total time: 17.62 minutes
total words: 1382
[Danielle Balocca]: Hey listeners, this is Danielle. And Shelley. Shelley is a radical Dravidian and racial equity activist.
[Chelli Keshavan]: And Danielle is a community mobilizer and change maker. And this is the Medford Bites podcast. Every two weeks, we chew on the issues facing Medford and deliver bites of information about the city by lifting the expertise of our guests.
[Danielle Balocca]: Join us in discussion about what you hope for the future of Medford. And as always, tell us where you like to eat. All right, thanks so much for being with me tonight. If you don't mind just introducing yourself with your name, pronouns, and who you are.
[Erika Reinfeld]: Sure. I'm Erica Reinfeld. My pronouns are she, her. I am a first term school committee incumbent running for re-election.
[Danielle Balocca]: All right, thanks, Erica. So we're going to talk a little bit more about that soon. But before we get into that, if you could just answer the question that I ask everyone on the podcast, which you have answered before, but it was some time ago now. But what is your favorite place to eat in Medford? And what do you like to eat there?
[Erika Reinfeld]: All right, you know, I think I said Goldilocks last time and it really just makes a weekend complete. And I like to mix it up, but the Nova Locks is probably my favorite because I am a sucker for a good smoked salmon and schmear.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, and I feel like it's a reliable weekend breakfast treat. And they're actually donating their Love Locks to the agency that I work for, the Boston Area Crisis Center, this weekend. By breakfast, I have to go in. Yeah, same. OK, so you mentioned you are like an incumbent. So you this year kind of wrapping up your first term on the school committee. I'm wondering if you can kind of reflect on what that's been like, some of the things that in the last time we talked, you were preparing for that term. Now you've been an active school committee member. What are some of the takeaways? What are you proud of? What have you kind of accomplished in your time so far?
[Erika Reinfeld]: Yeah, well, like anything having to do with schools, there's been a lot of learning. So understanding and getting to know the system and how things work and when things don't work and really building relationships with folks in the district. It's been amazing actually getting to know so many more families, more educators, more administrators. to really understand what everyone's unique talents are and try to find ways to bring them together. And then of course, the people that I serve on the school committee with figuring out how to how to work as a team. And I think one of the biggest things. I learned, well, I came into it about two years ago and I thought, all right, I know there are always gonna be two sides to a story and let's not jump to conclusions about anything. But I think the thing I learned is that there are pretty much always more than two sides to the story. So there's always more to learn there. Yeah, so, and you asked about what I'm really proud of. And I think I've done a lot to listen to people and then bring those, ideas, those needs into action and create policies or mechanisms or systems for really making change and making progress on things that maybe the district hadn't been doing for a while. So things like, actually, you and I both have kids at the Roberts and we've seen how crowded it can be and how many more classes there are per grade. And so I brought a resolution to the floor that said, it's time to talk about How we distribute students across the elementary school, and now we're doing space assessments and figuring out what are the solutions we made some short term changes to reduce the burden on the building for this school year, but really looking at long term action. Another example. After school always a hot topic. It actually was never my hot topic. It was not why I was doing this. I knew it was important to people, but it hadn't directly affected my family, but I heard from so many people that this was this was the thing they needed most to feel. part of Medford schools. And so I worked with a lot of caregivers to create this afterschool task force that is now making progress. They just had another meeting on Tuesday where they're working with a consultant and really thinking about what can we do. They've made progress for this year to open up more spots. But All kinds of things that I think people have been talking about and saying, oh, we should do that someday. I think we're really starting to do it. I'm really proud of the work on the overrides, right? We had a really bad budget cycle, my very first budget cycle. It was rough, but to be able to take that and say, we're going to invest in our city and really I created a lot of the educational materials for the public to explain what this meant and what we were going to do and what we could do and why it was happening the way it was. And I think that helped bring the community on board. It was a close vote, but it's really exciting what we did. And now we've changed the schedules. There are a lot more options for people in high school. We've added the challenge classes in the middle school. We've created contracts that are much more flexible and respectful. really putting the students first. So I'm really proud of that work. And I'm a little bit proud of the social media. I never thought I was going to be proud of being on social media, but I do regular meeting recaps after every meeting. And it's been nice to kind of look all together at what's happening in our meetings but also seeing how people are engaging with that and asking questions and trying to understand what school committee does because it was one of those things two years ago I had I'd met with most of the people who served on school committee and in recent years and I had a sense of sense of what it was but I think we're really making it more clear what the school committee can do, what the superintendent can do, what families can do, what the people on the ground with the kids can do, bringing voices in. So it's been really exciting to learn all that and to see it change the student experience in good ways.
[Danielle Balocca]: Thank you, and I actually had noticed that the Roberts, like my son's in fourth grade and the other one's in kindergarten, but the class sizes do seem smaller, like, which I'm not, I was like surprised. He has like maybe 16 kids in his class, which seems a lot different from previous years, but those are a lot of things that you named, right? Like the, like, you know, kind of helping to chip away at some of the afterschool issues. The override is like a huge thing, adding to the school day. Like, I think that's like actually like, A lot of change to happen in just two years and I imagine there was some amount of time that you spent just kind of learning the job like you said. So, to be able to get that much done in that amount of time is really impressive. One of the things that I actually I'm glad that you mentioned it. Was, you know, some of the things that I've been hearing is like, there's there's all these ideas that people have about what the school committee can do and and and that, like, a lot of what those ideas are actually aren't accurate. Like, there's like, that this, this, this whole committee has a pretty. Um, not like narrow, but, like, they have a scope that they are focused on. And that is maybe more limited than, like, the general public knows about. So, yeah, I wonder what you, like, if you could share kind of what surprised you about that, like, or what you've learned in that way.
[Erika Reinfeld]: Yeah, so the school committee, kind of the big things that they're responsible for approving the budget. hiring and evaluating the superintendent and writing policy. And it really is up to the people working in the schools under the direction of the superintendent to execute on those policies and to make sure what's happening in classrooms, in hallways, in extracurriculars, in the broader school community are aligned with those policies and are beneficial for students and are really, they're the ones who are focused on what happens in the classroom. We do on school committee get a fair number of emails from people saying this thing happened in the school. It's funny because our official role doesn't necessarily cover that but we really are the liaison between administration and the voters, the people who are in our community and experiencing things and some of that is recommending pathways for them to explore and they don't know who to talk to. I think that's been a real issue. in Medford schools is not knowing what the chain of command or, more importantly, the chain of communication is. So I think we can do a lot to make that visible and facilitate it. One of the things that I always like doing is Figuring out what are the resources and the talents that are in the community or in the district and how do we bring those together. You know I had I got an email earlier this week about some things that had happened in the schools that were a pattern. that were making some families feel very unwelcome. And so I was able to hop on a call. So I was able to address some of that with administrators who had the power to change it. But then when I hopped on a call to talk about it with the families, we had a much bigger, better conversation about it was these actions and it was these patterns, but here are the things that I would like to see that didn't necessarily make it into that email. And so I think the conversations are really important. Nothing in the school committee job description says go out for coffee with people and find out what's working and not working, but you need to do that in order to do the job.
[Danielle Balocca]: Oh, yeah, no, that's that's really helpful to hear. OK, so after, you know, these last two years, you've done a lot of work. And I just say, like, I think that the. focus on the budget for schools and talking about the override was like, I think a really motivating factor for a lot of people. I think that's something that means a lot to people in Medford.
[Erika Reinfeld]: Yeah, but I'm gonna jump in and say, we have a huge responsibility now to spend those funds wisely and make sure people know where that money is going and how it's benefiting students. I don't take any of it for granted.
[Danielle Balocca]: Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Yeah. Um, okay. So, and then it sounds like, you know, we're kind of thinking about forward to maybe how to fund a new high school but before we get to that I want to hear like kind of what your hopes are for a second term like what your goal or your priorities would be.
[Erika Reinfeld]: Yeah, so I think on one level, a huge priority is making sure all of this work that we've started continues and that there's follow through and that people are following up on the promise, whether it's the overrides funds of the partnership with City Year, whether it's new leadership, hiring people, bringing in new curricula, changes to schedules, and just making sure all of those things are delivering. So that's a huge priority, the consistency and making sure things happen. I'm also really concerned about what's happening at the federal level in terms of education so I think it's really important that we have local leaders who are going to stand up and protect particularly our most vulnerable students, but really all students and make sure they're getting a good education and they're getting the tools and the skills and the knowledge that they need to thrive in the world. And also the thing that I would really like to see is to have conversations, because I think we got to where we are by being at each other's throats or against each other. And so I would love to see more conversation and really helping people have difficult conversations, because a lot of the challenges that we're facing are not easy. So those are my big things. And then if I get to have a personal goal, I would really like to enhance our academic offerings and make sure that students can all across the range of learning styles, learning speeds, whether they need extra support or extra challenge and make sure they're getting those things. So that's what I'm kind of personally passionate about. But I think there are going to be a lot of factors that influence what we're able to do. And I think being really aware of that and understanding the context in which learning is happening.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, there's certainly like a scary landscape right now, right? Like what and a lot of stuff that we know isn't going to change and a lot of stuff that we don't know how it's going to change and like, well, and I think that not knowing is really important.
[Erika Reinfeld]: I think that whether or not things change, the embedded uncertainty is destabilizing in and of itself. And so to be able to be confident that we have strong budgets, flexible budgets, a strong community that will support each other and that will recognize what people need and be able to bring that together in creative ways. I think that's so essential regardless of what happens at the federal level or the state level, just being ready and supportive of each other and recognizing that sometimes not knowing is even scarier than anything that comes out of that.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, and how do you see your role in the school committee as aiding in that process?
[Erika Reinfeld]: I think a lot of it is about making visible what's happening, because there are people doing really good work that we don't see, and there are people who could use some guidance to get on better paths, certainly. Nobody there is perfect. So I think the transparency there, I think facilitating those conversations, making sure any policies that are coming to the floor are really grounded in a community approach, not just what I think needs to happen, not just what this group of seven people thinks needs to happen, but that is really understanding the multiple perspectives. And so I think bringing people into the room, making sure all the voices that need to be there are there, and that we're asking good questions. We're not taking things at face value, but just being really rigorous in how we set up the system to make change. And I think strong and flexible keeps coming back.
[Danielle Balocca]: And so, in terms of, like, unknown change to specific to the school committee, we have an interim superintendent right now and there's a plan search or application process. However, however you want to word it. How do you see that as part of, I don't know, the future? Or what are you looking for when you think about continued stability for that committee?
[Erika Reinfeld]: So I think it's worth noting that the school committee has full discretion on what happens in the appointment of a superintendent. It can be a search. It doesn't have to be a search. The Massachusetts Association of School Committees is very adamant that if you have someone that's working well in the district, you hold on to them. So What I'm really conscious of though is the fact that the current interim superintendent was appointed very quickly with very little community input. So I would really like to see the community weigh in on the new strategic planning process that we just kicked off that is both about the direction of the district, but also the leadership needed for that. So that's gonna be in our meeting just Last earlier this week, we presented that to the committee and they approved to move forward with that and we've got to balance it with all the community input needed around the new high school. So there's a lot of balancing, but in terms of that long term planning, I think. knowing that the community has articulated clear and specific goals for what things need to be like from an educational perspective, from an operations perspective, from a community perspective, really looking at people who have the skills to make that happen and who can empower a community of educators and administrators to make that happen. So I think it's a really important conversation.
[Danielle Balocca]: i don't feel like i've heard from everyone in the community yet and that's really what i want to do before this decision happens of what what the search or hiring process looks like interesting i didn't know that you could that you guys had the power to choose whether there is a search or not but it sounds like there could be some kind of middle ground of like assessing people's feelings about dr glucy and whether know, whether people think she's doing a good job and want to keep her or whatever. Yeah.
[Erika Reinfeld]: And I'm going to admit every time I talk to people and this comes up, I say to them, what do you think? What's, what's going on? You know, I had, I had a meeting today with an administrator who said, I've worked under eight different superintendents and she's the best one that I've ever worked with. And that means something. And I had a one of actually one of my child's teachers said, you know, this was the first time I felt listened to when I raised a problem, like the concern she had over something that happened at the district level that filtered down into the classroom. And I have people who say, all right, I'd like more support in this area. And so then it becomes a question of, is that, can Dr. Galussi and her team provide that support? What else is available to make things work for people? So. Yeah. The superintendent evaluation process is very awkward. I sat in on some of the evaluations for Dr. Edouard-Vincent before I was on the school committee, and it's awkward. It's one of the only times people have a performance review in public.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah.
[Erika Reinfeld]: So I think it's really important that we understand the context for those comments and hear from the people who maybe aren't going to say something out loud, but use all of that to inform the decision making. It's a big decision.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, it is. And yeah, I mean, I can say that like even before even before she was a superintendent, I had had to like, you know, email her about school stuff. And she got back to me, like, which is, you know, I think it's it shouldn't be this way, but it is surprising, like when when like, you know, you've never had a face to face with someone and they are like in touch with you. And she was on the podcast. She was very easy to like get to, you know, cooperate for those things. So that I think that's and I think that's a quality and a superintendent that's really important like that sort of accessibility function.
[Erika Reinfeld]: I think one of the other things that I noticed I noticed this when she was in the assistant superintendent role is that she knows where her strengths are and where she needs to grow and learn, and she's really actively trying to do that. So she, in our last school committee meeting, she presented her transition slash entry report, the results of all the listening sessions and the work that they've been doing in instructional teams and creating consistency and coherence across the district. And there have been a lot of things happening that I think not everyone sees. Because it's, it's so much and the operation side and the learning side and what are we doing with all this data that we're getting because we get a lot of data. And, you know, my big question there is what are we doing to empower educators to use that data strategically, we could have a whole conversation about testing and MCAS and map testing and all the things we do and. I work in museum evaluation, right? And so I'm a big fan. If you're not gonna use the data, don't collect it, but if you've got it, what does it tell us and what does it, how does it inform our action, right? We can reflect on what's happened, but we can't dwell on it. We've got to move forward.
[Danielle Balocca]: And I think the data people in these committees are so important, right? Like, cause there's like only so many people that know how to like make sense of that and go through what I find to be mind numbing, but I'm glad that you find it interesting and that you can appreciate it's important.
[Erika Reinfeld]: I'm a qualitative data person. That's, I appreciate quantitative data and I like to think I can navigate it with some dexterity, but qualitative data is really my bread and butter as an educator and a program evaluator, because I think those stories and really the themes and the patterns, I'm always looking for themes and patterns. that's what is going to help us really understand how change is working or not, or whether it's needed or not.
[Danielle Balocca]: And I think, well, you brought up like sort of standardized test too. And I think that the balance to that is that like qualitative data, right? It's like, this is what we see on paper, but this is the lived experience of everybody and how we've arrived at these data points, right? And I think that's a really valuable thing, especially in education.
[Erika Reinfeld]: Yeah, and I think that you know there's a place for quantitative data data as well, because those have different trends and patterns and we need we do need assessments that are kind of normed across the state across the federal level to understand. How is it, how are things working for other people, how are things working for us, what are some people doing differently, what resources does this community have that we don't have, what strategies are they using, what are we doing really well, and how do we apply that to other areas. So I think it's really important that we have good high quality assessment.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Okay, well, this is really, really helpful to hear. Is there anything else that we haven't talked about that you think is important for me, for us to know about your campaign?
[Erika Reinfeld]: It's a good question. I'm trying to think about all the things that I've been talking to people about at the doors. I think One of the things that has been a theme that maybe I'd like to call out a little more is the work that I've done really trying to affirm the values that we have as a community. And some of that is in resolutions and some of that is in bringing people together in conversation and to understand what it really means to support all students. So that's really important to me. I talked about enhancing our academic offerings and what's happening in the classroom, but also making sure people feel like they belong in Medford schools and there's a place for them and that they have a voice in shaping what happens next for Medford schools. We are really at this critical point right now in what our district looks like, what our district is going to do, how it's going to respond to a very quickly changing world. I'm really excited to be a part of realizing those visions and making sure that everyone's voice is part of them.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah, thank you for that. Yeah, and I think it's an evolving thing and it's helpful to have people that are always paying attention to that. Well, thank you.
[Erika Reinfeld]: Yeah, thanks for having me, especially so close to the election. It's such a busy time, but I really appreciate the opportunity to sit down and chat. And I guess to anyone listening, I'd say, let's keep chatting. I'd love to hear your perspectives as well.
[Danielle Balocca]: Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. And what people don't know is how late it is that we're meeting and how, you know, how much of a scramble everyone's schedules are these days. So thank you for making time for the podcast and good luck in the election. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. The Medford Bites podcast is produced and moderated by Danielle Balacca and Shelly Keshaman. Music is made by Hendrik Giedonis. We'd love to hear what you think about the podcast. You can reach out to us by email at medfordpod at gmail.com, or you can rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts. Thanks so much for listening. Guys, what's the name of the podcast? Medford Bites. Medford Bites. Good job.
|
total time: 17.62 minutes total words: 1382 |
|||