it helps their learning environment. So just to follow up on that, that that is a committee thing. I also wanted to make sure that all of our PTOs, PTGs, are now 5013Cs. I don't know if most of you know me, but I want everything to be, go through the district. I think it's transparent, I think everybody's on the same page, everybody's following the same rules, all the offices are listed, all the bank accounts are there, there's checks and balances, so that's a question I have for this evening to make sure that they're all registered with Medford Public Schools, and when you're raising money, oh, all the, Right, all the ones, and the city-wide one as well. We are not a wide one. We are just a group of people meeting and fundraising and going back to our schools. Okay, could you come to the, okay.
[Burke]: Does one PTO collect city-wide money and then distribute?
[Graham]: Exactly, so we're very new. And part of what we're trying to do is make sure that we don't flame out. So what we decided to do at the beginning of this year is that for each event, one of the PTOs who is a registered 501c3 assumes the role as the reporting PTO. That means they assume insurance risk, tax reporting liability, and a requirement to honestly handle all the money that flows in through that. And that's actually not a small task. We had to buy additional insurance for the Disney raffle because the money coming in was in excess of what we normally do. So what happens is each year we sit down and say, what events are we going to do and who's going to report? So all of that money is reporting under a registered 501c3 amongst the elementary schools. So we are not a 501c3 independent organization. because we are really just there to fundraise and push the money back to the schools where the PTOs can decide how best to spend it.
[Burke]: Okay, more or less tax filing, payments to the state, the IRS.
[Graham]: Thousands of dollars, less insurance, et cetera. Yep, yep.
[Burke]: How do you see the volunteers?
[Graham]: Right, because we would have to form a different board, which is challenging because we're already the same group of folks that show up to every last thing. So we're not there yet. We have acknowledged that we need to continue to talk about it because we could get there quickly, but we're not there yet.
[DiBenedetto]: OK. As long as that's looked at and there's rules and bylaws and things followed for that grouping that's similar to the other grouping. And I just want to finish off by saying I agree. When your children transition into middle school, you step back as a parent, and we are losing an opportunity to keep those parents involved in our district and in our children's lives. And they're feeling already that their children are more independent, so they have more time to give as their children get bigger and older. And I would just suggest that we well, that you include the middle school PTOs, especially because it would add value to those students' lives and you have an opportunity to gain help with the citywide program.
[Graham]: So that again, I agree. So let me give you three comments about that topic because I know it continues to come up. The first comment is that the two middle school PTOs Neither one of them has officially reached out to us to say they want to be part of an alliance with us. And if, in fact, they did, we would definitely want to talk to them about what that means. What happens and what plays well from a fundraising perspective at an elementary school level could be quite different. And we want to think carefully about that. If anyone wants to understand the rules in more detail, we would be happy to talk about the details of those rules that are being considered. But frankly, they are being considered and run through the boards of the respective PTOs, because those PTOs are assuming all the risk in these operations, and they do need to be okay with what those requirements are, because they are the holders of the risk, the reporting requirements, the compliance, and all that good stuff. And the third thing is that I believe that we have already agreed that we are totally open to collaborating with the Middle Schools on the Wizards game next year, which was a huge hit. We need to figure out exactly how we will do that and exactly how the middle schools want to be involved. But that's sort of a conversation that I anticipate we won't have until the fall. As I think those two boards are also going through a number of transitions and a number of other things going on. So if anyone wants some additional detail about the facts of the memorandum of understanding that we're working on across the schools, we're happy to reach out and talk to that. But to be perfectly clear, the two middle school PTOs, have not yet reached out to us in an official capacity to talk about that.
[DiBenedetto]: Just as a follow-up, sorry, and then I'll yield to my colleague. A few years ago, you actually helped us develop the online program, so you understand the intent I have for it, be it anybody fundraising, using Method's name, be registered with that. So in some way, shape, or form, I would like this group registered, even if it's not as a 5013C, just so that we have it through the superintendent's office. Okay. That's my only concern. Thank you.
[Burke]: Would you like to step up and address?
[SPEAKER_36]: My name is Susan Powers. I'm at 956 Highland Avenue, and I'm actually on the Andrews Middle School PTO. As far as trying to combine efforts, I think that people are very open to it. I think part of the problem is as middle school parents, we don't have the same engagement as some of the elementary school parents have. And ultimately, one of the things I did want to mention, one of the things that we were able to do with our fundraising this year was we were able to buy 25 Chromebooks with a charging cart. So at this point right now, every... And that was from fundraising from the middle school. One of the things is at this point, every grade when they have to take MCAS has a Chromebook. But that's not nearly enough. And we're always looking for opportunities to raise funds. Again, we're a socioeconomically diverse community as well. And it's a little bit harder to raise funds when you're in a middle school. And so I guess, Jenny, I think that we would, I mean, I'm sadly an eighth grade parent, so I'm going to be moving on. But with that being said, I think that we've talked about that. And some of the things we've talked about in our PTO meetings is how can we get more engaged, how can we raise some more funds. Oh, and the other thing I would like to say, too, that was what was great about what we were able to do at the Andrews, is we also raised money so that we could have scholarships for kids to go to the New York trip, because that's a huge thing. And again, I'm not so sure the McGlynn has the same ability to raise funds, and that's so unfair. So we talk about discrepancies in the elementary school. Well, it's there at the middle school as well. And so I think if we can do things where we can raise some funds together, the McGlynn can get those Chromebooks, and the McGlynn can have scholarships as well, because it's so important that every kid deserves the same opportunities, whether they're in elementary school, whether they're in middle school, and whether they're in high school. And education is the great equalizer to everyone. So as I said, I'm the lone middle school PTO person here. But with that being said, I just want to let you know, I think we're all very interested in doing all this.
[DiBenedetto]: Thank you for your time. Thank you for coming.
[McLaughlin]: Hi, Melanie McLaughlin, Alston Street. And first I want to say thank you to the Citywide PTO. I think this is amazing, $142,000. I mean, that's incredible. Thank you all for all the hard work you've done. All together. Yeah, all together with the Citywide PTO help as well. And I think that's just amazing. So I think that's great. And speaking on behalf of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council as well, oftentimes I feel like Maybe we're not necessarily included in some of the conversations and we want to make sure that we're able to help out as well. So we would love to be a part of this and especially when we're thinking about the, I think it was the, was it Columbus School you guys were talking about for the buses and some of the concerns around accessibility for students with disabilities. And that's really our role as a CPAC to help advise the district and help family members as well. And we want to make sure that every child gets to go on a field trip. And we want to roll up our sleeves and get in there and help folks as well. So in any way that we can, we would like to be included. Thank you.
[Burke]: Thank you.
[Ruggiero]: I just want to say briefly that it's been a real honor seeing you guys work with your energy. It's been a real pleasure. I know we have a lot going on tonight. I don't want to ramble on. But thank you so much for coming down and making this presentation.
[Burke]: Thank you very much. Thank you. Very informative. Thank you. We have item number eight, report on Massachusetts General Hospital Research Initiative to Understand and Reduce Cannabis Use in Adolescents. Is Dr. Randy Schuster still in the room? Thank you so much. And we have Penny Fanioli from Team Medford here as well. Give me a kiss. Okay.
[DiBenedetto]: Oh, wow, Mia.
[SPEAKER_27]: All right, let's see.
[Burke]: It said three minutes. I'm really happy. Yeah. Do you have any idea how to do it? We've gone back to this. Is that okay? There's a motion on the floor for acceptance. Dr. Maurice, would you like to say a few words? Yeah, great. That's it. Great.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Just very excited to have Joan be part of the team. And I want to say congratulations to her. And she has served Medford for 26 years. And I know she will continue to serve this district very well and be a very positive addition to our team. and I look forward to working with her on my executive cabinet. Congratulations, Joan.
[Burke]: There is a motion on the floor by Ms. Mustone. Is there a seconded by Ms. Kreatz? Roll call vote, please. Ms. Bowen. Yes, seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The motion passes. Congratulations. We look forward to working with you even more in the near future. And such positive words came out about you. So wonderful, wonderful job. And we're very proud and thrilled. Ms. Van der Kloot, did you want to say a few words on this?
[Van der Kloot]: No. Congratulations, Joan. We're very, very happy to have you move into the position. We're sad to lose Kathy, but we're delighted to have you. Do you want to say a few words? I just want to say thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_15]: I'm looking forward to starting the new position in July and working with everyone. So thank you.
[Burke]: Thank you. Welcome to July.
[DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto? I just wanted to say that Joan had an outstanding interview. She was prepared. She knows the district. She was well-spoken, she has new innovative ideas, as well as keeping things that we currently have in place going. I came out very impressed with her through the evening, and she was the clear choice for our district. And I just want to say congratulations.
[Burke]: Thank you. Also, while we await There is a recommendation to approve a donation for the J.S. Limb Science and Mathematics Prize.
[Caldwell]: So Rocco had to go home, he was feeling ill, so I'm just standing in his place. This is just a recommendation to approve a $3,000 donation.
[Burke]: There's a motion to accept the donation by Ms. Mostone, seconded by Ms. Kreatz. We want to send a thank you letter out to the foundation. And roll call vote, please. Yes, seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. Okay. Math, what about, the math curriculum, we did go, Ms. Fazekhan? Ms. Kahn, we reviewed the math curriculum. Do you have an estimate on how much time it would take you to present? How much? Okay. Okay, report on Project Bread. Sarah Klugisch, Rosemary Coward, and Holly Grace. You might want to put the lights back on.
[qKKOF8-DbmQ_SPEAKER_17]: Good evening. Good evening. I'm Sarah Cluggish. I live on 6th Street here in Medford. And in full disclosure, I have a 10th grader at the high school. I did the treasurer's report for the PTO, just an interest, right before I came here. I also have a 5th grader and a 3rd grader at the McGlynn Elementary School. And I just want to thank you, Mayor and Superintendent, for having us here this evening, as well as the school committee and the administration for staying here. In addition to my role as a Medford parent, I also serve as the Vice President of Programs and Policy Work at Project Bread, which is a statewide anti-hunger organization. And I am joined here tonight by my colleague, Rosemarie Kayward and Holly Grace. And they are part of Project Bread's Child Nutrition Outreach Program. And this team is a partnership between Project Bread and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, DESE. Our goal is to work with school food service programs and community partners across Massachusetts to increase participation in school breakfast and the summer meals program. We have worked with Medford for the last several years supporting Jewel Bradley, the district's school food service director, and her staff as they have introduced the universal free school breakfast program models at the Columbus Elementary and the McGlynn Elementary schools, as well as a breakfast in the classroom program at the Columbus. This past February, our team met with Christine Patterson, and with Jewel Bradley to talk about introducing breakfast after the bell models in additional Medford schools that have significant needs. But instead, and rightfully so, they wanted to tackle two major issues. One was to make sure that anything else that's going to be introduced into the district would be offered at every school. And the second was to work on improving the quality of the food that's being offered, particularly breakfast. So as I said, currently the Columbus and McGlynn offer universal free breakfast because they have the highest rates of students who are eligible for free and reduced price school meals in the district, and it hovers around 60%. And of course, as you know, the McGlynn Middle School also offers universally free school breakfast, but that will change next year. As you know, the demographics will change because of the fifth grade lottery. We were told that this has been sort of perceived as unfair by some of the schools because it's not offered across the district. So tonight we're going to talk about provision two, which my colleague Rosemary will explain in a minute. And that will allow the district to offer free breakfast to all schools in all of our buildings each morning. And that will still bring in enough revenue to offset the school meal debt that the district's now incurring each month, and invest it back into the department to improve the quality of breakfast. To further bolster the quality of breakfast, we are pleased to report that Medford has taken steps to reduce sugar in its yogurt and cereal options in the morning. And earlier this year, Project Bread brought in Chef Ryan Eccles to the high school and to the McGlynn Middle School to begin to assess operations and to introduce new foods to the students. Now, while his focus has been on lunch, we would like him to focus on breakfast in the new school year. This service is provided at no cost to the district, and he is here at the request of the School Food Service Department. So now I'm going to turn the presentation over to my colleague, Rosemary. She'll just quickly walk you through the tables that are in your packet tonight, and she'll just talk about what it would take to implement Provision 2, The estimated financial data that's in your packet is based on data that was provided by the school food services department, the cost of food and the labor that's in aggregate, and on current participation that's provided by DESE and then sort of if participation is to increase. Now this just represents one possible model for strengthening Medford's school food service program. And Project Bread and our child nutrition program is here, and we look forward to continuing to serve as a resource for all of you and for all of the schools moving forward.
[SPEAKER_21]: Great. Thank you, Sarah. Thank you, Mayor Burke. Thank you, Superintendent Lord Vinson and school committee members for the opportunity to speak tonight. As Sarah mentioned, my job is to break down Provision 2 for all of you. And our team did a financial analysis of Provision 2 as one option the district could offer breakfast free to all students at every school. Provision 2 is one federal program available to schools with no minimum free and reduced percentage, which makes every school in Medford eligible to transition to it. How it works briefly is that schools will continue to receive federal reimbursements under the free, paid, and reduced percentage at a set participation percentage, but they will discontinue receiving student payments. One of the biggest barriers, the number one benefit for transitioning to Provision 2 is that It'll eliminate the financial barrier and allow every student in the district to start off school with a nutritious breakfast and ready to learn. Other benefits of provision two is to streamline paperwork and operations for the food service department, bringing up time of staff to invest more into the program. Another benefit is to eliminate unpaid meal debt just for school breakfast, so it would not include lunch. We estimate that schools could increase participation, double potentially, and potentially 35% participation or above. Currently, schools range from 6% participation in school breakfast at Brooks, to 23 to 26% at McGlynn Elementary and McGlynn Middle. Columbus Elementary is currently an outlier right now because it is offering universal breakfast and provision two, and it is seeing 93% participation and above. You said 93? Yeah, exactly, yeah. So in your packet, there's a lot of numbers to look at, but I want to just break down one school with you If you'll turn to page two, Andrews Middle School. And this is looking at the current situation. We are aware that there's going to be a transition for the middle schools, so this is looking at the current situation at Andrews. So currently, the current participation is 6%, bringing in roughly $1,800 from federal reimbursements. And the current labor costs and food costs is roughly $1,700. So currently, the school is seeing about $150 profit per month. With an increased participation and with Provision 2 at roughly 35% participation, the revenue, and this would be profit that the school can invest back into the school, into the program, to the school breakfast program, would be roughly $1,480. as profit per a month. That's just one example, one school. This would be true for all schools, roughly going from a profit margin of $200 to $300 per month to roughly $1,500 to $2,000 per month, except for Brooks. Brooks is kind of an exception and a challenge with provision 2. because it has the lowest free and reduced percentage of roughly 22%. So it would not see as high a participation as the other schools and therefore would not bring in as much revenue. However, with the increase in revenue at the other schools, that revenue would cover the deficit at Brooks. So the school district would still be able to offer free breakfast to all schools across the districts. So a little bit more about how provision two works. It's a federal program, so the school district would work with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to implement it, and it would run for four years. The first year would be a base year in which the school district, the Food Service Department, would continue to collect free and reduced applications as well as do direct certs to set a percentage participation percentage that would set the reimbursement percentage for the free, reduced, and paid. After that first year, they would discontinue collecting that information and offer breakfast free for all students for the next four years. At the end of those four years, they would have to do a renewal process to update that reimbursement percentage, but they could still, of course, continue to offer and run provision two. We highly recommend that the district looks at an alternative models, whether it's grab-and-go, second chance, or Bucks in the Classroom, to increase access at the schools and help increase the participation. And CNAP, Child Nutrition Outreach Program, Project RED, is available to assist and evaluate with the principal and school administration, school staff, to see what model will work best for the school, and of course, study further how provision two could benefit the district.
[Burke]: Can I ask you just one question?
[SPEAKER_21]: Yeah.
[Burke]: Do you keep the data for one year while you're implementing this, and then that applies to the next three? Or do you use your current data for free and reduced lunch? How does the reimbursement work? How do they know how many students are actually getting free breakfast or free lunch?
[SPEAKER_21]: Sure, sure. So within the base year, the school district would still collect the applications and do and based on the number of students who are participating in the program for the free, paid, and reduced, based on those participation patterns. So let's say 30% of eligible paid students under the paid rate are participating, and 20% of the reduced, and then 50% of the free, students are participating. That would set up the reimbursement percentages for the base year and then the following three years. Does that make sense? So for every meal served, it would break down. So 30% would be reimbursed under the paid rate.
[Burke]: 20% would be reimbursed under the reduced rate, and 50%... So we get reimbursed for the children that do not even apply for free and reduced, is that correct?
[SPEAKER_21]: Right, exactly. So every meal the school is serving would be reimbursed, yeah, under one of those rates.
[qKKOF8-DbmQ_SPEAKER_17]: So under that first year, you want to get as many applications in as possible? to participate or that meet free and reduced? Yes, to be able to build, make sure you're capturing everyone who's eligible for a free and reduced price scale, so that you're capturing the highest reimbursement rate you can. And those who are eligible for direct certification, like if you're receiving from stamps and the like.
[DiBenedetto]: Right, thank you.
[Van der Kloot]: Ms. Van der Kloot. So, do students who would normally pay for their breakfast or lunch, would they be paying for their breakfast and lunch?
[SPEAKER_21]: Not with lunch, yes, but it would just be for breakfast. So once your base year starts, they would not be collecting student payments for breakfast only.
[Van der Kloot]: So how do we pay for that breakfast?
[SPEAKER_21]: By the federal reimbursements.
[Van der Kloot]: And will the federal reimbursements cover all of our costs?
[SPEAKER_21]: Yes, our estimates with the increased participation, it would bring in enough reimbursements to cover the income, the revenue that would be brought in by student payments.
[Van der Kloot]: So what's the downside?
[SPEAKER_21]: From our point of view, nothing, except for the challenge of Brooks, who would not see an increase, a high enough increase in... participation to make up for the deficit of student payments.
[Van der Kloot]: So I think that it would be appropriate. I mean, obviously, this sounds like it's great, but I think that it makes sense for you to sit down with our administrative people, one of whom, Christine, is standing behind you, unless you want to give us a recommendation right now or... We said it would be short, that's my only concern here.
[Burke]: Is there more research? Christine, is there more research? No?
[Van der Kloot]: It sounds great.
[Burke]: Thank you. Thank you.
[Patterson]: Thank you. Again, I'd like to thank and commend our representatives from Project Bread. They are a continued partner for many projects, grant-based and other. We did sit down with them to review this potential in February, along with other potentials. Again, being a proponent of school nutrition, I am an advocate for breakfast, for breakfast in the classroom. There are certain parameters that follow that. Again, this is one snapshot of one month that we need to really look at the program itself. The food service program is self-funded. We've heard a lot of initiatives implemented or recommended for implementing within the food service program. that we really need to do a full-scale review of the feasibility of some of these initiatives. Again, this one being very important and certainly beneficial to the students to have. We are under some additional state mandates that we need to review. And with that, we have engaged with a school nutrition leader to come in and do site visits at our other elementary and other schools in order to look at what could be the best method for delivery of breakfast. There are other potentials. There's a kiosk base. There's, again, breakfast in the classroom base. There's other components that we can look at and really to address all of the needs in terms of being able to offer that, but also doing a full year's review of the potential for reimbursement and that funding. And again, you know, understanding that, yes, we would have to make a significant push on our free and reduced applications, and then we do lose sight of some of that going forward once we do engage in that program.
[Burke]: What are the next steps for your department?
[Patterson]: So in terms of the Food Service Department, we would need to, again, get the locations of each of the school buildings and having the ability to provide lunch on a large scale, I'm sorry, breakfast at the large scale. So some of the staffing is right now not engaged because of the current numbers. So we would have to look at additional staffing in some of these buildings in order to provide a full participation level expected for free breakfast. So those are some of the cost factors that we'd have to review. So I think it's important that we look at all of the information that we get from a full year or at least the broader scope of the year, rather than just one October one count snapshot to look at the potential and possibility of the reimbursement component and what that means for the schools themselves and engage in having the principals understand that there would be a change within their buildings related to the delivery of breakfast.
[Burke]: Thank you. Are you all set, Ms. Vandekloot?
[Patterson]: Yes.
[Burke]: Thank you. Mr. Rousseau.
[Ruseau]: Yes. I mean, I'm only in my second year, my first term, but I'm already bored talking about whether after-the-bell breakfast is the best option or not. So I'd like to make a motion that we will implement provision two by October 1st of this year.
[Burke]: I think there's research that has to be done.
[Ruseau]: No, there isn't. My motion stands.
[Burke]: Second on the floor.
[Edouard-Vincent]: I just feel that this is... We've been down this path before. We need to do research and look at what's feasible. To say that we're going to implement something in October without even knowing what's actually feasible just doesn't seem like a sound decision to me.
[Ruseau]: May I respond?
[Burke]: Mr. Russo.
[Ruseau]: What's not a sound decision is that we don't have after the bell breakfast at three of the four elementary schools. It is not an undoable thing. The Columbus is not some special school. It is not done at the other schools for reasons that are not acceptable reasons. And their participation rates are pathetic. So I think 93% of the kids getting to eat at Columbus is enough reason to make it that we just do it anyways. Unless you think that we should go another couple of years and not feed the kids. I would want to get the numbers.
[Edouard-Vincent]: I would have to get the numbers for the other elementary schools. I would speak to the principals to find out what is happening. I know that Columbus has a different setup than the other schools, but some students may be eating breakfast at home and not eating at school. That is also an option. Or they may not like what's being offered. So I can't say you're going to get the numbers of 93% at the remaining other three schools. I'm not convinced that that is the case.
[DiBenedetto]: Mr. Benedetto. Thank you. So I'm a proponent for breakfast before, after, during, whenever the bell rings. We all are. No student should, no student can focus on reading, math, anything if they're hungry. They can't. So my question is, how long and how quickly could we do the research necessary so we can begin this for the beginning of next year? Just answer some of the questions. And I have one question, is I know that if we're not collecting free and reduced lunch paperwork, that also affects our high school students when they're applying for SAT exams, because they get them for less money. When they apply for colleges, they get reduced rates for their college applications. So year one, we're doing the applications. On year two, we still, as a district, have to collect those forms so that way our high school students still receive those benefits. And I don't want it to be done less important, because it is very important for those kids in order to apply for their colleges and take their PSATs and SATs. I know we pay for PSATs now. But those are other issues that we need to see how it affects by not doing that paperwork on an annual basis. So I'm all for it.
[Burke]: Just because you don't have to doesn't mean you can't. Because their program is once every four years doesn't mean you can't continue to... No, no.
[DiBenedetto]: I just want to stress the importance that there are reasons to still collect those papers. There's things that people don't see in these programs that it also, it continues not just free lunch, free and reduced lunch, it also affects other programming that our students apply for. So even though this program says we wouldn't have to collect it, I would still want that data for the district as well.
[Burke]: Just the question was, how much time would it take you to do your research to implement for September?
[Patterson]: Well, I believe that we're already in motion to do some of this work, so I think that that's what is a positive, that we are working with agencies as well as other entities to look at the feasibility and really be able to provide a better confirmation of what the actual numbers would look like. To your point, Mr. Benedetto, is that we do lose some structure in terms of the free and reduced accounts. If we're offering free breakfast, there's an inclination not to fill out a form because they might feel that lunch is automatic. So there's some give and take in terms of what we would actually be communicating with our families. And that we certainly advocate and want to provide as many families as possible with their potential of a free and or reduced meal in breakfast and lunch. And we want to encourage that participation across all of those areas in all of our school buildings. Because again, you need to be nourished and fed in order to focus and be attentive within your school.
[DiBenedetto]: So would you be able to provide that report by our next meeting? Absolutely not.
[Patterson]: I'm sorry.
[DiBenedetto]: So that's the time frame. I need to know when would you be able to provide this body with the information so we can move forward for next year. That's all. I just want to know before we vote on that, if you say, I need till the end of June and before we disperse for the summer, that's great, but if we're going to, I just want to make sure something's in place, that we have all the information, but we still move forward, as my colleague motioned, to make sure our students are fed as well.
[Patterson]: The last committee meeting in June is the 17th. That is pressing it, that's condensing it significantly. As I mentioned, I'm having a representative from SNA come out before the end of this month. There is a lot of consolidation of information as well as trying to finalize the general budget. So I will make every effort to compile that information as well as the additional staffing requirements and conversations with the principals on impact within their building. But in terms of turning this around within two weeks, I cannot provide that. It's not feasible.
[Edouard-Vincent]: This was a report to inform. This was not a recommendation to approve. This was a report to inform everyone about the Project Bread initiatives. This was not a recommendation to approve.
[Burke]: I just wanted to just make one comment. We're well aware of the food insecurity issues that the city of Medford faces. Quite alarming, actually. In speaking with the Greater Boston Food Bank, statistics are much higher than I think any one of us would think. in our city, so it's really important that we do something. And I'm not gonna repeat everybody, but nourishment for the soul and the mind goes a very long way, so we need to do something. But I think that due respect be given to the office that they can do their proper research. That's all. Mr. Giroux's next in.
[Ruggiero]: So as an educator, former educator, I can tell you that there are students in Medford that the only time they have a real meal is at school. We know that for a fact. I share member Ruseau's energy in making sure we get this done. Our job as a school committee member is to make sure that we're devoting the right time in the right places. And I completely understand that we can't get the research done in two weeks. But for me, I don't need to see the research, because I know that there is a significant portion of students that the only time they eat is at lunch regularly. Otherwise, they're just grabbing a snack maybe every so often. We need to make this a priority. I've seen the effect it has on children. I've taught in both kinds of schools, schools where they have a lunch in homeroom and schools without it. And I can tell you there's a marked difference. Anyone else doesn't have anything else to say on this issue? I think we can move the question.
[Burke]: Are there others who want to speak? Ms. Vander Ploot.
[Van der Kloot]: So I'm sort of caught here because I think that it's so clear, the message that this committee is sending is clear. The members of the Medford School Committee are committed to providing our students free to adopting provision 2, so to enable our students, the possibility of, all of our students, the possibility of free breakfast. I'm reluctant to vote on it without having a report back. I think that's a courtesy to our administration. I hear from Sarah that they wanted to report to us tonight. I think that we could make the resolution, if my colleague was willing to withdraw his, to say that the members of the Medford School Committee are committed to providing our students with nutritious breakfast options. And to that end, they want to support uh, project, uh, sorry, provision two, uh, breakfast model, um, uh, that we, and further that we are asking, uh, for a, a follow-up from administration at the meeting of June 17th.
[Burke]: Mr. Russo, you're the maker of the motion. Would you accept Ms. Vander Kloof's motion? It's a little long, so I'm not sure.
[Van der Kloot]: Yeah, I know. I said June 17th, that meeting.
[Burke]: June 17th, get a report back that the school committee goes on record in support of provision two. That's basically it.
[Ruseau]: Yep, exactly. If this were going to be on the agenda for the 17th, and we would be voting for it or not, depending on what we hear, I would be OK with that. So you withdraw. That would be another report where we can take a decision when we're deciding. It would be information to make a decision. I didn't just teach kids who were hungry. I was one of those kids who didn't eat breakfast ever. And when I went to school, there wasn't a breakfast program. And so I hear a lot about how hard it's going to be, maybe how much it's going to cost or not cost. And I don't hear anything about these kids. And that's actually the only reason I ran for office. It's not about that part. It's going to be the other way around. So I'm not okay with going into another September where only 11% of the kids at the Roberts are eating breakfast. And if you think that they're not the Brooks, they're much more like Columbus with 93%. So let's say, what is that? It's like 85%, 82% of these kids are not eating breakfast. That would. To me, it's not a, if we have to move mountains, then we move mountains. I would be fine with changing the motion till the 17th, we'll be able to decide whether to do it.
[Burke]: Second. We have a motion now on the floor. A different amendment. Hold on, we have Kathy that's in the queue.
[Kreatz]: Yes. Ms. Kurtz. Yes, I wanted to just share that I really agree with all of my colleagues that nutrition for breakfast is so important, And also, I feel like we do need a little bit more information. So, are we going to have more information by the June 17th regarding the fees? Yes. Oh, we are. Okay.
[Burke]: It will be an agenda item June 17th on the specific topic.
[Kreatz]: And what about capturing all the free and reduced applications? Because I think I heard that we have to have that. for the first year, we want to get all that information for the first year, so that... Sarah, is that this first year being September of 19?
[Burke]: Right.
[qKKOF8-DbmQ_SPEAKER_17]: So, just again, again, this was a recommendation. And again, based on financial, as I said, estimations, so again, of course, Christine needs time to go back and really provide a much more detailed report. And so, if the administration and together with the school committee decide to pursue this, then you would launch into a year where you collected this information and it needs approval by the state. It's not something that you just jump into quickly. The other thing that I want to emphasize, because I think there's been some confusion, is there's two different issues here with breakfast. One is around provision two. There are different financial models to run a breakfast program to create sort of a free model. There's provision two. There's community eligibility provision. We will not discuss that tonight or possibly ever. But then there's the actual breakfast model. And as the superintendent's very aware of, There's just the traditional cafeteria model. There's breakfast in the classroom, grab and go. And that's a whole operational component that involves teachers and principals and how do you actually make sure kids are being fed. And that is a separate conversation after you sort of figure out the financial piece. And that's a conversation that wouldn't be had until like next year is well underway. So I just wanted to clarify that so you're not having to just you know, eat the entire apple at once. But this is like sort of the first few steps to just begin to consider what is right for Medford and sort of right for all of the schools because they're all in different places and have different needs. And not every elementary school is actually going to be served correctly by the same model. I think in the end, but could be served like globally, possibly by provision to at least financially, but then by a different specific model.
[Ruggiero]: Thank you. That's it. Mr. Ruggiero, did you have one last comment? I withdraw my comment. Ms.
[Kreatz]: Kreatz, you're all set. I guess I wanted to know, would the motion have to be reworded? where it might adopt a different model for each elementary school.
[Burke]: It seems like it's not gonna be the- I think that on the 17th, we will get information back from the financial office that will make a recommendation on a plan. Okay. Okay. On the motion by Mr. Russo, seconded by Ms. Van der Kloot. Roll call or? All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Doctor. Doctor, doctor. This is a report on Massachusetts General Hospital Research Initiative to Understand and Reduce Cannabis Use in Adolescents by Dr. Randy Schuster. Yes.
[SPEAKER_27]: You studied? You're good? Yeah. Your endurance is impressive. This is no joke. Thank you for sticking with this. Thank you for having me back. I was here a few months ago to talk about the science. Can I ask for permission to skip everything where I try to convince you that marijuana is a problem in kids?
[Burke]: Yeah, and we have Penny's in the room there. Penny, yes, we know.
[SPEAKER_27]: And Dr. Tony. We're all on the same page about that. Okay, good. So I'd rather spend, you have a copy of the slides where, again, where I'm just trying to tell you that Use has not gone down. This will become a, if it is not already a real issue in Medford, it will be very soon. 479 Broadway Street is looking like a potential place for first of probably three dispensaries in Medford. The way kids are using is very different than the way My parents used marijuana potentially 10, 20 years ago. The product's much more potent than ever. It's difficult to detect. Kids are using at school, and we're having a really hard time determining who's using and who's not. So what I want to just spend our time talking about, and feel free to give me the, okay, wrap it up motion, is I just want to answer your questions and tell you a little bit about the work that I do, the studies that I'm running right now. I'm sure there are a lot of questions about what this actually looks like in a school-based setting. I've been running this project since 2015 in schools across the Commonwealth, so we have a lot of experience doing that. I am a Medford resident. I would love nothing more to bring this home. So let me just tell you a little bit about the mission. So I'm a neuropsychologist. My work is really aimed at understanding the impact of early drug use on the developing brain, and particularly how that interfaces in the classroom. So I really want to know how using marijuana during adolescence might keep kids from achieving at their best potential. So the studies that we are running right now, I'm going to refer to this really as one study because one's just a logical extension of the next. These are an abstinence-based protocol. So essentially the goal is to understand what is the benefit that kids experience when they stop using marijuana. So the first myth to debunk about this work is that we are encouraging use, that we are giving marijuana to anybody. We are not doing that. We are actually incentivizing kids to stop using. So we recruit marijuana users and non-users. Right now our age range is 10 to 19, because 10-year-olds, this is still an issue, right? This is an issue as early as middle school. And if they're identified as a marijuana user, they're randomized to stop using marijuana. And we incentivize them with a payment structure that has been found to be effective. So we have about 90% of our kids that were able to confirm that they stopped using for the period of the study. So we have a 30-day study, 30-day abstinence study, and are about to launch a six-month abstinence study, where we'll pay kids to stop using for a full six months, which is really incredible because in that project we'll be able to look at the impact of really long-term abstinence on peer networks, and how they're spending time after school, and how really this interfaces in the classroom. So the way that we do, just kind of the nuts and bolts about how we do this study. So I'm gonna tell you the way that we've been doing it in other schools. So all of my work has been community-based. So to the extent to which any of these actual methods don't feel quite right, they can all be negotiated. So the way that we found this to be effective is that we screen the student body at the beginning of the year. And essentially the way that we do this is we do it through a passive consent process. So we send a letter home to all of the parents, and we have the letters translated in whatever languages are necessary for the student body. And we say, MGH is going to be coming to the school on this day. If you don't want your child completing this screening, let us know. We'll opt you out of screening. Certainly if, and historically we have about 1% of parents opt out of screening. So it is not a large number of parents who have a concern with asking these questionnaires. It's about a two minute questionnaire. So we ask questions about basic demographics, rates of alcohol use, marijuana use, as well as nicotine and electronic cigarette use. On the last page of the screening, so kids can answer this, assuming they haven't been withdrawn by their parents. Kids can answer the questionnaire completely anonymously. So they don't have to provide any information if they choose to actually complete the questionnaire. If they are interested in even hearing about the study, they provide us some basic contact information where we can then reach out to them, talk to their parents about the active study, and seek written parental consent to enroll in the study. Okay? Yeah, please.
[Wray]: Would this survey be at the same time that the ESSPRT screening is? Yes. No, this would start early in the school year. ESSPRT is typically conducted between January and March.
[SPEAKER_27]: Okay, and I'm sorry if I said it earlier, I think we missed the beginning. When did you have this and which grade and what time of the class time? This is all a point of discussion. So the way that this has worked in other schools, so I'll tell you two different models that we're doing right now. My preference is that we reach out to kids at the beginning of the academic year so that we can enroll throughout the year. So in one school, we send a letter home probably around the second or third week of school, and we come in to lunch. And we screen the entire school in about a four-hour period. I bring my whole team, about 25 people. We come in, pass out questionnaires. Whoever's interested in doing that, we collect it, take it back to the lab. and then reach out to parents of kids who are potentially eligible. Another school, we do a similar opt-out consent, same time of year. They don't have a closed campus for lunch, so we can't do that same model, but they have homerooms. So we do, and that we do all of the surveys electronically. All of the kids in this district have laptops during the academic day, so we've sent home a secure survey link that they filled out during this 15-minute homeroom period. So the short answer is my preference is that we do it at the beginning of the year because it is a labor-intensive study on our part, so we have the full academic year to enroll. But exactly how that looks like is dependent on what the school day looks like for Medford. In the letter that we send home to parents, we make it very, very clear because we do want to distinguish this from SBIRT or the YRBS, which is a program of the school. We make it very clear this is not a program of Medford Public Schools. This is a program of MGH. You do not have to participate in this. No teachers or administrators would have any knowledge of, yes or no, whether or not your child filled this out. So it is completely independent of all other substance use screening that may be happening in the school.
[SPEAKER_15]: So does any of the work fall under the statutes of yours? No.
[SPEAKER_27]: No. So the one thing that I need help with is just that initial distribution of the letter. I can mail that letter home, or at one school we have, there's a principal blast that goes out, or a blog where we can post the letter. But just some, I just need help figuring out what's the best way to make this letter known to parents. But aside from that, all on us.
[Ruggiero]: So on this question, so the children pulled out the the questionnaire, if they are screened as heavy users, or would it also be students that aren't screened as heavy users also be included in?
[SPEAKER_27]: Yes, that's a core component of the study, is that we want marijuana users and non-users as part of the study. So one of the things that I need to be able to look a child in the eye and say is if superintendent sees you with me, that's not telling her anything about what you do or what you don't do. So we're recruiting an equal number of non-users.
[Ruggiero]: Oh, so it's going to be an equal number of non-users. If a child's selected, he never has to fear that he's going, because I would wonder if that would affect the methodology.
[SPEAKER_27]: Exactly. So, and the consent form that we send home to parents also states that as well, that we are asking your child, we're asking you to allow your child to enroll in this study. It is about marijuana use. This does not mean that your child uses marijuana. Understanding the impact of marijuana use in the developing brain requires knowing what non-users look like.
[Ruggiero]: How many students do you intend on sampling?
[SPEAKER_27]: So we have about 250 students enrolled so far. We have another two and a half. My guess is we're going to be at about 500.
[Ruggiero]: So do you anticipate something like you take 125 students that are not marijuana users, 125 students that are, and that's your sample pool?
[Van der Kloot]: What is the incentive for students to participate?
[SPEAKER_27]: So the science, right? I've tried that cell. It doesn't work so well. So for the screening, there is no incentive. There is no direct incentive for the screening. So the screening is simply, and this has been, I wish I could, I'll show you this in a second, is really valuable information to give back to you guys right away because we get this information at the beginning of the year. I can add whatever questions you are interested in seeing about the school. that, and I can share, in the binder there's a copy of our most current screener questionnaire, so we have a lot of information about nicotine use, marijuana use, alcohol use, that there is no financial incentive for participating. If a child enrolls in the active study, so either the one month or the six month abstinence study, and we have written parental consent to do that, then they're paid to participate in this. How much? So it is $270 or $420. So the individuals, the non-users, and those who do not stop using marijuana get $270. If they stop using for 30 days, it's $420.
[Wray]: I think you should clarify that that's a gift card.
[SPEAKER_27]: Yes, I'm sorry.
[Wray]: Clarify that's a gift card, not cash.
[SPEAKER_27]: Yes, we do not give cash. Ethics will prohibit me from giving cash to identified marijuana users. Yes, sorry. So we have these cards that allow us to load money onto it remotely. So I can go onto my computer and I have a subject ID and I say, okay, they're confirmed to be abstinent. I load this much money onto the card.
[Van der Kloot]: confirmed to be abstinent. I read it by urine test.
[SPEAKER_27]: Yes, so we do urine drug tests for all individuals regardless of whether or not they even use marijuana.
[Van der Kloot]: Okay, so month one, abstinent. Month two, abstinent. Month three, failed the urine test. What happens? No payment?
[SPEAKER_27]: So they would be, they pay for it based on not for their abstinence payment. So we pay them on a two-track incentive schedule. So they're paid for attendance as well as for demonstrated abstinence.
[Van der Kloot]: Okay. So the incentive for a child... So what if a child has used marijuana once? So it was a one-time thing?
[SPEAKER_27]: They would likely be eligible depending on when they used. So for our non-user eligibility criteria, they need to have used less than 10 times in their life, and no use before the age of 60, and no use in the last year. So if they've used one time, but it was remote and not only in adolescence, they would still be eligible to participate in the non-user group.
[Van der Kloot]: It sounds like there's a fair amount of interaction with the students who participate. Right. So when are they doing that interaction?
[SPEAKER_27]: So again, this is a point of I need to understand what the academic day looks like. We do not remove students from classrooms ever, ever. So the majority of the study visits that I conduct now in the high school setting are after school. So we'll meet with students as as late as is permissible by the school. We'll meet with some students before school if that's their preference as well. One of the schools that I work in have free periods, and so that's an option if that is something that the school has. If the school doesn't have it, then it's non-negotiable. It will always be after school. And it's based on the individual student's schedule. So our schedule is flexible based off of what the student's available for.
[Van der Kloot]: For the purposes of this study, can we say, yes, we're interested in having our students participate, but we want to limit it to 9th to 12th grade? so we don't necessarily have to include the younger kids?
[SPEAKER_27]: You do not have to. No.
[Van der Kloot]: Okay.
[SPEAKER_27]: So right now we are in the process of launching in our first middle school, and that has been in response to the fact that kids are using younger and younger, and I presented at McGlynn not too long ago, and that concern was raised. in terms of logistics, whatever you guys want.
[Van der Kloot]: Right. I'm just wondering in terms of, say, rolling it out, whether you might start at one age group and then, you know, say, this is how it worked or something like that. Can I just ask for this evening, what is... I don't think we're at the point of final approval. It seems like there's a lot of details that need to be worked out. So, Superintendent, could you give us an idea what you would suggest would be the way to move forward?
[Edouard-Vincent]: June 17th? Yeah, that's going to be a busy night. I would like to have Toni Wray, our Director of Nursing as well, continue to work in probably consult with Penny as well, about how we feel the work aligns with what we're doing.
[Wray]: We've had a lot of conversations with Dr. Schuster about, I mean first she came to school committee to educate us on the marijuana landscape and some legislation. And we've had a lot of conversations and we've been also involved recently with Penny Funioli from the city side about putting together a social marketing campaign looking at reducing marijuana use and involving teens as focus group members to help us get messages out. I think the time is ripe to to approach a study like this. We are seeing increased use at our high school and middle school levels. It's getting easier to use because of the vaping devices and it's easily hidden. There's no smell. The time is really ripe for this. Absolutely. Absolutely. And for some students who may, you know, we look at, as in the academic side, you look at tiered interventions. In the health and wellness side, we also look at tiered interventions. And for some students, this will be a level 2 or a level 3 type of support. students need referral to counseling agencies or substance abuse counseling agencies specifically, Dr. Schuster, I mean, she can do that. She can also work with the school staff to do that. So it's just an added layer of support, in my opinion, that our students can benefit from.
[SPEAKER_27]: May I draw your attention to just three quick things? So one, if you were to flip through to slide three. So these are just to highlight that Tony's point that really, I believe the time is now. So these are data collected just from, it's really small. It would have been very big up here, so you can trust me on this one. This is data over time in one of the high schools that we're doing a school-wide screening in. And what you see in these data here is that not only do you see a 100% increase in the number of kids over time who are experimenting with marijuana use, we see a 400% increase in the number of kids who are reporting use daily. And this jump happened around the point of legalization. This trajectory is continuing to move up. The second thing that I want to point out is, as Tony had mentioned in terms of tiered interventions, we don't pitch this study as a treatment study. So I try to come at the kids from a very non-judgmental standpoint of, tell us what you're doing. Let's be an unbiased observer of your behavior. And let's take the automaticity out of this. And at the end of the month or the six months, you make the decision for what's right for you. What we're seeing is that at the end of the one month study, even though this isn't a treatment study, we ask the kids, what do you want your level of marijuana use to be moving forward? You have the opportunity to set a goal, because a lot of the kids are saying, it's just like brushing their teeth now, right? It's a habit, okay? 65% of the kids say that they want to resume using, but at a level less than they did when they started the study. And when we follow them at one month later, we're seeing that across all metrics, both in terms of the number of days per week, the number of times per week, and the number of grams of marijuana they're using per week, they've cut their level use in half.
[Wray]: So this is a prime example of a public health risk reduction methodology.
[Burke]: Very good. We have Ms.
[Kreatz]: Kreatz up next. Oh, yes. And I think you might have answered my question. So I wanted to know, will participation in the study, like student participation, encourage students to use marijuana, maybe to get gift cards or have you experienced any of that? Absolutely not.
[SPEAKER_27]: So even if they're not randomized to our stop smoking group, we meet with them nine times over the course of a one-month period, two-month period, and have so many opportunities to provide psychoeducation and help, essentially letting them know that we don't believe that this is a smart behavior at this point in their life. And if they choose to stop using or express any concern about their level of use and want our help to do that, we're going to do that. This gives us an opportunity to interface with kids who are not reaching the radar of teachers or administrators. So it doesn't matter to us. Thank you.
[Wray]: You all set, Ms. Fritz? Yes. It's even a support on the health education that is being done by our health educators at the high school level because these students are getting additional reinforcement of healthy behaviors and good decision making. Great.
[DiBenedetto]: Ms. DiBenedetto. Thank you. I only have two concerns. I wholeheartedly believe in research and the data that it can provide both for future treatments of generations of kids I also absolutely hate vaping. And I think that we're going to have major health issues with our 40-year-olds that have started vaping now. And it makes my skin crawl because I'm so worried for this generation of people that are choosing to do that. So I wholeheartedly want to see anything that helps our students succeed. I want to make sure it doesn't interfere with the academic day. of our children, because we're here to educate children first, as well as keep them safe. But I have two concerns. One, I don't like passive consent. I think there's too many areas of people not seeing that one paper. I would like to see signed consent. I would like parents to know what their child is in for. So that's my first concern. And I would also like to see student consent. because I don't want, I want the students to buy in. Just from what I heard, that I was taking notes as it was, and we talked about passive consent. I had said that in our initial, I mean, our things as well before I came here. I just don't believe in that. I think there's too many ways that we can lose communication and trust with parents when you do that, and I think that we should have signed consent in this type of a situation. And really boast what we're trying to do as a community is to change behaviors in our youth and protect them. So it has to be like a big campaign that we get by and people are aware of what they're buying in. So those are my only two concerns. And when the superintendent's ready to tell us that it won't interfere, with programming and she feels that it's the right time to move forward with the vote on this, I respectfully wait for that. And I will motion at that time to move forward.
[SPEAKER_27]: Can I, may I clarify just one thing? Certainly. I hear your concern, and that's a point very well taken. I do want to clarify, we absolutely, absolutely have written parental consent. No student is asked... But even for the screening? So, yep. So, okay. So that is an option. So we do... The first PASS proposal is pass a consent for screen. The reason why we, our preference is to do this is we're able to essentially make this known to the students first and we're able to see who's interested in doing this. If that is something, and then we would approach written parental consent. If that's something that is just not going to apply, we do written parental consent for screen. It's, we have to have, that's what's approved in Wal-Mart. It is not, in Cambridge and Westford, we have passive consent for screening, written consent for enrollment. And absolutely, we have written student consent. So even if a parent says, I want my child to do this, if the child has no interest in doing this, we never meet with them. Thank you. Mr. Ojiro. Yeah, just,
[Ruggiero]: In addition, you mentioned that on your questionnaire you can include other activities that are unhealthy. I'd like you to expand that net as wide as you possibly can without affecting your research significantly, including questions such as obesity, perhaps TV screen time use. Is it possible you can include those items in your survey?
[SPEAKER_27]: I think so long as we are mindful of the period of time in which we're allocated to do the screening. Of course. whatever you are interested in knowing about, we can ask about. The reason why we cast the net narrow is because I'm mindful of the fact that we were doing passive consent for screening. So I didn't want to ask, I wanted to ask the bare minimum number of questions so as to not be invasive. To the extent to which, you know, it doesn't interfere with the research at all to ask additional questions.
[Ruggiero]: It was just being mindful of. And secondly, if we do move away from the passive consent model, will that affect the demographics of your participation? So there are certain communities that won't respond because their parents won't sign. That's something that we have to recognize as a community. If we're going to do a truly, a true survey, perhaps passive content is the best option. appreciate your concerns. I have no doubt that the doctor will maintain the confidentiality of all the information that the students... And we can talk about their...
[SPEAKER_27]: multiple models of doing a passive consent for screening. We can reach out to parents multiple times in multiple different modalities, making sure that we can do email, we can do mailer, we can do reverse 911 calls, whatever makes sense. So it doesn't have to be a one-shot deal where we make this known. We can give them multiple opportunities, and we can give them a month, two-month lead time to opt out of doing screening.
[Ruggiero]: I would prefer we go down that line to address Mayor DiMendito's concerns, but that's where I am. Thank you.
[Ruseau]: Thank you. Mr. Rizzo. Yes, I'd just like to second Mayor Ruggiero's comment. I actually explicitly oppose to explicit consent. If it's considered good enough for the community, then if it is, then we should vote to do it. If it's not, we shouldn't be doing it. And so I'm very much opposed to requiring active consent to even screen. But I know I'm pretty extreme in that regard.
[Burke]: Well, we will await a recommendation and a vote. See you in June.
[Funaiole]: Thank you very, very much. Penny, did you want to say anything? I just want to say one thing. I think what is really important about this study is that the landscape is completely changed, as was said. Prevention prior to legalization will not work ever again. And so we have to really build up an entire program around prevention, understanding the harms, and dispelling myths that aren't true about marijuana. We have to be honest with our kids. We have to be honest with our families. And so I think that that's one huge benefit here is talking about harm reduction. But what I also want us to remember is this is a study that's going to go towards research that will help our kids in the long term in the future. But it's not what's going to be for Medford to do those interventions, right? We have a long-term trajectory with our families. And so we should also utilize our expertise to help support us to come up with the best interventions for our students for the long term. And maybe some of them are what the research is, those methods and those modalities within that research that we can then hopefully use and share with our families.
[SPEAKER_27]: And one of the treatment programs that's directly coming from this research that we're hoping actually will be ready to launch in the fall is a resiliency training. And that is a direct result of this work. which is where we're going to be identifying kids who are exhibiting early risk factors for psychiatric concerns and substance use, but before they're actually fully syndromal. And we have an intervention that we've already put together that's ready to be rolled out that would involve parents, that would involve kids. This is treatment. These are treatment programs that we would not, that wouldn't require kids presenting to a clinic to get access to. So this is really, what I'm pitching to you now is one study that is the tip of the iceberg of a program of work.
[Wray]: Very interesting. We're looking at the bottom level so she can build up.
[Burke]: Motion to accept this report and place it on file, and Ms. Kress, seconded by Mr. Benedetto. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. Thank you very much, Doctor.
[Ruseau]: OK.
[Burke]: recommendation to approve the new math curriculum, Illustrated Math, by Ms. Faiza Khan. Good evening. Thank you for your endurance.
[Khan]: Thank you. Thank you. Am I the last? No, thank you. No worries. So I believe you have a handout from me, a report from me, a recommendation. I mean, everything that I know – I know a little more, but most of the facts I have here. And if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer. I'm just – I'm here to get it approved, and I would like $6,500 for the teachers to, you know, receive PD. So, if you have any questions, please ask Ms. Kreatz. Yes.
[Burke]: Doctor, did you wish to speak?
[Edouard-Vincent]: I was just going to say that similar to what happened with FOSS as a district, we did not have a unified math curriculum at the middle school level. And so, charged with knowing that math was one of the areas as a district that that was our weak side. We had the two math coaches under the leadership of Ms. Kahn working with our elementary schools in illustrative math. They have gone, they've looked at math in other districts, and this was the math curriculum that has kind of risen to the top as one of the stronger math curriculums out there. to address the needs of our students. And so today's presentation is a recommendation to approve the illustrative math curriculum. And we have done some footwork to find out what the professional development costs would take in order for us to launch it successfully. And there is a cost involved, but we're prepared to do that in order to give everyone the same mathematical foundational base with this new curriculum so that we can have a coherent curriculum at the middle school level.
[Kreatz]: Yes. Ms. Kreatz. Yes. Hi. Hi, Plaza. Thank you very much for the report and actually for responding to my email inquiries so, you know, very quick. Thank you. So I guess one of, you know, the concerns that I had was about printing the papers and when the materials if somebody doesn't have a computer at home or a printer. And I understand what you explained was that the teachers are currently printing the curriculum right now and handing it out. But I think my concern would be, and I think we received an email from one of the teachers. Oh, okay. She's here. Yes, okay. And it's not having the book, the actual hard copy book for some students to take home. Yes. very difficult for a lot of students. Sure. Yeah.
[SPEAKER_10]: If you want to be the teachers here. OK, great. Thank you.
[Khan]: I want to share a fun fact about me and Ms. Irving. We share the same birthday. We do. We do.
[SPEAKER_30]: And Pfizer knew that I was going to either speak or suggest a letter. So this was not done behind anybody's back. No. Good. We have utmost respect for each other. We do. We don't agree on this point at all. But I love working with her. Thank you. Many years ago, when the school committee adopted CMP, the vital component of the program was not purchased. And to you, it would be a math textbook. So she's going to purchase a set of classroom instruction materials, but it doesn't show the students how to do the program. And the problem with CMP, it's very much like this program, Where at the Discovery Program, well, my EL students have difficulty with vocabulary. If they don't understand the vocabulary, when they get home, they have nothing to reference. And it's a huge issue with the CMP. And as new teachers came in, the reason we don't have a unified program is because there was no training offered. So if you read my letter carefully, I did go to University of Massachusetts Medical School. And the course I took there was the CMP training. Five teachers, middle school teachers, possibly more. I drove five people out to Worcester every day, five days in the summer to get the professional development for the CMP program. But as new teachers came in, they didn't get the professional development. And that's how the program fell apart. Since then, I have served on two textbook selection committees. This program never came up. And the big problem with this program is there's no math textbook slash reference book. And if you're going to get a program like this, if you don't have the reference book, it's useless. I do teach at the McGlynn. A lot of my children cannot access a computer at home. They do work on the phone. Mr. Rousseau, you didn't get the pictures. You replied to me this afternoon. I saw that you didn't get the pictures. You're on the same email as Ms. Kreatz. She got the pictures. I got the pictures. When you replied to me, they disappeared. It just came up as IMG. So if I'm supposed to be using technology to help teach this program, and I can't even email six people, that's a problem. And actually, I had somebody in my classroom today because my classroom computer does not work correctly. I have a 20-year-old projector. It makes it difficult to teach. It means you have to have two lessons every day if the computer works, if the computer doesn't work. Ms.
[Burke]: Kahn, would you like to reply?
[SPEAKER_30]: We have had this discussion for several weeks. I've taught middle school a few years longer than she has. I've been through many programs. I've been through other bad programs other than the CMP, and because it was at least a reference book, I could manipulate the book so that the kids did have the reference, but they got the practice they needed. And if they don't have a reference book and the kids don't know how to do it, we have kids go home to other countries for a week at a time, and when they miss a program a week of school, how do they make it up? We do have the Yale population. They're great to work with, but I have to give them something they can work with.
[Kreatz]: Can we order books for the EL students?
[SPEAKER_30]: But all my students, I have special ed students. I have kids.
[Burke]: Could you reply based on whatever research you've done just so we can get a point-to-point here?
[Khan]: Yes, thank you. So the way this program works is that when we call it an online program, what we mean is that all student material, all teacher material, and all family material, family resources, are all available online. So that is true that we are planning on having a classroom set and that teachers will be, shall be sending, should be sending paper copies of that material home. I have talked to the surrounding districts who have adopted it and I wanted to find out how did they go about this hurdle. And both Somerville and Cambridge said that with PD from Lesley University that they don't have much material. They do not send textbooks home as well. They also make photocopies and send it home. So yes, that brings us to the problem of making photocopies and then students losing photocopies. I see it as a combined problem. with executive functioning and organizational skills. So what is very important to note is that keeping all of these things in mind, keeping all of these questions in mind, the company that we are planning to go by has actually sent a survey out to all the teachers to tell them what problems do they foresee. And then they will cater their professional development to discuss how do you do the lesson in 40 minutes or 45 minutes? How do you deal with these kind of paper and organizational skills? So basically, if we go with the company that has been recommended to us by the publisher, they have customized the professional development to what our needs are. And I have been in touch with them. I have discussed many issues that Ms. Irving and other teachers have brought to me. And I have foreseen them, too. And they have come up in talking to the Cambridge coordinator and Somerville coordinator and Brookline and Newton and Acton. And so I have mentioned it to her. And she said, they all said that there will be aches and pains with all new programs, that there will be aches and pains. But this is the only program to go with. I recall Ms. Van der Kloot was actually at one of the things. We were at elementary school. And Dr. Hilary Kreisberg from Lesley University was sitting there. We were discussing that in one year, envisions will be up in elementary schools and what programs to look at while I had her there. And she said, wait, and so what is your middle school program? And I said, we are still exploring. We have three. different ones going on, four different ones even possibly going on. She said, don't even look further than illustrative math. So, you know, I have done my due research. I know that the program is written by Bill McCollum, who did the common core, so he has covered everything. The ideology, as far as I was trained in BTR and the way I see the work going, is that it's more explorations-based rather than you know, teacher teaching it. Now, with all due respect to experience, I have always been a big believer in that nothing beats experience. And I have no double thoughts in my mind that Ms. Irving has the best interest of her students at her mind. I do feel that the newer way of teaching mathematics that's being adopted around us, So if we do not adopt an explorations-based program and deal with its aches and pains, we'll be dealing with bigger aches and pains where we will be left behind. And I do not want us to be in that situation. So, yes, there are going to be photocopying issues. We will have to look into what are our photocopying problems, how much can our photocopier handle. deal with students' executive functioning skills, it will definitely put a little bit more load on general ed teachers and EL and special education. But I do feel that our educators are up there, and I'm very confident in their capabilities and their well-wishes towards their students. So that's why this is a two-day professional development. There is going to be another one in November that will be offered. They are coaching me throughout the year with every two-week session. And there is special training for our EL teacher. In fact, I have gotten a lot of coaching hours shifted from my own coaching to her coaching and to the special education teacher's coaching, because I'm already on board with this pedagogy. And they need to know what to do with the materials. That's, I mean, we, I have proposed the best package that the professional development organization has proposed for us, and I hope I get your approval for that. But as of now, the two-day PD will cost us $6,500. And again, with utmost respect for experience and with so much, you know, respect for Ms. Irving's, you know, she really means so well for her student. I mean, I cannot suggest another program to you when everybody else around, including Arlington, is going towards this.
[Van der Kloot]: Thank you. So the first question is in terms of the two-day PD, are there two days in June scheduled for PD that are available, and this would be all middle school math teachers?
[Edouard-Vincent]: Yes, all middle school math teachers, EL teachers, and special education teachers. So we were making sure to be inclusive of all teachers working with students around mathematics.
[Van der Kloot]: Okay, what will the other teachers be doing for PD during that time?
[Edouard-Vincent]: Like the science teachers or the... So for this math training, we wanted to do it before the school year ended. So this would actually be during a school day where the math teachers would be pulled and we would have either coverage or substitutes covering the class so that the teachers can get two-day intensive training before the academic year ends.
[Van der Kloot]: Okay. So, boy, I mean, that's just a lot of organization that needs to be done very quickly. Yes, it is. Yes. Now, I recall when we discussed this, one of the things that I had thought as I was concerned with the issues is that we should buy some sets of classroom editions. And I see the cost for books, one classroom set of student edition per teacher, and one teacher edition is $12,962. And that would be multiplied by what?
[Khan]: No, this is it. So basically, one classroom set per teacher is, so for example, Ms. Hsu's class at Andrews, she teaches sixth grade, so she will get a classroom set so that students can take a look at that, but they will also, they'll have their own book, but they hopefully will not write in the book. We are hoping that it'll last two to three years. She will also give them photocopies, but for reference, they will have the student book with them. I mean, we are happy to invest and buy one for each student, but it will just cost more. Okay, so Ms. Irving, when Ms. Irving mentions about the reference book, she means the examples that are done, are they done for the students or not, because Ms. Irving is a big believer in students need to be shown with example, the modeling needs to be done for each problem type. I am there with her and I'm not there with her. I do believe that when you let students explore and things come out of it and teachers facilitate and also advance that idea that after solving one or two problems along with the students, they shall be able to get there. And if not, if not, there are examples in family resources. And there are examples that they can always look at, again, using, they will have to use online technology.
[Van der Kloot]: So just to continue, the student editions are paperback, is that correct?
[Khan]: Yes, they're consumables, they're not a hardcover. Yes. Yes, that's it, yes.
[Kreatz]: Yes, yes, so I guess what my my question was Is the district planning to purchase the the consumable textbooks for you know Somebody that might need them for their classroom, you know because it does seem like there are going to be some students that are going to need to take them home and And we just don't know who those students are and how many there are going to be. That's the only concern that I have. You know, because I know, you know, I know not everybody has a computer at home. It might not be working. Or they might have a Google pad. It might not be the computer based. I know I don't have a laptop, but I have a computer. Right, exactly. That's my only concern, you know. So, but I do want to have, like, I definitely want to have one math program and I want it to be instructional math. I do. And I really trust your judgment and expertise. And I went in and I did go online myself and, you know, it was great. And then, you know, I tried to print from my I have a black and white printer. I mean, I just have in front of me here today is just what I got from the teacher, but it didn't quite come out. It's just all pieces of the picture. So it wasn't something that I would be able to work with. But I know I talked to me and she said, if you print it right out from the program, it would come out okay.
[SPEAKER_30]: Yes. I tried to print from school. I could not. I had to call her to get it printed out for me. She wanted me to try a unit. So if I can't print from school, then what are my students going to do?
[Khan]: So remember that Josephine Pauly was able to do it for you also. But the thing is that the main thing is that they give you two. They give you a Word document, two versions. They give you a Word version and they give you a PDF version. And we all know that depending on the whether you are using Safari or whether you are using Google Chrome or whatever, depending on the browser, the printing can shift off a little bit as well. So we just need to be a little bit more vigilant about which browser to stick with. Because when I have been printing, they have been coming out okay, but I do trust you.
[SPEAKER_30]: They give you better stuff than they give me. I'm so glad you saved the best for last. Wait, I don't even have an audience.
[Burke]: I'm so upset. Mr. Benedetto, your turn.
[Khan]: So have we piloted this program? So two teachers have been piloting it before I even started for two years now. One in sixth grade, one in eighth grade. They both like it. They both really like it. They use it. They do say they make photocopies. They have once in a while problems with the color version versus the black and white version. The main issue happens actually in geometry unit because each 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade. They all have nine units each. And the very first unit is based on geometry. That's where the coloring can throw you off a little bit. But again, when I discussed it with the Cambridge coordinator and the Acton one, they both said that once you are over this hump and the teachers just take it with the flow, and they learn it the first year, second and third year become easy. And like all programs, things will smooth out, but it's going to take two to three years. That's what I have been hearing from everybody, that it's not going to be a smooth ride the first time with no program, it will be. Yes?
[DiBenedetto]: So through the mayor to our superintendent, were there any other programs piloted that caught in a different way that we didn't have to bump over some bumps the first year. Because we haven't had a program in so long. To hear concerns is concerning. And to invest money into a program that has bumps is concerning to me. I want all students that's computers aren't working for a week at home to still be able to go home and keep up with the class. hate to have someone's computer break down and them not to be accessing homework for an evening in middle school and fall behind. Because math basics build on each other. And that's my only concern. I trust that you think that this is the best program, but I'm not sure it's the best for our population.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Yeah, one of the pieces I do want to say, though, what is most concerning to me is that at the middle school level, there was no uniform curriculum for mathematics. How can you measure your growth or your progress if you have seven or eight different, one person's using CMP, another person is using illustrative math, and I don't even know what all of the other programs they were using. So we had no uniform way of saying, let's look at an assessment. You know, the last report is our assessment inventory. We did not have one at the middle school level for mathematics. So I think first and foremost, we definitely need to have something in place where it can be measured and it can be closely monitored. Illustrative math right now is being used by many of our surrounding districts that are competitive with Medford or possibly even outperforming us in some areas. Math is an area of weakness for us. It's an area where we do need to focus. I don't think we're going to get the perfect solution, but I feel like from the feedback of the research where FISA has gone out and this kind has gone out to surrounding communities to actually go and observe where they're further ahead than where we are, I am definitely in support of illustrative math versus just saying we're going to do something and not having it be uniform.
[DiBenedetto]: So I would like to know what the whole financial cost is for us, and I would also like to know if those other districts have the same demographics as ours. Is it Arlington, Lexington?
[Edouard-Vincent]: Cambridge has greater diversity.
[DiBenedetto]: Somerville has... It does, but they also have more money than most districts have. Somerville as well. So they give their students... Yes, Somerville.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Somerville as well. Waltham is comparable.
[Khan]: Yes, and some of the Boston schools are also using illustrative math. I mean, we are teachers, we are educators, we will have to... What's the total dollar amount for us to move forward with this?
[DiBenedetto]: And if it doesn't work in two years, are we going to reassess and provide another alternative?
[Khan]: I would say allow three years, please, because that's what most of them are saying. two to three years. So we should allow maximum time so that teachers can comfortably, without any pressure, learn and execute it. And then we can reassess. Yes.
[Ruggiero]: I'm just worried.
[Burke]: Mr. Regiro.
[Ruggiero]: Thank you, Mary Brooke. So a number of things. First off, As you know, I'm a math teacher myself. And so my concern is echoed. I'm concerned that we're going to have students that don't have access to technology. The printers aren't going to be working. So out of those 6th and 8th grade classes, how many students did not have a computer at home?
[Khan]: I would say, well, when I asked the 8th grade teacher, Ms. Chen, she says students had access to some kind of technology. at some point in time during the day so that they could take a look at it, either on the phone or through the computer. And that's when I said, so how is it? And she's the one who is teaching illustrative math and making photocopies and giving it. And so when I asked Ms. Tremble, she said the same thing. And she said, I really actually haven't ran into any problems so far, both of them.
[Ruggiero]: So does the program take So it monitors the students how long they are on the website, is that right?
[Khan]: No, it doesn't. It's just giving you everything online.
[Ruggiero]: Let's say you have a student who's online, accessing to it.
[Khan]: We would not know. We would not know. They are only accessing it to take a look at the colors or take a look at the student resources. Everything else is given to them on a paper. They will have a worksheet to work on. warm-up on the paper as well. Everything is paper-based, but it's all available online for the teacher to print, for the student to print in case they have access and they lost the paper that the teacher gave them. And also it's customizable. So if the teachers think that I do not like the warm-up in this program, I'm going to create my own lesson plan. They give you lesson plans. And then warm-up and everything is part of it, even exit ticket. But as a teacher, if I feel like this warm-up is not working for me, so I'm going to create my own warm-up. I can put it there.
[Burke]: Point of information, or is it a new item?
[Ruggiero]: So I just want to know, did you have a chance to make an informal poll of how teachers and middle school teachers feel about the adoption of this new program?
[Khan]: I do. When I first started in the beginning, most of the teachers said we are happy with what we are doing, but we'll go along with whatever you choose. It has been too long. That's what I heard. That's why I said most. Most of the teachers said that, that they'll be happy to go along with whatever we choose. That's what they said.
[Ruggiero]: So you feel in terms of questions of morale, they're willing to follow you down?
[Khan]: I hope so. I'd follow.
[Ruggiero]: I'd probably follow that too. I'd follow that. OK. And oh, shucks, I have one last question. So how much do each individual workbook, how much does each one cost? $26. I know you already said that. I'm just getting a little foggy inside. OK, so for us to get three copies per class is not unbelievably expensive.
[Kreatz]: It's impossible. That's why I think we could order 100 textbooks.
[Ruggiero]: You seem to be of the opinion that let's just go with the binder method, see how it goes. If we need the notebooks, later we get the notebooks.
[Khan]: Next year, we tweak it a bit. I'm getting the money. I'm happy to take it. I mean, it's all for the kids, right?
[Ruggiero]: And just one last thing. I really do appreciate your collegial disagreement. It's heartwarming at 11 o'clock at night that you have an academic disagreement, but it's always for the kids. And that's very heartwarming to me to see that. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_30]: Thank you. Thank you.
[Khan]: No, I remember. Yes, I did. I was on it. Thanks to Ms. Krebs, I did get a chance to. I was having trouble with my technology, so not everybody got on.
[Van der Kloot]: Ms.
[Burke]: Van der Kloot.
[Van der Kloot]: I did not receive your letter, probably because you sent it to the school, and it never forwards to me. Pvanderkloot at gmail.com. Works every time. So look, if we do the extensive PD, and we talked about the need for PD, it's $15,350. 12,962 buys us one set. Now, it seems to me that there's huge arguments in favor of doing a comprehensive middle school program. We hear Ms. Irving's concerns and we respect her very much from years, if not decades, working together. Oh, okay, I didn't even read it. So the question is, one of the things that we haven't really quite understood overall is where we are in the comprehensive budget final number, because ultimately this comes down to a budget number. So one set of books and a teacher's edition comes to $12,962, but we're saying maybe we want more than a teacher to have more than one set. So let's say we were willing to, if we had the money and we wanted to put, we're saying, look, this is so important, we're going to spend $75,000 on it this year. How many books does that get us? Do we have that money in our, is that possible for us? What is the limit? Because I don't think we've answered that question yet. I don't know in our budget where we are. it becomes very difficult. I personally believe that we should go forward, okay, but we should go forward with the maximum amount of professional development, that we should go forward with the maximum amount of resources for students that we can afford. Okay. And, you know, that we don't want to set people up for failure.
[Khan]: No, no. So I want to say two things. First is that the two-day PD will cost $6,500, and then on top of it, we'll need additional $15,350 for the year-round PD. Oh, that's plus. That's a plus. So this is like a $21,000, over $21,000 cost. And the cost for the books, I mean, I can calculate it and resent, but right now, if we move forward, we'll need $6,500 within this school year to pay for that. Yes. And I also want to explain why June 3rd and 4th were chosen. After that is the last week of the school, and there are many activities taking place. Even those two days were such a struggle, I contacted both the principals, and among them, McGlynn's principal, Mr. Tucci, said... He's my favorite. He is. He's very thorough. So Mr. Tucci said... He said that FISA, please don't take 6th and 7th. I believe they're going on a field trip somewhere for those of you who have middle school kids there. So then we had to go to 3rd and 4th. And also, I just want to, again, just let everybody know that I believe this is the best program. I wholeheartedly feel that way. Everybody else that I have talked to feel the same way. And to reiterate, it's going to take time. Mr. Russo.
[Ruseau]: Yes, thank you. I'd like to make a motion to approve this entire.
[Burke]: There's a motion on the floor by Mr. Russo, seconded by Ms. Mustone, I believe. Roll call vote, please. Yes. This is to approve the curriculum and then they'll purchase what needs to be purchased. It's right there. Yes, six in the affirmative, one in the negative, motion passes. Thank you both.
[Ruggiero]: Thank you.
[Burke]: She's going to have to print for you forever. Excuse me? She's going to have to print for you forever. She will. Anything for you, though. Thank you. We do have two items that were under suspension. One is from Ms. McLaughlin, who asked if she could speak for three minutes or less. You're good?
[DiBenedetto]: I'm all, I'm ready to speak.
[Burke]: And you're still here, okay.
[DiBenedetto]: I do, I've never seen that.
[Burke]: Okay, the other, we have two resolutions. Be it resolved that the Medford School Committee express its sincere condolences to the family of Salvatore Caraviello. Mr. Caraviello was the uncle of Medford City Councilor Richard Caraviello. Also be it resolved that the Medford School Committee express its sincere condolences to the family of Elizabeth Irving. Ms. Irving was the mother of McGlynn Middle School math teacher Robin Irving. She passed away June 22 at the age of 93 years old. A lifelong resident of West Medford, she was the mother of six girls who all graduated from Medford High School. Robin Irving, the father of Robin, passed away January 4, 2016 at the age of 88 years old. Could we please all rise for a moment of silence on the passing of... Thank you. Also, we have a long resolution. To hold harmless 2019 10th grade MCAS due to racist question. Whereas, the graduation requirement makes the 10th grade MCAS exam one of the highest stakes exams most Massachusetts students take. Whereas, teachers, families, schools, and tax payers all invest time and resources to give students the best possible chance at success on the exam. Whereas, the recent 10th grade MCAS English exam contained an essay that required students to write a journal entry from the perspective of an openly racist character. And whereas, the Mass Deci was unable to defend the question, quickly moving to not have it count. And whereas we only discovered this because students had the courage to violate the rules about discussing specific MCAS questions. And whereas research shows that exposure to negative stereotypes can have a negative impact on student performance. And whereas the impact of the racist question on performance cannot be quantified. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Medford School Committee calls on DESE to exempt students who took the test with the rejected question from the graduation exam requirement, and further that the Medford School Committee calls for DESE to immediately implement a policy of releasing old MCAS questions so that there can be transparency to prevent such egregious errors in the future, and further resolved that a copy of this resolution be delivered to DESE, the governor, and the Medford state and local legislative delegations, and otherwise widely distributed. Mr. Russo, on the motion?
[Ruseau]: Yes. Motion to approve, please.
[Burke]: Motion to approve. Is there a second on the floor? Seconded by Mr. Ruggiero. Roll call vote, please. Senator Stone?
[SPEAKER_30]: Senator Russo?
[a7nti5izX0Y_SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_30]: Senator Vanden Heuvel?
[Burke]: Yes. And a vote of 5 in the affirmative, 2 absent, and the motion passes. Thank you. The only thing we have is your updates. Do you want to? Oh, we have one more report. I'm sorry. There is a short report on K-12 assessments. Yes. Superintendent.
[Edouard-Vincent]: I just... Oh, wonderful.
[Burke]: Okay, there's a motion on the floor to table it by Ms. DeRusso, seconded by Ms. Mastone. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes, tabled. I think that and the superintendents updates and comments moving table them we can table table them as well motion to table I'm just gonna conclude second by mr. Russo all those in favor all those opposed tabled for next meeting no it's no negotiations Oh, Paulette, have fun.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Oh, yes, bon voyage.
[Burke]: Have a great time. What time is your flight out? Oh.
[DiBenedetto]: Early? Oh, my gosh.
[Edouard-Vincent]: Oddly, everyone's not here.
[Burke]: Where'd everybody go? I'll call it. Medford, a few years ago, we all sponsored a Little League banner from the school committee members, so they're asking.
[Unidentified]: Yeah, how much is it?
[Burke]: Can every, yeah, only five of us did it the last time, not everybody. It was three years ago, that one. It's 500 for everyone divided by,
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