[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Give me an honor, please rise, join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
[Roy Belson]: 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.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Secretary will call the roll. Present. Present. Present. Present by a vote of seven in the affirmative, none absent. There's a quorum present to conduct business. Approval of the minutes of October 19th, 2015 on the motion of approval by Mr. Skerry. All those in favor say aye. Opposed, none. The ayes have it. The minutes are approved. Approval of the bills, transfer of funds on the motion approved by Mr. Skerry. Secretary will call the roll.
[Robert Skerry]: Scudino. Yes. Mendoza. Gallo.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes, by vote of seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. The bills are approved. Approval of the payrolls. A motion approved by Mrs. DiBenedetto. Secretary will call the roll. Mrs. Cugno. Yes. Mr. Benedetto.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Falco.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mr. Scarpelli. Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Scari. Yes. Mrs. Van de Kloop.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes.
[Unidentified]: Mayor McGlynn.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes. By vote of seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. The payrolls are approved. Report of the secretary, none. Report of committees, none. Committee participation, none. Report of the superintendent. Before we do that, the members of the school committee have invited a school committee woman, elect Cathy Kreatz to sit with us behind the rail. We welcome her in this evening. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: I think we can participate in some of the agenda, but Melanie will turn off when I would like to address the special education.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On a motion of Mr. Van Duke that the rules be suspended, all in favor say aye. Aye. Rules are suspended. Melanie? I'm sorry. I, on the agenda, there was nothing on the committee community participation, but yes, I'm sorry.
[Melanie McLaughlin]: I didn't actually ask ahead of time. I just prompted me. I just came tonight. So thank you. I appreciate you suspending the rules for a moment. I just wanted to invite the school committee next month, especially in light of the elections. We wanted to invite the school committee to the Medford special education parent advisory council meeting next month on December 9th. It's from seven to nine at the Andrews Middle School. I'm sure you won't, we wouldn't expect you to stay the whole time, but we'd love to have coffee and pastries and just host the school committee members and particularly the new school committee members as well. And just a way to say hello and keep the conversation going. That's pretty much it. And also this Wednesday, we have basic rights in special education at the Andrews Middle School from seven to nine. So it's a great opportunity for folks, especially general educators, frankly, to learn a lot about special education and basic rights.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: That's it.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Thank you.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I just want to address, I want to say thank you, but I also want to let you know that I would love to be there, but I have to be at a state meeting at the same night in Marlborough. So please keep me advised.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent. Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, I want to get this to you very quickly because obviously we have to make some phone calls. And I want to make sure that we're all in agreement as to what's going to take place. As you know, we approved a trip to Washington, DC, which was going to go there Thursday morning with about 35 students and faculty members and other people. We have checked with the insurance company and the like, and we are planning to cancel that trip in light of recent events at this point in time. It's unfortunate, but there's all kinds of safety and security issues that are associated with that. It's covered by insurance at least to 75% of the cost. We may get 100% of the cost back. If we don't, we'll talk about how we might be able to help the students and others recapture the remaining part, or reschedule it at a later date. But at this particular point in time, we can't get enough assurances of safety. The youngsters would be in situations where they were out in the open, in public places, traveling into monuments and other things of that type. It's just a bad time for people who are traveling, given the current news that's been out there and some statements made by terrorist groups around the world. So unless there's an objection, I'm going to go ahead and cancel that immediately. Chair, do you have any objection?
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Mayor.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: I move that we cancel the trip until further notice. On the motion, all in favor say aye.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Aye. I just, you know, I know some of the kids going on that trip and they're looking so forward to it. Has there been any discussion with them yet? Was there any discussion today?
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, with the high school, there's been a discussion with different people, but Bernadette's been in the middle of it. Can you probably come up, Bernadette, and talk a little bit about that?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Good evening. So no formal, obviously, notification went out because we wanted to wait for the superintendent to make that decision. There were several students who did approach the chaperones at different times during the day with some concern. There were at least two parents by late afternoon who had contacted members of the administration about concern. So no, the students do not know, but perhaps they know now if their parents are watching. So we're very sorry, and we know that this is going to be a wonderful opportunity to learn about civic education. So just moments ago, two of the chaperones are here, Nalita Lopori and Nicole Chalifoux, and they're very disappointed. We talked about perhaps some other opportunities that we could create for them here in Medford. So, we know that they're disappointed. The chaperones are disappointed. Taryn Ross and Michael Skorger did an immense amount of work putting this together. They're very disappointed. But, we all understand that security is important. is the first and foremost concern. So we certainly do accept, we accept this decision and we will move forward in a productive way.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: And if I could ask specifically, I wonder if there's been any conversation with the group that's hosting the event and whether there's any chance they might put it off. Since the other school's systems must have our same concerns.
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Okay, so as of this afternoon, we learned that Brookline, who is leaving tomorrow, is still moving forward with their trip. They were outside of the 48 hours or within the 48 hours. They did not have the same option that we have of canceling two days in advance and getting that 75% back, so I'm not sure if that's what went into their decision. The travel company was very receptive to our concerns today. I talked to them along with Michael Skorger and Taryn Ross. They were very understanding, very helpful. There was no hesitation on their part. They just wanted to contact the insurance company. So as the superintendent said, right now, they are canceling for any reason. That category, they get 75% back. There's a possibility parents could be reimbursed 100%. We're working on that, but it will be at least 75%. OK.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Thank you. It's nice to hear a little bit more. It's very, very disappointing for the students.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mister Scudero.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Bernadette, do we know how much the 25% we're talking about, how much money we're talking?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Actually, I don't know if Nicole or Nelida have the exact price. My understanding was it was about $550. Is that correct? It's about $550. So about 75% of that would be, what, $420 or so. Oh, OK. So whatever 75% of the $550 is. So it's about $100.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I know we just, I just wanted to ask, is there any way of discussing a future, like further down, like maybe, hopefully, maybe in the middle of the year or at the end of the year?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: So the travel company's advice was to just cancel, instead of postponing, because we originally thought we'd postpone, their advice was to cancel out, right? That way the students can get the money back. And then in the future, if we want, we can talk about rebooking.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, just one other point I think that everyone needs to know. Obviously, we don't like to do these things, but we may be able to schedule some Skyping with the Congress people and other people that they would otherwise have talked to in person. And so we'll look at that tomorrow morning, see if we can't create another experience that would be at least a good experience for them to carry out that kind of work.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And now that we've discussed it here, I mean, are parents going to be notified via mail, via telephone?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: We need to discuss that. In fact, I was just on the phone with Michael Skorka outside just before the meeting began, and that was his question, is how do we convey this to parents? So to the parents who are listening, you know that the trip is canceled and that you are entitled to at least 75% off. All students had the insurance, which was a great thing. How we officially communicate that beyond tonight, we will determine tomorrow morning. How many students were we talking about?
[Roy Belson]: About 32, 35.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: 36. Well, I would hope that it would be a little bit more personal than just listening to it over in a meeting. So I know it's hard because of time wise, but I would really appreciate that if something else could be done rather than just, I mean, there's two chaperones, right? Two chaperones. Four. Four. So maybe the list could be divided up and just a personal phone call real quick to those parents.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mrs. DiBenedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Safety is my first concern for our students and taking care of them, but I'm just curious Do you know of any other systems that are backing up? Are we the first? Are we the only?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: I'm just curious. So when I talked to Go Travel, the company who organized it today, they said that they were fully expecting to hear from Medford today. They didn't mention any other school system. We learned that Brookline, I don't know how many schools were going down this week. I know Brookline was. And like I just said, Brookline is moving forward. Other school systems, I'm not aware of.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Do you think that there will be another opportunity for a similar thing to happen for this group of students in this school year?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: I'm not sure how many seniors were on board. I'm not sure about the likelihood of this school year. I would like to think that things are going to calm down and that our students will have an opportunity to travel to to Washington, D.C. As you know, it's a wonderful city, great things to learn about our capital. So I am hoping that they will have that opportunity again, if not this year, then perhaps in the next school year.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, obviously, this is a heightened period of concern. It's right after a significant event. And, you know, we have to be measured in how we approach these things. It may be that in a few weeks, things would change and other things are possible going forward in the next few months. Right now, not enough is known about what could be happening internationally. We need to give people an opportunity to tell us before we start putting any situations in place that could compromise the safety of the students.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Thank you.
[John Falco]: Thank you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion, all in favor say aye. Aye. The motion is approved. The trip is canceled. Report of the MIAA Sportsmanship Award, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, I'm going to call up Rachel Perry, our assistant athletic director, to come up here and deliver this report and also to recognize some students along with Mr. Dempsey and others and to present an award to some of the people who are recipients.
[Rachel Perry]: Good evening. I'd like to recognize Jack Dempsey, Gigi Braga, Victoria Rashi, and Katrina Rashi. They put in a multimedia sportsmanship video that showed what they were doing and what with the Crystal Campbell softball tournament and the things that they were doing to raise money for the Crystal Campbell scholarship. They won first place from the MIAA. And they got a $400 scholarship. And they will be recognized on this Friday at Gillette Stadium. There's a big summit that they'll be presenting at Gillette Stadium. They'll be showing their video. And they'll be presenting them with a check and an award. So they did a tremendous job. Back in the spring, I saw this opportunity for the athletic department. And I contacted Jack. I knew he was the guy that would put this together, and he contacted students and they put the video together. I don't know if any of you have seen it, but it's a tremendous video. They did a great job. So I'd like to call Jack and Gigi, Katrina, and Victoria up. Rachel? If we wanted to see the video, is it online? It is. It's actually right on the Medford website. Okay, perfect. Yeah, it's right on that front page.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: I had the opportunity to see the video. I went on the web page and I noticed it and I clicked on it and I just have to say I was so proud of these students when I saw the video. Tears came to my eyes and I was really, really felt very proud of our students winning this award. So thank you very, very much.
[Rachel Perry]: Victoria Rasha. Katrina Rashi. Gigi Braga. And Mr. Dempsey, you want to say a couple of words?
[Unidentified]: All I can say is these kids make me look really good. That's all I can say.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: We all want to congratulate all the students for the fine job that they have done. And especially these Three young ladies that we've had an opportunity to work with in many different aspects of community life in the Medford High Educational Experience. And they are always standouts in everything they do. And I had the opportunity to look at the video with Gigi and Mr. Dempsey, and they really did a great job. And when you think of all the content that goes into it and what they have done, And all the money that they have raised for scholarships to provide opportunities for other students. You should be very proud of what the three young ladies have accomplished and we all congratulate you. I'm going to ask if everybody would please rise for a moment of silence in memory of and out of respect to those who lost their lives. and those who survived them in Paris over the weekend. On that report, the motion has been approved that the report be accepted and placed on file. On that motion, all in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The report is accepted and placed on file. Report on foreign language scholarship award. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, I'm going to call up Director of Curriculum to comment on this award and to allow the recipient to come forward and
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Good evening. Actually, I'm going to ask foreign language teacher Nicole Chalafo to deliver the report. She is here tonight, and she actually attended the event with the student. So Nicole, if you would like to deliver the report.
[Rmp1s_8uCxM_SPEAKER_18]: Thank you. Good evening. Rachel Garland, a Medford High School senior AP Italian student, recently received a $1,000 scholarship from the Federazione Associazione Abruzzese USA for her excellence in the study of Italian. The scholarship was awarded to Rachel on the evening of October 10th at the FAA USA annual gala celebration, which took place at Filippo's restaurant in the north end of Boston. Rachel was accompanied to this event by her mother and three Italian teachers from Medford High School, myself, Ms. Monica Canetta, and Ms. Bianca Hoffman. Another high school senior from Revere High School was awarded the second of the two scholarships given that evening. In order to qualify for the scholarship, Rachel had to submit an essay on the impact that studying Italian has had on her life, and that evening she delivered her speech all in Italian. Present at the celebration were over 150 members of the Federation, many from out of state. Also present was the Consul General of Italy, Dr. Nicola De Santis, who conversed with Rachel in Italian. This year's celebration was particularly special because guests included members of the Associazione Giostra Cavaleresca di Sulmona, right from Italy. This is a folkloric group, and that evening they impressed all in attendance with their rich Renaissance garments and noble appearances. The medieval giostra, or jousting costumes, accompanied by trumpet and drum players with flag-throwing performances provided an exciting and authentic setback in time. Rachel felt very honored, and all of us are very proud of this Medford High School senior. Unfortunately, Rachel was not able to attend this evening. She is at work, but we are very proud of her. She's a wonderful, wonderful girl. Thank you. Thank you very much.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: And we all send our best wishes to Rachel and congratulate her for the great job that that she's done. And the new Consul General, Nicolo DeSantis, is quite a guy. He spends a lot of time either with our students or here in the city of Medford. He was just here helping cut the ribbon for the new restaurant in the square.
[Rmp1s_8uCxM_SPEAKER_18]: I saw that, yes. In fact, Rachel, when she had prepared her speech and the time of the dinner was a little bit thrown off, and so at first she didn't get a full for the whole audience that was there. And the consul called her back over to our table where he was seated with us. And it was one-on-one. They had a great conversation. So we really made sure that she got that attention, too.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Mr. Mayor? Ms. Vertu. I would also like to thank the three teachers who went along for the presentation.
[SPEAKER_02]: Our pleasure. And Ms. Canetta and Ms. Hoffman are both new to Medford this year, as well. Thank you. So that's great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion, Mr. Falco, if the report is accepted and placed on file. All those in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The report is accepted and placed on file. Recommendation to approve trip to Puerto Rico, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call up again, Nelida Lepore, who is leading the trip. We just talked about trips. As you know, the nation's capital has been tapped. So this is a little bit different. It's a little further away. So I think we're in a pretty good place to look at this this evening. So I'll turn it over to Nelida.
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: Buenas noches. Yes, we're planning, and also we're planning the trip in April. So hopefully by then we will have a better idea of the situation, what's going on. But I am planning a trip for the April vacation with the students. We usually leave on the Thursday evening before. And that's done to save some costs, because there's a $45 charge to leave on Friday, Saturday from Logan Airport. I think that's most airports they do. So just to save some money for the students. And then we come back seven days later. But we're taking the Pelicano tour. And so based on the number of students that we will take, hopefully I'm trying to get 20, 21. The cost of the trip will be $2,165. which will include everything that they will be doing on the trip. The interesting thing about Puerto Rico is that if you've been to Costa Rica and you've been to Spain, Puerto Rico is a combination of the two. It has a strong cultural colonial experience, but then along it has the science component to it. So one of the things that we will be doing is going to the Bioluminescent Bay, which I've taken the students before to other times. There are only six in the world, and Puerto Rico has two. So they're able to experience things like this, the rainforest. But then we have dance lessons. We do some salsa, and this year I've included another type of dance that's typical of the island, which is the bomba, which shows our African heritage. And we've included a cooking class, and we've also included a community service component. We will be visiting a school, and the students will be getting community service hours. So it's a little bit different, this trip. I try to tweak each trip to customize it to fit today's educational needs. The trip includes the air flight, all the hotels, two meals a day. and entrances to all the exhibits and things that we'll be doing, like the zip lining and things like that. So hopefully it'll be a go. So far, five students have already registered. And they all understand that it was with the approval of the school committee.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Mr. Mayer? Mr. Mayer.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Sounds like a great trip. By the way, I have a lot of free time in April, if you need anything.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: You're welcome to join us. Yeah. Happy zip lining with everybody. Mrs. Spunio. I think it's a great opportunity. My concern is, unfortunately, because of things that are happening more so than ever, is there going to be insurance involved with this price? Yes.
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: We always encourage the students to take out insurance. And in light of what's just happened, we're going to demand it if they want to go on the trip just to protect ourselves.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, when you say that you advise if they get it, is that something that's separate or is that something?
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: Yes, it's separate costs. Okay.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Yeah. Could we just look into that though because I just want to make sure that when we do these types of trips for our students, I think it's very beneficiary that we include. I know it costs a little bit more money, but it's very beneficial for us to make sure that we have that insurance, because I believe that insurance not only covers the cancellation of the trip, but it also incurs if by any chance, God forbid, there's any type of sickness or someone gets hurt or someone, and I think it's very beneficial that it is part of the package deal.
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: I have been traveling with the students since 1999, and that has always been a priority that I've mentioned to the students, because we always book the trip well in advance, and I always say you never know what will happen from here to there at that time, so that it really is crucial to do that. I mean, it's their choice. It's a gamble they take. It usually comes out about $250, $260 extra to do it.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Just a point of information, there are other opportunities out there. I know because I've looked them up that they're not as high as that. So it has to be researched a little bit more. I'm not saying you, but I am saying that that is something, especially where these students are going and where the ones that are responsible for them, I really believe that that has to be part of the trip.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I read your itinerary and I love that you included the community service aspect in between the Salsa dancing. I thought it was a really good balance and I love that you put the educational piece in with all the fun and giving back to other communities. So, I was very impressed with it, and I just wanted to make that comment to you.
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: I've traveled with four or five companies through the years, and this is the one company I have been the most impressed with. The first time I went to Puerto Rico, I took 38 students. There were two chaperones from the company with us in addition to the chaperones that I had. We also had a car following us at all times in case of an emergency. And Puerto Rico is like being here in the United States. CVS, Walgreens, everything is everywhere. So we did have to tap that. One student forgot her medication, so we were able to get medication for her. Another interesting thing was I had to take a student to the dentist. And I know you can appreciate that. And I said, I never thought I'd be traveling with students going to a dentist.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I just never know. I really love that service piece. I think the kids will come home with more than just trinkets. They'll come home with more self-esteem in the fact that they gave back to a community. Kids at my school go to Guatemala every year for three weeks and they work in a school and they come back different people.
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: It opens up their eyes and I know a lot of my students have all done the semester abroad or the year abroad. And they've always said that these trips that we offer at Medford High have really given them that taste, that sense of confidence to do that.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: It's great. Thank you for offering it to our children.
[CUpSL015tZc_SPEAKER_08]: Well, I love it. I really enjoy seeing it through their eyes.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion, all those in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. Thank you.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Have a great time.
[John Falco]: OK, thank you. Thank you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Report on the Metro Vocational School open house, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chair and members of the committee, most of you attended the open house of the vocational school, so it speaks for itself. I think it was an outstanding presentation by the vocational school faculty, the director, all the staff up there. The new health assisting program was outstanding. revamp of the facilities and other matters really stood out. Vocational school is definitely on the move. Our director, Heidi Rich here, would have been here this evening. Unfortunately, her mother passed away. I have a notice in front of you. Her name is Elaine Donahue. Arrangements are Wednesday night and Thursday up in Lawrence. So I'm not going to go into that report tonight except to say that if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Otherwise, we'll save it for another time when Heidi can be with us and talk to you more completely about our vocational initiatives.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Mr. Mayor, I'm sorry. I just want to say, first of all, our condolences to Heidi and to her family. But also, I got a lot of feedback that night from people that had come up and toured the vocational school, and they were very, very impressed. A lot of parents that have students in eighth grade that came up to the open house, they were really impressed on how things have changed and the opportunities that the students are having. So I just want to take the time out to say thank you to Ms. Riccio, to our staff, and to the school, because it has changed quite a bit in a very short time.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Mayor.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mrs. DiBenedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I just want to say how great the facility looked. I mean, it was clean. They're redoing bathrooms. The shops look great. The kids are all invested. They all wear. the clothing from the vocational school. You can see the pride in their school, their enthusiasm to be there, how comfortable they are within that area of the building. It's just wonderful to see. Not to mention that in the paint shop that night was a car that I donated and they're painting and they're putting the Mustang logo on it. It was a 99 Durango. And I think that the administration's going to use it. It runs great. But it was so fun. The kid went in to start painting it while I was there. And he's all in the protective wear. It just brought me joy. So if anyone in the community really has a nice car that they want to donate, the Volk is always doing it. Because they worked in the mechanic shop, the auto body shop. And like so many different kids have had their hands on it, it was just really great to see a project go through the whole thing. And the pride in the students and the cleanliness of the building and how far it's come in the last five years. And it's been to the superintendent, yourself. And this committee investing in the children of MedFed and the programs that we offer. And Ms. Riccio is a breath of fresh air. But it always built. It was always a good school. The traditional shops are still there. And we offer great education for students. It's a pride and a gem. And I think I said this years ago, it was a gem. In the community, it just needs a little polish. Well, it's pretty polished. It looks really nice. And we all should be proud of all the work that we've done.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: In addition to that, we also want to thank Lowe's. We made a $25,000 donation to help a lot of this happen. And also the furniture. Oh, Vertex. Pharmaceuticals.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: And the alumni.
[Roy Belson]: A lot of alumni have been really stepping up. Just a whole group of people. It's actually listed in here, all the different groups that. And the furniture.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Furniture from the Furniture Trust. The Furniture Trust. A lot of free furniture.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And the director of that. of the vocational school, there were pictures of her with the sledgehammer, and her husband was there, and they were laying the tile floors, and they were like hands on, knee deep, and it was just like a whole board across the thing, and to see the progression of how that shop changed, it's just really everybody up there giving their all. It's a great community atmosphere and it's very impressive and I'm very proud of what Medford has done in that over the last few years. It just shows that we can do anything and everything when we work together.
[John Falco]: Mr. Mayor. Mr. Fellow. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I actually had the opportunity to attend the open house as well. not only as a school committee member, but also as a parent. Uh, my son's in eighth grade and he's in that process of making the decision now. And, uh, as we walked through the halls and, you know, he bumped into his friends and his, you know, his friends, parents, I mean, just, it's amazing. I mean, the people, the amount of people that are saying, you know what, we think we're going to the vocational school and it just shows how long, how far the school has come. The programs, I mean, you go from shop to shop, the passion, from the children, or I should say from the students. They're very passionate about what they're learning. The instructors, I mean, they're all deeply involved in what's going on. And it's just, they're doing a great job. I mean, Heidi and her staff are doing a remarkable job. The health assistance program, it just came out phenomenal. It looks really nice. They did a great job. And the open house in general was just a huge success. And I think you can tell by the enrollment numbers. You look at the freshman class this year, it's higher. It's probably the highest it's been in years. So great job by the folk. And actually, not to take away from the folk, but I went to the Medford High School, but I was back a few weeks ago. And that was great too. And it was great to walk through and meet the teachers as well. And they did a nice job as well. But I just wanted to say great job to the vocational school and the high school. Thank you.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Mr. Mayor. I noticed that in the report that we got and it said under false state leadership skills USA we were seeking approval to attend this overnight leadership experience for six students and one advisor and that's on November 23rd through November 25th. So in the report it says that they are seeking they want the school committee approval for attendance at the skills USA fall leadership conference which is coming up.
[Roy Belson]: When we get the details, we'll bring that to you by the next meeting.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: No, no. The, um, we have to vote on it. Uh, it's a weekend of November 23rd.
[Robert Skerry]: Yeah.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So I think we need to take a, I don't think that's really, uh, I'm sure with the, uh, I'm sure with what the death of Ms. Riccio's, uh, mother, this may be. So maybe just to be on the safe side, if we, we, I don't think there's any controversy in it at all.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Excuse me, Mr. Mayor. Where's this report? Because we can't find it over here.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So if you look in our folder, on the left-hand side, it said Medford Vocational Technical High School, the school committee report. And I'm referring to the first paragraph. Yeah, Marie. So in the first paragraph, it says we are seeking approval to attend this overnight leadership experience. Motion to approve.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Second. On the motion, all in favor say aye.
[lq25S5HOVFA_SPEAKER_11]: Aye.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: The motion is approved. On the motion of Mr. Scarpelli that the report be accepted and placed on file. All in favor say aye. Aye. The members of the committee would also like to congratulate two of our members. Mr. Falco and Mr. Scarpelli on their recent election to the Medford City Council. Thank you. Whether you know it or not, you've already been dubbed as the protectors of education. As we put our budgets together.
[Roy Belson]: I'm already planning to ask them for money for the locations.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: I already did. It's going to be much easier at budget time, is that what you're saying?
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Don't worry about it. It's a great opportunity that members from the school committee are now going to serve on the city council. And I think it broadens the whole debate on a lot of council issues dealing with educational issues. Thank you. So good luck. Thank you very much. While we're under suspension, all business, there is none. Communications, none. New business, school committee resolution being resolved, the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Dr. Daniel Casullo. Dr. Casullo is a highly regarded dentist, was a graduate of Medford High School and former captain of the varsity basketball team. Resolution submitted by the Medford School Committee to express a sincere condolences to the family of Mrs. Horrigan. Mrs. Horrigan was the mother-in-law of Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco, Jr. Be resolved that Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Alfred Palladino, Jr. Mr. Palladino was the father-in-law of school committee member, John Falco. Be resolved that Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Ann Marie Sanford. Mrs. Sanford was the mother of Medford school teachers Laurie Ann and Nicole Sanford. Be it resolved the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Barbara Steele Cassidy. Barbara was a Medford School special education supervisor and a long time teacher. She was an outstanding professional who was well respected by her peers and was a caring friend to many. Be it resolved the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Elaine M. Donahue. Mrs. Donahue was the mother of vocational director Heidi Riccio. Be resolved, the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Michael Gieselman. Mr. Gieselman was a veteran who recently participated in the Veterans Day program at Medford High School. Be resolved, the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Don Ferrara. Ms. Ferrara was a former custodian for the Medford Public Schools. I would ask that we would all rise in a moment of silence. for all those who have recently passed. On those resolutions, all those in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. Report on the Veterans Day program, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee, our Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Rigodelli, is going to deliver this report to you on our Veterans Day program.
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Good evening. To commemorate Veterans Day, the Humanities Department and the Office of Veterans Services worked together to sponsor the annual Veterans Day speaker program. In its 15th year, this program provides high school students and faculty with the opportunity to directly interact with veterans. Veterans visit high school classrooms discussing with students their combat and non-combat related experiences. The program is an enormously rewarding experience for all involved, our students, faculty, and honored veteran guests. This year's event took place on Thursday, November 5th, and was co-coordinated by the Director of Veteran Services, Mr. Ernest Lindsay, the Director of Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chiesa, and lead social studies teacher, Nicholas Kane. The day began at 7.30 a.m. in the superintendent's conference room with a light breakfast of coffee, donuts, juice, muffins, and fruit donated by Dunkin' Donuts in West Medford. I will say that Dunkin' Donuts in West Medford has been donating goods for this event for several years. We're very, very thankful to them. Sandwiches and various salads were provided by the food services department at the high school for lunch. 21 veterans from several eras, including the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Iraq War, visited 38 classes and gave an overview of their military experiences and contributions. I will tell you that this year I noticed for the first time we had no World War II veterans. It's the first year in the 15 years that it has been running that none were able to attend. I know that Ernest Lindsay did reach out to them. I know in one case he just didn't get a response. We do not know what happened to that veteran. In other cases, I know several of them have passed away. So I thought that was particularly sad, especially since I've been with the program first as a teacher and then as an administrator since its beginning in 2001. This program provided our students with an authentic oral history of personal experiences that will enhance their study of history in the classroom. Feedback from students, teachers, and veterans from this year's program was overwhelmingly positive. On the attachment, you can see a list of the veterans who did participate. And as was mentioned a little bit earlier, one of the veterans passed away soon after the presentation, and that was Mr. Michael Geiselman. I would be happy to take any questions at this point.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Mayor, through you to the superintendent, can we send a letter from the school committee thanking them for their time for our students? Thank you.
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: We do typically do that, and so on the thank you note, the thank you notes go out from each one of the classes. Sometimes the class will provide one card with many signatures. Other classes use it as a writing experience, and they write individual letters to the veterans. There's a certificate that typically goes out. It's signed by the mayor, the superintendent, and it will be signed by the director of humanities, Nicole Chiesa. Oh, that's great.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I think that's great, and I thank them for their service both to our country and to our school children.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Thank you. On the motion, Mr. Cugno, that the report be accepted and placed on file. All in favor say aye. Opposed no. The ayes have it. The report is accepted and placed on file. Item number nine, negotiations and legal matters. There are no. Item number six, report on national assessment of educational programs.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, members of the committee, The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is given every two years in English, Language Arts, and Mathematics. And Massachusetts has consistently led the nation in this particular assessment. Over 3,000 Massachusetts students were tested in each of the grades, four and eight, in both subject areas. And there were Medford students included in this sample. I can't reveal names, but we're part of the distribution of youngsters who are taking this test. According to the 2015 NAEP results, Massachusetts fourth graders had an average score of 235 in reading, which was higher than the 2013 score of 232, and above the national average of 221. 50% of all Massachusetts students scored proficient or above, which was significantly higher than the national average of 35%. And performance of students with disabilities grew eight points from 2001 to 2009. English language learners also increased eight points from 192 to 200. Now, I'm not going to read the whole report. You have the results here. It gives you an idea of the general progress. I've also attached to you, for you, a report from Education Week, which gives you some real national data and some of the information that's associated with test administration in this area. People forget that the NAEP has been around a long time. They're talking about comparing states and the like. It's not the end all and be all, but it certainly gives us a very good snapshot of where Massachusetts stands among the various states in the country. And it tells us a little bit more than we would otherwise know. So we'll continue to review the statistics generated by NAEP and look at trends across the various assessments, variations from year to year, are best kept in context because students change, the demography changes, and other assessments in concert with this maybe are used to provide information on other aspects of student progress. So it's a national analysis attached and a commentary by Education Week, which is a very respected journal that comments on education across the country. I'd be happy to take any questions you may have.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Just a quick comment. I'm glad that Massachusetts is still ranked so highly through our nation, but we, globally, our country needs to be aware and invest money into education because we don't want to lose our position there. And our scores have gone down, not Massachusetts, all scores a little bit. And it's, I know that they're not expecting those type of scores to go down, but we, we only, we are doing well within the United States, but we need to up our game because we compete globally now. It's a global world. Um, thank you for the statistics. It was a great read and I'm glad that Massachusetts is still stuck at the top. Thank you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion of Mr. Scott, probably the report be accepted in place on file. All in favor signify in the ayes have it was accepted in place on file update report. on park results and status, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, as we are here this evening, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Board is meeting in Malden discussing the recommendations of Commissioner Chester to implement a hybrid test that would combine MCAS as we know it and PARC as it is emergent. And he's calling that MCAS 2.0. Now there's going to be a lot of people on different sides of the issues. There'll be people that are recommending that MCAS be the standard. There'll be people recommending that PARC replace MCAS. There'll be people supporting the commissioner's position for a hybrid. And there'll be people arguing that testing should go away altogether. It's going to be very interesting over the next couple of days. I had the opportunity to talk to the Secretary of Education, James Pizer, on Saturday evening at the Children's Trust event. And we talked a little bit about it. But I suspect that the board will probably approve MCAS 2.0. I suspect that's what's going to happen. The bigger issue is how is this going to roll out, and who's going to take what, and when, and how much preparation is going to take place. According to the commissioner's approach, if you've done MCAS in the past, you can continue to do MCAS for one more year. They might work in a few park type questions in there to try it out to see how people do. If you were doing park, you'll continue to take park. and there'll be some rollout activities, but the subsequent year, MCAS 2.0 would be the Commissioner's recommendation. I suspect that's what's going to count, but I don't know that for a fact as we stand here tonight. I've also provided you some comparative results between MCAS and PARCC, and you can see that PARCC did not achieve as much in terms of student proficiency as MCAS did, because PARCC is allegedly a much more difficult, deeper thinking type test. Whether you agree or disagree that testing It should take place or how much testing should take place. We're going to get some answers at least over the next couple of days to at least get an idea of where the state wants to head. But I suspect the debate is going to continue for a long period of time as to how it's going to roll out. and what it all means to all of us. I provided you with a lot of information. I don't want to go through every page of it unless you have specific questions, and I'll be happy to address those specifics. And if we want to hold a larger meeting or a committee of the whole on it, once we know what the state has actually done, I think that would be a good idea. Mr. Mayor.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Chairman.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. DiBenedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I just had a few comments. First of all, I really appreciated the data that you attached to this. I found it very helpful. So I just want the community to know that we would probably be continuing with MCAS since we did MCAS last year and we wouldn't take on the park at this moving forward because that program hasn't been approved yet. My second thing is the information about the cost of producing these tests $37 million is down here. It's amazing to me how much money we are spending as a commonwealth for a test as opposed to spending it actually on education. It's just a personal comment. And they're not even sure how much it's going to cost to develop our own new MCAS 2.0. So I'm going to be watching this closely and trying to be a strong voice and advocate for our students through the whole process. As I know you will, Mr. Superintendent, I know you have the ear of a lot of our state people who are making these decisions. So I would like you to keep us informed on any changes. And make sure we make the proper decisions for our children and our community. Mr. Chairman?
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Schaffer? I would move that we convene in a committee of the whole meeting once the Department of Education has issued a statement on whether it's going to be PARCC or MCAS. So we can discuss it and find out what the ramifications for the city will be. And if it will impact our budget in future years.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On that motion, Mr. Skerry? Second.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Second. Seconded.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Seconded. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Unidentified]: Aye. Aye. Aye.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Roy Belson]: I provided you with a fairly substantial package on school security issues. I'm going to go over some key points, make some recommendations, and then certainly I'm wide open to any comments you want to make. The only thing I would suggest is that I'm not going to go into very deep protocols because if I do that, I release information that should be kept tightly because it affects the safety and security of the operation of the schools. I will answer broader questions. We have the principal of McGlynn and the principal of McGlynn Elementary with us this evening. We have our director of elementary education here this evening to direct, to answer any questions that might be directed to that specific incident. This report is divided into five parts to enable us to better focus on the specific elements of our current school security plans and possible enhancements to the system. This report has multiple attachments to further describe and explain both current and possible security measures. The first part is devoted to the McGlynn incident. The second is the current security measures in place. The third is proposed additional security measures The fourth is about challenges, and the fifth area provides attachments that speak to the issues of security, safety, and provide you with ideas that we may or may not implement in your direction. Now, on October 30th, 2015, an unauthorized female adult entered the McGuinn School through the middle school side entrance around 12.30 p.m. She entered at the same time that seventh grade students were returning from recess. The door through which she entered was monitored by a lunch attendant and a teacher. However, she was not challenged at the point of entry. She then proceeded to the elementary side of the building and encountered a teacher who asked, may I help you? The intruder responded she was just looking for a pen. and she was not redirected to the main entrance or further challenged. During the next half hour, she went in and out of elementary classrooms and stole money, approximately $800 in total, from six different teachers. The individual then left the building through the back door. No teacher or students were in the classrooms that she entered. her progression into the parking lot, entrance into the school, movement throughout the school, exit, and drive away from the parking lot were captured on the school's video camera surveillance system. The theft was reported by teachers to the elementary principal, Diane Guarino, in the afternoon after the students had left for the day. Principal Guarino reported that the theft to the superintendent who instructed her to file a police report. It was not clear at this time as to whether this was an inside or an outside job. On Monday, Alan Arena, our network administrator, reviewed the video surveillance. There was multiple hours of video surveillance during that period. It identified the presence of the female intruder. The tape was provided to the police. The police shared the tape images with area police departments to alert them of possible persons of interest or person of interest. The information was picked up by Fox Media as they monitored these things. Fox began its coverage of the incident sometime Tuesday afternoon. Superintendent spoke with Fox on Tuesday evening. I emailed the school committee members in the early evening of that day describing the incident. Tuesday was a professional day in our school, so no students were present. The incident was not reported by the school administration from the outset to enable the police to proceed with their pursuit of the intruder, who probably did not know that she was on surveillance tape. We also hope to avoid any panic or anxiety for parents coming to the school since students were not endangered at this time. The building administration intensified their security measures. As of this time, the police have not identified the intruder. The superintendent then met with all principals and reviewed security protocols. Responses were provided to email inquiries in the local press, and letters were sent home to parents. You have a copy of the letter sent home from McGlynn. The incident at McGlynn was not taken lightly. It resulted from human error. No unauthorized person should ever be allowed to enter the school without being challenged and redirected to security. This element is correctable. Our schools are busy places, and there are many individuals who must come and go on a daily basis. Unknown, unauthorized persons must always be stopped, challenged, and redirected to security. I want to talk now about some of the current measures of security in place. The Metro Public Schools take security very seriously. We were founding members of NMLEC, the Northeast Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, and the STARS program, right after Columbine, that linked police to the schools on both a local and regional basis. Chief Sacco was the head of the task force, and I served on the committee. All main buildings of our schools have the following. documented security emergency plans. They conduct periodic drills at each building. They have coordinated detailed war plans that were paid for by the STARS system. There are surveillance cameras, door monitoring and main door buzzer systems, shared police resource officers. We have the Nemlick STARS program, which allows us to call upon resources at a regional level. in various types of capacities, everything from graphic analysis to psychological analysis to anything to a SWAT team. Various IDs and sign-in requirements exist in our schools. We have new enhanced phone systems that went in this year. Walkie-talkies and cell phones. 911 access from any part of the buildings now. Emergency medical plans, which you received earlier in the year. Principles met with the superintendent and have reinforced the following in each building. One, all doors must be locked at all times unless they are being monitored by an assigned member of the staff. Two, non-authorized individuals entering or traveling into our buildings must be stopped and questioned. They should be escorted to the main office for signing. Three, Building guests must be wearing an appropriate ID badge issued by the school. If there is resistance or concern, then assistance must be requested by notifying the office. The office must be alerted. Number four, if you see any strangers or suspicious individuals around or near the playground, if necessary, at the end of recess, bring students, end recess rather than bring students into the building. Five, For those staff members who are providing services to outside students, please provide the main office a schedule of those appointments. The main office will call to your room when they arrive so you can escort them from your office to the room. Six, those staff members who hold after school detentions, after school academic support, band practice, and the like, must be stationed at the door as students are exiting the building in order to ensure no individuals are entering the building unauthorized. 7. All valuables must be in a secure place. The office will support the staff member and call for police backup at 9-1-1. A report will be filed for the principal and the principal will notify the superintendent's office. Now, regular CBJ meetings, community-based justice meetings, are held weekly to review situations that require special attention. These happen with the police, the district attorney's office, and some of the social service agencies to go over anything happening on the street on weekends, happening in the courts, that might affect us. And we talk about those with our principals and we provide information should there be anyone in their area or anything going on in the neighborhood or anything happening in the weekend that requires special attention. Some proposed additional security measures in addition to existing measures. One, we are going to implement an enhanced ID system, the Raptor prototype. I can't say Raptor right now because it has to be put out through the procurement process. But you have in your packet here a detailed explanation of the Raptor system. The Raptor system currently exists at the vocational school. It is a system in which all visitors will have a picture pass. So you take your license out or some other government ID, you put it into the system, and it prints a pass that goes on your clothing. The cost is about $2,000 per building. The vocational school is in place. We will implement and install a security alert system at all main doors to provide rapid response when needed. We'll have available to the person as the security person a alert buzzer that will allow them to make an immediate call to an individual who can then make a 911 call. Okay? There are different proprietary systems available to us. Once again, we need to go through the procurement process to identify which one will be installed. And that will happen very quickly, because we'll move through an emergency process. We'll consider selective placement of additional building monitors at the high school complex. Why the high school? 37 doors. Most schools only have a handful of doors that they can be monitored. The high school is much larger. Many more possibilities exist for entrance and exit. We will insist on uniform dress for all security personnel, people or monitors. We will then provide them with proper attire, not police attire, but proper attire to identify them as building monitors, officials of the school. Five. will improve notification with school committee and parents when incidents occur consistent with best practice. Superintendent made a decision. Obviously, it was not something that everyone agrees with. I understand your need to know. I certainly will ramp it up and take your guidance on that. The only thing I ask from you is that if you get certain secure information, that it stays with you as opposed to anyone else. because when we are in pursuit of an intruder or anyone, or something is going on in an investigation, I need to maintain a certain level of confidentiality consistent with best police practice. But you're entitled to know, that's my area, I accept responsibility for that. We have challenges. High school is a very large facility, with many doors, points of entry, and multiple all-day programs. Every assembly, every activity, people coming in for concerts, people coming in for athletic events. You can't stop everybody all the time. We don't want to make the environment not conducive for learning, or not a friendly atmosphere. We don't want people to be driven away. Well, at the same token, we need to maintain vigilance. and have people who know who should be coming in and know who should not be coming in. But we have ballgames, we have visitors who come from other schools, who come from other areas, press, other people that come into our world. Special events at every school where reasonable access is necessary. Bus transportation. We have buses moving throughout the city. Outdoor events, many outdoor events. Maintenance of security cameras. We have a lot of security cameras. But to keep them up and doing everything they need to do is a cost. And we'll probably have to pay that cost every year so that there are a few cameras that go down every year. We're going to have to do that. We'll have to upgrade some of them from time to time. Sometimes they're affected by weather. Sometimes they're affected by other factors that we don't know. But clearly, there's a cost that we're going to have to make a line item for to ensure that they're in place. And then we have to have the most important thing, the uniform and diligent implementation of security protocols by all faculty and staff. Human error, human implementation is our best source of protection. You see something that isn't right, you don't ask, you report it and let it get checked out. I'm gonna give you a little example today. Today, an individual in the back of the high school was going to put something in the dumpster, and they put a bag down on the ground next to their car as they went to do one other thing. Immediately, they got calls, and Jimmy Ricciardi was out there picking up the bag, checking it out, and make sure it wasn't something that shouldn't be there. People have to be vigilant. Some of these things will be overkill. But if you see something that doesn't look right, You need to respond, and everyone has to take that seriously, because there's no other way. There's no other way. I've provided some attachments for you. The Metro Public Schools Crisis Response Manual. It's very substantial. Now, there are some pages in there that are part of another manual that are, like, for example, floor plans and the like, which aren't included in here, but that's confidential to us. The Massachusetts School Safety and Security Task Force report that came out in 2014 under Governor Deval Patrick and his safety officials suggested procedures by a responsive, or let's say a respected expert in the area on threat assessment in schools. We provided you with a copy of the sample emergency response procedures at the McGlynn School that every teacher has in their possession. I've given you a copy of the Raptor prototype ID system to look at. And you have a letter from the McGuinn parents, or sent to the McGuinn parents by the elementary principal. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. While there are challenges, we have many important security elements in place. We'll work together with our principals, teachers, staff, parents, law enforcement, and community partners to enhance our capacity going forward. There's no perfect system. We live in a very dangerous world in many ways. But we do everything we can do. And we're open to additional suggestions. But I don't think there's a silver bullet out there. I don't think adding 10 more people to every school or another person there is going to change everything. I think it's going to be selective and targeted. The biggest single factor will be making sure that everyone who works in the schools is a first responder, alerts people when they see something, and follows every protocol as they're laid out. Mr. Mayor, I'm prepared to take any questions. Mr. Mayor? Mrs. Vanden Heuvel.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So this is a real tough one because, to me, it suggests clearly a weakness. And I'm grateful that in this particular case, the weakness only resulted in a theft of some money and nothing more severe. I am very concerned from the report that I received to understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I have to lay it at your feet, Mr. Superintendent, that you were informed of this on Friday afternoon. You directed Principal Garino to file a report with the police. And it wasn't until Monday that someone looked at the videotape. Now, I understand it was Friday night, but I can't believe that someone didn't go in and arrange the proper people to look at the videotape so that on Monday morning, all of our principals would have been assessed of the problem. All of us, everybody would have been alerted. I understand that there was a concern of keeping the identity and the incident under wraps so that police could start. But wouldn't the police have wanted to see the video on Friday night as opposed to Monday morning? Could you please address that? Because I can't fathom it.
[Roy Belson]: So again, it's probably something that could have been done, maybe should have been done. Take the criticism. But clearly, you know, we have certain people who are expert at certain things. And there was a distinct feeling that it was an inside job, because no one saw anyone come and go. It came afterwards when we did see the video, and we did file the police report. So I'll take your criticism as something that we've done. You know, simply a void in the future. We have to deal with it.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Well, I can't, I mean, I for one say, you know, take the criticism, you drop the ball. And I truly believe that there was not a sense of urgency, it seems to me, on this incident. Again, I'm grateful that the incident stopped where it stopped, and it wasn't something more severe. I understand that we've had protocols in place, and I do understand the human error part of it with the people who allowed the individual to go about the building without being escorted down to the office, which is what our policy calls for. But the fact of the matter is that once there was a known incident, it needed and deserved immediate attention. need to be sent, wait until Monday morning to figure out that it was, in fact, someone from the outside. And I am deeply disappointed. I was reading this and sighing and groaning. And my husband said, you know, that's what the problem is. The problem is it always hurts the most when it's people you really respect. And I really respect you, but I really think you blew it.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Mr. Chairman.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Superintendent, I, too, am deeply disturbed, especially when a teacher and a lunch attendant just let this person walk in cavalierly. What type of training do we have in place to alert teachers and lunch attendants and whoever else may be in the building that we employ? If you see somebody that you don't know, ask them why they're there and ask them to identify themselves. This goes back 10 or 15 years when I've always asked for IDs for our staff. teachers and the like, and somehow it got shuffled off until recently. You know, that in itself should have been a wake-up call years ago that we need to know what's coming and going from our buildings. You know, the taxpayers spend an awful lot of money to get these buildings done, and we just can't have every Tom, Dick, and Harry waltzing in and out as they may.
[Roy Belson]: So the RID systems in the schools, they're just not as uniform as they will be. with the Raptor system or the Raptor prototype system. We certainly need to do better. The principals drill and run practices, you know, with their staff to go over these things at the beginning of the year, during the year, and still can't necessarily guarantee there won't be human error, but we certainly have made this an emphasis point. Maybe sometimes adversity, especially if it didn't result in something much more difficult, can further intensify the need for everyone to follow up intelligently and follow up more intensively. So, again, take the criticism as something instructive, and we'll work on it. We'll work on this. You can see from what we're proposing, we're not taking this lightly at all.
[Robert Skerry]: Is there a policy in effect that the teacher and the lunch attendant should have known that people just can't waltz in the door at recess time? Everybody who comes in should be challenged.
[Roy Belson]: We have information. We have that here. If you read it in some of the material, it's in the activity right there. Hand it out. And you know, again, we've got to keep driving it home. Keep driving it home. It's something that's not an error that you can allow to happen. There's some things you can allow to happen, and you say, well, no harm to follow. And security is not something that fits in that category.
[Robert Skerry]: Just because you give somebody a manual doesn't mean they're going to read it.
[Roy Belson]: No, we go over it. We go over it. I mean, you know, I have the principals of the McGlynn here tonight, and they can tell you what they do specifically if you care to talk to them about it.
[Robert Skerry]: Do the individuals sign off upon receipt and indicate that they have read it and they understand what's in it?
[Roy Belson]: Well, they don't sign off.
[Robert Skerry]: Well, I think that should be a policy.
[Roy Belson]: Maybe that's something we ought to do. Take that as a piece of guidance.
[Robert Skerry]: God forbid something happened to a child. It would be on all our minds.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I agree. I agree. This is not an excuse. It's not an attempt to duck anything, but these buildings have been in place for a lot of years. This is the first incident. It doesn't make it right. It's the first incident, and we can learn from it. We will learn from it. We are learning from it. We're doing things about it. So I take your criticism, and we'll work on it. No, but Mr. Superintendent, this shouldn't have been a first. Right.
[Robert Skerry]: This should not have been a first.
[John Falco]: Mr. Mayor.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Mayor.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, this is very, uh, concerning. Um, I, I didn't like the way I learned about it, but, uh, for me, it's about moving forward and trying to prevent it from happening again. And, uh, I do think that my colleague did bring up a very good point. And I think that, you know, having everyone in the system, all staff and administrators, everyone reading the policy and then signing off on the policy that they have read it and they understand it. If they have any questions, they should ask questions. So I think that is a very good idea. I know that's something that we do. I know I do it professionally at work. We have different policies that we do have to adhere to and we have to sign off on. So I think that's a good idea. With regard to, I know you have communicated to the principals about the different policies and whatnot. Have the principals had staff meetings with each individual building to communicate to their staff
[Roy Belson]: The policies. I think we have two principles here. Let them address it. Let them tell you how they do it.
[John Falco]: If you could please. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Because everybody has their own style a little bit, but certainly, you know, the message is the same.
[lq25S5HOVFA_SPEAKER_11]: Good evening. Good evening. A couple things I'd like to say about this, because certainly the superintendent has shown fabulous leadership in this area since I've been principal. This is my seventh year. We talk about it consistently every year at all of our meetings we mention it. We work hard at it. We started reinforcing our plans when I became principal, and we all worked as a team. Ms. Andrews was very instrumental, who's now the assistant principal. She was my guidance Councilor at the time. This was a fluke, I will tell you that. And one of the things I want you to be aware of, because I take responsibility for this too, I assign those people at that door. That door is no longer used and will never be used again. I will be at the door every recess or Mr. Charles making sure that only our kids are coming in one door. So we've changed that. But this individual, the lunch lady, works very hard. She knows all the kids. She's been there for a very long time. She does a great job. She alerts me to things all the time, as do my staff consistently. Even if they think it's nothing, I tell them all the time, it's okay. You tell me about it, I will figure it out. We'll work together to figure it out. There is consistent communication along those lines. This particular individual certainly knew what they were doing. They knew a weak spot. They also knew the time and the place. They had some information. She also, this person, looks identical to one of my 7th graders. If I showed you back to back pictures, you may not be able to tell them apart. And I think that's what happened in this situation. It shouldn't have happened. It will not happen again. I take responsibility for it happening. Now we have one door that we come in from recess near the basketball court. It was a traffic flow. That's why we wanted to make sure that our kids weren't bumping into the elementary kids at lunch line and that our kids were not bumping into each other going up the stairway. Middle schoolers can be clumsy going up and down the stairs. We had some kids falling and we wanted to kind of even the flow. But now we have a different policy. And it's okay because in our world today, some inconveniences, some patients, to have more security, that's the way we have to live. And that's the way we're going to handle things from now on. Have you met with your staff since the incident? We both have. We've done a lot of drills this year. Even before this happened, they were all scheduled. We've done many fire drills every month. We did an evacuation drill. We've done a shelter in place. This Friday, we'll do a full lockdown. We'll also do cafeteria lockdowns.
[John Falco]: So I'm glad that you're doing that. I think you always have to be prepared. So it's good that you've gone through those drills. Mr. Superintendent, have the other administrator principals met with their, yes, with their building, with their staff and they've notified everybody of their protocols and whatnot.
[Roy Belson]: Everyone has been instructed to do that. They were told to do it. I believe they've done it based on the information I have. I'm sure everyone does it slightly differently, but I will take that idea about sign off very seriously. make sure that, you know, I get those. I did have the principal sign off to me on a document, you know, that they had done what they were supposed to do. Um, I believe every building is covered and I believe they run regular drills. I know they do.
[John Falco]: I know they run regular drills. I just want to make sure that since this incident that, you know, they, each building principal has met with your staff to let them know this has happened. This is what we want to go over the protocols again to make sure it doesn't happen in our building. It doesn't happen in any building. Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: We had a very, very productive meeting with the principals and then we told them to go back and make sure everyone knew what was expected of them. And I believe everyone did it with diligence.
[John Falco]: Mr. Edwards, if I may, in your school, Are the students required to wear IDs or have IDs on there?
[lq25S5HOVFA_SPEAKER_11]: We did try that one year, because we do get the IDs from Life Touch. But middle schoolers, so there was always 100 to 150 who did not have their IDs every day. So now what do we do with those students? Because middle schoolers forget things. They forget their pencils. They forgot their IDs. A lot of them wore them proudly, but many of them did not. They lost them. Some of them don't get their pictures taken. They don't show up on that day to get their pictures taken. They don't show up for retakes. So it was difficult to implement that. If we could certainly try it again, I'd be happy to.
[John Falco]: I mean, just from my personal experience, my son goes to the Andrews. They have IDs. I assume they're the same type. I think it's something that we should have. I think this middle school and up should have IDs. I think if there's an emergency in the building, you kind of know right away if someone belongs or not if they have their ID. And if they don't come to school with the ID that day, then maybe they're issued a temporary ID. I think it's a good way of knowing who belongs in the building and who doesn't. Same thing with teachers. They should have IDs on them at all times as well. I just think it's an indicator right away of who belongs in the building and who doesn't belong in the building.
[George Scarpelli]: Point of information, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Schapiro. I know that the school system that I work in, we have the X2 system, where if a child does forget their ID, that the homeroom teacher would print a picture that's provided with them at the beginning of the year, and it's the student's information. And I think that, I concur with what Mr. Falco and Mr. Skerry were saying, that I think that's something that, because if you saw some protocols as a former teacher, then we were there. I know how hard you work in preparing us. There were safes that the teacher did stop the person, but a simple ID would have stopped everything. I don't have a pen that doesn't answer. You don't have your ID on, you get to the office, period.
[lq25S5HOVFA_SPEAKER_11]: And most of the time that happens. I'm alerted to people in the hallways all the time. And sometimes I say, well, we don't want to upset them. It's OK to upset them and blame it on me. I'll handle that when they get down from the main office. It's fine. Anything for safety. The other thing I want you to be aware of, and this is not to have an excuse at all, but that Mrs. Guarino and I were in the building that Friday evening till after 9 o'clock. I'm going to give you a little bit of background on that. Mr. Scala and I used to be detectives trying to find these things a lot. So we did not know that it was somebody from the outside at that time, but we did try everything we could to come up with the information that we needed to come up with to kind of eliminate those possibilities that it was somebody who was in at a meeting, a parent perhaps that day.
[John Falco]: Mr. Mayor, I have one last question. Mr. Superintendent, with regard to the challenges, Uh, the first one is the high school and how it's a large facility. So I believe you said this 37 points of entry. So have we, have we, uh, thought about possibly seeking security advice from a security consultant or from Medford police as to how to safeguard that facility? I mean, 37 points of entry, that's a large number of points of entry. I mean, I'm just thinking like, someone that specializes in that would probably at least be able to give some sort of a professional opinion on how to secure it, or?
[Roy Belson]: We've had multiple meetings on this over the years. The high school is, what, 45 years old now? Mm-hmm. So at one time, as you may or may not remember, we had a whole CETA security force. Right. Mr. LaPorta was directing the team, and we even had a guardhouse at the middle of the hill coming up Steve Miller Drive before it was Steve Miller Drive. We've had a lot of things. We've gone over those things. There are fire laws about exits and so on and so forth. And, you know, again, we've had a lot of discussions about things. People have come in and told us to use wands and things like that. But you can't turn the place into a prison. You have to turn the place into an educational institution. So we can certainly look at that. I'd be happy to bring in someone else to have another discussion with that, along with the police chief and others, and see if we can't come up with something that gives us another dimension. But the high school is probably the most problematic place because there are a lot of activities, there's community schools, there's the use of the pool, there's athletic events, there's concerts, there's meetings, there's all kinds of things, there's daycare, there's all kinds of things going on up there simultaneously. And so that's our biggest challenge.
[John Falco]: I mean, I don't think, I mean, I'm not a big fan of wands or any of that stuff, but I mean, I think just, I just think from the point of entry perspective, That's a tough, it's a tough building to probably safeguard. I'm just thinking, you know, as to, you know, maybe some professional advice would be.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Good way to go. Superintendent, and we have had professional advice in the past. If you go back a few years, you remember all the cameras that were installed in strategic locations. The plan that said that certain doors would not be used, but there are still those who violate that from inside the building. And sometimes those doors are left open. I look at the report, nobody wanted the incident to happen, but as I look at the report, The report is put together very well and they're looking at all aspects of how you take a situation that shouldn't happen and how you eliminate it. It was just a couple of years ago that we were all beating our chest because the news media was trying to break into, not break into, but gain entry into school systems around this whole area. The only school system they couldn't get into a school was the city of Medford. We were all very proud of that. I know just in the last couple of weeks, I have been at the Columbus. I have been at the McGlynn. I have been at the Roberts. I couldn't get into any of them because there is a good system in place. Around the time that this incident happened, if you remember on the news, there was one individual in a different community who had been terminated, but still kept one of the uniform shirts and just walked in with everybody else. There was another person who did the exact same thing that this person did. And maybe this person saw this on the news as to how you do it, but you go to another area and you try and float in with the kids. Now it's a situation nobody wanted to happen, but it's a situation that everyone's working to address. I don't care if it's a fire, a break-in or a criminal activity in the community. The first report that you hear about what happened in that particular incident is never the factual report. that is the same three or four days later. That's why an investigation takes some time to look into all aspects of it. So everybody has all of the facts correct. As I'm listening to the administrators talk and the superintendent and everybody else, um, talked about the fact that, you know, we do have protocols in place, but This person could have been a student, maybe not. The people do need some more training, do need some more direction. They should be signed in the report. And then you move forward to make sure that you have a secure school system. We have a secure school system, but we want to make sure that situations like that do not continue to happen. And I think if you look at the past records, you will see how well it is. We even had people in here one night from Massport who were talking about a competition between the Americans and the Israelis as to who could penetrate each other's airports quicker. Because at that time, we were talking about putting the airport security in as you go in and out of the high school. And then the wands, and everybody wanted them at the time. They said they can do that. The same thing will happen to you as it happened to us is when at Logan Airport, they spent $5 million on a new secure system, and the Israelis said, we can penetrate that in less than 30 seconds. So you never know when someone's coming on a plane or how they're going to attempt to do that. But the person simply walked through the area where they had all of the, what do you call that? Detectors. Whatever they call it, detectors. They walked right through, he put down his cup of coffee, went through the detector, nothing went off, picked up the cup of coffee, said, hey, here's a hand grenade, everyone's dead. And he said, the point of telling you that is, even though we go above and beyond trying to make sure that no one can get in those schools without any circumstances, he said, if somebody wants to do something, they don't have to do it in the school. They can do something outside the school. And that was the point of it, but we have still, since that time, still gone above and beyond to make secure facilities that are up to this point almost impossible to get into. But you had, as you said, I don't know if we call it a fluke, but a situation that everybody's working together to make sure it doesn't happen and move forward.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Mr. Mayor.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mrs. DiBenedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you. Through you to the superintendent, this report is refreshing because you went through every section of it, and you took accountability for areas of weakness, and you showed areas that we need to do better, and our growth has to happen. On the list from 1 to 10, where principals have met with superintendent and reinforced the following at each building, You have till number 10, whereas the principal notified the superintendent's office, this should be a number 11, where the superintendent's office notifies this committee. And I think that communication with the committee, as we've repeatedly asked for that, and actually we voted on it on this floor. And I am going to hold you accountable for that going forward. I understand that when there's an investigation, we might not get all the information, but we should know what's going on. within the school systems immediately. Immediately, Mr. Superintendent. Also, parents were extremely upset because they weren't notified. in a timely manner, that there was a security breach, and that's what I would call it, a security breach within our buildings. And, you know, we all love our students and our children in this community. We do the best possible job we can, and this is a place for us to learn from what, as the world changes and as people do things that we have to change with them. We have to do upgrades. This is an area of growth that we need to do, and I think as a committee we should have Committee of the Whole to discuss school security, the policies and procedures in place, what new policies and procedures that we're gonna take in effect going forward. We're gonna learn from this incident and we're gonna make our schools safer and stronger because of it. And we're gonna look forward and not backwards from this point on. So those are my comments and I'm making a motion for Committee of the Whole.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Any further discussion? On that motion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. It's common sense. If you don't know who the person is, you don't let them in. So we could sit here and we could talk about protocols, which I believe in. We could sit here and say we have to sign off and make sure everybody gets trained, which I understand. But it's also common sense. I mean, am I the only one who's thinking this tonight? If someone comes to the door, if someone comes in, if a teacher asks why you're here, they don't recognize that person, you don't let them in. You let them go through the front. I mean, I know it's easier said than done. I understand that there are a lot of students.
[SPEAKER_13]: I understand that- Point of information. Mr. Falco. I believe the person snuck in. They didn't. The person looked like a child. Yeah. They didn't. No one was.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Well, then there's conflict of stories, because there's also been stories that they have been stopped, and they were asked a question.
[Rachel Perry]: Once they got in the building. Yes. OK.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: So once they got in the building, they were asked a question. If they didn't know who that person was, you escort them to the office. It's absolutely what everybody said. It's been done. We can't change it. We thank God that nothing has happened. I think we all are responsible for this. I mean, the other thing I'm looking at is the Fox media. If we're in a situation that, God forbid, this was about stealing, but let's say it was even higher than that. And we've been told by our police not to have anybody know because they're in the middle of this right now. I don't believe in the time frame of it because it did happen on Friday and we didn't find out until Monday or Tuesday. But what I'm trying to say is that if the police are in the middle of this and they are in the middle of an investigation and the media decides to leak it somewhere, isn't that jeopardizing us? Isn't there any type of repercussion on them? I mean, these are questions I'd like to know. As far as the ideas, I totally agree. I mean, as far as, you know, Mr. Edwards, I know that you said it's difficult and all that, but the thing is that if a student forgets the first day, the second day, the third day, there has to be repercussions. If you're going to be doing something just like anything else, you don't bring your homework, you don't bring your homework into class, if you don't take a test, I mean, that's why we're here. We're here to teach these kids that You just can't continue doing what needs to be done. I mean, I work at a building. I have an ID.
[George Scarpelli]: That's not in place. That's what I'm saying. It's not Mr. Edwards' fault.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: No, no, no. I'm not saying it was his fault. I'm just saying, everybody has their opportunity to speak. I just want to say that I agree with the IDs. And as far as even the high school, a lot of the times I'm up there. And again, you can have all the protocols you want. But if you have certain groups that come in there and decide that they want to leave the door open because it's too hot in a room or because they're going in and out of their car to pick up something to bring it into a different room, I've gone and I've shut the door myself. They've gotten mad at me. But we can have all the protocols we want, but if people don't listen and they don't abide by them, then where does this stand? Where is this? I mean, this is what I'm trying to find out. I mean, we could have all these laws and protocols, but if people within our own school system, and I'm not saying your school, because you have done a tremendous job. I've been at the McGlynn, I was a parent at the McGlynn, and there were many times I couldn't even get into the McGlynn. So it has nothing to do with the McGlynn, it's just in general. We have 37 doors at the high school, we have multi events that are going on, but at times there are also people that have events in our own school system within that if you ask them to abide by the protocol, They don't. And then they'll say, you know, certain things. So, I mean, they've been, they've been addressed, but we have to keep on addressing them.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Bellson. So I'm responsible for the school system. Tonight, I've told you what I think happened. I've told you what we plan to do about it. You've given me some additional suggestions. We're going to meet and we're going to follow up some more. We've met with our principals. I'm just going to suggest that this is an ongoing process. You know, one time, two times, three times, not enough. It has to happen all the time. We have to constantly refresh ourselves, constantly have the discussion. But I do ask one thing. Let's not create fear and anxiety in the community. For the most part, our schools are very safe, a lot safer than a lot of schools around us. We have a lot more in place, and you've supported that. The city has supported that. There are some people that would like to make it sound as if our schools are not safe. It doesn't mean there's an excuse for what happened. But overall, our schools are very safe. It's important that we send that message out, because we want our young people and our families to come to our schools and not be afraid. But we have to continuously work at it, and that's our responsibility. And maybe this is a good wake-up call. Maybe this is a way of reinforcing our efforts and moving forward. I want to address one other thing that I read on a blog recently. I want to make sure that if anyone in the public is listening or anyone is picking this up, you understand that. When we withheld some information from the public, we didn't do it because there was an election. The two individuals running for the top seat in the city have nothing to do with the security of the schools. Neither one of them had an advantage or disadvantage from the event. And people that would like to ascribe those kinds of things to the electoral process are way out of line. We did it because we felt it was consistent with best police investigative process. I should have notified the school committee. I accept that as legitimate criticism of me, and I'll do better. But as far as holding it for some nefarious reason, that's pure BS. It has nothing to do with what we do. We don't politicize situations in our schools, certainly not ones about the safety and security of our young people, our faculty, and our staff. And anyone who tries to do that is going to hear from me. Cut, dry, and simple. Can we improve? Yes. Will we improve? We have to. Will we do everything we possibly can? Absolutely. But in no way, shape, or form will I be silent when people try to politicize this event. We need to get everybody behind us. We need parents, kids. faculty, staff, to understand that it's a shared responsibility. It's a shared responsibility. And when we do that, we have the best opportunity to keep our kids safe, to keep our world safe, and to promote education in our community. So I appreciate what you're telling me. If there's improvement to be made, it's mine, and I'll work at it, and we'll go from there.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion, Mr. Skerry, the report be accepted and placed on file. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. The AICF report is accepted and placed on file. The motion is now adjourned.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Old business? Just a few things. I've requested the community. I forgot to put it on the agenda, but I've requested the community schools budget, and I've also requested The budget of the fields, the rentals, and the income, as well as all school facilities. I think this is the third request.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, that's fine. This is the third request and I hope to see it next committee meeting.
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